Minnesota experienced exceptionally hot weather during the past summer and to date of this writing, September 1, there were one hundred days whe 1 the temperature was higher than nor mal and much of the time it ro,;e above 90 degrees. Bird obsenation was hampered because of the heat and also because there were hordes of mosquitoes.

American Egrets were reported a:; early as May 20 at Lake Vud11ai~. From then on 1·eports came in :>.3 follows: Cedar Avenue at Minnesota River May 22, Izaac Walton Bass Pond May 23 and June 10, Albert Lea Lake .June 29, Faribault June 30, Cedar Avenue and 58th Street, Minneapolis Aug·· ust 8 and Wacouta August 22. Mrs. Chas. MacKenzie, Jr. stated in a note to the Museum of Natuml History dated August 22 that American Egrets definitely nested on Heron Island in General Shields Lake ten miles nortl:west of Faribault. There was J"allf; again this season as <;Pveral were seen in the vicinity. That An.erican Egrets are extending their post· nesting wanderings is borne out b~ the fact that they were seen August 15 at Sebeka, Cass County by C. 0 Bjore. This is the northernmost rel' n·d so far.

From all reports the1·e was an increase in the number of most specir_•:; of nesting ducks, especially -:'\lp11 Harvey Gunderson and B1·uce Hay; yard spent some time during July ;,t Albut Lea and Luverne. Tw0 Prai1·ie Falcons were observed near Lu>elne. Ring-necked Pheasants were abundant everywhere. In Rosedell TowHship there were several Upland Sandpipers an'! the following species were commo11: Eastern Kingbird, Western Eastern Kingbird, Dickcissel, and G1·asshopper Sparro,,·. The) reported yellow-legs migrating July 18 in Ash Creek Township. ?'\ear the Twin Cities the migration of vellow- legs and other shore birds occmTed at the usual time but wdcr was lower than it has been for several summers. Mud flats and shore!inPs ")l ponds were covered by a lush growth of swamp vegetation so there we1·e no reports of large concentrations. After the Izasac Walton Bass Ponds were drained the latter part of August, fair sized flocks of Greater and Lesser Yellow-legs, Wilson's Snipe, and the small "peeps" stopped there to feed.

No large waves of migrating warblers were reported but in the Twin Cities' area they began to appear singly and in small flocks August 21.

In Cedar Creek Forest a Black and White Warbler's nest containing three young was found July 29, by Warren Nord and Harvey Gunderson. At her cabin in the same general area Mrs. A. D. Corniea saw two Red-breasted Nuthatches August 10. This is the earliest fall report on record for that territory. On August 25, there she noted a small flock which had the appearance of being a family group. Although these birds normally nest much farther north, their appearance at such an early date suggests the possibility they may have nested in Cedar Creek Forest or just north of it. A Raven, a species of bird which is seldom reported in this state except in the northern part in winter, was seen by Dr. Whipple near Hudson, Wisconsin.

The most surprising and interesting record for this season was that of the Swallow-tailed Kite which was shot by a farmer near Rochester, Minn., August 15. A detailed account of this record appears elsewhere in this issue.

During the summer Joel K. Bronoel made observations on Herring Gulls at Knife Island, Lake Superior. He reported a considerable increase in nests and young over previous years.

Major and Mrs. Snyder and four other observers made a trip to Lake Traverse on June 11 and saw 63, species of birds. The birds seen were: several hundred White Pelicans, 50 Western Grebes, 50 Bobolinks, 25 Arkansas Eastern Kingbirds, one Willet, two Wilson's Phalarope, 30 Sprague's Pipits, and many others in not such great numbers. They did see eight Upland Sandpiper in one area about five miles east of Hancock. Evidently they ·were near a nest as the birds flew around crying plaintively, trying to lure them away from the spot. There were about 1000 Double-crested Cormorant resting on dead trees in Lake Traverse.

Brother Pius found the first American Goldfinch nest on July 4, in his study of 64 nests of this species. One nest still contained three youn6 and one egg on September 8.

So few records were sent in for the summer season that this report is necessarily short. This writer solicits the records of the readers of the Flicker and would be pleased to have them sent to the Museum of Natural His tory.