February Birdlife 71 



and several Palm Warblers were seen. A few Bob-whites 

 were said to be about, and one day I came upon some boys 

 who had just shot one of them. White-throated Sparrows 

 and a few Vesper Sparrows were seen, the White-throats 

 were fairly common, but no other species of our native spar- 

 rows was noted. It appears that the bulk of the Song Spar- 

 rows, etc., must spend the winter somewhere north of this 

 point. Quite a number of Loons and Red-breasted Mergan- 

 sers were seen and also a few Cormorants. 



February 5th was spent at Ocean Springs, Mississippi, just 

 across the Bay in Jackson County. It was a fine warm day 

 and birds were singing everywhere. It reminded one of mid- 

 April back in Chicago. Noisy flocks of Crackles and Red- 

 wings, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Flickers calling, Che- 

 winks and Brown Thrashers singing, as also were Mocking- 

 birds, Meadowlarks, Carolina Wrens, Tufted Titmice and 

 Cardinals. The grass was beginning to look very green and 

 long catkins were hanging from the alder bushes, or bushes 

 that looked all the world like our alder, and here and there 

 green leaves were opening-. The past winter was a cold one 

 in the South, as it was all over the country, and up to now, 

 save for the green Live Oaks and Magnolia trees, the gen- 

 eral aspect of this country was winter. But today it was 

 spring, with frogs calling and butterflies flitting here and 

 there, and in the gardens several handsome Japonicas, loaded 

 with bright red blossoms. But the orange orchards about 

 Ocean Springs had mostly been killed by the frost, and the 

 pecan crop, for the past two years, has been blown off the 

 trees before the nuts ripened, by severe storms from the Gulf. 



On February 13th I rowed over to Deer Island and watched 

 for some time several flocks of Black Skimmers. What curi- 

 ous birds they are, and their cries, as the flock circles about, 

 remind one of the barking of dog's. While on Deer Island 

 I saw two Laughing Gulls and a few Caspian or Royal Terns. 

 On entering the pine grove on the island I made another* dis- 

 covery. It was the first February mosquitoes that I ever saw 

 and they were certainly abundant and very attentive. 



