456 Bird - Lore 



Association and the American Humane Education Society aided financially 

 on the legislative matters. 



Last winter, negotiations were opened up with the manual training in- 

 structor of the Detroit schools regarding the making of bird-boxes by the 

 school children. As a result, 1,500 boxes were made. A number were put 

 up and used by Wrens, and for the first time for years Bluebirds nested in 

 Detroit. This, in spite of the fact that the boxes were made for Wrens and 

 were rather small for Bluebirds. At present we are taking up the question 

 of having the schools make winter shelters and feeding-stations for birds. 

 Both Detroit and Grand Rapids will do this work. 



We have been urging the erecting of bird-boxes in cemeteries, with success 

 here and there. The larger cities of the state have been requesting information 

 in regard to plants that will attract birds. In some cases, I have visited parks 

 and made suggestions which have been or are being carried out. 



Meetings have been held with A. C. Carton, Secretary of the Public Domain 

 Commission, and arrangements are being perfected to give our Society a lease 

 on an island in Lake St. Clair, where large numbers of the Common Tern nest. 

 I visited the island in June, and found 200 eggs and young. We had a watcher, 

 and kept in weekly touch with events. Egg-collectors are still with us, and 

 were chased away twice. I visited the island the last of August and found 

 about 2,000 Common Tern, 200 Black Tern, 500 Herring Gulls, besides a 

 few Bonaparte Gulls, Spotted Sandpipers, Solitary Sandpipers, and Semi- 

 palmated Plover. About thirty pairs of Spotted Sandpipers nested on the 

 island. We are going to change the name from Sand to Bird Island. I have 

 given the state authorities a list of the islands in the Great Lakes that we 

 would like set aside for preserves, and encouraging progress is being made 

 in securing them, especially in Lakes Michigan and Superior. 



Our Society gave every encouragement possible in furthering the two 

 bills before Congress, by writing numerous letters, securing endorsements 

 in meetings of various sorts, and by articles in the press — all of which were 

 sent to Washington. We were indebted to both the National Association 

 and Mr. Henry Oldys in directing our work. 



During the year, I have given seventy-two lectures and talks on birds 

 and wild life, and written twenty-seven articles for publication on the same 

 subjects. During the past summer, I carried on research work on the mor- 

 tality of wild-bird life at the University of Michigan Biological Station, Doug- 

 las Lake. Records were kept of the loss of eggs and young during the nesting- 

 season under natural conditions and compared with previous records for 

 nesting-boxes, with the result that a percentage of thirty in favor of the nesting- 

 boxes was shown. The results will be published by the Michigan Academy 

 of Science. 



Last winter, we were able to secure a few more rural mail-carriers to 

 carry food for the winter birds. By this method, we are also able to estimate 



