The Season 



i6i 



the Atlantic Coast, there is a marked migra- 

 tion movement in this district. The migrating 

 birds are much less numerous, both as to 

 individuals and species, in a given period 

 than they would be in a similar period in the 

 East. 



The first migrating Western Bluebirds 

 were noted on February 3, but it was the 

 loth before any great numbers of them were 

 present. A few Bluebirds remained in this 

 district all winter, but it is quite easy to 

 detect the migration movement by the in- 

 crease in the number of individuals present. 



On February 13, while en route to Red- 

 mond, Ore., which is about 250 miles east 

 and south of Portland, immense numbers of 

 Robins were noted. This country is covered 

 with junipers, and the only thing I ever 

 noted comparable to the numbers of Robins 

 which swarmed out of the juniper trees 

 where they had been roosting, has been in 

 some of the big Crow roosts in the Middle 

 West. The Robins in this particular case 

 had been roosting alongside the track and it 

 was barely daylight when the train disturbed 

 them. They flew up and circled about like a 

 veritable swarm of bees before scattering 

 from the roost. 



On my return to Portland from the Red- 

 mond country I saw the first pair of Killdeers 

 on February 17. The numbers increased 

 daily until they were quite abundant by the 

 20th of the month. In this country the Kill- 

 deers are much more familiar birds than in 

 some other sections. I recall my astonish- 

 ment on the occasion of my first visit to the 

 Oregon Agricultural College in December, 

 about three years ago, to see hundreds of 

 Killdeers running over the campus as I had 

 been accustomed to seeing Robins in other 

 places. I have become accustomed to 

 them now but often think of my feelings 

 when I observed them at first. 



On March 17, Mr. R. C. Steele noted a 

 great flight of Geese down the Columbia 

 River. This was the first big flight of the 

 season, although small flocks and few birds 

 had been noted in January and throughout 

 February. Mr. Steele states that most of 

 the birds in the flock were Canada Geese. 



Mr. S. G. Jewett reports that on March 1 7 

 he saw three Rough-legged Hawks in Uma- 



tilla County and on the 19th a Redpoll and 

 a Say's Phoebe at Pendleton. The Redpoll 

 is rather an unusual record as they have not 

 appeared in Oregon for the past several 

 years. This particular bird was a male in 

 full plumage. On the 21st, Mr. Jewett noted 

 a Magpie nest containing three fresh eggs, 

 in the same district. 



The first migrating bands of Audubon's 

 Warblers appeared at Portland on the 

 morning of March 20. They have been 

 common ever since. On the 2 2d a single 

 Northern Violet-green Swallow was ob- 

 served in the suburbs of Portland, and on 

 the 26th great numbers of them were present. 

 On March 27, a large flock of Evening Gros- 

 beaks were present in a tree in front of the 

 hotel windows at Dallas where I was staying. 

 These birds were present every morning for 

 a week while I remained in this place. The 

 flock numbered between twenty-five and 

 fifty, varying between the two numbers. On 

 the same date the first Turkey Buzzard of 

 this season was noted. 



About April i, the weather became some- 

 what warmer and the birds appeared more 

 active and in greater numbers. The Western 

 Savanna Sparrows were noted on April i , and 

 Western Chipping Sparrows and Oregon 

 Vesper Sparrows on the 3d. All of the ordi- 

 nary spring birds, such as Bluebirds, Robins, 

 White-crowned Sparrows, Golden-crowned 

 Sparrows and others became much more 

 abundant and more noticeable at this time. 

 On April 8, the first Rufous Hummer was 

 noted. It came to a flowering currant bush 

 in the writer's yard and has appeared there 

 daily since. On April 9, a field trip of con- 

 siderable duration was taken but no new 

 migrating birds were noted although there 

 was a great increase in the Golden-crowned 

 Kinglets in the coniferous forests. Both 

 Oregon and Chestnut-backed Chickadees 

 were also common, and California Creepers 

 and Seattle Wrens were noted to be particu- 

 larly numerous for this season of the year. 

 This is particularly true of the California 

 Creeper. Fully a dozen were noted during the 

 trip, which is probably as many as the writer 

 has seen altogether in western Oregon. On 

 my return to Portland on April i I noted 

 that the abundant Gulls which have been 



