o1 ' 1920 VI1 ] Helmuts, Notes while in Naval Service. 259 



week in April; the height of general migration occurring on April 27. No 

 general movement of winter resident species even, was observed there until 

 March 22 (1919), at a point much further south than Pensacola. 



From the above it might be supposed that the migration on the north- 

 western corner of the peninsula begins at a much earlier date than on the 

 east coast, or even on the peninsula proper. 



V 



Notes from Mississippi Delta and Gulf of Mexico, late 



March. 



March 22, 1918. Bird life on Mississippi Delta. Sailing from a point 

 twenty miles south of South Pass, up the river to New Orleans. When 

 about twelve miles from the Delta we encountered huge beds of Ring- 

 billed and Herring Gulls, chiefly the former, resting on the already turbid 

 and muddy water. This muddy water lay like a film of oil over the clear 

 water below, and our passage separated the film, leaving a clear, limpid 

 wake behind, over which the Herring, Laughing, and Ring-billed Gulls 

 fairly swarmed, as well as several Pelicans and Royal Terns. As far as we 

 could see were banks of gulls, like patches of snow on a muddy plain, and 

 the Pelicans in the distance were beyond all estimation. Saw many Royal 

 Terns and about twenty smaller terns, resembling the Common Tern in 

 general appearance, but too far away to identify. 



A flock of Redheads flew over the ship, and we saw several dozen Can- 

 vasbacks, which struck me as rather remarkable. Cormorants were abun- 

 dant in small flocks of from five to eight near the entrance of the river. 

 Saw a few Bonaparte's Gulls also. 



As we entered the pass a flock of at least 2000 Pelicans rose from a sandy 

 point beyond the breakwater with a tremendous flapping of wings, and 

 hundreds of ducks started from the reeds on all sides whenever we blew 

 our whistle. Royal Terns were common in large flocks here, as well as in 

 the marshes, remaining so until the character of the country changed de- 

 cidedly. Brown Pelicans were everywhere, flying along in big strings. 

 These became less and less common as we ascended the river. 



Throughout the delta, and for a considerable distance up the river (as 

 far as Point l'Hache), the most evident and abundant land bird was the 

 Boat-tailed Grackle. They were new birds to me and I was struck by 

 their large size, their shrill piercing whistle, the difference between the 

 two sexes, and, in short, their utter dissimilarity to our Purple Crackles. 

 They were present everywhere on the lower river, in huge flocks mostly, 

 but many scattered individuals were seen at the same time. With them 

 were quantities of Red-winged Blackbirds, in scattered colonies. 



In the marshes there were ducks by the thousand, and our whistle 

 never failed to scare up a perfect cloud of them. Mallards, Shovelers, 

 both Teal, and Pintail were the commonest species, named in order of 

 abundance. The Pintail, though seen everywhere, were numerically less 



