The year 1971 was cool and rather wet in Birmingham and vicinity, but Mobile and other coastal areas remained very dry through January. In Birmingham, December was the second warmest ever, and, except for a few cold snaps, it remained rather warm through January. February was cooler and wetter throughout the state. Normally, many birds listed around Christmas disappear-they either move farther south or succumb to the elements. This year it appears that many of these half-hardy birds could still be found in February, even those that were wintering farther north than usual. Certainly the thermometer dipped about as low as usual-to 7 degrees on 16 Jan and 6 Feb but apparently these spells were brief and the intervening warm spells were longer and milder. To complete this picture of our winter birdlife, please refer to the excellent analysis of our Christmas Counts in this issue.