M ™vi] General Notes . 103 



data regarding the effects of the present ban on spring shooting, the writer 

 has decided to place on record a series of observations made during the 

 past two seasons in the township of Hamburg. The species noted were all 

 seen on the wet meadows which lie between the highway and Lake Erie, 

 directly north of the village of Woodlawn. The area, according to the 

 map, is about a quarter of a mile wide and half a mile deep, and is the prop- 

 erty of the Lackawanna Steel Company, whose immense plant is situated 

 only a short distance away to the north. Interurban cars pass to and fro 

 at frequent intervals on the tracks along the highway, and the highway 

 itself carries a heavy traffic. Moreover, a railroad track runs along the 

 north and west sides of the region, and here a switch engine is almost con- 

 tinually at work. 



Mr. James Savage of Buffalo, a well-known western New York observer, 

 was the first to discover that the meadows were used as feeding grounds by 

 migratory water fowl and shore birds. On Sunday, May 13, 1917, he was 

 returning by automobile to his home in the city after an early morning 

 excursion in the woods of East Hamburg with the writer. As he stopped 

 his car on the turnpike to scan the flooded fields, he was very much sur- 

 prised to note two beautiful Mallard drakes and a duck, and also sixteen 

 pairs of Pintails. It was clearly evident that the latter species had already 

 mated, for the birds were feeding or resting two and two. The individuals 

 of both species had probably been on the meadows for some time, as no 

 attention was paid to passing traffic or to the switch engine working on 

 the lake side of them. Four Greater Yellow-legs, two Lesser Yellow- 

 legs, and one Pectoral Sandpiper were also seen, besides some smaller 

 species which could not be identified on account of the great distance, 

 as Mr. Savage made all of the observations without getting out of his 

 automobile. 



The writer was unable to visit the locality until the following Saturday, 

 May 19. There were only two pairs of Pintails left at that time; these 

 were very tame and permitted him to approach within about thirty feet 

 before they finally flew off toward Lake Erie. Although the Mallards and 

 Yellow-legs were not found, two Pectoral Sandpipers, four Red-backed 

 Sandpipers and four Semipalmated Plovers were noted near the highway. 

 The occurrence of Pelidna alpiun sakhalina at this season is somewhat 

 noteworthy, as spring records for western New York are scarce. Two of 

 the specimens were in full plumage and showed the characteristic red backs 

 and black bellies; the slightly curved bills of all four were easily visible. 

 The Red-backs were especially sluggish; they waded slowly around and 

 leisurely probed for food, allowing one to approach within fifteen or twenty 

 feet. 



During the following spring four visits were paid to the area; these were 

 begun in late April in order to list some of the earlier Anatinse. On April 

 21, 1918, there were feeding on the meadows one pair of Blue-winged Teals, 

 one Pintail drake, and a single Coot. On April 22, however, the number 



