THK AUDUBON BULLETIN 



33 



drained. The Izaak Walton League and many other conservation 

 bodies throughout the L T nited States have risen in protest against this 

 drainage project. They have asked Senator Medill McCormick to 

 present to the next National Congress a bill authorizing the United 

 States Government to set aside the islands and bottom lands as a 

 National Reservation for recreational purposes. A word to your Sena- 

 tor or Congressman will assure him of the course to follow. 



Trapping and Banding the Tree- 

 Climbing Birds 



THERE is a way to trap everything if you can onlv figure it 

 out. Trapping and banding the tree-climbing birds at first 

 appeared to be a very difficult proposition. The moment the 

 birds would strike any obstruction they would fly away; so we began to 

 try a number of different schemes of forming something around the 

 tree so that as they climbed up the tree it would bring them into a 

 trap. The only way one can be sure is to make an effort to place 

 something and then watch and see how it affects the birds as they 

 approach the trap. In the attempt to make a successful tree trap this 



one was changed from fif- 

 teen to twenty-five times 

 before we had one that was 

 successful. Our first birds 

 trapped were a few Brown 

 Creepers, but when we at- 

 tempted to take them out 

 of the trap thev escaped, 

 until we finally found it was 

 necessarv to make arrange- 

 ments so we could drive 

 them into a receiving cage. 

 Next, we were shocked and 

 surprised to see the Brown 

 Creepers go through ^4- 

 inch mesh wire. On cap- 

 turing our first Creeper we 

 found our Number One band 

 would have to be lapped a 

 little bit so that they could 

 not slip their long, slim foot 

 through the band. 



Photo by Wm. I. Lyon 



Tree Trap 



