Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1911-04-22
QUAIL TRAP
The Break in Spring Migration Birds From Buggy
New Game ii Old Covers The Evening Grosbeak

mired chem 4 long dive. minutes. In |
common with the Muddy Brook peo.
pie, had seen this bunch At diner
wing, on the ground, Feeding Ia
numbers varying from seven to TWEEN
ty-one. On q board 1t Roscoe Az
tons back door they would come
nearly every day and usually between
was the first time had seen this lot
punched SO near the trunk Of tree.
and so quiet so wholly ct rest, as II
posing for kodak. have seen no
good pictures of these birds. All i'm.
pressions from local films have been
as unsatisfactory as the photograph
of swallows on q tree in the current
number Of Bird Life. hope observ-
ers at Windhayn and Norwich Town
have good pictures Of their very
large hocks; for am assured that
kodakers have been busy at both
places. The Windham bunch exceeds
nifty, and Norwich lady told me
that on one of her visits to Norwich
Town there were one hundred birds
Possibly some Of the Taftyilie LOT
Green, and the grosbeaks at Lisbon
and Jewett City may be scouts from
the company at Taftville Mr.. Wer-
thing Of the WequonnOc school, who
has been giving local Bird Talks and
featuring this stranger, may have
slides OF the wards who have been
under his eye so long.
A cock ruffsd grouse was budding
on , roadside apple trss, q mile flr-
dislike at being disturbed at his
breakfast. and at first would not be
flushed when I drove under the tree
and stopped. He did finally drop
down over the wall but disda1ned
further fight, and his ruff sweIied up
till it looked like an Elizabethan coli
lar. He was clearly mad as a March
hare, actually missed, and acted as a
hen grouse will at times in defense OF
her tiny. chicks. It is not generally
for food. We had bad case of
blood poisoning in our family from
eating q partridge that had been
budding on hemlock, and the late
Mr.. James Bussey came near dying
for the same reason. Near the end
thewson larches. was very large
fight of fox sparrows, In SNOWY
dress. with dozen singers. Except
for single shrike, this is all the win
robins and song sparrows burst into
song. was surprised to SEE two
mourning doves a mile apart: it
seemed TOO early for them, and had
always seen them in pairs on arrival
But how about ths Hungarian
partrjdsss freed in eur homo quail
coversT April 10. with Mr.. Charles
M. Perrin, chairman OF the house
committee on game. and Mr. Irwin
Paine. we freed thirty-six' Of these
grey quail. The birds are brought in
well-yentillated ideal boxes holding
nine cocks and nine hens each. sexes
apart, food and water in fine posi-
| ton, with printed instruction for
| turning loose Buriaps are under the
the burlap when the covers arc re-
moved, the birds escape slowly and
without injury. As they ny from the
| traps they are seen to be larger than
| bobwhites, with red side stripes and
| the same rocket-1ike flight az the
| opened one box in excellent quail-
cover on the Paine farm, and freed
eighteen lusty birds back OF the Quail
Trap, where the covey of bobWhites
wintered well. We have some hopes
Of their breeding in spite of the pre-
] diction at the village you'll never
hear from them again." said an old
| farmer. ',The hawks and owls will
catch most of them," said trapper;
"and the foxes get tho rest" said a
after liberation I flushed one, last
evening one came in the house yard,
four Of the first lot were seen togeth-
err in the public road, and two of our
covey on the fifth day we saw on a
cross road. Daily scatter wheat
and oats, and as I write these notes
I hear the peculiar cry north, east,
and west Of the bungalow. Both
coveys are under surveillance. and il
they survive and increAsewill be I'M
mune from gunnefs for three years.
More than a nine days wonder are
the titck-biIled visitors from beyond
the Rockies who arc still with ne but
not outstaying their welcome. Mr.
lR M. Barnes Of Lacon, ILL.,, writes
grosbeak has never been seen OF
heard in this country. neither last
winter nor at any time" Frank Blake
Webster Of Hyde Park, the veteran
| birdman, who carried the Gallina-
COS giant tortoises to Baron Rotns-
I'VE have not heard of grosbaaks be-
ing seen here nor has any one men
toned them in our correspondence
From the John Lewis Child Museum
and Library of Natural History a.
Ing bulletin: 4 have neither seen NO,
heard of the grosbeak appearing OF
Long Island this winter I quote
freely from Arthur A.: Deans lettel
of March 10, as he well describes thu
actions Of the birds of the Occiden
here. a long chapter Of whose life his
i tory will be written in the east thi!
! year zone morning. about a month
ago, a. flock of sixteen evening gros-
beaks came into an apple tree south
of our house on Spring street, Dan.
ielson. Within few minutes thu
whole fleck was feeding upon thu
/ ground near the house, hopping witt
j freedom upon the doorstep where wert
/ a few crumbs: but they we're mostl.
busy with their stubbed bills wrench
ing something from the ground. The,
were with us thirty minutes Tit
following day they appeared again
and have been seen in this neighber
hood about month. Twenty six wer.
on the ground under a cedar tret
across the street from US on Friday
! the 18th inst. They manifested nj
fear of teams or pedestrians, and hav,
been observed by large number o.
/ bird students and bird lovers.
1 We cannot wonder that the bird
waited a long time before coming
east again, since they were so meroi
lessly shot In 1890 for collections. Blu
as they appeared in greater number
this time, were made more welcome
! came earlier and remained longer, doe
it not seem likely that they will no
wait a generation before reappearing
and il these birds bring their yount
and the eastern instinct becomes her
editary, it also seems possible that |
regular yearly eastern migration will
take place. and we will welcome ou
present visitors every winter.
Is - n.$..r~ nf