36 THE AUDUBON, BU DE hia 
Cyuest rea Fae: 
by ERNEST LYONS 
Editor, The Stuart (Fla.) News 
IN THE TIME when great flocks of 
robins show up in South Florida, 
they raid the Brazilian peppers’ red 
berries and the black berries of the 
cabbage palm trees. Infrequently, 
in cold moments, flocks of sea 
gulls go after the palm_ berries 
along Indian River Drive. 
LONG BEFORE the Audubon 
Society became a force, or there 
were federal laws protecting song- 
birds, the arrival of robins was a 
festive occasion in the South. Not 
for birdwatchers, but for robin- 
eaters. The trick was to get under 
a tree where robins were roosting 
and let fly with both barrels of a 
12-gauge loaded with fine birdsnot. 
It rained robins enough for several 
potpies. 
ANYONE who did so_ today 
would be the subject of a heavy 
fine and probably prison sentence, 
not to mention public opprobrium 
from all sides. The force of public 
Opinion takes a long time building, 
but once it has solidified it is prob- 
ably our strongest law. No one 
wants to be scorned. 
TODAY if you shot a white ibis 
in Everglades National Park, you 
would probably have a warden, a 
ranger and everybody else on your 
neck. Protecting the “plume birds” 
was a national Audubon victory, 
paid for in part with Warden 
Bradley’s life. 
BUT EVEN after the birds were 
protected, at Everglades City in the 
1920s, it was common practice to 
go down to the rookery below 
Chokasloskee Island and shoot “a 
dozen or so curlews” on the even- 
ing flight to their roosts. The only 
resemblance of the white ibis to 
the curlew is a down-drooping bill. 
“CERLEW PERLOO” remained a 
staple dish of the area until it 
