Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1916-04-13
THE RARE BIRDS OF ALASKA
National Museum Scientist Col
lects Specimens.
Number of Birds Beddcd in Masses
ON Water So Great that ship
Literally PlOwcd Through
Them.

An interesting account of the birds
observed during n trip In Alaska has Just
been published by the Smithsonian lnsti-
luton ms reported by T.. Seymour Her
sey' who was in the field for A. G. Rent.
collecting data and photographs for tho
completion of the life Histories of
/ North American Birds"
| Leaving Seattle on the revenue cutter
Bear, the party steamed nortbyord
through the Inside Passage" whore
/ the scenery was delightful all the wav
to ketchikan. From that point the
Bear passed through Dixon's Entrance
and headed for Tnalaska AS th~y near
ed Cnimak Pass various members ~
the Iuolnares, or tube-nosed birds, were
noticed. together with Sooty Shear
waters. Petrels, and Albatrosses AS
! they approached the pass the number Of
plrds increased to "A point almost be-
You'd belief. AS far as the eve could see
masses of birds were bedded on the
water; Murrcs and Fuffns were every
whore. 1T was utterly impossible to
form any definite estimate Of the number
of birds seen" says the author. declar-
ing hundreds Of thousands does not
eXagcerate their abundance:" the shin
seems TO have literally plowed its way
through them. The Bear lay at t-nalaska
three days. during which time Mr. Her
/ sey collected n number Of spocies pc
cui'ar to that locality.
After touching at st. George and 81.
! Paul Islands, they proceeded on to Nome
which port the ship did not actually
reach, ON account of the ice. but an
! chorcd out in the stream and sent the
mail ashore by dog teams At St.
Michael, Mr.. Hersey left the Bear, and
made arrangements with the owner of
small open power boat to carry him and
his outfit to the mouth of the yukon
river. They went through the so-called
canal between St Michael island and
the mainland. but encountered a severe
storm which forced them to land and
encamp for three days Birds were
plentiful in the neighborhood of the camp
and Mr., lIerscy employed the time to
good advantage. securing several speci-
mems Of eggs.
I Proceeding onward they arrived at tho
mouth of the Yukon and established their
headquarters at the wireless station.
eight miles from the native village of
h"tlik. The country all around is re-
ported very flat. making n safe feeding
| ground for the little brown cranes and
geese. since it was impossible to ap-
preach them unohserved. In mention
! ing it. Mr.. Hersey says so bare and
level Is the country that photogra ph
or the river taken from the shore. shows
tho opposite bank as nothing but
straight line, such as might be made
, across the print with a ruler and a coarse
stub pen Here the author remaln-
ed during the greater part of the breed
i'll" season. He found Dintails, and
several species OF shorebrds breeding
abundantlv Gulls, Terms ana Jaercrs
common, and Redpolls. Alaska yellow
Wa%tails, willow ptarmigan. and Alaska
longspurs also well represented in this
region.
Later in the summer he returned to
Nome and again embarked on the Bear
which stopped at many points along
, the coast. among which We're Goovin
bay Caoc Prince OF Wales. Cape Dyer.
I Point Franklin, and Barrow. Before
reaching Harrow they encountered CON
siderable ice and were delayed ton days
! on route. At Barrow. the northernmost
point on this trip. the ice conditions
were so lad they only remained long
enough to land the mail and take aboard
several mon who had been caught in the
ice the previous season and obliged to
winter Mt Rarrow. Among the new
corners was Mr.. W. S. Brooks. Of the
Polar Bear party. who had been cot
lectng for the museum OF compa rative
zoology.
| IS soon rs the ship was out of the ice.
her course was changed to west and an
effort was made TO reach Wrangel is
land, where the shipwreckcd crew Of
the Karluk was known to have wintcred.
hut after trying for ten days in fo-
snow and general bad weather they
gave II up and put back to Nome for
coal stopping at several places on the
way
Besides making careful field-notes on
the birds observed the author kept
daily journal, much Of which will be
used in the work now in preDaration
by Mr. Rent. Mr.. Hersey left the Bear
at Nome, and took passage on tho steam
/ ship Victoria to Seattle.
It Is interesting to note the fact that
Mr. Jersey found the Aleutian Tern
| which has always been scarce, and which
! was recently thought to be extinct AL
| together he encountered about 100 of
/ them, and collected several specimens:
/ this bird is larger and much darker than
the common Arctic Tern, and has a pc
culiar white forehead.
Another rare bird mentioned is Fishers
Petrel once represented in museum col
lections by a single specimen, and now
by only three or four. Although they
/ have been observed frequently, they are
| hard to collect and their nesting places
are not known.
| not known.
! The Aleutian sparrow Is one Of the
most interesting birds SEEN being one Of
/ the twenty or more varieties Of this
/ family that cover the United States from
east to west, occurring in British Ameri-
ca and Alaska as well. In the islands
Of Alaska it reaches its greatest develop
ment, being very much larger than the
ordinary North American Sparrow, and
sometimes as large a cat bird.
| Even the Barn swallow was seen on
, the trip; this bird is a true migratory
! bird, travelling from this point as far
south as Argentina and Chile in the
winter months.
UNAPPRECIATED GOLDFISH