The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1894-04-15
FLYING 20 THEIR DEATH.
Migrating Bir6s KILLED by the Thousand
In Number Of Ways.

j
In a Number Of Ways.
During a storm a lighthouse will often
be surrounded by myriAds Of birds OF
many species. Having been 50 unfortunate
a. 70 start of In their migration on fall
ing haromcter they have got lost and flock
ed 20 the light, nutterlng about the Ian
tern and dashing upon Il or against the
tower One lightkecpcr, describing such
phenomenon, recently said that, as far
o. he could scc by tho beam Of the light,
the air appeared 60 be a solid mass Of
birds"
When one considers the railroad speed
az which a duck flies, Il is not surprising
that the impact OF lite weight against the
plate glass should break II. Telegraph
wires across the limo Of migration on the
prairics kill great numbers OF birds-wood-
cock especially. because they fly low. But
all sorts OF feathcrcd creatures, from spar
rows 10 swans fall victims 10 this human
device Among them snipe also are con-
spicuous II has been noticed that when
telegraph line has been newly established
a great many birds are slain in this way,
whereas after two or three seasons COM
paratively few suffer.
This indicates that birds learn by expo
rience. People often wonder why the birds
cd by the electricity. AS matter Of fact
the current does not pass through their
bodies, but, taking the shortest route, goes
beneath their feet. Anyway IL would be
TOO mild 20 destroy them.
Waterfowl arc destroyed in considerable
numbers by fish fykes-a kind Of net which
leads the fishes into a cul de sac from
which there Is no escape. Tho birds follow
the fishes and becoming entangled are
drowned. In the great lakes deep nets are
set for white fish 200 feet beneath the sur
face of the water
Ducks are frequently caught in them,
showing how deeply they dive in pursuit
of finny prey. On the shores Of some al
kaline lakes of the west, notably Owens
lake in California. great quantities OF
grcbes. which are about the size Of big pi-
gcons, are sometimes found dead. As many
as IS. 600 have been counted at Owens lake,
which is not q very large sheet. This phe-
nomcnon occurs every year. Either the
water Is injurious 20 them, or, as seems
more likely, they come to the lake 10 catch
fish, and finding none dies Of starvation.
On the Pacific coast, not far from San
Francisco, is a stretch Of beach on which,
after a storm, great numbers OF ducks and
divers and even many albatrosses may be
picked up as well as pctftlSf CofliurdAtn
and other birds some of them, as the
petrels, flying low, are struck by big waves
and thrown upon the shore. Others, like
the cormorants and surf ducks, are dashed
upon the beach while swimming near
shore Elsewhere along that part Of the
coast there are only rocks, and the water
fowl dashed upon them are not stranded,
but float off again to land eventually on
the strip Of beach above mentioned.
Vessels coastlng of shorc from 10 to 100
miles are oftci visited by birds which have
been swept of the lands by winds. If at
a great distance from the land, they inva-
riably dio from exhaustion after reaching
the ships Sometimes hundreds are seen
TO fall dying into the water within a few
minutes, being unable to sustain flight any
longer In fact, the ocean annually proves
a burial place FOR vast numbers Of feather
cd creatures.
Likewise immense numbers are lost in
the great lakes, being blown on shore by
winds or becoming exhausted in trying to
cross these sheets Of water. In September,
1879, there was great storm In the lake
region, which lasted "a hours. After It
( the east shore Of Lake Michigan was strewn
with dead birds, the number of which was
estimated at upward Of a million.-Wash-
ington Star