The Ordway new era., 1920-10-22

million bay. known as Avery island
The McIlhennys have fine old home
there on n. knoll shaded by great live
oaks. H. ii. Dunn in the New York
Times quotes Mr.. McIlhenny in sub
stance as follows, regarding his 40
years of effort in behalf of the pres
ervation of bird life:
Back in 1881, when I was living, as
now, on Avery island, I used to be In
terested in the birds and in the plume
hunters, who, travelling in their
long. unwleldy, lateen-salled luggers,
would come into the bayous, the decks
of their boats covered with the skins
of thousands of American egrets, snow
herons. and other birds of beautiful
plumage. shorn from the birds in the
midst of the breeding season, with
whole nests full of young left TO per-
lsh of hunger and thirst In the broiling
sun of the Gulf coast As l grew old
or, these birds, once so plentiful, be-
gan to disappear until in 1898 and
1894, l determined to do what / could
to save the few remaining birds of
the vast flocks which once had fed al
most at the doors of the homes of my
family on Avery island.
"Just below the house there was n
wet spot-Willow pond-partly COW
cred with willow, buttonwood, syca-
more and other water-loving trees and
an abundant growth of marsh grasses
where each year constantly decreas-
ing number of pairs of green herons,
least bitterns, coots and blackbirds
nested. This marsh / increased to n
small lake by means of dam-since
those days the dams have been in
creased five times, until now the pool
covers 80 acres-but l am getting
ahead of the story.
Hunting through the marshes much
of the spring of 1895 I found two
nests of the snowy heron-where there
had been hundreds of nests ten years
before. The snowy heron, by the way,
and the American egret both supply
the fairy plumes known as 'aigrettes'
and so much In demand at that time,
when they could be sold legally, for
women's headdress. In each of these
nests were four young birds. These /
took and put in large cage 1 had
built at one end of the pond. Soon
they would perch on my shoulder and
eat out of my hand. In November l
set them free.
Next spring SIX of the eight came
back. straight as homing pigeons to
the spot where the cage had been.
One disappeared, and of the five re-
naming, two pair reared eight young.
The 13 left that fall. and all returned
the next March. Five pairs nested,
raising 20 young, and so on, year by
year, there has been marked In
crease, until today there are at least
$500 pairs-5,OOo birds-of these
snow herons nesting on Willow pond.
l believe this is the only place in
North America where these herons
nest in any numbers, though I have
recently shipped 1900 pairs of these
and of the Louisiana and little blue
herons to another wild-life refuge just
being established in Florida.
"Today there are also breeding In
Willow pond, some 5000 pairs of lit
tie blue herons, 10000 pairs of Loulsi-
ana herons. 300 pairs of green herons.
so pairs of purple gallinules, go pairs
of Florida gallinules. 25 pairs of least
bittern, 10 pairs of kingrails, and so on.
"In the course of time, l am sure,
this whole rs miles of gulf coast will
have become so completely sanctuary
to the wild birds that they will be as
tame throughout It's 500 square miles
as are those in Willow pond"