ebeteenew ea Bb OuNe be UL Lyk er kN 29 
Gleanings from Our Field Records 
By Helen E. McMillen 
The Evanston Bird Club was founded in March 1919, and as Mr. Hickey 
says, a “bird club has the duty to promote the scientific study of the 
ornithological features of its own region.’ The earliest club records that 
are on file were taken from the first record book and appear on April 18, 
1920, followed by three in 1927 and one in 1928. Date, weather, and species 
found were noted, with comments about scarcity, abundance, and domi- 
nance. This was our beginning. 
Since the spring of 1948, regular club records have been kept. The 
Chicago Academy of Sciences Field Card for birds of the Chicago area 
has been our official card; the field chairman has kept the records. In some 
cases more than one habitat has been visited on one trip, and several 
chairmen have thoughtfully distinguished between these areas. In looking 
over the cards for help in writing about a particular area over the years, 
we find such records are necessary to reach useful conclusions. As well 
as date and area, it is important to list weather (temperature and wind 
velocity included) and other observers. 
There has been an average of 19 cards filed per year for the club. Of 
these, 50% are complete with where a bird was seen. For instance. a field 
trip may cover several areas during the day — a good report designates 
date, weather, and localities, with a key to spots to be noted after specific 
species. A good report will be made at leisure from field notes — and it 
must be made in ink and dated. 
On April 27, 1952, there is a comment by the leader: “Birds rather 
scarce — not many individuals or species listed. Season very early, tril- 
lium in full bloom. with hepatica, bloodroot, and dutchman’s breeches.” 
How meaningful this is, and how many facts it reveals about the whole 
picture! I wish more space were provided on our cards to encourage 
remarks such as these. I quote from Mr. Hickey’s book again: “Most cards 
are so closely printed; I am _ suspicious of birdmen who rely solely on 
cards.” He believes a notebook is indispensable. 
The Evanston Bird Club has taken a ‘Christmas Census for more than 
15 years. It is most interesting and significant to see the increase of some 
species and the fluctuations of others. A yearly card has been kept rec- 
ently by the field chairman. I’m sure the compiling of this has required 
much time. However, dates and localities (where indicated) beside the 
species make too crowded a report and I find it very difficult to read. 
Records kept for personal reasons at first, just to compare with one’s 
later findings, are useful in many larger projects. At the Illinois Audubon 
Society meeting in Chicago on May 8, 1954, two papers were given, the 
first by Mr. Milton Thompson — “Making Your Bird Records Worthwhile,” 
and the second by Mr. Elton Fawks — “Needed Facts for Mississippi 
Valley Bird Book.” The Evanston Bird Club field records were used for 
this latter work. “A Distributional Check List of the Birds of Illinois,” 
by Harry Smith and Paul W. Parmalee, was also made with many personal 
and club records. At least six Evanston Bird Club members contributed 
to this, as well as the club. 
My specific study area has been Linne Woods, west of Evanston in 
Morton Grove. The North Branch of the Chicago River passes through a 
heavily wooded area and protection is afforded by the Forest Preserve 
District of Cook County. Our first record card of May 2, 1948, shows 
