Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-26
AUDUBON SOCIETY
/. ENDS BIRD TRIPS
Many More Different Kinds of
Feathered Creatures Seen
This Season.

The Audubon Society of the District OF
Columbia has just closed its series OF
bird trips most of the records of he
society having been broken for the sea-
son. There was a higher average attend
ance and a higher average of different
kinds of birds seen this year than ever
before. one hundred and twenty-seven
different species OF birds We're seen.
The series of walks was increased this
year to six instead of five. as in past
years The first walk was taken Satur-
day April Is. along the Eastern branch.
1t was scheduled to start at O'CLOCK.
but by 1:15 enough people had assembled
to form the first party. and out of the
fifty persons who participated in this
days outing a bare half dozen came so
late that they did not start until the
scheduled s-oclock car. These early habits
Were KEEP; up. and on two of the trips the
first parties started before O'Clock.
On the April Is trip the tiftyfour per
sons saw nfty-seven kinds of birds-the
largest number ever seen by the society
so early in the season Among these
birds the rare barn owl. seen then
for the first time on an Audubon outing.
The redstart and the Maryland yellow
throat We're seen for the nrst time in 1874.
each several days earlier than usual.
while the k1nghlru was eleven gay dHeii
of its average Although the yegetatlon
was later than usual. most of the birds
came early. and this anomalous state
continued through most of the migration
period.
Many Species Found.
The last Saturday in the month,
April %. found the society. as usual,
at Dyke-one of the best bird places
1f -boJ n nDplpJ "a
drizzle lasted much of the day and
drove a large share of the party home
at noon, but in spite OF the bad
weather conditions the forty-siN per-
sons present saw Sixty-S1X KINDS OF
birds-a higher number than they have
ever before seen at Dyke. even under
the best atmospheric conditions. The
special finds of the day were the red
belhed woodpecker, the next to the
rarest woodpecker of the region, the
American bittern. which pumped as
siduously for the edihcation of the bird
lovers, though its note is rarely
heard around the District, and the yell
low-throated warbler, which is always
the great desideratum of a trip to Dyke.
The trip of the next week. May :. was
entirely new to the society. A start
was made at Ferndale. where the
Bradley Hills and Great Falls car line
crosses Cabin John rum and the stream
followed down the four miles to its
junction with the Potomac at Cabin
John bridge. All the ffty-eight per-
sons present were enthusiastic over the
beauty of the region traversed and
agreed it was one of the best eXcur-
sions ever taken by the society. The
valley proved to be as "birdy'' as it was
beautiful. for eighty-five different kinds
were seen, breaking by a large margin
any previous record for the first week
in May. Among the rarities were the
Nashville warbler. Cape May warbler
usually rare. but this year almost com
non-rose-breasted grosbeak, least fly
catcher. solitary yireO and YOlden-
winged warbler.
Torced to Change Plans.
Owing to the refusal of the Mount Yer
non and Marshall Hall Steamboat Com
pany to land the party at Fort Wash
ington. the scheduled trip to this inter-
esting point had to be abandoned. and
the outing for May was taken to
SCOTS run and Eagle Rock.
The first part-to Scots run-was we'll
known: the afternoon walk to Eagle Rock
was new and the members insisted that
since they were going to Eagle Rock. an
eagle should be shown for their benefit.
BY a strange coincidence. just as the
party stepped out on the summit of the
rock overlook lg the Potomac a magniti-
cent bald eagle sailed slowly up the
river before their delighted gaze The
forty-five people on this days outing
broke all the previous records of the So
birds.
The trip of May>|S was one that had
been planned in 1912 but postponed on
account of rain. The first half of the
route was new. starting at Cherrydale
and following down Windy run to the
Potomac This can be recommended to
all lovers of nature as one of the pref
tiest of the walks within easy reach of
Washington The party stopped for
lunch at fine spring about quarter
of mile down stream from the mouth
of Windy run. after feasting eyes on the
wide stretch of the Potomac visible from
party were Miss Jane B. Bassett. Miss
Isabel Briggs. Mrs. F. B. Colonna, Miss
Flora Colonna. Miss Louise P. Ford S.
NJ. Gronberger, E. r. Kalmbach. George
Mrs. $ w. hellott robert Morris. Mrs.
]. NJ. Mclean. William Palmer Miss Lii
liam Pace. Mrs. Adele I. Platt, Edmund
Platt. Miss Winifred Root, Miss Mar
Katharine II. Stuart, Miss Nellie s.
Spencer. Mr.. and Mrs. C. H. Stephenson,
Miss Edith c. Thompson. Titus like and
Miss Josephine Wimsatt.
Kinds of Birds Seen.
The species of birds seen on each of
the trips were the bluebrd robin, chicka-
dee. titmouse. Carolina wren. brown
trasher. mockngbird. black and white
warbler. Louisiana water thrush. Mary
land yellow throat. redstart, rough
winged swallow, barn swallow. cardinal.
chcwink song sparrow, field sparrow.
Chipping sparrow, white-throated spar
row. goidfinch, purple grackle, meadow
lark. common crow, bluejay, phoebe,
kinsbIrd flicker downy woodpecker. tur-
key vulture and mourning dove-thirty
species.
III addition there were seen on the first
trip the hermit thrush brown creeper,
yellow palm warbler, junco, rusty grac-
kle, woodcock, great blue heron. Ameri-
can bftern, barn owl and fox sparrow
ten species not seen any subsequent
trip-and the biue-gray gnat catcher.
rliby-crowned kinglet. white-bellied nut
hatch bank swallow, purple martin
swamp sparrow. purple finch. red-winged
blackbird, cowbird fish crow. inghsher,
sparrow hawk, red-shouldered hawk, bob
white klldeer. spotted sandpiper, night
heron vesper sparrow and migrant shrike
nineteen species seen the first trip
anos on some but not all OF the others.
The second trip furnished these addi-
tional species: Wood thrush. house wren
catb,rd, parula warbler. yellow warbler
myrtle warbler yeliow-throated warbler
wrenbird white-eyed vireo. yeliow-throat-
ed vireo, savannah sparrow. great-crested
fycatcher chimney swift. osprey, sharp
shinned hawk. green heron, red-belied
woodpecker, rng-billed gull and dusky
duck-n!neteen species.