The Audubon Societies 



395 



L. R. Alderman, City Superintendent of 

 Schools. 



"Reports from the children show that a 

 large number of the bird-houses have been 

 rented to native songsters, the greater 

 part to Violet-green Swallows, then Park- 

 man Wrens, Bluebirds, and Chickadees. 

 Of course, many of the houses, especially 

 about the more thickly settled part of the 

 city, were seized and held by English 

 Sparrows. Some of the boys outwitted 

 the Englishers by making the doorways 

 too small for a Sparrow, but large enough 

 for a Wren or a Swallow. Others have been 

 very successful by placing about their 

 homes one or two houses for the English 

 Sparrows, within ten or fifteen feet of the 

 ground, and then putting attractive homes 

 for the Swallows and Bluebirds higher up, 

 or near the third story. 



"The remark is often made by parents 

 and teachers that the attitude of boys 



toward birds and animals has greatly im- 

 proved throughout Oregon during the 

 past few years. The making of bird-homes 

 and renting them, and the feeding of the 

 hungry birds in winter, have created a 

 comradship much needed between wild 

 birds and children. The value of the Junior 

 Audubon Society work cannot well be 

 overestimated." 



Recently a teacher in one of the Port- 

 land schools said: 



"The interest of my pupils in their wild- 

 bird friends is shown remarkably in their 

 school-room work. They are more wide 

 awake and sympathetic. The experiences 

 with the birds which they relate form the 

 most interesting lessons of the day. Play 

 is closely related to work. Three of the 

 boys who were the most difficult to manage 

 are now the easiest to handle, since they 

 have begun to build and rent their bird- 

 houses." 



THE FIRST BIRD FIELD-DAY 



What is believed to be the first Bird 

 Field-Day ever held anywhere was enjoyed 

 at Worcester, Massachusetts, in Green 

 Hill Park, July 22, 1914, under the com- 

 bined auspices of the State Grange, the 

 State Board of Agriculture, and the State 

 Audubon Society; and this department 

 of Bird-Lore has been furnished with 

 an admirable report of the proceedings 

 by one of our members, Mrs. O. E. Mar- 

 shall, to whom we return our thanks and 

 compliments. 



"The idea of such a field-day," Mrs. 

 Marshall writes, "first occurred to Mrs. 

 George S. Ladd, of Sturbridge, Lecturer 

 of the State Grange. She proposed it to 

 our State Grange committee on bird- 

 protection, and was referred to Edward 

 H. Forbush, to whose efforts, and to the 

 enlistment of Winthrop Packard, Secre- 

 tary of the State Audubon Society, and 

 Wilfred Wheeler, Secretary of the Board 

 of Agriculture, we owe a splendid success, 

 and the presence of a thousand people at 

 the park. The occasion was advertised 

 by the State Grange Master as one of his 



field-days; by the Board of Agriculture 

 in a beautiful colored poster send to all 

 post-offices; and by Mr. Packard, who 

 sent post-cards to members of the Audu- 

 bon Society. Mrs. Ladd also did fine 

 advertising in the Worcester papers, 

 giving pictures of the speakers to the press. 

 "The morning was passed in looking 

 over the Audubon exhibit of bird-boxes, 

 including a set recently invented and 

 manufactured by Mr. Forbush, and called 

 the "Pindale;" in examining the Reed 

 collection of stuffed birds at the museum 

 on the grounds; and in a bird-game, 

 which consisted in identifying birds bj' 

 their pictures, of which seventy-one were 

 displayed. Eighteen prizes were given, 

 consisting of bird-boxes, the book "Land 

 Birds," packs of bird post-cards, suet-bags 

 and the Reed bird-game, C. K. Reed 

 having contributed twenty-five of these 

 games for the- purpose. Fifty-two persons 

 took part, and it is interesting to note 

 that three persons made sixty-eight cor- 

 rect indentifications out of the possible 

 seventy-one. 



