SUPPLEMENT TO BIRDS OF ESSEX COUNTY 



CHAPTER I 



Changes in the Bird-Life of Essex County since 1905 



Fifteen years are, of course, but a mere moment of time in the life of a species, 

 yet, as birds are to a large extent dependent on the works and acts of mankind, 

 many changes may take place even in that limited period. 



When the original Memoir was published an increase in the gulls and terns, — 

 then for a few years protected, — had already been noticed. The first practical 

 work of protecting breeding bird-colonies on the Atlantic coast was begun in 1900. 

 The wings, heads, and bodies, not only of terns but even of passerine birds, for- 

 merly so common on women's hats, are no longer seen and the influence of the 

 National Association of Audubon Societies, incorporated in 1905,13 still spreading. 



Another change wrought by man, which has increased the number of these 

 and other birds, is the establishment of reservations where shooting is forbidden. 

 Most of these in Essex County were already in existence at the time of the publi- 

 cation of the original Memoir, but their influence has increased as the enforce- 

 ment of laws has become more strict, and the birds have learned the value of these 

 refuges. The peninsulas of Nahant and Marblehead Neck, the Lynn, Swamp- 

 scott, and Manchester Beaches are instances. Coffin's Beach and the Ipswich 

 dunes have been protected by private owners, and more and more large estates 

 throughout the County are posted against shooting. At Topsfield there is a con- 

 siderable reservation of private ownership. 



The changes in the laws as regards shooting of birds have been very great 

 during the last fifteen years and are destined to have a very beneficial effect in 

 conserving them. Prior to 1906, it was lawful to shoot ducks' up to May 20. 

 Prior to 1909, the open season for Black Ducks extended from September i to 

 March i and for other ducks until May i, except in the case of Wood Ducks, 

 which were then first protected at all times. In 1909, spring shooting of ducks 

 was stopped and the close season began on January i. In 1912, a law was passed 

 stopping the sale of all game. 



But the most important law is the Federal law protecting migratory birds 

 throughout the United States, passed by Congress in 1913. By a treaty with 

 Great Britain, in 1916, the jurisdiction of this law was extended to Canada, and. 



