Bird lore - Project Puffin

i8o Bird - Lore
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Evening Grosbeak in Northern New
England
Never have I known the Evening Grosbeaks
to be so abundant in northern New
England as they are this winter. February
29, I found a flock of four at Woodsville,
N. H., feeding on mountain ash berries.
The following week, at Hanover, N. H.,
I observed a flock of seven eating sunflower
seeds at a feeding-station. March 14,
when in Lebanon, N. H., I found a flock
of thirty-six. A flock of thirty is reported
from Meriden, N. H., another flock from
Concord, N. H., and three individuals
from Nashua, N. H. Reports have come
to me of these birds having been noted at
Dorchester, Milton, Brookline, and Lex
ington, Mass., and at Westbrook, Maine.
I noted that the birds I observed at Han-
over and Lebanon, N. H., were first
attracted by the fruits on the box-elder
or ash-leaved maple trees (a food upon
which these birds largely feed in the West)
and that when this supply was exhausted
they were induced to remain for weeks by
sunflower seeds offered in feeding-boxes
and on shelves at windows.
TowNSEND, Nashua, N. H.
Manley B.
Evening Grosbeak in Maine
Bird-lovers in Lewiston, Maine, and
vicinity have been having unusual and
interesting experiences with Evening
Grosbeaks. Two years ago, several visited
different sections, but last winter none
were here. December 31, this winter, one
immature male appeared in one of the
trees on one of the side streets of the city.
In a few days, flocks of eight were reported
in different places. Occasionally they
would stop three or four hours, but usually
they would feed a short time and fly away,
making it impossible for those who were
anxious to see them to reach the place
before they had gone. As soon as a bird-
lover would see them telephones would be
busy till all were notified. The last two
weeks in January a flock of seventeen
visited a lawn in the suburbs every morn-
ing.
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The ground was bare, as we had had
mild weather, and they fed on seeds that
had fallen from what the people called a
linden tree. Then a little snow came and
they disappeared. When the lawn was
bare again, the flock returned, increased
to thirty-five or more. Since snow came
in February small flocks of individuals are
seen about the residential sections of the
city. A beautiful male comes to one place
every day and feeds on the sumach. The
immature males and females far outnumber
the adult males. Nearly every
bird-lover has seen them this winter.
Flocks have been reported in South Paris,
Farmington, Rangeley, and Winthrop.
On February 17, four Prairie Horned
Larks were seen in Auburn, our sister
city. This is earlier than usual, as they
appear most years on Febraury 22. One
year they were seen as early as February
9, while last year March 4 was the earliest
record. We consider these our first birds
to arrive on the spring migration.
Ella Miller, Lewiston, Maine.
—
Carrie
Evening Grosbeak in New Brunswick
A new arrival has been seen of late
(February 28, 1916) in small flocks about
the town, feeding on fruits of the various
trees, preferably box-elder and crab-
apple. Their beautiful coloring, bright
yellow and black, has attracted much
attention. Even people who are most disinterested
in birds have been attracted by
another feature, and that is their utter
disregard of the presence of man. Without
the slightest difficulty one can come
within very close range and thus obtain a
good view of plumage and habits.
These birds are Evening Grosbeaks,
and this is the first record we have of their
ever visiting the province of New Brunswick.
Helen V. Burnett, St. Stephen,
Charlotte County, New Brunswick.
Evening Grosbeak in Vermont
As visits of Evening Grosbeaks to New
England are of such special interest, I
send this account of their occurrence in St.