For September, 1921 



701 



September Birds 



PAUL B. RIIS 



QUIE'rL\' the birds are slipping- away on their south- 

 ward journey. Song- has practically ceased and 

 the bird lover's yard apparently presents little of 

 interest ; save for the visit of occasional migrants. But 

 let us investigate. Our yard, covering half an acre, with- 

 in the city limits principally laid out in lawns with suit- 

 able border planting, evergreen, has been the cradle of 

 fifty-six healthy fledglings during the season, a place of 

 almost absolute safety, a place to eat and drink and a 

 place to roost. Water, suet, seeds, nesting material, nest- 

 ing boxes, fruits wild and cultivated formed an irresist- 

 ible attraction. Add to this a large black cherry ( Pritniis 

 serotina) loaded with fruit, a golden elder (Sambucus 

 canadensis var. aurca) bearing- a tine crop of berries, 

 a grape covered pergola, a bird bath and a hand- 

 ful of hemp seed. The chronicler here relates what he 

 saw there one morning between the hours of six and 

 seven during the early days of the month : Robins, a score 

 of them coming- and .going in a playfid, frolicsome wa\- 

 tilled the yard and perched on the pergola. Some in- 

 dulged in their morning ablution, others engaged in 

 aerial combats and still others, noticeably the young, 

 played and. tugged at strings and nesting materials. 

 Others, not yet world wise, attempted to feed on the hemp 

 seed without satisfactor}- results. Several young gros- 

 beaks, however, masters in cracking seeds, ate then-i with 

 relish. .\ bright rosy dawn strongly suffused the breasts 

 of the immature male. A catbird found the berries of the 

 elder entirely to its taste, while a young brow-n thrasher 

 stalked the lawn for insects. A blue jay, venturing onto 

 the pergola, found itself unceremoniously hustled out of 

 the yard. But now we hear familiar strains, taking us 

 instantly back to the vast forests of the north. Sure 

 enough it is the first ruby-crowned kinglet of the .\utumn. 

 A pine warbler, two of them, alight for a moment on one 

 of the trees and then are gone. Flickers are trying to 

 mingle with the robins on the pergola but soon are driven 

 away. We level our glasses at the legs of the young 

 robins for aluminum bands and note the tell-tale anklet 

 on the left leg of several, banded two months back. The 

 grosbeaks are now varying their repast with plun-ip seeds 

 of the purple cone flower. .\ pair of American gold- 

 finches are diligently feeding on the seeds of the perennial 

 Coreopsis. But here comes another guest, a transient to 

 be sure, the olive backed thrush, and at the same time we 

 hear the call note of the crested flycatcher and delight in 

 his aerial ]x;rformance. The twittering of chimney swifts 

 overhead and the fine lisping sounds niade bv the cedar 

 waxwings, partaking of a lireakfast of black cherries are 

 rudely disturbed l>v another familiar sound, not heard for 

 many days, the scolding of the house wren. Yes, her 

 mate is with her, too, and whether the scolding was an 

 intended greeting or from force of habit, mattered little, 

 she is still cognizant of her little home. The metallic 

 chips of the chipping sparrow intensifies the social little 

 bird sitting over yonder and here the goldfinches rein- 

 forced in number go trou])ing by to sample the seeds of 

 the sunflower. A young orchard oriole ajjpears on the 

 scene and is shortly followed by a red-eyed vireo. The 

 sweetly low cadence of a robin giving exjiression to its 

 reminiscent mood in whisper song fill the all too short 

 morning hour with ])leasurable monients. 



There are more migrants in September than any other 

 month. Yet the coming and going is imperceptible, due 

 to the fact that those moving away are replaced by others 



en route. The moyement is a gradual tliinning out 

 rather than a concentrated flight. A careful perusal of 

 the migration list reveals the preliminary arrival of ducks, 

 also that of the sparrowy birds when about Sept. 25 the 

 first Winter resident may be expected. In a general way 

 one may note the departing- birds in the order following; 

 flycatcher, swallows, waders, vireos and warbler. .Any- 

 one familiar with the diet of these birds will note that 

 their niovements are timed to a nicety w'ith the available 

 food supply. 



Now- is the logical time to make preparations for the 

 Winter resident. Beef suet, placed on different tree 

 trunks and protected by 34 -in. galvanized hardware cloth 

 will prove the greatest attraction for the woodpecker, 

 nuthatches, brown creepers and chickadees, and seeds of 

 hemp, millet and sunflower will entice junco, cardinal, 

 tree sparrow, titmouse and occasional visitants. It has 

 been proven by trapping and banding that many migrants 

 en route stop off year after year to avail themselves of 

 these feeding places, thus adding much to the interest of 

 one's yard. All bird boxes must be cleaned out. repaired 

 and disinfected now in preparation for the ])ossible 

 Winter resident. 



The appended list records the migratory birds of 

 Northern Illinois for a period of many years. 



Anwals. Departures. 



Sept. 1 Virginia Rail. Sept. 3 Whitc-eycd Vireo. 



" 3 (jreen-winged Teal. " 4 Traill's Flycatcher. 



4 Ruby-crowned Ivinglet. " 4 Olive-sided Flycatcher. 



" 6 Henslow's Sparrow. " 5 Bartramian Sandpiner. 



" 14 Gadwell. " 6 Yellow Legs. 



'-■ 14 Blue-winged Teal. " 10 Kingbird. 



" 15 Yellow-bellied Sap- " 10 Yellow-throated Vireo. 



sucker. " 12 Barn Swallow. 



17 White-throa-icd Spar- " 14 White-rumped Sand- 

 row, piper. 

 19 Caroline Wren. " \S Savannah Sparrow. 



" 19 Golden-crowned King- " 17 ClilY Swallow. 



let. " 17 Philadelphia Vireo. 



" 21 Slate-colored Junco. " 20 Red-shouldered Hawk. 



■■ 23 Hermit Thrush. " 22 Semi-palmated Sand- 



" 25 Mallard. piper. 



" 26 Holboell's Grebe. " 22 Crested Flycatcher. 



■' 30 Baldpate. . " 23 Common Tern. 



" 30 Fo.x Sparrow. " 23 Least Flycatcher. 



Departures.. " -^ Ruby-throated Hum- 



Sept. 1 Indigo Bunting. , mingbird. 



" 2 Warbling Vireo. 29 Black Tern. 



" 2 Orchard Oriole. " 30 Sora Rail. 



" 3 Semi-palmated Plover, " 30 Black-lulled Cuckoo. 



" 3 Migrant Shrike. 



30 .\ca(li;ni Mvcatcher. 



THINGS AND THOUGHTS OF THE GARDEN 



(Coiilinued from pai;e 092) 

 has such plants as JMidlein and Corydalis growing in its 

 chinks, is the rock garden. This has the usual concom- 

 itants of a pleasing- rock garden — well jilaced rocks, a 

 small streani, waterfall and pool, and, most imiwrtant of 

 all, tasteful planting. Here by the use of dwarf shrubs, 

 and herljaceous plants, combined with the more diminu- 

 tive alpines an ensemble has been created that when 

 viewed as a whole conveys nothing but pleasure. .-Xt the 

 same lime a closer inspection reveals choice treasures in 

 the shajie of rare alpines that delight the connoisseur. 



Although viewed at a time when everything w'as suf- 

 fering from the apj)alling drought, for nothing had been 

 watered, a visit to this garden gave a pleasurable and in- 

 structive afternoon and one could visualize its wondrous 

 beauty in early Spring with the rock garden at its best. 



