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THE CASE OF THE SLITHERING STARLING or A STRANGE TENANT IN THE MARTIN HOUSE 
As co-chairmen in charge of compiling nesting records for our McHenry County Chapter of the IAS, my sister and | 
sometimes receive interesting notes from our members. This year we received one we’d like to share with you. 
Mr. Carl O. Sands of Cary, Il. decided to clean his martin house which had several apartments taken over by sparrows and 
one by starlings. On this never-to-be-forgotten day, he climbed up and reached into the starling’s nest where he felt a cold, 
stiff, apparently dead bird. He pulled its wing about three inches outside the hole and then, as though it were on a spring, it 
was sucked back into the nest. He then got hold of one leg and braced himself on the ladder pulling “about forty pound’s 
worth.” Gradually the bird came out although it was tough pulling and seemed to be the longest starling he had ever seen. In 
fact, Mr. Sands had not seen this bird at all since he had been clutching the pole and reaching over his head. When his arm was 
fully extended and was still meeting resistance, he looked up to find that he was not only pulling on a dead starling but also 
on a three-foot snake which had partially swallowed it. Startled, he hurled the snake about twenty feet. By the time he could 
scramble down the ladder, the snake had disgorged his victim and slithered into a nearby hole. Mr. Sands now greases his 
poles with axle grease! He is still puzzled, however, as to how the snake managed to scale the eighteen inch pipe to reach the 
wooden pole. 
Mr. Sands, a member of a Chicago law firm, was one of our earliest members, but ill health has prevented his participation 
in the activities of our group. He has, however, managed to patrol his own private Bluebird Trail with twelve houses along a 
three-mile stretch. This year he reported twenty-eight fledglings. Wrens took over five bluebird houses and had thirty young. 
Three other houses in somewhat shady locations were inhabited surprisingly by Slate-colored Juncos which usually breed in 
the coniferous forests farther North. There were twenty-eight junco fledglings. This is the first year that juncos have nested 
on his property. This year, our McHenry County nesting records are very sparse so Mr. Sands really saved the day for us! (He 
had about 45 Martin fledglings from his three apartment houses.) 
Carl Sands had a letter published in the Prairie Farmer last fall. After a bad storm last summer, he discovered several dead 
birds — some them Bluebirds — along the electric fence on his farm. This fence was electrified from the power line with a 
single-type box which would never short out. When a green branch or other object hit the fence and at the same time touched 
the ground, the power would come on with tremendous force. If the ground at the same time was wet, the shock would be 
frightening. Birds alighting on the fence would be killed instantly as they were in this case. The current would even be strong 
enough to kill humans. Mr. Sands called attention to the death of young Maryanne Wier last summer. This tragedy was caused 
in the same way. Maryanne had been playing hide-and-seek with her brothers and sisters. The grass was wet, and when she fell 
on the electric fence she was electrocuted. Mr. Sands wrote to alert Prairie Farmer readers to the hazards of certain types of 
electric fencing. 
While he is not able to join us at our monthly meetings, he is a steadfast worker in the cause for conservation. We consider 
Carl Sands to be one of the most valued members of our McHenry Co. Chapter of the I/linois Audubon Society. 
Alice M. Clark 

WILL YOU SPEAK OUT FOR CONSERVATION? 


The IAS is compiling a list of people who would be willing to speak to groups. If you would like to be 
included in this new venture, please write to Peter Dring, P.O. Box 92, Willow Springs, Illinois 60480. Please 
include the following information: 


1. Age level of groups you are willing to address — i.e., grammar school, high school, college, or adults. 


2. Subject matter — i.e., birds, flowers, general wildlife, ecology, environmental pollution, etc. 


3. Maximum distance, in miles, that you are willing to travel. 



4. Times of the day and week that you are available. 


5. Charge, if any, for your presentation. 
. Is talk illustrated by slides, films, etc. Also list any other information that you think necessary or helpful. 




