Notes from Field and Study 



167 



village every sumnu-r. Siiui.- lliat year, 

 however, the bird appears to have l)eeii 

 al)scnt. When I arrived in Tilton, this 

 summer, I was surprised to find a pair of 

 Wrens nesting in an apple orchard in the 

 village. The male was in full song at all 

 hours of the day, even during the hot wave 

 of the first week of July. As the summer 

 passed, he seemed to lose his Joyous spirits, 

 and the song was given less freely. The 

 date on which the song was heard was the 

 morning of August 13, when only a few 

 notes were given. What brought back 

 the Wrens after so long an absence I do 

 not know, and I shall wait with interest to 

 see if they will appear again next year. — 

 Edward H. Perkins, Tilton, N. H. 



Blue -Gray Gnatcatcher near New 

 Rochelle, N. Y. 



We wish to report the occurrence of 

 a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, in New York 

 State, about two miles from this village. 

 We saw this bird at seven o'clock on the 

 morning of May 3. We were first attracted 

 by its call, and soon saw it near the top 

 of a large tree. We quickly identified 

 it — its small size, slender build, blue-gray 

 upperparts, and grayish white under- 

 parts, its black tail with white outer 

 feathers, its note, and its habits, all con- 

 tributing to make our identification posi- 

 tive. The bird was very active, flitting 

 about among the upper branches, and 

 now and then darting out into the air 

 after passing insects. Though there were 

 several Warblers — Blue-winged, Chest- 

 nut-sided, Black and White and Redstarts 

 — in the neighboring trees, it seemed to 

 be alone, rather than in company with 

 these birds. — Richard L. Burdsall, 

 Samuel N. Comly, James C. Maples, 

 W. Bolton Cook, Port Chester, N. Y. 



1911 Bird Notes from Long Beach, L. I, 



In company with various bird students 

 of New York City, I continued my obser- 

 vations at this very favorable station, 

 and trust that the following may be of 

 some interest to readers of Bird-Lore. 



During the [)asl year, I made thirteen 

 visits, and observed 87 species of birds. 

 The biggest list for one day was on May 

 17, when Mr. George E. Hix and I 

 obser\'ed 41 species. The most interesting 

 fact which has developed as a result of 

 my work afield at this locality during 

 the last four years is the increasing abund- 

 ance of Ducks and shore-birds, due, 

 doubtless, to the abolition of spring shoot- 

 ing. It is also worthy of note that during 

 the last two years the spring has yielded 

 much better results than the fall; both 

 orders being represented by more species, 

 as well as in greater numbers. Thus 

 twelve kinds of Ducks were observed in 

 March, as against eight in November; 

 and, although the number of species of 

 Shore-birds seen in August was only two 

 less than that observed in May, yet the 

 number of individuals was much smaller. 

 .Although absent in Europe during August, 

 I have this last information from Mr. 

 C. H. Rogers, who visited Long Beach 

 with me in May. In concluding these 

 remarks, I may say that every species 

 noted below was identified with power- 

 ful binoculars, and seen by more than 

 one observer, and every attempt was made 

 to be accurate. 



January 8. — Fox Sparrow, i; Robin, i. 



March 12. — Redhead, 2; Prairie Horned 

 Lark, i. 



March 26. — Mallard, i; Lesser Scaup 

 Duck, 2; Snowflake, 3 — a very late date. 



April 23. — Piping Plover, 4. 



May 17. — Laughing Gull, i — a fine 

 adult bird at close range; Hudsonian 

 Curlew, 13 — (oddly enough, a flock of 

 twelve was twice observed in May, 1910, 

 in exactly the same place)*; Short-eared 

 Owl, I — a late date. 



Maj' 28. — White-rumped Sandpiper, i 

 (a broken wing permitted a very near 

 approach); Black-bellied Plover, 150; 

 Turnstone, 130. The last two species I 

 give, not for their rarity, but for the very 

 unusual numbers. There was a flock of 

 104 Turnstones, by actual count, on Point 

 Lookout — a very fine sight. 



May 30. — American Scaup Duck, i. 

 *Vide Bird-Lore Nov. -Dec, 1910. p. 247. 



