From an 1860 edition of The Ibis, quarterly journal of the British Ornithologists' Union.
Mr. G. D. Rowley writes from Brighton, as follows: "The migration of birds is a little-understood wonderful thing - wonderful even to the closet naturalist but still more so to the field observer.
"Living on the South Coast in spring and autumn, I have good opportunities of marking the arrival and departure of some birds.
"I have seen the Swallows actually arrive from over the sea and pass straight inland without a pause or the least show of weariness.
"Not so the Chiffchaffs and Willow Wrens which stay about the shingle at first till they recover their strength - I have seen them at five o'clock of a spring morning within a few yards of the waves.
"In autumn, on certain days (varying according to the wind), the
gardens about Brighton are full of Ring Ouzels, Chiffchaffs
Willow Wrens and Redstart.
"On the downs are Wheatears and, in the air, Goldfinches, Swallows, Green Linnets and so on.
"I have stood and watched these birds early on a fine morning (for birds of the above kinds do not fly in cloudy, dull days), going in continuous streams down to the sea, following one another as surely in the same direction as if going by a mariner's compass.
"Their motions appear to the common observer to be guided by chance, but the ornithologist knows that each bird he sees is employed on some particular business, and he can interpret its actions.
"Birds always travel by night across the sea, working their way along the coast till a proper wind is blowing, and flying against any light which may appear on the shore.
"In the days of the old watchmen at Brighton, small birds
used frequently to fly against the lanterns which they carried. "
No comments:
Post a Comment