Oct. 7, 1911.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
557 
Cape Cod Bird Notes. 
East Wareham, Mass., Sept. 20.— Editor 
Forest and Stream: The spring bird arrivals this 
year were not very different from the average. 
Those noted were as follows: Bluebirds, Mar. 
2; crow blackbird, Mar. 20; Red-winged, Mar. 
23; Wilson’s snipe, Mar. 30; blue heron and 
white-breasted swallow, April 4. 
Some warblers—probably pine-creeping, April 
S; marsh hawk, April 12; wood thrush and 
purple finch, April 24; barn swallow, April 28; 
Frown thrush, April 30; towhee, May 2; black 
and white creepers, May 3; whippoor-will, eve of 
May 6; chimney swallow, May 9; king bird and 
green heron, May 11; night heron, heard on 
May 9; Baltimore oriole, May 12; catbird, May 
13; warbling or red-eyed vireo, May 16; oven 
"bird, singing, May 16; woodpecker, May 29. 
I saw a large white heron at Little Harbor 
on Aug. 19; others had seen this bird a few 
days earlier. I saw it twice on Broad Marsh 
and once in Beaver Dam Pond not far from 
Onset Junction railroad station, and not 200 
feet from the tracks. It stayed about this pond 
for several hours that day. I mentioned the 
unusual visit of this bird to Outram Bangs, 
and he said several persons had seen the heron. 
So far as I can learn, it stayed around here 
about three weeks. No one spoke of hearing 
any sound or cry from it; nor do I recall hear¬ 
ing any cry from those seen in the South. 
Some seven or eight years ago a white ibis 
•came to Little Harbor. I first saw it standing 
on the marsh. It was shy and would not allow 
a person to approach within 200 yards of it at 
any time. The long black bill—as it appeared 
at the distance—much decurved, distinguished 
it from any heron. When this ibis flew it 
uttered several harsh cries. I have not heard 
of any other strangers being seen. 
Some stopovers were noticed in the winter— 
a towhee, Feb. 22; this was a male and seemed 
contented, though snow covered the ground. 
A kingfisher hung around all winter and 
caught chubs where we were getting them for 
pickerel bait. 
I have seen but one purple martin this sum¬ 
mer—he was facing a northeast storm along 
■with a black-breasted plover; i. e., they just 
happened to fly over Long Beach. 
I have not seen or heard a night hawk this 
year; they used to be very common. It is 
singular that many birds which should be plenti¬ 
ful are scarce, or totally wanting. 
I have not seen a vesper sparrow this year, 
and I would like to know if my friend E. A. 
Forbush has missed them from other parts of 
this State. 
Game birds have had a good summer and 
will be about as plentiful (?) as usual. Thanks 
to efficient protection, black ducks have bred 
nearby. This means most excellent shooting 
for the typical pot-hunters, the battery shooters 
■with trained decoys at their stands in favored 
locations about the grassy ponds of Wareham 
and Plymouth, also up and down the Cape. 
Our legislation has been worked to eliminate 
the salt-water shooting almost entirely; by the 
time the shore shooting should be good the 
birds are shot up or the season over. 
Walter B. Savary. 
Squirrels in the Water. 
Philadelphia, Pa., Sept. 16.— Editor Forest 
and Stream: I was interested in the letter 
from William M. Foord, of Stamford, Conn., in 
which is described the unusual sight of a red 
squirrel swimming in a lake. This closely 
parallels an experience of my own, only the 
setting was different. 
A good many years ago I practiced my first 
trout fishing as a boy of fourteen in a small 
stream near Franconia, N. H. This stream was 
very tiny, indeed, and its inhabitants were in 
keeping, as a fish above the legal limit was a 
rare trophy. However, the game was to me 
an all-absorbing one—and has been ever since— 
and I fished as carefully as if the objects of my 
quest had been the leviathans of the Rangeleys. 
While rapt in this occupation one day I was 
disturbed by a slight noise in the pool above 
the one in which my “gob” of worms was then 
dancing. Looking round I beheld a red squirrel 
swimming out from shore. He made a circular 
course and when about in mid-stream continued 
the other quadrant of the semi-circle and went 
back to the bank from which he had started his 
voyage, thus proving—to me, at least—that he 
went into the water to take a bath, and not for 
the purpose of gaining time on his journey by 
crossing the stream. 
I have often wondered whether red squirrels 
did this sort of thing regularly, but until Mr. 
Foord's letter appeared have never heard of a 
similar occurrence. Perhaps some others have 
noted the appearance of natatorial squirrels? Let 
us hear from them. Jos. Mason, Jr. 
Hinckley, Me., Sept. 25 .— Editor Forest and 
Stream: I have just noticed in your publication 
a letter from William M. Foord, of Stamford, 
Conn., in which he records the movements of a 
squirrel on Byram Lake in Westchester county, 
New York. He thinks that the squirrel must 
have been taking a short cut, swimming across 
the lake, and he says he would like to know 
whether squirrels are known to take to the water 
voluntarily instead of only when driven to it 
by fire or other fear. 
An incident which occurred here a year ago 
in August may throw a little light. At that time 
there were two or three gray squirrels here at 
Good Will Farm, which is on the west bank of 
the Kennebec River. There was one gray 
squirrel living in a pine grove on the east bank 
of the river. The river is six hundred feet wide 
at this point. Two boys were rowing across the 
river, when they discovered what they believed 
to be a mink or muskrat swimming in the same 
direction—that is, toward the pine grove. It 
was at least fifty yards from them when they 
saw it, but they rowed toward it, interested to 
see what course it would take. As they came 
nearer to it they were surprised to discover that 
it was a gray squirrel. The squirrel did not 
show any signs of fatigue, but as the boys w T ere 
interested to know what it would do under cer¬ 
tain circumstances, they rowed near to it. It 
showed no fear, and when they reached an oar 
out to it, his squirrelship ran up the oar into 
the boat and took shelter in the-prow. The boys 
were intensely interested in all this, and as soon 
as the boat touched the shore, the squirrel leaped 
out and made his way up into the pines. 
Gray squirrels are very rare in this vicinity, 
probably on account of the lack of proper food. 
G. W. PIinckley. 
Las( Call for the Passenger Pigeon. 
Worcester, Mass., Sept. 26 . — Editor Forest and 
Stream: A two-years’ search for the passenger 
pigeon is to close Oct. 31. To all appearances it 
has been fruitless. 
Not a feather has been sent in as evidence—- 
except those of mourning doves and band-tailed 
pigeons. Rewards amounting to thousands of 
dollars for discovery of nestings all remain un¬ 
claimed. This is entirely due to lack of pigeons; 
for this reason four long and expensive trips 
have been undertaken in the hope of confirming 
reports—three “mourning doves again”; one 
“nothing.” Many similar reports were settled by 
correspondence. There is not the slightest evi¬ 
dence that a pigeon nesting has been discovered 
during the past two seasons. It is entirely pos¬ 
sible that the pigeons nested continuously from 
February and March through to September and 
October. One ancient pigeoner informs me that 
September is a much more likely month for 
finding the nests than April, which I had con¬ 
sidered the best. 
Several apparently good reports have been sent 
in of pigeons seen flying northward in the spring, 
and some even better ones are just now begin¬ 
ning to come in of flocks working southward 
the present fall. Can we get enough such re¬ 
ports to indicate movements of flocks over the 
country? This is our last hope. If so, every 
one who sees a pigeon must report it and must 
do so with exactness—giving 1. Date; 2. Hour; 
3. Direction of flight; 4. Number in flock. 
If we have these four points, observations that 
belong together will fit together and prove some¬ 
thing. If we do not have them, we can prove 
nothing with any number of scattering observa¬ 
tions. And please do not necessitate, as usual, 
the writing of four letters to get the four points. 
Give date, hour, direction, number in the first 
letter. The extra effort will be appreciated. 
It is hardly to be hoped that nestings will be 
reported at this late date. If it can be proved 
that a few scattering pigeons go northward in 
spring and southward again in fall, it will mean 
that they are probably nesting in unsettled 
regions of northern Ontario—possibly a few 
stragglers of the northernmost fringe of the 
species. This seems to be the last possible hope. 
Unless this theory can be supported by strong 
evidence this fall, the investigation must close 
definitely on Oct. 31, as scheduled. If I am to 
ask those who have offered rewards to renew 
their offers for the third season, I must be able 
to show definite evidence that pigeons exist. 
Please report every observation of one or more 
passenger pigeons seen anywhere in Eastern 
North America. And give in the first report date, 
hour, direction, number. C. F. Hodge. 
