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VISIBLE M I G R A T I O N IN T H E L O W E S T O F T AREA— L O W E S T O F T F I E L D CLUB. SPRING
February.—On the 19th two Skylarks came on board a fishing vessel in the vicinity of the Gabbard L. V. : on the 21st four came in from the sea at Easton. March.—At Corton, during the night of the lOth, Redwings were heard going out to sea : on the 14th a considerable increase noted in numbers of Fieldfares, Redwings and Blackbirds. On the 2Ist several parties of Rooks, Jackdaws, and Starlings had gathered along the cliff-top, some small parties flew out to sea a short distance, but returned again. On the 22nd more Redwings were passing over during the night. On the 26th, at 0740 hours, a flock of c. 150 Rooks and Jackdaws flew out to sea. Two Blackbirds were seen to rise from a hedge and spiral slowly upwards to c. 300 feet, calling all the time : they were joined by four others, and all flew together in an easterly direction. A flock of c. 200 Redwings flew out to sea at a height of c. 400 feet. On the 28th, at 1225 hours, c. 200 Rooks and Jackdaws flew out to sea, and at 1750 hours c. 50 Fieldfares left. On the 3Ist a steady emigration throughout the day, of Redwings, Fieldfares, Blackbirds, Rooks, Starlings, a few SongThrushes and Mistle-Thrushes, and 25 Wood Pigeons.
AUTUMN
July.—First signs of the southward passage of waders was at Southwold, on the 7th, when Cuilews were heard passing over at night. August.—On the Ist a considerable movement of waders over Corton during the night, Curlew and Whimbrel being the most numerous, Dunlin and Ringed Plover also heard. From the middle to the end of the month easterly winds predominated, and from about the 24th a " rush " of migrants took place. At Lowestoft, all along the denes and foreshore, Wheatears were numerous, a Willow-Warbier, a Black Redstart, and a few Yellow Wagtails and Meadow-Pipits. On the 25th, at least 11 Pied Flycatchers, 9 Whinchats, a Wryneck, numerous Wheatears, 2 Grey Wagtails, and odd Blackcaps, Redstarts, Whitethroats, Spotted Flycatchers and WillowWarblers were seen in various parts of the town.
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Between the 26th and 28th birds in good numbers were reported from the denes and foreshore, Wheatears, Yellow Wagtails, and various finches were particularly numerous, while Whinchats, Spotted Flycatchers, one or two Pied Flycatchers, WillowWarblers, Chiffchaffs, Whitethroats, and Lesser Whitethroats were also present. By the 29th the wind had changed to westerly, and the number of birds was considerably reduced. September.—On the 3rd, at Lowestoft, an increase was noted again : Wheatears, Yellow Wagtails, Pied Wagtails and Spotted Flycatchers were in fair numbers : at least 30 Blue Tits were present: other species there were Meadow-Pipits, Skylarks, Linnets, Starlings, Willow-Warbiers, Chiffchaffs, Whitethroats, and a single Cuckoo and Grasshopper Warbier. On the 13th, at Ness Point, 4 Whitethroats were seen. October.—On the 2nd and 3rd small flocks of Skylarks came in at Southwold. On the 25th, at Kirkley, a southward movement of MeadowPipits between 0730 and 1200 hours, and during the afternoon c. 900 Starlings came in. On the 26th, at Lowestoft, a very large flock of Starlings and flocks of Rooks and Jackdaws. On the 27th, four exhausted Redwings were picked up on the promenade ; and on the 28th Fieldfares and Starlings were C o m i n g in from the east at 0700 hours. At Southwold on the 27th and 28th several flocks of Starlings and Finches, one flock of Skylarks, and twice a single Chaffinch, were seen to come in. At a point about three miles inland from the coast, about noon on the 28th, several flocks of Starlings and a large flock of Chaffinches were Aying in a westerly direction. At Lowestoft, throughout the morning of the 29th, a steady influx of Starlings, Skylarks and Chaffinches ; small lots of Song-Thrushes, Redwings, and Blackbirds, with some Bramblings. On the 30th, a similar movement at both Lowestoft and Hopton. November.—During the nights of lst/2nd and 2nd/3rd a great number of birds were passing in over Lowestoft and Corton : from dusk until dawn Skylarks and various thrushes could be heard calling low overhead. At Lowestoft, on the Ist, Starlings were arriving in a steady stream throughout the morning. On the 3rd a great inpouring of migrants was in progress throughout the day : an estimated 2,500 Starlings, 250 Skylarks, and 50 Blackbirds came in over Gunton Cliff between 1020 and 1035 hours : flocks of Rooks, Jackdaws, Lapwings, Mistle-Thrushes, Fieldfares, SongThrushes, Redwings, Chaffinches, and a few Bramblings were also
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seen arriving. At Southwold a flock of 17 Fieldfares came in about noon, and later in the day Fieldfares, Redwings and Blackbirds were found to be very numerous in the vicinity of the gasworks. On the 4th, this great movement was still in progress, but by the 6th daylight migration was reduced to one or two odd flocks, although a few Thrushes and Blackbirds were heard Over Corton at night. Over this period there was a steady westerly wind, strong at times on the 2nd and 3rd. On the 14th, between Southwold and Easton, 20 flocks of Starlings came in during about one hour at noon, most were of between 30 and 40 birds, with one of c. 100.
SOME OBSERVATIONS ON T H E BREEDING BEHAVIOUR O F M I S T L E T H R U S H E S . The
Rev. P. H .
T.
HARTLEY.
It has been said that field ornithology is the most sporting of all the disciplines of science. If the difficulty of coming to terms with the quarry be the criterion of "sport ", then, from the point of view of the bird watcher, the Mistle Thrush ranks high as a sporting bird. Nomadic in habits for much of the year and occupying a breeding territory which is, in comparison with the territories of Song Thrushes and Blackbirds, enormous, the Mistle Thrush presents a real challenge to the naturalist who embarks on a detailed study of its behaviour. There is need for such a survey, to provide material for comparative ethological studies of the thrush family. . The observations which follow were made at Badingham in East Suffolk in 1954 and 1955. DISPLAYS. The most usual form of low intensity sexual display—that is, display which is self-exhausting and does not lead on to an end-point of attempted or successful mating—seems to be a chase from perch to perch :— February 23rd, 1954. 17.07 hrs. " T w o Mistle Thrushes flew with a bobbing, bucketing, jay-like flight, one behind the other, into the top of a tall elm. At once they took wing again and flew to another tree : it was noticeable that they kept their tails a little raised as they flew. Then one of the two flew to a third tree, while the other went off to a fourth ".