Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-05-28
STUDY OF BIRD LIFE
Audubon Society Members
Make Trips of Discovery.
MANY NEW SPECIES NOTED
Higher Average Attendance Re-
corded Than in Previous Years.
TOTAL OF FIVE TRIPS MADE
Honor Roll Made UP of the En-
thusiasts Who Attended on
Each Occasion.

thusiasts Who Attended on
Each Occasion.
The annual bird trips of the Audubon
Society of the District of Columbia have
just closed after the most successful
series in the history of the society. There
was higher average attendance and a
higher average of different kinds of birds
seen on each trip than ever before.
The first trip of the season was, as
| usual, to Dyke, Va, one of the best bird
places of this region and one Of the
most easily accessible, where within
few steps of the car station sixteen spe-
cies Of warblers have been seen in one
day. The trip to Dyke was made April
%. by a party of sixty persons. well
armed with field glasses, but poorly sup
piled with umbrellas TO ward Off the rain
that began almost soon the parties
scattered into the woods. A steady down
pour for more than two hours would have
dampened the ardor of all but seasoned
AudubOnites, yet the cessation OF the
rain found five large parties in the field,
and the total kinds of birds seen under
| the Lnfavorable NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
| just equaled the highest number ever
| seen there in one day by the Audubon So
ciety.
| special desderata, was strangely absent,
but the rare Henslow sparrow rewarded a
| long, patient search, while the long billed
marsh wren. solitary sandpiper, American
| bittern and hooded warbler were unex-
| pected additions to the list. The pres
ence of these birds was due to the I'M
| usual earliness of spring migration in
| 1912. Notwithstanding the winter Of
| 1911-12 was the coolest in many years.
| and the cold continued until late in
March. almost all the species for the
whole season arrived ahead of Their aver
age dates. The hooded warbler was not
only seen on this trip. but also on all the
other trips. for the first time in the his
tory Of the outings. Whether this is due
to an increase in the number of the BIRDS
or to the education of the members of
the society in distinguishing it's song re-
mains for the future to decide
Out Cabin John Bridge Way.
The second trip, May 4, found sixty-one
people spending the day in the vicinity Of
| Cabin John Bridge. where they noted
seventy-three species of birds. This was
warbler day. with twenty different kinds
of these woodland beauties appearing.
In the afternoon a large party made a
special trip to the haunts of the black
CToWHeu night nSTOn, near the receiving
reservoir. The herOnry this year is con-
s.derably large than usual and when an
adventurous boy called back the news of
four eggs in the nest to which he had
climbed, small girl of the party was not
satisfied until she too had assembled to
the very top of a tall pine and inspected
the interesting find. A sharp kissing in
| other trees denoted the presence Of young
in many of the nests.
The third trip May II. was at the
hoi oil Of he ,,fcr ft,ac 4,
sixty-five persons participating saw sew
enty three species of birds-a red-letter
day both for the size of the party and
the abundance of the birds. The party
walked to the Veresco. where they rem
dezvoused for lunch at the "wickiup Of
Miss Emily j. Cook, and took a few les
sons in ferns an aside to their ornitho-
logical studies.
"Fly-Catcher Day"
May IS was fycatcher day This day
| the fourth trip, found the party skirting
| Rhododendrun run. Va. with forty-nine
persons present and seventy-seven spe-
cies observed-one OF the largest num-
| bers ever seen by the society in one day.
The alder f1ycatcher and the yellow-bellied
| 1ycatcher were the special rarities Of the
day, which, with the five common breed
ing fycatchers. made seven species Of
| 1ycatchers seen in one day. The least
| fiycatcher and the olive-sided 1ycatcher
had been seen few days earlier-the lat
ter for the fourth time in sixty years-so
| that the spring of 1912 records every fly
catcher ever noted in the District.
The final trip Of the season occurred
May ID. and was. as usual, the ever-in-
teresting walk from Difficult run to Great
Falls. The whole party took a prelimi-
nary walk along Rocky run through such
masses of mountain laurel in the height
of bloom as are seldom seen even in IA
vored Washington.
That the migrating season was practi-
cally over was evidenced by the fact that
Of the sixty-seven species OF birds noted
only three-the blackpoll warblers. night
hawk and bobolink were migrants.
The present is the seventh consecutive
season that the Audubon Society has
taken this Difficult run-Great Falls trip.
and IL is interesting to note that the first
and the seventh year had the same num-
Der present. fifty-five. but of these fifty
five only six names are common to the
two years. This shows how large a num-
Der of different persons are brought at
various times under the influence of the
Audubon Society.
Form Separate Parties.
On each trip the members separated
into several parties for the better OBJ
servation Of the birds. each party in
charge OF some one 1amlllar with the
ORTHODOXY OF the District Those who
acted as guides in the 1912 excursions
were w. D. Appel, Mrs. Clarence Aspin-
wall, Wells w. Cooke, T. s. Palmer. Will
liam Palmer, Edward A. Preble and c.
r. Shoemaker.
The FIVE trips of 1912 were attended by
1lS persons. the largest number in the
history Of the Audubon Society. and of
these more than half-sixty- four-had
never before attended one Of the trips
showing the increased interest in bird
study.
Not only were there more persons pres
ent on the trips this year than ever be-
fore, but there was also a higher aver
age attendance-fifty-e ight-than In any
previous year. This high average was
occasioned by the large number of Ser
sons who resolved at the beginning of
the season to have their names on the
ron OF honor among those who had at
tended each trip. Twenty of these sue
-ceeded.tw1ce as many as in any previ-
Gus year Those who were present on
each of the trips were Mrs. Clarence Az
pinwall. Miss Margaret Aspinwall, Miss
X. B.. Baird, Miss NJ. r. Browning Miss
NJ. Cleaveland, Miss NJ. T. Cooke, Wells
W.. Cooke. Miss Minnie w. Curry. Miss
l. p. Evans. Miss l.. B. Fisher. Miss b.
P. Gather. Mrs Z. A. Hill. Miss Edith
X. Keleher. Mr. and Mrs. l.. d. Miner,
s w. Mellott, Edward A. Preble, Miss
Mary D. Suter, Miss NJ. l.. Underwood
and Titus like.