Notes on Water Birds in Forest Park, St. Louis 



By H. C. WILLIAMS and N. deW. BETTS 



THE acconiianving tabic gives a list of the water birds that were observed 

 on the ponds of Forest Park, St. Louis, during the spring and fall of 1908, 

 and spring of igog. With the exception of three species (marked W in the 

 table), the list is based on notes made by the writers, who were stationed in the 

 park near the ponds, and had a very good opportunity to keep a register of the 

 visitors during the week-days. The dates on the three additional species were 

 kindly furnished by Mr. Widmann. 



The list is probably far from com])lete, for, while many of the birds remained 

 for a considerable number of days or even weeks, others would stay for only a 

 few hours. This was especially true of Waders and Terns, several of which 

 passed on without waiting for identitication. 



The ponds are of recent formation, lying within the site of the World's Fair 

 of 1904, and are not large, covering perhaps eight acres. There are two main 

 irregularly shaped ponds, connected by canals, with a total length of about one- 

 half mile. The canals are bordered with shrubber\-, but the ponds are practi- 

 cally open on all sides and partially bordered by the Park highways. Small 

 fish, frogs, and crayfish are apparendy very abundant, and probably furnish the 

 chief attraction in keeping the Ducks on the ponds. Water-plants are not in 

 evidence to any extent, and must occupy a very small portion of the bill-of-fare. 



One of the most interesting things noticed was the short space of time neces- 

 sary to make the Ducks feel at home after a stay of a da\- or two. They apparently 

 realized that they were safe, for, instead of flying at any one's approach, they 

 simply swim out to the center of the ponds and allow themselves to be observed. 

 It was a good illustration of the value of bird refuges; for it is not always easy 

 for those accustomed to the actions of hunted birds to believe the stories of 

 the tameness of those that are consistently let alone. It is possible, however, 

 that birds in a park, where people are almost a part of the natural conditions, 

 would become unsuspicious much sooner than in a less-frequented preserve. 



The number of birds of any one species usually varied considerably, and, in 

 order to give a fair idea of the number present, two columns are given in the 

 table, headed "average" and "greatest" number. The average number is used, 

 in the case of species that were seen on and off for several weeks, to show the 

 number usually present. The inclusive dates give the first and last observations, 

 and do not necessarily mean a continuous presence. 



The Scaup Ducks were by far the most numerous, and a tlock of from eight to 

 twelve was present continuously for six weeks in the spring of 1909. During the 

 day they usually rested near the center of the ponds, not feeding to any extent 

 until evening. Their characteristic method of feeding was to swim rather slowly 

 along the shore, making frequent and rapid dives, — as though pursuing frogs that 

 had darted away from the bank. The Mergansers, Canvastxicks, (iolden-eyes, and 



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