136 On the trail of vanishing birds 



together plans for a new study project a full-scale investigation 

 of the status of the American flamingo. We had been concerned 

 about the flamingo situation for some time, particularly in the 

 Bahamas, and Paul Zahl's reports from Andros were anything but 

 reassuring. The National Audubon Society had been the pioneer 

 agency in efforts to obtain protection for these birds in the Ba- 

 hamas, in 1905, and again in both the Bahamas and Cuba in the 

 period 1922-1933. The Wild Birds Protection Act, which is the 

 basic wildlife conservation law in the Bahamas, had been a direct 

 result of Frank M. Chapman's flamingo resolution at the first 

 meeting of the Audubon Board of Directors, held in New York 

 on January 30, 1905. And the establishment of the National 

 Flamingo Refuge in Cuba in 1933 was the outcome of Dr. T. 

 Gilbert Pearson's work in that country over the years. But some- 

 thing more had to be done, and soon! The great Andros Island 

 colonies in the Bahamas, famous the world over, were reported 

 to be completely deserted following raids and other disturbances, 

 including "buzzing" by both military and civilian aircraft. It was 

 John Baker's conviction that a thorough investigation of condi- 

 tions over the entire range of Phoenicopterus ruber was in order. 

 And this was to be my next job. 



It was at this juncture, in December, 1949, that I first met 

 Stephen F. Briggs of Milwaukee, and Naples, Florida. Steve had 

 been taking enough time off from his many business affairs to 

 give considerable attention to bird photography. It is always of 

 interest to learn how these things come about. Steve is a genius 

 with gadgets. As a boy on a farm in South Dakota which was 

 still Indian Territory when he was born there he was the local 

 expert on the new horseless carriages. Before he was old enough 

 to vote he had taken a neighbor's steam-propelled vehicle apart 

 and put it together again, successfully. A born inventor, he has 

 improvised countless mechanical devices, and holds more than 

 500 patents. One day, when he was working in his lab on an im- 

 proved carburetor, there was an explosion and Steve's hands the 

 sensitive hands that are the natural gift of artists, surgeons, and 

 mechanical geniuses were badly burned. When they had healed, 

 the fingers remained stiff and unresponsive, and their owner, ut- 



