M onthly Bulletin 5 



NETTING OLD-SQUAWS. 



Civilization takes great toll of our wild bird life in many ways. Some 

 of this we can avoid. Much of it is utterly unavoidable. Of the latter type 

 seems the great loss of life among old-squaw ducks on Lake Erie as reported 

 by a Canadian member of the A. 0. U, at the Cambridge meeting. Old- 

 squaws are fish-eaters and famous divers. In pursuit of small fish they are 

 reported to go to depths exceeding a hundred feet. In this way thousands 

 of them become entangled in the fishermen's nets on Lake Erie. The fish- 

 eries, of course, must go on and it is impossible for the fishermen to keep 

 the ducks from getting into the nets, which they do in almost unbelievable 

 numbers. In the middle of May last year twelve tons of old-squaw were 

 found in one fertilizer factory in Canada, having been brought in by 

 the fishermen, taken from the lake some twenty-five miles south of London, 

 Pntario, at varying depths up to ninety feet. The birds, bound north in 

 their spring migration, congregate on the lake in great numbers, following 

 the schools of small fish. The fishermen seem to be in no wise to blame for 

 this. Probably they would be glad if the birds would keep away from the 

 nets. 



MORE ABOUT CROW CONVENTIONS. 



Noting in your November Bulletin the great crow convention witnessed 

 by Mr. Edward Marsh while motoring near Marlboro, Mass., the writer 

 would say that on Simday P. M. of November the fourth, he also motored 

 over the same route as that described by Mr. Marsh, and was witness to a 

 similar sight in the same place; in fact the landscape was literally black 

 with crows. I can recall other instances when I have seen these great 

 assemblies and they always occurred about this time of the year. As a boy 

 living in Franklin County I remember well these crow gatherings. 



For years I have watched a certain flock of crows which live near one 

 of the large lakes of New Hampshire, and I feel quite positive that crows do 

 migrate to some extent, although I never saw any in migration. During 

 the winter months most of them disappear from the northern woods and only 

 a few stragglers are left. There is one crow in this flock that has some vocal 

 impediment which is responsible for a different call from the others; this is 

 very marked and we look for the same crow season after season. Crows 

 are interesting rascals to watch. 



Yours very truly, 



William B. Hubbard. 



BRINGING UP A WARBLER. 



Dear Sir: I am sure you will like the following story of a little black- 

 throated green warbler. He was born in a nest on the grape-vine which 

 hangs on the side of my daughter's house in Hampton Falls, N. H. My 

 daughter's husband is a naturalist, and the two children are unusual in their 



