44 



Bird - Lore 



has been recorded at Mt. Holly. A more 

 or less systematic count was made of the 

 Crows coming into the Mt. Holly Crow- 

 roost, which reached a total somewhere 

 between 10,000 and 12,000 birds. This 

 seems to be one of the few remaining popu- 

 lous Crow-roosts in southern New Jersey. 



Other noteworthy winter birds occurring 

 this season are Shrikes (probably both 

 Northern and Migrant), Saw- whet Owls, 

 and Siskins, the last quite abundant. 



A few statements regarding the great 

 abundance of Ducks and Geese on the New 

 Jersey coast will not come amiss at this 

 time. Gunners say 'thousands', 'rafts,' etc. 

 Mr. S. C. Kimble, who spent a few days 

 along the shores of Barnegat Bay the first 

 week in December, said that he saw one 

 flock of ducks which contained at least 5,000, 

 and a flock of Canada Geese that contained 

 r,ooo, which rose from the water with a 

 'thunderous roar.' On December 4, in a 

 walk along the beach from Sea Isle City to 

 Corson's Inlet, N. J., six 'rafts' of Ducks 

 (mostly Black, resting on the ocean just 

 beyond the breakers) were seen. These 

 'rafts' contained anywhere from 500 to 

 1,000 birds apiece. White-winged Scoters 

 were present in hundreds; 5 Bufflehead and 

 2 Ruddy Ducks were noted. At this time, 

 also, 5 Sanderling, 10 Black-breasted Plover 

 and a flock of 30 or more Red-backed Sand- 

 pipers were observed. — Julian K. Potter, 

 Camden, N. J . 



Washington Region. — The seasonal ebb 

 and flow of bird-life is one of the most at- 

 tractive phases of bird-study. Nor is this 

 attractiveness much the less because observa- 

 tions are limited to a restricted region. Here 

 at Washington, although we are, as is well 

 known, on a tributary of the main stream 

 of north and south bird migration that flows 

 along the Atlantic Coast, there are, never- 

 theless, some interesting features. One of 

 these is the comparison of the bird move- 

 ments of one year with those of another, 

 and again with what might be termed the 

 average, or better, the normal year, a 

 criterion obtained from a long series of 

 yearly observations. 



From the height of migration in September 



the tide at Washington gradually subsides 

 through October and November, until by 

 the last of the latter month practically all 

 our summer residents and transients have 

 passed southward. Meanwhile, beginning in 

 September, the influx of our winter residents 

 takes place, and by the last of October all 

 are here except a few which do not usually 

 put in their appearance until the first week 

 of November. 



This year's (1921) bird-life has been about 

 normal during October and November. The 

 regular winter residents, such as the Rusty 

 Blackbird, Purple Finch, White-throated 

 Sparrow, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Brown 

 Creeper, and Winter Wren, have put in 

 their appearance as usual. The Red- 

 breajted Nuthatch, while present, was 

 apparently not as common as it ordinarily 

 is, and the Carolina Wren, a permanent 

 resident, seems not yet fully to have re- 

 covered its former numbers. 



The generally mild weather that has pre- 

 vailed during these two months might have 

 been responsible for the early arrival of the 

 Fox Sparrow, which was seen on October 9 

 by Dr. A. K. Fisher at Plummer Island, Md., 

 nineteen days ahead of its normal arrival, 

 a record almost equal to its earliest appear- 

 ance October 3, 1906. Similarly, the Slate- 

 colored Junco, which was seen by B. H. 

 Swales at Chevy Chase, Md., on October 3. 

 was in advance of its regular date of appear- 

 ance, which is October 7. 



Likewise, the lack of severe cold weather 

 induced some species to remain rather 

 longer than common. Such are the House 

 Wren, seen on October 23 by Dr. A. Wetmore 

 at Plummer Island, Md., a week beyond its 

 usual time of October 16, and the Solitary 

 Sandpiper, noted by the same observer at 

 Dyke, Va., October 22, twenty days later 

 than usual. One species, the Canada War- 

 bler, was observed at Plummer Island, Md., 

 by Dr. A. Wetmore on October 23, and was 

 thus several days beyond its previously 

 latest date of October n, 1908. 



The Pileated Woodpecker was again seen 

 by Dr. A. K. Fisher at Plummer Island, Md., 

 on October 2, possibly the same individual 

 as the one previously reported by him on 

 September 11. 



