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, . Annotated List of Birds Observed in Essex County
' ' ' >4 in 1927 -

S. G. Emilio 17 Around the Big Table - v ;

■ - - - 21 .

Trip

ine

Calendar for 1927 of the Elssex County Ornithological
John C. Phillips 24 Club of Massachusetts -

:nts List of Members of the Essex County Ornithological

and S. G. Emilio 27 Club of Massachusetts -

r^ r ..

- 4^5jPi*i
• •

BULLETIN

OF THE

Essex County Ornithological Club

OF

Massachusetts

H

1927

FIFTY CENTS

COPYRIGHT 1928

BV THE

ESSEX COUNTY ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB
OF MASSACHUSETTS

Salem, Massachusetts

G

OFFICERS OF THE

ESSEX COUNTY ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB

1927

President

Frank W. Benson

Vice-President

Albert P. Morse

&

\

w »

o 5^
o s— ,

r 3

Secretary

Ralph Lawson
88 Washington Square
Salem, Massachusetts

uQr

Treasurer

S. Gilbert Emilio
156 Hobart Street
Danvers, Massachusetts

Recorder

t

Arthur P. Stubbs
14 Fiske Avenue
Lynn, Massachusetts

Council

G. W. Byran
; R. W. Means
A. W. Taylor

BULLETIN

OF THE

ESSEX COUNTY ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB
OF MASSACHUSETTS
Salem, Massachusetts

ISSUED ANNUALLY

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE

Ralph Lawson Arthur P. Stubbs S. G. Emilio

DECEMBER, 1927 SALEM, MASS. Number 9

FOREWORD
Arthur P. Stubbs

Another year of pleasant association and effective work has
passed into history. Satisfactory results have been achieved even
though all ideals have not been reached. The Club continues to
increase in vigor and is looking forward to years of study and
field work.

Ten new members have been admitted during the twelve
months, thus bringing the membership up to our limit. A care¬
ful scrutiny of each candidate’s scientific leanings has resulted in
a large proportion of active field-workers and serious students.

Regular meetings in the large room so kindly furnished us
by the Peabody Museum, at Salem, have been well attended and
many interesting entertainments have been provided. The few
organized Club field meetings have been successful, but the
greater part of the work of building up this year’s excellent bird
list has been done by individuals or by small parties of two or
three going afield as opportunity permitted. More careful study
of the coast line and the outlying islands and ledges has produced
good results, and it is intended to make more tours by motor boat
among these sea-bird haunts each year.

3

4

Bulletin of the

1927

The Bulletin has been well received and its further publica¬
tion seems fully warranted. There is, however, no present pros¬
pect of more than one issue each year so this number will be
designated as Number Nine, dropping the somewhat confusing
Volume and Number designations of the past. Work has at last
been started on a proposed “Directory of Bird Haunts in Essex
County, Mass.” and it is hoped that a chapter or two will be
ready for publication in the next issue of the Bulletin.

We are trying to make this publication more and more
attractive and are always ready to give serious consideration, not
only to articles contributed by friends outside of the Club, but
also to suggestions from all of our readers, for we want to supply
as best we can whatever is most desired by our subscribers.

In addition to our regular readers there are many people
who, if they think of ornithology at all, consider it either diffi¬
cult or entirely uninteresting. Yet we know that many hours of
pleasure can be gained by a little serious bird study, and that
the fields and woods are doubly attractive to those who are more
or less intimately acquainted with their feathered inhabitants.
So we shall feel repaid to some extent if our Bulletin is success¬
ful in arousing the curiosity and exciting the interest in orni¬
thology of at least a few individuals of the millions to whom
the automobile has made the fields and woods and seashore so
accessible.

The Club Camp which has not been utilized by the Club as a
whole during recent years will propably be renovated early in
1928 and in other ways made more attractive by a new commit¬
tee placed in charge, so that we hope future field meetings there
will be more generously attended.

Essex County Ornithological Club

5

BIRDS SEEN IN THE NILE VALLEY
Charles W. Townsend

In the narrow valley of the Nile from Cairo to the First
Cataract at Assuan, a distance by the river of six hundred miles,
temples and tombs of surpassing interest are thickly scattered.
Without in any way neglecting these, the traveller, especially if
he be a naturalist, finds much else of interest. He sees the daily
life of the people, which in many ways is but little changed from
that depicted in the wall-paintings and carvings four thousand
years old. In this region where practically no rain falls, one
realizes as never before how dependent are not only the people
but all life, animal and vegetable, on the waters of the great
river. Outside of the narrow river valley — sometimes a mere
strip and sometimes expanded to a dozen miles in width — the
great Libyan desert stretches to the west, the Arabian desert to
the east.

I spent the month of March, 1927, in Egypt, and for three
weeks lived on a steamer that took me up the Nile to Assuan and
back, and I made almost daily trips, generally on donkeyback, in
the valley, often into the desert, to visit the temples and tombs.
In March many birds are migrating north from central Africa
to their nesting places in Europe, and the valley is an ideal path¬
way. How plainly from high in the air the narrow green rib¬
bon stretching to the north must show in the surrounding sea of
grey sand ! According to Moreau, however, quoted by Thomson/
some migrants traverse Egypt without regard to the Nile valley.

The river, restrained for irrigation purposes by the great
dam at Assuan, was low in March, and many extensive flats were
exposed on which water birds were often to be seen in great
numbers. As our progress was slow and we were often detained
for hours aground on flats, the opportunities for bird study from
the steamer were excellent. Ducks and geese were as a rule
wary, but I was able to identify the fine Egyptian Goose, Alopo -
chen segyptica, as well as Mallards, Anas b. boschas, Pintails,
Anas acuta and Shovellers, Spatula clypeata , all in considerable
numbers.

* Problems of Bird Migration, 1926, p. 87.

6

Bulletin of the

1927

Of shore birds, the most interesting and abundant every¬
where in large and small flocks was the flne Spur-winged Plover,
Hoplopterus spinosus, a crested black and white bird, larger than
the Black-bellied Plover. A few Lapwings, Vanellus vanellus,
equally large, and Little Stints, Tringa minuta, resembling our
Least Sandpipers, were making their way northwards, and Green-
shanks, Totanus nebularis , which suggested our Yellowlegs,
Green Sandpipers, Totanus ochropus , looking like our Solitary
Sandpipers, and Common Sandpipers, Totanus hypoleucus, which
looked and tetered for all the world like our Spotted Sandpipers,
were common.

The Spoonbill, Platalea leucorodia a relation of our Roseate
Spoonbill, but much larger and white in color with long black
legs and a great spoon bill black and tipped with yellow, was to
be seen singly and in flocks of ten to forty.

The White Stork, Ciconia c. ciconia, which nests on houses
in Germany, Denmark and Russia, a splendid great white bird
with black wings and red bill and feet, was often seen on the
sand bars. At Assuan, on March 20 and 22, I saw three flocks of
from eighty to a hundred birds each, circle upwards and strike
out for the north down the Nile valley. On one of these days
there was a strong wind up the valley, and the birds in circling
upwards drifted some distance to the south. Arrived at a great
height they set their wings, and, holding them motionless, they
sailed majestically into the north. I could not help thinking
that the baby crop would be large in Europe that summer.

The pretty little Pied Kingfisher, Ceryle r. rudis , black and
white, was to be seen everywhere along the river bank, actively
plunging for fish. The Common Heron, Ardea c. cinerea , which
is nearly identical with our Great Blue Heron, stood about fishing
on the flats, singly or in migratory flocks. Three kinds of white
herons were to be seen, the Great White Heron, Egretta a. alba ,
the Little Egret, Egretta g. gargazetta, and the Buffy-backed
Heron, Ardeola i. ibis. The last named, which in winter appears
nearly pure white, but in the nuptial season is colored buff on
back and chest yet looks generally white, was abundant in the
irrigated fields, especially in the lower course of the river, near
Cairo and in the delta below.

Essex County Ornithological Club

7

The only gulls were a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls,
Lams j. fuscus, seen near Beni-Hassan, and I saw a few Cormor¬
ants, Phalacrocorax carbo subcarmoranus . It is necessary to
add that I did not see the Sacred Ibis, Threskiornis sethiopicus,
except depicted in temples and tombs, for it is only accidental
in Egypt.

In places there were swarms of Egyptian Sand Martins,
Riparia riparia littoralis, flying in and out of holes in the sand
cliffs a pale Crag ^^artin, Riparia o. obsoleta , nested at some of
the tombs and the Swallow of England, Hirundo r. rustica, much
like our Barn Swallow, was migrating north. The darker bellied
form, H. rustica savignii, a resident, was abundant and found
plenty of flies to snap up in the crowded villages.

The Egyptian Kite, Milvus migrans segyptius, takes the
place of a gull as a scavenger on the river, but they pick up the
flotsam with their talons and not their bill. Near Luxor I saw
one pick up a morsel with both feet, transfer it to one foot and
then swoop and pick up another morsel with the other foot.-
Then, still on the wing, he transferred the food to his bill and
began eating.

The Kestrel, a dark race, Falco tinnunculus rupicolseformis,
nests in the old temples. It is closely allied to our misnamed
Sparrow Hawk, for the old world Sparrow Hawk of which I saw
a few is an Accipiter, A. nisus. I saw a Pale Harrier, Circus
macrourus , a magnificient Imperial Eagle, Aguila h. heliaca and
an Osprey, Pandion h. haliaetus. The creamy white Egyptian
Vulture, Neophron p. percnopterus was not uncommon and a few
Black Vultures, JEgypius monachus, were seen.

Near Memphis on a Nile flat, I saw six splendid Cranes,
Megalornis g. grus, pale slate grey in color with red occiputs,
birds that stand as high as a man. I was fortunate in seeing a
couple of Ravens, Corvus corax rujicollis in the mountains back
of the tombs of the Kings, while the Hooded Crow, C. cornix
sardonius , was not uncommon. Two sub-species of House Spar¬
row, that from Alexandria to Cairo, Passer domesticus alexan-
drinus, and south of that P. d. niloticus were common in the
villages. These were the only members of the Finch family I
identified. Donkey-back is not conducive to bird observation.

8

Bulletin of the

1927

Everywhere along the dusty roads leading through cultivated
lands into the desert, brown birds with crests, the Crested Lark,
Galerida cristata maculata, were common, and still more com¬
mon was the White Wagtail, Motacilla a. alba.

Near Cairo I saw a Lesser Grey Shrike, Lanius minor , and
at Assuan several Masked Shrikes, Lanius nubicus , were seen.
Two Warblers are entered on my list with some hesitation al¬
though the identification seemed fairly satisfactory, — Hypolais
p. pallida and Sylvia melanocephala momus. A fine dark blue-
grey bird that I examined at close range on March 27 among the
rocky hills on the edge of the desert at Assyut, was plainly a Blue
Rock Thrush, Monticola s. solitarius, while the White-rumped
Wheatear, (Enanthe l. leucopyga, was not uncommon and I iden¬
tified a Stone chat, Saxicola torquata rubicola, The Redstart,
Phoenicurus p. phoenicurus, and the Red-spotted Bluethroat, Lus-
cinia suecica, are the last to be mentioned of the birds of this
group. The latter bird was all that its name implies, and a good
• view of it in the garden at Assuan gave me a distinct thrill. A
still greater thrill was given me at the same place by two Yellow¬
breasted Sunbirds, Nectarina metallica, striking birds with
metallic green heads and blue lower backs, and with tails over
four inches long, more than twice the length of the body of the
bird. They hovered over mimosa flowers like Hummingbirds.

The Egyptian Rock Dove Columba livia schimperi, a paler
bird than the common Domestic Pigeon abounds in the villages
of Upper Egypt. Large houses of clay or unbaked bricks are
erected for their accomodation and their dung is used for fertil¬
izer. The pretty little Egyptian Turtle-Dove, Streptopelia sen-
galensis xgyptica, is common. I saw only two Starlings, prob¬
ably Sturnus vulgaris sophist.

Two birds only remain to be mentioned, of the order Cora-
ciiformes, both striking birds and breeding in the region, name¬
ly the Egyptian Hoopoe, Upupa epops major , and the Egyptian
Bee-Eater, Merops orientalis cleopatra. The Hoopoe with his
beautiful crest which he alternately expands and contracts, his
long curved bill with which he probes the soil and his soft call
which suggests his name, is a fine bird to see. The Bee-Eater
which well deserves its sub-specific name cleopatra because of its

Essex County Ornithological Club

9

grace and beauty, is a common bird in the valley of the Nile.
Of a lovely green color with long curved bill and long tail, it is
conspicuous even to the casual tourist. Its flight is rapid and
graceful as it sallies out from its perch on a dead limb and darts
like a flycatcher in pursuit of its insect prey.

In all, I identified some fifty-six species in my sight-seeing
excursion in the Nile valley, and doubtless many others were
overlooked.

Note. I cannot recommend too highly Ramsey’s “Guide to the Birds
of Europe and North Africa’’. Without this identifications would have
been difficult.

10

1927

Bulletin of the

IPSWICH RIVER TRIP
Ralph Lawson

The twenty-first annual trip was made on May 14 and 15,
and one hundred and seven different species of birds were ob¬
served. There were thirty members and guests in the party in
eleven canoes.

The spring of 1927 had been typical of New England, with
many sudden temperature changes. A remarkable five day period
of really hot weather in March, followed by shorter and much
less pronounced warm spells, had exerted some influence on vege¬
tation, but lack of moisture and many cold nights had served to
check growth. At the end of the first two weeks in May, which
had been cool and rainy, plant life on the average was nearly
normal.

In Essex County the spring migration was somewhat irregu¬
lar, and at no time was there an abundance of birds, although
field reports from Club members showed that at least a scattering
of each species had appeared about on schedule, and that our
winter visitants, which had been remarkable only by their scarc¬
ity, had gone north on about the expected dates.

Owing to the spring drought, the Ipswich river was lower
than on any previous trip, there being barely enough water to
float the canoes over several shallows immediately below the
bridge at South Middleton. The low water also prevented the
taking of any short cuts across the several marshes.

On Friday, May 13, ten of the party spent the night at the
camp of Messrs. Bruley and Kimball, near which a Woodcock was
heard performing his “sky dance.” This species was also re¬
corded on the following day.

The three mile walk on Saturday morning from camp to the
Middleton Paper Mills furnished the record of the Lincoln’s
Sparrow, which was observed at close range by most of the party.

Friday night had been clear and still, with a full moon, and
there was a fine bird chorus at daybreak on Saturday in spite of
a chill river fog.

A party of fourteen in four canoes left Middleton Paper Mills
about 9.30 A. M. Saturday, and reached Howe Station at about
one o’clock. The morning was partly cloudy, but with much

Essex County Ornithological Club

11

warm sunshine, and there was very little wind A total of seven¬
ty-five species were checked on this part of the trip.

Saturday, lunch was eaten at Mr. Felt’s camp, as usual, and
the main party got under way shortly after two o’clock, and
reached “The Pines” about six, where camp was pitched, supper
eaten, and where our annual campfire, aided by a full moon over
the marshes, added one more memorable evening to our list.

The afternoon had been partly cloudy but less warm than
the morning, owing to a gentle wind from the southeast. Our
check-up at the campfire showed a total of ninety-one species for
the day. It is interesting to note that Whip-poor-wills, which
had been apparently absent from the marshes for many trips,
seemed this year to be everywhere, and their notes, mingled with
those of the Sora and the occasional song of a Swamp Sparrow,
and the quacking of ducks, gave more life to the Great Wenham
Swamp than had been heard for many years. No doubt the low
water was largely responsible for this.

Sunday morning dawned fair and cool, but clouds began to
gather soon after sunrise, and the wind backed to the east and
northeast. Canoes began leaving “The Pines” shortly before
eight o’clock, and by eight-thirty camp was deserted. It began
to rain about eight-thirty and from shortly after that time until
noon it poured in earnest, so that there was very little oppor¬
tunity to make the many landings and short excursions which are
usual between Pine Island and Willowdale.

An innovation this year was the leaving of all canoes
at Willowdale, where motor busses were boarded which trans¬
ported the Clark’s Pond and Little Neck party to the old Toll
Gate on the Little Neck Road, and the return, which was from
Little Neck by motor boat to Ipswich, reversed the route on the
salt water end of the trip. Only five members of the party made
the last part of the journey, but no rain was encountered, and
eight additional species were listed on or near salt water.

Throughout this trip Maryland Yellow-throats and Catbirds
were the most abundant species, and there were also an unusual
number of Marsh Wrens, Swamp Sparrows, Myrtle Warblers and
Redstarts, and owing to the low water Peep were common on the
fresh marshes. All other species seemed to be in subnormal

12

Bulletin of the

1927

numbers, and Tree Swallows were particularly noticeable in this
respect. The absence from the list of many of the rare migrant
Warblers may easily be accounted for by the heavy rain which
occurred on Sunday morning when the party was passing through
the best Warbler country.

The complete list is as follows:

A. o. u.

47. Great Black-backed Gull
51. Herring Gull
70. Common Tern
120. Double-crested Cormorant
130. Red -breasted Merganser
133. Black Duck
144. Wood Duck
190. American Bittern
194. Great Blue Heron

201. Green Heron

202. Back-crowned Night Heron
212. Virginia Rail

214. Sora
228. Woodcock
242. Least Sandpiper
246. Semipalmated Sandpiper
254. Greater Yellow-legs
256. Solitary Sandpiper
263. Spotted Sandpiper
270. Black-bellied Plover

273. Killdeer

274. Semipalmated Plover
289. Bob-white

300. Ruffed Grouse

Ring-necked Pheasant
316. Mourning Dove

331. Marsh Hawk

332. Sharp-shinned Hawk
339. Red-shouldered Hawk
343. Broad-winged Hawk
360. Sparrow Hawk

364. Osprey

388. Black-billed Cuckoo
390. Belted Kingfisher
393. Hairy Woodpecker
394c Downy Woodpecker
412a Northern Flicker

A. o. u.

417. Whip-poor-will
423. Chimney Swift
428. Ruby-th’d Hummingbird
444. Kingbird
452. Crested Flycatcher
456. Phoebe
466a Alder Flycatcher
467. Least Flycatcher
474b Prairie Horned Lark
477. Blue Jay
488. American Crow

493. Starling

494. Bobolink

495. Cowbird

498. Red-winged Blackbird
501. Meadowlark
507. Baltimore Oriole
509. Rusty Blackbird
511b Bronzed Grackle
517. Purple Finch

English Sparrow
529. American Goldfinch
540. Vesper Sparrow
542a Savannah Sparrow
554. White-crowned Sparrow
558. White-throated Sparrow
560. Chipping Sparrow
563. Field Sparrow
581. Song Sparrow

583. Lincoln’s Sparrow

584. Swamp Sparrow
587. Towhee

595. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
608. Scarlet Tanager

612. Cliff Swallow

613. Barn Swallow

614. Tree Swallow

Essex County Ornithological Club

13

616. Bank Swallow
619. Cedar Waxwing
624. Red-eyed Vireo
628. Yellow-throated Vireo
631. White-eyed Vireo
636. Black and White Warbler
642. Golden-winged Warbler
645. Nashville Warbler
648a Northern Parula Warbler
652. Yellow Warbler
655. Myrtle Warbler
659. Chestnut-sided Warbler
662. Blackburnian Warbler
667. Black-throated Green
Warbler

671. Pine Warbler

673. Prairie Warbler

674. Oven-bird

675. Water-Thrush

681. Maryland Yellow-throat
687. American Redstart

704. Catbird

705. Brown Thrasher

724. Short-billed Marsh Wren

725. Long-billed Marsh Wren

726. Brown Creeper

728. Red-breasted Nuthatch

735. Chickadee

749. Ruby-crowned Kinglet

755. Wood Thrush

756. Veery

759b Hermit Thrush
761. Robin
766. Bluebird

14

Bulletin of the

1927

DATA FROM CENTRAL MAINE

The following is an extract from a letter to the Recorder
from our new corresponding member, Sanford Ritchie of Dover-
Foxcroft, Maine.

“It was quite a satisfaction to have you refer to so many
forms of shore and water birds that are familiar to me only
through color illustrations or museum specimens. Located as I
am, up here in central Maine, so far from the seashore, with its
great variety of species, and with only an occasional trip to the
coast for a day or so, I find myself sadly out of touch with these
interesting forms which have such a fascination whenever I am
so fortunate as to come in contact with them.

“Amongst the Divers we have the Pied-billed Grebe which
occasionaly breeds on the shore of some small and isolated pond
and I sometimes note it on some of my fishing trips. Have seen
the species several times this season on ponds away from the auto
trails. The Loon is common as a summer resident on nearly all
of our larger ponds and about the lakes. In late August it is no
uncommon experience to note ten or fifteen birds in a flock. Of
course a large percent of these groups would consist of young
birds yet nearly full grown. Occasionally the Red-throated Loon
is seen but it is comparatively rare.

“The Herring Gull is the only representative of its family
that can be considered common, Bonaparte’s Gull being seen
occasionally about the lakes as a fall migrant and hardly any
species of Tern is noted so far from the coast. In the Duck
family we have a good representation. I had a rare species for
this region, a Surf Scoter, brought me for identificaion on Sep¬
tember 28, a solitary bird that was feeding alone in a small duck¬
ing pond, a few miles out. This is the only authentic record
for the county (Piscataquis.)

“Last summer I had a Green Heron brought in by some
farmer boys, who knew no better than shoot this rare species for
this latitude; yet I was glad to see the specimen as it was also
the first authentic record for the county, although I afterward
found a mounted specimen in a camp about a hundred miles
north, at Sourdnahunk Lake, that was taken ten years previously.
I find it a very interesting matter to pick up these ocasional records.

Essex County Ornithological Club

15

“We have both species of Yellow-legs as migrants but about
our only resident sandpiper is A. macularia which breeds about
our rivers, streams and ponds. Other species of the family are
seen occasionally but are not at all common. Bartramia longi-
cauda , which bred commonly in this region, twenty-five years
since, is now a rare bird, occasionally seen or heard as it passes
high overhead, but the bird-student reckons himself extremely
fortunate if three or four occurrences are noted for the season in
this vicinity. In the spring of 1926, from April 16 to May 23,
a single Killdeer Plover stayed around our village and was seen
or heard by myself every day. This is the only instance of its
occurrence here in many years.

“As perhaps I told you when at Lynn, I have spent a consid¬
erable portion of the early spring and summer afield and have
been enabled to get a line on birds of Piscataquis County as I
have not previously done. If you should note the advance state¬
ments of our Maine press concerning conditions of our game
birds, you may have received the impression that Grouse are fast
regaining their former status numerically ; but tell your sports¬
men friends to forget anything of that character they may be so
unfortunate as to have read, as there is nothing in the report
excepting bait for out-of-state sports.

“The fact is they are not coming back rapidly, if at all; and
owing to the opening up of new auto trails leading right into
the heart of our Maine wilderness, thereby making these one-time
game sanctuaries easily and quickly available to the hunter, the
birds are being persecuted as never before in the history of our
state. Again the Grouse is legitimate prey, twelve months in
the year, for all our carnivorous animals and birds. Both adults
and young, eggs and nestlings are constantly hunted by bear,
bobcat, fox, skunk, mink and weasel, hawks and owls, crows and
jays, and last and by no means least, in open season and some¬
times before comes their worst enemy, man, with his automatic
shotgun or the deer hunter with his rifle.

“During the month of September last, I accompanied a
woodsman and trapper over his fur territory, trailing from ten to
twenty miles a day for eleven days each day over a different
trail, through a wild and moutainous region with slopes and

16

Bulletin of the

1927

valleys lying between and interspersed with lakes and rivers,
brooks and streams galore, ideal cover for game animals and birds.
During this period we saw moose, deer and bear with all kinds of
“sign” in abundance, ducks fairly abundant, but, during all
the sometimes weary miles that we covered those days, we counted
just twelve Grouse, only one being of the “spruce” species. In
September, 1926, in company with the same experienced woods¬
man, I covered nearly the same territory and during a practically
similar period, we saw only fourteen birds. My friend stated
that five or six years ago we would have seen more than a hun¬
dred birds on our trip. A close time of at least two years should
have been placed on our Maine grouse, beginning with season of
1927.

“I had a splendid time this season during the Warbler
migration and was fortunate in recording the Cape May one day
as it passed. Also I found the Grasshopper Sparrow another day
in an old dry pasture, which served to mark that as a red letter
day.”

Essex County Ornithological Club

17

SUMMER EXPLORATIONS
S. G. Emilio

During the last half of July 1926, I motored for about 1,500
miles through New Hampshire and Maine, the greater part of the
mileage being in the latter state. The route followed was north¬
ward from Danvers, Mass., through Pinkham Notch of the White
Mountains to Errol, thence eastward to the Rangeley Lakes,
through Skowhegan to Moosehead Lake, then to Bangor and Mt.
Desert, thence down the coast to Wiscasset, up to Waterville then
to Lewiston, Portland and home. I planned to camp out about
two-thirds of the time but after the fourth night my companions
refused to endure longer the minute insects known as “midges”,
and thereafter we took shelter each night in habitations of wood
and stone. This procedure rather limited opportunity for obser¬
vation, but it was possible to see or hear a few birds while driv¬
ing and I usually had a little time at one end of the day or the
other for a brief search.

Of the ninety-nine species which were recorded on the trip,
only two, the Crow and the Song Sparrow were seen every day.
The Kingbird, Chipping Sparrow, Robin and Bluebird, however,
were missed one day only. The next group of birds, which were
missed two days of the sixteen, includes Goldfinch, Vesper Spar¬
row, Barn Swallow and Red-eyed Vireo. Nearly as frequently
observed were the Nighthawk, Chimney Swift, Savannah Spar¬
row, Cedar Waxwing and Redstart. It is very doubtful if the
Nighthawk, Savannah Sparrow and Red-eyed Vireo would rank
with the thirteen most frequently observed summer birds of
Essex County, Mass., though it is possible the Vireo might fall
in that classification.

Additional comparisons with the bird life of Essex County,
Mass., may be of interest. The Herring Gull follows up the
Merrimac River some miles from its mouth and is not infrequent¬
ly seen on even the smaller ponds near the coast nevertheless it
does not nest in Essex County* and one living there habitually
associates the bird with salt water. On Rangely Lake, far from
the ocean I saw at least two birds possibly a nesting pair. On
Moosehead Lake was a sure enough nesting colony for in the
vicinity of Hog Back Island were at least twenty-five birds and a

18

Bulletin of the

1927

few others were roaming far and wide over the great expanse of
water.

I expected to find the Canada Spruce Partridge on this trip
but as a matter of fact saw only one Ruffed Grouse to represent

the tetraonidae.

Bald Eagles are of only casual occurrence in the southern
part of the County where I live but twenty years ago one could
be fairly sure to find these birds in summer in the vicinity of
Lake Winnepesaukee. This summer though we found a very con¬
siderable increase in the number of habitations around the lake,
near Welch’s Island where I had camped many years ago were
three eagles. These were not the only ones observed on the trip
for I saw one, presumably white-headed, soaring over Pinkham
Notch and at Mt. Desert we looked DOWN on an adult Bald
Eagle from one of the round-topped mountains of that interest¬
ing island.

Another bird of the wilder regions is the Pileated Wood¬
pecker. While I have not given up hope of finding a verture-
some individual of the species in Essex County it is better judg¬
ment to look for it one-hundred or more miles to the northward.
On this trip I was not successful in seeing a “Cockof-the-woods”
but did hear the Flicker-like call near Moosehead Lake and ap¬
proached the bird quite closely in the rather dense woods.

It is recorded that the Olive-sided Flycatcher formerly nested
in northeastern Massachusetts but if there are any recent instan¬
ces of its breeding there I do not know of them. It was not un¬
til we reached the vicinity of Moosehead that I found this species
but no doubt it occurs normally many miles south of there.

The Alder Flycatcher occasionally breeds in this part of
Massachusetts but is essentially a bird of the Canadian Zone in
summer. I found one in that zone and another distinctly over
the line in the Transition or Alleghanian both in the state of
Maine.

Here at home one can scarcely be afield nine minutes with¬
out observing one or more Starlings, but for nine whole days on
the journey last summer through the two northeastern states I
saw not a Starling. The first two days out the bird appeared
on the lists and only when we were again within a hundred miles
of home did it reappear.

Essex County Ornithological Club

19

Early in July our local Baltimore Orioles frequently retire
to the berry patches and are little observed thereafter. Never¬
theless I was unprepared for its almost complete absence from
the daily lists made on our tour. It was recorded on only the
first day and this was one of the ornithological surprises of the
trip.

On the other hand the prevalance of the Savannah Sparrow
was equally astonishing. In this county it breeds so far as I
know only in the salt marsh region. I expected to find it in open
country near the White Mountains for I had seen it there before
but it was also in evidence nearly everywhere we went in Maine
remote from the seacoast as well as near it.

The White-throated Sparrow breeds very sparingly hereabouts
and I did not record it until the third day, or somewhere north
of Lake Winnepesaukee. Each of the eleven days following it
appeared on the lists and then as we came southward well into
the Transition Zone it disappeared again.

Somewhat similar in occurrence was the Slate-colored Junco.
I recorded it however only eight consecutive days and it was last
seen on the island of Mt. Desert.

In the part of Essex County where I hunt birds most fre¬
quently, the Indigo Bunting is decidedly rare. On various occa¬
sions however, when I have crossed the New Hampshire line the
species immediately seemed to become common. So on this trip,
the first three days as we went northward through New Hampshire
I recorded the Indigo as tolerably common. Then as we reached
the northern edge of the Transition and passed over into the Cana¬
dian Zone it was seen no more but on returning southward in
Maine it came in again for three days near the end of the journey.

Another bird one rarely sees in Masachusetts is the Purple
Martin. Near Laconia, N. H., I saw a small colony and from
then on it was not uncommon in the territory we traversed for I
recorded it on no less than six subsequent days when larger or
smaller colonies were observed.

The Blue-headed Vireo was recorded only on the first three
days and the last day of the trip. This would seem to indicate
that its breeding range is well below the northern or upper limit
of the Transition zone. My failure to find it elsewhere, however

20

Bulletin of the

1927

is not conclusive, as the search was far from an exhaustive one.

Only thirteen of the warbler family were listed. Of these
the Canada may be found occasionally in Essex County but the
Parula, Black-throated Blue and Magnolia rarely if ever breed
here. One must gain in altitude or latitude to find them in
summer. Late July is not quite the best time to search for
warblers in northern New England or very probably I would eas¬
ily have found more species.

Other birds of the Canadian Zone in summer which I observed
were the Winter Wren, Brown Creeper, Red-breasted Nuthatch
and Golden-crowned Kinglet. These are essentially transient or
winter residents with us at home but it is not very far to their
nearest breeding areas.

For the Wood Thrush I have but one record made at the very
start of the trip. It is far from a common bird now in our coun¬
ty and apparently still less common to the northward.

The Olive-backed Thrush is rarely if ever found in the Trans¬
ition Zone in summer and the four days I recorded it we were
well over the line into the Boreal region.

As for the Hermit Thrush, I am inclined to think this bird
has increased in recent years and it ranked in this summer's
listing almost as one of the common birds. It was recorded ten
times and from all parts of the territory we visited.

In the West one can jump, or rather climb, from the Lower
Austral to Hudsonian Zones in much less of an area than we cov¬
ered in this two week's exploration. Nevertheless I found the
comparatively slignt faunal variations observed to be very inter¬
esting and shall look forward to another vacation of this nature.

* This was written before the colonies on the Gooseberry Islands
were known to us. [Eds.]

Essex County Ornithological Club

21

BIRDS OBSERVED ON AUTO TRIP FROM
JULY 17 to AUGUST 1, 1926

July Aug.

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1

Loon

Herring Gull
Common Tern
Black Duck
Wood Duck
White-winged Scoter
Bittern

Great Blue Heron
Semipalmated S’piper
Sanderling
Greater Yellow-legs
Spotted Sandpiper
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer

Semipalmated Plover
Ruffed Grouse
Marsh Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Bald Eagle
Osprey

Black-billed Cuckoo
Belted Kingfisher
Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Yel. -bellied Sapsucker
N.Pileated Woodp’ker
Northern Flicker
Whip-poor-will
Nighthawk
Chimney Swift
R.-tht. Hummingbird
Kingbird
Phoebe

Olive-sided Flycatcher

X .. X .

X X X X X X
. . .. X

X

X

X

.. X

X X X X
..XXX

X

X ..
X X
.. X

X

• • • •

X ..

X

X

. X .

. X . X ..

. X .

. X .

X .... X . X .

. X .. X .. X .. X ..

.. X X X X .

XXX . X X .... X X X .

X .... X X .... X .. X .

.. X X .. X .. .. X .. X X .. .. X .. X
. X .

. X .

. X . X X X .. X

..XX .

X .. X . X .. X X X X X X X ..

XXXXXX.. XX.. XXX.. XX

. X .

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX.. X
. X . X X X .. X X .. ..

X

22

Bulletin of the

1927

July Aug.

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

1

Wood Pewee

• •

X

X

Alder Flycatcher

X

?

X

Least Flycatcher

X

X

X

• r

X

X

Blue Jay

• •

X

X

X

X

• •

X

• •

X

X

Crow

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Starling

X

X

X

• •

X

X

X

Bobolink

X

X

• •

X

Cowbird

X

Red-winged Blackbird

X

X

X

X

X

• •

X

• •

X

Meadowlark

• •

• •

X

X

X

X

• •

• •

X

Baltimore Oriole

X

Bronzed Grackle

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

• •

• •

X

Purple Finch

• •

• •

X

X

X

X

• •

X

X

English Sparrow

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

• •

X

Goldfinch

X

X

X

• •

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

• •

X

Vesper Sparrow

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

• •

X

X

X

X

X

X

• •

X

Savannah

• •

X

• •

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

• •

X

White-throat. Sparrow

r . .

• •

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Chipping Sparrow

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

• •

X

Field Sparrow

X

X

X

Slate-colored Junco

• •

• •

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Song Sparrow

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Swamp Sparrow

X

• •

• •

X

X

X

Towhee

X

• •

X

Rose-breast. Grosbeak

..

X

• •

X

Indigo Bunting

X

X

X

X

X

X

• •

• •

Scarlet Tanager

• •

X

X

X

Purple Martin

X

X

• •

• •

X

X

• •

X

• •

X

X

• •

• •

Cliff Swallow

X

X

Barn Swallow

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

• •

• •

Tree Swallow

X

X

• •

X

Bank Swallow

• •

X

X

X

X

X

• •

X

X

Cedar Waxwing

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

• •

X

• •

• •

X

• •

X

X

Red-eyed Vireo

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

• •

• •

X

Warbling Vireo

X

X

Yellow-throat. Vireo

X

Blue-headed Vireo

X

X

X

X

Essex County Ornithological Club

23

July Aug.

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1

Black & White Warbler X ..XX . X . X.. .. X

Nashville Warbler .. .. XX . X .

N. Parula Warbler . X.. XX .

Yellow Warbler X . X .. X .. X

Black-tht. B. Warbler .. X .

Myrtle Warbler .. .. X . XX.. X .

Magnolia Warbler .. .. X . X .

Chestnut-sided Warb. XXX . X .

Black-tht. Gr. Warbler XXX . XX .. .. X .... X

Pine Warbler XX . X .

Oven-bird XXX .. .. XX .. X .

Maryland Yel. -throat XXX .. X .. X .. XXX .. XX .. X

Canada Warbler
Redstart
Catbird
House Wren
Winter Wren
Brown Creeper
Red-breast. Nuthatch
Chickadee

Gold’n-crown’dKingPt
Wood Thrush
Veery

Olive-backed Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Robin
Bluebird

. X .

X X X X X X .. X X . X X .. X

X X X .. X . x

. XXX .

. XXX .

.. .. X .

.. .. X . x .

X .. X X X .. .. X X X X .. X X .. X

. X .

X .

X X X X X .. X X X X .

. X X .. .. XX . .

X X X X X .. X .. X X .. .. X .. .. X
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX.. X
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX.. X

24

Bulletin of the

1927

THE ESSEX COUNTY SHOOTING SEASON OF 1927

John C. Phillips

Following the very poor duck season of 1926 it was a satis¬
faction to see during the autumn just passed a much better show¬
ing, at least of Black Ducks. Although there were no unusually
large flights, a good many birds, most of them home-grown of
course, had collected on our shores when the season opened on
September 16. No doubt this was due in part to the complete
protection accorded the shore birds in 1927 which had the effect
of keeping most of the guns off the marshes. The result of this
better protection was seen at many other points in Massachusetts.

Not many western-bred ducks appeared, indeed if we com¬
pare the records of the last few years with those of twenty-five
or thirty years ago we find in many of the Massachusetts ponds
fewer Red-heads, Canvas-backs, Lesser Scaups and Ruddies, but
more Black Ducks and Geese than there used to be. This change
seems to be a permanent one and the present lack of variety is
a real loss.

We had in 1927 a rather large flight of Blue-winged Teal
and as most of them came along later than usual, from the 16th
to the 24 th of September, more were shot than is customary.
With them came quite a sprinkling of Green-wings which are
rare in Massachusetts so early in the year.

We had rather more American Widgeon than usual, scattered
along until the 20th of October, and at least one of the European
species was taken, an adult female, (Barbour blind, Ipswich
Meadows, near Poor Farm, September 29.) It is interesting also
to note the taking of two banded European Widgeon on the At¬
lantic coast, both of which were marked in Iceland. This appears
to dispose of the possibility that a colony of these ducks may
have located somewhere in northeastern North America. Prob¬
ably all European Widgeon shot on the Atlantic coast come by
way of Iceland or Greenland.

At Wenham we took one female Gadwall on November 21,
the second ever recorded at this point. Two Ring-necks, one Red¬
head, and one Canvas-back were all of the more uncommon ducks
that were shot at Wenham.

. Geese were rather late in appearing and came in concentrated

Essex County Ornithological Club

25

flights with few scattered flocks between. The flights seen at
Wenham were as follows: October 27, November 3-4, November
22, November 25, December 5, besides some reported still later.

Snipe were extremely scarce in spite of the abundant rains.
This is difficult to account for since rains began early in the
summer and continued through August and September so that
the river meadows were well flooded at the time Snipe passed.
Pastures and wet uplands were in fine condition for Snipe yet
very few appeared and the writer shot only five. Those actually
seen came late; one in September, nine or ten were found on
October 7, three on October 8, one on October 17, Similar con¬
ditions for Snipe were found at Gagetown, New Brunswick on
the lower St. Johns river where the writer hunted for two days
in mid-October with fair success. The low marshes were all too
wet and the Snipe were in high pastures well back from the river.

The very wet season made Woodcock conditions good, but
strange to say very few “cocks” were present in the usual places
during September. Later on it was realized that one had to look
in the lowest, wettest ground, much of it difficult to hunt with¬
out rubber boots. In these heavy, low and even sphagnum-bot¬
tomed alder swamps the Woodcock gathered. No doubt they
were a great deal more scattered than usual for they could feed
almost anywhere. Reports from all over New England indicate
a season well above the average. Woodcock stayed on late in the
north and the writer shot one in Rockingham County, N. H. on
November 30, the last day of the open season. This was the
latest date for the general region that any of our particular
“shooting crowd” has recorded.

It remains to say a few words about the upland game birds.
Grouse are without doubt scarcer than at any time sincel917-
1918. There were fewer than last year. This is difficult to
account for because the species has started to recover its num¬
bers in the woods of northern Maine and in Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick. Nearly the whole of central and southern New Eng¬
land as well as regions further west were poorly off for Grouse.
The breeding season appeared to be good ; in our county the
weather was ideal and large broods were certainly hatched. In
this connection I might mention one nest with 19 eggs on the

26

1927

Bulletin of the

estate of Mr. Arthur W. Elwell in Rowley. Careful measure¬
ments revealed the fact that six of these eggs belonged to one
series and 13 to another, so that without much doubt two females
were laying in this one nest. I was afterwards informed that
all these eggs were hatched.

Broods which the writer watched were reduced to two or
three birds before the shooting season opened so that we again
have to do with the problem of what destroys well-grown coveys
in late August and September. Our Grouse investigation workers
have no light to throw on this most important aspect of the
Grouse situation.

By hunting picked ground the writer started an average of
ten birds a day, or over 200 the whole time he was out. The
remarkable thing about the season was that it got worse towards
the end and birds failed to show up in their usual favorite covers.
If there were four birds in a certain place those four were all we
could account for and no new birds appeared to take the places
of those that were shot. There were nevertheless some young
birds, and I should judge that we shot about half and half of the
old and young. Pheasants were also at rather a low ebb and
it is notorious that many hens are being shot by the lawless
elements. There is even a demand from short-sighted sportsmen
(?) for an open season on hens! We are sure that the present
stock could not stand this for a single season.

Essex County Quail are at their usual low ebb. The few con¬
veys are so far apart that it is doubtful whether any cross-breed¬
ing occurs. The experiment of adding new blood, even if on a
small scale, ought to be tried. It has worked well in other places.
The sportsmen of Essex County are eager to see Bob-white restored
if only to hear his cheery call and to give them some game to
work their bird dogs upon. They realize that with the present
lapse of agriculture it is doubtful if a large stock can ever again
be maintained. Our county sportsmen are also laying plans to
induce the State to start a Game Farm in our midst.

Essex County Ornithological Club

27

A SEARCH FOR AVIAN SUMMER RESIDENTS
Arthur P. Stubbs and S. G. Emilio

The probability that there must be species of breeding birds
in the interior of Essex County, which were wanting or at least
rare in the southern and shore sections, had such an appeal to the
writers, that a trip was planned in June, 1926, to cover parts of
the County to the north and northeast of the Club Camp, located
on the Ipswich River at the southern end of the town of Boxford.
We met at the Camp in accordance with the above plan, on the
evening of June 23, and, after passing a misty night, resonant
with the hum of mosquitoes and the bellowing of frogs, we arose
at daylight and proceeded to check up thje birds of the neighbor¬
hood. This task finished we boarded the faithful Chrysler and
drove to Crooked Pond Game Reservation, stopping now and then
as we heard attractive bird notes. After surveying that part of
the preserve along the pond side, making several interesting
observations, we pushed on to Fish Brook, which we followed as
nearly as the roads would allow into a corner of North Andover
and turning there we rode across the northern part of Boxford to
Baldpate Pond on the border of Georgetown. Near this pond,
we found the nest of a Hermit Thrush and a singing White
Throated Sparrow in a slashing where a lumber company were
finishing work on a big stand of white pine. Leaving Baldpate
Pond we rode somewhat indirectly across Boxford again, to Camp
where we ate lunch. During the afternoon we visited parts of the
Proctor Estate in Topsfield and the Palmer Estate further down
the Ipswich River. On the latter place, at the point where a
narrow bridge crosses the river we had especial good fortune.
This point was the place of departure homeward, through Hamil¬
ton, Wenham and Beverly.

The weather for the day was ideal for bird seeing. The
mist of the early morning cleared away while we were at Crooked
Pond and the temperature rose, with little or no wind, till dur¬
ing the afternoon it became decidedly hot. Much of the terri¬
tory was new to both of us and the expedition in many ways was
an exploration as well as a search for birds.

June 23, 1927, in company with Charles P. Preston, we

28

1927

Bulletin of the

covered much the same territory, starting at Camp as before, trav¬
ersing practically the same ground until we left North Andover,
when we shaped our course to visit Johnson’s Pond, in Groveland,
proceeding from there eastward to Baldpate Pond and from there
through Boxford and Topsfield to the Palmer Estate, at the point
touched in 1926, and thence to the Proctor Estate, taking our
departure homeward through Danvers. Weather conditions of
1927 were similar to those of 1926, except there was not so much
morning mist. More time was given to the early morning work
on foot about camp with good results. The visit to Groveland
gave us only one new bird for the trip and search about Baldpate
Pond was rather disappointing. The Palmer and Proctor Estates
gave pleasing results, but, at the latter place, lack of time pre¬
vented our visiting the 'swamp edge, as we did in 1926, losing
probably thereby, records of several marsh and water birds.

Sixty-three species appear in the list each year but there is
a variation in names of eight birds so the combined lists total
seventy-one. Of course the greater part are common every-day
birds, but quite a few are worthy of note.

Spotted Sandpiper. Nested in a small cornfield near the
Camp both years. The 1927 nest had been collected by Mr. Bates
after the young had hatched, some three or four days before our
trip.

Black-billed Cuckoo. Heard several times in 1927.

Crested Flycatcher. Observed near Camp on both trips.

Bobolinks. Not common. A few seen in the broader fields.

Purple Finch. Erratic in distribution in spite of its accep¬
ted status as common summer resident. It was found both years
and near Camp in 1927.

Vesper Sparrow. One can hardly fail to find this bird near
the Club property in Boxford during the seven warmer months
of the year.

White-throated Sparrow. In 1926 only, a singing male was
found in a pine slashing near Baldpate Pond. This is a rather
rare and irregular summer bird.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Few heard in 1927.

Indigo Bunting. Only one bird for the two trips, seen the

second year.

Essex County Ornithological Club

29

Scarlet Tanager. Decidedly common along our route both
years.

Bank Swallow. Two colonies noted the later year.

Yellow-throated Vireo. Only one bird heard each trip, near
Baldpate Pond, in 1926, and in Groveland, 1927.

Blue-headed Vireo. This bird is considered a rather rare
summer resident and is scarcely known during that season near
the coast. So we were interested to find at least seven singing
males on the first trip and somewhat fewer the second year.
This vireo seems to favor white pine woods.

Golden-winged Warbler was heard both years.

Nashville Warbler. Perhaps the Nashvilles were not in full
song at the time of our trips for it seems that the single bird
heard on the second trip can hardly indicate accurately the prev¬
alence of the species here in summer.

Myrtle Warbler. We do not know of any occurrence of this
species in the County during the nesting season prior to 1926.
That year at the Palmer Estate in Ipswich we saw a pair of birds
but found no nest or young. This of course was on our trip of
June 24. Dr. Townsend gives a date of August 19 for the County
which is very early for a migrant and may possibly represent a
local nesting bird. Nevertheless we were very much and agree¬
ably surprised to find a singing male on June 23, 1927 within a
hundred yards of the spot where we had found the pair the pre¬
vious year. This time we saw no mate for the male nor did we
have time to search for a nest.

Blackburnian Warbler. More were observed in 1927, in
fact it was really common in heavy growths of white pine. It is
possible this bird may be found in summer in the pine growths
of the Manchester region near the coast but the authors do not
know of its occurrence except in the interior of the County.

Certainly in 1927 it was unusually common for it is ranked
as a rare summer resident. We heard or saw at least eight
males the second year as against but one in 1926, and our routes
were much the same.

Pine Warbler. It is the impression of the junior author
that we found more of this species also in J927.

Canada Warbler. Like the Blackburnian, nesting more

30

Bulletin of the

1927

commonly to the north of Massachusetts but occurring sparingly
here in summer. We found perhaps a few more the second year.

Wood Thrush. Not particularly common anywhere we know
of in the County, it seems to be more generally replaced by the
Hermit Thrush. Only at the end of the second trip when we
arrived in the Preston door-yard did we find this species. There
directly over the driveway on an oak limb was a nest, full of
almost full-grown young Wood Thrushes, and the parents not far
away.

A complete list of the species observed follows :

1926 and 1927

Spotted Sandpiper
Pheasant

Red-shouldered Hawk

Black-billed Cuckoo

Downy Woodpecker

Flicker

Swift

Kingbird

Crested Flycatcher

Phoebe

Wood Pewee

Least Flycatcher

Blue Jay

Crow

Starling

Bobolink

Red-winged Blackbird
Meadowlark
Baltimore Oriole
Bronzed Grackle
Purple Finch
Goldfinch
Vesper Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Towhee

Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Scarlet Tanager
Barn Swallow
Tree Swallow
Cedar Waxwing
Red-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Black and White Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Myrtle Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Pine Warbler
Ovenbird

Maryland Yellow-throat
Canada Warbler
Redstart
Catbird

Brown Thrasher

Chickadee

Veery

Hermit Thrush

Robin

Bluebird

Essex County Ornithological Club

1926 ONLY

Bittern
Green Heron

Black-crowned Night Heron
Kingfisher

White-throated Sparrow
Cliff Swallow
Short-billed Marsh Wren
Long-billed Marsh Wren

Mourning Dove
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Hairy Woodpecker
Cowbird

1927 ONLY

Indigo Bunting
Bank Swallow
Nashville Warbler
Wood Thrush

/

31

32

Bulletin of the

1927

A CENSUS OF BREEDING BIRDS AT WINDYKNOB

WENHAM, MASS.

John C. Phillips

“The average bird population to the one hundred acres in
the northeastern states is one hundred and eleven pairs — ” accord¬
ing to the records of the Bureau of Biological Survey up to 1920.
On the tract of eighty-two acres here considered, there have been
in the past five years an average of ninety-nine pairs of breeding
birds, or at the rate of one hundred and twenty-one to the one
hundred acres. This is about ten percent above the average but
is no doubt well within the range of figures from which the
average for the northeastern states was computed.

During the five years since the record was started I have
had the invaluable help of Mr. J. L. Peters, whose acute hearing
made the undertaking possible. The counts were made on dates
between May 29 and June 6. Our method was as follows: to
spend the afternoon before the census in making a rather careful
reconnaissance of the grounds with a view to checking any unus¬
ual bird notes and getting a rough idea of the numbers of the
common species. Then the next morning we were always up at
a very early hour, about 3.30 as I remember it, and spent most
of the time until breakfast in working the ground very carefully,
noting the position of each singing male and of all migrant or
non-breeding individuals. On a still morning when the first
chorus is in full swing one can stand in the garden and check
most of the common species on twenty or thirty acres without
moving. Then the borders of the grounds must be carefully
worked to see whether such and such a bird is out of bounds or
just inside bounds. This is sometimes difficult to decide.

My boundaries, however, are well marked : Cedar Street on
the north, Wenham Lake on the east, and Cabot Street (or Tops-
field Road) on the west. The south boundary runs a little over
the Wenham line into Beverly and takes in the whole of the large
hayfield and a small pine and maple swamp at the head of
“Dodge’s Cove.” 7 acres belong to my grounds and about 5 or
6 acres on land of W. Phillips.

Taken as a whole, the block of land around the house is dry

Essex County Ornithological Club

33

sterile pasture in process of returning to a meagre forest of pitch
pine, red cedar, blueberry, bayberry and ground juniper. The
birch and cherry have been kept pulled up over a considerable
acreage south of the house so as to keep the view open as much
as possible. Most of this was cornfield some 75 years ago and
the old cornhills are still plainly evident.

There are several acres of large white pine at the northeast
corner, and a mixed pine, maple and alder swamp at the south¬
east corner. About ten acres in several plantings were set out to
white and red pine fifteen to twenty years ago. A small brook
flows across the north end of the grounds (dry in July) and an¬
other flood brook comes across from Birch plains near the Wen-
ham-Beverly line. This last makes an attractive swamp where
it joins the lake, but the lake is not always at the same height.
This change in water level affects the breeding of Woodcock,
Rails and Red-wings. Were this swamp always wet we would
probably have other species breeding there.

In the little valley running just west of the moraine which
forms the lake margin is a considerable growth of old pitch pine
which has been underplanted with hemlock and white pine.
These younger trees are rapidly surplanting the old growth. A
good many shrubs have been introduced into this valley, as well
as around the house.

No doubt a much greater number of nesting birds would
take up their quarters immediately around the house if the lawns

and shrubberies were

more extensive.

A tabulati

:on of

results

follows :

BIRD

CENSUS AT WINDYKNOB

1923

1924

1925

1926

1927

Virginia Rail

1 pr.

—

—

—

—

Woodcock

—

—

—

1 pr.

—

Ruffed Grouse

—

—

1 pr.

1

1 pr.

Black-billed Cuckoo

1

—

1

—

1

Northern Flicker

1

1 pr.

1

1

1

Chimney Swift

3

2

2

2

2

Ruby-tht. Humming bird 1

—

—

1

—

Kingbird

1

3

3

1

2

Phoebe

2

2

2

1

2

34

Bulletin of the

1927

Wood Pewee

2

—

—

—

1

Least Flycatcher

3

2

1

2

1

Blue Jay

1

—

1

1

1

Crow

2

—

1

2

2

Starling

—

—

2

- -

2

Bobolink

2

1

3

2

1

Red-winged Blackbird

4

5

4

3

5

Meadowlark

1

—

—

—

—

Baltimore Oriole

2

3

3

3

2

Bronzed Grackle

—

—

—

—

1

Purple Finch

1

1

1

2

2

Vesper Sparrow

—

—

- •

■

1

Chipping Sparrow

8

3

5

5

5

Field Sparrow

1

3

1

— *

■ ■

Song Sparrow

16

8

15

10

12

Swamp Sparrow

—

—

1

1 —

■ '

Towhee

3

2

5

4

5

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

—

—

—

—

1

Barn Swallow

4

4

8

5

6

Tree Swallow

—

1

— •

—

—

Red-eyed Vireo

1

2

1

3

1

Black and White Warbler 3

3

1

2

3

Golden-winged Warbler

1

1

1

1

1

Nashville Warbler

—

1

—

—

1

Yellow Warbler

7

5

5

3

2

Chestnut-sided Warbler

3

2

1

4

2

Black-tht. Green Warbler 2

2

3

2

4

Pine Warbler

2

—

1

3

1

Ovenbird

2

4

4

3

2

Maryland Yellow-throat

6

5

9

6

7

Canada Warbler

—

1

—

1

1

Redstart

1

2

1

2

2

Catbird

7

6

7

7

6

Brown Thrasher

— ■

—

1

—

1

Chickadee

1

2

1

1

1

Veery

3

1

1

1

2

Robin

11

110

7

prs. 84

11

109

6

92

8

102

-

Essex County Ornithological Club

35

Ruffed Grouse. Presence of a brood in 1925 and 1926 taken to indicate
a pair breeding each of the two years.

Starling. Presence of two broods in 1927 taken to indicate two pair
breeding.

Purple Finch. Two individuals in 1925 counted as a pair and four indi¬
viduals in 1927 counted as two pairs.

Nashville Warbler. A singing male in 1924 counted as a pair.

Canada Warbler. A singing male in 1924 and again in 1927 counted
each time as a breeding pair.

The absence of the Bluebird from this tabulation is inexplicable.

Had the counts been made about ten days later each year it is possible
a more accurate determination of the resident breeding birds might have
been made. (Eds.)

36

Bulletin of the

1927

A GIGANTIC MIGRATION OF LAND BIRDS

Maurice Brown

Sunday October 2, was one of those unsurpassed Indian Sum¬
mer days that induces the bird lover to visit his favorite tramp¬
ing grounds. The sun shone blandly from the depths of a hazy,
turquoise sky. There was an intangible something in the atmos¬
phere that presaged a memorable day of bird events. It was this
“something” that allured Mr. John Conkey and myself to the
picturesque stretch of Lynn Beach and to Nahant.

There was nothing especially interesting along the beach.
The Herring Gulls sailed serenely overhead, their white, grace¬
ful forms making a striking contrast against the blue of the sky.
A few White-winged and two or three American Scoters rode
peacefully on the gentle swells. Although many people strolled
leisurely along the beach it was also shared by hosts of Sander-
lings; but walking briskly along, we soon arrived at Little
Nahant. Here, the first unusual sight was a score of White-
throated Sparrows, accompanied by a few Juncos flitting about
the tide-washed rocks, snatching at some dipterous insects that
danced about the sea-weeds. In the pines on the hill overlooking
the coast guard station were many more migrants. Our list was
soon augmented by the addition of four Myrtle Warbers, a Black-
throated Blue Warbler, a Ruby-crowned and several Golden-
crowned Kinglets, and six Hermit Thrushes. It was evident that
there were lively doings at Nahant.

Perhaps few of the Nahant folks were aware of it, but that
day, peaceful, drowsy Nahant was besieged by hundreds of avian
wanderers. Almost every tree or patch of greensward had its
quota of White-throats. The faint whispering articulations of
these birds issued from every direction, and some few even ven¬
tured to voice their sweet, plaintive “pea-body” refrains. It
was by far the greatest migraton of White-throated Sparrows
that we had ever witnessed. In some places the birds were so
bunched together, that at our approach they dispersed like myri¬
ads of fallen leaves being picked up whirligig fashion and scat¬
tered about by the playful winds. We conservatively estimated
over fifteen hundred of these birds. And incorporated with this
tremendous concourse of White-throats, were over one hundred

Essex County Ornithological Club

37

and fifty Juncoes, about forty-five Song and ten Swamp Sparrows,
over fifty Hermit Thrushes, one Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, at least
twenty Brown Creepers, over twenty-five Golden-crowned King¬
lets, a rather belated Ovenbird, four Phoebes, a Wood Pewee, a
Red-eyed and a Solitary Vireo, three Towhees and a Catbird. In
mid-afternoon it was with reluctance that we were obliged to
leave Nahant with its teeming hordes of feathered guests.

It is interesting to note that early in the morning we took a
bird census in the Boston Public Garden. Our list contained
the following migrants: one Sparrow Hawk, one Flicker, five
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, two Slate-colored Juncos, two Song
Sparrows, one Catbird, one Brown Creeper, and twelve Hermit
Thrushes. Incidentally, for a half hour that morning (3.30 to
4.00 A. M.) I heard the sibilant sounds of birds passing over in
migratory flight. With these figures one can easily conceive of
the magnitude of this migration, which seemed not to have been
influenced by any untoward weather conditions other than the
prevailing northeasterly winds of that date.

22 Dartmouth Street, Boston.

38

Bulletin of the

1927

FURTHER EVIDENCE
S. G. Emilio

Mr. Brown’s account of the prevalence of birds at Nahant
on October 2, 1927 suggests recording my own experience at
Danvers and Ipswich on the same date.

The first items of my notes for the day was “Heard birds
last evening in spite of warm night.” This parallels Brown’s
early morning observation and throughout the day the results of
my search in territory ten to twenty miles from Nahant indicate,
as did his, an immense visitation of birds to Essex County.

In the morning and until about 10.30 I hunted near home.
In addition to fifteen of the commoner species these appear on
the list: Mourning Dove 1; Phoebe; Meadowlark; Rusty Black
bird 15; Purple Finch; White-throated Sparrow, few; Swamp
Sparrow, common; Towhee; Parula, Myrtle and Black-poll Warb¬
lers ; Brown Creeper; Chickadees ; Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit
Thrush ; Bluebird 10.

Soon after 11 o’clock I was walking southeastward along the
road inside the Ipswich dunes. Presently I found a Grouse with
eight or ten young not one third grown. The place as well as
the age of the small birds at this date was interesting, for the
bird rarely if ever nests in the dunes and in all probability it had
migrated with the little family across the marshes from the
“mainland.” Over the dunes and along the beach back to Castle
Hill the additions to the day’s list were chiefly waterbirds, but I
noted Pipits and recorded Golden-crowned Kinglets as tolerably
common. At length on the beautiful Crane estate hills I found
my first fall Juncos, a Canada Warbler, several Olive-backed
Thrushes, a Maryland Yellow-throat, an immature White-crowned
Sparrow, and a Blue-headed Vireo, as well, of course, as numer¬
ous instances of species already recorded. White-throats here
were very common, in places it seemed as if there was a bird to
each weed stalk and surprising numbers took to the air at my
approach. I made no attempt to estimate the total number and
can only record my belief that rarely if ever have I seen such a
concentration.

The forty land birds I found in greater or less number on
this October day in addition to five more species observed by Mr.

Essex County Ornithological Club

39

Brown, which I did not list, indicate a considerable breadth to
the movement. This diversity of species together with the unus¬
ually large numbers of various different kinds of birds, observed
particularly by Brown, certainly proved the day an exceptionally
fine one for being afield.

,

40

Bulletin of the

1927

ANNOTATED LIST OF BIRDS OBSERVED DURING 1927

BY THE ESSEX COUNTY ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB

The weather for the year was, as a whole, abnormal. The
first three months were above normal in temperature. Precipi¬
tation during January and February was average in amount, but
nearly every snow was followed by rain or mild weather, so that
no deep snow piled up in the fields and woods and in each month
there were less than ten days of sleighing. March was unusually
warm. Only one inch of snow fell during the month and there
was very little rain. April was normal in temperature but ex¬
perienced a drought which lasted nearly the entire month. From
this time until September there was much cold unseasonable
weather, with light rains until July, when precipitation increased.
There were but five days in June when the thermometer reached
eighty or above and but fourteen fair days were recorded for the
month. July was cool and cloudy with much rain but having a
week of hot weather in the middle of the month. August was
dark and dismal in rain and fog with only thirteen fair days and
only four that were above eighty degrees in temperature. Sep¬
tember and October reversed conditions and were above normal
in temperature and quite dry. November was very warm. On
four days it went above seventy degrees; on eleven above sixty
degrees ; on sixteen above fifty degrees and on twenty-five above
forty degrees. The lowest temperature was sixteen degrees on
the twentieth. There was a week of Indian Summer from the
twelfth to the nineteenth. Rainfall was above normal. Novem¬
ber seventh the first snow whitened the ground. December was
open and comparatively warm with little snow and some rain.
No snow was on the ground at Christmas and the larger ponds
were partly open. Ideal sunny weather prevailed over the holi¬
day with rain on the twenty-ninth, and with mild weather and
mist or rain for the remainder of the month.

The mild weather of early spring apparently caused no ab¬
normal movement of migrants, some of the divers and a few
species of ducks, influenced by open water to the northward, may
have moved toward their breeding grounds a little earlier than
usual but the majority of the birds moved on schedule, in fact a
mixed company of ducks was seen near Little Nahant in mid May.

Essex County Ornithological Club

41

Phoebes and Blackbirds came early in March as usual while Spar¬
rows and their ilk showed up in April on time. Most species of
Vireos, Warblers and others that come early in May, were here
when due, but apparently few in number. Unseasonable weather
seemed to delay migration to some extent but it is noticeable
that there is only the record of one May migrant warbler having
been seen in June. Wrens, Kinglets and Thrushes, as a rule,
moved according to schedule.

Mid season or summer records seem to point to a spotty crop
of nestlings, as cover filled with young birds was not easily found,
except in a few localities. The fall migration of birds was also
rather thin, a good run of species but few individuals. How
much bearing the long, warm spells of September and October
may have on this is something of a puzzle. A warm November
with few cold days helped to complicate matters.

The autumn migration of shore-birds was normal both as to
number of species and of individuals and also in time of the flights.

Most species of ducks came on time, with the exception of
the Golden-eyes, which were late, as possibly were the Red-legged
Black Ducks. A pleasing variety of duck species was reported.

Geese and Brant did not appear in large numbers until late
November and the last big flocks were seen in early December.

Open weather in December made late migrant Sparrows and
others linger well into the middle of the month.

As in previous lists the Recorder has included a few impor¬
tant Essex County records not made by the Club. These have
been made by observers known to the Recorder as thoroughly re¬
liable and are given for the purpose of rounding out the list of
birds present during the year. These records will be found
credited by name.

A. o. u.

2. Holboell’s Grebe. April 29; October 26. Fairly common.

3. Horned Grebe. April 17 ; October 12. Usual numbers in

spring; smaller numbers in fall than usual.

6. Pied-billed Grebe. April 29 to May 14 ; September 24 to
November 6. A single bird was about Farm Pond at
the Fay estate during the range of above spring dates.
See page 59.

42

Bulletin of the

1927

7. Loon. June 29; September 24. Rather small numbers
during fall.

11. Red-throated Loon. May 29; November 6. Infrequent
during fall.

27. Black Guillemot. February 22; November 20. Earlier
record made on the Washington s Birthday trip of the
Club to Nahant and the November record made on the
motor boat trip about the ledges. See page 54.

31. Brunnich’s Murre. March 19. A single record for the year.

34. Dovekie. November 5. A remarkable record from the
fact that the bird was seen so early in the season and in
fresh water, Suntaug Lake. Very strong and persistent
southerly winds and heavy rain November 3 and 4.

37. Parasitic Jaeger. August 8 to September 29. Seen at
Ipswich.

40. Kittiwake. August 20 and December 4. Seen “on the
rail” August 20 at Sow and Pigs at close range, this
being the second summer record at this location.

See page 60, 1926 Bulletin.

42. Glaucous Gull. February 8. Single record for the year.

Seen at Bennett’s Point.

43. Iceland Gull. February 20. Also a single record. Seen

at Fisherman’s Beach.

47. Great Black-backed Gull. Present. Usual numbers.

51. Herring Gull. Usual numbers throughout the year.
Nested on the Gooseberry Islands off Salem.

54. Ring-billed Gull. May 18 to August 31. Seen in some
numbers at the Sow and Pigs, this being the second
summer that they were common at this station.

58. Laughing Gull. May 17 to August 31. Present in vary¬
ing numbers during the breeding season but no nesting
birds reported.

60. Bonaparte’s Gull. May 18 to December 4. Why birds
supposed to nest in central British America should be
on the Massachusetts coast in breeding time and some of
them in breeding plumage, is somewhat of a puzzle.

64. Caspian Tern. August 28. Single record, Ipswich, an
adult in Clark’s Pond with many gulls and smaller terns.

Essex County Ornithological Club

43

70. Common Tern. May 15 to October 13. Present in usual

numbers.

71. Arctic Tern. July 27 to August 28. Few reported.

72. Roseate Tern. July 31 to August 31. Few reported.

77. Black Tern. August. Several collected.

117. Gannet. April 17 to 24 ; September 28 to November 20.
Fairly good numbers seen.

119. Cormorant. April 17; November 20. Usual numbers.

120. Double-crested Cormorant. May 15 to 18 ; July 15 to

November 3. Large fall flights.

129. American Merganser. March 14 to 23; November 7 to

December 28. Comparatively few reported.

130. Red-breasted Merganser. May 29 ; October 2. Usual

numbers.

131. Hooded Merganser. September 4 to November 13. De¬

cidedly uncommon.

132. Mallard. September 11 to October 29. Wild birds of this

species apparently are becoming more common.

133. Red-legged Black Duck. March 13 ; October 12. Fall

migration apparently thin in numbers.

133a. Black Duck. Many broods of young birds noted during
the breeding season.

135. Gad wall. October 6 and Novenber 21. Birds shot at

Rowley and Wenham Lake. Rare species in Essex County.

136. European Widgeon. September 29. Ipswich. Bird shot.

137. Baldpate. October 12 to November 9. Was reported as

shot earlier but dates not given. Uncommon species.

139. Green-winged Teal. March 14 ; September 4 to Novem¬

ber 26. Apparently a little more common this year
than usual.

140. Blue-winged Teal. April 24; September 4 to 16. Evi¬

dently an early September flight.

143. Pintail. September 4 to December 28. Uncommon species

in the county.

144. Wood Duck. April 17 to October 16. Few reported this

year.

146. Redhead. November 3 to December 8. A few Redheads
were about Flax Pond, Lynn, from November 3 till

44

Bulletin of the

1927

after the 16th when they were driven from this protected
territory by “game hogs.” One bird was seen in
Spring Pond on December 8.

147 Canvas-back. October 10 to November 10, Chebacco Pond
and Rowley. Rare in Essex County.

148. Scaup. May 17; October 12. Locally common. The

spring date was of a single male seen with a small group
of several species of ducks near Little Nahant.

149. Lesser Scaup. March 19 ; October 23, November 5. Not

so often reported as above species.

150. Ring-necked Duck. November 14, Chebacco Pond. Prob¬

ably not as rare as the few reports seem to indicate.

151. American Golden-eye. April 8 ; November 6. Few were

reported until December on the fall migration, common
after that.

152. Barrow’s Golden-eye. February 22 ; December 7. At

Sliding Rock, Lynn in the usual small numbers.

153. Bufflehead. May 18 ; October 26. Common along Nahant

Beach and apparently increasing in numbers each year.

154. Old-squaw. May 18 ; October 26. Very common during

fall and winter of 1927.

160. Eider. February 16 to March 2. A single bird about
East Point, Nahant.

163. American Scoter. May 18 ; October 9. Frequently seen
but by no means so common as the two following species.

165. White-winged Scoter. June 29 ; September 2. Rather a

thin fall migration locally.

166. Surf Scoter. May 18 ; September 2. Unusually numerous

in October.

167. Ruddy Duck. November 7 to 27. Decidedly uncommon.
172. Canada Goose. March 18 to April 24 ; September 26 to

December 4. The large flights of the fall migration
were in late November and early December.

173a Brant. Large flights were reported from Cape Ann on
November 25 by M. Brown,

190. Bittern. March 27 to October 30. These record dates
were reported from Ipswich, the earlier one from the
pond in the dunes, the later from Clark’s Pond.

Essex County Ornithological Club

45

194. Great Blue Heron. April 10 to May 18; July 21 to
December ]0. Usual numbers. A fair flight reported
in late November.

201. Green Heron. May 14 to September' 25. By no means

abundant.

202. Black-crowned Night Heron. April 9 to December 30.

Present in usual numbers.

212. Virginia Rail April 10 to June 1. Very few reported.
214. Sora. May 14 to September 11. Very few reported.

221. Coot. September to November 3. Few reported.

228. Woodcock. March 12 to July 21. Only locally common.

230. Wilson’s Snipe. April 13 to August 11. Only locally

common.

231. Dowitcher. May 22 to 29; July 15 to September 1. Seen

in some numbers at Clark’s Pond, Ipswich.

233. Stilt Sandpiper. August 12 and 14. Clark’s Pond, Ips¬

wich. Two birds. Rare.

234. Knot. August 14 to October 30. Somewhat common.

235. Purple Sandpiper. January 2 ; November 6. Large num¬

bers seen on the outlying ledges on the November date.
Probably common throughout the winter.

239. Pectoral Sandpiper. July 25 to October 12. Not abundant.

240. White-rumped Sandpiper. August 12 to November 3.

About usual numbers.

241. Baird’s Sandpiper. May 17; August 11 to 31. Very rare,

or at least very rarely detected.

242. Least Sandpiper. May 8 to June 8 ; July 17 to Septem¬

ber 28. Present in usual numbers.

243a. Red-backed Sandpiper. May 29 ; September 30 to October
30. Not abundant.

246. Semipalmated Sandpiper. May 8 to June 8 ; July 17 to
October 26. Very common.

248. Sanderling. May 17 to June 6 ; July 27 to November 28.
Very common.

251. Hudsonian Godwit. October 10 to 12. Probably a single
bird, seen in the Plum Island region.

254. Greater Yellow-legs. April 24 to June 6; July 17 to
Nov. 6. Noticeably larger numbers seen than in 1926.

Bulletin of the

1927

46

255. Yellow-legs. May 14; July 17 to October 2. Status much

the same as that of above species.

256. Solitary Sandpiper. May 11 to 15 ; July 17 to September

28. Rather few seen.

261. Upland Plover. August 28 to September 4. Rare.

262. Buff-breasted Sandpiper. September 4, one bird. This

was seen at Clarke’s Pond, Ipswich, by Mr. C. E. Clarke.

263. Spotted Sandpiper. May 8 to September -28. Present in

usual numbers.

265. Hudsonian Curlew. July to September 4. Rare this year.
270. Black-bellied Plover. May 15 to 22; August 11 to Novem¬
ber 24. Common.

272. Golden Plover. August 14 (C. E. Clarke) to October 30.

Rare.

273. Killdeer. March 14 to September 28. Common locally.

274. Semipalmated Plover. May 14 to 29; July 17 to October

12. Very common.

277. Piping Plover. May 14 to August 28. Comparatively few
reported.

283a. Ruddy Turnstone. August 11 to September 1. Several
records.

289. Bob White. Present in small numbers in Danvers and
Peabody.

300. Rulfed Grouse. Becoming rare.

Ring-necked Pheasant. Resident but not abundant.

316. Mourning Dove. March 20 to November 3. Locally
common.

331. Marsh Hawk. May 1 to October 12. Comparatively few

reported.

332. Sharp-shinned Hawk. Present. Occasionally seen.

333. Cooper’s Hawk. Present. Occasionally seen.

334. Goshawk. March 26 ; October 30. Many reported, another

cold weather invasion from the northward.

337. Red-tailed Hawk. May 29 ; November 9 and December 24.
Only three records for the year.

339. Red-shouldered Hawk. Present throughout year. Common.
343. Broad-winged Hawk. May 14. Only one record for the
year.

Essex County Ornithological Club

47

347a. Rough-legged Hawk. November 26, at Ipswich. Only
one reported.

352. Bald Eagle. In August one was seen in the region about
Ipswich.

356a. Duck Hawk. August 28 to October 12. Uncommon.

357. Pigeon Hawk. October 12. A single record for the year.
360. Sparrow Hawk. Present throughout year. Not uncommon.
364. Osprey. May 14 to Ocober 12. Few reported.

368. Barred Owl. Probably resident. Several seen.

372. Saw-whet Owl. March 10 to 14 ; November 5. Both

spring and fall records were made on the Fay Estate,
Lynn.

373. Screech Owl. Present throughout year. Many reported.

375. Great Horned Owl. Present throughout year near the

Club Camp in Boxford.

376. Snowy Owl. March 22. Only one record.

377a. Hawk Owl. November 28 at Hamilton. Specimen taken
by Wilkinson.

387. Yellow-billed Cuckoo. May 17 to June 22. Rare.

388. Black-billed Cuckoo. May 14 to October 22. About

usual numbers.

390. Belted Kingfisher. Wintered in Peabody; March 28 to
December 26.

393. Hairy Woodpecker. Present throughout year and quite
common.

394c. Downy Woodpecker. Present throughout year and common.
400. Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker. May 22 seen at Asbury
Grove by Mrs, M. E. Ward.

402. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. April 13 to 19 ; September 25 to
Oct. 10. Again present in limited but normal numbers.
406. Red-headed Woodpecker. September 28, a single bird in
immature plumage was seen on the Fay Estate, Lynn.
412a. Northern Flicker. Present in usual numbers.

417. Whip-poor-will. May 13 to September 23. Locally common.
420. Nighthawk. May 26 to September 9. Not common this
year.

423. Chimney Swift. May 1 to September 11. Present in usual
numbers.

48

Bulletin of the

1927

428. Ruby-throated Hummingbird. May 14 to September 18.
By no means common.

444. Kingbird. May 11 to September 11. Common.

452. Crested Flycatcher. May 11 to September 4. Common
nowhere, though in the central and southern parts of
the county, more breeding birds were located than in
other years.

456. Phoebe. March 19 to October 20. Common.

461. Wood Pewee. May 29 to September 14. Locally common.
463. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. May 29; August 28 and Sep¬
tember 5. Very rare migrant.

466a. Alder Flycatcher. May 15 to June 1. Very rare summer
resident.

467. Least Flycatcher. May 7 to August 22. Locally common.
474. Horned Lark. April 26; October 12. Locally common.
474b. Prairie Horned Lark. May 15 to October 2. Locally
common.

477. Blue Jay. Present throughout the year and well distrib¬
uted over the county for the past twelve months.

488. Crow. Present in large numbers.

493. Starling. Present in very large numbers.

494. Bobolink. May 8 to September 5. Locally common.

495. Cowbird. March 15 to November 28. Common.

498. Red-winged Blackbird. January 2 ; March 13 to Novem¬
ber 29 ; December 24. The above series of dates seem
to indicate that this species may occur here in any
month of the year.

501. Meadowlark. Present and locally common.

506. Orchard Oriole. During June one bird was seen about

North Salem by several Club observers.

507. Baltimore Oriole. May 6 to September 11. Pleasingly

common.

509. Rusty Blackbird. March 12 to May 14; September 28 to
November 6. Common migrant.

511b. Bronzed Grackle. January 30; March 13 to November 30.

Year round status not so nearly indicated as in the case
of the Red-winged Blackbird.

514. Evening Grosbeak. One record, January 23.

Essex County Ornithological Club

49

515. Pine Grosbeak. January 23 to March 11. Very rare.

March 11 is a late date for the County.

517. Purple Finch. Present in variable numbers.

528. Redpoll. Only one record, March 27, near Fay estate.

529. Goldfinch. Present in variable numbers.

533. Pine Siskin. December 22. One bird only.

534. Snow Bunting. March 26 ; October 28. Reported in

numbers from Ipswich but uncommon elsewhere.

536. Lapland Longspur. One record, February 16 at Nahant
Beach.

540. Vesper Sparrow. April 15 to October 12. Locally common.

541. Ipswich Sparrow. November 1, at Ipswich.

542a. Savannah Sparrow. March 20 to November 27. Locally
common.

546a. Grasshopper Sparrow. One record, July 14 at Ipswich.
549-la Acadian Sharp-tailed Sparrow. May 29. A pale grayish
Sharp-tail, in all probability the Acadian.

554. White-crowned Sparrow. May 12 to 18; October 2. Very
few reported.

558. White-throated Sparrow. April 24 to May 24 ; September

21 to December 18, and one bird at Ipswich the last
days of the year.

559. Tree Sparrow. April 24 ; October 27. Common.

560. Chipping Sparrow. April 17 to November 5. Common.
563. Field Sparrow. March 20 to October 5. Common.

567. Slate-colored Junco. April 24; October 2. Common.

581. Song Sparrow. Present in large numbers from early

March to November, scattering the remainder of the year.

583. Lincoln’s Sparrow. May 14 to 29 ; September 23. This

was an unusually good year for this species as several
were seen, not enough to take it out of the rare class
however.

584. Swamp Sparrow. April 10 to December 24. Special field

work on this species, the Recorder thinks, would demon-
trate that in favorable spots it is as much a winter
resident as is the Song Sparrow.

585. Fox Sparrow. March 13 to April 17 ; October 26 to Decem¬

ber 11. Rather thin migrations both spring and fall.

50

Bulletin of the

1927

587. Towhee. April 17 to October 9. Common.

595*. Rose-breasted Grosbeak. May 11 to October 5. Frequent
but not common. The October date is very late for
the species. One bird in brown plumage was seen by
two observers.

598. Indigo Bunting. May 12 to September 25. Increasing in
numbers after a scarcity of a few years but not yet
abundant.

608. Scarlet Tanager. May 14 to October 5. Usual numbers.

612. Cliff Swallow. May 14 to September 5. The breeding

station at East Street on the Ipswich River the only
one reported from this year.

613. Barn Swallow. April 17 to October 9. Common.

614. Tree Swallow. March 31 to September 5. Locally common.
616! Bank Swallow. May 14 to September 5. Several breeding

stations located in the County.

617. Rough-winged Swallow. May 8 and 22; September 5. The
spring dates are from Clark’s Pond, Ipswich where a
single bird was repeatedly observed and could be distin¬
guished readily from the other swallows with the un¬
aided eye. The fall date was also of a single bird seen
at rest at close range, and on the wing, with opportun¬
ity for direct comparison with all four of our common
swallows.

619. Cedar Waxwing. Present in varying numbers.

621. Northern Shrike. March 27 ; November 27. Only one fall
record and then the Shrike was seen eating a Myrtle

Warbler.

622c Migrant Shrike. March 26; September 1, (C. E. Clarke.)

Very rare. The spring record is the first for many

years.

624. Red-eyed Vireo. May 12 to September 28. Common.

627. Warbling Vireo. May 23 to June 17. Decidedly un¬

common.

628. Yellow-throated Vireo. May 15 to September 25. Decid¬

edly uncommon.

629. Blue-headed Vireo. April 20 to October 16. Somewhat

common locally.

Essex County Ornithological Club

51

631. White-eyed Vireo. One bird was seen on the Ipswich
River Trip, May 14.

636. Black and White Warbler. May 1 to September 22. Com¬
mon.

642. Golden-winged Warbler. May 8 to August 21. Locally
common.

645. Nashville Warbler. May 6 to September 24. Somewhat

common locally.

646. Orange-crowned Warbler. One bird was collected near the

Fay Estate, Lynn, on November 30. See page 62.

647. Tennessee Warbler. May 8 to 29. Rare this year.

648a. Northern Parula Warbler. May 6 to 29 ; September 23 to

October 2. Uncommon this year.

652. Yellow Warbler. May 6 to September 7. Common.

654. Black-throated Blue Warbler. May 11 to 29. Uncommon

this year.

655. Myrtle Warbler. Was present again during the breeding

season on the Palmer Estate in Ipswich. Common in
migrations and reported in the winter months.

657. Magnolia Warbler. May 6 to 29 ; September 5. Rare
during the fall migration.

659. Chestnut-sided Warbler. May 7 to September 5. Common.

660. Bay-breasted Warbler. May 11 to 29. Unusually numer¬

ous this spring for a rare warbler.

661. Black-poll Warbler. May 18 to June 3; September 24 to

October 9. Common.

662. Blackburnian Warbler. May 10 to September 25. Breeds

in the County sparingly where it can find congenial
surroundings.

667. Black-throated Green Warbler. May 1 to October 9.
Locally common.

671. Pine Warbler. April 16 to September 28. Locally common.

672. Palm Warbler. September 25 to December 22. Very rare

this year.

672a. Yellow Palm Warbler. April 15 to May 8 ; September 28
to November 6. Not numerous.

673. Prairie Warbler. May 6 to June 14. Locally common.

674. Ovenbird. May 6 to September 25. Common.

52

Bulletin of the

1927

675. Water-Thrush. May 8 to 29 ; October 9. Uncommon.

679. Mourning Warbler. Seen at same spot by two observers
but at different hours of September 25. A single bird
in young or female plumage. Fay Estate, Lynn.

681. Maryland Yellow-throat. May 2 to October 2. Common.

685. Wilson’s Warbler. May 18 to 29. Uncommon.

686. Canada Warbler. May 18 to October 2. Breeds locally

but is not common.

687. Redstart. May 7 to September 24. Common.

697. Pipit. May 10 ; September 28 to November 6. Common
migrant locally.

703. Mockingbird. A bird of this species was seen about North

Salem during the month of December.

704. Catbird. May 5 to December 4. As this species has been

known to winter in the County it is hoped that the bird
seen at Ipswich on December 4 may stay until the spring.

705. Brown Thrasher. April 24 to September 25. Common.
718. Carolina Wren. About the Fay Estate from November 27

to December 11.

721. House WTen. May 8 to September 25. An unusual num¬

ber bred on the Fay Estate this year.

722. Winter Wren. October 23, a single record.

724. Short-billed Marsh Wren. May 15 to July 21. Locally

common.

725. Long-billed Marsh Wren. May 15 to July 31. Locally

common.

726. Brown Creeper. A pair, present through the nesting sea-

on at the Fay Estate. Frequently seen throughout the
rest of the year.

727. White-breasted Nuthatch. Bred at the Fay Estate this

year. Somewhat common.

728. Red-breasted Nuthatch. May 14; September 23. Not

common this year.

735. Chickadee. Very common throughout the year.

740a. Acadian Chickadee. Seen near Wenham Lake, Decemer 31.
748. Golden-crowned Kinglet. April 17 ; September 28. Again
present in normal numbers.

Essex County Ornithological Club

53

749. Ruby-crowned Kinglet. April 17 to May 15; October 2 to
30. Not rare.

755. Wood Thrush. May 8 to September 11. Only locally

common.

756. Veery. May 6 to September 1. Common in Ipswich

River valley.

758a. Olive-backed Thrush. May 11 to June 11; October 2. De¬
cidedly uncommon. The June record may be explained
by the unusually cool weather which prevailed during
late spring.

759b. Hermit Thrush. April 9 to October 30. Breeds in some
numbers all over the County.

761. Robin. Present in great numbers from March to Decem¬
ber, variable or scattering for the remainder of the
year.

766. Bluebird. February 27 to October 29. Common.

54

Bulletin of the

1927

WINTER VISITANTS AT THE SEASHORE
Willard B. Porter

In early B'ebruary, 1925, a small group of Club members
accompanied by two ornithologists from the American Museum
at New York city made a short off-shore trip from Swampscott.

I was not in that party but am told that the weather was
very mild with practically no wind and an extraordinarily placid
sea with scarcely a preceptible ground-swell. Close range obser¬
vation of the Purple Sandpiper ( Arquatella maritima), was the
main object and as two of the party crawled within eight or ten
feet of a flock of these birds on Great Pig Rocks, the expedition
was considered very successful.

On this, the second trip, the thermometer registered ten
degrees below freezing when five of the Essex County Ornitho¬
logical Club and two visiting observers from New York, in whose
interest the trip had been arranged, assembled on Fisherman’s
Beach, Sunday, November 20, 1927 about 8.30 a. m. It mattered
not to these “Queer Birds”, as one of the fishermen was heard to
classify the group, that the sea was rough and choppy and that
the strong northwest wind quickly froze the spray; “the call of
the wild” was in their blood. So we embarked, after one of us
had succeeded in reassuring a suspicious member of the State

Essex County Ornithological Club

55

Constabulary that we were not plotting- to circumvent the provis¬
ions of the Volstead Law, in a staunch 28-foot open motor boat
owned and commanded by Captain Max P. Codwise, whose name
is certainly appropriate to his calling of a fisherman.

Out toward Egg Rock the launch headed, throwing an occa¬
sional cloud of spray over the enthusiasts aboard. We slowly
circled the rock which is one of the newer Massachusetts sanct¬
uaries, but no avian visitors were seen. The visit was not with¬
out its feature however, for in negotiating the passage between
the main ledge and “Little Egg Rock” old Father Neptune in a
most deplorable and nasty spirit sent along a crested roller ap¬
proaching apparently from the direction of the mainland and so
wholly unexpected. Only the quick work of skipper Codwise in
“headin’ her up into it” saved us from a ducking and perhaps
worse.

After recovering our equilibrium we shook the water from
our togas, such as had not frozen there, and proceeded on our
way. This was due northeast, the objective being “Great Pig
Rocks” which lie about two miles off shore. There we obtained
our first look at Purple Sandpipers of which there was a flock of
about 75 huddled on the lee side of one of the smaller rocks. The
tide was high so the birds were merely resting. Several Cormor¬
ants {carbo) and perhaps a dozen Great Black-backed Gulls had
flown at our approach. A stiff ground swell precluded any possi¬
bility of landing so we had to be content with a somewhat limited
study of the Sandpipers.

From there the course continued northeast to “HalfWay
Rock”. This was about five miles away and lies some three
miles from the nearest mainland. The approach to this famous
local sea-mark was rather weird, for the mirage which was very
marked on all the islands gave the rock the appearance of stand¬
ing above the level of the ocean. There, many more Purple
Sandpipers were seen.

Enroute to the rock, by the way, four Horned Larks flew by
our boat coming from an easterly direction, and there was much
speculation on the part of the “landsman” of the group regard¬
ing whence they came, for no land is charted in that direction
nearer than Nova Scotia. His suggestion that they might be on

56

1927

Bulletin of the

a “hop” from some foreign shore, met with the silent contempt
it deserved.

From “Half Way Rock” the craft was headed in towards
the mainland and we swung towards Baker’s, the Gooseberries,
and Eagle Islands, then southward by “Cat” Island, which is its
designation on Uncle Sam’s charts, but it is known ashore more
familiarly as “Lowell” Island. We continued along Marblehead
Neck shore passing inside of Tinker’s and turned to the right to
approach the “Little Pigs” or “Devereux Rocks”. “Ram Island
was next and we skirted the Clifton and Swampscott shores back
to the beach, our starting point where we arrived about noon.

The trip covered some twenty miles and was certainly en¬
joyed, though a few Black-Guillemots in winter plumage were
the only representatives of the hoped for Alcidae we found.
Strange as it may seem it felt warmer on the water than ashore,
though none of us was seen to unbutton his outer garments to
cool off.

The following species were listed : Horned Grebe, Loon, Black
Guillemot, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Gannet, Cor¬
morant, Red-breasted Merganser, Black Duck, Old Squaw, White¬
winged Scoter, Surf Scoter, Purple Sandpiper, Horned Lark.

Mr. John H. Baker and his brother, Miles P. Baker, now of
Boston, together with Lawson, Emilio, Stubbs, Mackintosh, and
the writer made up the party.

FLICKERS
Willis H. Ropes

My first experience in banding birds was in June 1922. I
had found a Flicker’s nest in the punky head of an old russet
apple tree on my land, but as I had not yet received my banding
license I enlisted the aid of Mr. Mackintosh who was fully
equipped with licenses and bands. Emilio also was called in on
this job which was new to all of us.

With the aid of a wire shutter we captured the female on
June 4. The nestlings were then too small to band but they had
lusty voices, the concerted use of which, in calling for rations,

Essex County Ornithological Club

57

some people liken to the continuous filing of a saw, others to a
swam of angry bees. June 13 we made another visit and Emilio
having the smaller arm pulled out the six nestlings which were,
of course, banded. The male parent we did not catch nor have
I ever recaptured any of these six young.

The same hole was occupied by Flickers the next year, and
June 13 I caught and banded the male 107507. June 23 Mackin¬
tosh and Emilio again being present, we applied bands to the
four nestlings but failed to catch the old female.

June 17, 1924, this old male, 107507 showed up in a stump
of an old apple tree on a neighbor’s lot. His mate I caught and
banded, 113471, also five nestlings. The hole was not over five
feet from the ground and the next year, 1925, was occupied by
Bluebirds.

In May, 1925 I located a pair of Flickers nesting in a deep
hole in an old Baldwin apple tree on a neighbor’s land, and after
waiting until I judged by the strength of their voices that the
young were large enough to band, I secured the assistance of a
small boy with a slim arm to reach into the hole and pull them
out. So on May 31, I banded seven husky nestlings, 215882-8
inclusive. The parents proved to be the old male of three sea¬
sons, 107507 with a new mate which I numbered 215889.

To go back a year — on June 5, 1924 I caught a Flicker in a
hole nearly two feet deep in an old apple tree on Judge White’s
land which lies south of my three acre lot, and used band 10168.
This bird weighed five and a half ounces and when found was
apparently incubating three eggs. At the time I was not familiar
with the characteristic sex markings on the throat of the male
and supposed this one which I took off eggs to be a female. So
June 1 when I caught the mate I recorded it 10169, male. A
few days later I banded four lusty young birds from this hole.
Their eyes were just open and feathers still sheathed. They left
the nest June 28.

The next year, 1925, on May 18 I found 10169 in this same
hole on no less than nine eggs. I recognized this bird then as a
female. Two weeks later however, every egg had disappeared
and the hole was not again occupied by Flickers.

In May, 1926 I heard woodpeckers at work near the first tree

58

Bulletin of the

1927

mentioned in this story, but could not find the hole until June 10
when I happened to see a Flicker’s head projecting from a hole
in the north side of the punky head of the old russet apple tree.
I had never looked on that side before as all my Flicker holes
seemed to have a southerly exposure. My catch this time proved
to be 10168, a male, originally banded June 5, 1924 as above
described. His mate was an 'unbanded bird which soon carried
band 381011. At the time the young were too small, but a week
later the seven youngsters had their eyes open and were half
feathered so they were made to carry numbers 381018 to 24 in¬

clusive.

Aa indicated above I learned the significance of the black

malar stripe on a Flicker some time subsequent to June, 1924 :
that is I came believe that a bird so marked must be a male.

Now in the latter part of June, 1926, my grandson was mak¬
ing me a visit and I told him of the nest full of seven young
Flickers I had recently banded, in the old russet tree. Of course
he wanted to see them so we went to the tree. The young were
ready to fly and one had his head out of the hole showing the
black mustaches of the male. That bird flew and the boy took out
the other six every one of which had a similar black malar stripe
on either side of his throat. Apparently ALL were males and

this seemed rather extraordinary.

In a recent letter from Mr. L. L. Snyder, Associate in Orni¬
thology at the Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology, he says con¬
cerning these Flickers of which I wrote him, “Like yourself I
was much surprised a few years ago to find a nest of young
Flickers all of which appeared to be young males. A few years
later, however, a nestling specimen possessing a black ‘ mus¬
tache’’ was collected and upon dissection it proved to be a female.

This was again noted in another specimen taken about the same
time in the same place. I have not taken the time as yet to
search the literature on the subject but I have kept the point in
mind and again this summer at Long Point, Ontario, three or
four specimens were taken which exhibited the black “mustache
marks and proved to be females. One is of particular interest
since the black marking is being lost, probably by moult but I
must admit that upon first examination it suggested fading.

Essex County Ornithological Club

69

“This condition may not occur in all nestling female Flick¬
ers but it has on all those I have examined since I first noted the
character. There may be a period, say August, when the mark¬
ings have disappeared that the specimen still retains such juve¬
nile characters as a soft, clear skull, small genitalia, sharp bill,
etc. On the other hand I may find some day a nest of young
Flickers some of which do not have the black markng even at
that stage. Indeed this will be just as interesting an observa¬
tion as any other.

“The woodpeckers of any kind or age exhibit some very
curious variations which may mean that they as a group are
progressive experimenters with color; or it may mean that they
are a die-hard lot which regularly drags up from the past some
family character.”

So it would appear that a little knowledge is a dangerous

thing.

A VOCAL SURPRISE
A. P. Stubbs

Early in the afternoon of May 1, 1927, while entering the
Fay Estate I ran upon Moulton and Stoddard, just returning
from a forenoon bird hunt. As both were hungry and their din¬
ners were waiting, I could not lure them into a return trip, but
they did impart the information that they had seen and heard a
strange diving bird in Farm Pond. They had been unable to
identify it to their satisfaction as the bird for the most of the
time was half hidden in the short reeds, diving frequently,
apparently feeding. Moulton gave an imitation of its calls
which sounded much like those of a loon. A turn about the pond
gave me no glimpse of the diver and a visit later in the day with
Stoddard produced no better results.

Next morning I approached Farm Pond, at a little after six
o’clock, sun time, but found nothing further, for a while, than a
Black Duck and her brood of ducklings and a pair of Greater
Yellow-legs. One possible bird among the scattered reeds faded
into nothing and hopes of solving the problem began to fade

60

Bulletin of the

1927

also, when a strange, whooping, wailing combination of sounds
seemed to come across the water from the direction of a cluster
of buildings. A study of the pond with my glasses revealed no
cause for the racket. The head of the old Black Duck protrud¬
ing above the weather-beaten cat tails of the little island, where
a little while before, she swam with her little brood for safety,
led me to scrutinize the island for other bird life. Finally I saw a
slight movement and slowly made out the form of a bird smaller
than the Black Duck. Watching carefully, I saw the dark topped
head and black throat or chin of a Pied-billed Grebe. The black
ring on its bill I could not make out for certain. It soon gave a
call and it became evident that Moulton had been in his usual
good form as an imitator as the volume and variety of its notes
were surely a surprise to me. The grebe, soon after calling,
dove from its perch on the sloppy shore and re-appeared some
distance out in the open water there assuming the usual nonde¬
script appearance of a Pied-bill.

The fact that Pied-billed Grebes are uncommon in our neigh¬
borhood in spring accounts for the surprise at its strange and
surely unfamiliar notes ; fall birds being, so far as I have ob-
served, silent.

The grebe remained in the pond for fully two weeks, being
observed last on May 14, and seemed to be decidedly pugnacious
as it was noticed by several observers picking fights with the
Black Duck by persisting in swimming near her brood. She was
seen to grab the grebe by the neck and hold its head under water
which treatment only temporarily cooled its disposition to fight.

Essex County Ornithological Club

61

“NOTES TAKEN AT THE TIME”

Willis H. Ropes

The following curious and apparently well authenticated cir¬
cumstance is related in the American Magazine, in a letter from
H. Pollock of New York.

“On the afternoon of the 24th of August, 1798, I was sitting
in my parlour which looks towards the North River, about fifty
feet from the bank, in company with our mutual friend Mr.
Jacob Sebor. Our attention was attracted by numerous flights of
birds, which appeared to come across the town from the east¬
ward, and descended immediately into the river. So singular an
appearance excited our particular observation. We went out
and stood close to the bank, and then perceived that what we at
first imagined to be black-birds, were actually swallows; and
that, as soon as the various flocks had cleared the houses, and
got directly over the river, they plunged into the water, and
disappeared. This was not confined to the vicinity of the place
where we stood, but was the case as far as the eye could reach,
up and down the river, and continued without cessation for
nearly two hours, when the closing of the evening prevented
our further observation.

“Aware of the importance of affording any additional infor¬
mation on this long disputed question in the natural history of
the swallow, I procured a telescope, and watched attentively
many of the flocks, from their first immersion, continuing my
eye fixed on the spot long enough to be fully convinced, that not
one of the birds returned to the surface again. Indeed one flock
of about two hundred birds plunged into the water within thirty
yards of us, and instantly disappeared wthout the least appear¬
ance of opposition that might be expected to arise from their
natural buoyancy, and at the same time, the evening was so
serene, and the river so unruffled, that no deception of our sight
could have occurred.

“When the birds first came in view, after crossing the town,
their flight was easy and natural but when they descended near to
the water, they appeared much agitated and distresed, flying in
a confused manner against each other, as if the love of life,

62

Bulletin of the

1927

common to all animals, impelled them to revolt against this law
of nature imposed upon their species.

“As some time has elapsed since the above mentioned facts
occurred, I thought it proper, before I gave you Mr. Sebor’s
name, as having been a witness to them, to consult his recollec¬
tion on the subject ; and I have pleasure in assuring you he dis¬
tinctly remembers every circumstance I have recited, and of
which I made a memorandum at the time.

“It may be worthy of remark, that as far as my observation
went, the swallows totally disappeared on the 24th of August,
1798 ; for during the remainder of that year I did not see one”.

From Newburyport Herald and Country Gazette, Friday, Sept. 1804.

CONCERNING A RARE WARBLER
S. G. Emilio

Word had come through Mr. W. D. Moon that a Carolina
Wren had been seen in the Fay Estate, Lynn, on November 20
and by Mr. Moon himself on the 27th, so Mr. Stubbs and I, on
the next of our not infrequent Wednesday afternoon bird hunts
to wit, November 30, 1927, made our way to Fay’s.

We left the car southwest of Farm Pond and proceeded
westward on foot to the vicinity of “Chip’s Garden. Absolute
stillness reigned. For an eighth of a mile or more we neither
saw nor heard any bird whatever. This was almost a record for
the ornithological paradise which the Estate really is, and we
might well have anticipated that something would turn up soon
to balance accounts.

Presently we turned southward, passed over a ridge and
came to a small swampy area. Nothing in the bird line was in
evidence, but I began to feel there must be something near us, so
we stood quietly talking and soon heard a sparrow note up the
hill behind us. A White-throat and a Fox Sparrow were soon
found but we also saw another bird actively moving among the
weeds. We separated with the results that I drove several birds,
down into the swamp. Just as I rejoined Stubbs at its edge we
saw two warblers quite near, one chasing some small moth to

Essex County Ornithological Club

63

within ten yards of us. Before either of us could get our glass¬
es on them both birds had disappeared. My own wild guess was
that the birds might be two belated Black-polls, for the fall had
been very mild and we had just seen a striped adder and heard a
hyla which had served to emphasize the temperate conditions
prevailing.

I promptly went into the swamp in search of the birds. Two
Chickadees had appeared and frequent brief call notes from them
effectually masked any notes the warblers may have given, and it
was many minutes before I saw either bird again. Then for a
moment I glimpsed one of them. Uniformly dull colored above
without wing-bar or head marking of any kind it was dirty gray¬
ish below with perhaps a suggestion of yellowish and quite with¬
out distinct streaking. Clearly the bird was not a Black-poll
and it dawned on me that here was my first Orange-crown.
Again it was lost from sight for a long time but after a while
Mr. Stubbs from a point of advantage outside the swamp picked
up the bird with his glass and presently described it to me some¬
what more fully than above. Following his directions I ap¬
proached only to drive the handful of birds up the hill again.
Our bird having disappeared I followed the sparrows and ap¬
proaching more cautiously again saw in the weeds an unsparrow¬
like bird and at the first opportunity shot it.

Strangely enough the bird was distinctly yellowish beneath,
in contrast to the predominating dirty gray I had seen on the
bird in the swamp and I suppose this was the second of the two
warblers we had seen at first. Surprisingly small in the hand,
for it measured but a little over four and a half inches, this bird
showed no trace of an orange crown. There was however not
nearly enough yellow on the underparts for even an immature
Nashville and the absence of any line over the eye as well as the
presence of strongly yellow under tail coverts eliminated any
possibility of its being a Tennessee.

So far as I can ascertain no specimen of the Orange-crowned
Warbler ( Vermivora celata), has been taken in Essex County,
Mass., since January 1, 1875, when a bird was secured in this
same town of Lynn, possibly in the Fay Estate region. This
specimen is, I believe in the collection of the Boston Society of

64

Bulletin of the

1927

Natural History, while mine will go to the Peabody Museum of
Salem.

Not only has no specimen been taken since 1875, and that
the only one on record, but apparently no one has even seen the
bird in this County in the 53 years intervening. Records from
Boston and the Cambridge region are infrequent to say the least,
but judging from the single recorded occurrence of the bird in
Essex County, one might consider it of wholly accidental occur¬
rence here. However, one should consider all the known facts
regarding a bird’s distribution in attempting to ascribe its
status of occurrence in any locality. Such a consideration leads
to the conclusion that this County must be very near the extreme
northeastern edge of the Orange-crown’s path of migration from
its summer home in the North West to its wintering range in
the southeastern states. It probably occurs here fairly regularly
but in extremely limited numbers, and if it always is as elusive
as the two recent occurrences in Lynn, we should not be surprised
that it has not been observed more frequently.

WANTON DESTRUCTION OF HAWKS AND OWLS

The farmers of our country should view with considerable
concern the organized efforts which from time to time are made
by so-called sportsmen’s associations and others to exterminate
our birds of prey.

It is wisely said that “A little truth is very dangerous” and
never has this been more clearly demonstrated, for here the sins
of the few are seized upon and exploited for personal gain by
those who would profit by the sale of guns and ammunition.

It is true that certain species of hawks and owls are at times
destructive to poultry and game birds, but it is also true that all
species of hawks and owls are very destructive to mice and rats
and other small vermin, which cause tremendous damage through¬
out the whole of every year.

Now the point is that nine out of ten of the participants in
these owl and hawk “tournaments” do not know how to identify
the harmful species, which are very much in the minority, from

Essex County Ornithological Club

65

the beneficial species, which are very greatly in the majority, and
as a result thousands upon thousands of extremely useful avian
destroyers of real vermin are thoughtlessly slaughtered.

We do not mean to convey the idea that hawks and owls must
never be shot. Every farmer should at all times have the right
and ought to destroy any bird of prey which is causing real dam¬
age to him, but the mere presence of a hawk or owl is not in
itself incriminating evidence, and before the bird is destroyed
the farmer should know whether he is destroying a friend or a
foe. A little serious thought may even suggest the advisability
of risking the lives of few chickens, in order to keep down the
rodent pests.

The United States Department of Agriculture at Washington
has been making a study of this subject and will undoubtedly be
glad to supply much information in regard to it. It has been
proven many times in the past that any organized attempt on the
part of man to upset the balance of nature is like playing with
fire, and anyone who is tempted to thus assist in the destruction
of any of our birds should first thoroughly satisfy himself that
what he is about to do has the backing of our Agricultural De¬
partment in Washington and that there is no ulterior motive
behind the scheme. (Eds.)

66

1927

Bulletin of the

CALENDAR FOR 1927
ESSEX COUNTY ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB
OF MASSACHUSETTS

January 10. Regular meeting. Mr. W. H. Ropes, Chair-
man pro tem. Eleven members present. Evening devoted to
field notes and the showing of recently prepared reflectoscope
pictures prepared for the Club by Mr. Emilio.

February 14. Regular meeting. Vice-President Morse in
the chair Sixteen members present. Moving pictures of the
complete nesting of a pair of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
taken by Mr. Todd of Beverly Farms, shown by him. Mr. Todd
also told of many interesting observations made by him.

March 14. Regular meeting. Vice-President Morse in the
chair. Twenty-one members present. Communication from Mr.
C. A. Clark of Lynn, “Snakes as enemies of and food for birds.”
Many colored lantern slide illustrations.

March 28. Regular meeting. Mr. S. G. Emilio, Chair¬
man pro tem. Fifteen members present. Evening taken up
with general field notes and a discussion of the lives and habits
of the Northern and Migrant Shrikes.

April 11. Regular meeting. Mr. A. P. Stubbs in the
chair. Fourteen members present. Communication from Mr.
S. G. Emilio. “The flight of birds.” A series of skins of vari¬
ous North American Juncos exhibited.

April 25. Regular meeting. Vice-President in the chair.
Twenty members present. Mr. W. Gordon Means showed moving
pictures of and told about two trips taken by him into Wyoming
and New Mexico.

May 9. Regular meeting. Vice-President Morse in the
chair. Twenty-two members present. Communication from Mr.
C. B. Floyd. “A story of Tern and Gull Banding at sanctuaries
on the coast of Massachusetts.” Illustrated with moving pic¬
tures.

Essex County Ornithological Club

67

May 23. Regular meeting. Vice-President in the chair.
Fifteen members present. Evening devoted to a discussion and
careful check-up of the recent Ipswich River Bird Trip, and gen¬
eral field and migration notes.

June 13. Regular meeting. Vice-President Morse in the
chair. Eleven members present. Field notes and review of the
Club list of species observed by Club members and notes given to
the Recorder.

September 12. Regular meeting. Mr. A. P. Stubbs, Chair¬
man pro tern. Ten members present. Field notes covering the
summer period and informal stories of several vacation trips.

October 10. Regular meeting. Vice-President in the
chair. Twenty-six members present. Communication from Dr.
C. W. Townsend on his recent trip around the world. Canada,
Hawaiian Islands, Japan, China, Straits Settlements, India,
Egypt, Turkey, Greece and France.

November 14. Regular meeting. Mr. Charles H. Preston
in .the chair. Fourteen members present. A general discussion
led by the Secretary, of bird censuses and the probable margin of
error to be reckoned with and allowed. Nomination of officers
for 1928.

December 12. Annual meeting. Vice-President Morse in
the chair. Seventeen members present. Officers for 1928 elected.
Dr. Townsend completed the story of his world trip by recount¬
ing his experiences during two months spent in the British Isles,
and with the aid of bird skins comparing many British and Amer¬
ican species. Light refreshments were served.

G8

Bulletin of the

1927

LIST OF MEMBERS OF THE
ESSEX COUNTY ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB
OF MASSACHUSETTS

Bates, Walter E.
Beckford, A. Courtney
Beckford, Arthur W.
Benson, Frank W.
Benson, George E.
Bosson, Campbell
Bruley, Roger S.

Bryan, G. Warren
Bushby, Fred W.

Chase, Charles E.

Clark, W. Hobart
Cogswell, Lawrence W.
Cushing, Milton L.
Doolittle, Albert W.
Doyle, John F.

Emilio, S. Gilbert
Fay, S. Prescott
Felt, George R.
Fletcher, Laurence B.
Floyd, Charles B.
Fowler, Albert B.
Gifford, Lawrence W.
Gifford, Morris P.
Hubon, William P.
Ingraham, Phocion J.
Jeffery, Thomas B.
Jenkins, Stephen W.
Jones, Gardner M.
Kelley, Herbert W.
Kelley, Mark E.
Lawson, Ralph
Little, Philip

279 Essex Street, Lynn
3 Warren Avenue, Danvers
10 Park Street, Danvers
14 Chestnut Street, Salem
31 Summer Street, Salem
19 Brewster Street, Cambridge
64 Center Street, Danvers
Y. M. C. A. Salem
17 Washington Street, Peabody
31 Euclid Avenue, Lynn
163 Hobart Street, Danvers
Y. M. C. A., Salem
Box 374, Fitchburg
30 Burley Ave., Danvers
70 Federal Street, Boston
156 Hobart Street, Danvers
2 Otis Place, Boston
85 Main Street, Peabody
54 Cotswold Road, Brookline
454 Walcott Street, Auburndale
111 Locust Street, Danvers
63 Federal Street, Salem
17 Beckford Street, Salem
25 Flint Street, Salem
235 Lowell Street, Peabody
Salem Willows
273 Locust Street, Danvers
Public Library, Salem
3 Willow St., Winchester
52 Sutton Street, Peabody
88 Washington Square, Salem
10 Chestnut Street, Salem

Essex County Ornithological Club

69

Long, Harry V.

Long, William B.

Lord, J. Anderson
Mackintosh, Richards B.
Means, Robert W.

Means, W. Gordon
Moon, Wilbur D.

Morley, Arthur
Morrison, Alva
Morse, Albert P.

Morse, Frank E.

Moulton, Charles E.
Newhall, Milo A.

Nichols, Rodman A.
Ordway, Frank L.
Osborne, Arthur A.
Phelan, Joseph C.

Phillips, Dr. John C.
Porter, Willard B.
Preston, Charles H.
Preston, Charles P.
Proctor, George N.
Raymond, John M.
Robinson, John
Ropes, Col. Charles F.
Ropes, Willis H.

Sears, Judge George B.
Spofford, Charles A.
Stubbs, Arthur P.

Taylor, Arthur W.

Teel, George M.

Tenney, Ward M.

Tortat, William R. M.
Townsend, Dr. Charles W.
Very, Nathaniel T.
Walcott, Judge Robert
Whitney, Charles F.
Wilkinson, Robert H.

260 Clarendon Street, Boston
6 West Cedar Street, Boston

13 Ash Street, Danvers
27 North Central Street, Peabody

19 Pearl Street, Boston
108 Water Street, Boston
46 Maple Street, Lynn
26 Minerva Street, Swampscott
35 Congress Street, Boston
Peabody Museum, Salem
162 Boylston Street, Boston
72 Maple Street, Lynn
12 Temple Court, Salem
27 Broad Street, Salem

1 Pine Street, Danvers
183 Lowell Street, Peabody

16 Pierce Road, Lynn
Wenham
5 Lee Street, Salem
42 Preston Street, Danvers
42 Preston Street, Danvers
35 Congress Street, Boston
35 Winthrop Road, Belmont
18 Summer Street, Salem
Dearborn Street, Salem
33 Summer Street, Salem
37 Cherry Street, Danvers
23 Elm Street, Danvers

14 Fiske Avenue, Lynn
24 1-2 Briggs Street, Salem

2 Otis Street, Danvers
60 East Street, Ipswich

6 Perkins Street, Peabody
Argilla Road, Ipswich
96 Bridge Street, Salem
152 Brattle Street, Cambridge
29 Pine Street, Danvers
Hamilton

70

Bulletin of the

1927

CORRESPONDING MEMBERS

Brown, C. Emerson 1829 Green Street, Philadelphia, Pa.

Cousins, Willard C. 8 Sargent Street, Hanover, N. H.

Donaldson, Major George C. u- s- Army

Griffin, Bertram S. Lock Box 17, West Newbury, Mass.

Sanders, Richard D. Brokers’ Exch. Bldg., Norfolk, Va.

Spalding, Frederic P. 1016 Middlesex Street, Lowell, Mass.
Ritchie, Sanford Dover-Foxcroft, Maine

PUBLICATIONS of the
ESSEX COUNTY ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB

BULLETIN 1919
BULLETIN 1920
BULLETIN 1921
BULLETIN 1922
BULLETIN 1923
BULLETIN 1924
BULLETIN 1925
BULLETIN 1926
BULLETIN 1927

Check List of the Birds of Ess
Revised Check List

Price 75 Cents
Price 75 Cents

- Price 75 Cents
Price 75 Cents
Price 75 Cents
Price 75 Cents
Price 75 Cents
Price 75 Cents
Price 50 Cents

'.x County - Price 10 Cents

- Price 25 Cents

The above may be obtained from Ralph Lawson, Secretary,

88 Washington Square, Salem, Mass.

*

or

S. G. Emilio, Treasurer, 156 Hobart Street, Danvers, Mass.

PUBLISHED APRIL 9, 1928

71

MILO A. NEWHALL 4 CO . PRINTERS
SALEM, MASS.

.

*