BIRD RESERVATIONS 

 country. Thousands of Herons of various species, as 

 well as Terns and shore birds, make this their home. 

 Dainty little Ground Doves flutter in and out among 

 the cactus on the sheltered sides of the sand dunes; 

 Plovers and Sandpipers chase each other along the 

 beaches, and the Burrowing Owls here hide in their 

 holes by night and roam over the island by day. 



When this place was described to President Roose- 

 velt, he immediately declared that the birds must not 

 be killed there without the consent of the Secretary of 

 Agriculture. With one stroke of his pen he brought 

 this desirable condition into existence, and Mrs. Asa 

 Pillsbury was duly appointed to protect the island. 

 She is one of the few women bird wardens in America. 



These things happened in the early days of Gov- 

 ernment work for the protection of water birds. The 

 Audubon Society had found a new field for en- 

 deavour, highly prolific in results. With the limited 

 means at its command the work of ornithological 

 exploration was carried forward. Every island, mud 

 flat, and sand bar along the coast of the Mexican 

 [ 195] 



