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Bird - Lore 



Philadelphia Region. — Continued 

 mild weather prevailed throughout Feb- 

 ruary and March. The heaviest snowfall 

 of the winter, three inches, occurred 

 March 14, but scarcely remained a day. 

 During the last four days of March, a vio- 

 lent northwest gale caused noteworthy 

 damage in this vicinity and literally blew 

 a considerable portion of the water out of 

 the Delaware River. The water was from 

 2 to 5 feet lower than the usual low tide, 

 and a number of vessels grounded. For the 

 first time in the writer's experience, at this 

 season, no Herring Gulls were seen about 

 the ferries, the birds apparently having 

 taken refuge from the gale in more shel- 

 tered situations. 



The average number of Ducks arrived 

 during late March and early April. Blue- 

 bills, Black Ducks and Mergansers made 

 up the bulk of the flight. Six Red-breasted 

 Mergansers were observed April 6. This 

 bird is a much less common migrant on the 

 Delaware River than the American Mer- 

 ganser. 



There is an apparent dearth of Brown 

 Creepers and Golden-crowned Kinglets 

 this spring, few individuals of either of 

 these species being seen. The Phoebe has 

 returned in increased numbers, in contrast 

 with last spring, but, apparently, has not 

 yet reached its normal abundance. 



One of the pleasing features of the season 

 was the abundance of Fox Sparrows in full 

 song, their mellow whistle being a delight- 

 ful addition to the early spring bird-chorus. 



A Barn Owl, recorded April 6, is prob- 

 ably worthy of mention. While this Owl 

 is quite often seen during the fall and 

 winter, it somehow usually succeeds in 

 finding some safe and obscure retreat dur- 

 ing the remainder of the year. This par- 

 ticular Owl had taken refuge in a large 

 dead water-birch, the bird being flushed 

 from behind a good-sized strip of bark, 

 sticking up and out from the trunk and 

 held more or less in this position by en- 

 twining vines. 



March and early April migrants were 

 recorded as follows: March 2, Flicker and 

 Purple Crackle; March 8, Purple Finch; 

 March 23, Savannah Sparrow; March 30, 



Vesper Sparrow; April 2, Phoebe; April 6, 

 Wilson's Snipe, Chipping Sparrow, and 

 Yellow Palm Warbler. — Julian K.Pottep, 

 Camden, N. J. 



Washington Region. — The status of 

 bird-life about Washington during the 

 months of February and March, 1919, was 

 rather peculiar. Following a winter of un- 

 usual mildness, the weather became rela- 

 tively colder in March, after the vegeta- 

 tion had made a good start. This recrudes- 

 cence of winter at the beginning of spring 

 has had a curious effect on the birds. 



Some of the rare winter residents, such 

 as the Robin and the Killdeer, have been 

 more than ordinarily numerous, but several 

 others, such as the Vesper Sparrow, Fox 

 Sparrow, and the Cowbird, had not, up to 

 April I, been reported at all. The same is 

 true of several migrants, such as the 

 American Pipit, Purple Martin, and Pine 

 Warbler, all of which should have arrived 

 by the last of March. Even the Phoebe, 

 which usually appears at Washington by 

 March 10, and occasionally even remains 

 throughout the winter, was not reported 

 until March 14, although it had been seen 

 at Culpeper, Va., on March 7. 



On the other hand, a number of migrants 

 appeared before their average time, such 

 as the Chipping Sparrow, which was seen 

 on March 23; the Brown Thrasher on 

 March 25; and the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 

 on March 30. The Mourning Dove, too, 

 which, while it occasionally winters here, 

 ordinarily does not appear until about 

 March 21, was seen this year by Dr. A. K. 

 Fisher as early as February 16 at Plum- 

 mer's Island, Md. The Purple Crackle 

 appeared in force earlier than common, 

 having been first noted on February 17 by 

 Mr. N. Hollister. Furthermore, the Tree 

 Swallow was observed two days earlier 

 than ever before in this vicinity — on 

 March 24 at Bethesda, Md., by Mr. Ray- 

 mond W. Moore, its very earliest previ- 

 ous record being March 26, 1887. 



Several species, such as the Song Spar- 

 row and Robin, were singing much more 

 freely than is usual in February; a Winter 

 Wren was heard in song by Mr. A. Wet- 



