Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-05-22

'
old.--Ed.
Perhaps no phenomenon OF nature
attracts a wider popular interest than
that Of bird migration. To many 1t
MAY come only as q glimpse of flock
of geese high in the air. or mayhaps
the return of the robin. bluebird and
mead owlark To others 1t means much
more than that. and affords to them
an enjoy able and constantly changing
panorama of bird life.
This subject has long been one
studied by scientific men and to them
we owe our rapidly increasing knowl-
edge of it, What the causes of this
movement are no one has explained IN
a satisfactory way. Why do some
birds migrate only a short distance or
not at allr Why do some travel thou
sands of miles TO nest and others ot
the Same species not at AT We can
perhaps explain it in part hy the lack
of sufficient food supply In one place
but Their. are many objections to this
as a solution of the entire problem.
Whatever the explanation may he
the fact remains that birds 90 migrate.
For this all bird lovers are extremely
thankful. as ii gives them g chance TO
become acquain with q greater
mum her of birds than they would 9TH
erwiSe be able to know. For example,
there are about sixty 70 eighty birds
which might at some time or other be
found nesting in Marshall county.
while in two years of field work along
the river 1SS species have been seen
With us migration begins about the
list Of March and Increases in a grad
ually rising tide of bird forms until
about May 20. From then until the
first few days in June ii falls off rapid
IT, and by the 5th or 9Th of the month
it is eItirel. over and the birds left
are those which stay 'hru the sum-
mer. The fall migration which begins
about July Il. and lasts until nearly
the list Of December, is neither as
Spectacular nor interesting as the
spring movement. In the spring the
birds are in their brightest pumage,
and in full song, while in the fall most
of them are silent, and have assumed
the dullcl winter coat.
After the LIST Of March, the first
warm day will usually bring the blue
birds and robins. Sometimes one
comes first. and sometimes the other,
but scarcely ever are they more than
two or three days apart.
a few days after these two species
have taken possession Of the country
we can begin to look for the meadow
arks and blackbirds. We have two
meadowlarks here, the brilliant col
ored, thin-voiced. eastern species. and
his duller- colored but fun voiced west
ern cousin. Both appear at about the
same time in nearly equal numbers. as
Marshalltown seems to be near the line
separating the two species. Among the
black birds the redwinged and rusty
: blackhrds generally appear first, fol-
lowed by the common crow blackbird,
or bronzed grackle. and the cowbird
Accompanying these are the various
species of ducks and geese About the
F, 1st Of April the sparrows commence to
arrive in force During the month
from twenty 70 twenty-five species OF
sparroWs can be seen herr, most of
them on their way north to their nest
ing grounds. These appear in varying
numbers, from the uncounted boards
! Of fox song. and field sparrOws to the
rarely seen Lincoln sparrow. One is
lucky to see the Lincoln one. or twice
thru ,na season, not because he is rare
but because Of the difficulty Of picking
him on; of the great mixed bands to be
found along the river.
While April is to the writer the
sparrow month, other bird forms are
by no means lacking, and one may
look for swallows. sanGpipers, snpe,
swifts. Wrens, and some of the early
thrusheS and flycatch in numbers.
varying with the season. One will also
see hawks. sailing in sweeping circles
high in the air, working their way
slowly northward to their nesting
grounds. Owing to the constant perse-
cution few Of them stay here, but 60
! to places more remote from man or
better protected. on one April norm
ing, in 1913. thirteen hawks were in
| sight at one time.
To see these various forms Of small
birds one must needs be early and