i68 



Bird - Lore 



snowstorms and freezing temperatures. 

 The early arrivals among the birds, and 

 especially the early ground-nesting spe- 

 cies, as, for example, the Horned Lark, 

 must have had a hard struggle and met 

 with many disasters. 



After a few bitter cold days, with tem- 

 peratures far below zero, in the third week 

 of February, there came a spell of milder 

 weather and disappearing snows that 

 seemed to promise an early spring; but on 

 March 3 occurred the terrible blizzard 

 that swept the whole Middle West, accom- 

 panied by the greatest single snowfall of 

 the whole winter — about a level foot. 

 Several subzero days followed, terminating 

 on March 9 in a mild, springlike day with 

 a maximum of 46 degrees above, "the 

 warmest day here since last November" 

 (Weather Bureau). But on the isth came 

 another blizzard, much snow, and a hard 

 freeze; a brief respite and then nine inches 

 of snow on the night of the i8th. The first 

 really warm days followed, with occasional 

 noon temperatures of 60 degrees, a heavy, 

 warm rain on the 23d which rotted the ice 

 in lakes and streams (the ice went out of 

 the Mississippi River above the falls on 

 the 24th), and the month closed with an 

 almost July-like day with temperature 

 72 degrees — a most unusual record. A few 

 brief hours of this and then April came in 

 like the proverbial lion with snow, high 

 north winds, and freezing temperatures, — 

 plus 13 degrees on the 2d, — and this sort 

 of weather has continued, with only slight 

 intermissions ever since. The smaller and 

 medium-sized lakes hereabout were clear 

 of ice on April 15, due chiefly to surface 

 drainage and the warm rain on March 23, 

 but the larger lakes were open only around 

 the shores and in the smaller bays. Lake- 

 ice formed during the past winter to 

 the astonishing thickness of thirty-eight 

 inches ! 



It can readily be imagined what the 

 effects of such a spring must have been on 

 the early migrant birds. The warm spells 

 lured them onward, and then suddenly 

 they were confronted with all the rigors 

 and privations of midwinter, to avoid 

 which they had retreated to the Southland 



the previous fall. Tlie rather brief dura- 

 tion of the cold spells has been the only 

 mitigating circumstance. 



The following bird-notes are all for the 

 vicinity of Minneapolis, and have been 

 largely taken from reports kindly con- 

 tributed to the Museum by several local 

 observers. 



The first migrant seen was a single Crow, 

 on March 9, followed on the i6th by a 

 flock of 20 which came up the Mississippi 

 gorge battling against a fierce, bitter cold 

 wind that was blowing at the time. Two 

 Bluebirds arrived on the 15th (Mrs. 

 Mclntire) and a 'flock' on the 19th (Chap- 

 man), encountering heavy snow and freez- 

 ing temperatures. Robins appeared on the 

 i8th; Meadowlarks on the 20th (Miss 

 Edgar); Red-winged Blackbirds and Song 

 Sparrows on the 21st; Golden-crowned 

 Kinglets (Thayer), a Red-tailed Hawk, 

 and a Red-headed Woodpecker (Mrs. Mc- 

 lntire) on the 22d; Fox Sparrows (Green) 

 on the 23d, at which time Tree Sparrows 

 and Juncos were migrating in large num- 

 bers. On the 25th, Purple Finches were 

 numerous and in full song, and Horned 

 Larks, a Killdeer, a Flicker, Marsh Hawks, 

 and a flock of 200 Bohemian Waxwings 

 were seen in the vicinity of the city by 

 Mrs. W. E. Albee. Phoebes (Zeleny), a 

 Migrant Shrike, a Kingfisher, and a Broad- 

 winged Hawk (Mrs. Albee) and many 

 Rusty Blackbirds (Mrs. Mclntire) were re- 

 ported on the 28th. The first Herring Gulls 

 were seen in the Mississippi gorge on the 

 29th (Mclntire); an early Sapsucker on 

 the 30th (Caroline Crosby) and the first 

 Loon on April 8 (Hussy). Martins were 

 reported from the southern part of the 

 state (Harry Boogan, Madelia, Watonwan 

 County) on the exceptionally early date 

 of March 31, and these so-called 'scouting 

 birds' were seen at Minneapolis about a 

 week later. The first Hermit Thrushes 

 appeared on April 14 (Commons). 



Mid-April arrived with all vegetation 

 much less advanced than at the same time 

 last year. The catkins on the hazel, the 

 poplar, and the willow were developed 

 only in favored places. The pasque flower, 

 the hepatica, and the bloodroot had been 



