Notes from Field and Study 



211 



were reported found dead or dying, some 

 very much emaciated. 



The second week in June (Black-poll 

 Warbler, June 9 and 11, Crosswicks, N. J. 

 — Mr. C. H. Rogers) saw the end of the 

 migration, which was the longest drawn 

 out, in many respects the most interesting 

 ever witnessed in this vicinity. — -Julian 

 K. Potter, Camden, N. J. 



Washington Region. — April and May 

 showed a continuance of the peculiar 

 conditions of March. The migration as a 

 whole proved to be exceedingly interest- 

 ing and furnished many unusual records. 

 Notwithstanding the cold weather, which, 

 excepting for a few days, continued 

 throughout the entire period of migration, 

 a number of early migrants arrived ahead 

 of time, several of them earlier than pre- 

 viously recorded. Among these may be 

 mentioned the following (the dates in 

 parentheses representing their earliest pre- 

 vious records) : The Indigo Bunting, April 

 22 (April 25, 1908); Yellow-breasted Chat, 

 April 14 (April 16, 1876); Blue- winged War- 

 bler, April 24 (April 26, 1891); Northern 

 Water- Thrush, April 21 (April 22,1894); 

 Rose-breasted Grosbeak, April 29 (May i, 

 1907); Whip-poor-will, April i (April 8, 

 1909) and the Greater Yellowlegs, April 

 8 (April 19, 1887). 



All the Swallows, except the Bank 

 Swallow, arrived about a week ahead of 

 their usual time, and many other species 

 several days in advance of the average. 

 On the other hand, a number of species, 

 particularly the late migrants, were very 

 much behind time, showing thus the great 

 irregularity of this year's migration. For 

 example, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo and the 

 Black-billed Cuckoo came on May 11, 

 four days late; Ruby- throated Humming- 

 bird, May II, ten days late; Warbling 

 Vireo, May 11, ten days late; Nighthawk, 

 May II, eight days late; Bay-breasted 

 Warbler, May 17, six days late; Yellow- 

 bellied Flycatcher, May 24, ten days late. 



The first appearance of most of the 

 species that arrived ahead of time, as well 

 as of other common birds that arrived 

 about as usual were, however, represented 



by one or two, or at most, a few individuals, 

 and the bulk of the species was consider- 

 ably delayed in arriving. 



Evidently influenced by the unseason- 

 ably cool weather, the winter residents and 

 migrants remained much later than usual, 

 in many instances far beyond any pre- 

 viously known record, and at the present 

 writing (May 31) many migrants are still 

 here. Some of the most interesting are as 

 follows, the date in parentheses indicating, 

 as before, the latest known previous occur- 

 rence: Bufflehead, April 15 (April 10, 1859); 

 Ring-necked Duck, April 11 (March 13, 

 1842); Goldeneye, May 20 (April i, 1859); 

 Lesser Yellowlegs, May 17 (May i, 1900); 

 Red-backed Sandpiper, May 12 (April 22, 

 1887); Herring Gull, May 20 (May 10, 

 1887); Ring-billed Gull, May 20 (April 28, 

 1887) ; Sora, May 20 (May 5, 1900) ; Swamp 

 Sparrow, May 27 (May 19, 1859). 



A number of birds of rare occurrence 

 about Washington made their appearance 

 during April and May, among them the 

 Double-crested Cormorant, seen on several 

 days in May, the latest by Mr. L. D. 

 Miner on May 20; the Laughing Gull, 

 seen on May 20; the Black Tern, seen on 

 May 17 and on several earlier dates; 

 the Caspian Tern, noted on May 20 and 

 several earlier dates; the Common Tern, 

 on May 20 and 26 and on several earlier 

 dates; the Northern Pileated Woodpecker, 

 seen on April 13; the Red-backed Sand- 

 piper, seen May 12; the Little Blue Heron 

 seen by Mr. William Palmer at Miller, 

 Va., in May; and the Prothonotary 

 Warbler, seen on May 13, at Falls Church, 

 Va., by Mr. L N. Gabrielson. 



Furthermore, a number of species, in- 

 cluding several of more or less uncommon 

 occurrence in this region, have been un- 

 usually numerous this spring. Such are 

 the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, White- 

 crowned Sparrow, Northern Water-Thrush 

 and Blue-winged, Black-throated Green, 

 Cape May, Bay-breasted, Mourning and 

 Tennessee Warblers. 



Birds as a whole were this spring rather 

 unusually abundant, and this, in combina- 

 tion with the large number of exceptional 

 occurrences and late records, make the 



