280 Union Bay 



This seemed to settle definitely the status of the bird, but 

 out of curiosity I consulted one of the best English works 

 on ornithology (written a century later). The writers make 

 no mention of the diseased fruit buds and give a distressing 

 account of the bird's food habits: chiefly buds of fruit trees 

 in spring (pear, apple, plum, gooseberry, currant, etc.), far 

 more being destroyed than eaten. What are we to think now? 

 Could it be that the report of the bird's eating only infested 

 buds was a mistaken one, or has spraying become so effi- 

 cient that the birds have been forced to abandon selectivity 

 and must eat the good buds minus the animal flavor? I regret 

 that the book made no other comment on the bird's eco- 

 nomic status. 



I have placed the local predation of the marsh hawk in the 

 same category. I have watched it beat back and forth, flying 

 low, with strong steady wing beats, its long body and white 

 rump patch instantly identifying it. I have not watched it 

 feed again nor have I seen it stoop at a victim. I have not 

 passed any dead bird which showed evidence of having been 

 attacked by hawks, nor have I seen any of the scattered 

 feathers and other tell-tale signs of a hawk's feeding. Al- 

 though I have no certain proof, I feel that the marsh hawk 

 is not a bird predator in our area and that the coot and teal 

 must have been crippled when taken. , 



Predation in the marsh and elsewhere will never cease. 

 The manner in which it is practiced does much to bring 

 about the prevalent opinion that an animal is all good or all 

 bad. Much predation goes on quietly in the dark or far from 

 human habitations or under conditions which people seldom 

 see. Sometimes nests are raided and the young killed, with- 

 out the knowledge of nearby residents. Eggs are taken from 

 the henhouse by animals so clever that only the diminishing 

 number indicates that theft is going on. Young chickens and 

 even suckling pigs can be removed without disturbance, and 

 often the owner has no idea of exactly when or how the 



