Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-24

what happened last night by Roachs
Run
Gather Sample Footprints.
A great many samples of these foot
prints have been gathered by the girls
and they are learning to identify the
animals responsible for them. Each
track has some distinctive feature.
The three-toed killdeer tracks are
found interspersed with the heavier,
four-toed pigeon tracks and the very
faint four.toed track of the sun spar.
row, with a long back toe which draGs
as the bird walks. These mud sam
pies are being dried and will be used
in the classroom this Winter.
Strangely enough. the pages OF this
book Of nature open in regular order.
A little square of dried mud contain.
ing tracks is Clipped with chisel and
lifted up. 1t viii come loose exactly
above the next layer, which also prob
ably will be found to contain tracks.
These tracks tell the story of what
happened two or three weeks ago, or
perhaps O year ago. The period COW
cred by one page must be judged from
the lay of the land and the recent
weather conditions. But the story of
yesterday can be read in fossil tracks
just as we'll as the story Of the pre-
Cambrian age Of geology.
Muskrat tracks. with the webbed
hind feet placed very close together,
are particularly abundant leading
down to the edge of the run. In some
places there is great mixup Of musk
rat and bird tracks, indicating a
swamp tragedy Of the night before,
with some killdeer or mourning dove
serving as a meal for the blood-hungry
mammal.
With this natural laboratory of
Roachs Run-where the pfnk.streaked
giant mallow blossoms are opening
and the wings of the blackbirds are
like drops Of the blood of cloud fairies
dropping from the sky-Dr. Bartsch
is seeking to inStill, through their
teachers. love of nature and habits
of close observation in the boys and
girls of Washington schools. and the
teachers are sacrificing their Summer
vacations for these mornings in high
hip boots-usually borrowed from
their fathers and brothers and requir-
ing layers of heavy wooden stockings
under them in order to stay on feet
small enough to look graceful in dane
ing pumps. But the Smithsonian In
stitution scientist, whose spare time
for the past rs years has been devoted
" AIlL4iiidlC pAOboSAdPiiy VI LilC DAL I'D
about Washington, also is reaching the
children directly through a series of
remarkable exhibits at the National
Museum. These consist of bird pho
tographs snapped in local woods and
sWamps. They have been arranged in
series, each one showing the Summer
history of some bird, and the spectre
photograph SHOW is changed each
week. :.
Film on Exhibit.
The nature of the pictures is shown
by the film on exhibit this week Of the
vireo family, or~the basket, makers.
These are tiny birds, somewhat small
err than English SparroWs, with olive
green wing feathers and yellowish or
white breasts. Four distinct types are
found lin local woods-the warbling
vireos, the red-eyed vireos, the white
eyed vireos and the yellow-thrOated
vireos. They are shy creatures, but
DIR. Bartsch found that their friend
ship could be cultivated with infinite
patience until they would pose for his
camera. This was especially true with
a nest of white-eyed vireos which rhe
found about q half mile above Ben
ming Bridge. These birds became so
| fearless that before the Summer was
over he was able to place his hand,
| fingers spread out, above the nest and
the mother bird would shove worms
J between his fingers into the open
mouths of the nestlings. One remark
able photograph shows the mother
with her beak showed far down the
! baby's throat. She seems to be COM
hitting a murder, but she is only in
tent on seeing that the infant swal-
lows all Of his worm instead of vast
ing some Of 1t by splitting it out.
The white-eyed vireo. which can be
distinguished from all other local
birds by it's white irises, builds it's nest
| beside small, brush.bordered streams.
The nest Is basket-shaped and hangs
from a small branchlet from one to
| three feet above the ground. The
mother, when sitting on her four
cream.colored, brown-spotted eggs.
sinks almost out of sight in the basket.
Now Watching Humming Birds.
When the mother bird BECAME ac-
customed to DIR. ,Bartsch.s presence
she would take ans eggs and drops of
water from the tip Of his finger. as Is
shown by several photographs. Then
! both parents are shown scouting
busily for, worms and caterpilIars with
| which to satisfy the hunger OF their
newly Matched brood. DR.. Bartsch fol-
lowed with his camera the fortunes or
this family until the home was brok-
en- up with the flight Of the last OF the
four nestlings.
similar series of photographs II.
Illustrated the Summer story of the yell
low-throated vireo, which builds its
nest in trees from 90 to IS feet high.
In order to secure these pictures he
spent many hours in the high
branches. The daily life of the red