eee Usb rOoNe =BiU a Leber tN 7 
Several blue-headed vireos and a Cooper’s hawk were also seen, for a to- 
tal of 38 species for the day. On May 38 the great blue heron was seen high 
over the lagoon, and the sharp-shinned hawk and barn swallow were ob- 
served. This was the first day of the three 90-degree days which were so 
unusual for early May, and yet which brought surprisingly few birds to the 
park, in spite of a warm south wind. The rose-breasted grosbeak, redstart, 
nighthawk, and catbird came in on the 4th, while the 5th brought the gold- 
finch, magnolia and Nashville warblers, northern water thrush, chimney 
swift, and small flycatchers—all in small numbers. The willow thrush and 
Cape May warbler were seen May 7. May 10 saw the pigeon hawk and yel- 
low-billed cuckoo as new arrivals. 
Records for these weekday morning's are far from complete For the most 
part only short walks on Wooded island and along the shores of the east 
lagoon were possible. 
The first day warblers were seen in numbers was May 12, when 14 spe- 
cies were recorded. Among them were Tennessee, pine, prairie, chestnut- 
sided, black-throated blue, and Cape May. The wood pewee and the Balti- 
more oriole also returned. The scarlet tanager arrived May 13. Vireos and 
fly-catchers became more numerous in the next week, including the olive- 
sided flycatcher and all the vireos except Bell’s. The Connecticut warbler 
and Savannah sparrow arrived May 16. Then came a lull until May 22, 
when the largest migration of the spring was noted. On that day from 400 
to 500 of the smaller birds were estimated in a few hours—16 species of 
warblers, including the Canada and mourning, many olive-backed thrushes, 
and more than 50 small flycatchers. By the next day most of these birds 
had gone, and after this peak day fewer birds were seen until by June 4 
almost no migrants remained. May 29 was the last day when any number 
appeared, with 30 species counted. 
June saw the residents busy with family duties. On July 2 we saw many 
black terns and young moving from their nesting areas to the park and 
July 22 about 70 of these graceful little terns could be seen diving in the 
lagoons. Two great blue herons came in mid-July and could be seen stalking 
or flying until late August. 
On July 27 while listening to a ball game on the portable radio and 
reading a book, Jim was most surprised to look up and see an immature 
little blue heron flying over the garden. It was in July, too, that we saw 
two very perplexed spotted sandpipers trying frantically to join each other 
through a seemingly impenetrable barrier. They were separated by the 8- 
foot wire fence of the sanctuary, and evidently thought it stretched inter- 
minably into the sky, since they flew frantically back and forth along it, 
never once trying to fly over it. Occasionally one would land, scratch his 
head thoughtfully, and then start back again along the fence. 
August saw the beginning of the fall migration. On Aug. 27 several red- 
starts, small flyeatchers and common tern were seen. Incidentally, far 
fewer common terns were seen in the park in 1949 than in 1948. 
Fall brought the return of many old friends, dressed now in their drab 
