26 
IOWA BIRD LIFE — VI, 193G 
lift it a foot or more in their efforts to escape, many getting oat from 
under it around the edges. They were speedily killed by crashing in 
the back of the head with the thumb. 
I recall very clearly the appearance of the Passenger Pigeon’s nest. 
It was a flat platform of small sticks and weeds. The one white egg 
laid could easily be seen through the nest by an observer on the ground. 
The usual height from the ground for the scattered nesters was from 
10 to 30 feet, but in the big “roosts'’ the nests were anywhere from 
6 to GO feet up, and were in any location or in any kind of tree where 
so shiftless a structure could be made to stick. Still, I saw remnants 
of nests in the trees of the big roost on Yellow River for perhaps a 
half dozen years afterward. Scattered pairs of pigeons were fairly 
common nesting birds during the l87Q's. 
I cannot now remember clearly of my finding more than three late 
nests. The first two, found perhaps the same year, were about 15 
feet up in second-growth “jack oaks” in the scrubby grove west of 
where our new house was afterward built. Both nests were on hori- 
zontal dead limbs. One tree stood about 15 rods northwest and the 
other about 20 rods southwest near the line-fence between our farm 
and that of Jimmy Whalen. The last nest found held a sitting bird 
and was about 10 feet from the ground in a small bur oak in the then 
wild and unfrequented valley of Williams Run, on the NE. NW. of 
Sec. 18, T. 96, R. 6 West, Franklin Township, Allamakee County. 
This was after the pigeons had become extremely rare and the find- 
ing was a surprise to me. My recollection is that I had not even seen 
one of these birds for several years before. I cannot now give the 
year, but believe it was in the late 1880's or early 90's. It may have 
been the last nest built by a wild Passenger Pigeon, And I robbed 
it by taking the egg for ray collection! 
Mr. Whitbecker, who was deputy Auditor at the same time that I 
was Clerk of Court and who was raised in Lansing, told me that when 
the “big flight” of pigeons moved up the Mississippi River valley and 
encountered strong head-winds, they flew very close to the ground 
and dipped into the lateral valleys, then rose to clear the bluffs. The 
boys, and men too, would station themselves in the small brush just 
at the top of the hill, and with long cane fish-poles would thrash into 
the flocks as they passed close over their heads. He said that when 
the flight was on everyone had “pigeon pie.” 
A MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT JONES 
Dear Fellow Members; 
I wish to thank you for the trust you have shown in electing me 
your President. I will endeavor to prove myself worthy of your 
faith in me. With your support and cooperation, the Iowa Ornitholo- 
gists' Union will extend its influence and increase its membership as 
it has done so consistently for the past several years. 
I feel that we should make especially good progress in the next few 
years if we follow up on the spirit of conservation which is now so 
prevalent. What other Iowa organization is better suited to advis- 
ing in the conservation program, as we are truly conservationists un- 
tainted by commercialism. It is indeed fortunate that our member- 
ship is made up of enthusiastic citizens of all walks of life. It helps 
us to keep our feet on the ground. 
Many of us pursue our “birding” activities strictly from the stand- 
point of a hobby. The organization would undoubtedly be justified 
if this were its only aim. Our educational influence is, however, rapidly 
growing. The tone of the recent Fairfield meeting indicated that many 
