Massachusetts Audubon Society 11 



cunningly flew behind her and lit upon the suet in her other hand, took 

 a good piece and flew away, as much as to say, "You can't Tool me, I know 

 what I like best." The films we took came out clear and sharp; although 

 the birds were small the markings were very distinct. 



We have many birds around our place, as we have cultivated shrubs 

 and a wild "tangle" which attracts them. A larch tree at our back door is 

 a veritable bird restaurant; we hang bones and suet there and scatter 

 seeds and crumbs underneath; we nailed a Packard feeder upon this tree 

 last year, and five minutes after we filled it and put it out the English 

 sparrows found it, and they never left until it was empty. This year we 

 hung it from a large shrub in our garden. The chickadees soon found it 

 and came often. We have always understood that the sparrows would not 

 light on anything swinging, but this winter was so severe that they got 

 desperate, and we saw them on the feed-box in a gale of wind, cling for dear 

 life, sometimes blown off", but coming back to it again and again, until they 

 got used to it; so we find it a problem to outwit them any longer. 



A few weeks ago two pairs of evening grosbeaks fed upon the buds of 

 our larch tree, and also upon the sumach, and we had a fine view of 

 them. The same day some purple finches came to the larch. We now 

 have fox sparrows, tree sparrows, bluebirds, juncos, goldfinches, wood- 

 peckers, etc., feeding about our place. We have a bird bath which is 

 well patronized, even thus early in the season. Our nesting-boxes are used 

 each season by bluebirds, and they are carrying in grass and other nest- 

 material every day now, (March 27th). Last fall, while trimming a pear 

 tree, I saw something sticking out of the entrance to a chickadee house, and 

 upon touching it, something fell to the ground. Upon investigation I 

 found it to be a little mouse, who had been preparing her winter home 

 in this house, which was about eight feet from the ground. Recently, upon 

 cleaning the box, I found it nearly filled with cotton and tow fibre worked 

 into a soft fluffy bed. 



THE SANCTUARY AT HINGHAM. 

 By Alexander Pope. 



Five years ago I conceived the idea of establishing a bird sanctuary 

 at Hingham and mentioned the matter to the Fish and Game Commission, 

 who approved of the plan and said if I would get the consent of all the 

 owners of the land which I proposed to include in the sanctuary, they would 

 make it a State reservation. They would post it and provide a game warden 

 to protect it as much as his other duties and the meagre funds allotted to 

 them would allow. I soon had the signatures of all the owners of the tract 

 between Weymouth Back River and the Cadet Camp and between the Naval 

 Magazine and Hingham Harbor, amounting to about two thousand acres. 

 Mr. Peter B. Bradley was the largest owner and entered heartily into the 

 scheme and offered to build shelters on his pond for the ducks in winter 

 and to plant buckwheat or anything that would attract and keep the birds. 

 I had shot over this land years ago, and it was not unusual then to start 

 five or six bevies of quail in a day, but the last time I went out, although 

 with a good dog and an automobile to take us from one point to another, 

 we found only one small bevy. Severe winters, cats, gunners and foxes, I 

 think, had contributed to the destruction of the quail in the order named. 



