4 INTRODUCTION 



ponds there is a layer of mud several feet thick, which contains in- 

 numerable small molluscs. During the dry season, great numbers 

 of the local shore birds find an abundance of food on the exposed 

 bars. Woodman's pond, about one mile long by one-half wide, is 

 situated a little over two miles due north of Hamilton. Fed en- 

 tirely by springs, this pond furnishes the water supply for the 

 above named village. Along the west side a small marsh may be 

 seen, in which the cat tails and reeds make an ideal summer home 

 for the Long-billed marsh wren, Virginia rail, and Florida gallinule. 

 The Madison Reservoir, about two miles long by one- third of a mile 

 wide, is two miles north-east of Hamilton. This artificial lake fur- 

 nishes part of the water supply for the Erie Canal. In autumn, 

 when the water is low, small companies of shore birds feed upon the 

 exposed mud flats. 



Five miles west of Hamilton is the Lebanon Reservoir, about 

 one and one-half miles long by a half mile in breadth. A few shore 

 birds may also be found here in very dry seasons. Lake Earlville, 

 though small, is of interest from the fact that a pair of Wood duck 

 reared their young here nearly two years ago. This pond is found 

 in the Chenango Valley, about five miles south of Hamilton. 



Just outside of Hamilton, to the south, one encounters a bit of 

 low land, which on account of its springy nature is not easily 

 traversed. The north end is comparatively dry during the summer 

 and may be cultivated to a certain extent, but after the first quarter 

 of a mile this gradually merges into a bottomless bog, extending a 

 mile or more farther south. The outlet of Woodman's pond finds 

 its course here, and during the spring and fall rains it partially 

 floods the surrounding territory, making excellent cover in the wet 

 meadows for hundreds of the Wilson's snipe. Great numbers of the 

 Blue and Green-winged teal visit this bog to feed upon the wild 

 celery and other marsh plants. 



The climate, as well as the dark colored moist soil of our val- 

 leys, is favorable to a heavy growth of vegetation. In every val- 

 ley one may find thick, almost impenetrable swamps in which the 

 orchids and pitcher plants flourish. The maximum is reached about 

 five miles east of Hamilton, in what is known locally as the Nine- 

 Mile Swamp. In this large swamp are chiefly found conifers, 

 maples, beech and elm. Here one might expect to find some of 

 those birds which occur rarely outside of large wood tracts. 



