Although reporting on migration in the Isles of Scilly has recently improved with the publication since 1970 of a separate record for the archipelago (in the Isles of Scilly Bird Report), narrative description or discussion of the many remarkable occurrences that so characterise both spring and autumn movements there has been restricted since the demise of the observatory on St Agnes. This account of the happenings of one month in 1971 will hopefully correct this position, not only in displaying the real sense of wonder that attaches to observations in Scilly, but also in dispelling some of the apparent incredulity that they so often attract on the mainland. Rarity hunting is an enjoyable sport, but it need not lack science. Generally speaking, the autumn migration of 1971 has not been rated very highly, either on the score of large numbers of common birds or on the more emotive scale of rarities. Such attitudes, however, ignore some astonishing records from Shetland, particularly in September (Brit, Birds, 64: 5 58-560), and what follows here. At the two poles of migrant observation, there was little time for rest.There was little evidence in the late September arrivals in Scilly that October would yield the riches that it did and the presence on St Mary's of such regulars as Buff-breasted Sandpipers Tryngites subruficollis and a Short-toed Lark Calandrella cinerea was no more than veterans of Scilly have learnt to expect as starters. Indeed, all autumn there had been only two major rarities and no large