Vol. XXV 

 190S 



] EiFRiG, The Spring Migration, 1907, at Ottawa, Ont. 



Hawk; in April the Kingfisher, the Savanna and White-throated 

 Sparrows, the Hermit Thrush, etc. But these came in lesser num- 

 bers, at greater intervals, less noticeably, than in other years. 

 Then came a standstill, a lull in the migration, and that was pro- 

 longed, painfully and ominously prolonged, far into May. The 

 usual April w^eather gave way to colder weather af^'ain, and instead 

 of this being vanquished by May, it only became more pronounced. 

 On May 4 there was an uproarious snowstorm, leaving six inches 

 of snow, some of which remained till the 7th. And the cold weather 

 stayed Avith us throughout May; now and then there were light 

 snow flurries, as on the 2Sth, which appeared like a typical raw, 

 blustering April day. Nor were we, in this part of Canada, the 

 only sufferers from these untoward weather conditions; they ex- 

 tended over half of northeastern America. In Washington it was 

 the coldest May for 36 years, and during a trip the writer had 

 occasion to make in the middle of May, he found the same condi- 

 tions as here, at Detroit, Ft. Wayne, Ind., and nearly as bad at St. 

 Louis, where the unusual spectacle could be had of seeing people 

 in furs and overcoats in the middle of May. As a consequence 

 vegetable life remained at a standstill practically for four to five 

 weeks. The leaf buds on the trees did not open, the trees were 

 bare here throughout May, or very nearly so. 



The effect of all this on the migration of birds was simply disas- 

 trous. It not only delayed most species considerably, but it scat- 

 tered their bands, it decreased their numbers and caused a deplor- 

 .able mortality among certain species. — First, as to the delayment 

 in the coming of many species. From the appended comparative 

 list can be seen, that after April 28 till May 9, there was only one 

 new species recorded, the W^hippoorwill, whereas in a chronologi- 

 cally arranged list of the foregoing year there are 23 species recorded 

 within the same time! Then compare the time of arrival of the 

 following birds this year, with that of last. Chimney Swift, 1907,^ 

 May 10; 1906, April 30. House Wren, May 9, May 2. Spotted 

 Sandpiper, May 19, May 2. Black and White Warbler, May 10, 

 May 4. Yellow W^arbler, May 13, May 4. Bobolink, May 18, 

 Ma> 5. Black-throated Green Warbler, May 16, May 7. Parula 

 Warbler, May 15, May 7. Least Flycatcher, May 15, May 11. 

 Hummingbird, May 30, May 15. Wood Pewee, May 31, May 17. 



