2^irti=1tore 



A BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE 



DKVOTED TO THE STUDY AND PROTECTION OF BIRDS 



Official Organ of The Audueon Societies 



Vol. XVI 



November— December, 1914 



No. 6 



Bird Life in Southern Illinois 

 I. Bird Haven* 



By ROBERT RIDGWAY 

 With photographs by the Author 



I 



N October, 1906, the property which Mrs. 

 Ridgway and I have named 'Bird Haven' 

 was purchased in fulfilment of a long- 

 cherished desire to possess a home in the coun- 

 try, where the pleasures of country life could be 

 enjoyed to the fullest extent and opportunities 

 afforded, close at hand, for the study of out-of- 

 doors natural history, in a region not only afford- 

 ing rich material but also endeared to the writer 

 by memories of a happy boyhood. 



The site finally chosen was selected only after 

 careful examination of practically the entire 

 county. The greater part of a month was spent 

 by us in our search and many likely spots ex- 

 amined; but, while other places were preferable 

 in one respect or another, none of them com- 

 bined so many of the essential requirements, as 

 nearness to town, convenience of access, diversity 

 of surface, and variety of tree-growth — for it was our purpose to establish, on 

 a small scale, a preserve for our native trees and other flora. Other spots 

 possessing all these advantages were, necessarily, passed by; some were of too 

 large an acreage for our means, while others were, for one reason or another, 

 unpurchasable. The chosen spot, while small in area, seemed specially adapted 

 to our needs, because on this limited space grew a far larger number of native 

 trees than I have ever^found on an equal acreage; there was water ^inj abun- 

 dance, there were both hills and lowlands, and birds seemed plentiful. The 

 *The first of three articles. 



THE MISTRESS OF BIRD 

 HAVEN 



