The Hartford Bird Study Club 357 



a wood road giving access to the territory. While the bird enthusiasts were 

 up on the ridge hunting the Woodpeckers, one of them came and alighted over 

 the head of the waiting chauffeur. Needless to say, the enthusiasts somehow 

 did not seem pleased at the occurrence, for they failed to find the birds. 



I must not forget to mention the finding of the nesting-place of at least 

 three pairs of the Bartramian Sandpipers. Bird-lovers will understand the 

 thrill of delight which came to the writer and two or three of our members, as 

 we watched the three pairs of old birds fluttering about after the young were 

 hatched. They sailed over our heads, now and then alighting on the ground 

 or on the nearby fences, and, stretching up their wings, uttered that strange, 

 weird cry. Certainly these birds, once so common in the vicinity of Hartford 

 but now for twenty years so rare, are increasing in number. In our field 

 meetings we are making the endeavor to cover as well as possible the territory 

 which we have chosen for our guardianship. In this territory we count all 

 towns which are included within a circle whose circumference is within fifteen 

 miles of City Hall in Hartford. There are about forty towns lying wholly or 

 in part within this circle. 



Evening Meetings. — Of these we hold about twenty during the year: five 

 of them are for illustrated lectures. It has been our endeavor to have at least 

 two of these lectures delivered by people of national fame in ornithology. At 

 our 'regular meetings,' so-called, we usually have a paper or lecture on a 

 topic connected with nature study, followed by what we call 'field notes,' 

 which consist simply of brief statements by the members concerning things of 

 interest in the bird world which they have seen since the last meeting. The 

 average attendance at these regular meetings is about one hundred. 



The field committee has just published a new edition of our 'Check-List,* 

 which contains the names of somewhat over two hundred species of birds that 

 have at some time been seen in the vicinity of Hartford. I think about one 

 hundred and ninety of these have been observed by our members during the 

 last six years. 



I wish it were possible to convey an adequate idea of the pleasure and 

 profit which very many of our members get from our meetings in the field 

 and at evening. They help mightily to enlarge our mental and spiritual 

 horizon. They hang fine pictures on the walls of our memories. They fill us 

 with a desire to dig deeper into the mysteries of nature. They make us better 

 men and women. 



