IOWA BIRD LIFE— XI, 1941 
70 
eiety, and the seeds for the present Iowa Ornithologists' Union were 
sowed and took root the following year. Mr. Henning it was who gave 
Walter Rosene his initial interest in birds. The two men were com- 1 
panions on many bird trips in or near the Ledges. It is perhaps a 
strange coincidence that Mr. Henning's death occurred one day after 
Mr. Rosene s. 
Carl Fritz Henning was born in Germany, March 14, 18(55, and came 
to this country when seven weeks old. His parents settled at Boone, 
Iowa, where he received his education and spent most of his life. The 
Ledges State Park was established in 1921 and Mr. Henning was ap- 
pointed its custodian, a position which he held for two decades — until 
i few months before his death. As park custodian serving thousands 
of visitors yearly, he became widely known. In this capacity, and by 
virtue of his well-rounded knowledge and entertaining personality, he 
was able to interest and instruct the public in nature lore, and to 
spread the lessons of wildlife conservation far and wide. He was an 
artist, an author, and a true naturalist. 
I well remember the last time I saw him — on October 6, 1939. With 
Mr. and Mrs. My rle Jones, my wife and I spent an evening in his library. 
The walls of this room in his Ledges Park home were lined with heavily- 
laden book-shelves. He showed us the journals of his early bird studies, 
10 l l voluminous notes illustrated by his own pen drawings, 
each book kept with great care and neatness. How his face lighted up 
and his eyes sparkled as he recounted those experiences of the 1880‘s 
and JO s! Carl Fritz Henning is now of the past, but his name will 
be revered as long as there is active interest in the ornithology of Iowa 
—FRED. J. PIERCE. 
notes ox distinctive bird residents of 
NORTHEASTERN IOWA 
By OSCAR P. ALBERT 
GtARD. vi it MfGREGOR. IOWA 
Twenty-eight years ago. Miss Althea R. Sherman published notes on 
various birds in this area, which in the classification of life zones are 
termed Carolinian. As pointed out in the article, the northward pro- 
jection of the Upper Austral Zone extends up the Mississippi River to 
latitude 44 degrees, its northern boundary approximately coinciding 
with that of the “driftless area", that territory of about 10,000 square 
miles which during the glacial epoch escaped the leveling caused by 
the great ice sheets. The portion of this area in Iowa is a narrow 
strip bordering on the Mississippi River, extending down from the 
Minnesota border through Jackson County. It embraces all of Alla- 
makee County and about two-thirds of Clayton County. The land 
bordering the Mississippi River, and most of the tributary rivers and 
creeks, is rough and rugged, with steep hills, deep ravines and rock- 
faced bluffs. In these two counties, portions of the vast timber belt 
that foi merly extended inland from five to ten miles remain. The 
steep rocky bluffs facing the Mississippi River, in most part, retain 
their original wildness. 
It may be of interest to record my notes on certain birds, Carolinian 
in character, together with others, made during nearly 20 years in the 
field. The territory covered in my notes extends along the Mississippi 
River through both Clayton and Allamakee Counties, and approximately 
ten miles inland. 
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER, f'^ithirun cunjitinrs, This woodpecker 
is a common summer resident in the timber-covered bluffs facing the 
Mississippi River, on the river bottom-lands, and slightly less so to the 
