The Bird Study Book Part 9

Away out in the western group of the Hawaiian Archipelago are located some of the world's most famous colonies of birds. From remote regions of the Pacific sea birds journey hither when the instinct for mating is strong upon them. Here come "Love Birds" or White Terns, and Albatrosses, great winged wonders whose home is on the rolling deep.

The number seems almost beyond belief to men and women unfamiliar with bird life in congested colonies. On February 3, 1909, these islands and reefs were included in an executive order whereby {199} the "Hawaiian Island Reservation" was brought into existence. This is the largest of all our Government bird reserves. It extends through more than five degrees of longitude.

At intervals in the past these islands had been visited by vessels engaged in the feather trade, and although no funds were available for establis.h.i.+ng a warden patrol among them, it was fondly hoped that the notice to the world that these birds were now wards of the United States would be sufficient to insure their safety.

A rude shock was felt, therefore, when late that year a rumour reached Was.h.i.+ngton that a j.a.panese poaching vessel had been sighted heading for these waters. The revenue cutter _Thetis_, then lying at Honolulu, was at once ordered on a cruise to the bird islands. Early in 1910 the vessel returned, bringing with her twenty-three j.a.panese feather hunters who had been captured at their work of destruction. In the hold of the vessel were stored two hundred and fifty-nine thousand pairs of wings, {200} two and a half tons of baled feathers, and several large cases and boxes of stuffed birds. Had the j.a.panese escaped with their booty they would have realized over one hundred thousand dollars for their plunder. This island was again raided by feather collectors in the spring of 1915.

_President Taft a Bird Protectionist._--President Taft continued the policy of creating bird reservations begun by Mr. Roosevelt, and a number were established during his administration. President Wilson likewise is a warm advocate of bird protection. One of many reservations he has created is the Panama Ca.n.a.l Zone, which is in charge of the Panama Ca.n.a.l Commission. With this exception and that of the Pribilof Reservation, which is in charge of the Bureau of Fisheries, all Government bird reservations are under the care of the Department of Agriculture, and their administration is directed by the Bureau of the Biological Survey. The National a.s.sociation of Audubon Societies still contributes in a modest way to the financial support of some of the wardens. {201} Below is given a full list of the Federal bird reservations created up to January, 1917, with the dates, and in the order of, their establishment:

LIST OF NATIONAL BIRD RESERVATIONS

NO. NAME DATE OF ESTABLISHMENT

1. Pelican Island, Fla. ... ... ... ... Mar. 14, 1903 2. Breton Island, La. ... ... ... ... . Oct. 4, 1904 3. Stump Lake, N. Dak... ... ... ... . . Mar. 9, 1905 4. Huron Islands, Mich. ... ... ... ... Oct. 10, 1905 5. Siskiwit Islands, Mich... ... ... ... Oct. 10, 1905 6. Pa.s.sage Key, Fla... ... ... ... ... Oct. 10, 1905 7. Indian Key, Fla. ... ... ... ... . . Feb. 10, 1906 8. Tern Islands, La... ... ... ... ... Aug. 8, 1907 9. Sh.e.l.l Keys, La... ... ... ... ... . Aug. 17, 1907 10. Three Arch Rocks, Oregon ... ... ... . Oct. 14, 1907 11. Flattery Rocks, Wash... ... ... ... . Oct. 23, 1907 12. Quillayute Needles, Wash... ... ... . . Oct. 23, 1907 13. Copalis Rock, Wash... ... ... ... . . Oct. 23, 1907 14. East Timbalier, La... ... ... ... . . Dec. 7, 1907 15. Mosquito Inlet, Fla. ... ... ... ... Feb. 24, 1908 16. Tortugas Keys, Fla... ... ... ... . . Apr. 6, 1908 17. Key West, Fla. ... ... ... ... ... Aug. 8, 1908 18. Klamath Lake, Oregon ... ... ... ... Aug. 8, 1908 19. Lake Malheur, Oregon ... ... ... ... Aug. 18, 1908 20. Chase Lake, N. Dak... ... ... ... . . Aug. 28, 1908 21. Pine Island, Fla... ... ... ... . . Sept. 15, 1908 22. Palma Sola, Fla. ... ... ... ... . Sept. 26, 1908 23. Matlacha Pa.s.s, Fla... ... ... ... . Sept. 26, 1908 24. Island Bay, Fla. ... ... ... ... . . Oct. 23, 1908 25. Lock-Katrine, Wyo. ... ... ... ... . Oct. 26, 1908 26. Hawaiian Islands, Hawaii... ... ... . . Feb. 3, 1909 27. Salt River, Ariz... ... ... ... ... Feb. 25, 1909 28. East Park, Cal... ... ... ... ... . Feb. 25, 1909 {202}

29. Deer Flat, Idaho ... ... ... ... . . Feb. 25, 1909 30. Willow Creek, Mont... ... ... ... . . Feb. 25, 1909 31. Carlsbad, N. Mex... ... ... ... ... Feb. 25, 1909 32. Rio Grande, N. Mex... ... ... ... . . Feb. 25, 1909 33. Cold Springs, Oregon ... ... ... ... Feb. 25, 1909 34. Belle Fourche, S. Dak. ... ... ... . . Feb. 25, 1909 35. Strawberry Valley, Utah ... ... ... . . Feb. 25, 1909 36. Keechelus, Wash. ... ... ... ... . . Feb. 25, 1909 37. Kachess, Wash. ... ... ... ... ... Feb. 25, 1909 38. Clealum, Wash. ... ... ... ... ... Feb. 25, 1909 39. b.u.mping Lake, Wash... ... ... ... . . Feb. 25, 1909 40. Conconully, Wash... ... ... ... ... Feb. 25, 1909 41. Pathfinder, Wyo. ... ... ... ... . . Feb. 25, 1909 42. Shoshone, Wyo. ... ... ... ... ... Feb. 25, 1909 43. Minidoka, Idaho ... ... ... ... ... Feb. 25, 1909 44. Bering Sea, Alaska ... ... ... ... . Feb. 27, 1909 45. Tuxedni, Alaska ... ... ... ... ... Feb. 27, 1909 46. St. Lazaria, Alaska ... ... ... ... . Feb. 27, 1909 47. Yukon Delta, Alaska ... ... ... ... . Feb. 27, 1909 48. Culebra, P. R. ... ... ... ... ... Feb. 27, 1909 49. Farallon, Calif. ... ... ... ... . . Feb. 27, 1909 50. Pribilof, Alaska ... ... ... ... . . Feb. 27, 1909 51. Bogoslof, Alaska ... ... ... ... . . Mar. 2, 1909 52. Clear Lake, Calif. ... ... ... ... . Apr. 11, 1911 53. Forrester Island, Alaska ... ... ... . Jan. 11, 1913 54. Hazy Islands, Alaska ... ... ... ... Jan. 11, 1913 55. Niobrara, Nebr... ... ... ... ... . Jan. 11, 1913 56. Green Bay, Wis... ... ... ... ... . Feb. 21, 1913 57. Chamisso Island, Alaska ... ... ... . . Dec. 7, 1912 58. Pishkun, Montana... ... ... ... ... Dec. 17, 1912 59. Desecheo Island, P. R. ... ... ... . . Dec. 19, 1912 60. Gravel Island, Wis... ... ... ... . . Jan. 9, 1913 61. Aleutian Islands, Alaska ... ... ... . Mar. 3, 1913 62. Walker Lake, Ark... ... ... ... ... Apr. 31, 1913

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63. Pet.i.t Bois Island, Ala. and Miss... ... . May 6, 1913 64. Anaho Island, Nevada... ... ... ... Sept. 4, 1913 65. Smith Island, Wash... ... ... ... . . June 6, 1914 66. Ediz Hook, Wash. ... ... ... ... . . Jan. 20, 1915 67. Dungeness Spit, Wash... ... ... ... . Jan. 20, 1915 68. Big Lake, Arkansas ... ... ... ... . Aug. 2, 1915 69. Goat Island, California ... ... ... . . Aug. 9, 1916 70. North Platte, Nebraska ... ... ... . . Aug. 21, 1916

_Audubon Society Reservations._--It may be noted from this list that there are no Government bird reservations in the original thirteen colonies. The reason is that there are no Government waste lands containing bird colonies in these states. To protect the colony-breeding birds found there other means were necessary. The Audubon Society employs annually about sixty agents to guard in summer the more important groups of water birds along the Atlantic Coast and about some of the lakes of the interior. Water-bird colonies are usually situated on islands where the birds are comparatively free from the attacks of natural enemies; hence the question of guarding them resolves itself mainly into the question of keeping people from disturbing the birds {204} during the late spring and summer months.

Painted signs will not do this. Men hired for the purpose const.i.tute the only adequate means. Some of the protected islands have been bought or leased by the Audubon Society, but in many cases they are still under private owners.h.i.+p and the privilege of placing a guard had to be obtained as a favour from the owner. Probably half a million breeding water birds now find protection in the Audubon reservations.

On the islands off the Maine coast the princ.i.p.al birds safeguarded by this means are the Herring Gull, Arctic Tern, Wilson's Tern, Leach's Petrel, Black Guillemot, and Puffin. There are protected colonies of Terns on Long Island; of Terns and Laughing Gulls on the New Jersey coast; of Black Skimmers, and of various Terns, in Virginia and North Carolina.

One of the greatest struggles the Audubon Society has ever had has been to raise funds every year for the protection of the colonies of Egrets and Ibis in the South Atlantic States. The story of this fight is longer than {205} can be told in one short chapter. The protected colonies are located mainly in the low swampy regions of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. I have been in many of these "rookeries" and know that the warden who undertakes to guard one of them takes his life in his hand. Perhaps a description of one will answer more or less for the twenty other Heron colonies the Society has under its care.

_The Corkscrew Rookery._--Some time ago I visited the warden of this reservation, located in the edge of the "Big Cypress" Swamp thirty-two miles south of Ft. Myers, Florida. Arriving at the colony late in the evening, after having travelled thirty miles without seeing a human being or a human habitation, we killed a rattlesnake and proceeded to make camp. The shouting of a pair of Sandhill Cranes awakened us at daylight, and, to quote Greene, the warden, the sun was about "two hands high" when we started into the rookery. We crossed a glade two hundred yards wide and then entered the swamp. Progress {206} was slow, for the footing was uncertain and the tall sawgra.s.s cut our wrists and faces.

There are many things unspeakably stimulating about a journey in such a tropical swamp. You work your way through thick, tangled growths of water plants and hanging vines. You clamber over huge fallen logs damp with rank vegetation, and wade through a maze of cypress "knees."

Unwittingly, you are sure to gather on your clothing a colony of ravenous ticks from some swaying branch. Redbugs bent on mischief scramble up on you by the score and bury themselves in your skin, while a cloud of mosquitoes waves behind you like a veil. In the sombre shadows through which you move you have a feeling that there are many unseen things that crawl and glide and fly, and a creepy feeling about the edges of your scalp becomes a familiar sensation. Once we came upon the trail of a bear and found the going easier when we waded on hands and knees through the opening its body had made.

In the more open places the water was completely {207} covered with floating plants that Greene called "wild lettuce." These appeared to be uniform in size, and presented an absolutely level surface except in a few places where slight elevations indicated the presence of inquisitive alligators, whose gray eyes we knew were watching our movements through the lettuce leaves.

Although the swamp was unpleasant under foot, we had but to raise our eyes to behold a world of beauty. The purple blossoms of air plants, and the delicate petals of other orchids greeted us everywhere. From the boughs overhead long streamers of gray Spanish moss waved and beckoned in the breeze. Still higher, on gaunt branches of giant cypresses a hundred feet above our heads, great, grotesque Wood Ibises were standing on their nests, or taking flight for their feeding grounds a dozen miles southward.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Grotesque Wood Ibis]

We were now fairly in the midst of an immense bird city, and some of the inhabitants were veritable giants in the bird world. The body of a Wood Ibis {209} is about the size of a Turkey hen. Its long, bare neck terminates in a most remarkable fas.h.i.+on, for the top of the head is not only innocent of feathers but also dest.i.tute of skin--"Flintheads," the people call the bird. Its bill is nearly ten inches long, slightly curved and very ma.s.sive. Woe to the unlucky fish or luckless rat upon whom a blow falls from the Flinthead's heavy beak! There were probably one hundred thousand of these birds inhabiting Corkscrew Rookery at the time of my visit. There were also large colonies of the smaller White Ibis and several varieties of Heron. Eight of the almost extinct Roseate Spoonbills wheeled into view above the swamp, but quickly pa.s.sed from sight.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Members of a junior Audubon cla.s.s at Fergus Falls, Minnesota]

The most interesting birds, those concerning which the Audubon Society is most solicitous, are the White Egrets. These snow-white models of grace and beauty have been persecuted for their plumes almost to the point of extermination, and here is situated the largest a.s.semblage of them left in Florida.

"Those 'long whites' are never off my mind for a {210} minute," said the warden, as we paused to watch some fly over. "Two men came to my camp last week who thought I didn't know them, but I did. They were old-time plume hunters. They said they were hunting cattle, but I knew better--they were after Egrets and came to see if I was on guard. I told them if they saw any one after plumes to pa.s.s {211} the word that I would shoot on sight any man with a gun who attempted to enter the Corkscrew. I would do it, too," he added as he tapped the barrel of his Winchester. "It is terrible to hear the young birds calling for food after the old ones have been killed to get the feathers for rich women to wear. I am not going to have my birds sacrificed that way."

[Ill.u.s.tration: Hungry Young Egrets]

The teeming thousands of birds in this rookery feed their young to a more or less extent on fish, and from the nests many fragments fall into the mud and water below. In the wise economy of nature few objects of real value are suffered to go to waste. Resting on the water plants, coiled on logs, or festooned in the low bushes, numerous cotton-mouthed water-moccasins lie in wait. Silently and motionless they watch and listen, now and then raising their heads when a light splash tells them of the approach of some heedless frog, or of the falling of some dead fish like manna from the nests above. May is the dry season, and the low water of the swamp accounted in a measure for the unusual number of snakes to {212} be seen. Exercising a fair amount of caution, I slew that morning fourteen poisonous reptiles, one of which measured more than five feet in length and had a girth I was just able to encompa.s.s with both hands.

_Wardens Shot by Plume Hunters._--This is a region where the Audubon warden must constantly keep his lonely watch, for should he leave even for a short time there would be danger of the colony being raided and the protective work of many seasons wiped out. A successful shooting trip of plume hunters to the Corkscrew might well net the gunners as much as five thousand dollars, and in a country where money is scarce that would mean a magnificent fortune. The warden is fully alive to this fact, and is ever on the alert. Many of the plume hunters are desperate men, and he never knows what moment he may need to grasp his rifle to defend his life in the shadows of the Big Cypress, where alligators and vultures would make short shrift of his remains.

He remembers, as he goes his rounds among the birds day by day, or lies in his tent at night, that a {213} little way to the south, on a lonely sand key, lies buried Guy Bradley, who was done to death by plume hunters while guarding for the Audubon Society the Cuthbert Egret Rookery. On Orange Lake, northward, the warden in charge still carries in his body a bullet from a plume gatherer's gun. Only three days before my visit Greene's nearest brother warden on duty at the Alligator Bay Colony had a desperate rifle battle with four poachers who, in defiance of law and decency, attempted to shoot the Egrets which he was paid to protect.

I like to think of Greene as I saw him the last night in camp, his brown, lean face aglow with interest as he told me many things about the birds he guarded. The next day I was to leave him, and night after night he would sit by his fire, a lonely representative of the Audubon Society away down there on the edge of the Big Cypress, standing as best he could between the lives of the birds he loved and the insatiable greed of Fas.h.i.+on.

{214}

CHAPTER XI

MAKING BIRD SANCTUARIES

The best place to study wild birds is on a reservation, for there birds have greatly lost their fear of man, and primitive conditions have been largely restored. In one of the southern sea-bird colonies I have photographed Royal Terns standing unafraid on the sands not twelve feet distant. They had become so accustomed to the warden in charge that they had regained their confidence in man. At Lake Worth I saw a gentleman feed Scaup Ducks that swam to within two yards of his boat.

In thousands of dooryards throughout the country wild birds, won by kind treatment, now take their food or drink within a few feet of their human protectors. The dooryards have become little bird reservations.

I have several {215} friends who regularly feed Chickadees in winter, perched on their outstretched hands. It is astonis.h.i.+ng how quickly wild creatures respond to a reasonable treatment. This may readily be learned by any householder who will try the experiment. With a little patience any teacher can instruct her pupils in the simple art of making the birds feel at home in the vicinity of the schoolhouse.

_Natural Nesting Places Destroyed._--Some kinds of birds, as far back as we know their history, have built their nests in the holes of trees.

Woodp.e.c.k.e.rs have strong, chisel-shaped bills and are able to excavate nesting cavities, but there are others that do not possess such tools.

These must depend on finding the abandoned hole of some Woodp.e.c.k.e.r, or the natural hollow of some tree. It not infrequently happens that such birds are obliged to search far and wide for a hole in which they can make their abode. It is customary for those who take care of lawns and city parks to chop away and remove all dead limbs or dead trees. As very few Woodp.e.c.k.e.rs ever attempt {217} to dig a nesting hole in a living tree, such work of the axeman means that when the season comes for the rearing of young, all mated Woodp.e.c.k.e.rs must move on to where more natural conditions await them. This results in an abnormal reduction of the number of holes for the use of the weaker-billed hole-nesting species, and they must seek the few available hollows or knot-holes. Even these places are often taken away from them, for along comes the tree doctor, who, in his purpose of aiding to preserve the trees, fills up the natural openings with cement and the birds are literally left out in the cold. It is plainly to be seen, therefore, that one reason why more birds do not remain in our towns through the spring months is the absence of places where they can lay their eggs and rear their young.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Cemented Holes Shut Out the Chickadee]

_Nesting Boxes for Birds._--To overcome this difficulty the Audubon Society several years ago began to advocate the erection of suitable nesting boxes, and to-day the practice is gaining wide usage. More persons every year are putting such boxes upon poles {218} or nailing them to trees about their homes, and some city authorities include bird boxes in the annual expenditure for the care of public parks. It was not much more than a decade ago that the first serious commercial attempt was made to place bird boxes on the market. To-day there are not less than twenty firms engaged in their manufacture. Some of the boxes are very ornate and make beautiful additions even to the most carefully kept estate. One can buy them at prices varying from thirty-five cents to thirty-five dollars each. Among the many responsible manufacturers that may be recommended are:

The Crescent Company, "Birdville," Toms River, New Jersey; Pinedale Bird Nesting Box Company, Wareham, Ma.s.sachusetts; The Audubon Bird House Company, Meriden, New Hamps.h.i.+re; Maplewood Biologica Laboratory, Stamford, Connecticut; Jacobs Bird House Company, 404 South Was.h.i.+ngton St., Waynesburg, Pa.; Decker Brothers, Rhinebeck, New York; Winthrop Packard, Canton, Ma.s.sachusetts.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Gourds and Boxes for Martins]

It is not necessary, however, to buy boxes to put {220} up for birds.

Equally useful ones can be made in the Manual Training Department of any school, or in the bas.e.m.e.nt or woodshed at home. If you do not know how to begin, you should buy one bird box and construct others similar for yourself. Men sometimes make the mistake of thinking it is absolutely necessary that such boxes should conform strictly to certain set dimensions. Remember that the cavities in trees and stumps, which birds naturally use, show a wide variety in size, shape, and location.

A many-roomed, well-painted Martin house makes a pleasing appearance in the landscape, but may not be attractive to the Martins. As a boy I built up a colony of more than fifteen pairs of these birds by the simple device of rudely part.i.tioning a couple of soap boxes. The entrances to the different rooms were neither uniform in size nor in shape, but were such as an untrained boy could cut out with a hatchet.

A dozen gourds, each with a large hole in the side, completed the tenements for this well-contented Martin community.

_Some Rules for Making and Erecting Bird Boxes._--Here are a few simple rules on the making and placing of bird boxes:

1. In all nest boxes, except those designed for Martins, the opening should be several inches above the floor, thus conforming to the general plan of a Woodp.e.c.k.e.r's hole, or natural cavity in a tree.

2. As a rule nest boxes should be erected on poles from ten to thirty feet from the ground, or fastened to the sides of trees where limbs do not interfere with the outlook. The main exception is in the case of Wrens, whose boxes or gourds can be nailed or wired in fruit trees or to the side of buildings.

3. Martin houses should be erected on poles at least twenty feet high, placed well out in the open, not less than one hundred feet from buildings or large trees.

4. All boxes should be taken down after the nesting season and the old nesting material removed.

_Size of Bird Boxes._--As to the size of nesting boxes for various species, and the diameter of the entrance hole, I cannot do better than give the dimensions {222} prepared by Ned Dearborn, of the United States Department of Agriculture, Was.h.i.+ngton, D. C.

DIMENSIONS OF NESTING BOXES