The Concordville Robin and Grackle Roost 



BY SAMUEL C. PALMER. 



About four years ago a report was made at a meeting of the 

 Club that the destruction of birds liad been unusually great dur- 

 ing a heavy storm in August. Among other reports there was 

 one made by W. E. Hannum relating to the number of dead 

 Robins and Grackles in a neglected nurserj^ about one-half mile 

 northwest of Concordville station, Delaware Co., Penna. About 

 120 Robins and Grackles were found dead under the trees which 

 at that time were fit to be used as nursery stock. Since that 

 time the number of birds roosting there has been greatly in- 

 creased until to-day they nimiber several thousand. 



The location of this roost is on a high prominence sloping 

 away to the north and south over rolling farm land for three or 

 four miles in each direction. Numerous woods, orchards, and 

 groves of trees are in sight, and there seems to be no scarcity of 

 good roosting-places about the vicinity. 



The west branch of the Chester Creek forks near JIarkham 

 station about one mile distant, and one stream runs on the south 

 about half-a-mile away while the one on the north is nearer. 



The trees making up the roosting-place are chestnut and 

 maple, chiefly the former. The maples form a double row of 

 compact trees on the east side of the clump. The clump itself 

 measures about 200 x 100 feet and the height not over twenty 

 feet and nearly uniform. 



The former roost of these birds was a wood a quarter of a mile 

 to the southwest of this point. When a few years ago this wood 

 was trimmed up and the underbrush cut out the birds left and 

 apparently came to this neglected nursery. This old roost, 

 according to old residents, had been in existence at least twenty- 

 five years. 



The days I selected to visit this roost, the 24th and 25th of 



(26) 



