06 September 2012

Strange Flight of Martins

Immense flocks of swallows haunt a little copse in Westerly. Hundreds of thousands of these birds gather, filling the air and confusing the mind with their twittering. The come singly, in pairs, by the score, in hundreds and even in flocks of thousands, until there seems no room in the air for more. All at once, as by magic, they shoot into the copse and disappear. It is really a wonderful sight. Westerly people visit the place every evening, and come over even from Watch Hill and Stonington to witness the singular phenomenon. They have been known to gather there for a number of years, but in number they excel this year.

September 7, 1877. Strange flight of swallows. Petersburg Index and Appeal 24(37): 2. From a Westerly (R.I.) letter to the Providence Journal.