ORNITHOLOGY 



91 



ORNITHOLOGY 





Former President Roosevelt Visits 

 Louisiana's Vast Bird Island 

 Reservation 



The visit of Col. Theodore Roosevelt 

 to the many bird island reservations, 

 many of which he set aside for this pur- 

 pose while president, and game pre- 

 serves of Louisiana during the first part 

 of June has aroused considerable inter- 

 est in conservation measures practiced 

 there for bird protection. 



As the guest of John ]\L Parker, a 



break, ]\\\\^ 8th, and the course was laid 

 so as to circle the long stretches of Chan- 

 deleur, Errol, Free Alason, North Har- 

 bor, Battledore, Hog, Grand Cochere 

 and Breton islands. 



These islands all lie east of the many- 

 mouthed delta of the ^Mississippi river 

 and are given over almost wholly to the 

 terns, gulls, skimmers, pelicans, men-o"- 

 warsmen and shore birds that breed in 

 the south. Vast colonies of these birds 

 flock to these islands to lay their eggs 



COLONEL ROOSF.VELT IXSPECTIN'G THE XESTIXG COP OXV OF ROY \L C VSPI \X \ND 

 CABOT TERNS, LAUGHLN'G GULLS AND BLACK SKIMMERS OX BRETOX' Isi.AXD. " 



noted Louisiana sportsman, and the 

 Conservation Commission of Louisiana, 

 Col. Roosevelt was given the opportun- 

 ity of setting foot on the sandy shores of 

 the many low-lying islands that guard 

 the delta coast of the Pelican State from 

 the high rolling waves of the, at times, 

 turbulent Gulf of Mexico. The trip, 

 which consumed a solid week, began 

 when the Conservation Commission's 

 yacht "Daisy" left Pass Christian at day- 



either on the sand or in the rough nests 

 they construct. A arious sized colonies 

 ranging from ten to twenty thousand in- 

 dividuals were inspected but it was not 

 vmtil he went ashore on Breton Island 

 that Col. Roosevelt realized the extent 

 of the protection and the multitude of 

 birds given sanctuary to-day in Louisi- 

 ana. 



At Breton Island the Roosevelt party 

 was joined by AI. L. Alexander, presi- 



