The Season 



249 



poor one for transient birds, being off any 

 migration route) and the species recorded 

 there on May 6, apparently the earliest 

 date for Long Island. In spite of their 

 early arrival, Blackpolls lingered as late 

 as usual — until the first days of June. In 

 the Englewood, N. J., region B. S. Bow- 

 dish noted the House Wren on April 20 

 Walter Granger the Worm-eating and 

 Kentucky Warblers on May 6; he and 

 Ludlow Griscom found the Cape May 

 Warbler and Olive-backed Thrush May 6; 

 Lincoln's Sparrow, Golden-winged and 

 Tennessee Warblers, May 11. The Golden- 

 winged is one of the rarest spring Warblers 

 there, and all the other dates are excep- 

 tionally early. There seem to have been 

 certainly not more than the usual number 

 of May migrants, but more rarities than 

 usual turned up among them. On May 2 

 there was a Prothonotary Warbler in Cen- 

 tral Park. Was it a mere coincidence that 

 this second southern straggler occurred 

 there two weeks or so after the Yellow- 

 throated Warbler reported in the June 

 Bird-Lore (Bird-Lore, May-June, 1919, 

 p. 182)? Can any student link these 

 records by a study of southern weather 

 conditions during the migration period? 

 During the spring migration transient 

 Flycatchers were notably scarce. 



Eastward on Long Island water-fowl 

 lingered very late. On Moriches Bay the 

 last Golden-eye Duck was seen on April 27; 

 a flock of Pintail on the wing, three or 

 four Green-winged Teal, and a 'Puldu' 

 or American Coot on May 3. On the same 

 date three or four drake Scaup, playing 

 about a Duck on the water, allowed a 

 close enough approach before taking wing 

 to be satisfactorily identified as the Lesser 

 Scaup. It is seldom that one can differ- 

 entiate the two Scaups with certainty in 

 life. As late as May 24 two drake American 

 Scoters accompanying a duck were ob- 

 served at the edge of the jutting salt 

 marsh. When we rounded a curve in the 

 marsh and came close upon them, the 

 drakes took wing almost at once, but 

 they would not leave the duck, which 

 seemed little alarmed, splashing in the 

 water, apparently bathing and working 



off-shore before our canoe. One actually 

 alighted with her again, and the other 

 circled about until finally she also took 

 wing and the three, close together, flew 

 out over the bay. Three 'wild' Mute 

 Swan have been frequenting the shallows 

 close to the salt marsh behind the beach. 

 It is a fine experience to hear the rush of 

 their great wings as they rise from the 

 water and see them in air, snow-white 

 growing smaller and smaller against the 

 distant sky-line. — J. T. Nichols, New 

 York City. 



Philadelphia Region. — ^The tempera- 

 ture for April and May averaged about 

 normal, while the total rainfall exceeded 

 the average by about 3 inches. Rainy 

 days were in order, especially during May 

 yet there was no apparent delay in the 

 migration, most of the migrants arriving 

 according to schedule. An interesting 

 flight of Canada Geese occurred the latter 

 part of April, flocks being reported at 

 several points. Those that came to the 

 writer's notice were a flock of four April 

 17, and a flock of six April 26. 



The presence of more Woodcock in 

 this region than for a number of seasons is 

 very gratifying, two nests with young 

 and a number of individual birds have 

 been recorded. 



The Warbler migration was a decided 

 improvement over last spring, but not up 

 to the banner spring migration of 191 7, 

 when unusual weather conditions were met 

 with by returning migrants. All the more 

 common Warblers that appeared to be so 

 unusually scarce the spring of 1918 

 passed through in numbers, and it was 

 possible to get a good list by dint of hard 

 work. The writer and Conrad K. Roland, 

 working together, procured a list of eighty- 

 nine species on May 11. The observers 

 were out from 9 a.m. until 8.30 p.m. and 

 at no time were more than 3 miles from the 

 city limits of Camden, N. J. The Black 

 Tern, King Rail, Sora, Red-backed Sand- 

 piper, Barn Owl, Golden-winged Warbler, 

 and Kentucky Warbler were some of the 

 more unusual birds observed. The Red- 

 backed Sandpiper and the Kentucky 



