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once, stirring up the leaves like an old hen. The thrill of Thatcher Woods 
was the discovery of 25 white trilliums in bud, and two bunches of hepatica. 
What a dream of beauty this woodland must have been in pioneer days! 
Fragrant, dainty wild plum trees add’a charm to the forest preserve now, 
as does the carpet of spring beauties. Mertensia (bluebells) will be its 
loveliest this week. You may find a hummingbird there feeding on the 
nectar. 
May 22—In spite of an overflowing Des Plaines, an enthusiastic group 
assembled at 9 a.m. What a morning it was! Dainty pink wild crabapples 
and hawthorns were poems of beauty. The rose-pink of the unfolding 
leaves of the white oak was given additional charm by gorgeous scarlet 
tanagers and indigo buntings, rivaling sapphires in their beauty, to say 
nothing of their exultant songs. Large flocks of bright goldfinches decorated 
the hawthorns, advertising their presence with “sweet” songs. Warblers 
were slow to arrive, but backward foliage has made their identification a 
joy. Redstarts were on parade and more easily named than some warblers. 
Chuck Wescott even saw a prothonotary, while Mrs. Wasson found a golden- 
winged, blue-winged, and the hybrid Brewster’s. A C.O.S. member re- 
ported the Lawrence warbler, another rare hybrid. 
March 17, 1944, marked an unusual flight of Canada geese over the Flag 
Creek valley. One noisy flock of 200 was in one long line instead of the 
V formation. One is surprised to hear over the radio, or even in Rutledge’s 
contributions, that some people do not yet know that these “honkers” change 
leaders from time to time. The sharp angle is a difficult position for the 
leader which breaks the pathway through the air. Birds toward the end 
of the lines are carried along by the currents of air. 
April 8—After the long, gray, cold spring it was good to be in Thatcher 
Woods Saturday morning. The day was sunny and mild, the air full of 
bird notes. Twenty-five people gathered and were rewarded with 30 species 
of birds, including five new ones this week and several that have become 
abundant during the. week. 
April 15—Twenty-six species were identified. The rarest treat of the 
morning was the flute-like song of the hermit thrush on Edgewood lawns. 
He gave two encores. It seldom sings in migration, perching low and 
bobbing its bright brown tail as it lights. Treetops and shrubs twinkled 
with kinglets snatching breakfast on the wing and displaying golden and 
ruby crowns at pleasure. The high, shrill notes of the golden-crowned were 
omnipresent. Ruby did not sing his melodious warble, sounding much too 
loud for so small a bird. Chewink or towhee, as well as the fox sparrow, 
were heard in the thickets. It is fun to watch them scratch with both feet 
at once. 
Brown creepers were abundant. Many were so exausted from flight that 
they took naps between morsels of food. Our group stood watching them 
so close we could have touched them. They were just like tired babies going 
to sleep in the high chair at meal time. Flocks of myrtle warblers gave 
their “pit” of alarm as they darted after insects. Often they were so close 
they displayed the four marks of yellow on crown, rump and either side of 
the breast. Bluebirds have established nesting quarters along the river. 
