66 



Bird Notes and News 



watch the Herons on the banks of some other 

 stone-ponds with feelings of delight ; and 

 nothing would grieve me more than to see these 

 valuable and ornamental birds sacrificed to the 

 whims and caprices of man." 



Nowadays it is usually the greediness of 

 the angler and the Fishery Board which 

 seeks to exterminate this fine bird. 



Those who are anxious to make bird- 

 sanctuaries of their grounds might do 

 worse than study Waterton's devices, 

 who solved the question " how to attract 

 and protect wild birds " long before the 

 German von Berlepsch elaborated a 

 system ; but in place of hollowing out 

 nesting-places in rotten wood, they can 

 now procure the more scientific " tree- 

 hole " nesting-boxes ready-made. For 

 owners of small grounds who wish to plan 

 and plant so as to gain the incomparable 

 charm of bird-form and song, the R.S.P.B. 

 provides suggestions in a new booklet, 

 " Small Bird-Sanctuaries and How to 

 Make Them," by Mrs. Ella Fuller Mait- 

 land, with an added note by Mrs. W. B. 

 Gerish. 



NATIONAL SANCTUARIES 



The public and national form of bird- 

 sanctuary has come into being in more 

 recent years, impelled in many cases by 

 the reckless destruction of wild life by 

 settlers in new lands. The United States 

 has taken the lead, and now possesses 

 a wealth of wild-life reservations, thanks 

 to Dr. Hornaday and the Audubon 

 Societies, and also to President Roosevelt. 

 Canada followed, owing mainly to the 

 labours of Dr. Gordon Hewitt, whose 

 posthumous book, " The Conservation of 

 the Wild Life of Canada," is the finest 

 monument to his magnificent work. 

 Africa, Australia, New Zealand and India 

 have also done something ; but infinitely 

 more effort is needed in all these lands to 

 preserve not only the native birds but the 

 whole fauna from ignorant and heedless 

 destruction. 



In Europe, Holland undoubtedly takes 

 first place for its fine bird-sanctuaries, 

 secured through the efforts of such 



eminent enthusiasts as Professor Swaen, 

 Dr. Buttikofer, Mr. A. Burdet, JMr. 

 Thijsse, and others. Among recent efforts 

 is notable that of Bohemia, which is 

 planning (or may now have established) 

 several sanctuaries, especially for water- 

 fowl. The whole subject is one of those 

 down for discussion by the International 

 Conference at Paris this summer. 



Great Britain has no national reserve 

 for its surviving wild life. The New 

 Forest, Epping Forest, and part of 

 Cornwall have been suggested for the 

 purpose, but even the Forests remain in 

 a semi-protected condition. The law 

 permits County Councils to prohibit the 

 killing of birds and taking of eggs in 

 defined areas, but it does not empower 

 the appointment of keepers or wardens ; 

 and without some guardianship such areas 

 have a very limited value. In some of 

 the more noteworthy of these (as in other 

 important breeding-grounds) the Royal 

 Society for the Protection of Birds 

 employs experienced Watchers. For the 

 rest, local bodies and private individuals 

 are responsible for such bird-reserves as 

 Britain possesses. 



MUNICIPAL SANCTUARIES 



The Bird Sanctuary proper, large or 

 small, as an essential feature of public 

 grounds, is a thing for which the Society 

 has been contending for many years, and 

 it is eminently satisfactory to find that 

 its efforts are at last bearing fruit. 



There is no doubt that other cities and 

 towns will follow the example of London 

 in establishing inner Bird Sanctuaries in 

 their public parks. Manchester Parks 

 Committee, for instance, has already 

 approved of five such, and a list of 42 

 species is given as already inhabiting one 

 of these. Places like Bournemouth, 

 Cheltenham, Folkestone, Tunbridge WeUs, 

 will find careful preservation of bird life 

 at least as paying an asset as asphalted 

 promenades and beds of geraniums, and 

 a better commercial proposition in the 

 long run than the cutting down of woods, 

 and notices to quit to rooks and small 



