6 T HeEY A U'D2U BB OWS] Ue hee 
they are on their way again. Nighthawks are skirting the sky in early 
evening for a late supper, leaves are falling from the old elm and making 
a brown carpet, while the bottle gentian is showing full glory. 
September 26. Saw a flock of Cedar Waxwings in Echo Park eating 
blue cedar berries, about 75 in the flock. The young birds showed their 
stripes yet. 
October 10. Lots of birds about, resting from migration: Robins, Blue- 
birds, Flickers and Red-heads. The Ruby-throat is still protecting his 
feeding site. Lots of Bluebirds along the highway to Postville; they like 
the hilly country. Many hawks circling the meadows. 
October 11. Geese flying south today—means bad weather for us. A 
large flock, slow and tired, honked their way over as if looking for a 
landing’ field. 
October 20. Geese still honking over; maybe had to miss a resting field. 
October 27. Juncos are here and we know winter is on the way. 
November 15. A pair of Cardinals and a Jay are about our home in 
Sumner. 
November 20. Sighted a Downy Woodpecker working up the old apple 
tree and lilac. A daub of red on the back of his head identifies him. 
December 25. A very warm day for December, and no one will believe 
me but I saw a flock of Blackbirds that must have gotten mixed in direc- 
tions as they should be far, far south in their winter home. 
Sumner, Fayette County, Iowa 
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THE MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE appreciates the response which has been made 
to its offer of prizes for new memberships, published in an earlier issue of 
the Bulletin. At this time two volumes of ‘Ducks, Geese and Swans” have 
been awarded to members for securing six or more each. Several 
others are within striking distance and may claim their copies before the 
contest closes at the end of 1948. Not all, but a large proportion, of the 
increase has been in Chicago and the immediate surrounding territory. 
While the contest still continues the Committee is in hopes that more 
applications will come from other parts of the state and that there will 
be several more awards. 
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A NEW VOLUME, Bird Hiking, by Leon Augustus Hausman, and published 
by Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey, is being offered 
to the rapidly growing group of ornithologists. It should appeal to the 
novice because of its many and varied suggestions for getting the most 
satisfaction from his hikes, and to the more experienced bird watcher for 
its clues as to when and where to look. He also stresses what has been 
your editor’s feeling for many years, that if you find only birds on your 
hikes you are missing too much of the pleasure the great outdoors has to 
offer in its trees, flowers, insects and animal life large and small. A rather 
small book of little more than a hundred pages, it still is well worth its 
price tag: of two dollars. 
