14 TH E A U D°U BON BYU Ti eee 
Our efforts in giving extra protection to the bluebirds have been well 
rewarded, Last year we had fourteen of our twenty homes occupied, and 
several housed two broods. In fact, we feel there may have been three 
broods in a couple of boxes as there were tiny babes in the nests in August. 
As closely as we can figure, and we keep a detailed chart, ninety-six babies 
left those homes in 1957. We find broods of five young as a rule, and sur- 
vival has been almost one hundred per cent. Sparrows (English) and wrens 
were our biggest problems the past season even though all boxes were 
placed well away from farm buildings. We confess that we destroyed the 
sparrows, but we allowed Jenny to raise her broods of seven whenever she 
took over a box. Our aim is to maintain enough homes for all desirable 
species on the trail. On May 13, 1958, we checked our trail of 23 boxes and 
found two with 6 young half-grown, and four with 5 young each. Another 
box had 5 eggs, and two had new nests. 
Numerous angles develop from this interesting and pleasurable hobby. 
A recognized bird bander plans to accompany us this year and band our 
bluebirds. Occasionally we find white eggs in a nest, and through banding 
we may be able to ascertain if the trait is hereditary. Often-times when we 
lift the lid of a box, mother bluebird remains there and peers at us so 
trustingly — a real thrill! Only one pair has ever shown distrust and dive 
bombed us when inspecting the homes. 
We invite you to come to the hills in Jo Daviess County, to Shaw’s Blue- 
bird Trail, to see the harbinger of spring, the symbol of happiness — The 
Bluebird — truly a precious bit of our American Heritage. 
1304 Fourth Avenue, Sterling, Illinois 
Dunes Council Asks Federal Aid 
By RAYMOND MOSTEK 
THE SAVE THE DUNES COUNCIL of Indiana, weary of the apathy and even 
hostility of the state’s officials and legislators, has appealed to the federal 
government for aid in the protection of the final three-mile stretch of un- 
spoiled lake shore line in northern Indiana. 
On Sunday, May 4, U.S. Senator Paul Douglas toured the scenic dunes 
area, in company with scores of conservationists. Led by Mrs. James Buell, 
President of the Save the Dunes Council, representatives of the Chicago 
Ornithological Society, Izaak Walton League of Indiana, Illinois Audubon 
Society, Friends of Our Native Landscape, and the Chicago Regional Plan- 
ning Commission inspected the controversial 2,500 acres by Jeep and on 
foot, and came away feeling that the area in question is even more desir- 
able as a scientific and recreation area than the already established Indiana 
Dunes State Park, two miles east. 
Sen. Douglas, speaking from a Jeep at the railroad station where he was 
met by a crowd of more than 200, declared that the Midwest should be 
eager to repeat here what has already been done at Cape Hatteras, North 
Carolina — namely, to set aside the shore line as a National Recreation 
Area. He said that public access to lake and ocean shorelines in our country 
is quickly disappearing. He was encouraged by the suggestion of the Na- 
