146 Birds of Buzzard's Roost 



After the breeding season is over these birds congregate 

 in flocks of hundreds and thousands preparatory to their mi- 

 gration to the South. It is then that they are accused of do- 

 ing the most damage. Much less of this would occur if our 

 forests had not been cleared away. They are very fond of the 

 berries, seeds and nuts of our trees and shrubs. One of the 

 prettiest sights that I have witnessed was that of thousands 

 of these birds feeding on beechnuts at Buzzard's Roost in the 

 autumn of 1902, and again in the autumn of 1906. It delight- 

 ed my soul to see them feeding and hear their "jangle." The 

 flocks seemed to be under the leadership of a single bird, and 

 when he gave the signal the entire flock took wing and flew 

 away to another part of the woods. 



The wonder with me is that more of us do not appreciate 

 farm life and its advantages and delights. Such a life brings 

 one so closely in touch with Nature, and furnishes such an 

 ample opportunity for the use of all his senses and for study. 

 As a farmer's boy I thought I 



"Knew all the birds that came 



And nested in our orchard trees; 



For every flower I had a name 



My friends were woodchucks, toads and bees; 



I knew what thrived in yonder glen, 



What plants would smooth a stone-bruised toe 



O, I was learned then, 



But that was long ago." 



In that "long ago" I followed the plow and the blackbirds fol- 

 lowed me in the furrow. Both of us were doing that which 

 was necessary to the production of a good crop of corn. I 

 was preparing the soil for it, and the blackbirds were destroy- 

 ing the grubworms and cutworms, which were so destructive 

 to the growing corn. The birds would become very gentle 

 and manifested no fear of being harmed, and I enjoyed their 

 companionship. "Three," their call note, was not unpleasant 

 to my ear, and the strut of the birds as they walked over the 

 freshly plowed ground was so lordly, and their coats so sleek 

 and black, that I could not but admire them. One afternoon 



