DELAWARE VALLEY ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 35 



tomed place, scarcely a morning or evening passed when they 

 were not startled by the report of a gun. A few feathers here 

 and there in the woods would seem to indicate that some of tne 

 birds, at least, must have lost their lives. 



A local paper is authority for the statement that some persons 

 actually resorted to the unsportsmanlike practice of shooting 

 them after they had gone to roost. The consequence is that the 

 birds were greatly disturbed and scattered. In fact the disturb- 

 ance has continued during the past two or three j^ears notwith- 

 standing some effort to prevent it. Our home is so situated that 

 the birds flocking in at night from the south and west pass over 

 or near us and it has long been a delight to hear and watch them 

 coming. We have often seen unbroken streams of blackbirds 

 extending from the roost westward as far as we could see, an 

 air-line of something over a mile, and these great streams would 

 usually last for some minutes. 



On October 15, 1905, I visited the roost from 5:15 to 5:45 

 p. m. and saw only about one hundred birds which flew about 

 but did not, I think, roost here finally. Some Grackles 

 found shelter for the night in the trees of the Friends' Meeting- 

 House yard, and continued to congregate there until November 

 18, but on subsequent visits to the old roost no birds were to be 

 seen and it is my opinion that it was entirely abandoned this 

 year for sometime prior to the departure of the birds for the 

 south. — Lydia 0. Allen. 



In the late autumn of 1894, I visited this roost about dusk. 

 The birds were there by thousands and had apparently nearly 

 all come in but had not yet quieted down for the night. In 

 fact, nearly every bird seemed to be calling and the resultant 

 sound at a distance of a quarter of a mile closely resembled the 

 steady discharge of steam from a gigantic locomotive. It is sad 

 to think of the passing of such an impressive ornithological 

 phenomenon. — Witmer Stone. 



