88 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



gardens. A few flowers were in bloom until the 26th. The 

 month was mainly mild, with much rain during the first half 

 and only one real snowstorm, which began on the night of the 

 26th, and left about 5 inches of snow on the ground. This 

 storm was preceded by the coldest day of the month. In 

 places the thermometer registered several degrees below the 

 zero mark. Some of the small ponds of Massachusetts were 

 iced over during a brief period of cold early iji the month, 

 but after that most of the ponds and lakes were open until 

 the 26th. 



A Great Dearth of Land Birds. — Notwithstanding the mild- 

 ness of the season, most correspondents reported a greater 

 dearth of land birds than was observed even in November, 

 1920. Many said that they had never seen so little bird life 

 at that season of the year. The scarcity of waterfowl was not 

 so great as that of land birds, but water birds decreased after 

 the 20th along the Massachusetts coast, and apparently in- 

 creased for a time on the shores of Rhode Island and Con- 

 necticut. 



No Flight of Boreal Birds. — There was almost no evidence 

 of a southward movement of boreal winter birds. Apparently 

 the large supply of food in the north held them there, although 

 a similar supply in much of the New England region did not 

 retain many of the winter residents here. This state of affairs 

 lent color to the theory that many individuals of our so-called 

 winter residents are migrator}^, and that most of the individuals 

 of such species as usually are found here in winter really come 

 from farther north. The winter movement toward the seacoast 

 and river valleys was apparent as usual, but it was least 

 noticeable among Crows, Blue Jays, Starlings, nuthatches and 

 woodpeckers, excepting the Flicker. 



Dovekies netted by the Bushel. — Very few Arctic water birds 

 appeared on the coast, except Dovekies, which were numerous 

 offshore. It was asserted that two bushels of these birds 

 were taken at one time in gill nets off the Massachusetts coast. 

 There were several reports of an Arkansas Kingbird in Essex 

 County; Red-winged Blackbirds were reported during the 

 month on Cape Cod, Block Island, Rhode Island, the southern 

 coast of Connecticut, and in New Jersey. No flocks of Cow- 



