Notes from Field and Study 



165 



had just left the nest, a pair of Wrens 

 appeared. They examined the i^remises 

 very thoroughly and concluded to rent it, 

 after which they proceeded to clean it out. 

 A perfect shower of feathers came down, 

 mixed with straws and grasses, and in the 

 midst of the housecleaning the former 

 tenants put in their appearance. A lively 

 scrap ensued in which the Wrens come off 



victors, not once but several times, one 

 or the other Wren being always on guard 

 until finally the little Wrens were left in 

 peace. 



Several weeks later four babies were 

 perched on a branch and fed generously 

 within two feet of where I was hidden be- 

 hind a curtain. — Nettie Randall, Can-~ 

 Ion, Pa. 



THE SEASON 

 XIX. February 15 to April 15, 1920 



Boston Region. — Spring came slowly 

 after a long, severe winter. Traces of the 

 winter's snow, an accumulation of 74 in- 

 ches, remained on the ground well into 

 April, and during the prolonged thaw in 

 March the presence of the melting snow 

 made the springlike weather seem wintry. 

 During this period there were fewer birds 

 here in Lexington than there had been all 

 winter. In mid-February an icestorm had 

 beaten off the white ash seeds and the 

 birch catkins, evidently forcing the Pine 

 Grosbeaks and Redpolls to move off in 

 search of food. The commonest bird at 

 this time was the Robin. These birds 

 appeared in good-sized flocks on Febru- 

 ary 25 — winter Robins, big, wild birds, 

 undaunted by snow. 



As would be expected during so long 

 drawn out and gradual a change from 

 winter to spring, the first group of migrant 

 birds — those that follow the snow-line 

 closely and often arrive before the ground 

 is half exposed — straggled along in such 

 small numbers at first that no definite date 

 could be set for their arrival. On March 23, 

 the day when the Robins began to sing, 

 there was a pronounced migration of Blue- 

 birds, Song Sparrows, and Blackbirds, but 

 small numbers of individuals representing 

 these species had been reported several 

 days earlier. These birds were closely fol- 

 lowed by a flight of Fox Sparrows and 

 Juncos, and a few Phoebes, the latter bird 

 arriving on the day when flying insects 

 first made their appearance, although there 

 was much snow on the ground. 



The next group of migrants, which com- 

 prises the Vesper, Field, and Swamp Spar- 

 rows and the Pine Warbler — birds which 

 do not appear in New England until spring 

 is well established — was delayed by cold 

 weather in the first half of April, when 

 such a chilling wind blew from the nor- 

 thern snowfields that the Robins discon- 

 tinued their evening chorus. Notwith- 

 standing the absence of this group as a 

 whole, a few Vesper Sparrows and a Pine 

 Warbler were noted on April 11. The 

 Chipping Sparrow, a bird whose arrival 

 brings assurance that all wintry weather 

 is past, has not apj^eared, although over- 

 due. 



Mrs. Edmund Bridge reports the pres- 

 ence at West Medford of a bird of extreme 

 rarity in Massachusetts — two Bohemian 

 Waxwings, which were associated with a 

 flock of Cedarbirds for a few days in the 

 latter part of February. — Winsor M. 

 Tyler, M.D., Lexington, Mass. 



New York Region. — The last half of 

 February saw an increase in Redpolls, 

 now in considerable flocks, but they soon 

 disappeared again. There seems also to 

 have been a flight of Long-eared Owls at 

 this time, noted at Amityville, Douglas- 

 ton, Staten Island, Englewood, and the 

 vicinity of Plainfield. February 23 a num- 

 ber of Evening Grosbeaks were found in a 

 patch of red cedar woods at Amityville, 

 Long Island, feeding on cedar berries. 

 With them were many Goldfinches, some 

 Red Crossbills, and a few Purple Finches. 



