362 



Bird - Lore 



Lake Mohonk to be a Bird Preserve 



Lake Mohonk lies a few miles west of 

 the Hudson River, a little north of the 

 latitude of Poughkeepsie. It is twelve 

 hundred feet above sea-level, and is held 

 up, like a giant dewdrop, by one of the 

 peaks of the Shawangunk range of moun- 

 tains, almost at its very crest. Here, 

 standing on one of the crags which rise 

 precipitously from the shore-line of the 

 lake, one may look across the Wallkill 

 Valley to old Storm King, at whose foot 

 nestles the quiet little town of Cornwall- 

 on-the-Hudson, and, farther to the north- 

 ward, the Berkshires in Connecticut and 

 Massachusetts. To the westward the 

 gaze travels over the Rondout Valley, and 

 rests, at the horizon, on Slide Mountain, 

 Plateau Mountain, and other well-known 

 peaks of the Catskills. 



It was here, immediately at the western 

 edge of the lake, that the late Mr. Albert 

 K. Smiley built, in 1869, the Lake Mohonk 

 Mountain House, which has since become 

 so famous a resort, and which is noted 

 particularly as the scene of several impor- 

 ant yearly conferences, notably the 

 gathering in the interest of international 

 arbitration, which, every May, holds a 

 three-day session at this delightful spot. 

 More than fifty miles of driveway have 

 been constructed to bring all the most 

 interesting points of the estate within 

 easy access, rustic covered seats have 

 been placed wherever attractive views are 

 to be found, and a garden of twenty-five 

 acres stretches eastward to a wall of pre- 

 cipitous rock a quarter of a mile from the 

 hotel. Immediately surrounding the hotel, 

 besides the garden, are an athletic field, 

 open groves, tennis-courts, cottages, sta- 

 bles, and the other usual appurtenances of 

 a summer hotel. 



Bird life is about normal at Mohonk. 

 In the garden are numerous Robins, Gold- 

 finches, Chipping and Song Sparrows, and 

 Hummingbirds; in the open groves nearby 

 are Wood Thrushes and Towhees; along 

 the craggy shores of the lake are Phoebes, 

 Blue-headed Vireos, and an occasional 

 Winter Wren; Nuthatches, Chickadees, 



Scarlet Tanagers, Wood Pewees, Red- 

 eyed Vireos, Woodpeckers, and Warblers 

 of various kinds may be seen or heard in 

 the woods; and Juncos, Indigo Buntings, 

 and Hermit Thrushes nest along the sides 

 of the cliffs. In the valley below Bobo- 

 links, Meadowlarks, and Barn Swallows 

 may be observed, and even Yellow- 

 breasted Chats. There are many other 

 species of birds inhabiting Lake Mohonk 

 and its immediate environs, but these are 

 the most conspicuous. 



But it can support many more. With 

 its expanse of water, its rocky cliffs, its 

 wooded streams, its variety of woods, its 

 large garden, and its numerous build- 

 ings, and with its facilities for protection, 

 Mohonk could be made a veritable bird 

 paradise. With this end in view, measures 

 have been undertaken to attract birds to 

 the place. Permission has been secured 

 of the present proprietor, Mr. Daniel 

 Smiley, brother of Mr. Albert K. Smiley, 

 to conduct such an enterprise, funds have 

 been supplied by interested bird-lovers, 

 and the work has been begun. Fifty nest- 

 ing-boxes of the Berlepsch pattern have 

 already been placed in suitable localities, 

 and a hundred more have been ordered. 



This is the modest beginning of what, 

 it is hoped, may be the establishment of 

 an unusually fine bird preserve. As the 

 estate embraces the whole mountain and 

 extends for several miles in every direc- 

 tion from the hotel, it can be readily 

 understood that the possibilities it offers 

 are very great. I may add that, as full 

 charge of the work is in my hands, I will 

 gladly welcome any suggestions that may 

 tend toward making the Lake Mohonk 

 bird preserve a notable example of what 

 can be accomplished in the way of in- 

 creasing birds on large estates. — Henry 

 Oldys, Washington, D. C. 



A Successful Campaign Against Grackles 

 and Starlings in Hartford, Connecticut 



For more than twenty-five years, the 

 residents of a certain section of Washing- 

 ton Street in Hartford have suffered great 

 annoyance by reason of a large flock of 



