No one needs to be (or wants to be) reminded of that coldest winter of the cetury, of the -50°F temperatures and -90°F windchills in the northern areas.

What we do need to remember, however, is that October and November were also colder than normal, driving most migrants from the state before December had a chance to finish them off. And we mustn't forget the drought of 1976 which reduced river levels and currents to the point where it didn't take that cold winter long to freeze up normally open water areas.

But don't overlook the positive side: it was too cold to snow very much, so that we missed the drifts that buried the East; December 18 with its 50oF plus temperatures produced some very pleasant Christmas Counts; and February turned out warmer than average and pushed in a few early spring migrants.

There was certainly some effect on the birds throughout this unusual weather, but not as much as might be expected. Fifty-nine report forms were submitted, compiling data on a total of 128 species (plus four questionable ones). It is no surprise that this is a below average total for recent winters considering the weather, but it is surprising that so many species were more common than normal. Species less in evidence than usual were: Long-tailed Duck, Northern Goshawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Glaucous and Herring Gulls (most of Lake Superior froze up early), Red-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-crowned Kinglet (no reports!), Evening Grosbeak, both crossbills (poor cone crop due to the drought?), Pine Siskin, and Swamp Sparrow (no reports). On the other hand, American Black Duck, Cooper's Hawk, Golden Eagle, Wilson's Snipe, Barred Owl, Horned Lark, Gray Jay (perhaps the greatest invasion ever), Black-billed Magpie, Bohemian Waxwing, Northern Shrike, Fox Sparrow, Lapland Longspur and Snow Bunting were seen more often than in most winters. If anyone can explain why in 25 words or less, you win a free entry blank for the "Guess How Many Pigeons in Duluth" contest.

In spite of the strange weather (or perhaps because of it) several exciting things turned up. Probably the most-observed Harlequin Ducks in Minnesota history stayed along the North Shore until December. A large falcon (probably a Prairie) was spotted on the Marshall Christmas Count, and a Merlin was accidentally shot way up near Crookston. For the second winter in a row the exotic Ivory Gull showed up, but drove Twin Cities birders crazy by not telling anyone it was around for three weeks. Just as elusive is the rare Boreal Owl: the good news is that there were four records, the bad news is that three of the four were dead. An unprecedented Redheaded Woodpecker was seen in the southwest part of the state, a natural result of the increasing numbers of this bird wintering in southeastern counties. Intensive studies in an area near Babbitt slated for future mining turned up good numbers of several uncommon or rare species, most notably Northern American Three-toed Woodpeckers.

Two Carolina Wrens lingered at bird feeders and two Townsend's Solitaires were seen; one for just a few minutes but the other uncharacteristically lingered for over a month. A Loggerhead Shrike rounded out a most successful Marshall Christmas Count, and another was reported from Duluth. Also unusual from Duluth was a Yellow-rumped Warbler at a feeder until Christmas Day, and also unusual in Lyon Co. was a Yellowheaded Blackbird. Other unusual feeder birds in the Twin Cities were a "spotted" Eastern Towhee, a Field Sparrow that lasted all winter, and a most unusual Chipping Sparrow.

Finally, and even stranger (and more 157 Fall 1977 cooperative) than the Ivory Gull, was the most unprecedented Lark Bunting which managed to survive House Sparrow-killing cold in Winona.