DELAWARE VALLEY ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB, ^ 



and warm; the skins of summer birds are spread on the table 

 round which we gather, and the talk may be running on days 

 of song and sunshine and nest-building. There is Trotter with 

 snapping eyes and incisive manner shooting some new ornitho- 

 logical theory at his club-mates and hammering it home in 

 •clear, terse sentences; or Hughes with his delicious drawl, ram- 

 bling along in a reminiscent mood as he tells of birds and big 

 game, and seasons his yarn with a dry humor wholly his own; 

 ■or Rhoads just back from parts unknown with a fresh batch of 

 bird skins and a lot to say about them; or De Haven newly re- 

 turned from the coast with a whiff of the salt sea in his whis- 

 kers, ready to tell us stay-at-homes what the ducks and brant 

 are doing. Few men can speak with greater authority of our 

 coast-dwelling birds than De Haven. It may be, Weygandt is 

 holding us half spell-bound as he reads one of the delightful 

 word pictures which his facile pen has traced, and whereby he 

 transports us at will through the green meadows of spring or 

 into the cool shades of the summer woods. Perhaps Baily is 

 on hand with a new lot of photographs, which are sure to bear 

 tribute to their author's skill and patience, as well as his artistic 

 sense and keen powers of observation. Pennock or Carter may 

 be giving clear and illuminating accounts of recent trips or of 

 some fresh bit of news from the bird world. And then there is 

 Stone, with his hand ever on the tiller, quiet of manner but 

 potent in influence. No matter who may be president, we all 

 recognize him as the power behind the throne. With infinite 

 tact he gives a push here and a pull there, as occasion requires, 

 keeping us all in line. In our hearts we know that the guiding 

 hand of Stone has made the D. V. O. C. what it is. 



Our club exists with the least possible amount of business 

 and politics. These are the rocks that have wrecked many a 

 promising organization. We meet solely with one end in view, 

 namely, the study of birds, and this is pursued in an atmos- 

 phere of good fellowship. The ornithologist is almost always a 

 good fellow; he can hardly be otherwise. Life in the open, the 

 love of nature, the joy in her beauties, the touch of adventure, 

 the dash of sport, and then the illusive grace and charm of the 

 Tvild bird pervading it all — that is ornithology. Such things 



