Notes from Field and Study 



303 



American Egrets in New Jersey 



The appearance, in early September, of six 

 American Egrets on the marshy banks of the 

 Shrewsbury River has aroused an interest in 

 water-birds among the bird students here, 

 and their conspicuous size and white plumage 

 did not fail to make them noticed by the 

 children pla3dng along the shore and by those 

 rowing up the river. 



We were watching from the opposite bank 

 a Great Blue Heron cautiously walking 

 along the shore lined with cattails, then 

 wading in the water for fish, when, at a short 

 distance, we could plainly see several large 

 white birds. The little Italian boys, who 

 have their playground here, informed us that 

 they had been here for more than a week and 

 that they were 'White Cranes.' 



The following day we again watched care- 

 fully through our glasses and concluded, from 

 the size, yellow bill, and dark legs, that the 

 birds could be nothing but the American 

 Egret, which doubtless have wandered north 

 after the breeding season. 



The six birds stood quiet on the shore, 

 flying to a safer distance only as some boat 

 passed by. Then we watched one walk up 

 to the Great Blue Heron, and it seemed an 

 association pleasing to both. 



At this time of the year the birds are, of 

 course, seen without their prized aigrettes, 

 but their size and white plumage make them 

 very striking. — Arline B. Hooker, Red 

 Bank, N. J. 



Scarcity of Nighthawks 



A note on the above in Bird-Lore of July 

 and August, by Mr. Fred J. Pierce, drew my 

 attention to the deplorable fact that it is not 

 only in this district of the Arrow Lakes, B. C., 

 that Nighthawks are becoming scarcer. 



I came to this country in May, 19 13. That 

 year Nighthawks were especially abundant. 

 In the evenings, and even during hot summer 

 days, one could hardly look at any point of 

 the sky without seeing several represented by 

 small specks, floating high up in the azure 

 vault. On June 27 of that year, I spent the 

 night in Whatshan Valley. After dark the 

 air seemed alive with these birds. One heard 

 their cries proceeding from every direction, 



accompanied by a continual drumming — the 

 noise emitted by the bird swooping downward. 

 That fall a vast number of them migrated 

 south, and we looked forward to seeing them 

 return in strength the following spring, but 

 were wofuUy disappointed. In 1914, very 

 few visited these pa rts, and the same may be 

 said of subsequent seasons. In the evenings 

 three or four might be seen. 



Here the falling off in numbers was both 

 very marked and very sudden. Appearing in 

 vast numbers in the spring and summer of 

 1Q13, in 1914 they had almost reached the 

 vanishing point, and this scarcity has con- 

 tinued. Perhaps there were a few more of 

 them here this summer than in 1914 and the 

 following lean years, but it is a very slight 

 increase, if any. 



What caused this sudden diminution. I 

 have proof that forest fires cause great havoc 

 with the eggs and young, and the smoke 

 hanging about a district during and after a 

 fire causes the birds to temporarily leave the 

 neighborhood, but forest fires cannot entirely 

 account for the great reduction in numbers 

 of this graceful and attractive bird. — J. E. H. 

 Kelso, M.D., Edgewood, Lower Arrow Lake, 

 B.C. 



Olive-sided Flycatcher on Long Island 



On Saturday, September 3, 19 21, 1 had the 

 good fortune to see an Olive-sided Flycatcher. 

 It came to our telephone wire, not 10 feet 

 from our piazza, and stayed from twenty 

 minutes to half an hour. We studied the bird 

 well, even using our field glasses, though it 

 was so close. The flufi'y feathers on the flank 

 were very conspicuous. There were wing- 

 bars. I am positive of our identification, I 

 saw the bird again the next day, but not 

 since. — (Mrs.) C. M. Lowerre, Southold, 

 N. Y. 



A Friendly Wood Pewee 



A friend and I had been for a cross-country 

 walk and were coming down a hillside, watch- 

 ing the birds, when my attention was sud- 

 denly attracted by a Wood Pewee, which flew 

 to a dead twig, not 3 feet above my head. I 

 called my companion's attention to it, and 

 as I spoke the bird darted at my head, coming 



