VKINGBIRD PUBLICATION OF THE FEDERATION OF NEW YORK STATE BIRD CLUBS, INC. Vol. 7 No. 1 May, 1957 Pages 1-36 CONTENTS New Netherlands Northern Frontier in the Seventeenth Century_Minnie B. Scotland 2 The January Waterfowl Count: III_Gerald R. Rising 6 Folk Names of New York Birds: III_W. L. McAtee 8 The Narrow View_Maxwell Wheat, Jr. 12 Notes: Least Tern in Central New York State__ 13 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in Rensselaer County_ 14 Wood Duck diving for fish__ 14 A Long Island nesting of the Mockingbird —.- 14 Regional Reports for the Winter Season, 1956-1957 _ 15 Editor — Gerald R. Rising John B. Belknap Leslie E. Bemont Allen H. Benton Eugene Eisenmann Business and Circulation Manager — Allan S. Klonick Cover Design — Douglas L. Howland Editorial Board Sally Hoyt Allan S. Klonick Fritz Scheider Minnie B. Scotland John J, Elliott THE KINGBIRD is published four times a year (May, July, October and January) by the Federation of New York State Bird Clubs, Inc. Publication office is 72 Allen's Creek Road, Rochester 18, New York. Publication is sent free to all individual members of the Federation. Membership in the Federation is $2.50 per year. Single copies: Seventy-five cents. APPLICATION for membership should be sent to the chairman of the member¬ ship committee, Miss Audrey Louise Wrede, 3109 Beverley Road, Brooklyn 26, N. Y. CHANGE OF ADDRESS, EXCHANGES AND BACK COPIES are handled by the Treasurer, Allan S. Klonick, 901 Sibley Tower Bldg., Rochester 4, N. Y. The Kingbird 1 NEW NETHERLANDS NORTHERN FRONTIER IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY Minnie B. Scotland Fort Orange An historic marker in the Plaza at Albany, New York, has the following inscription: Fort Orange Site of West India Company Colony 1624 Here was born Sarah Rapelje , first White child in New York State , 1625 Fort stood SE by the River. Questions immediately arise concerning the fort, the West India Com¬ pany, and especially the kind of country in which little Sarah was bom. Briefly, Fort Orange (Albany) was a small settlement of about eighteen families who early made a small fort to protect themselves against the Indians. The West India Company, planned by a far seeing merchant of Antwerp, was a trading and colonizing firm. The kind of country in the region of Fort Orange was one of forests through which a river flowed on its way to the sea. In this wooded area “sunlight, filtering through the hemlock and pine, caught the fleeting shadow of a deer for an instant, then lost it as it slipped without noise into the underbrush. No trail lay at the base of the mighty oak, but one knew that the red man often passed that way. Save for the crying af Gaga, the crow, and the rustling of birches as Oah, the wind, gently blew them to and fro, all was hushed. It was the stillness of the forest. — This stillness was broken by the advance of the white man/’ (Lloyd, 1951, “Historic Murals in the Cohoes Savings Bank”) White men did come from Europe, sailing in small vessels across the Atlantic and then by way of the Hudson from the south, while some came overland from the north, having first arrived on Canadian shores. These Europeans were Dutch, French, and English. Fort Orange proved to be the Mecca for travellers with many objectives. Rensselaerwyck It was in 1623 that Killiaen Van Rensselaer, a pear merchant from Amsterdam and also a director of the West India Company, saw the value of this rich hilly country and bought 700,000 acres (24 miles long and 48 broad). Here the first permanent agricultural colony in New Nether- land was established. Both the climate and the soil were conducive to the growth of good crops. On this land lying along the river in the area of present day Albany, Rensselaer, and Columbia counties, the Dutch Manor Estates of Rensselaerwyk were settled. A small number of earlier Dutch emigrants had located on Castle Island below the site on which Fort Orange was later built. They had the misfortune in 1617 of having their settlement swept away by floods and had rebuilt across on the mainland where a stream, known to the Indians as “Tawasentha,” emptied into the river. This stream is the present Normanskill. Longfellow wrote of 2 The Kingbird Tawasentha in his poem “Hiawatha.” There was a Treaty of Tawasentha between these early Dutch settlers and the Iroquois Indians which assured the Dutch of a strong ally. Between 1618 and 1799 the treaty was rati¬ fied thirty-nine times. It was to this country that Joris Jansen Rapelje and Catalyntje Trico emigrated in 1623, the latter having come from Paris at eighteen years of age on the first Dutch India Company ship “Unity.” They were the par¬ ents of Sarah Rapelje. The story is told that year later the Indians pre¬ sented Sarah with a farm in consideration of her having been the first-born white child in the colony. Trading with the Indians was a principal factor in the establishment of the West India Company Colony at Fort Orange. In fact this com¬ pany had a monopoly of trade between Dutch ports and all the coasts of America. Fur was the desired product. Since the Indians did the actual work of trapping it was essential that a friendly relationship be maintained with them if trading was to be successful. A beaver on a shield appears to have been adopted as the provincial seal. However, skins of the otter, deer, and the bear, as well as those of the beaver, are reported to have been exchanged. When evidence of the wealth in the newly settled country reached Europe, Rensselaerwyk grew somewhat rapidly. Fort Orange be¬ came the headquarters for trading enterprises in the region nearby and also for the active trade with Indians up the Mohawk River which entered the Hudson at Cohoes. David Pietersen De Vries Among the early adventurers to reach Fort Orange was David Pietersen De Vries of Holland, who sailed in his own sloop up the Hudson River from New Amsterdam in 1639. His diary records his seeing a beautiful “val ley under the mountains where Indians were planting some corn on some open land.” It was on the shore of Castle Island that he moored his sloop and heard from Brandt Peelen, an inhabitant, of the fine wheat grown on the island over a period of ten years without summer fallowing the land. The traveller learned of the abundance of wild strawberries and grapes “as good and sweet as in Holland.” He saw enormous wild turkeys, weighing up to fifty pounds, and many partridges, meadow-hens, and pigeons. In the river there were the finest of fiish and also plenty of sturgeon that were relished by the Indians. De Vries considered that the colonists of Rensselaer- wyck lived “amid natures richest profusion.” He became anxious to see the interior of the country and, with several Indians, he worked his way through the forests to the Mohawk, The Falls of Cohose seemed to him “as high as a church” and the waters “as clear as crystal and as fresh as milk.” He referred to the area as “well provisioned with all the necessaries of life.” But plenty brought about destruction. Hides were sold in great quantities to the tradesmen, and flocks of pigeons, in both the fall and spring, were killed season after season. Reverend Johannes Megapolensis For some time Killiaen Van Rensselaer, the patroon of the Colony of Rensselaerwyck, had felt the need of a clergyman “for the edifying im¬ provement of the inhabitants and Indians,” After an approval of his The Kingbird 3 request for a 'good, honest, and pure preacher” the Classis of Amsterdam selected Reverend Johannes Megapolensis. (His original name was Johannes Mecklenburg.) The pastor was to serve the colony for six years, providing he was satisfactory to the patroon. On August 4, 1642 Rev. Megapolensis, then thirty-nine years old, arrived in New Amsterdam (New York) with his wife and four children, and thirteen days later he preached his first sermon in the patroon’s storehouse to an audience of about one hundred. During Preacher Megapolensis’ first year he familiarized himself with the language of the Indians and won their respect and confidence. “Sometimes ten or twelve would attend (his Church Service), each smoking a long tobacco pipe.” He wrote that he had, at one time, eight at once lying and sleeping upon the floor near his bed. It was due to these good re¬ lations with the Indians that Megapolensis was able to rescue Father Isaac Jogues of the Society of Jesus from their hands. Dominie Megapolensis, “a man of thorough scholarship, energetic char¬ acter, and devoted piety,” remained as pastor of the colony for seven years. During these years he roamed the forests and trekked along the streams, accompanied by Indians who knew the wilderness well. In his letters to Holland he tells of the life in this new country, so very “mountainous, with some rocks . . . so exceedingly high that they appear to touch the clouds.” He refers to the “finest fir trees the eye ever saw,” and to the oaks, alders, beeches, elms, and willows, the abundance of chesnuts, hazelnuts, and large walnuts of several sorts. On the hillsides he saw thickets of bil¬ berries (blueberries) everywhere, and on the flat land near the rivers strawberries covering large areas. Grape vines were plentiful along the roads and creeks. Megapolensis, like De Vries, remarked about the large number and size of the turkeys, and about the partridges, heath-hens, and pigeons that “fly in flocks of five thousands, and sometimes ten, twenty, thirty, and even forty and fifty are killed at one shot.” Swans, geese, ducks, widgeons, teal and brant which were taken by thousands upon the rivers in the spring of the year were also observed by this naturalist-pastor. In August of 1649, Reverend Megapolensis left Rensselaerwyck, intend¬ ing to return to Holland. However, the “urgent solicitations of Governor Pieter Stuyvesant prevailed upon him to remain as pastor of Fort Amster¬ dam where he lived and labored until his death twenty years later.” Nicolaes Janszoon van Wassenaer Nicolaes Janszoon van Wassenaer was a publisher in Amsterdam who compiled information about the New World. One early volume he dedi¬ cated to the West India Company. In it he described the abundance of animal and plant life in New Netherland much as De Vries and Megapo¬ lensis had in their writings. However, he did refer to the quantity of tobacco that was grown, and also, to his surprise that “storks have not been found there, since it is a marshy country.” His reference to birds can be summed up in his own words: “In their waters are all sorts of fowls. Birds fill also the woods so that men can scarcely go through them for the whistling, the noise, and the chattering. Pigeons fly wild. Ravens, 4 The Kingbird eagles, sparrow-hawks, and vultures are numerous and quickly shot or knocked down by the natives.” In 1650 Wassenaer wrote; “Of birds this country is by no means without its share. There are great numbers of birds of prey, as eagles of two kinds, the bald-headed, which has the head, tail, and principal wing feathers white, and the common kind, hawks, buzzards, sparrow-hawks, crows, chicken-hawks, and many others. — There is also a bird which has its head like a cat and its body like a large owl, colored white. We know no name for it in the Netherlands but in France it is called Grand due and is esteemed very highly. (Great barred owl ■— not white but of a light ash color.) Other birds are turkeys, partridges, curlews, wood and water snipes, pheasants, heath-hens, cranes, herons, bitterns, pigeons, quails, merlins, thrushes, shore-runners, also small birds that sing but are unknown to the Dutch, and water fowl that include swans, three kinds of geese (gray, bernicles, and white-headed), ducks, widgeons, divers, coots, cormorants, and several others.” Louis Armond Lahontan In 1666, Louis Armond Lahontan was born in the little village of Lahontan, France, His father was the second baron of Lahontan. When Louis was eight years old his father died and he inherited the title of Le Baron de Lahontan et Flesleche. Though a baron he joined at seventeen a detachment of French marines leaving for New France (Canada). Soon he became an officer and a favorite of Frontenac. Flis first winter in Beaupre found him hunting in company with the Indians, acquiring the dialects of the tribesmen, and visiting their villages in sledges and on snowshoes. A year and a half later he again “spent pleasantly with inhabi¬ tants and tribesmen in hunting and fiishing which he describes with the gusto of a true sportsman and a close observer of nature.” He succeeded in finding months at a time in which to fulfill his urge for adventure among the wilds of southern Canada. ,He always had with him thirty or forty Indians who were expert hunters and well acquainted with the places in which to find game. One of his important contributions to Ornithology was his description of the drumming of the grouse. Lahontan had watched this flapping of wings and had listened to the humming noise which he claimed could be heard three-quarters of a mile from the bird. Since Louis Lahontan wandered south into what is New York State today, it may well be supposed that his travels touched upon the northern frontier of New Netherland. Certainly the birds that he mentioned as visitors of southern Canada were many that De Vries and Megapolensis listed. In his additional descriptions, one of the “nightingale” fits perfectly that of the Bluebird and that of his “nectar-sucking Fly-like Bird” can belong to none other than the Hummingbird. He probably saw Snow Buntings from his brief mention of “White Ortalans” that were seen only in winter. Baron Lahontan was a first-rate observer of bird behavior and his accurate descriptions have proved invaluable to naturalists ever since his time. He spent the latter years of his life wandering about Europe, writing and publishing accounts of his earlier travels. He died in 1715. 42 Continental Avenue , Cohoes The Kingbird 5 THE JANUARY WATERFOWL COUNT: III Gerald R. Rising Intense cold, snow clogged roads, bitter winds, excessive ice on all up¬ state waters, rolling clouds of steam and what Tom Lesperance calls “frost devils” made the results of this years Federation waterfowl inventory less satisfactory than those of 1955 and 1956. A penciled note on the back of Ed Whelen’s check list spoke for many: “Phooey! This is a lousy count. Who picks these dates?” It is a credit to over two hundred hardy individuals that the totals are as SPECIES TOTAL BY REGIONS 1 II III IV V VI VIII IX X Totals Common Loon 1 2 1 66 70 Red-throated Loon 40 40 Red-necked Grebe 3 3 Horned Grebe 2 5 56 14 942 1019 Pied-billed Grebe 6 16 10 4 10 1 75 122 Mute Swan 2 357 359 Canada Goose 24 1931 1955 Brant 8610 8610 Snow Goose 4 4 Mallard 503 162 327 401 136 3 30 150 2941 4653 Black Duck 1389 204 477 73 425 202 450 893 18452 22565 Gadwall 1 142 143 Pintail 12 1 1 104 118 Green-winged Teal 1 1 99 101 Cinnamon Teal 1 1 European Widgeon 2 2 Baldpate 3 4510 4513 Shoveller 80 80 Wood Duck 1 6 1 8 Redhead 77 30 1807 295 400 6 20 2635 Ring-necked Duck 1 5 2 365 127 500 Canvasback 8594 830 1346 751 1508 63 8257 21349 Greater Scaup Duck* 3872 746 2744 4096 2056 1 67687 81202 Lesser Scaup Duck 44 91 135 American Golden-eye 4084 1 138 306 33 1567 943 1 14 130 561 1 13926 Barrow's Golden-eye 1 1 Buffle-head 304 21 7 52 1223 1607 Old-Squaw 2860 128 101 1737 4826 Common Eider 1 1 King Eider 12 5 17 Whiterwinged Scoter 13 41 7283 7337 Surf Scoter 2 1003 1005 American Scoter 1 92 93 Ruddy Duck 2 5 4 50 437 498 Hooded Merganser 3 8 5 9 98 123 American Merganser 4553 811 54 319 6413 229 60 1372 701 14512 Red-breasted Merganser 159 40 5 144 14 1 2189 2552 Coot 9 5 336 8 21 1163 1542 Unidentified 2836 1 1 34 204 28 3 3166 6282 TOTALS 29294 4210 7554 831 14269 5383 657 3065 139246 204509 * Unspecified scaup grouped under Greater Scaup. No Region VII records. 6 The Kingbird high as they are. More groups than usual spent their entire time in the field without recording a single duck. Even on Long Island, Gilbert Raynor covered an entire area without success. Scheider tells of a Syracuse party making the trip to Oswego Harbor on the target date only to find it "bathed in acres of fog. When patches of fog were blown away, you could see thousands of ducks in every scrap of open water ...” They had to return the following weekend over drifted roads to repeat the count. Observations could not be made on Lake Champlain during the entire count period. A brief summary of the results of the three years tells the story: Year Species Totals Observers Party hours Weather 1955 36 189234 213 550 Fair to excellent 1956 39 222408 268 655 Fair to poor 1957 38 204509 220 524 Extremely poor One new species was added to the census rolls, the Cinnamon Teal, a bird observed first by Maynard A. Nichols, later by an impressive list of Long Island birders including LeRoy Wilcox, Don Eckelberry and Edwin Way Teale. John Elliott found some difficulty in keeping ob¬ servers in their own areas after this discovery (shades of the Spring Count!) A Barrows Golden-eye again appeared in Region 8, within six miles of the location of last years report. Guy Bartlett notes that the bird, as last year a male, was consorting with a group of seven male and 16 female American Golden-eyes. Possibly the most interesting record is that of 17 King Eiders, all upstate in Regions 1 and 2, this after no reports of these birds from upstate areas in 1955 and 1956. Where did the Federation fall short? The ground count this year fell over five per cent behind the New York State Conservation Department aerial count. The most notable deficiency in the Federation count is in the Finger Lakes region where about 7500 ducks were tabulated against the aerial 35,448. Personnel failures here, partly caused by the fact that the census dates, January 12-20 in 1957, fell just before mid-year exams at Cornell, partly caused by poor driving conditions, have beset the count each year. More attention will be paid to this problem in 1958. A check was instituted to discover the reason for the striking decline in numbers of Canvasback in the Niagara River. The number there dropped from 15196 in 1956 to 8594 this year. Art Schaffner, group leader of the party checking this area, says that the build-up in numbers came later this year due to the good weather up to Christmas time. Many of the birds were still to be found along the north shore of Ontario until after the census period. The Kingbird 7 FOLK NAMES OF NEW YORK STATE BIRDS: III W. L. McAtee Least- Sandpiper. Little oxeye, little peep (see notes on related terms under the preceding species); little sandpiper; meadow oxeye; oxeye; oxeye snipe; peep; sand skylark (it utters a series of notes or a "song" on the wing, so the name of Europe's famed aerial songster was requisitioned;) sand snipe; stint (by transfer from Great Britain, where certain small shore birds are so-called; as one meaning of "stint" is to cut short, the name would seem to refer to the small size of these species); teeter (from its bobbing movements). Red-backed Sandpiper. Blackbreast, black-breasted snipe (from the large black spots on the lower sides of adults in breeding plumage); dunlin (British name of the bird, meaning little dun-colored one); fall snipe; frost snipe (it is commonly seen from fall to winter); leadback (the back of adults in winter plumage is brownish- gray); little black-breast (perhaps to contrast it with the much larger Black-bellied Plover; however that species has the underparts solid black, while there are only two large, oblong spots on the lower sides of this one — in breeding plumage in both cases); ox-bird (also used in Great Britain "perhaps from the full round eye," like that of an ox (Swann, 1913)); purrie (from a note like "purr"; also in British use); winter snipe. Dowitcher. Brownback, brown-back snipe (in winter plumage); dowitch, dowitch- er (spelled in various ways, this appears to be "a word of Iroquois origin — compare Cayuga and Mohawk tawis, Onondaga tawish, 'snipe'; but has been modified in form by confusion with Deutsche, 'a German' or Dutch snipe being the name that the natives of Long Island conferred on this bird in order to distinguish it from the 'English Snipe' " (Read 1931). This accords with the claim for sonic origin of the term (J. T. Nichols in Bent, 1927) as the Indians were quite prone to form names on that principle. It is onomatopoeic. All of them — Indian, German and English — may have had independent origins); German snipe; gray snipe (in win¬ ter plumage); quail snipe (from its plump form and ruddy coloration in breeding plumage); red-breasted snipe (the underparts of breeding adults are chiefly light, pinkish-cinnamon); robin snipe (the breast is full and, as just described, reminiscent of that of the robin); sea quail (see note on quail snipe); white- tailed dowitcher (the rump and tail above are chiefly white). Stilt Sandpiper. Bastard, bastard dowitch, bastard yellowleg (supposed to be a hybrid dowitcher x lesser yellowlegs); greenleg (the legs and feet are yellowish- green). Semipalmated Sandpiper. Big oxeye, oxeye, oxeye snipe (the eyes with their white encirclings are prominent); peep (see note under the white-rumped sandpiper); sand oxeye; teeter (from its bobbing movements). Western Sandpiper. Oxeye; peep. Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Buff-breast; little plover (in contrast to an associate, the larger Upland Plover. Marble Godwit. Brown marlin (this term "marlin" and others following are short for marlinspike, the bill of the bird being likened to that traditional tool of a boatswain); curlew (any large shore bird may be called a curlew); marlin; red curlew, red marlin (the general ground color is pale cinnamon); straight-billed jack (in con¬ trast to the jack or Hudsonian curlew with obviously decurved bill, this bird has the bill slightly upcurved). Hudsonian Godwit. Ring-tailed marlin (the upper tail coverts and concealed base of the tail are white; for marlin see above); straight-bill curlew (the bill is slightly upcurved). Sanderling. Beach bird; beach plover; beach snipe; sand snipe; strand snipe; surf bird, surf snipe (it closely follows receding wavelets in search of the food or¬ ganisms they reveal); white snipe (in fall plumage it is the whitest of the shore birds, except for the piping plover, which may be distinguished by its black collar). Black-necked Stilt. Lawyer (from its vociferousness). Red Phafarope. Bay bird (it lives on open waters); hen snipe (the females are larger and more brightly colored than the males); sea snipe (see first note). 8 The Kingbird Wilson's Phalarope. Hen snipe (see under the preceding species); sea goose (perhaps facetious in allusion to its diminutive size or swimming habits). Northern Phalarope. Hen snipe; sea snipe. Probably all of the names are interchangeable for these seldom seen birds. Pomarine Jaeger. Gull hunter (jaegers harass gulls until they disgorge food which their pursuers then seize in the air); hawk (in allusion to its predatory habits). Parasitic Jaeger. Gull chaser; hawk; pigeon-tailed gull (from the elongate mid¬ dle tail feathers, suggesting the long tail of the passenger pigeon). Skua. Sea hawk (from its predatory habits). Glaucous Gull. Burgomaster (town master or mayor, from its dominating other birds); ice gull (seen only in winter). White-winged Gull. White gull; white-winged gull (with the preceding species the only New York gull without some dark markings, especially on the wing tips); Great Black-backed Gull. Blackback gulf; coffin-carrier (from the black mantle, which apears oblong in silhouette); master gull (from its dominating other species); saddle-back gull (in allusion to the black mantle). Herring Gull. Bass gull (from feeding on some fish known as bass); gray gull, gray winter gull (the mantle is pale bluish-gray); harbor gull (a familiar species in harbors); herring gull (as preying upon herring); sea gull, winter gull. Ring-billed Gull. Sea gull; winter gull. Laughing Gull. Bass gull; black-headed gull; laughing gull (from its notes); mackerel gull (from being seen at the time of the mackerel fishery). Bonaparte's Gull. Little bass gull; sea pigeon (from its general figure and small size among gulls). Kittiwake. Mackerel gull (also in British provincial use). Common Tern. Mackerel gull; sea swallow (from its graceful flight); sheep's- head gull (being seen at the season of fishing for the fish called "sheep's-head"); summer gull; tide gull. Roseate Tern. Rosette (the little rosy one; the white underparts are more or less tinted with pink). Least Tern. Fishing gull; little sheep's-head gull. Black Tern. Black gull (the head, neck, and forebody are black in the breeding plumage; any tern may be called a gull); marsh tern (it nests in marshes). Black Skimmer. Flood gull (seen feeding on rising tides); razor-bill (the lower mandible is compressed like a knife-blade); shearwater (the bird flies about with its prolonged and compressed lower bill cleaving or "shearing" the water); skippaug (spelled also "seapog" and "skippog" — a name by which some of the New England Indians designated the menhaden; the bird probably shared the name because of seasonal or other association with the fish). Razor-billed Auk. Sea crow (a sea bird of about crow-size whose plumage, as seen on the water, is mostly black); sea parrot (probably from confusion with the puffin). Brunnich's Murre. Sea crow Dovekie. That name, used in New York, means a little dove; the bird's form is plump but otherwise there is little reason for the name; doverick duck (first term a corruption of dovekie; "duck" as a water bird); sea dove (also in Scottish provin¬ cial use). Black Guillemot. Sea pigeon (though not very pigeon-like in appearance, the guillemots are said to be called sea pigeons for a variety of reasons, as for the shape of their bills, their laying of two : eggs resembling those' of pigeons, and their appar¬ ent constancy to their mates). Common Puffin. Dick duck ("duck" as a water bird; "Dick" a familiar name, perhaps suggesting a dick or little man, as the birds do in the erect position they assume on ledges); sea parrot (from its high, curved, and colored beak; a name also in British folk use); sputs puffin (meaning unknown). Common Pigeon. A bird naturalized in most settled parts of the country. The names, pigeon, street pigeon, blue-rock and dove (the last two also British folk names) in about that order of prevalence (pigeon overwhelmingly the most com- The Kingbird 9 mon) are used more or less throughout the United States. Blue rock is short for blue rock-pigeon, because it nests on cliffs. Mourning Dove. Carolina dove (an old name tracing essentially to Catesby, 1731 [Turtle of Carolina]) where he painted the bird and whence Linnaeus de¬ scribed it); dove; ground dove; mourning dove (to some ears the notes sound mourn¬ ful; however, they are uttered by the bird at the height of its joy in living); turtle dove (by transfer from a European bird of a different genus. "Turtle" derives from the apparently sonic, Latin term turtur, a name for the species mentioned. "Turtle" is recorded for that bird as early as 1000 A.D. As "turtle" then means dove, the combination, turtle-dove is tautonymic); wild pigeon. Passenger Pigeon. Extinct since the early 1900's. Pigeon an d wild pigeon were names in general use. Carolina Paroquet. Substitute parrot and wild parrot, and the same legend will serve. Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Cow bird (a common call simulates the syllable "kow"); rain crow (the bird is most clamorous before a rain. Wilson, 1808-1814). Black-billed Cuckoo. Cow bird; rain crow. Barn Owl. That name, from its nesting in barn lofts, is also a British folk name; monkey-faced owl (the heart-shaped facial disk being likened to that of a monkey); mouse owl (a very fitting name as it is a great mouser); screech owl (upon occasion, this bird utters a "hair-raising" scream; also in British folk use). Screech Owl. Barn owl (from taking shelter in barns); cat owl (the tufts of feathers on each side of the crown, resembling ears, suggest this name); little screech owl, screech owl (an unfortunate name as the bird rarely screeches; the note most often heard is a soft, tremulous whistle, which to my ears is a musical and welcome sound. Lowell (1871) called it "one of the sweetest sounds in nature"). Great Horned Owl. Big owl; cat owl (the explanation of this term under the preceding species doubtless applies, but the alternative theory as to silent approach also enters in; it would be more noticed in this large species than in the small screech owl whose predation is of less interest to man); hen-roost robber; hoot owl. Snowy Owl. Snow owl (from being seen in winter); white owl. Barred Owl. Hoot owl. Short-eared Owl. Marsh owl (it roosts and nests mostly in open grassland) Saw-whet Owl. Little owl; saw-whet (from breeding season notes having "a general resemblance to the sounds produced by filing a large mill-saw." Brewster, 1925). Whip-poor-will. That name, in general use, is in imitation of its common call. Common Nighthawk. Bat (as a crepuscular flyer); bull-bat (to the preceding note add: "bull," from the sound made by its wings while dropping through the air, which is thus likened, exaggeratedly, to the bawling of a bull); hen hawk, little hen hawk (misnomers; it preys almost exclusively upon insects); nighthawk (from its nocturnal and expert flight); nightjar (by transfer from a European relative so-called in the British Isles, from its notes; that bird, however, is more closely related to the whip-poor-will); night owl (as a nocturnal bird; it is, however, no owl). Chimney Swift. Chimney swallow (it roosts and nests in chimneys, and though feeding awing as do the swallows, is not at all related to those birds); chimney sweep (add to the first clause of the preceding note: using a once familiar name for human cleaners of chimneys); house swallow (from its frequenting chimneys; see also first note); swift (from its speed in flight). Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Hummingbird (from the sound made by its buzzing wings); rubythroat (the throat of the male is ruby-red; apparently this name is used only as learned from books); West India bee (Van Der Donck, 1656 (1841); from its small size, buzzing wings, and striking coloration — thus to this author, doubt¬ less an exotic). Belted Kingfisher. Kingfisher (as an accomplished catcher of fish). Yellow-shafted Flicker. Clape (sonic); English woodpecker (probably from re¬ semblance in habits and calls to the Green Woodpecker of England (and other parts of Europe); flicker (sonic); golden-winged robin (the shafts of the flight feathers 10 The Kingbird and the under side of the wing are golden-yellow; "robin'' as a familiar lawn bird); golden-wing woodpecker, golden woodpecker (see preceding note); high-ho (a name transferred from the Green Woodpecker, the most similar European species; in British folk usage,, it refers to a laughing note of the bird); high-hold, high-holder, high-hole, high-holer (while these names have come to refer, in the United States, to a supposed lofty location of the nest (it may be low, however), they doubtless trace to British folk names of the Green Woodpecker, as suggested in the preceding note); hivel (another name apparently derived from one for the Green Woodpecker: OED has “hufel"); lark woodpecker (the black crescent on its breast, its yellow coloring, and terrestrial habits suggesting the meadowlark); partridge woodpecker (the bird is plump, more or less partridge-colored, and was long shot as game); pigeon wood¬ pecker (the bird is plump, often perches crosswise on branches like a pigeon, and was long used as a game bird); wa-cup, yacker, yarrup, yaw-up, yecker (all sound names); yellow flicker (the shafts of the flight feathers and the underside of the wing are golden yellow); "flicker," sonic; yellow-hammer (although apparently a natural name for a yellow pounder or woodpecker, this name seems better-traced to a British folk term for the yellow bunting; it has been applied by British colonists in various parts of the world to birds with yellow in their plumages); yucker (sonic). Pileated Woodpecker. Black cock-of-the-woods (the plumage is chiefly black; second term as a striking bird frequenting woodlands); black logcock (see note on latter term); black woodcock (same note); black woodpecker; cock-of-the-woods; crested woodpecker (the crest is conspicuous both in size and color); logcock (a striking bird frequenting trees); log-roller (as working with trees); red-headed wood¬ pecker (the crest is largely scarlet); woodcock (as a striking bird frequenting wood¬ land). Red-headed Woodpecker. Redhead (the head, neck, and upper breast are bright crimson); woodchuck (a woodland creature that utters a sound like "chuck"). Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Sapsucker (this woodpecker makes holes in bark, which it revisits to drink sap). Hairy Woodpecker. Big sapsucker, sapsucker (woodpeckers, in general are called sapsuckers, but only one New York species deserves the name; see preceding note); spotted woodpecker. Downy Woodpecker. Little sapsucker; sapsucker; spotted woodpecker. Eastern Kingbird. Bee bird, bee-eater, bee martin (from its feeding on honey¬ bees); field martin (in contrast to the house, or purple, martin); kingbird (in allusion to its dominating habit of driving other, often larger birds away from its nesting territory). Great Crested Flycatcher. Snake bird (from its incorporating cast off snake skins into its nest). Eastern Phoebe. Bee-eater, bee martin (these names may arise from confusion with the eastern kingbird, which see); bridge bird, bridge phoebe (it often builds its nest on beams or abutments of bridges); phoebe, (sonic); pewee, pewee bird, pewit, phoebe, phoebe bird (all sonic terms). Least Flycatcher. Chebec (a widely-recorded sonic term, which is, perhaps, a book, rather than a folk name), Horned Lark. Ortolan (name of a European finch applied to a number of species in various parts of the world, which, like it, were used for food); shore lark (from its being observed along the seashore; also in British folk usage); snow bird (from being seen in winter). Tree Swallow. Greenback; white-bellied swallow. Bank Swallow. That name, in general use, alludes to its nesting in burrows in banks; ground swallow has the same meaning); river swallow (rivers often have bluffy banks suitable for its nesting sites; also in British use to Merrett, 1667); sand swallow (of the same import; also British, Pennant, 1785). Barn Swallow. That name in general American, and also in British, use; from its nesting in barns; bridge swallow (it sometimes builds its nests under bridges); house swallow (in Europe, it nests chiefly about houses; it may sometimes do so in this country; or the name may have been merely transferred). Cliff Swallow. Eaves swallow (its mud nests are often built under eaves); jug swallow (its mud nests are somewhat jug-shaped); mud swallow. (to be continued) The Kingbird 11 THE NARROW VIEW Maxwell Wheat, Jr. President , Brooklyn Bird Club I was surprised when I read in the u Wood, Field and Stream” column of the New York Times, January 4, 1957, where the writer in describing a duck hunter made the following statement: "He shoots only blacks, mallards and broadbills, passing up buffleheads, old squaws, whistlers and other trash.” It reminded me of a conversation I had with an eminent naturalist. We had talked about our favorite birds. I remembered him saying, "I guess mine is the Bufflehead. I always get a kick out of the striking contrast of that little duck.” I don't know how the duck hunter of that article really felt, but the writer certainly reflected the narrow view that is all too prevalent. Now I don't have any quarrel with the sports-minded hunter. But he is usually the type of fellow who, after a day in the field, can return empty- handed — and is still satisfied. My quarrel is with the hunter whose vision is no wider than the sight on his rifle. He doesn't have any clear idea of the complex inter¬ dependence in nature. He doesn't realize that the prey of which he is in pursuit may depend in large measure for its survival on some forms of life that he calls "trash.” He doesn't have any conception of the esthetic — indeed, of the spiritual values of our wilderness and wildlife resources. These, of course, are intangible values. And when we deal in guns and wars and practical things like that, it is difficult to make these higher values prevail. Take, for instance, another story that appeared in the same newspaper on January 14, 1957. I don't mean to single out The Times, but these articles just happened to have appeared in it. This story reads in part as follows: "After a long, see-saw struggle, the United States Navy has success¬ fully seized a four-acre beachhead at Cape Hallett (Antarctica) from an army of 150,000 penguins and begun to build a base there ... "The battle with the penguins began when a landing was made . . . The beach is a triangular area that was completely occupied by Adelie penguins that had just completed hatching their eggs. The pot-bellied little balls of gray fuzz that were their chicks were everywhere. But this was the only level ground for the station . . . "The penguins and their offspring eyed these preparations with interest but did not move. They know no enemies that walk either on two feet or four. "Then the battle began. Sailors gathered the squawking youngsters into baskets while their shipmates threw nets over the struggling adults. The four acres of ground were a scene of bedlam, the air pierced by sharp, indignant cries until all the birds in the area had been moved outside the enclosure . . . "When a tractor bulldozed the area later so buildings could be erected, 12 The Kingbird it was found that the ground was a mixture of gravel and penguin guano to a great depth — the residue of centuries of penguin habitation/' I wonder if another station site could have been found. I wonder whether it was necessary to land during the breeding season. Maybe so. But I really wonder how much thought the Navy gave to these questions. I suppose one could argue that it doesn’t matter too much. After all, there are plenty of Penguins. If their numbers should drop to a few hundred, then that’s the time to worry. There was a time, however, when we didn’t have to worry about the Passenger Pigeons. In fact, there was a time when our wilderness and wildlife existed in such great abundance that we never had to worry. Game was shot relentlessly — either for food or sport. And trees were hacked down ruthlessly — either to clear the land or to stoke the fires of the coming civilization. Yet there was always more. Our ancestors didn’t worry — as a result we have to worry. Now we see our precious few resources challenged at every turn — for fiishing, for mining, for lumbering, for building, for hunting, for playing. Even when we think we have won a fight to save an area or a species, we find it threatened again.' Two years ago the people of New York State turned back a bid to amend the "Forever Wild” provision of the state constitution. Under this provision the 2,500,000 acre preserve must be maintained in its natural state. Yet on March 18, 1957 the Joint Legislative Committee on Winter Tourists recommended a study of the feasibility of private development of ski facilities on state forest preserve lands. This would mean another battle to change the constitution — a battle which could destroy the "forever wild” principle. While, once more, this provision is being challenged, a bill has been introduced in Congress which would, in effect, apply to the nation the "forever wild” pinciple of the New York constitution. The bill would establish a National Wilderness Preservation System under which most of the lands now owned by the government would be preserved in their natural state. How do you explain our longing to hold on to our wilderness and its resources? Maybe it can’t be explained in practical terms. Perhaps the primeval thoughts of Jim Casy in "Grapes of Wrath” best express our deeper sentiments: "There was the hills, an’ there was me, an’ we wasn’t separate no more. We was one thing. An’ that one thing was holy.” 89-10 182 nd Place, Hollis 23 NOTES Least Tern in Central New York State. — Hurricane "Connie", which came inland through the Carolinas and crossed Central New York on August 13, 1955, was responsible for what appears to be the first record of the Least Tern (Sterna Albifrons) in the central part of the state. See 1956 Kingbird V (4): 103. The day following the storm I observed an adult bird in summer plumage flying along a gravel bar at the Branchport end of Keuka Lake. For at least a half hour The Kingbird 13 I watched this tern with binoculars and Balscope as it fished over shallow water about two hundred yards from shore. Occasionally it came to rest on a wooden pile protruding from the water, and at one time I was able to approach by boat to within twenty feet of the bird. At this distance I used a 135 mm. lens to obtain two 35 mm. color shots which showed the black crown and white forehead and the yellow legs and bill. The tern remained in the area throughout that day, but the following morning it was gone and was not reported again.- Albert W. Fudge, 326 Larchmont Road, Elmira. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in Rensselaer County. — The Schenectady Bird Club periodically schedules field trips to Tomhannock Reservoir, a few miles northeast of Troy, because often quite a few waterfowl are present there. Such a trip was conducted on November 4, 1956. Some 15 observers including the writer, in five cars, were driving slowly along a road on the eastern edge of the reservoir when suddenly the lead car stopped. A long slim land bird was seen flying across the road, and it was immediately obvious that this was something out of the ordinary. The bird lit atop a small tree about 20 yards from the road, and identification of a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was simultaneously made by several observers, one of whom had previously seen the species in Texas. The bird soon darted behind a large grove of pine trees and attempts to relocate it were in vain. While the bird was perched, facing us, the elongated tail feathers were, of course, immediately apparent. The underparts v$ere largely whitish, but the bay sides were noted as the bird flew off. The dark streak through the eye was also clearly noted. The bird was completely silent during the period in which it was under observation. The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, for no apparent reason, turns up from time to time in the northeast. The last previous record of which I know was of an individual present in Quebec for about two weeks in the spring of 1955 (Audubon Field Notes 9 (4): 320.) Not unexpectedly, this is Region 8's first record of the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.- J - K- Meritt, 16 Ellen Lane, Scotia, 2 Wood Duck diving for fish. — At Baldwinsville, Onondaga County, the Seneca River is dammed for power production and water reserve for the Barge Canal. The stretch of water below this dam is one of swift currents and relatively shallow water (25 to 10 feet). The rapid current usually keeps this shallow area open through the winter and consequently this spot is a good area to check for wintering dabbling ducks. On 8 Jan. 1956, while checking over the Mallards and Black Ducks on an island some distance from shore, Mr. David Griffin and I noticed a small, dark duck clumsily dive in the north channel of the river, a section of the river about 6 or 7 feet deep and about 30 yards away from us. It surfaced and proved to be a female Wood Duck holding a small, blackish fish in its bill; it quickly maneuvered the fish into position and swallowed it head first. It then again dove, surfacing quite close to us (about 20 yards away from the shore on which we were standing). In its bill the bird held what appeared to be a small yellow perch, judging by the orange ventral fins and the dark green-barred sides, features easily visible through the binoculars. After some head shaking, the duck positioned this fish and swallowed it. It dove three more times but was not seen to catch any fish in these attempts. A nearby male Wood Duck, resting on an ice shelf on the bank of the river and heretofore unnoticed, was seen pummeling a small fish. After vigorous picking and pounding, he readied the fish and swallowed it head first. The male was not seen to dive for the fish but may very well have obtained it in the same fashion that the female had._ Fritz Scheider, 151 Seventh North Street, Syracuse 8 A Long Island nesting of the Mockingbird. — In 1844 Giraud, writing in "The Birds of Long Island" (p, 82), reported the Mockingbird as nesting occasionally on Long Island. No further definite breeding records for the island were obtained until 14 The Kingbird 1 956, when two nests were discovered. There are indications, however, that sporadic breeding may have occurred in the intervening years. Cruickshank reported in "Birds Around New York City" (1942, p. 336), that a pair was suspected of nesting at Montauk during the Summer of 1934. In 1955 Mrs. Brown of Easthampton, in¬ formed Leroy Wilcox of Speonk that a bird she believed to be a Mockingbird was nesting in her garden. On May 20 the writers in company with Wilcox and C. McKeever visited the site, but the nest, which was situated about three feet from the ground in a small but dense blue spruce, had been disturbed by a cat. Neither the adults nor the contents of the nest could be found. Mr. Wilcox collected the nest, which had the appearance of having been built by this species, but in view of the lack of positive identification, this cannot be considered a positive nesting record. During the Summer of 1 956 McKeever regularly observed a single Mockingbird on the outer beach just west of the inlet to Mecox Bay near Watermill, but no mate or evidence of nesting was seen. On July 22 the bird was seen by the writers, and on July 28 the writers in company with Paul Stoutenburgh of Cutchogue noticed two adult birds in the same vicinity. As we watched, one of them flew into a 15-20 foot scrub pine„one of a clump of several close to a small beach house, where it was joined by the second bird. Upon investigating, we found the nest about seven feet from the ground, well out near the end of a horizontal branch. It contained two nearly fledged young. After a quick look we left the nest undisturbed. Both parents remained nearby, scolding in great distress until our departurue. The find was reported to Wilcox, who visited the site a few days later. He found that the young had left the nest, but succeeded in locating and photographing them. The other nest discovered this year was located on western Long Island near Rockaway by John Bull and is being reported separately. In view on the increasing number of occurrences of this species during recent winters, it appears probable that additional nests will be discovered from time to time, and it is not impossible that the species may reestablish itself as a permanent resident after an absence of over a century, _Dennis Puleston, Brookhaven; Gilbert S. Raynor, Manorville, Long Island. REGIONAL REPORTS THE WINTER SEASON — DECEMBER 1956 THROUGH MARCH 1957 1956, which must certainly have established a record for continuing low temperatures, finally gave us respite with an Indian Summer which lingered well into December. This period was terminated during late December and January by periods of poor weather and intense cold. Temperatures well below zero were recorded, and even on Long Island birders found Great South Bay frozen during the waterfowl count period. Any birder who took the field during the winter noticed the striking effect this weather had on populations. He found: (1) very few winter finches and allies like Red-breasted Nuthatches, and (2) a number of semi-hardy birds who waited too long and never did migrate, their instinct failing them when the cold weather did strike. Dr. Gunn of Toronto indicates that the finches remained in the far north. This would make the two effects of the lingering autumn the same: neither group moved south. Spring was more usual than it appeared. Sunny days did not provide enough warmth to make the migration start early. The Three-toed Woodpecker invasion produced in Region 1, 3 birds; 2, The Kingbird 15 12; 3, 1; 4, 2; 5, 6; 6, 2; 7, usual here; 8, 1; 9, 1; and 10, 1. In Region 2 an American Three-toed was also found. As almost all birds were found stripping bark from dead or dying elm trees, it will be interesting to note a possible continued correlation with the advance of the Dutch elm disease. Perhaps the best comment on the winter finches was Mrs. Fitzgerald’s record of a single Evening Grosbeak all winter — she banded over 1000 last winter. It was again not a Snowy Owl year, but there were a few scattered reports. Eiders appeared on Lake Ontario in unusual numbers. Winter records included: many Mourning Doves, Mockingbirds (Region 6, 9, 10), Thrashers (2, 8), fewer Robins than last winter, Bluebirds (2), good numbers of Shrikes, a March 15 Wilson’s Warbler (4), a half dozen Chats (9, 10), a Kentucky Warbler (9), a Pine Warbler (8), many Icterids, a Baltimore Oriole (9), December Western Tanagers (3, 10), Towhees (3, 9), and-a Spotted Towhee (10), Vesper Sparrows (9), and Chipping Sparrows (2, 10). GRR REGION 1 — NIAGARA FRONTIER Clark S. Beardslee A very warm December was followed by a very cold January. Thus we find a spate of December records of both water and land birds which normally should not be present; while the extremely severe weather of January quickly brought winter birding back to normal. February and March gave us better than average weather. March in particular was so sunny it gave the impression that it was also warm. Humans felt that spring had come, but many of the early bird migrants, forced to spend the nights as well as the days out-of-doors were not fooled, and not only did not arrive early, but in some instances were actually late. Others, notably Swans, Pectoral Sandpipers and Robins arrived very early. Loons — Ducks; Horned Grebes were seen up to Jan 13 in the gorge, up to Jan 8 on the Allegany River; migrants appeared Mar 10. A single Pied-billed Grebe was also observed in the gorge Jan 1, the first migrant arriving Mar 30 (Jamestown, Elderkin). Four Whistling Swans were seen Dec 4 at Bemus Point (Parker). Mealy and Parker found two at the east end of Lake Chautauqua Feb 22 and three there the next day. By Mar 12-14 groups of swans were reported from all portions of our area. First record of Canada Goose also came from L.- Chau¬ tauqua, where two were seen by Elderkin Feb 24. By Mar 10 over 1000 were in the Wolcottsville-Shelby area (Wright, Brockners). By the 22nd their numbers were estimated at 28,000. From the 14th to the 31st a single Snow Goose was also noted there. A male Gadwall wintered in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo. Both teals arrived early but their numbers were disappointing. A European Widgeon was noted Mar 24 at Clarence (Brockners) and was still there at period's end. Baldpate was last noted Dec 13 and first Mar 10. Shovellers arrived rather early, Wood Duck on time. Canvasbacks wintered on the Niagara in normal thousands. A hybrid American-Barrow's Golden-eye was found dead in the gorge in March (Muma, rep. Baillie). A Harlequin Duck was first seen Mar 10 at the Falls (North) and remained at least until the 16th. King Eider records were more numerous than ever before, all from the Niagara River. All three scoters were present in small numbers through December at Niagara Falls. No less than 200 Ruddy Ducks were reported from L. Chautaqua Mar 30 (Elderkin). Hooded Mergansers arrived on time (Mar 12, Vandalia, Coleman) and in very good numbers. 16 The Kingbird Hawks — Owls: Only one Goshawk record during the period (Jan 20, James¬ town, Mealy et al.) Both McMurtry and Eaton report successful wintering by Turkeys at Wellsvilie and Olean; Eaton saw no less than 26 on Feb. 21. He writes that grouse started serious drumming Mar 27 (on their drumming log 75 ft. from his bedroom window). A Florida Gallinule stayed at Grand Island until Dec 22 (Schaffner), and a Coot in the gorge as late as Jan 12. Killdeer were back by Mar 9; Woodcock by Mar 22 (Gainesville, Smith); and Snipe by Mar 16 (Wells¬ vilie, McMurtry), Only one Greater Yellowlegs was reported (Mar 31, Cuba, Eaton). Pectoral Sandpipers returned very early (Mar. 24, Wolcottsville, Brockners). Glaucous, Iceland, and Kumlien's Gulls were present on the river throughout the period. Snowy Owls were reported four times. Long and Short-eared many times. Barn and Saw- whet less often than usual. Swifts — Shrikes: Our Arctic Woodpecker invasion faded after an exciting De¬ cember which gave us many records, all from Buffalo. Phoebes were surprisingly late, only one being reported in March (24th), and considering the favorable weather, the absence of Tree Swallows was puzzling. Eaton reports Tufted Titmice present all around the Olean area. Robins returned very early indeed, migrants appearing in late February and being common after Mar 5. Pipits were represented by a single flock of 70 near Lawtons Mar 31 (Andrles). All four months brought many Gray Shrike records, and Loggerhead records began to come in after mid-March (early). Vireos — Sparrows: Three flocks of wintering Meadowlarks were reported from the Lake Ontario plains in January; migrants appeared Mar 10. Red-wings were first seen in numbers Feb 25, 26, 27. A single Rusty was seen at Wellsvilie Mar 10 (McMurtry); numbers were seen in three locations on the 17th. Cowbirds showed up first on the latter date. This was a winter characterized by the complete absence of Evening Grosbeaks, Pine Grosbeaks, crossbills, and redpolls; a very thin scattering of Pine Siskins, Goldfinches, and Purple Finches was the best we can report. An excellent description was received from Rosche of an Oregon Junco seen by him Jan 5 at East Aurora, Snow Bunting flocks were scarce, and only one Lapland Longspur was reported. 132 McKinley Ave., Kenmore REGION 2 — GENESEE Howard S. Miller December temperatures were well above average and snowfall below average until the last week when much colder and snowier weather made itself felt. This prevailed during most of January, reaching a climax on January 15 when a low of -16 °F was recorded in Rochester. Even lower temperatures were reached in the surrounding country, apparently doing much damage to the fruit trees of this area. February was almost the opposite of January, averaging well above normal in temperature and below normal in snowfall. A warm spell from February 25-28 produced the first migration movement of the season, bringing in Canada Geese, Red-wings and Robins. March was above normal in temperature, reach¬ ing a high of 71 °F on the 13th, but it did not produce the hoped for waves of migrants. The ground was bare for most of the month and the water level of lakes, bays and ponds is low for this time of year. Loons — Ducks: Common Loon: nine at Conesus Dec 9, one at Sodus Dec 22 (Jones), one at Manitou Jan 19 (Listman). A Red-necked Grebe was seen from Rigney's Bluff Mar 16 (O'Hara, Miller). Horned Grebe: present in small numbers The Kingbird 17 on Lake Ontario during entire period. One Pied-billed Grebe was at Sodus Bay Dec 16 (Jones); two wintered at the warm water outlet to the Russell Pumping Station west of the Genesee River. Great Blue Heron: Feb 25, two SE of Rochster (Whites); one at Oak Orchard, Mar 23. Maximum count of Whistling Swans was 18 at Oak Orchard Mar 23. First flocks of Canada Geese reported Feb 27; a 1000 estimate along the west lakeshore Mar 15 (Listman) and a 15,000 estimate at Oak Orchard Mar 23 (Brown, et al.) Snow Goose: three at Oak Orchard Mar 23 (Brown et. al.). Pintail: one at Conesus Jan 13 (Whites and Dakins). First migrants appeared near Rochester Feb 27 (Listman). 500 were at Oak Orchard Mar 23; 50 at Brad- dock Bay and Shore Acres Mar 30 (O'Hara, Miller . Green-winged Teal: one Jan 13 at Conesus (Whites, Daskins), 10 at Braddock Mar 16, six at Braddock Mar 30 (O'Hara, Miller). Blue-winged Teal: three on Ontario west of Rochester Mar 16; three at Oak Orchard Mar 23; and ten at Brad¬ dock Mar 30 (O'Hara, Miller). Baldpate: one. Round Pond Dec 29; six, Sodus, Jan 1; ten Manitou, Feb 27 (all by Listman); 50 Shore Acres, Mar 30 (O'Hara, Miller). Shoveler: two at Oak Orchard Mar 23. Numbers of this species so far this spring seem low. Ring-necked Duck: five on Canandaigua Jan 13 (Whites, Dakins); one on Round Pond Mar 2 (O'Hara, Miller); nine along west lakeshore Mar 16; and 20 at Oak Orchard Mar 23. Canvasback and Redhead wintered in fair numbers on Sodus Bay, the Genesee River and Lake Ontario, increasing along Lake Ontario as inland lakes and ponds froze. Two female Harlequin Ducks were at Manitou Feb 2-3 (Listman et. al.). Present during most of the period along Ontario were King Eiders: a maximum of five birds at Manitou Jan 13 (Listman). One or two of these birds were apparently immature males and the rest females. White¬ winged Scoters were on Ontario in fair numbers. Two Surf Scoters were west of Rochester on Ontario Dec 1, 2 (Listman); and American Scoters appeared in the same area: two Dec 7 (Listman) and one Jan 13 (Klonick). Two Ruddy Ducks were at Point Pleasant Jan 2 (Listman) and one on Cranberry Pond Mar 16 (O'Hara, Miller). 80 Hooded Mergansers were on Sodus Bay Dec 9 (Jones) and a few were present all winter. Hawks — Owls: Two Turkey Vultures were at Oak Orchard Mar 23. There were a few winter records of Sharp-skinned and Cooper's Hawks, with the latter evidently more generally distributed. One Cooper's Hawk was seen on the Mar 16 hawk flight. Red-tailed Hawks wintered in fair numbers, well represented during the early flights. An early pair of Red-shouldered Hawks were found by Nelson evi¬ dently near their nesting site in South Park (Feb 16). One Bald Eagle Dec 24 at Braddock (Listman); one Jan 13 at Conesus (Whites, Dakins); an adult and an immature at Braddock Mar 16 (O'Hara, Miller). Apparently no Marsh Hawks win¬ tered as none were reported after the one at Braddock Dec 29 (Listman) until late Feb. They were present in normal numbers on their nesting sites by the end of the period. One Ruffed Grouse north of Naples Feb 18 (Listman). Virginia Rails were calling at Ling Road marsh Mar 30 (O'Hara, Miller). One Florida Gallinule was at Round Pond Dec 28, 29 (Listman), one at Ling Road Feb 25 (GOS hike). 50 Coot were at Sodus Bay Dec 1 6 (Jones), four at Round Pond Dec 29 (Listman), and five at Conesus Jan 13 (Whites, Dakins). These were present in small numbers by Mar 31. Killdeer first appeared Feb 27, common by the end of the period. Greater Yellowlegs: one at Braddock Mar 30 (Miller). One Purple Sandpiper was at Manitou Dec 29 (Listman). Three very late shorebird records: Pectoral and Semi- palmated Sandpipers, one each at Manitou Dec 7, and one Baird's Sandpiper at the same place Dec 21 (Listman). Four Pectoral Sandpipers made an appearance at Oak Orchard Mar 23 (Brown, et, al). Small numbers of white-wings: Glaucous and Iceland never reported except as individuals. Bonaparte's Gull was present until Dec 30, not recorded again until Mar 22 when one was seen at Summerville (Listman). One Little Gull was observed on Ontario off Durand Dec 1 4 by Listman. Mourning Doves were reported in small numbers through the winter, first migrants appearing Mar 12, 14. One Barn Owl was at Burroughs-Audubon Nature Center near Victor Dec 24 (McKinney). Only two Snowy Owl reports: Braddock Dec 7, 21 (Listman); Sodus Bay Dec 20 (Jones). Up to five Long-eared Owls were recorded during Feb and Mar from the evergreen plantings near the east shore of Braddock. 18 The Kingbird Short-eared Owl: several records, maximum six birds at Braddock Jan 13 (Listman). One Saw-whet Owl at Salmon Creek Woods Dec 30 (Listman), a good Christmas Census record. Swifts — Shrikes: A Kingfisher wintered at the Russell Station outlet. A prob¬ able migrant was over Irondequoit Creek on Mar 24 (Miller). There were several records of single wintering Flickers. Pileated Woodpecker: one at Mendon Jan 3 (V. White, hi. Dakin); one at BANC Jan 26 (McKinney); two at Conesus Feb 16 (O'Hara, Miller). The incursion of Arctic Three-toed Woodpeckers which started in November became even more pronounced in December and January. At least four and possibly more birds were present in one recently killed elm on Monroe Avenue. Others were present in the immediate vicinity and there were scattered reports from other localities. It would seem that there were at least twelve and possibly quite a few more here, and some were present almost to the end of the period. The birds appeared to feed entirely in recently killed elms. It will be interesting to note if this incursion is in any way connected with the ravages of the Dutch elm disease and will be repeated in subsequent seasons. A single Ameri¬ can Three-toed Woodpecker was reported from South Park (Nelson, Muchmore) and remained in a limited area well into March. The spring Prairie Horned Lark flight seemed light, but normal numbers are on nesting grounds. Three Tufted Titmice were with a flock of Chickadees at Nine Mile Point Jan 12 (O'Hara, Miller). The only records of Red-breasted Nut¬ hatch were two or three birds wintering in Durand. Brown Creepers, on the other hand, were more common this winter. Two birds were singing at Oak Orchard Mar 23. Only one or two Winter Wrens were reported this winter. One Carolina Wren was in Tryon Park Jan 27 (Miller). A Long-billed Marsh Wren was seen at Buck Pond Dec 30 by Tom Barry. A Brown Thrasher was seen near Clover Street during January (Whites) and a single appeared Mar 22, 23 at a banding station (Leubner). The latter may also be a wintering bird. Numbers of wintering Robins were reduced, the largest flock by far one of about 50 birds in Durand on Jan 12 (O'Hara, Miller). Reports of 'first of the year" Robins began coming in Feb 26-28 and they were common by mid-March. Two Bluebirds were south of Scottsville Feb 16 (O'Hara, Miller), ten migrating at Braddock Mar 15 (Listman). They were well distributed in their main nesting areas S and SW of Rochester by the end of the period. A few Golden-crowned Kinglets wintered at Durand and two were observed at Webster Park on Jan 20 (Rising, Rose, Miller). A small flock of Cedar Waxwings wintered at Durand. Most winter trips into open country resulted in Northern Shrike records, one to three birds. Warblers — Sparrows: Four Myrtle Warblers were in Durand Jan 1 (Tanghe, Miller) and a single remained Jan 12 (Miller). No reports after the severe weather of Jan 13-18. Meadowlarks wintered in fair numbers: 15 on Dec 2 at Ling Road (Listman) and 14 at Cedar Springs Jan 20 (Kirvins). Many were in evidence by Mar. 16. A small flock of Red-wings wintered at Braddock Bay (Listman). The first migrants appeared Feb. 26, 27 and the species was well distributed by Mar 1. A few Rusty Blackbirds wintered at Ling Road. Small numbers of Bronzed Grackles and Cowbirds wintered around Braddock; both common by mid-March. 1000 Cow- birds were migrating at Braddock Mar 16 (Listman). The very severe weather of mid-January seems to have had no effect on the Cardinal population. The northern finches have been entirely absent during all the fall and winter months, not one record having come to our attention since last spring. The Purple Finch, absent all winter, was finally recorded Mar 3 at Mendon (V White, H. Dakin), a single bird. The only member of this group which appeared all winter was the Goldfinch. Small bands were generally distributed, the largest flock, 50 birds at Tryon Park Feb. 18. A very late Chipping Sparrow was caught Nov 30 and Dec 1 in a banding trap and positively identified by Leubner at his home just north of Rochester. Two White- throated Sparrows were at Durand until Jan 1 (Tanghe, Miller), and one was at Tryon Park Feb 18 and Mar 24 (Miller). Two Fox Sparrows at Manitou Mar 15 (Listman) were the first reported this season. Swamp Sparrow: eight at Ling Road Feb 25 was a rather large number at this season. Two or three good sized flocks of Lapland Longspurs were reported during the winter, the largest flock, 88 in Web¬ ster (Kemnitzer). There were fewer reports than usual of Snow Buntings- this winter The Kingbird 19 and the spring flight has been extremely light. On Mar 15 only two individuals were recorded in a sustained flight of land birds at Manitou (Listman). 61 Richland Street , Rochester 9 REGION 3 — FINGER LAKES Sally F. Hoyt December weather conditions were fairly normal, though it was perhaps somewhat warmer and more open than usual. The middle of January brought the worst cold snap in many, many years — my thermometer reached 31 below on January 15. February was relatively mild -— ice went out on the creeks around Ithaca, and the thermometer reached 60 on February 25. Snow cover was light, natural food seemed abundant everywhere and feeders were not too well patronized. March continued rather mild, without too much snow, and the spring migration was cer¬ tainly advanced over a year ago. Most years bring an invasion of at least one species of winter finch. There were none this year. After the flocks of Evening Grosbeaks of a year ago, dealers got caught with enormous supplies of sunflower seeds on their hands this winter. Short-eared Owls in the western part of the Region and Rough-legged Hawks throughout the Finger Lakes were the only noteworthy visitors. Loons — Ducks: Common Loons again were scarce this winter. Horned Grebes were plentiful at south end of Cayuga, less so elsewhere. Pied-billed Grebes win¬ tered in good numbers on Keuka, where several groups of seven or eight could be seen at different places. A Double-crested Cormorant was seen daily in the Branch- port Basin from Dec 29 to Jan 13. Great Blue Herons were reported from Elmira and Geneva in late Dec and early Jan and the arrival date of Mar 27 in the Guyanoga Valley near Keuka was reported (M. Lerch) as being early for this species. An immature Black-crowned Night Heron was seen frequently at Elmira in early January. There were more reports than usual of Whistling Swans. Two were seen Mar 12 and again Mar 16 along Watkins Road N of Elmira by K. Fudge, two occurred the middle of March on the river flats between Hornell and Canisteo (Groesbeck) and three near Atlanta on Mar 25 and 26 (Atwood). The warm snap the end of February brought flocks of Canada Geese overhead. At the end of March, L. Smith estimated 12,000 were spending the night at Montezuma Refuge. One Snow Goose appeared in the Branchport Basin the last of Feb (Guthrie) and an immature Blue Goose was there on Dec 20 (Spiker). One Blue Goose was with the Canadas at Montezuma Mar 17 and 31. A few Black Ducks joined Mallards in coming to the small area kept open by an agitator at the Sapsucker Woods pond, every evening to feed on com. It was interesting to observe these 'puddle' or 'dabbling' ducks diving. On Feb 23, Groesbeck observed a male Gadwall, in company with two Coots, trying to join a flock of Redheads at Hammondsport. A European Widgeon appeared at Montezuma Refuge on Mar 30 (L Smith). On Mar 14, Allen reported that the waterfowl at Cayuga included Baldpates, Redheads and Canvasbacks by the thousands. D G Allen saw a male Pintail on Cayuga on Jan 8, an unusual winter record. A Green-winged Teal, the second in seven years appeared on the Chemung River on Mar 31 (K. Fudge). A Wood Duck wintered on the Branchport Basin (Guthrie), three were seen on the canal at Elmira Jan 24 (M. Welles), and the species appeared at Sapsucker Woods when the brushy sections of the pond opened on Mar 23 (D G Al¬ len). Redheads were more numerous on Keuka (Guthrie) but scarcer at the north end 20 TH« Kingbird of Seneca than usual (L. Ward). There was a small concentration of these and Scaup a few miles south of Geneva. Canvasbacks were in good numbers at Geneva, however, and Canvasbacks and Ring-necks were to be seen at Fir Tree Point on Seneca also (Mrs. F. Brown). Ring-necks were less numerous than usual on Keuka Golden-eyes seemed scarcer everywhere, and Walker reports no Old Squaws in their usual spots. Buffleheads were more common than usual on Keuka, 20 appear¬ ing at one time in the Branchport Basin (Guthrie). The Hornell Reservoir Basin remained ice-locked through March. The Elmira area had fewer American Mer¬ gansers than usual, but they were observed as usual along the Cohocton River at Avoca (Atwood). Fewer Red-Breasted Mergansers on Seneca Lake this winter (Ward). Hawks -— Owls: A Turkey Vulture was seen over Branchport Mar 23 (K. Burtch). A Goshawk was seen Jan 3 NW of Horseheads by M. Welles and K. Fudge. Accipters were not abundant in the area this winter, but a Cooper's Hawk did hang around Sapsucker Woods much of the time. While Walker reported few hawks in the Geneva-Waterloo area, other parts of the area reported more Buteos than ever. The reports of Red-tailed Hawks were frequent, and the invasion of Rough-legs continued. They were 'common' at Keuka throughout the period, Elmira counting 14 on the Jan 1 census. The numbers thinned out in February and March in the Geneva and Ithaca areas, although some were to be seen with the Red-tails and Marsh Hawks at Montezuma right along (Smith). Red-shouldered Hawks arrived on schedule at Sapsucker Woods and were seen courting and carrying nesting ma¬ terial the end of March. A Bald Eagle was reported a number of times over and near Ithaca in January. Smith reports that the pair at Montezuma has con¬ structed a new nest which is not so readily visible from the storage pond dike. More reports than usual of wintering Marsh Hawks and Sparrow Hawks. Ruffed Grouse were plentiful around Elmira, and eight were counted in the Watkins Glen area on Jan 1. Three have fed nightly in Arthur Lane's yard at the edge of Sapsucker Woods. Ring-necked Pheasants were down in numbers at Geneva and Avoca, plentiful around Elmira and Ithaca. Coot were plentiful on Keuka and Cayuga. A Florida Gallinule was an unusual record for Jan 20 at Penn Yan (Lerch). The first Woodcock near Ithaca was heard on Mar 13 in Ellis Hollow (Cuyler Page). As many as 15 Great Black-backed Gulls were seen at once at the S end of Cayuga, the highest counts ever. One Glaucous and one Iceland were seen from time to time with the Herrings and Ring-bills. Bonaparte's Gulls appeared slightly earlier than usual, arriving the end of March (Mcllroy). Mourning Doves seem to be wintering in increasing numbers in the Finger Lakes. They were reported plentiful at Elmira (Welles), noted at Montour Falls and vicinity, and the flock feeding at A. C. Lane's daily reached a high count of 90 on Feb. 25, Screech Owls seemed scarcer. Great Horned Owls could be heard every night at Montezuma (Smith), and they were heard in Sapsucker Woods after an absence of several years. A Snowy Owl was seen by Peck on Dec 24 and by Trail on Dec 28 at Geneva, and one west of Penn Yan on Mar 30 by Lerch: otherwise absent this winter. Two Long-eared Owls were reported on Jan 1 by the census group at Elmira. Short-eared Owls were reported as very common in the area covered by the Keuka Cons. Club, many reported at Elmira, but uncommon at Ithaca and Geneva. Swifts —• Warblers: Few wintering Kingfishers reported. Flickers were reported more commonly than in most years, eight being seen near Burdett on Jan 29 (Bardeen), three on Jan 1 at Elmira, many near Ithaca in January. While no Red-bellied Woodpeckers appeared in the Watkins-Montour area, or at Ithaca or Elmira, Mrs. Stanley Voek had one at her feeder starting Mar 22, at Penn Yan, one spent most of the winter at the James Smarts in Lyons, Ward saw one at Geneva Mar 25, and the H. Claytons had one daily at Interlaken. The Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker invasion did not extend into the Finger Lakes, although D. G. Allen saw one at Sapsucker Woods in late January. Phoebes were slow in arriving. Walker reports both Prairie and Northern Horned Larks in good numbers around Geneva. A Horned Lark nested in March at the Big Flats School at Elmira, near the flagpole, but the newly-hatched young perished in Th« Kingbird 21 the snow of Apr 4. A very early date for Tree Swallows is Mar 14, when A. A. & E. G. Allen saw two at Montezuma. The Sapsucker Woods birds had not arrived at the end of March. Crows were abundant in the western area around Avoca and Hornell. No reports of Red-breasted Nuthatches all winter. A Brown Creeper visited the suet at the Laboratory Building at Sapsucker Woods daily. Very few Winter Wren reports. A Mockingbird appeared daily at the Shepherd feeder in Ludlowville in January and February, and one was seen Jan 8 at Geneva (Ward). Early migrant Robins turned up in the warm spell in February. Two Bluebirds were reported in January in 6-mile Gorge, Ithaca, by several observers, and seemed some¬ what more common than usual in March, except around Avoca. Elmira had a good count of Golden-crowned Kinglets on Jan 1, 24 of them. One was heard daily in Etna (Hoyt). In January two Ruby-crowned Kinglets were at feed&rs in Mon¬ tour Falls. Few Pipits reported. Walker saw two on Mar 1 7 at Waterloo. Cedar Waxwings, scarce at Elmira, appeared frequently in Etna. The Northern Shrike invasion didn't materialize in the Region — hardly any reports after November. Starlings were extremely abundant everywhere except Avoca. Several Myrtle Warblers spent the winter at the Fuertes Sanctuary at the head of Cayuga Lake and visited various feeders in Cayuga Heights. One was seen on Feb 4 at Elmira (Welshans; another fed on poison ivy berries at Keuka on Jan 6 (Guthrie) and came to the Guthrie feeder for suet on Mar 1. Blackbirds — Sparrows: Small groups of Meadowlarks wintered in the Region. A Baltimore Oriole visited two different feeders in Dryden in Jan (Baker and Ferger) and one appeared also in Montour Falls. 25 Cowbirds were seen on Jan 1 at Elmira, and one Bronzed Grackle on Jan 5 at Elmira (York et al). Probably the most unusual report was of a female Western Tanager which visited the feeder of the Richard Fischers twice in December, and was carefully observed and identified by Prof. Fischer. It appeared with English Sparrows. Cardinals were reported in good numbers at Geneva, and survived the extreme cold successfully at Hornell and Avoca. In the Ithaca area, all observers com¬ plained of a decrease of Cardinals at feeders. Natural food may have been abundant, but I don't think it explains the decrease in numbers, which was very evident. There were no Evening Grosbeaks at Hornell, Avoca, Keuka, Geneva or Elmira. One male flew into a window at Breeseport in late December (Mrs. Knowles) and there were two reports of one or two individuals at feeders in Ithaca and Dryden. Purple Finches were singing conspicuously, everywhere in the Region apparently, around March 18 to 28. No winter reports. Only one report of Redpolls: a flock of ten on Dec 24 to 26 at Horseheads (Samson). No Pine Siskins nor Pine Gros¬ beaks nor Crossbills reported. Goldfinches were common in Ithaca and in the Watkins-Montour area, scarce at Elmira. A Towhee wintered in cedars south of the Keuka College campus (Guthrie) and one was at a feeder in Waterburg (M. Bower). A male Oregon Junco spent January and February at the Bower feeder in Waterburg, was checked by several observers. Tree Sparrows were scarce at Keuka, Montour Falls, Burdett, Etna and Geneva, but 960 were counted on Jan 1 at Elmira, and a large flock took over the feeder at the Laboratory Building at Sap¬ sucker Woods. A Field Sparrow appeared at this feeder on Mar 24, as did a Fox Sparrow. Otherwise reports of Fox Sparrows have been very few. A. A. Allen had 3 White-throats at his feeder all winter, and others reported them in Ithaca. They were also seen at Elmira. Song Sparrows were very abundant all winter around Ithaca, and 17 were seen at Elmira on Jan 1. But they did not appear at Montour-Watkins area until migration. Almost no reports of Snow Buntings all winter, and none of Lapland Longspurs. Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca 22 The Kingbird REGION 4 — SUSQUEHANNA Leslie E. Bemont December was unseasonably warm until about the 28th when winter arrived very suddenly and emphatically with snow, low temperatures and strong winds. The suddenness of the change seemed to bring several late stragglers out into the open. The severe cold lasted a little over three weeks and in that time established or approached several records. From then until the end of March the weather was decidedly mild with only light snowfalls that soon melted. The heaviest of these snowfalls occured Mar, 20, but was slushy from the beginning and had melted completely two days later. Loons — Ducks: Seven Common Loons were on the East Branch of the Tioughnioga River near Cortland Feb 18 (Clemens). One Horned Grebe at Greene Feb 16 (Whites) and two at the Whitney Point flood control dam Mar 16 (Whites, M. Sheffield) were the only ones reported. Four Pied-billed Grebes were found in the region during the Waterfowl Census Jan 13 but no more were reported until Mar 16 when one was at the Whitney Point dam. There were several reports of late Great Blue Herons: one at Lisle Dec 7 (Guinan), one near Endicott Dec 9 (Triple Cities Naturalists' Club), one near Unadilla Dec 21 was reported to Mr. Wisner, one at Hillcrest, north of Binghamton, Dec 23 (Sweet), one near Bainbridge Jan 23 (E. J. Smith) and one at McGraw Feb 8 (Fisk). The first Spring records were one at Whitney Point Mar 24 (TCNC) and another at Norwich the same day (Whites). Mr. Smith reports that two Whistling Swans were on the Susquehanna River just west of Sidney Mar 16, The same birds were reported by Mr. Wisner as being in the same spot until Mar 28 when they moved a mile or so towards Bainbridge and they were still at the new location at the end of the period. Several Canada Geese were reported to Mr. Wisner at Unadilla Dec 21. Spring migrants were first noted Mar 12 at Binghamton (Kelly) and at Summer Hill near Cortland (Mulholland). Other than the flock of around 400 at the Sherburne Game Farm (Whites) Mal¬ lards were few and far between in the region during Dec and Jan. A slight in¬ crease in numbers was noted in early Feb in the Binghamton area when a flock of eight appeared on the Chenango River near Chanango Valley State Park (TCNC). A larger and region-wide increase was apparent around Mar 16. The flock of Black Ducks making their winter headquarters at State Park numbered around 40 (TCNC). Twenty Baldpates and three Pintails at Whitney Point Mar 16 were our first (M. Sheffield, Whites). A Green-winged Teal with an injured wing was picked up near the Sherburne Game Farm early in the winter and has been there with the other ducks all winter. The first spring migrants were two at the Whitney Point Dam Mar 16 (M. Sheffield, Whites). A Blue-winged Teal at the same place Mar 24 (TCNC) was a week earlier than in any year in the past six. Two Shovellers, an oc¬ casional to irregular migrant here, were at the Whitney Point Dam Mar 16 (M. Sheffield). A pair of Wood Ducks were seen several times during the winter months in Boland's Marsh (Stockton). The female died in a muskrat trap early in March. A Redhead, another occasional to irregular migrant here, was at State Park Feb 3 and another was at Whitney Point Mar 24 (TCNC). Ring-necked Ducks, the most common diving ducks here in the spring, first appeared at Whitney Point Mar 16 (M. Sheffield, Whites). The maximum count so far was 61 the following day in the same place (TCNC). 25 Canvasbacks were at Little York Lake Feb 6 and 34 were in the same place Mar 7 (Thurber). One at Norwich Jan 20 (Whites) and one at State Park Feb 24 (TCNC) were the only others until Mar 16 at Whit¬ ney Point. Six Scaup (sp?) were still at Norwich Dec 9 (Whites). A lesser at Cort- landville Mari Pond Feb 8 (Gustafson), a Greater at Sidney Mar 16 (E. J. Smith) and a Scaup (sp?) at Vienna Lake near Binghamton Mar 31 (Hannans) were the only others reported so far. Two Am. Goldeneyes just west of Endicott Dec 9 (TCNC) and the 33 found on the Waterfowl Census (Washburn et. al.) indicate that some The Kingbird 23 wintered in the area. In addition a small flock of about 12 birds was at Little York Lake from Feb 6 to Mar 17 (Thurber, Gustafson). An Old Squaw was at Norwich Dec 9 (Whites). A female Hooded Merganser was at State Park Jan 27 (TCNC). Another record from the same place Feb 24 may have been the same bird. Mi¬ grants appeared at Deposit Mar 14 (Wilson) and at Little York Lake Mar 17 (Gustafson) but the high count was 21 at Whitney Point Mar 16 (M. Sheffield). A few Am. Mergansers were found all winter throughout the region with the ex¬ ception of the Cortland area where they didn't show up until Feb 22. The flock of over 100 at East Sidney Mar 16 (Wisner) seemed to represent the peak of the migration. Hawks — Owls: A Turkey Vulture was at Deposit Mar 31 (Wilson). Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks have been more common than usual all winter, par¬ ticularly the latter species. There were several reports of Rough-legged Hawks be¬ fore Jan 15, but only two thereafter; one at Newark Valley Feb 22 (Dean) and one at Apalachin, west of Vestal, Mar 24 (Hannans). A last Coot was at Norwich Dec 2 (Whites). Two Killdeer were found at Choconut Center, just north of John¬ son City, Dec 31 (Sheffields). On Jan 1 one was still there with a Wilson's Snipe (Sheffields, Bemont). Five more Killdeer were at IBM Country Club near Endwell the same day, Jan 1 (Bemont). Three Killdeer and four Wilson's Snipe were found at Lisle Jan 13 and two of each were at the same place Jan 19 (Hannans). Mar 10 brought the first migrant Killdeer, one at Endicott (Carter) and one at Homer (Gustafson) and they became common after Mar 14. A Glaucous Gull was at Cortlandville Marl Pond Feb 8 (Gustafson). The usual 40 to 60 Herring Gulls win¬ tered in the Triple Cities area and there were occasional reports from other parts of the region. There were only a few winter reports of single Ring-billed Gulls but 30 were found at Little York Lake Mar 18 (Gustafson). A Mourning Dove was at Norwich Dec 28 (Whites) but no more until Mar 9 when one was near the Broome County Airport (Loomis). Two Great Horned Owl nests; one at Cortlandville, adult sitting on the nest Mar 8 (Gustafson) and one at Whitney Point (M. Scheffieid). Screech Ow/s have been very scarce. A Snowy Owl was at Little York Dec 8 (C. Wilson), but none since. Goatsuckers—Shrikes: Kingfishers were present all winter but were uncom¬ mon during Feb and early Mar. Two Flickers were found near Chenango Bridge, north of Binghamton, during the Christmas Census Dec 30 (Bemont). A Phoebe at Bainbridge Mar 16 (E. J. Smith) was the only one before Mar 28. They were still uncommon at the end of March. One Tree Swallow at Little York Lake Mar 20 (Gustafson) and a flock of 30 or 40 at Whitney Point Mar 29 (Gendle) are the only ones reported so far. Several areas report the number of Black-capped Chickadees coming to feeders as being very low. A Tufted Titmouse appeared at a feeder in Endwell, another new station for the species, Jan 13 and was later banded (Be¬ mont), but has not been seen since Feb 3. Their numbers are increasing or hold¬ ing their own at a couple of the older stations in the area. Brown Creepers were present in small numbers through Dec and until Jan 13 but no more were reported until Mar 17. Occasional Winter Wrens were reported until Dec 16 but none thereafter. . A Catbird was found on the Christmas Census Dec 30 at Glenwood Cemetery in Binghamton (Sheffields). A few more than the normal number of wintering Robins were reported, but nothing to compare with last year. Ten were found at Deposit Feb 26 (Wilson) and numbers increased from then on. At Binghamton they be¬ came common after Mar 12. Six Bluebirds were found at Kattelville, north of Bing¬ hamton, Dec 30, all going into one birdhouse in the evening, presumably to roost (Thomas). The first spring migrant was at Newark Valley Mar 1 (Dean). They did not become widespread until the middle of Mar. In Binghamton they could be classified as fairly common by the end of Mar but in Deposit they were scarce (Wilson). An additional 60 Bluebird houses were put out through the efforts of the Naturalists' Club to go with the 150 put out last year. Golden-crowned King¬ lets were fairly common through Dec but have been uncommon since with only the Deposit and Binghamton areas reporting any. There were several late records of Ruby-crowned Kinglets: one Dec 2, two Dec 9, two Dec 30 and one Jan 6, all in the Triple Cities area (TCNC). Eleven Northern Shrikes were reported, from Dec 24 The Kingbird 9 to Mar 2, and from all parts of the region. One was seen catching a field mouse at Oxford in Jan (Stratton). Vireos — Sparrows: Two Myrtle Warblers were found Jan 30, on the Christmas Census in Binghamton (Altman). A late Yellowthroat was found just west of Endicott Dec 9 (TCNC). On Mar 15, in Endwell, a fairly freshly dead female Wilson's Warbler was found by Mrs. Gendle and is now in the Cornell University collection. The feathers were in very good condition with no signs of having loin under the snow or even on wet ground for any length of time. The spot in which the bird was found was only protected by shrubbery so there can be little doubt that it ar¬ rived there only a short time before being found. One Meadowlark was near the Broome County Airport Dec 31 (Sheffields) and four more were at Hawleyton, south of Binghamton, Jan 9 (N. Washburn). No more until Mar 13 at Summer Hill, near Cortland (Mulholland). Scattered Redwing reports from Feb 1 but not common until Mar 8 at Deposit and Mar 12 at Bing¬ hamton. The first Rusty Blackbirds were at Binghamton Mar 17 (TCNC). One Grackle Dec 29 in Binghamton (Billie Hannan). The first spring migrant record was Feb 22 at Vestal (Carmen). They were common throughout the region from Mar 14. The first Cowbird was at Deposit Mar 2 (Wilson), but they were still not com¬ mon at the end of March, One Evening Grosbeak was seen at Deposit Dec 9 (Wilson) but no more any¬ where. Six Purple Finches were singing at South New Berlin Feb 1 1 and have been there since (S. White). One came to a feeder at Deposit Feb 12 (Wilson) but other¬ wise none until Mar 18 at Deposit, Mar 21 at Binghamton when they became more common. Only one flock of 20 plus Redpolls, at Norwich Dec 28 (Whites). No Siskins anywhere. Goldfinches were common around Binghamton in Jan and around Unadilla in Feb but they were scarce otherwise. Four Vesper Sparrows were north of Unadilla Jan 4 (Wisner). A White-crowned Sparrow has been coming to a feeder at Newark Valley since Jan 12 (Dean) and a White-throated Sparrow has been doing the same at Deposit since Jan 5 (Wilson). A White-throated Sparrow was at Buckhorn Lake near Unadilla Feb 22 and two were there Feb 23. There were several there Mar 31 (Wisner). Fox Sparrows arrived at Binghamton and Deposit Mar 18. Wintering Song Sparrows were fairly common. 16 Snow Buntings Dec 30 and 50 Jan 1 at Deposit (Wilson) were the only ones in the whole region. 710 University Ave ., Endwell REGION 5 — ONEIDA LAKE BASIN Fritz Scheider December was mild and wet: eg. Oneida and Onondaga lakes remained open until Dec. 30. This long period of mild weather plus the abundance of natural foods — berries, weed seeds, late insects — probably accounts for the number and variety of semi-hardies and the poor attendance at local feeding stations. These late lingerers were caught suddenly by a severe blizzard (Dec. 30) and a month (Dec. 30 — Jan. 31) of fierce, cold weather — low temperatures, down to -24 °F and much ground snow, up to 18 inches. February brought considerably milder weather with the exception of Feb. 11-14 which was very cold and windy. February, despite its mildness, suffered from a month-long paucity of small land- birds, especially the field birds — Tree Sparrows, Snow Buntings, Horned Larks. The last week of February and the first week of March were par¬ ticularly mild and a major movement of early migrants occurred. March 8 brought seven inches of wet, soggy snow, but weatherwise this was the only interruption in a dry, warm, uneventful month which strangely enough did not produce many early migrants. The Kingbird 25 Noteworthy for this winter were: (1) the increased number but the decreased variety of wintering ducks, (2) an almost total lack of winter finches, (3) the numerous semi-hardies, (4) the flight of "mouse” hawks and owls and the correlation of this population with the snow cover, and (5) the interesting woodpeckers. Loons — Ducks: Horned and Pied-billed Grebe counts were almost equal this winter, a peculiar situation in view of the cold Jan; first migrant Horned Grebes on Mar 21; first migrant Pied-billed Grebes Mar 30. Great Blue Heron — one, Jan 28, Mycenae, is the only winter record; spring arrival date. Mar 10. American Bittern — an emaciated individual of this species was found at Mattydale, Onon. Co., Jan 22, (W. Raymo) and given to B. P. Burtt who sent it on to the Ornith. Lab at Cornell U. Whistling Swan — only report is five, late Mar, Sandy Pond (fide Belknap). Canada Goose — last seen Dec 1; first arrivals on Feb 25; spring numbers at Mud Lake and Oneida Lake have been poor but counts over 1000 at Otter Lake, Cayuga Co. (Whitman). Mallard & Black Duck — reduced Waterfowl Census counts probably due to severe weather of Jan; certain places (Manlius, Baldwins- ville) had 1:1 Mallard: Black ratio this winter where usually it is 1:4 or 5. Gadwall — first spring report, two, Mar 10 near Otter Lake. Pintail — arrivals on Feb 10; numbers up considerably (4 to 5x usual spring counts) at Clay Swamp and Oneida Lake; however, the spring numbers of Baldpate were the lowest reported in five years. Green-winged Teal •— last date is on Dec 3, Three Rivers GMA (Weeks); arrival date is Mar 15, N. Syracuse. Blue-winged Teal — first spring date is a male. Mar 16 (early); both teal have been scare throughout Mar. Shov¬ eller — a pair. Mar 24, Otter Lake are the first reported. Wood Duck — six wintering birds, four males at Baldwinsville, a pair at Manlius; first migrants, two. Mar 13, Selkirk Shores St. Pk. Redhead & Canvasback — low wintering numbers at Oswego, Brewerton, and Baldwinsville; the last two weeks of Feb saw a notable rise in both at all those places; this winter influx Is almost as sure a spring sign as arriving Pintail. Golden¬ eye, Buffle-head, Old Squaw — winter numbers very good at Oswego and along Lake Ontario; poor in other areas; most impressive is the spring flight of these ducks thru the area and all three have shown up at small ponds (Tully, Jamesville, Clay) which they usually skip entirely. Ruddy Duck — three at Oswego, Feb 10 to late Mar, is the first winter record for the region. Hooded Merganser — NO winter¬ ing records; first migrant was a male, Feb 27, Skaneateles Lake (Seaman); spring numbers are up considerably, a welcome change from the low fall '56 flight. American Merganser — 6000, Jan 19 Oswego Harbor was the high count for the winter. Hawks —- Owls: Goshawk — an adult seen at Green Lakes St. Pk., Feb 1 7, (Spofford). Few Sharp-skinned Hawks reported this winter but Cooper's Hawks were reported widely and often (Spofford, Scheider, Chamberlaine). Red-tailed & Rough¬ legged Hawks, Harrier — winter numbers up markedly (single day's highs of 12, 25 and 13, Respectively) correlating well with the abundant mouse population and varying inversely with the depth of the ground snow; the dark to light phase ratio of the Rough-legged Hawk seemed to be 1:1; the wintering Harrier population was composed entirely of immature males and females and an adult male was not seen until early Mar. Kestrel — winter numbers down, especially thru the Jan cold spell; the usual mid-Feb influx occurred. The first migrant hawk flight noted along Lake Ontario was 121 birds on Mar 16. Ruffed Grouse — wintering counts as of early Feb appeared high, probably from a combination of good breeding season, low hunting toll, and reduced winter kill. Pheasant — low winter flock counts in and around Syracuse and Bridgeport. Killdeer — last noted on Dec 11; spring arrival date, Feb 26, Skaneateles. Woodcock & Wilson's Snipe — first reported on Mar 17 and 24, respectively; the Onondaga Audubon Society arranged special and rewarding evening trips to hear the courtship performances of the Woodcock (last two weeks of Mar) and Snipe (last week of Mar); a Woodcock nest with two eggs was found in the last week of 26 The Kingbird Mar, Three Rivers GMA. Lesser Yellow-legs — very early is one, studied well. Mar 18 near Cicero (Scheider). Glaucous Gull -— low winter counts and not seen on every trip to Oswego; not one adult reported. Iceland Gull — winter numbers were fair with a high of four, Feb 10; an adult Iceland of the Kumlien's subspecies stayed at a Bridgeport gar¬ bage dump from Dec 30 to Mar 10 (Miss Carter, Mrs. Evans). Herring Gull — the highest count reported was 12,000, Jan 19, Oswego; early Ring-billed Gulls were quite scarce but by Feb 10, the Herring: Ring-billed ratio had approached 3:2 along the Oswego River. Bonaparte's Gull —- departure date is two, Dec 16, Oneida Lake (Nodecker). Horned Owl — currently B. P. Burtt has seven active nests in and about Syra¬ cuse under observation. Snowy Owl — three reports, one each from east of Rome (Jan), Bridgeport (Feb), and Baldwinsville (Mar). Barred Owl — reported from Otter Lake, Feb 22 (Whitman) and Constantia, Mar 13 (Spofford). Long-eared Owl — one to three regularly seen, Jan 27 to Feb 17, at an owl roost near E. Syracuse (Patterson). Short-eared Owl — certainly a flight year; up to ten reported from the E. Syracuse roost and smaller groups were seen at Cazenovia, Bridgeport, Shackleton Point on Oneida Lake, and Brewerton; last report is three, Mar 26, Bridgeport. Saw-whet Owl — single birds seen at Syracuse, Dec 30 to Jan 5, and at Cazenovia in early Jan (fide Mrs. Edwards). Mourning Dove — many small flocks (3-25) wintering at South Onondaga, Ned- row, Skaneateles, Bridgeport, Oneida and Rome. Swifts — Shrikes: Flicker — dozens of winter records with a high of eight in one woodlot, Dec 31, near Fayetteville. Red-bellied Woodpecker — seen at Jordan (two males - Whitman). Cross Lake (one female - Burtt), Jack's Reef (one male - Seaman), and Nedrow (one male - Chamberlaine); this is a veritable burst of reports considering its former very rare status in this area. Red-headed Woodpecker — an adult seen Feb 13 at a feeder in Fayetteville (Mrs. Terhune) is an unusual winter record. Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers — rather scarce thru Dec but Jan and Feb produced good numbers with highs of 15 and 25, respectively, Feb 17, Three Rivers GMA. Black-backed Woodpecker — reported from Ava, Oneida Co., and from Manlius, Tuliy, Fayetteville, and Baldwinsville, Onon. Co. from Dec 1 to Mar 10 (Jones, Mrs. Gould, Ashley, Wrangell); the best place to see them was the Three Rivers GMA near Baldwinsville which had a high of three on Feb 24 (the Fudges and Smiths); in all but one case the birds were found feeding on dead or dying elm trees. Phoebe — first reported on Mar 22 near Skaneateles. Blue Jay — winter counts low; highest single report before me is 13! White-breasted Nuthatch — fairly common numerically this winter; strange, however, is the total absence of Red-breasted Nuthatch reports. Brown Creeper — winter counts somewhat higher than usual with a high of seven on Mar 10; first singing noted on Feb 17. Carolina Wren — no records after Jan; perhaps the small but expanding popu¬ lation has been wiped out by the low Jan temperatures. Winter Wren — about six Dec reports and at least one bird survived until Jan 27, Fayetteville. Robin — small groups (2-6) wintered over, largely south of Syracuse; first unquestionable migrants on Feb 26. Hermit Thrush — a single on Mar 14 is an early spring date. Bluebird — arrived Mar 11; many comments on the greater numbers of these birds this spring with the exception of an almost complete lack of them around Skaneateles (Hiscock). Ruby-crowned Kinglet — three Dec records, the last on Dec 28, Syra¬ cuse. Pipit — NO Mar reports is very unusual! Northern Shrike — another irruption year for this species; counts up to seven a day, especially numerous south of Oneida Lake and around Clay and Baldwins¬ ville; singing first noted on Mar 14; interesting is a report of a live but weak immature shrike entangled in burdock burrs at South Onondaga (Hamer fide Burtt). Vireos— Sparrows: Myrtle Warbler — one, Dec 30, Syracuse is the only win¬ ter record and the first to appear on that Christmas Count. Reports of wintering Icter- ids are frankly profuse this year and the various species follow a similar pattern — singles or small groups at cornfields, marshes, and springholes all thru Dec, a rash The Kingbird 27 of records from feeders and garbage dumps with the cold spell of Jan — this was especially marked in grackles and cowbirds — and, with the exception of meadow¬ larks and a few cowbirds, no wintering records in Feb. Baltimore Oriole — an indi¬ vidual with partial adult male plumage seen Dec 16 to 29 at the E. Bush's feeder, Syracuse (fide Burtt). Arrival dates for the Icterids are: Meadowlark — Feb. 26; Red-wing — Feb 24; Rusty Blackbird — Mar 6; Grackle — Mar 3; Cowbird — Mar 3; most of the Icterids arrived a week later at Rome (Mrs. Aspinwall) and Westernville (Mrs. May). Winter finches were practically non-existant — three reports of Evening Gros¬ beaks, the highest, a flock of 7, early Feb, Rome (Mrs. Aspihwall); a flock of 20 Pine Siskins, early Dec, Fayetteville, is the only record of this species; there are NO observations of the other winter finches. Purple Finch — 1 a flight, mostly immature males, began about Mar 14 and has continued until the end of the period; only winter reports are Feb observations at Westernville (Mrs. May). Both Junco and Tree Sparrow were especially common thru Dec and Jan (up to 34 and 300/day, respectively) but frankly scarce throughout Feb. Oregon Junco — an adult male and an immature bird were seen Jan 2-24, at the Edward's feeder at Cazenovia. Winter records of semi-hardy sparrows were frequent: Field Sparrow — five reports with the last, one, Jan 6, Westernville; White-throated Sparrow — three reported from feeders; White-crowned Sparrow — an adult, Dec 18, at a feeder near Manlius (Mrs. Maxwell); Fox Sparrow — one, Jan 2-15, north of Rome (Miss Smith); Song Sparrow — many reported, especially from the small gullies and swamps south of Syracuse and Baldwinsville. Snow Bunting — very scarce all win¬ ter; the sum of Jan and Feb reports consists of two small flocks (10, 25) and no large migrant flocks were reported in Mar; last noted is one. Mar 31, near Texas. 151 Seventh North Street , Syracuse 8 REGION 6 — ST. LAWRENCE Frank A. Clinch In Watertown 77 inches of snow fell from November to the end of winter. This was about the same as a year ago, but 39 inches below the average. In January the snow amounted to 28 inches, and there was little snow the rest of the winter. The average temperature was about normal with much of the cold concentrated in January which was 8.9°F below average. It was zero or below on 15 days in January with the lowest -32°F on January 15. One gets the general impression of a scarcity of winter birds. Few persons saw any Evening Grosbeaks, Redpolls or Snowy Owls. However, a few birds appeared at unexpected times and places. Both the Christ¬ mas Count and the Winter Waterfowl Count yielded numbers below normal. In both cases the weather was poor. Mild weather starting about March 12 brought the usual early migrants, Killdeers, ftobins, Meadowlarks, Grackles and Bluebirds. By March 15 and 16 these birds were seen in large numbers for the time of the year. Loons — Ducks: Horned Grebes were first seen Mar 30. Rev. de Vries of Massena reported seeing Canada Geese on Feb 3, an early date. Canada Geese and Pintails were numerous on Perch River Flats after Mar. 15 (Belknap). A pair of Gadwalls was observed by J. Blake on Mar 24 and he saw Blacks, Mallards, Pintails and Green-winged Teal the same day. Both Green-winged and Blue-winged Teal were near Dexter Mar 30 (Gordon). Blue-winged Teal were first seen Mar 28 (Belknap). Baldpates were at Perch Lake Mar 16, and a pair of Hooded Mergansers were found that day (Gordon). Carivasbacks were seen on the St. Lawrence River from Jan 18 to Mar 1 with a peak of more than 1000 on Feb 8 (Nichols). Hawks — Owls: A Glaucous Gull was reported by Nichols on Feb 15, the first 28 The Kingbird on his records for that month in St. Lawrence County. A few Great Black-backed Gulls were noted from time to time during the winter. Herring Gulls were recorded every month in St. Lawrence County and this is the first winter they have stayed there (Nichols). John Belknap, who is collecting data on Snowy Owls, says they were the scarcest in four years, and very few persons saw any. However, Wilson thinks that three individual birds may have been sighted in Jefferson County this winter. Swifts — Sparrows; An Artie Woodpecker (P. arcticus) was seen near Gouverneur by Belknap from Dec 1 to Jan 22, and there were two on Dec 29. A few Crows wintered in St. Lawrence County. This is unusual and perhaps the first record. Brown Creepers were found near Madrid Jan 30 and Mar 6 (Nichols), and a Red¬ breasted Nuthatch was seen on the latter date. A Mockingbird (see 1956, Kingbird 6(4): 132) appeared daily at a feeder near Morristown on the St. Lawrence River from Nov 25 to Jan 30, but no trace of the bird could be found after that date. It was last seen on a mild day and it is interesting to note that it stayed at Morris¬ town during the most severe part of the winter (L. Blake, Belknap). A Ruby-crowned Kinglet (accompanying Golden-crowns) was noted near Madrid Jan 1. Golden- crowned Kinglets were seen the same day near Carthage. Dr. Brown saw a Cowbird at Edwards, St. Lawrence County Feb 27 and one appeared at Madrid Mar 1 8. A Junco came to a feeder in Watertown early in January and another was found in the woods at Madrid Feb 19. There were very few Evening Grosbeaks. One was reported near Watertown late in December and a pair there late in March. In St. Lawrence County there were only a few small scattered flocks. It seems certain that the number of Evening Grosbeaks in this region this past winter was less than one per cent of what we had a year ago. The Redpolls were also missed this winter. None were reported in S. Lawrence County and there was only a single observation of them in Jefferson County. There were no Pine Grosbeaks. Three or four per¬ sons saw Song Sparrows in different places about the first of January. 173 Haley St v Watertown REGION 7 — ADIRONDACK-CHAMPLAIN Thomas A. Lesperance Probably the most conspicuous feature of the past few months was the absence of species rather than the appearance of casual or even common birds. There was apparently no correlation between the scarcity of birds and either weather or food. There was less than normal snow accumulation throughout the region; in fact precipitation of all kinds was far below normal. One severe cold wave of six days duration, during which the temperature went to -47 °F, did not seem to inconvenience the few species here at the time. Rivers, streams, ponds and lakes are at present far below normal run-off levels for this time of year. All indications point to an abnormally dry summer which could make a record in itself if no rare species appear incidental to the conditions. Loons — Ducks: An early break-up of ice on the Champlain allowed waterfowl to come north much earlier and in greater numbers than last year during this period. Large rafts of Blacks, 200-300 birds, were seen off the mouth of the Ausable River. American Golden-eyes mixed with Greater Scaup in numerous groups of 50 to 150 off Ausable Point, fisrt appearing in good numbers in early February. Blacks, Golden-eyes, Hooded and American Mergansers with a few Ring-necked Ducks ap¬ peared at the inland ponds'after Mar 20 (Kingsbury). A few Snow Geese stayed over for observation by interested birders at Moody Bridge marshes in the Tupper- Saranac area Mar 27 (Kingsbury). This reporter has only one Canada Goose record, a flock of about 20 reported passing over Keeseville on Mar 31. Hawks — Owls: Kingsbury found a Duck Hawk at Keene Valley, There is an eyrie in the Cascade Lake region that I am trying to locate. Also since Mar The Kingbird 29 15 near Keeseville: Red-tail, Red-shoulder, Broad-wing, Goshawk, Sparrow Hawk and Osprey. Amstutz reports a Pigeon Hawk Mar 17 at Sunmount. No eagles reported this year as yet. Spruce Grouse were at the Whitney Estate near Tupper Lake Mar 1 6 (Amstutz). Although there was no mention of Ruffed Grouse from the western areas, near here they have wintered in very good numbers. Killdeer: Sunmount Mar 28 (Kingsbury), Tupper Lake Mar 31 (Amstutz). Shrikes — Sparrows: Winter residents, Junco, Canada Jay, Red and White breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creepers, Goldfinches, Chickadees, Pine Siskins, Tree Sparrows and Snow Buntings, reported in from few to fair numbers in this region. Shrikes were common only near Keeseville. Migrants: Robin, Mar 13 at Sunmount, Feb 27 at Tupper, Mar 13 at Keeseville; Bluebird, Mar 17 Tupper, Apr 2 Keeseville; Golden-crowned Kinglets, Tupper Mar 31; Phoebe, Apr 10 Keeseville; Red-Wing, Mar 15; Cowbird, Mar 15, Grackle Mar 10; Song Sparrow, Tupper Mar 16, Keese¬ ville Mar 29. Only one report of Evening Grosbeaks: at Perron's feeder in Tupper Lake. There were 15 in the first flock which has since built up to 50 or 60. (Editor's Note: Mr. Lesperance is planning to return to school for some time and will be unable to do much field investigation himself, in particular during the next few months. It seems appropriate at this time then to ask again for cooper¬ ation from others who spend time in the Adirondack-Champlain region this summer. Please send your records to Mr. Lesperance in Keeseville so that he can continue to give adequate coverage especially during this period.) Keeseville REGION 8 — MOHAWK-HUDSON James K. Meritt The winter months in the Mohawk-Hudson area were generally mild and dry. At Schenectady precipitation was well helow normal during each of the four months. January temperatures were a bit below average, but December, February, and March were considerably warmer than might be expected. These weather conditions possibly accounted for the lack of any northern finch flight. Such species as Siskins, Crossbills, and Pine Gros¬ beaks were completely unrecorded, and there were only scattered reports of the other finches. Rough-legged Hawks and Northern Shrikes, however, seemed more common than usual. Several Goshawks were observed and there was one report of the Snowy Owl. Other records of interest include an American Bittern, a Barrows Golden¬ eye, an Iceland Gull, an Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker, a Pine Warbler, and the Oregon Junco. The Schenectady Christmas Count, taken on December 22, revealed 42 species, and the December 29 Troy Count total was 29 species. Loons — Ducks: Common Loons were present in small numbers locally until mid-December. A Red-throated Loon, the first reported locally since 1951, was seen at Saratoga Lake on Dec 8 (M. Foote, E. Hollenbeck). Also observed there on that date was a Red-necked Grebe. The Pied-billed Grebe was recorded for the first time on both the Schenectady and Troy Christmas counts (SBC). A Great Blue Heron was present at Collins Lake, Scotia, throughout most of the winter; on Decem¬ ber 23 an American Bittern, quite a surprise in winter, was seen there (R. Stone, R. Yunnick). In spite of the relatively warm weather, the March waterfowl migra¬ tion was not overly good. Canada Geese in particular were poorly represented. For the second winter in a row a male Barrow's Goldeneye appeared on the Hudson a few miles above Albany. The bird was seen on several occasions between Jan 13 and 30 The Kingbird 1 9 (SBC), and this year, at last, it was the only member of its species to be recorded on the state waterfowl count. Wood Ducks first appeared on Mar 23; two were seen that day at Vischer Ponds (M. Brown, E. Hollenbeck, J. Meritt). There was only one March report of the Hooded Merganser. Hawks — Owls: A Goshawk was seen at Albany on Dec 5 (S. Madison). One was at Schenectady on Dec 22, and on the 28th the species was reported from Loudonville (M. French). Near Altamont, the Goshawk was seen on Jan 20 and Feb 23 (Hailenbeck and others). Rough-legged Hawks were frequently reported throughout the winter, with the high count for one day being five. Two Bald Eagles were observed along the Hudson on Jan 13 (SBC), and another was seen just north of Troy on Mar 13 (B. Austin). On Jan 23 four Bob-whites were seen at East Chatham (E. Radke); these are almost undoubtedly some of a group released by sportsmen's clubs in Columbia County last fall. An Iceland Gull (Kumlien's race) was observed at Troy on Dec 29 (SBC), an addition to the composite Christmas count list there. Great Black- backed Gulls were recorded in good numbers during March. There were several winter reports of the Mourning Dove. On Feb 7 a Snowy Owl was observed on the Ellis Hospital grounds in the center of Schenectady (fide Hailenbeck), but the bird was not recorded after that date. No Short-eared Owls were reported. Goatsuckers — Shrikes: Pileated woodpeckers were observed in encouraging numbers. On December 22 a female Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker was seen near Watervliet Reservoir, just south of Schenectady. This constituted the first local report for this species in five years. The bird was still present at the same spot on Jan 20. Two Phoebes were seen in Niskayuna on Mar 16 (G. Angst), an early arrival date. Swallows, however, were unrecorded. Inexplicably, Red-breasted Nut¬ hatches were almost completely absent: the only report is of an individual wintering at a feeder in Red Rock (M. Smilow). At Scotia the Carolina Wren was reported throughout the period (Hailenbeck); three individuals were seen there on several oc¬ casions during March. The species was also reported from Delmar (S. Fordham). There were several scattered winter Robin reports. Mrs. A. Lukens of Niskayuna got quite a surprise on Jan 1 1 when she saw ten at her feeder, this on a day when a record low temperature reading for the date was recorded. A Brown Thrasher was present at a Schenectady feeder throughout most of the winter (C. Keseberg). The first Hermit Thrush was reported Mar 17 (Kaskan). Cedar Waxwings were scarce. Northern Shrikes were reported in very good numbers. At Amsterdam eight in¬ dividuals were banded in December (M. Fitzgerald). There were many observations of individual birds, particularly early in the winter. The last definite report of which I know is of one at Meadowvale Marsh on March 3 (Kaskan). Warblers — Sparrows: At Gallupville a Myrtle Warbler was observed daily be¬ tween Dec 1 1 and 17 (G. Zimmer). A Pine Warbler was present at a Nassau feeder from late November until Mar 14 (E. Turner). A good group of some 120 Cowbirds was observed on the Schenectady Christmas Count. The expected Evening Grosbeak incursion did not materialize this winter. At Amsterdam, where over 1000 of these birds were banded last year, the only report was of a lone individual on Jan 20 (M. Fitzgerald). There were one or two scat¬ tered reports from the Burnt Hills area. No Evening Grosbeaks were seen in the Middle Grove region, although a few had been present there in the fall (R. Hennig). This was unquestionably a winter when many observers found themselves in the position of wondering how to dispose of a season's supply of sunflower seed. As mentioned earlier, no Siskins, Crossbills, or Pine Grosbeaks were seen. Purple Finches were absent until about mid-March and were scarce thereafter. The Cardinal continues to become increasingly common locally. At least six were recorded along the Hudson below Albany on Mar 17, and better coverage of the area that day would undoubtedly have revealed many more. A Cardinal was seen at Mechanicville on Mar 7 and 8 (fide Hinckle), and at least one bird was present throughout the winter at Niskayuna (H. Eddy). A group of some 25 Redpolls in Niskayuna on Jan 4 constitutes the season's only report for that species (H. Arnold). The Kingbird 31 Two Oregon Juncos were present at East Chatham late in the winter, and the birds were seen by many observers. The species was last recorded there on Mar 17. A White-crowned Sparrow was present at Burnt Hills from Dec 29 until Jan 19, and this bird, too, attracted many local observers. The White-throated Sparrow was reported as wintering at Niskayuna (Eddy) and Loudonville (French). Although Snow Buntings were reported in small numbers during the fall, there were no winter reports. 16 Ellen Lane, Scotia 2 REGION 9 — DELAWARE-HUDSON Fred N. Hough The winter period showed some weather abnormality. November was warm, followed by a warm and wet December. January was cold with a run on sub-zero temperatures from the 14th thru the 20th. Snowfall for the month was about normal. February was warm and dry with only 1/3. the amount of normal snowfall. March appeared to be about normal. Throughout our Region there was one comment that was characteristic of our winter season — “No Northern Finches!” Evening and Pine Gros¬ beaks were almost non-existant during the period, while Purple Finches, Siskins and Crossbills were almost as scarce. It was a decided “off year” for this group. The Rough-legged Hawk was the only Northern visitor that occurred here in numbers, which were not high but nevertheless good for that species. In contrast, the scarcity of northern visitors was greatly compensated for by the presence of an unusual number of wintering vagrants from the fall migration — birds that normally winter further south. This added new species to the winter lists and many late dates were recorded. Apparently the stable, fair weather of October and November influenced numerous migrants to linger longer than usual and finally “running out of migration fuel,” they had no alternative but to attempt wintering. Most of these birds seemed to be in the counties bordering the Hudson River, with the greatest concentrations being in the lower part of the Valley. According to Wilber Carr, birding in Sullivan County was very poor in general. To date the Spring migration has appeared normal and unspectacular. Loons — Ducks: The Common Loon was seen off Grand View, Rockland Co., Dec 29 by David Hill, making a first record for this bird on a RAS Christmas count. At least two Great Blue Herons are known to have wintered. One about the vicin¬ ity of Tomahawk Lake in Orange Co. (Martha Earl) and another near New City (Dr. Katherine Fagan). Five were recorded on the RAS Christmas count, Dec 29. A first winter record for the Green Heron in the Bear Mt. area was made on Dec 22 by John Orth, John Kenney and Peter Smith. Another first winter record was a Black-crowned Night Heron found near Congers Lake, Dec 29, by RAS Christmas count participants, Katherine Dienemann and Dr. Marjorie Hopper. Some late staying Canada Geese were reported in the Region: 20 at the Cross River Reservoir, Westchester, Dec 28 (Wm, Russell). One bird on the Ashokan Res. in Ulster, Dec 29 and again Jan 9 (Al Feldman). Feldman reports early Spring migrants over the Ashokan Reservoir, Mar 12. A late Snow Goose was seen near Cornwall, Orange Co., Dec 5 (Paul Jeheber, fide Treacy). The wintering Duck populations seemed to fol¬ low the usual trend, some species up in numbers while others were down. Con¬ siderable shifting of these birds during mid-winter was undoubtedly caused by the freezing over of many lakes and streams. Nothing unusual has been reported on the Spring migrants. 32 The Kingbird Hawks — Owls: The first Turkey Vulture reported in the Region appeared near Mohonk Lake, Ulster Co., on Feb 15 (Dan Smiley). This is the earliest recorded date for that county. Bob Deed reports that in Rockland the wintering Hawks were scarcer than usual. In Ulster, the Red-tailed occurred in good numbers (Hough, Pyle). Rough-legged Hawks were reported in Ulster (Hough, Pyle et al), in Orange (Mar¬ tha Earl) and in Westchester (Wm. Russell). No doubt better coverage would have turned up more reports on this splendid boreal Buteo since many areas of our Re¬ gion supports a high population of field mice, which constitutes a chief item of fare on this hawk's diet. As long as there is little or no snow cover. Rough-legs are apt to remain about productive feeding areas. The various reservoirs located in the lower Hudson Valley are winter-time attractions for the Bald Eagle as well as the Hudson River. Reports seem to be increasing from these areas. Killdeers were found in Rockland (Bob Deed), and a small number lingered into Jan near Carmel, Putnam (Mabel Little). Also two were seen near Mt. Kisco, Westchester, Jan 27 (Andrew McWaters). So far as known, Killdeers have never been reported during Winter in the upper group of counties. Near Farmingdale, Orange Co., Mar 6, Martha Earl found a dead Woodcock in the road. It was probably an early migrant. Mrs. Earl also saw two Wilson's Snipe near Farmingdale on Mar 9. Little of special interest was noted concerning our Owls, except perhaps, the finding of a Long-eared Owl in New York City, Rockland on Dec 4 by John Price. Swifts — Shrikes: Kingfishers apparently stayed in greater numbers. Bob Deed estimated at least six in Rockland and Martha Earl saw one off an on all winter near Farmingdale in adjacent Orange Co, Still higher up, in Ulster Co., one was seen along the Esopus Creek near Lomontville, Jan 1 1, by Henry and Use Dunbar. Strangely, the Flicker was only reported in Ulster Co. Of great interest in Rockland was the wintering Of a Red-headed Woodpecker, first discovered by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Steffens near Lake DeForest on Oct 13, 1956. An immature bird last fall, it has gradually changed into bright plumage with the coming of spring. A Sapsucker appeared at the home of Eugene Brown in Upper Nyack, Rock¬ land, Dec 30, and was joined by another bird on Jan 10 and thereafter. The Phoebe was found on two occasions during the season. During the RAS Christmas count on Dec 29 one was found near Suffern (Homer Kelsey). Another Phoebe was discovered at Kyserike, Ulster Co. by Sanford Cross (fide Dunbars) on Jan 21. This bird stayed only a few days during which it was noted feeding extensively on sluggish flies that were crawling about the sunny exposed sides of some local buildings. Migrant Phoebes began to appear in various parts of the Region around Mar 10. Although a few Horned Larks were observed in Ulster during the winter they were for the most part very scarce in this Region. A very late Tree Swallow was seen in Katonah, Westchester, Dec 20 (Wm. Rus¬ sell). A spring migrant arrived at Kripplebush, Ulster, Mar 24 (Fred Hough). The Red-breasted Nuthatch was almost non-existant with only one report received, that coming from the Ashokan Reservoir area in Ulster (Al Feldman). Ordinarily we would never expect to get all of the mimic thrushes on a winter list in this region for any one year but it did occur this past season. One Mockingbird spent the whole winter about Mount Kisco, Westchester and was heard singing on Mar 24 (Paul DeLaura, Dr. Helen Braem). It frequently visited a local feeder and ate the wild bird seed offered. Two other Mockers were known I to winter in Rockland, one at New City thru January and the other at Pomona (Mr. and Mrs. Craig Campbell) from mid-Jan to mid-Feb. A Brown Thrasher was found during mid-Dec near the Clove Chapel (below Mohonk Lake) in Ulster Co. by Rev. George Wood. The Catbird was found on several accounts in the lower part of the Region. A high of five was recorded on the RAS Christmas count Dec 29. One was seen at Congers on Jan 12 (Eugene Brown, Dr. Marjorie Hopper). In Westchester, a Catbird was found at Cross River, Dec 23 (Dr. Andrew Weir). Still another was observed in an area of Putnam Valley, Westchester, during latter Jan (Paul Wolf). The wintering Robin population in the Hudson Valley was not high this year and Bluebirds were generally scarce. Ruby-crowned Kinglets were reported from Ulster, Rockland and Westchester and seemed to be up in winter numbers. Influx of Northern Shrikes was small. Vireos — Warblers: Myrtle Warblers were probably quite common all along the Hudson Valley. Reports came from most areas and the bird was decidedly more The Kingbird 33 common in Ulster as compared to most years. A first New York State winter record for the Kentucky Warbler was made when one was discovered at Stone Ridge, Ulster, Dec 5 (Fred Hough). It was seen frequently up to Dec 27 when it suddenly disap¬ peared. A surprising number of Yellow-breasted Chats remained into the winter. They rarely occur at this season. In Rockland Co. three or four were found. Ka¬ therine Dienemann observed one at Stony Point several times during latter Dec and early Jan. Another appeared at New City on Dec 25 and Jan 5 (Mrs. George 'Hudson and Mr, and Mrs. Frank Steffens). A third was at the home of Thomas Dow in Grand View, Dec 30 and 31. Miss E. L. Crawford also had a Chat at her home in Nyack from Jan 13 through the rest of the month. The Dow-Crawford birds could be the same. Up in Ulster there was one record of a Chat. It appeared at the feeder of Mr. George Long (identified by Dr. Arthur Cragin and the Dunbars) in Kingston, Dec 6 and remained until about the 18th of Jan when it disappeared. Mr. Long provided daily feedings of crushed Hickory nuts which he scattered on the ground under some bushes. Blackbirds — Sparrows: Meadowlarks were more abundant than usual and Mrs. Wm. Grierson states that some of the birds in Westchester went right into horse barns to feed upon the manure. Although the Redwings often winter in small numbers in the lower counties they are seldom reported farther up. This year, however, over two hundred were found in the New Paltz area of Ulster Co, on Dec 29 by Christmas count party. The first flock of probable spring migrants recorded in the Region was seen at South Nyack on Jan 28 (Mrs. Robert Deed). In Ulster, on Jan 17 a Baltimore Oriole was seen at a feeding station in New Paltz and was identified by Dr. Robert Pyle. Rusty Blackbirds were found in very small numbers near New Paltz, in mid-winter (Robert Pyle). Others were noted on the Bear Mt. Christmas count party. The first flock of probable spring migrants recorded in Hudson Valley have been increasing and expanding. Extremely poor flight year for both the Evening and Pine Grosbeaks in this Region. Purple Finches occurred in very small numbers and there were no records of any Redpolls. One Pine Siskin record; near Minnewaska, Ulster, Jan 30 (Robert Pyle). A pair of Red Crossbills appeared in Kingston, Ulster, Mar 17 (Sam and Helen Hayes) and is the only record. The Towhees failed to drain completely out last fall and consequeuntly several remained to stick out the cold and snow. Most of them were found down state but there was one Ulster Co. record. One female appeared at a feeder in Kingston (Mrs. Ella Arnold) on Jan 21 and remained for the rest of the season. In Rockland, five were seen on the RAS Christmas count, Dec 29; two at Pearl River (Mrs. Carl Paulson) on Dec 30; one at Congers (Bob Deed) Jan 6. All through January Dr. Mar¬ jorie Hopper had four males and two females. In Westchester, Towhees visited feeding stations (Mrs. F. H. Lent, Mrs. Wm. Grierson) during early Dec and on Jan 13 Mrs. Randall Trumpy found an ill male near Pound Ridge. Oddly enough, a long human hair was found in its throat. The hair was removed, the bird recov¬ ered and was released by Stanley Grierson in Katonah, Jan 16. Small numbers of Savannah Sparrows were found about the New Paltz flats, Ulster, during Dec and early Jan (Robert Pyle, et al). A first Regional winter record for the Vesper Spar¬ row was made on the RAS Christmas count Dec 29. The bird was found near Lake DeForest (Dr.: Robert Burkhart, James Bloor). A small flock of Field Sparrows was reported near Monticello, Sullivan Co. on Dec 10 (Chemick). Even the White- crowned Sparrow was added to the winter list. Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Stansbury located this bird at Tollman Mt., Rockland, Dec 29, while on the RAS count. White- throated Sorrows remained in good numbers. An early migrant Fox Sparrow was seen near Mohonk Lake, Ulster, Feb 28 (R. Pyle). Song Sparrows were high through most of the main valleys of Ulster and were probably correspondingly high in many areas of the other counties. Snow buntings were very scarce or non-existant. Special Note: Although not included in the scope of our Region, the rare Harlequin Duck found along the Connecticut shore near South Norwalk deserves mention. It was first seen Dec 28 (Don Reynolds, Ruth Grierson) and on Dec 30 (Dr. Harrison Coombs & Mrs. Charles Gortner). Again on Dec 31 (Bristow) and Jan 1 (Heustus Poor, Mr. and Mrs. John Kelly and son Edward). Accord 1, N. Y. The Kingbird 84 REGION 10 — MARINE John J. Elliott Winter came on gradually with a few northeasters causing high tides and strong northwest winds occurring around the end of the year — the time of the Audubon Christmas bird counts. Following a moderate snow-¬ storm, January cold settled on the region, progessively increasing into the current week of the waterfowl count so that by January 20 the Great South Bay was frozen over except for a very few “ponds” in channelways or in tidal rifts. The rest of the winter was moderate with little snowfall. Fall migration terminated with late reports on several species of shore birds notably White-rumped and Baird’s Sandpipers. Both American and Snowy Egrets remained into December at Jamaica Bay. The Waterfowl Count — January 13-20 in Region 10 — amounted to 139,246 individuals, approximately 2,600 less than last year. This year in Region 10 it was ably carried out by 55 observers: 35 on Long Island and 20 in the New York City area. By late January midwinter land bird observations slowed considerably as delicate and half-hardy species disappeared and no influx of winter finches showed up to fill the void. Loons — Ducks: Most Common and Red-throated Loons were found around Montauk and westward to Shelter Island, whereas most Horned Grebes were seen on extreme western Long Island and in the New York City area. Both Gannets and European Cormorants were reported at Montauk. On the waterfowl count there was a large increase of fresh-water ducks over last year. Most spectacular were 4,510 Baldpates compared to 1,535 in 1955 and 1,489 in 1956. Closely alike in numbers in the past two years were: Common and Red-throated Loons; Pied-billed Grebe, Gadwall, Pintail and Redhead. Last year's Whistling Swan, Blue¬ winged Teal and Tufted Duck were missing; replacements were one more Red-necked Grebe and a Cinnamon Teal (Massapequa) possibly an escape. A maximum of five Harlequin Ducks were reported several times this winter at Montauk. Unfor¬ tunately all were missing the day of the census. As to Eiders, there was only one Common Eider this year on the count; three last year; fast King Eider — two in 1955. Pelham, in Westchester, the same as last year, contributed the only Wood Duck. 1,000 more Canvas-backs and White-winged Scoters were counted than last year. There was also about double the number of American Coot over the two former years. The 67,687 Greater Scaup listed in the entire Marine Reaion is nearly half way between the 83,336 counted last year and the 55,638 of 1955. The only records on the count of European Widgeon came from Eastern Long Island; European Teal was missing; the much hunted Red-breasted Merganser, numbering 2,193, has declined for all three years that the census has been taken from a maximum of 3,557 in 1955. The 1957 count of Black Ducks (18,452) was about half way between last year's 15,882 and the 1955 count of 21,121. The increase from 1956 appeared to be some 3,000 Blacks in the combined protected areas of Hempstead Lake and the Jamaica Bay waters; this year's total count for both areas was 7,597. Waterfowl aside from the census: Whistling Swan, Moriches, Mar 10, one (Puleston); European Teal, Jamaica Bay, Dec 1-3, one (P. Buckley, et. a I.); good winter counts of 950 Canvasbacks, 50 Redheads, South Haven, Feb 16 (Elliott). Hawks — Owls: Fair numbers of hawks reported. One mid-January Westches¬ ter County report of Goshawk (Spofford); several Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks, Mill Neck eastward, and Rough-legged, Eastern Long Island; a Bald Eagle at Van Cortlandt Park, Jan 4, (Buckley); two at Brookhaven Jan 5 (Puleston). Most unusual hawk record: Osprey, Hither Hills (near Montauk) Jan 12, one sitting on dead tree stub (G. Bouck, M. Russek). The Kingbird 35 Clapper Rail, Oceanside, Dec 29, one (Baldwin Bird Club); one King Rail, Pel¬ ham Bay Park, seen walking around on ice, Jan 21-24 (numerous observers). As for shore birds a Piping Plover was reported at Point Lookout, Jan 27 (Buckley, Post, Restivo); several wintering flocks of Sanderlings and Red-backed Sandpipers; Killdeer at Moriches, Mar 3 (Puleston); Wilson's Snipe wintered at Bax¬ ter Creek, Van Cortlandt Park, New York City and Seaford, L. I. Weather condi¬ tions caused the following concentration at Shinnecock, Feb 17: three Black-bellied Plover, one Ruddy Turnstone, one Knot, 10 Red-backed Sandpipers, 60 Sanderlings (C. McKeever). A fairly good flight of white-winged gulls was reported with singles of Glaucous, Iceland and Kumlien's at Prospect Park Lake, Mar 9 (Buckley, Clermont, Restivo). Several reports of European Black-headed Gull came in and-a great flight of an es¬ timated 1,750 Kittiwakes were reported at Montauk, Dec 29, (Buckley, et. al.) and a Laughing Gull, Montauk, same day (N. Smith). Swifts — Shrikes: An Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker at Mill Neck stripping bark off dead pine trees during early Feb (Lyman Langdon Audubon Society); several Western Kingbirds to end of year — latest Jan 12 at Riis Park. Phoebe: Bellmore, daily for two weeks into January (Mr. and Mrs. F. Mangels); one record of Tree Swallow — Van Cortlandt Park, Dec 23 (Buckley, Kane); no winter reports on Long Island where, for several years, fair sized flocks stayed through. There were no Brown-capped Chickadees nor Tufted Titmice, and most unusual, a practically com¬ plete absence of Red-breasted Nuthatches. Two Long-billed Marsh Wrens were seen at Moriches, Dec 29, a Magpie there on the same day, and presumably the same one at Mastic, Jan 5 (Puleston, Raynor, Stoutenburgh, Wilcox). Several Mockingbird records showed on Christmas counts. Three Catbirds were in a Riverdale thicket into mid-January. Thrushes, Robins, Hermit Thrushes and Cedar Waxwings very scarce or absent in midwinter. One or two Ruby-crowned Kinglets into mid-January; only American Pipits: Orient, Jan 20, seven (Latham). A fair number of Shrike records came in. Vireos — Sparrows: Myrtle Warblers wintered in fair numbers with a reasonably good crop of bayberries. A Cape May Warbler was seen Dec 30 at Point Lookout (Bull, Penberthy) and a Bay-breasted Warbler was seen at Riis Park, Dec 7 (numer¬ ous observers); a Yellow-throated wintered into mid-January at Riverdale and three Chats were found at the end of the year at Jones Beach. Latest Western Tanager: Jones Beach, Jan. 1. A Spotted Towhee (female) was found at Jones Beach, Dec 29 (Grant), collected Feb 16 (Buckley), and identified as articus subspecies at American Museum of Natural History. In the Manhasset to Cold Spring Harbor census by the Lyman Langdon Audubon Society, 27 Cardinals, 874 Juncos and 848 White-throated Spar¬ rows were counted. Reports thinned after mid-January cold, and meager records came in through Feb. There was a White-crowned Sparrow at Freeport, Jan 12-19 (Peters). About a dozen Ipswich Sparrows reported; Vesper Sparrows scarce; fair numbers of Field and Tree Sparrows wintered. The fall flight of Lapland Longspurs and Snow Bantings was good — maximum winter flock, the latter: East Hampton, Feb 24, count of 157 (Levine, Penberthy). 3994 Park Ave., Seaford, Long Isbnd 36 The Kingbird REPORTING REGIONS ADVERTISING INCOME HELPS TO DEFRAY PRINTING COSTS FOR THE KINGBIRD. Prospective Advertisers Are Invited to Contact the Treasurer. FEDERATION OF NEW YORK STATE BIRD CLUBS, INC. 1957 Officers President Albert W. Fudge_*___..._.._326 Larchmont Rdad, Elmira Vice-President Mrs. Dayton Stoner---——-399 State Street, Albany Corresponding Secretory Miss Elizabeth A. Feldhusen-——--26 Broadway, Saranac Lake Recording Secretary Mrs. Edward C. Ulrich-.----— -193 LaSalle Avenue, Buffalo Treasurer Allan S. Klonick____-901 Sibley Tower Building, Rochester 4 Editor of THE KINGBIRD Gerald’ R. Rising 72 Allen’s Creek Road, Rochester 18 Standing Committee Chairmen Bibliography: Allen H. Benton, NYS College for Teachers, Albany 3 Conservation: Winston W. Brockner, 63 Ardmore Place, Buffalo 13 Membership: Audrey Louise Wrede, 3109 Beverly Road, Brooklyn 26 Publications and Research: Fred T. Hall, Buffalo Museum of Science, Buffalo 11 State Book: Harold D. Mitchell, 238 West Royal Parkway, Wiltiamsville 21