20 THE AUD U BON} BU LD Baas 
noon of September 21, 300 to 400 broad-winged hawks were migrating in 
a southerly direction over the central unit of the Foundation. On Septem- 
ber 5 and 6, hundreds of nighthawks were moving through at dusk in a 
loose, feeding group. 
I am indebted to Mr. and Mrs. William E. Redeker, Mrs. Robert F. 
Mason, Mrs. Thomas Moore and Dr. George V. Burger, all of Elgin; Richard 
C. Oldenburg and Mrs. David A. McConnell, East Dundee; and Mrs. David 
J. Oatman, Sleepy Hollow, for contributing bird counts and field notes. 
Mrs. Redeker also assisted in data compilation. 
fl igi 1 fl 
CONSERVATION PRAYER 
God, save our land, 
Let wilderness abound, 
And keep our rivers flowing. 
Nature, Thy raiment lies tattered, 
Defiled by our blind greed. 
Stop us, Oh Lord, before all 
Magnificence of Thy handiwork 
Lies toppled by the misdirected 
Intelligence of man. 
We need the sanctuary of a forest, 
The balm of fresh pure air. 
We need the friendliness of birds, 
The fellowship of beasts. 
We need the dignity of a mountain, 
The awe of a canyon wall. 
We need our hearts retuned to Nature. 
Give us the gift to see again 
The wonders of a flower, 
The beauty of a sunset, 
The pattern of the universe. 
We have abused these earthly gifts. 
Help us, to find new values. 
Make us hear Thy warning 
And see our folly. 
Our planet bleeds with wounds. 
Direct us how to heal them, 
Lest mankind perish with the earth. 
—Clarence Sparks 
(A note about “Conservation Prayer” and about its author: It is 
with extreme regret that, with publication of this recent poem 
of his, we must report the untimely death, at the age Ot55740f 
Clarence Sparks. He was fatally injured in an automobile acci- 
dent on Illinois 47 north of Woodstock (his home) on Tuesday, 
February 6. For 25 years he was a Woodstock high school teacher, 
a stalwart of IAS, the vice chairman of the Lewis & Clark State 
Park committee, and one of the best of the Society’s writers 
of letters-to-the-editor,) 
