ee ee Ae UU BeOONT EB Use ier vot N 15 
a club of this type you must be interested in birds, must understand them 
and enjoy them. You must also be interested in the related fields, as flowers, 
trees, streams and all such necessities to the life of our feathered friends. 
You must also be interested in the conservation of our wild life and its 
natural beauty. 
There must also be a love for people, and the ability to explain the value 
of a bird club and to point out what it will mean to the community. A bird 
club is unusual to start because so few are interested in this field, although 
I do believe there are increasing numbers who are becoming interested in 
this love for nature and the conservation of our wild life. 
I find from my experience of organizing a Bird Club that you must have 
a vision of what you want and the initiative to go ahead with the visualized 
program. You must have a will to do the job and a faith that it can be 
done. You may fear that the public will not accept your plan, but don’t 
let this get you down. You should have the enthusiasm and zeal not to quit, 
but to go forward with your plans. Yes, it is work, but what is worth 
having is worth working for, and you will be surprised at how much 
pleasure will be derived from organizing a bird club. 
—214 W. Wesley St., Wheaton, Ill. 
fi fi va 
Unusual Records from Tri-Cities 
By PETER C. PETERSEN, JR. 
My CoLLeGeE Work has kept me from reporting my observations for the 
summer and fall just past, but these should be of interest to those who 
might go birding along the northwestern edge of Illinois in the coming 
months. I have not included identification marks, but can supply full parti- 
culars if necessary. All of the observations below were made in collabora- 
tion with Dennis Sheets except for the Caspian Tern and Snow Buntings. 
Snowy Egrets — 7 — August 7, 1955 — seen from boat near the riverbank 
at Andalusia, Ill. (Rock Island county) — 20X scope. 
American Merganser — 1 — June 12 and 26 and July 10, 1955 — Lock 
#14 near Hampton, Ill. — 20X scope. Male, probably a non-breeder, as no 
female could be found. 
Swainson’s Hawk — 1 — June 11, 1955 — three miles east of Cordova, 
Rock Island county — 20X scope. Seen both in flight and perching. 
Stilt Sandpipers — 2 — July 31, 1955 — mudflats near Rock Island Arsenal 
— 20X scope. 
Common Terns — 2 — July 3, 1955 — Spring Lake Refuge near Fulton 
(Carroll county) — 20X scope. 
Caspian Tern — 1 — July 24, 1955 — Mississippi river near Hanover (Jo 
Daviess county) — 20X scope. 
