ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETY 27 



Heights to say that its members have been liberal patrons of the scouts in 

 the purchasing of bird houses. Mr. F. M. Richardson is Scout Master of 

 Troop No. 1. 



DE KALB : Thus far this Spring there has been the usual keen in- 

 terest in bird work among the students taking nature study courses at the 

 Normal School. This interest is also shared by the schools and various 

 groups of citizens of DeKalb. A cardinal distinguished himself by 

 living on or near the campus all winter, which is a rare event for DeKalb. 

 The red-bellied woodpecker seems to be unusually common. 



EAST St. LOUIS: The schools have for years emphasized bird 

 study and in each school there are excellent bird charts, books, etc. The 

 boys in Manual Training have built many bird boxes, the East St. Louis 

 Park Board purchasing a supply of them from the school. The Women's 

 Civics Club has a committee which co-operates with the schools, increasing 

 the interest in bird life. The children in the schools have contributed 

 liberally to the support of bird propaganda. This direct effort on the 

 part of the children is giving them a personal and abiding interest in the 

 subject and the interest has been growing from year to year. 



FREEPORT: The Freeport Bird Club has thirty-five members 

 and meets twice a month for the study of some one bird, the special 

 papers presented being supplemented by quotation or comments from 

 each of the active members. In summer the Club has picnics and 

 picnic breakfasts where bird life is studied at first-hand. The Club 

 furnished an interested audience for Mr. O. M. Schantz when he came 

 out from Chicago in March to deliver an illustrated lecture. A prom- 

 inent nurseryman of Freeport has permitted the Club to establish a bird- 

 sanctuary on his grounds where there are big trees and masses of every 

 kind of shrubbery. In this splendid home the birds are given food and 

 shelter. During the past winter it was discovered that the cardinal is 

 very fond of hickory nuts and that he would come back again and again 

 to a window for a supply. The Club has bought 300 "Protect the Birds" 

 signs and is setting them up in Freeport and the surrounding country. 

 Mrs. Leila Hyatt is Secretary. 



GRANITE CITY: A very interesting article in Bird Lore by 

 Doctor A. E. MacGailliard has helped to place Granite City on the 

 map of Audubon centers. The article which appeared in the September- 

 October 1915 number of Bird-Lore was entitled "A Ruby Throated 

 Refugee" and contains some very interesting first-hand data. It was 

 accompanied by a photograph showing a ruby throat, perched on the rim 

 of a glass beaker, being fed by hand, the bird apparently innocent that it 

 was setting at naught the dictum of certain natural histories that the 

 "hummer" feeds only while on the wing. 



JACKSONVILLE: At Illinois Woman's College there is a class 

 of sixteen doing regular field work in ornithology and very much in- 

 terested in the work. The college furnishes field glasses for the students. 

 Colonel G. O. Shields gave an illustrated lecture on bird conservation on 

 March 13th which was much appreciated. Miss Alma Hollinger is 

 instructor in biology at the College. 



