10 The Ornithology of Chester County 
latter region spring the main branches of the 
Brandywine creek, which flows in a southeasterly 
direction and for 35 miles drains a large portion of 
the county; the only extensive marsh land (several 
hundred acres) lies near its source. “The French, 
Pickering and Valley are the most important creeks 
flowing into the Schuylkill, and at Valley Forge 
where the latter creek empties into the river, the 
elevation is less than 75 feet. In recent times the 
Rough-winged Swallow has been the most character- 
istic bird of the SchuylkiJl river banks. 
The southern part of the county is only less undul- 
ating; the eastern section drained by the headwaters 
of the Darby, Crum, Ridley and Chester creeks, 
which, with the united streams of the Brandywine 
river, the Red Clay and the White Clay creeks; 
flow into the Delaware. The Big Elk creek empties 
into the head of the Chesapeake bay, and the Octor- 
aro into the Susquehanna river. It is from this 
region that we occasionally have record of strag- 
glers from the Austroriparian fauna. 
While the county is abundantly watered by small 
streams, the absence ot large bodies of water ac- 
count for the comparative scarcity of water fowl 
and shore birds. As early as 1748, according to 
Peter Kalm, the woods were mainly deciduous, and 
free of underbrush on account of the annual burn- 
ing indulged in by the small bands of the Lenni 
Lenapes located in Willistown and along the 
Brandywine. 
The Chester Valley and Brandywine hills are 
famous breeding grounds of the Turkey Vulture, 
