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Experiment in Humboldt Park 
By RAYMOND MOSTEK 
My WIFE, IRENE, and I had the pleasure of leading a series of Saturday 
morning bird walks in Humboldt Park during April and May. Having 
just recently been introduced to the joys of bird watching, we felt that our 
preparation and experience were inadequate to the task before us. However, 
we were encouraged when we recalled how ignorant we were of bird life 
just a few years ago and how many birds we could now recognize. We also 
recalled the enjoyment we had found in the Lincoln Park bird walks led 
by Miss Doris Plapp. 
Irene and I realized that no one medium of publicity regarding these walks 
would be sufficient. We therefore sent notices to the Recreation Department 
of the Chicago Park District, the Humboldt Park Superintendent, local com- 
munity papers and several elementary schools. We realize now that notices 
should also have been sent to nearby public libraries and high schools. 
Our luck with the weather did not hold up well. No one joined us in 
the rain on our first Saturday. The following week, a 7th grade teacher 
from the Yates School appeared with a dozen youngsters from her class. 
On each of the following Saturdays we found at least one new youngster. 
Several were high school students who were anxious to earn extra school 
credits, and three were boy scouts. For some the enthusiasm waned, or 
they were disinclined to arise early on an additional day. Not having done 
any bird watching in Humboldt Park before, the series proved most illu- 
minating to us. The park is well-suited to bird study, with a main lagoon, 
several smaller bodies of water, an island, suggestions of a marsh, a water- 
fall and several relatively secluded tracts. 
Here is the number of Saturdays that each species was sighted: Mal- 
lard-3, bufflehead-1, red-breasted merganser-2, killdeer-1, spotted sandpiper- 
1, solitary sandpiper-2, flicker-4, chimney swift-1, downy woodpecker-1, blue- 
jay-3, crow-1, red-breasted nuthatch-1, brown creeper-2, catbird-1, brown 
thrasher-2, robin-3, wood thrush-1, hermit thrush-1, olive-backed thrush-1, 
ruby-crowned kinglet-2, black and white warbler-3, Eastern yellow warbler- 
1, Cape May warbler-1, myrtle warbler-2, chestnut-sided warbler-1, palm 
warbler-2, red-winged blackbird-1, Baltimore oriole-1, bronzed grackle-5, 
cardinal-3, rose-breasted grosbeak-1, towhee-1, junco-1, field sparrow-1, 
white-throated sparrow-2. Total species seen, 35. The walks were canceled 
on three Saturdays because of rain. 
Though not a single adult joined us on these walks, the youngsters 
were sorry to see the series end. Of the great value of such walks, there 
can be little doubt. Though books and films are valuable teaching aids for 
young children, to approach within six feet of a colorful bird they had 
never seen before is a zestful experience. To see in flight a bird they never 
knew existed add a note of realism often lacking in a classroom or lecture 
hall. Finally, a boy who learns the value and place of birds in nature’s 
scheme of things at 10 years of age, does not kill owls and hawks at 15. 
8345 N. Harding Ave., Chicago 18, Il. 
