Autumnal Bird Migration Observed from Ships in the Western North Atlantic Ocean

The western north Atlantic Ocean constitutes a major route for autumnal migrants moving between eastern North America and the Caribbean or South America. Some shorebirds have long been known to use this route (Lincoln, 1939; Hagar, 1966; Palmer, 1968; McNeil and Burton, 1973), and recently Drury and Nisbet (1964) and Nisbet (1970) have stated that the Blackpoll Warbler (Dendroica striata) probably flies over the western Atlantic between New England and South America, although this route was disputed by Murray (1965). Atlantic migrants have been studied with radar installations on the North American coast