The Season 



225 



New York Region. — This year the 

 vegetation was somewhat backward and 

 the weather noticeably cooler than usual 

 for the season. The first and only 'wave' 

 of arboreal transients, especially Warblers, 

 arrived about May 10. Thereafter such 

 species were normally numerous over the 

 usual dates, showing little tendency to 

 linger late, as in some years, though it was 

 a backward season. An exception was a 

 male Black-poll Warbler feeding quietly 

 and in full song at Fort Lee, N. J., June 15 

 (C. H. Rogers). 



Cuckoos were very late in arriving, and 

 the Yellow-billed Cuckoo especially scarce. 

 M. S. Crosby reports the Black-billed from 

 Dutchess County up the Hudson on May 22 

 and Yellow-billed, June 8, the latest he has 

 ever known these two species to arrive. 

 Ordinarily the Yellow-billed Cuckoo is a 

 not uncommon breeder on Long Island, 

 being the commoner of the two there in 

 summer, but this year the writer had 

 neither seen nor heard an individual until 

 June 20, although there had been abundant 

 opportunity to do so. 



At Mastic, Long Island, the Meadow- 

 lark is decidedly decreased from its usual 

 numbers. Here breeding Meadow-larks 

 likely winter to a considerable extent on 

 the extensive bay meadows, and it is feared 

 that such birds suffered considerable mor- 

 tality during the severity of the past win- 

 ter. In the same locality, Bobwhites are 

 much reduced in number, having doubtless 

 been winter-killed. In the present spring 

 migration White-crowned Sparrows were 

 more nearly common than their wont, as 

 they had been last October. The Blue-gray 

 Gnatcatcher was much less rare than 

 ordinarily. One seen in the Passaic Valley 

 north of Plainfield (W. DeW. Miller and 

 C. H. Rogers) on May 16 was the first 

 record for that region, and others were 

 seen in Central and Prospect Parks, New 

 York City and Brooklyn. While the 

 Tennessee Warbler passed through some 

 sections in its abundance of recent years, 

 very few Cape Mays were seen. 



Along the shore there are indications of 

 a greater abundance of Knot or Robin 

 Snipe than in recent years. A flock of 



probably sixty, observed at Long Beach 

 on May 30 by C. H. Rogers and others, is 

 worth placing on record.— J. T. Nichols, 

 New York City. 



Philadelphia Region. — The tempera- 

 ture for April averaged normal, while the 

 fore part of May was anything but what 

 could be expected for that time, cold windy 

 days prevailing. 



Probably the most interesting feature of 

 late April was the appearance of Blue-gray 

 Gnatcatchers in unusual numbers. They 

 were observed at several different places 

 from April 17 until well on toward the end 

 of the month. April 25 brought numbers 

 of Eave Swallows. About two-thirds of the 

 Swallows observed on that day consisted 

 of this species. Hereabouts the Eave Swal- 

 low appears to be an uncommon spring 

 migrant and to see the bird in numbers is 

 rare indeed. About this time, also, Bona- 

 parte's Gulls, which are regular migrants, 

 though as a rule none too common, lingered 

 about the river in dozens and twentys for 

 a few days. On May 2, when the migra- 

 tion of these birds was at its height, as it 

 seemed, about fifty of these beautiful little 

 Gulls were seen coursing about over the 

 river, truly an extraordinary number com- 

 pared to most years. Could the persistent 

 northwest wind which blew almost con- 

 tinuously for a week at about this time 

 have anything to do with the abundance 

 of the Swallows and Gulls? Crossbills and 

 Evening Grosbeaks apparently departed 

 about the middle of April. Numbers of 

 Ducks remained on the river quite late — - 

 May 16, 6 Mergansers, 10 Black Ducks, 

 and 20 Scaups. 



While first arrivals of the Warbler migra- 

 tion were on time, certainly the great bulk 

 of the birds passed through about a week 

 late. A list of seventy-five birds observed 

 on a canoe trip from New Lisbon, N. J., 

 to Mt. Holly, N. J., in company with 

 Mr. and Mrs. Nelson D. W. Pumyea, on 

 May 9, was chiefly interesting from the 

 standpoint of what it lacked. Warblers 

 especially were for the most part few, and 

 some species that should have been present 

 under normal conditions were entirely 



