THE 



WILSON BULLETIN 



NO. 50. 



A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY. 



VOL. XVII. MARCH, 1905. NO. 1 



SOME OBSERVATIONS AT WEEDSEED INN: 



BY ALTHEA R. SHERMAN. 



Not every person who enjoys the companionship of birds is 

 permitted to go a-field every day. or even once each week. 

 The majority of us must be content the greater part of the year 

 with the bird study obtained in our own dooryards. It is the 

 purpose of this article to refer to some of the bird items noted 

 at Weedseed Inn. The latitude of this inn is that of 43° north. 

 Its longitude is nearly that of 91° west from Greenwich, which 

 locates a spot of prairie land six miles from the Mississippi 

 River and one mile and a half from the timber belt that borders 

 that river. This bird hostelry covers a space of three acres, 

 which embraces an orchard, meadow-land, and a portion of a 

 ravine. The latter in spring and autumn is wet enough to en- 

 tertain some of the water fowls. 



Beginning with January the weather for six weeks i< usually 

 too severe and the location too exposed for the inn to entertain 

 man}- birds. Until the last of December Blue Jays have usu- 

 ally called almost every clay, and occasionally a Hairy Wood- 

 pecker has stopped for a meager lunch, and a mild spell has 

 brought out a few Juncos. But the winter of 1903-4 was an ex- 

 ception. Chickadees came often and pecked at some suet hung 

 out for them. Flocks of Redpolls came several times and bird 

 music was furnished by a Northern Shrike that called often 

 and announced his presence with one of his squeaky airs. 

 Plum trees full of thorns, and a meadow full of mice with but 

 little snow on the ground made Weedseed Inn a favorite cara- 

 vansary for him. He was often seen impaling a mouse on a 



