The 1896 Migration ‘ortj^^&^lhd^fuienlus^borealis in 
Massachusetts. — The prevailing winds on Nantucket Island during the 
greater portion of the migrating period was as follows : August 13, east 
and southwest; 14, east; 15, northeast; 16, southwest; 17, northwest; 
18, west; 19 and 20, north; 21, 22, and 23, south; 24, southwest; 25, 
east; 26, southeast; 27, north; 28 and 29, southeast; 30, southwest,’ 
31, southwest, with squall from the north in late p. m. ; Sept. 1, north 
by west. There was no severe blow or storm during this period. 
On August 22, at night, a few Golden Plovers were heard passing over 
Tuckernuck Island, where on the 28th the first one of the season was 
shot. Five were also seen on this same date at the eastern part of Nan- 
tucket. On the 31st sixteen Plovers arrived in a certain preserved field 
on the Kimball farm, where in a short time their number was somewhat 
augmented, at which time some were shot. When I visited the remainder, 
a little later in September, I counted twenty-two, the greater part of 
flew around the electric lights located at tne rops 01 me nign poies 111 
various parts of the town. This calling was nearly continuous up to one 
o’clock, midnight, and I have only two or three times before heard such 
prolonged and continual calling of the birds. They were apparently 
bewildered, and seemed to pass around a certain light for awhile, and then 
pass to another, later coming back to the first one. I therefore think we 
heard the same birds over and over again. In order to substantiate this I 
made inquiry the next day of some of the life-saving crews located at 
different parts of the island, as also of others, but none of them had heard 
of any birds, and they were all apparently in a restricted area over the 
town. While no birds were seen distinctly , many of the call notes were 
recognized by others and by me, those of the Greater Yellow-legs 
( Totanus melanoleucus ) predominating. There were also the Smaller 
Yellow-leg (Totanus flavipes), Golden Plovers ( Charadrius dominions'), 
Hudsonian Curlews ( Numenius hudsonicus) (heard only twice), Black- 
bellied Plovers ( Squatarola squatarola) , Terns and Peeps. Several of the 
sportsmen told me they heard the notes of the Eskimo Curlew 
(Numenius borealis). I am inclined to the opinion that they must have 
been mistaken, inasmuch as I was up until half past eleven o’clock p. m. 
and did not hear any of them. It was with the liveliest anticipations for 
the next day’s shooting that I retired for the night. I arose at three 
o’clock A. M., and my disappointment can be imagined better than told 
when on looking out I found that the weather had cleared, the stars were 
shining and the little air that was moving was from the north. Although 
hopeless, I was driving over the western Plover ground at daylight, 
hoping I might find a few tired birds. Seeing absolutely no birds in this 
quarter up to eight o’clpck, I picked up my decoys and drove eastward 
where I remained until 1.30 p. M. and then returned home without having 
seen a bird. On the way I saw a number of sportsmen, none of whom, I 
learned on inquiry, had seen anything. All the birds had passed on with- 
out stopping. This was the first defined migratory movement this season 
of birds going southward. 
