For the most part the weather during the last half of July to the first week of September was very hot and humid.

Cool pleasant weather set in about the middle of September and frost occurred in northern sections of the state on September 16. The first week of October was Indian Summer weather which was all too short. From then on the weather was cloudy and cold. Rain and snow occurred intermittently over the state.

In the north three to four inches of snow fell October 26. Precipitation was above normal. The Weather Bureau record for Minneapolis, Hennepin County, indicated 24.71 inches of precipitation from January 1, 1959 to October 27, 1959 and during the period July 1, 1959 to October 27, 1959 the precipitation was 13.66 inches. The migration proceeded normally except that the occurrence of a blizzard in Canada north of Minnesota drove many geese and ducks into northern and western sections somewhat earlier than usual. Otherwise, in other parts there was no record of exceptionally early movement of waterfowl. Mrs.

Jane Olyphant reported a goose migration near St. Paul, Ramsey County, October 12. There were Snow and Canada Geese. Large flocks of Canada Geese, apparently looking for a place to land, circled over river lowlands in Scott County, October 15 and two Canadas spent a few days on Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, the third week of the same month. Hunters around McGregor, Aitkin County, stated that there was a goodly number of ducks and geese present on the opening of the hunting season. Also, the bag limit was taken by many nimrods in western and northwestern areas. Ducks, including Common Goldeneyes, had appeared in waters around the Twin Cities by October 19. In Scott County, October 3, thousands of Northern Pintails wheeled in a great flock looking for a place to stop. According to Dr. Roberts in "Birds of Minnesota" this flight of Northern Pintails is commonly seen in early October. Wood Ducks appeared to be more common than during 1he past few seasons.

About 50 Franklin's Gulls "hawked" in Scott County, October 3. With them was a late Common Nighthawk.

Approximately 50 Common Egrets spent the late summer in waters adjacent to the Minnesota River, Scott County.

Seventy-five were seen in this same vicinity September 25 by A. C. Wangaard.

Jane Olyphant reported a small number near Fergus Falls, "Wilkin County, August 3.

Pheasant hunting was reportedly poor.

Soy beans and corn had not been harvested, the cover was thick and a good deal of moisture made the going very muddy. Hunters were of the opinion that the pheasant crop was small. We consulted Dr. Arnold Erickson of the State Conservation Department who stated that the pheasant population was down about 40% from last year's count which was highest on record. He said pheasants were examined for disease but none was indicated.

In some areas the grouse population was apparently small. According to Harvey Gunderson and John Jarosz of the Museum of Natural History the hunting was poor in Mille Lacs and Aitkin Counties.

However, reports indicated that they were abundant north of Ely, St.

Louis County, and also along the North Shore. A small flock of Gray Partridge was seen in Scott County, near Shakopee, September 27 by this writer.

During the second week of September, Lester Badger saw 27 White Pelicans in McLeod County. On August 1, he said there was a concentration of about 3,000 shore birds along the shores of a small lake in the same county. They were mostly small peeps, Yell ow legs and Pectoral Sandpipers. In Mille Lacs County, M. Ivanous saw two Dowitchers October 12. On August 17, this writer was traveling through Douglas and Grant Counties on a bus and saw thousands of shore birds feeding in shallow waters.

On the week end of September 18-19, one American Golden-Plover and several Black-bellied Plovers were found in the grassy section on Minnesota Point, Duluth, St. Louis County. Brother Theodore reported one Whimbrel and two Sanderlings far out on the point on the same date. The water in Lake of the Isles, Minneapolis, was below normal this season during part of the time and Dorothy Legg saw several flocks of small peeps feeding on the muddy shoreline, October 19.

The only record of Tundra Swans was sent in by Dean Honetschlager, Stillwater, Washington County. A small flock was sighted there on October 14.

He stated also that hawks were extremely active the week of September 20, and among others there were four Red-shouldered Hawks. The hawk count was made by members of the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union under Dr. P. B.

Hofslund m Duluth the week end of September 18-19. Few hawks were flying, possibly due to wrong wind direction, but hundreds of American Kestrels were perched on telephone and fence wires along the North Shore of Superior as far up as Schroeder, Cook County.

Brother Theodore said that five Pigeon Hawks were observed on Minnesota Point on the above week end. Remarkably, this writer saw three Northern Goshawks November 2 in Hennepin and Scott Counties.

The movement of swallows, thrushes and flycatchers was about as usual.

Robins had gathered in great flocKs by October 1. At this time thousands were singing in the rain along the shores of Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis. With them there were about 200 Yellow-rumped Warblers feeding on the ground and several Golden- crowned Kinglets in the evergreen trees. An albino Robin was reported in Edina, suburb of Minneapolis, October 29 by Mrs. Sadie Whitesel.

A few Red-breasted Nuthatches appeared with the warbler migration which began August 11 in very hot weather.

The warblers drifted through until late October. No waves of any size were reported. Myrtles were abundant this fall; they were reported from all parts of the state. An unusual number of Black-throated Blue Warblers was seen by R. E. Cole. Ten of them in a flock were on Minnesota Point September 22.

American Goldfinches in large flocks roamed the countryside adjacent to the St. Croix, Mississippi and Minnesota River valleys during September and early October. A Brown Thrasher was still lingering in Minneapolis October 3.

Reportedly, clouds of Redwinged Blackbirds numbering tens of thousands were seen throughout the state. In an area in Scott County they settled in a pasture and blackened several acres of the earth October 25. Their flight was very spectacular.

A large flock of Rusty Blackbirds was noted in Scott County, October 17.

Purple Finches had arrived in the Twin Cities by October 19.

The peak of the Dark-eyed Junco migration was the week of October 15.

Fox, Song and Harris's Sparrows passed through in comparatively large numbers at the same time. The first Tree Sparrows noted in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties were on October 13. Besides Marie Aftreith's record of Snow Buntings near Schroeder on the North Shore of Lake Superior, which follows, there were two records of a single bird each.

Harvey Gunderson and John Jarosz saw one in Mille Lacs County, October 12 and one was seen by John Jarosz in Kanabec County, October 20.

The following communication, dated October 28, came from Marie Aftreith of Schroeder. "The fall migration on the shore was not as spectacular this year as last. First flight of geese October 11 and 150 plus on the 14, both flights were Canada Geese. A Gray Catbird stopped for four days, October 6 to 10, a White-breasted Nuthatch came on the 11th and stayed until the 18th when a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak came.

She eats with the Dark-eyed Juncos, 'White-crowned and Tree Sparrows and Snow Buntings which are everywhere.

October 28 we had a visit from a Boreal Chickadee." The following, dated October 9, came from Dr. P. B. Hofslund, Duluth area. "Haven't been out to watch the hawks since the count, but I don't think that we have had a very great count. We only counted 772 on the four days. Had a big small bird flight last week end.

On October 5 saw hundreds of Lapland Longspurs, Dark-eyed Juncos, Whitethroated Sparrows and American Pipits on the campus. Also several Yellow-shafted Flickers, Robins, Eastern Bluebil·ds and one Brown Thrasher. We picked up 18 dead birds around the windows on the 2nd, mostly warblers of various species, 18 dead sparrows, (White-throated and Dark-eyed Juncos, plus one Swamp and one Lincoln's) on the 5th and an equal number of White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos on the 6th and 8th." The following records were received from Orwin Rustad October 29. "Whitethroated Sparrow, first fall record, September 13, 1959. Apparent waves, October 1, 6 and 21. Last banding record October 24. Dark-eyed Junco.

First fall record September 10. Black and White Warbler, banded September 1, Nashville Warbler banded September 26; Tennessee Warbler banded in Faribault, Rice County, October 11; Tennessee Warbler banded in Duluth, September 19; Wilson's Warbler banded September 13; Red-breasted Nuthatch, banded September 21; Swainson's Thrush, four banded September 24 and October 10; Hermit Thrush banded October 13; at Whitewater Park, Winona County, White-crowned Sparrow first seen and banded October 18; Fox Sparrow, first seen and banded September 27; Harris' Sparrow, first seen and banded September 27, last seen and banded October 18.

This writer attended a very successful meeting held by the American Ornithologists' Union in the new Museum of Natural History in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Very interesting papers were presented and rewarding field trips scheduled. Six bus loads of members participated in one of the field trips, the highlight of which was the sight of approximately 10,000 Sandhill Cranes in one flock. About one-half of them rose and circled directly over us, evidently riding on the air currents. For several minutes they put on a wondrous show in the bright sunlight, constantly calling in melodious tones. There were several species of water birds seen on this trip, interesting ones, such as White Pelicans, ·western Grebes, gulls, shore birds, etc. On another trip one of the most outstanding areas we visited was Qu'Appelle valley which is a long glacial valley lying in Saskatchewan. It has gently sloping walls broken by coulees.

This valley is wide and at the time of the trip much of the floor was made up of mud flats and shallow water furnishing a fine opportunity to study shore birds and water birds which on that day were the same species we see in Minnesota.

Rock Wrens inhabited the slopes which were strewn with small boulders and each pair of birds apparently included one rock in its territory because they kept constantly returning to perch on or about it. The Rock Wren is said to nest in a rock crevice but I did not see the nest or hear the bird sing. 212 S.E. Bedford Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The Minnesota Bird Banders by Forest V. Strnad The hawk flight from Duluth's Skyline Boulevard on the week end of September 19 and 20 was not spectacular this year because most of the time the sky was overcast and some of the time it rained. But for those persons who are interested in banding birds the week end was not a loss, in fact it proved to be very fruitful. The weather for this time of year was unusually warm and on Sunday the temperature got up to 61 degrees. There had been no general frost in the area.

Plans were set up by Carl Johnson and your writer for the banders to meet in Duluth this week end for the purpose of seeing if we m'ght be able to net and band a variety of passerines, shore birds and, if possible, a few hawks, in addition to viewing the hawk migration.

Gary Kuyava and Robert Cohen of Duluth took care of local details, such as notifying the police of our activities so that we would not be bothered by persons who did not understand our purpose.

But in spite of this careful preparation our Sunday's banding was marred by having one 30-foot net cut off the poles and a 60-foot net knocked down by three boys about ten years of age.

They said they wanted to protect the birds. Interestingly enough there were no birds in the nets at the time and I failed to see how they knew we were netting birds. A costly lesson to all of us and a reminder to have our government signs up stating the purpose of the nets.

Banding activities started Saturday morning about 7:00 o'clock when we set up three nets near the lake in a large patch of wild sunflowers which we called "Sunflower Slip." In two hours, 34 American Goldfinch were banded.

Total length of nets was 60 feet. Banders were Gary Kuyava, Orwin Rustad and Forest Strnad. Robert Cohen was present but did not band.

Since many of the birds we were catching were already banded (Cohen had banded 73 birds there the day before, Carl Johnson had banded there on Labor Day week end and Gary had done some banding there) we pulled the nets and some of the banders went out to Morgan Park to set up nets in the bay of the St. Louis River near the steel plant. Banding activity was carried on there until around 2:00 o'clock with three 60-foot nets. Birds that were netted and banded included: Baird's Sandp: per, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, and American Pipit. Banders were Bob Cohen, Gary Kuyava and Mr. and Mrs. Boyd Lien.

Later in the afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Murray Olyphant of St. Paul, Dr. Ward Tanner of St. Peter, and Dr. Paul LaPlant and his son, Ralph, of Anoka expressed a desire to see nets in operation so Orwin Rustad and I took them back to the "Sunflower Slip." We set up one 60-foot net of 1¥2-inch mesh. From about 3:15 until 4:00 o'clock when the overcast turned into rain we were able to band an additional 23 American Goldfinch, one Song Sparrow and one Tennessee Warbler.

Mrs. Olyphant had just received her permit, bands and records from the Fish and Wildlife Service, after waiting since last March when she made her first inquiry for a permit. If you are still waiting for your permit don't get discom ·aged. Murray and Jane live at 4000 Hidden Bay Road, and they tell us it is truly a place for the birds. Two pair of Wood Ducks nested there this year and last winter Pileated Woodpeckers were in their yard.

Dr. Tanner has had his permit for about eight years. He secured it when he was working on his doctoral thesis at Iowa State College.

Saturday evening proved to be a very fruitful time for all birders in general, as we enjoyed an informal program at the University of Minnesota, Duluth Branch. Under the leadership of Dr.

P. B. Hofslund, Bob Cohen and Gary Kuyava we heard Orwin Rustad speak about his work with the Minnesota Department of Conservation banding ducks. Gordon Gullion presented slides and told us of his work with game birds in the western United States and with Ruffed Grouse in Minnesota. Robert Dickerman brought a film from the University of Minnesota, Museum of Natural History on "The Plight of the Duck Hunter." Dana Struthers, our M.O.U. President, brought his net and gave a very interesting talk and demonstration on the banding of hawks. He brought with him a American Kestrel which he had netted that afternoon and Gary Kuyava banded it. The banding of Herring Gulls was discussed by Dr.

Hofslund and he showed graphs on slides which illustrated where some of the birds had been recovered which he had banded.

Following these presentations a short business meeting was held for the banders to determine the future course they wished to take. It was decided not to form a formal organiz..ttion with officers at this time. Approval of and appreciation for the mimeographed report of banding in Minnesota in 1958 was expressed and encouragement was given to Carl Johnson and your writer to continue with plans for a similar report of birds banded ill 1959 in Minnesota.

A proposal for a mid-winter banding session somewhere in the northern part of our state was made so that some of the boreal birds might be banded. Many of the banders felt that the weather would be against us and that this project would not be possible.

Sunday morning the banders set up their operations in the bay of the St.

Louis River, near the steel mill, in Morgan Park. This time we were joined by Mr. and Mrs. Carl Johnson and his brother Ted of Rochester and Mr. and Mrs. Scott Findley of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. When all the nets were put up on the water and on land we figured that we had out over 1700 feet of the nets. The first birds were banded by 9:15. The day was very warm and the sky was overcast almost all day. It even rained a bit at times and late in the afternoon the sun came out from behind the clouds for a short interval. Shore birds were not as plentiful as we had expected but we did band Semipalmated Sandpipers, Semipalmated and Blackbellied Plovers. A new species for many of us was the American Pipit. The only Pigeon Hawk we got during the week end was caught in nets over the water.

Apparently it had dived on a Semipalmated Sandpiper. White-throated, Song and Savannah Sparrows, American Goldfinches, Northern Waterthrushes, Gray Catbirds, Myrtle, Yellow, Nashville and Palm Warblers and the Empidonax flycatcher made up the balance of the 69 birds we banded on Sunday.

In addition to the persons mentioned earlier Mr. and Mrs. Boyd Lien joined us for a while Sunday afternoon and banded several birds. Also present and banding were Cohen, Kuyava, Rustad and Strnad.

Nets were activated again on Monday morning on the crest of a hill above Skyline Boulevard and back of Gary Kuyava's home. Twelve 60-foot nets were erected to catch hawks and/or passerine birds. House Sparrows were used for bait for the hawk nets. A string was stretched tight between two shrubs and a loop was tied to the center of this string. Through this loop we ran another string, one end of which was attached to the sparrow's leg by means of tape and the other end was run some 50 or 60 feet to a clump of shrubs where one of the banders w:>.s hiding. When a hawk was sighted the string was pulled causing the sparrow to flutter, thus attracting the attention of the hawk. Since hawks have excellent eyesight they could see the bird from a great distance. The morning was cloudy until around 10:00 o'clock but in spite of this three Sharpshinned Hawks were netted and banded.

Nets were taken down on the hill around 2 o'clock and set up about a halfhour later at the park on Minnesota Point. Banding activity for Monday stopped around 4:00 o'clock when a brisk wind came up, making many of the nets ineffective.

Birds netted on Monday included the Lincoln's and White-throated Sparrows, Black-capped Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Ovenbird, Palm, Tennessee, H ashville, Myrtle, Magnolia and Baybreasted Warblers, Solitary and Redeyed Vireos, Blue Jays, Swainson's Thrush, Brown Creeper, Slate-colored Juncos, Northern Waterthrush and the Northern Flicker. Banders on Monday were Scott Findley, Gary Kuyava, Bob Cohen, Carl Johnson and Forest Strnad. We were assisted by Mrs. Findley, Mrs. Carl Johnson and Ted Johnson.

Heavy rains Tuesday morning prevented further netting operations.

I have tried to figure out the total number of hours that the nets were in operation and I have come up with the figure, 153 hours. I can not break this of nets used at different times. The re& ults for the week end show that 211 individual birds of 35 species were banded.

That would average out a little bit over two birds per net hours.

The following table shows the results for the week end for each bander. As each bander participated a different number of hours and some banders were more interested in securing new species than building up the total number of birds they banded we see the difference in the number of birds each person banded.