Except for the first week in January, the winter has been severe. In the Twin Cities, snow that fell on November 7, is still with us; there has been no thaw. Temperatures dropped to 42° below zero near the Canadian border and in the Twin Cities as far as -20°. Due to the fact that October was unseasonably warm, robins in numbers, bluebirds, and other species that migrate, lingered and were caught by the cold weather. Reports show that many of them survived and are still here. American Robins evidently found food and shelter in many parts of the state and were reported as far north as Duluth for the Christmas Census. In St. Paul, E. V. Brewer saw a flock of 25 on January 7, 1948. There were records of bluebirds at various localities in the southern half of Minnesota during December and the first part of January. Meadowlarks were reported by George Rysgaard in Goodhue County on December 22, 1947, and by Dr. W. J. Breckenridge just north of Minneapolis on January 4, 1948. I saw five meadowlarks on January 3, 1948, in a field adjacent to the Minnesota River near the Minneapolis city limits. A farmer was spreading barnyard fertilizer and the birds were so tame that they flew close to him barely escaping the horses' hoofs at times. He told me that they had been there every day and at night went to the farm buildings for shelter.

Another uncommon record is that of a brown thrasher that up to this time, February 15, 1948, has stood the extreme cold and feeds daily at the homes of Dr. and Mrs. Malcolm Willey and Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Lehman in Minneapolis. On December 6, 1947, Mrs. J. H. Thompson, Minneapolis, banded a bronzed grackle and another was seen on February 2, 1948, by Dr. W. J. Breckenridge and Harvey Gunderson. With it were Brewers and red-winged blackbirds. A red-headed woodpecker appeared at Onamia on December 1, 1947, and another still feeds regularly at the home of Joel Reisinger near St. Paul. Several flickers spent tlie winter in and near the Twin Cities. An account of the first Eastern Minnesota record of the spotted towhee appears elsewhere in this issue, written by Mrs. R. H. Wells, Minneapolis. Evidently this was not a redpoll year as there were only a few scattered reports and in most cases the number of individuals was small. There were no reports on pine or evening grosbeaks, and not many snow buntings were seen. Besides the compartively few counted on the Christmas census, three small flocks were reported near Robbinsdale by Mrs. A. D. Corniea. Miss Lulu M. Aler observed numerous pine siskins and cedar waxwings in Glenwood Park, Minneapolis, during the first part of January, but their numbers diminished as the winter progressed.

In and near the Twin Cities, a duck census was taken on January 10, 1948, for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The following observers participated: John Jarosz, Dr. W. J. Breckenridge, A. C. Rosenwinkel, R. A. Kortmann, Brolher J. Pius, Robert Keenan, Lyman Newlin, Milton D. Thompson, and Don Smith. At the Plymouth Avenue roost there were 337 American golden-eyes and at the St. Paul airport there were 400 American golden-eyes. At the confluence of the Kinnickinnic River and the St. Croix River the unusual number of about 1,000 American golden-eyes and 130 American mergansers were counted. A few ducks, including one canvas-back, were seen at Ft. Snelling on January 18, 1948, by Byron Harrell and Bruce Hayward.

Regarding the occurrence this season of old squaws, Dr. W. J. Breckenridge received the following communication from Dr. Olga Lakela, Duluth, dated January 26, 1948. "Today I drove to Two Harbors. Lake Superior is pretty well closed in as far as Larsmont. A strong northeast wind may change the condition any day, but you will have to go farther than Duluth for old squaws. No one has reported them yet, at least not to me. There were a few golden-eyes in open spots, and white gulls among the herring gulls. They appeared to be glaucous." The only record of old squaws is one by Dr. W. J. Breckenridge and Harvey Gunderson who were at Grand Marais, February 3, 1948, and saw some flocks far out on Lake Superior. They said that American golden-eyes were regularly scattered along the North Shore and some American mergansers were observed.

Also they reported the very remarkable occurrence of a buffle-head at Silver Creeck on the North Shore. Only one appearance of the tufted titmouse was noted this season. William Kilgore stated that one came to his feeder in Minneapolis on December 25, 1947. At Cedar Creek Bog, Harvey Gunderson saw a flock of red crossbills on October 24, 1947, and they were still there when the Christmas census was taken.