The Season 



183 



doubtless a bird that had been seen at in- 

 tervals all winter in the city limits, perhaps 

 the same individual that has spent the 

 winter near the Harvard College grounds 

 for a number of seasons. In the outlying 

 country, Flickers seem notably scarcer 

 than in other years. Possibly many win- 

 tering birds succumbed to the severity of 

 the previous winter. 



About March 20, single male Robins 

 appeared in the gardens and yards of Cam- 

 bridge and vicinity, the local summer resi- 

 dent birds arriving, no doubt, for they 

 seemed at home at once. A blizzard in the 

 last days of March, with snow and cold 

 ranging to 14 degrees above zero, caused a 

 temporary disappearance of Bluebirds at 

 Arlington, where so many had been seen 

 shortly before. The other birds seemed to 

 have survived well, however, gathering 

 into sheltered spots and about the springs, 

 although there were reports of many 

 killed. A visitation of Killdeers accom- 

 panying this storm was a remarkable fea- 

 ture. Single birds were reported afterward 

 from several localities. 



April to the middle of the month, has 

 been a seasonable period, with warm rains, 

 east winds, and fair days, in typical New 

 England fashion. Vesper Sparrows came 

 on the 6th, and numbers in full song were 

 seen on later days. Crows were nest-build- 

 ing at the same time. The 13th saw many 

 arrivals — some of birds that average a few 

 days later here. Thus were noted Barn 

 Swallows, Yellow Palm Warblers, Ruby- 

 crowned Kinglets, and Hermit Thrushes. 

 Tree Swallows and Cowbirds had come a 

 few days previously. 



Of the winter birds, Northern Shrikes 

 stayed well into March, one being seen on 

 the 20th at Arlington; Redpolls were re- 

 ported there on March 7th. Evening Gros- 

 beaks mostly disappeared during Feb- 

 ruary, though a late report of a few birds 

 seen in Essex County brought their stay 

 into early April. A few Hairy Wood- 

 peckers still frequent the woods and come 

 freely into the more settled parts of the 

 towns. Herring Gulls no longer gather in 

 such large numbers in the Back Bay basin 

 as they did in winter, but a few continue 



to frequent its waters daily. On the whole, 

 the spring is hopefully normal so far. — 

 Glover M. Allen, Boston, Mass. 



New York Region. — The mild winter 

 was followed by an early spring, with bud- 

 ding vegetation and earliest flowers un- 

 usually advanced as to date, and the first 

 migrant birds came back at dates averag- 

 ing earlier than usual. A flock of Rusty 

 Blackbirds in song and several scattered 

 Robins were noted at Mastic, Long Island, 

 February 22. Crackles appeared in Garden 

 City, February 27. In this west-central 

 part of the Island, a few Meadowlarks 

 (surprisingly absent during the present 

 winter) began to be noticed during the 

 first week in March, and the species was 

 fairly common by the 20th of the month. 

 At Plainfield, N. J. (W. DeW. Miller), 

 Cowbirds and Rusty Blackbirds were first 

 seen on March 2, and the Hermit Thrush 

 on March 30. The first ten days of April 

 more than the usual number of migrant 

 species were reported in Central Park, 

 New York City. A sharp cold snap the 

 last of March seems not to have delayed 

 the arrival of birds, with the possible ex- 

 ception of the Chipping Sparrow. The 

 first Chipping Sparrow was noted at Gar- 

 den City April 10, just a week later than 

 in 1918. During this two-month period, a 

 small flight of Pine Siskins has been noticed 

 in several localities. 



This last Sunday (April 13) was a windy 

 day on Long Island, alternately overcast 

 and chilly, bright and sunny. A Robin 

 was seen sitting and a Song Sparrow carry- 

 ing nesting material. In the woodland, a 

 scattered flock of about ten Yellow Palm 

 Warblers was moving through the under- 

 growth; nearby was a Sapsucker that had 

 driven a row of punctures in one of the 

 trees. A number of Cowbirds were on the 

 ground among some cattle in a meadow. 

 In town, toward sunset, a Hermit Thrush 

 was seen to fly up into the trees. For a 

 week or two Flickers have been much in 

 evidence, alternately calling and drum- 

 ming, their drumming with more of a whirr 

 to it than that of Hairy or Downy Wood- 

 peckers. — J. T. Nichols, New York City. 



