The Season 



49 



with iio really winter weather until 

 mid-December. There were a few isolated 

 days, in late November, when the tempera- 

 ture went somewhat below freezing, but 

 there was no snow on the ground during 

 the whole of November. 



The Swallows and Swifts left on October 

 lo, because of a cold rain which continued 

 for three days. The distinctively winter 

 birds, such as Juncos, Tree Sparrows, 

 Purple Finches, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 

 came on October i8, at which time nearly 

 normal winter conditions began, with only 

 Robins, Bronzed Crackles, Red- winged 

 and Rusty Blackbirds, Meadowlarks, 

 Killdeers, and Bluebirds to fall off in 

 numbers. 



There has, thus far, been no reason why 

 the casual winter visitors should come as 

 far south as this, and none have been seen. 

 The first real winter weather, accompanied 

 by a fall of snow, began on December 13, 

 and continues to date (the iSth). People 

 have begun to feed the Cardinals, and the 

 Flickers, Chickadees, Downy and Hairy 

 Woodpeckers are again gathering about 

 the lunch-counters which are provided for 

 them. — Lynds Jones, Oberlin, Ohio. 



Minnesota Region. — Following the 

 continued mild weather of early fall, there 

 was a rather sudden change to unusually 

 early winter conditions in the latter part 

 of October. On October 23, a severe 

 snowstorm occurred over northern Min- 

 nesota, nearly a foot of snow falling in the 

 central portion, which had increased to 

 some fifteen inches by the 27th. On the 

 latter date, the first snow fell at Minnea- 

 polis, and the following day the ground was 

 frozen and a wintry aspect prevailed, 

 with the thermometer + 20 degrees. Up 

 at Moorhead, on the western border of 

 the state, the temperature was + 2 

 degrees. So abrupt was the onset of the 

 cold that many hunting parties in the 

 upper parts of the state were caught 

 unprepared, and, in some instances, under- 

 went rather severe experiences. Thus, the 

 sudden freezing, on the 29th, of Leech 

 Lake, a large body of water in the center 

 of the state, a little north of the latitude 



of Duluth, caused the marooning of a party 

 of duck-hunters on one of the islands, and 

 their release was only effected by breaking 

 the ice with a strong logging steamer. 

 Traveling in the forests became difficult, 

 and several men were lost. Snows have 

 been frequent all over this upper country 

 to the present time, and in places the 

 accumulation has reached as much as 

 3 feet in depth. 



By November 2 the small lakes and 

 ponds in the vicinity of Minneapolis were 

 finally frozen over, and many Ducks, taken 

 by surprise, were to be seen sitting about 

 in disconsolate groups on the surface of 

 the ice. November continued cold there- 

 after, with frequent light snows. December 

 opened with a minus 12 degrees in the a m. 

 at Minneapolis, and a subzero day through- 

 out. This sort of weather has continued, 

 with little let-up, to the present date. The 

 whole state is now covered with snow — 

 several inches in the southern part, i to 3 

 feet in the northern part. 



Navigation closed on Lake Superior 

 December 9, after many terrible and 

 disastrous storms, and the lake is now 

 frozen to an extent unusual at this time 

 of year. On December 8, the temperature 

 was minus 26 degrees at Duluth and 

 minus 20 degrees at Moorhead, over on 

 the Red River of the North. Winter 

 came upon us early and intensely. 



The great abundance of Ducks that 

 appeared in Minnesota in the early fall 

 continued throughout the remainder of 

 the season until the 'freeze up' and may 

 be regarded as the salient feature of the 

 autumn bird movement. Not only were 

 the numbers greater than for some years 

 past, but the variety of species represented 

 at most localities was unusual. Canvas- 

 backs, Redheads, Scaups, and even White- 

 winged Scoters were frequent in the 

 eastern part of the state where they are 

 fiormally uncommon. It would appear 

 that there was a more than ordinary flight 

 of Ducks into Minnesota this year from 

 the northwestern breeding-grounds. Every- 

 where duck-hunters made easy and varied 

 limit-'bags.' But the early cold weather 

 put a premature and sudden end to the 



