Dec. 9, 1911.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
843 
Protecting Birds in Michigan. 
Detroit, Mich., Nov. 27. —Editor Forest and 
Stream: The following article from the De¬ 
troit Journal gives some idea what the Michigan 
Audubon Society'is attempting to do in study¬ 
ing and protecting wild birds in Michigan: 
An experiment that is being watched with in¬ 
terest by scientists throughout the United States 
and Europe is being made by Henry Ford, aided 
by Jefferson Butler, president of the Michigan 
Audubon Society, on the former’s 2,100-acre 
farm near Dearborn. 
These enthusiastic bird lovers are attempting 
to create of the Ford farm the greatest bird 
reserve in the world, and to prove that by shel¬ 
tering, protecting and feeding woodland deni¬ 
zens during the winter months, they can be in¬ 
duced to ignore the calls of the migratory in¬ 
stinct and stay north all the year round. The 
Government is interested and is following the 
work carefully. 
Mr. Ford’s intense love for the birds has led 
him to take the most extreme measures to re¬ 
produce on his farm natural conditions, with 
subtle, artificial aids that will charm his feath¬ 
ered friends into staying the year round. 
A carpenter is employed all the time building 
shelters for the birds. The Rouge River has 
been dammed to provide swimming pools for 
the web-footed birds, and grains, berries and 
fruits that appeal to the winged creatures are 
grown in profusion. 
Mr. Ford’s interest is not entirely with the 
birds. He provides for the squirrels, chip¬ 
munks and rabbits and he has a herd of deer. 
“This year 500 shelter boxes were put up 
for the birds,” says Mr. Butler, to whom Mr. 
Ford has given almost complete supervision of 
the work. “Purple martins, bluebirds and wrens 
took possession and reared their young. How¬ 
ever, the boxes were not as successful as might 
be expected and a machine is now being made 
to turn out nesting boxes after the pattern used 
by Baron von Blepersch, of Germany, on his 
estate. The rustic styles of boxes will also be 
tried and the natural habitations reproduced as 
far as possible. 
“About a dozen feeding stations have been 
built and conveniently placed. Food consisting 
of hemp, millet, cracked wheat and sunflower 
seed is distributed weekly. Suet is put on the 
trees and covered by wire so the bluejays and 
other large birds cannot carry it away in large 
pieces and waste it. At present the feeding 
stations and suet are visited by about 100 myrtle 
warblers, more than 100 song sparrows, about 
150 junco's, 50 vesper sparrows, 40 white-throated 
and white-crowned sparrows, 100 tree sparrows, 
200 goldfinches, a few field sparrows, chicka¬ 
dees, white-breasted nuthatches and downy 
woodpeckers. 
“Mr. Ford is a lover of birds. PTe buys the 
seed in Detroit, carries it -out in his motor car 
and takes great enjoyment in carrying the seed 
to the bird stations. Bad weather does not deter 
him, but rather makes him the more anxious to 
do what he considers a duty. Birds are every¬ 
where and Mr. Ford feels that if he can set an 
example for others to follow, it will repay his 
efforts. He will endeavor to make his farm a 
model for the conservationists. Much will have 
to be experimental, but much has already been 
learned. 
“The United States Biological Survey and 
United States Department of Agriculture are 
greatly interested in the Ford farm and have 
asked for data in regard to the species of birds 
on the farm, the success in nesting and feeding, 
and Mr. Ford and I are gladly co-operating with 
them. 
“Besides the birds I have mentioned, there are 
at present 200 bronze grackles along the Rouge, 
300 meadowlarks in the fields, 200 robins, 150 
bluebirds, about 50 bluejays, 50 flickers and 
lesser number of towhees, rusty blackbirds and 
mourning doves, besides woodpeckers and fox 
sparrows. There are a number of bobwhites 
also. Shelter will be put up for the meadow 
larks and some provision made for bobwhites. 
“A census of all the birds on the farm will 
be made Christmas day and it is hoped that 
some who are strangers here in winter will stay. 
“Mr. Ford has a keen eye and sees and iden¬ 
tifies birds at long range. His love for outdoor 
life does not stop at birds. Pie has rabbits, 
squirrels and chipmunks protected. He has 
eighteen deer, fifteen of which were born and 
raised on the farm, and is getting a number of 
opossums from the South. 
“The damming of the Rouge has made flooded 
districts for the ducks and waders, and some 
young mallard ducks are now seen along the 
swamp land. This land will be increased and 
wild rice planted. This summer great blue and 
little blue herons nested on the farm, as well 
as American and least bittern, solitary and spot¬ 
ted sandpipers, black-crowned night herons and 
the king rail. These will undoubtedly be added 
to next summer. 
“Mr. Ford has asked Mr. Butler to plan out 
his ideas in regard to planting and says they 
will be carried’out. It is considered advisable 
by Mr. Butler to connect the fields with the 
woods by rows of trees, and mulberry trees, bar¬ 
berry, June berry, juniper and others will be 
planted, and pines also, to attract the pine gros¬ 
beaks, crossbills, siskins and others. Many vines, 
such as bitter-sweet and Virginia creeper, will 
be put out. These will not only supply food for 
birds and small animals, but add beauty to the 
farm. Wild hemp will also be planted, and of 
course persimmons must be had for the ’pos¬ 
sums if they will grow. Pawpaws are also 
being planted by Mr. Butler. Mr. ’Possum 
would enjoy reminders of the old home. 
Mr. Ford is considering the advisability of 
putting in windmills to pump water for the 
birds and wild animals for drinking during the 
winter when the river is frozen. If some plan 
can be devised to have a constant flow of water 
so it will not freeze, the pumps will be installed. 
Everything around the bungalow, Mr. Ford’s 
summer cottage, is allowed to grow wild, and 
a more ideal place for wild birds could not be 
found. So friendly are the birds that a wren 
nested in a box a few feet away from the bun¬ 
galow, and a downy woodpecker drilled a hole 
in the post supporting the box and nested also. 
North of the bungalow Mr. Butler’s little girl 
Louise, five years old, counted twenty-three 
birds’ nests within a plot thirty by two hundred 
feet, showing fifteen species of birds. 
It is hoped that in time Ford farm will be not 
only the greatest bird reserve in the United 
States, but in the world. Mr. Butler has had 
a cottage on the farm during the summer and 
will make it headquarters for the winter feed¬ 
ing station. A special endeavor will be made 
during the winter to get ruffed grouse on the 
farm. 
Ford farm begins less than nine miles west 
of Detroit and stretches for two miles north 
and west on the north side of Michigan avenue. 
River Rouge runs diagonally through the prop¬ 
erty. The main branches of the Rouge join on 
the Ford farm. A half mile north of Michigan 
avenue Mr. Ford has put in a concrete dam, 
which gives power for running machinery, light¬ 
ing headquarters, etc. The water is eight feet 
in depth a mile above the dam and about twelve 
feet at the dam at present. A passage for fish 
to go up-stream from the Detroit River is made 
by the side of the dam. Jefferson Butler. 
Bird Marking. 
Frequent accounts of the marking of wild birds 
in order to secure definite facts with regard to 
their migration routes and the distance they 
traveled have been published in Forest and 
Stream. While this work of bird marking has 
really only been just begun, some results of 
extraordinary interest have already been reached. 
A circular was recently issued in relation to 
the work of the Scottish Aberdeen University 
Bird Migration inquiry, the object of the cir¬ 
cular being to spread a knowledge of this move¬ 
ment and its purpose. The rings issued for this 
purpose are marked "Aberdeen University,” with 
a number, or a number and letter combined, no 
two rings being alike. Such rings are placed on 
young birds found in the nest, or on old ones 
that can be captured without injury. 
The circular says: “It is particularly re¬ 
quested that all who may shoot, capture or kill 
or even hear of any of our marked birds should 
let us know of the occurrence. As accurate 
particulars of date and locality as possible are 
desired, but above all, the number (or number 
and letters) on the ring. Indeed, except where 
it has been possible to reliberate the bird un¬ 
injured, the ring itself should always be sent, 
or the ring and foot, or even the whole bird. 
We always refund postage if asked to do so.” 
Further, “We invite the co-operation in the 
actual work of marking of any who are specially 
interested and have some knowledge of birds, 
and also time and opportunity for the work. 
The necessary rings, schedules, postage stamps, 
etc., are supplied by us without charge, and we 
undertake to let the marker know of each case 
of a bird marked by him being recovered. 
It will be remembered that we have an Amer¬ 
ican Bird Banding Association with the same ob¬ 
ject, and that people in America who kill birds 
that have been banded by that association should 
notify the Auk and should send to it as full de¬ 
tails as possible with regard to the capture of 
the marked bird. 
