Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1915-10-23
The RetYeQtinQ
Armies of Birds

winters. rev persons ever see the
birds as they pass, and fewer persons
know what marvellous journey is be-
ing made over their familiar hills and
valleys by these winger travellers in
their annual autumn flight.
The procession began away back in
July when you saw the young swallows
gathering on the telegraph wires. The
swallows (tree barn, bank) and some
times the chimney swifts, in vast COM
panies start off first, followed soon by
the bobolinks who will be called Reed
Birds" as they gather in the tall plum
ed reeds along the rivers and marshes
Of New Jersey on their way to the
rice fields of Georgia and the Caro-
linas.
These are the advanced guards OF
the army that now mobilizes over the
entire northern hemisphere and, in the
ordered ranks of the wild Canada
geese, or the loose and free forma-
lions of the warblers, starts south
ward-a retreating army really, fall
ing back before the resistless hosts OF
winter that advance with solid frozen
front from the dark waste lands of the
north.
BY October first the great bird
armies are in full flight, although over
New England the forces of the fly
catchers, swallows, bobolinks ana
most of the warblers have passed be-
fore that time. The thrushes, vireos,
woodpeckers and others, coming from
farther north, are then abundant,
while the still more distant northern
dwellers-the golden-crowned kinglet,
white-throated SparrOWs, juncOs,
brown creepers, myrtle warblers,
pipits, hermit-thrushes, fox sparrows,
and shriKes are beginning to appear.
Turn to map and study the routes
that some Of the birds travel in their
flights. Away out over the Atlantic
you will see the sweeping line OF the
golden plovcTS-a line CT flying birds,
starting from Nova Scotia, straight
over tie sea, over the Bermuda is
lands on, straight ovcr the outer is
lands of the Caribbean to the far-off
coasts Of BraZil--and on and on to
the still farther-off plain of the La
thousand miles!
Loog again in your geogra-
ply, take an outline map of North and
South America and trace the bobo-
inks Over their route as they gather
from Canada and the northern states
east Of the Mississippi to the reed and
rice lands along the Atlantic coast
route. Watch them congregate here
md start off for their winter home in
South America-some of them leaving
ne shores at North Carolina, passing
over the Bahamas, to Cuba and on to
South America, others leaving by the
way Of the tip of Florida, others still
a great caravan of them, by the gulf
coast of upper Florida, straight across
the Gulf of Mexico to Yucatan and on
by land to their distant winter home.
Not all the migrating birds go so far
south as the bobolink and the golden
plover. Many Of them stop all winter
in the southern states--the wild geese,
robins, ducks, blackbirds, and many
otf ers. Several kinds Of the birds
which nest in far Arctic Landslide
owls, tree-sparrows. shrikes, juncos,
cross-bills, and others, stay in New
England, and elsewhere at that same
level on the map, all winter; but many
go on and on-the kildeers, curlews,
SCllu lCOSCoI toS huhA-
ming birds, tanagers-to the hot jun
fles and the waving pampas plains OF
distant South America.
1t is interesting to know that there
are seven well recognized routes trav-
eled by the birds in their fall journey
the Atlantic coast route, the Allie
gheny route, the Mississippi route, the
great plains route, the Rocky mount
ain route, the Pacific coast route, and
the oversee route Of the golden plov-
ers. What route do you live on and
what birds pass along your route? ~
Now for October look out for, say,
these five-the shrike, the tree-spar-
row, the pine finch, the fox sparrow,
the hermit thrush, and q will add
seven more to make a bakers dozen)
the white throated sparrow, the brown
creeper, the nuthatch, the golden
crowned creeper, the muthatch, the
golden crowned and ruby-crowned
kinglets, the junco, and the yellow
palm warbler.
If you live in the south. Oh, think
of living down in Florida or in Ala
pama or in South Carolina in the win
ter! What day one could spend
among the birds on rice plantation!
What an experience to paddle about
some hiden lagoon with the water
birds rising at every hand and the
long-legged waders watching silent
and statuesque among the reeds!
Which one of you southern boys c.
kris is going to tell us all about lnc.-l
as Maurice Thompson in by Ways
and Bird Notes" has told us? Or as
Herbert R. Sass Of Charleston, S. Z"
is occasionally telling us? And have
you southern children ever read Brad
ford Torrey's and Winthrop Packard's
books on the birds in Florida?
But 1 would just as lief be north
ern boy or girl in the deep woods with
the winter birds-east or west!-
From Something-To-Do, magazine
for girls and boys.
SEVEN RULES FOR THE JUNIORS.
/. Use one side of the paper only.