Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1911-03-03
THE BIRD MIGRATION.
to Northern country-sprlng Songs
More Common.

| SlSuS vi lut HlETdllOn IndI Is 10 come,
In New England March 1 is the ac-
| cepted time for the beginning of the
| northward journey, but for two weeks
| before that at least the spirit of mgra
ton is stirring strongly in the birds.
! They pay less attention to the serious
problem of securing food, which has
| engrossed them through the winter
months, snatches of spring song are
| tried at intervals, and their restlessness
| manifests itself in erratic and purpose
| less flights. The first spring birds rarely
| reach Bratteboro by March l. but signs
of the great annual journey are very APP
parent. The northern birds which spent
the winter here have forsaken their reg
| ular haunts of the past few months and
| are roaming about in flocks, apparently
| making up their minds to start on the
| longer trip to their northern summer
home. Some of them will go only across
| the Canadian border, but many will
make a perlllous trip to the Hudson Bay
| region, bleak Labrador or even go beyond
| the Arctic circle before they stop to
| build their summer homes and rear their
| families. Their short Journeys are with
out definite direction or aim, far as
| anyone can see. \ flock of snow bunt-
| ings, whose summer home is in the re
| gion of perpetual snow, may be seen
| going in a southerly, just as often as a
| northerly, direction at this time.
The birds which remain here through
out the year feel the spell of the mi
| grafton and are drifting about much
| more than they were a few weeks ago.
Most of them have left the places where
| they have been fed through the winter
| and are getting a more uncertain living
| in the woods at the expense of much
| greater effort. Suitable food is not
| plenty vet, but the" choose to wander
| far and wide rather than to keep to their
accustomed winter haunts and take the
| good things provided by their human
| friends. They will make no long north
| ern journey, but after a time of wan
| dering will settle down to the summer
| housekeeping, perhaps back close to
| where they were fed and protected dur
| ing the winter.
Spring songs are becoming more and
more common and accomplished. When
| the first spring stir comes the birds make
| a trial of their voices, but their efforts
| are weak and uncertain Some of the
| birds of last year, which never sang the
| full spring songs, are almost ludcrous
| in their attempts to express the spring
| feeling, and even the old birds fall far
short of the former melody. Through the
winter they call to each other and in
| dulge in a sort of bird conversation, but
| it is all very different from the spring
songs The calls and the chatter of
winter come as incidentals to the regular
| business of getting food. The spring
| song is a more deliberate matter All
| other interests are forsaken while they
| are singing and they give their whole
attention to it. striking example of
| this difference in character between the
| call notes and songs is found in the
| chickadee. Through the winter he is full
| of bird talk as he hops about from twig
| to twig, ever searching busily for some
| minute scrap of insect life On the first
| warm March morning he will take a
| station near the top of some pine tree
and send forth his clear Phoebe whistle
| the real spring song. again and again.
| His family and friends, and all thought
| of toothsome insect bits appear to be
| forgotten altogether while he perches
there facing the morning sun and tries
| to express the spring spirit stirring
| within him.
The time of the beginning of the spring
| migration is less dependent on the wealth
| er conditions than most people suppose.
| In early springs the first birds are re-
| ported from all sides somewhat earlier
| than i'm the years when the snow fingers
well into the calender spring This is
| due in large measure, however, to the
| greater activity and tunefulness OF the
| birds. Cold windy March DAYS do NOT
| stimulate therA to song, nor are they
| stirring about as much as they would be
| under the influence of warm sunshine
| They are here on time, but we do not
| see them. 4 severe storm just at the
|
! ton should reach New England may
delay them a few days. but the records
of many years show the times of their
arrival to be remarkably constant, The
variation in the very early birds is less
then four days on an average and a
| little later in the season, when conditions
are more settled, the difference in first
arrival from year to year averages less
| than IS hours. If the birds could regis
| ter themselves on their arrival instead of
having to wait until some friendly man
or woman gets sight of them, the record
| would show much less variation, proba-
| bly,.
Already a half dozen kinds of spring
| birds have arrived in New England from
the South. They are staying in the
warmer regions along the coast for the
most part but few are wandering bach
into the haunts of last year in spite OF
cold and snow. Bluebirds, robins, flick
ers, song sparrows, grackles and red
winged backbirds are waiting only for
few warm days to encourage them t
spread out over the northern country anC
greet their old friends from every fielC
and roadside bush. We may not eXpec
them here in Brattleboro in large mum
bers for about two weeks for the lowe
reaches of the Connecticut valley
through which they all will come, offel
warm sheltered corners in which to spenC
a few days in comfort, and most of then
| Will linger along here and there on thel
| way. But the first bluebird, the frs
robin and the first song sparrow will
greet us several days before the mali
body arrives. Perhaps they are her
| now
The earliest of all bird signs of thu
coming spring is the beginning of tn
bosterous cOurtshp of the English spar
rows. Some time before any other sign
| of spring appear-any warm day II
January may start them going--th
English sparrows begin their fantast
| and rotous match making Happily tn
hordes of them which once were such
pest in Bratteboro have been nearly eX
terminated. \ few small hocks are il
town yet and all are either beginning
their spring housekeeping or seriousl
thinking Of it, They begin nesting befor
any native bird realizes that spring /
here, and they keep it up long after tn
native birds have reared their familie
and are training them for their southern
journey. Without any artificial checks t
their increase a flock would easily groN
from four to 40 i'm a single season.
Scientists have reasoned for years a
to the cause of bird migration, yet n
wholly satisfactory theory has been ad
vanced. 1t is not hard to arrive at
general conclusion that the birds e
south i'm the fail. not to escape the col
and snow, but because they are unabl
to get suitable food IN the northern re
gions in the cold weather. But the re
turn In spring is a different matter an
the scientists have to fan back on
blind impulse stirring i'm all birds to nc
count for it at all. why should a bir
| leave the warm sunny South and com