The Season 



"3 



ditions of bird-life during the first month 

 (when insects, as aphides etc., were still in 

 evidence) are more adequately portrayed 

 by Christmas Census reports in Bird- 

 Lore's last issue, than space permits here. 

 The outstanding feature, correlated with 

 weather, was the scattered reports of sum- 

 mer or fall birds of abnormal occurrence in 

 winter. Such are Vesper Sparrow at Van 

 Cortlandt Park, December 29, Killdeer, 

 Red-winged Blackbird, Cowbird, Tow- 

 hee and Chipping Sparrow in the Bronx, 

 January 3, (reported to the Linnsean So- 

 ciety by E. G. Nichols) ; a female Towhee 

 at Hempstead, Long Island, December 28 

 (Theodore Roehner); a Nashville Warbler 

 in the northern outskirts of the city up 

 to January 9 (S. H. Chubb and W. De- 

 Witt Miller). Report reached us that a 

 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was wintering 

 in the Bronx, and that a Brown Thrasher 

 had been seen there in February, but 

 the last month was in the main featureless. 

 Stragglers from the flight of Pine Gros- 

 beaks which earlier swept across New- 

 England, penetrated our region to the 

 northwest. 



Throughout the winter there was a 

 dearth of water-fowl at the shore. It 

 can not be said that none of the northern 

 species were present, as a Glaucous Gull 

 was observed off the Battery, February 10 

 (Ludlow Griscom). The Golden-crowned 

 Kinglet was unusually scarce. Locally, at 

 least, there was a scarcity of certain other 

 land-birds which in most winters are 

 present in moderate though reduced 

 numbers. On west-central Long Island 

 where the writer resides, the Meadow- 

 lark is such a species. Ordinarily the 

 Meadowlark is here a rather common 

 winter bird, but this year they disappeared 

 abruptly at the close of the fall migration. 

 The same thing is true of the Myrtle 

 Warbler further east at Mastic on the 

 south shore. The most ready explanation 

 is to be found in the very severe weather 

 of the preceding winter during the close 

 of which these two species had become 

 rare and absent respectively in the locali- 

 ties stated. The individual birds which 

 perished (of course) or were driven out 



last year did not attempt to winter this 

 year. 



This year the last autumn and first 

 spring song of the Song Sparrow both fall 

 in this period. December 15, at Garden 

 City, Long Island, a moist, unseasonably 

 warm day, one was singing repeatedly 

 full song, and Mr. W. DeW. Miller re- 

 ports one in full song at Plainfield, N. J., 

 February 2. — J. T. Nichols, New York 

 City. 



Philadelphia Region. — A sharp con- 

 trast to last winter's bitter cold and heavy 

 snowfall is the present winter's mild 

 weather and warm rains. The temperature 

 for December averaged five degrees above 

 normal, and that of January, six degrees. 

 As for snow, there has, up to the present, 

 February 10, practically been none; a few 

 flurries and about two inches February 7, 

 which quickly melted, gives a very good 

 idea of the total amount fallen. Extracts 

 from the writer's notes taken January i, 

 when the temperature reached sixty-two 

 degrees, read as follows: "In more pro- 

 tected swamps skunk cabbage shows per- 

 ceptible growth, elder shows new sprouts. 

 Faint notes of the little Hyla heard today." 

 These notes show to some extent the 

 unusual mildness of the winter. The 

 weather, of course, has had more or less 

 effect on the winter bird-life and a number 

 of species that are normally almost, if 

 not quite, entirely absent, are present 

 in variable numbers. A flock of eleven 

 Killdeer, December 25, Black-crowned 

 Night Heron, December 28, Kingfisher, 

 January i, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Jan- 

 uary 5, all at Camden, N. J., and a Myrtle 

 Warbler at Sewell, N. J., January 26, 

 point to abnormal weather conditions 

 and all of these birds at least could hardly 

 be found during an average winter here- 

 abouts. 



By late January some of the early spring 

 migrants had already put in an appearance, 

 two weeks to a month before the average 

 date of arrival; Camden, N. J., January 26, 

 Bluebirds, Red-winged Blackbirds, and 

 Rusty Blackbirds; Februarj^ 9, several 

 flocks of Robins. 



