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Bird - Lore 



Francis Harper as common throughout 

 February at Camp Meade, Md. A large 

 companj^ of Fox Sparrows, numbering 

 some 150 individuals, was observed at 

 Falls Church, Va., March 15, 19x8, by 

 Mr. I. N. Gabrielson; and a small flight of 

 Red-tail Hawks, numbering 20 individuals, 

 was noted at the same place by the same 

 observer on March 6, 1918. The Great 

 Horned Owl, which is regarded as a rare 

 bird in this vicinity, was found by Mr. 

 Raymond W. Moore at Kensington, Md., 

 several times between March 6 and 10, 

 probably nesting in that vicinity. A single 

 Bronzed Crackle, abird of rare and irregidar 

 occurrence in this vicinity, was seen in the 

 grounds of the Agricultural Department 

 on March 18, and, possibly the same 

 individual, on one or two subsequent 

 dates in the same vicinity. — Harry C. 

 Oberholser, Biological Survey, Washing- 

 Ion, D. C. 



Oberlin Region. — The 1918 season 

 opened with the arrival of Crows, Blue- 

 birds and Robins on February 14, which 

 is the earhest date in the history of this 

 region. There was no further movement 

 until a Killdeer appeared on the 2 2d. 

 On the first day of March there was a 

 considerable movement of Crows, Blue- 

 birds, Robins, and Song Sparrows, fol- 

 lowed two days later by the first Meadow- 

 lark, Bronzed Crackles, and Mourning 

 Doves. During this period of unseasonable 

 warmth the resident Woodpeckers, White- 

 breasted Nuthatches, and Tufted Titmice 

 began their courting. 



The next migration movement occurred 

 on March 13, with the arrival of the 

 Rusty Blackbird and Towhee, and a 

 decided increase of the Meadowlark and 

 Bronzed Crackle. On the i6th the Red- 

 winged Blackbird and Mourning Dove 

 became common, and the Migrant Shrike 

 and Cowbird arrived. The next day Blue- 

 birds became common and the Fox 

 Sparrow arrived. The rest of March 

 witnessed the usual scattering arrivals of 

 Field Sparrows on the 20th, Phoebe on 

 the 2ist, and Belted Kingfisher on the 23d, 

 with an increase of earlier arrivals. 



The largest wave thus far began on 

 March 31 and extended to April 8. The 

 Turkey Vulture and Vesper Sparrow came 

 on the 31st, Pectoral Sandpiper on the ist. 

 Swamp Sparrow and Bittern on the 2d, 

 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on the 3d, 

 Wilson's Snipe and Brown Thrasher on 

 the 5th, Chipping Sparrow on the 6th, 

 House Wren on the 7th and Purple Martin 

 on the 8th; and a decided increase of 

 species which had arrived earlier. 



While the weather of the latter half of 

 February and nearly the whole of March 

 was unusually warm and bright, the mi- 

 grations, after the first arrivals on Feb- 

 ruary 14, were late and slow. Ducks were 

 conspicuous by their almost entire absence, 

 and Woodcock and Wilson's Snipe were 

 not found until it was unusually late for 

 them. Vesper Sparrows usually come in a 

 great swarm on the first day, but even at 

 this writing they are less common than 

 usual. 



The exceptionally hard winter brought 

 about almost an extinction of the Bob- 

 white. Until December there were numer- 

 ous coveys on all sides of town. Now only 

 a single pair can be located in the whole 

 region. — Lynds Jones, Oberlin, Ohio. 



Minnesota Region. — The third week 

 of February was a continuation of our 

 unusually severe winter, a temperature of 

 14° below being recorded on the 20th and 

 2ist. But from this time began a remark- 

 ably mild and beautiful spring, broken by 

 only a single setback which occurred 

 March 9, when a terrific bhzzard, with a 

 very heavy snowfall, swept the entire 

 state. But warm days followed immediate- 

 ly, and this snow quickly disappeared, 

 except up north, and a spring, a week 

 or ten days ahead of the ordinary, was 

 ushered in to continue until the present 

 date. Robins appeared in numbers in 

 the vicinity of the Twin Cities in the 

 middle of March and reached the "Range" 

 country above Duluth, where much snow 

 and ice still Hngered, by the end of the 

 month. On March 25, the ice went out of 

 the Mississippi River for some distance 

 above St. Anthony Falls (Minneapolis) 



