134
THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
in Europe. The immigrants commence to arrive in Alsace-
Lorraine and Switzerland as early as the middle of February,
and some are sometimes in residence in January, whereas in
southern Sweden the period of arrival is said to be the last three
weeks of April, by the end of which month the European
immigration is generally completed. The southerly emigration
from the breeding quarters occurs in August and is completed
about the middle of September. The Stork is found in South
Africa from the end of September to the end of April, but a few
are reported to remain through the southern winter. The
migrations of this species have specially engrossed the attention
of ornithologists since the introduction of the marking method
and notable results have been obtained. In view of the raison
d'etre of this article these migrations have a particular interest
to Essex. The ringing investigations from which knowledge of
the White Storks' movements have been obtained were carried
on in Denmark, Germany and Hungary. The results show that
the European-breeding Storks follow two main routes to and
from their winter quarters. The chief one is in a south-easterly
direction through the Mediterranean countries of Asia to Egypt.
The second route runs almost at right angles to the first in a
south-westerly direction through the Iberian peninsula to north-
west Africa.
Essex claimed three visits of the White Stork to the end
of 1927 and since then one further appearance has been
recorded. Mr. C. I. Blackburne has stated that on 10th August,
1938, a White Stork was seen to come in from the sea and to
settle on a bungalow at Winterton, Norfolk. On the following-
day, nth August, a White Stork was reported from Tollesbury,
Essex, and it was assumed that this was the bird seen on the
previous day. No further information was received, and it is
stated that both visitations were supported by photographic
evidence. It is fairly safe to say that no occurrence of this
species in the British Isles has claimed so much attention as this.
Not only did a photograph, taken at Tollesbury, appear in The
Times of 26th August, but a different one, taken at the same
place, was printed in the Daily Mail. The publicity given
to this bird did not end there, as it was the subject of letters
and articles in the press, and, above all, its appearance was