Phalaropes at Swampscott, Massachusetts.— The morning of Aug. 12, 
1890, dawned at Swampscott, Mass., with the wind northeast and a cloudy 
sky. At noon the wind fell to a whole-sail breeze, tempting my brother, 
Dr. J. A. Jeffries, and myself to try a sail. 
After standing to the east for about a mile we noticed a flock of at 
least three hundred birds, apparently Sandpipers, flying rapidly back and 
forth about half a mile in-shore of us, and an equal distance off the land. 
Suddenly, to our surprise, they settled on the water, and we knew they 
were Phalaropes, birds that appear as a rule, only in small numbers with 
us and not regularly. In twenty years’ sailing we have not seen anv in 
the water in our locality. 
From Aug. 12 until Sept. 26 Phalaropes were seen nearly every day we 
went out, usually in small scattered bunches of from six to twenty birds 
swimming about on the water, sometimes just out of the breakers and 
again twelve miles off shore. 
All the birds we succeeded in sailing onto were very tame, simply 
swimming away from our cat-boat to prevent being run down.’ Yet it 
was not always easy to take specimens, as a flock seldom remained long in 
one spot; rising every few minutes they would fly about, alight, and then off 
again before we could sail one half the distance. Sept. 9 we sailed into the 
midst of a flock of several hundred birds, which chanced to settle right in 
front of us. They were very tame. 
All birds taken previous to Sept. 26 were Northern Phalaropes, and while 
it is not possible to state that all the Phalaropes seen were of the same 
species, we can say that no individual was noticed with any specially dis- 
tinct coloring to attract our attention. A single specimen of Red Phala- 
rope was taken Sept. 26 about one mile off shore. It was swimming 
about alone, and on dissection proved to have been feeding on land insects” 
probably blown off by the stiff northwester then in full force. 
What I desire to call attention to in this case is that a bird of not reg- 
ular occurrence suddenly appears in large numbers, and once with us re- 
mains for six weeks. 
As evidence that nearly all birds seen were included in the original 
flock, I would say that, -1st, the Phalaropes appeared in a flock, after a stiff 
although short northeast wind. 2nd, On days when many small bunches 
were seen, we did not see the large flock. 3rd, Birds startled did not seem 
to us to make any attempt to resume a flight, but simply flew off and set- 
tied down again. 
Twelve or fifteen were taken, all being very fat. -W. A. Ieffries 
Boston ' Mass - iQb'v. • , ix- 03. ' ’ 
Phalaropus lobatus off Scituate, Mass.- On August 30, zS 9 o, I made 
my first acquaintance with the Northern Phalarope. As my friend Mr 
Marcus Barber and myself were returning from a trip to the Gurnet 
PUmouth Harbor, in my sail-boat, when off Fourth Cliff Life Saving 
Station, we observed what we at first supposed was a large flock of Sand 
pipers, some two hundred or more, flying to and fro from shore and 
., surprised to see them settle on the water. Heading the boat for 
them we soon came within gunshot, and secured eight as they rose 
ney being so scattered as not to offer a good shot. On picking them up’ 
I at once recogn ized them as one of the Phalaropes. We watched this 
flock pass from view to southward. Leaving my friend soon after at the 
Cove I made sail for Scituate Harbor, about a mile distant ; but had not 
been long underway when the boat was in the centre of a second flock as 
urge as the first, giving me a fine opportunity to watch the bright eyed 
i. tie birds as they rode up and down on the light sea that was funning 
flock n d "' T W ', ng ’ bUt had n0t PaSSed f, ' 0m Si 8 ht bef °''C a thiid 
v neai y as aige showed up over the bow; making in all between five 
and six hundred birds seen within an hour’s time. The last were nearly 
opposite the Harbor, in which I soon dropped anchor. The birds secured 
proved to be all young of both sexes, except one, an adult female, but no 
two were alike in plumage. Taking into consideration Mr. W. A. Tef- 
ues account of ‘Phalaropes at Swampscott’ (Auk, Jan. 1S91, p. „ 2 )’ a nd 
the statement made by my friend Mr. Barber, who in ten years’ ser 
vice along shore “never saw anything like it before,” the flight of Phala- 
■ opes along our shore last fall must have been a remarkable one The 
wind at the time was blowing a fair northwest breeze.-H. D. Eastman 
Framingham , Mass. . . _ ’ 
Aak, 8, July ,1891. p. J/c 
