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The Story of
Sanctuary

irdcraft

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Cornell University

Library

The original of this book is in
the Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions in
the United States on the use of the text.

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924090201306

The Making of Birdcraft Sanctuary

By MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT
With photographs by the author and Wilbur F. Smith

HILE there is nothing new in the idea of song-bird protec-

tion by individuals, the setting apart of spaces of land
wherein they may find Sanctuary, in the medieval sense of the
word, is distinctly novel. The Song Bird Sanctuary is an oasis
in a desert of material things. In it the bird may lead its own
life for that life’s sake, and the joy of many of such lives over-
flows all arbitrary boundaries in its ethical benefits to the com-
munity and state.

There have always been places where a certain amount of
protection was accorded to song birds. Also, since the firm es-
tablishment of the present Audubon Movement by William
Dutcher (who must always be regarded as its patron saint, be-
cause it was the vital spark of his practical enthusiasm that kept
the smouldering fire from extinguishment until it was fairly
swept into its present flame by Gilbert T. Pearson), more than
one cooperative isle of bird safety has been established, notably
that under charge of the Meriden (New Hampshire) Bird Club.

This Sanctuary was brought into prominence by the masque
Sanctuary, written by Perey Mackaye, acted for the first time
within the grove that was its inspiration and, later, in New York,
where its allegory of the evil ways of Stark, the Plume Hunter,
and his redemption through the awakening in him of the sense
of beauty, gave birth to Birdcraft Sanctuary now under consid-
eration. This, in its turn, has the distinction of being the first
owned and governed by a State Audubon Society; placed by en-
dowment beyond the vagaries of public caprice, and therefore,
from its birth, in a position to work for the highest aims.

‘Connecticut must have a Sanctuary and you must make
it,’’ said The Donor (this being the only name by which the pub-
lic may know the self-effacing giver), at the close of an evening
where a group of Connecticut bird-lovers had enjoyed Mackaye’s
masque together.

It was a charming thought, but seemed to me rather a part
of the evening’s illusion than a reality. Yet the next morning,

to

THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY

mail and telephone took a hand, and before a month had passed
the dream had a firm footing on earth.

‘Have you thought out the land?’’ asked the first letter.
Two tracts came to mind at the call: One, a hundred-acre strip,
with a river frontage, four miles back in the hill-country, where
rocks, woods, and tangle combined to make what is considered
a birds’ paradise. The other, a ten-acre bit of old pasture, where
calves and colts had held sway for years. Not many trees had it
but those few were great oaks, pepperidge, cedars, maples, and
black cherries. The rolling ground had a hill covered with trail-

THE ENTRANCE GATE

The Warden’s Lodge is shown at the left, a part of the Museum at the right.
The Cat-Warden is on guard in the foreground.

ing wild berries and a low swale broken by spring holes and
hedged with the alders that Song Sparrows love, while the vari-
ety of wild fruits told that the birds had therein been making a
sanctuary for themselves these many years. Moreover, the
land was but a ten minutes’ walk from trolley, village and rail-
way station, and so near my own home that daily supervision
would be possible.

‘“Buy the ten-acre lot,’’ called the telephone, ‘“‘and make the
plan of what you think Birdcraft Sanctuary (thus The Donor
named it after my first bird book) should be. The birds and
their comfort should be the first consideration: it must be

THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY 3

a place where they can nest in peace, or rest in their travels.
People must be considered only as they fit in with this
scheme.”’

In June, 1914,
the legal techni-
ealities having
been duly = safe-
guarded, the
property was
deeded to the
State of Conneet-
icut, the control
being vested in a
Board of Govern-
ors, chosen in the
first place from
its Exeeutive BIRD BATH
Committee, then Photographed by Wilbur F. Smith
self perpetuating.

The list of requirements, considered from both the prac-
tical and the ethical sides, read thus: <A ecat-proof fence to sur-
round the entire place. That it may not look aggressive, it
should be set well inside the picturesque old wall. Stone gate-
posts and a rustic gate at the entrance on the highway. A
bungalow for the caretaker, wherein there shall be a room for
the meetings of the Society’s Executive Committee and Board.
A tool and workshop of corresponding style. Several rustic
shelters and many seats.

The assembling of the various springs into a pond, so de-
sigued as to make an island of a place where the Redwings
may nest.

Trails to be cut through the brush and turf grass, and a
charming bit of old orchard on the hill-top, to be restored for
the benefit of worm-pulling Robins.

Several stone basins to be constructed for bird-baths,
houses to be put up of all sorts, from Wren boxes, von
Berlepsch model, Flicker and Owl boxes to a Martin
hotel; and lastly, the supplementing of the natural growth
by planting pines, spruce, and hemlocks for windbreaks,
and mountain ash, mulberries, sweet cherries, flower-

4 THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY

ing shrubs and vines for berries and Hummingbird honey.

The various estimates for the proper doing of the work
accompanied the list, which was promptly returned with ‘‘O. K.,
begin at once’’ written across it. Immediately the work berau
with the cat-proof fence.

As the scheme became known, there were many queries as
to the suitability of the spot for bird homes. The casual ob-
server, for some occult reason, associates the deep woods with
bird life, when, in reality, aside from birds of prey and perhaps
a dozen species beside, the great bulk of song birds prefer open
or partly brushed fields edged by tall trees, with water close at
hand, and not too far from human habitations; for, in spite of
everything, they seem instinctively to trust to man rather than
to their wild enemies. Such a spot was Birderaft, even before
the protecting fence of wire-netting, capped by spreading arms
with barbed claws, was built about it.

The bird-sown trees, shrubs, and plants listed during the
summer of preparation were as follows: Red, white and pin
oaks, red cedar, mulberry, several hundred bird cherry trees,
ungrafted sweet cherries, high and low bush blackberries, dew-
berries, thimble berries, strawberries, huckleberries, blue-
berries, and black and red chokeberries; staghorn and glabrous
sumachs, Virginia creeper, wild grapes of three species, bay-
berry, wild plum, shad bush, wild smilax of two species (Mo-
hawk briar), elderberries, prickly pear, three species of wild
roses, sweetbriar, great clumps of the alder bushes haunted by
Song Sparrows in late winter and early spring for their sweet
cone seeds, and last, meshing everything with its half-evergreen
vines, were masses of Japanese honeysuckle, seeming to thrive
even upon the thin soil between the rock ledges.

Trail-making was the first actual work done on the land
itself. This required skill in knowing what not to do, and in
keeping the lay of the land in mind, so that the paths would have
meaning, and not simply intersect the place at regular intervals
like the plotting out of city lots. Cow-paths are usually safe
guides,—they always lead either to or from something and
never turn abruptly. So, keeping this in mind, The Commuter,
who knew the old pasture well, and our County Game Warden,
evolved a sort of game of ‘‘follow the leader.’? One tramped
through the brush carrying a large ball of thin cord, while the
other followed, knotting the slack of the string to the bushes as
he passed. The natural swing of the body in taking the hills

THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY 5

THE POND AND AN OBSERVATION SHELTER
Photographed by Wilbur F. Smith

kept the curves true, and made the cutting of the trails a matter
of patience, a brush hook, stub scythe, pruning-knife and shears
—that is, patience, plus the intelligence that knew just how
much of the fringed edge to spare. It was in the exercise of this
intelligence on the part of a man who had come as a day worker,
owing to the closing down of a shop ina nearby town, that ended
in the enlargement and altering of our whole plan of work for
Birderaft Sanctuary. Having once set his foot on the trail, we
found not only that he understood what we wished to accom-
plish, but that he was a bird-man, a sportsman of field experi-
ence, and a taxidermist also. How this suggested new work
will be told later; sufficient to say that, instead of the caretaker

6 THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY

of our first plan, we have a warden who keeps a day-hook of all
happenings, and records migrants and nesting residents, isa
sure shot of cats, and looks out in all ways for bird welfare.

The bungalow, begun in July, 1914, was ready for occu-
pancy by the middle of September.

Stones were gathered about the grounds to build a great
fireplace in the committee-room, and also for the gateposts.
The latter were adapted by the Commuter from the design of a
cathedral tower; the rose-windows in the original being replaced
by nesting-holes in the taller post, while the font-like cap of the
shorter post made a shallow bathing-place for small birds, that
was immediately appropriated by Wrens and Song Sparrows.
The gate, as well as the pergola porch of the bungalow, was
made of rough-hewn chestnut, the better to hold the fingers of
the vines with which in time the porch will be covered.

Even before the cat-proof (is there such a thing?) fence
was begun, it seemed to us that here, as everywhere, the cat
would be the chief problem for, in spite of the presence of large
bodies of workmen, the place seemed the hunting ground for all
the cats of the township.

August was given to pond-making. By the first of October,
it was hard to believe that the pond had been ‘‘made’’ in any
way—so natural did it seem,—and one of its early records is
that of a visit from a Black-bellied Plover.

On October 16, Birderaft Sanctuary was opened to the
public, by holding there the afternoon session of the Annual
Meeting of the Connecticut Audubon Society.

We had thought, aside from making it a haunt for birds, of
the Sanctuary ultimately as a place for holding of bird classes,
a haunt for bird photographers, and a general gathering ground
for nature-loving children. One month, a mid-autumn month at
that, caused us to change our whole plan of action.

When guests were numerous, even the migrants vanished.
Many children wished to see birds, probably, when they came,
but did not like the watching-and-waiting process, and found a
game of hide-and-seek in and out of the feeding-shelters, one
of which is like a tepee, much more interesting. Inside of a
month, the visitors lacked but a few of being one thousand.
What would happen under such conditions in the spring, when
the outing fever lays hold upon the world?

THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY 7

The Governors met in a depressed conclave aud decided
that admission to the Sanctuary must be by card, and that the
requirements for the holders of such cards must be some sort of
qualification other than the desire to go on an excursion. Also
an official photographer, Wilbur F. Smith, was appointed from
our own number to keep the picture record of all happenings of

be Besar “ ase
nt , i r
a me er

se J

THE WINTER BIRD-LIFE GROUP IN THE MUSEUM

Background painted by Charlotte Alvord Lacey

importance. The experience of that first month taught us a
raluable lesson, which it will be well for all overzealous bird
students to consider.

All through the autumn, people, old and young, brought us
birds that they had picked up dead, having been killed by electric
wires, being blown against windows, ete., and begged to know
their names and something about them. This is only a partial
list of the species brought in during less than a month: Prairie

8 THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY

Warbler, Olive-backed and Hermit Thrushes, Northern Water
Thrush, White-throated, Chipping and Savannah Sparrows,
Myrtle Warblers in numbers, Golden-crowned Kinglets, an
Acadian Owl, Screech Owls in the red, gray, and intermediate
phases, Wood-
cock, Purple -
Finches, Flick- |
ers, a Bay- |
breasted War-
bler, a Black-
poll and, on the
first of Janu-
ary, a Great
Blue Heron,
that was so
weak from cold
and hunger
that, in spite of
being housed
and fed upon
smelts, it died
on January 4.
We_ began
at once to keep
a list of the
birds and the
names of those
who found
them. The War-
den mounted
all the speci-
mens that were A FLICKER’S NESTING STUB
in good condi-
tion, and we decided to form a small collection of local birds for
study and exhibition, and to keep them in bookcases in our com-
mittee-room. The Warden already possessed a fair collection
of game birds and birds of prey.

Why not have a little museum of our own, we asked, where
the birds that are picked up may be augmented by those to be
obtained by exchange or gift, for we would not have anything
“‘collected’’ specially for our use.

THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY 9

We planned a single-room building similar to the bungalow,
25 x 16 feet, open rafters to
be of stained wood, the room
lined with cases wherein the
smaller birds might be
grouped against seasonal
backgrounds, while the larger
Dueks, birds of prey, ete.,
could be shown upon rafters
or case tops.

The accessories and fore-
grounds could be largely
gleaned from wood, shore,
and fields; the chief difficulty
would be in securing proper
painted backgrounds and the
blending of the whole.

Again The Donor said
““Go on,’’ and the Museum
building, begun in late No-
vember of 1914, was opened
to the public the Monday
after Haster, 1915. Between
that time and July 1, the date

HOUSE WREN IN A_ VON. BER-

on which I am writing, 1,300 LEPSCH BOX
people, not few of them pro- Photographed by Wilbur F. Smith

fessionals in bird study, have

come and expressed themselves as more than satisfied. Two
hundred school children visited Birderaft Museum on Arbor
and Bird Day alone.

The work of making this little museum was so absorbing
that the three months spent upon it passed as only one (at first
it seemed that many seasons must pass before we could make a
showing), but having obtained from the State and Game Com-
mission the necessary permit to maintain a Museum, we begged
absolutely without shame, and received such generous response
from Dr. Jonathan Dwight, Jr., Mr. William Brewster, and The
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, that there was
no need for delay.

Of course there were some difficulties. Having arranged
for five picture cases—Winter, Early Spring blending into
Summer, Summer, Autumn on the Bay, and the Sportsman’s

10 THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY

Corner,—the greatest trouble was to have the painting done
according to the scenes as we knew them and that shone so
plainly in the mind’s eye. But like true New Englanders, we
fell back on our resources, and one of the Governors, Miss

A WINTER FEEDING STATION

Charlotte A. Lacey, with the instinct of color came to our rescue,
and accomplished Winter, Summer, and The Sportsman’s
Corner. So competent a critic as Mr. Chapman has selected
Winter for reproduction here, as he feels that it is truly repre-
sentative of the desired conditions. This is the brief record of
the Birderaft’s beginning.

THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY 11

Birdcraft Sanctuary

(EDITORIAL BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN IN BIRDLORE)

A visit to Birderaft Sanctuary has so impressed us with its
possibilities that we cannot resist the impulse to add a word to
the account of this unique undertaking which Mrs. Wright gives
on a preceding page. While this sanctuary has been developed
primarily as a refuge for wild birds, a local museum and a home
for the State Audubon Society, it is chiefly valuable to our mind
as an object lesson in conservation and museum methods.

As a ‘‘museum man’’ we have had constantly before us for
the past 25 years the problem of conveying a knowledge of bird
lite to the public through the exhibition of specimens. In the
light of this experience we do not hesitate to say that, in its own
field of local bird life, Birderaft Sanctuary promises to render
a greater and more effective return for the capital invested than
can be shown by any other museum in this country. We cannot
say by any similar institution, for we know of none like it.

Combined with a museum, which contains an exhibit de-
signed to interest the casual observer by its attractiveness, as
well as to fill the wants of the students, we have an outdoor
Aviary walled only by a protecting fence and roofed by the sky,
where many of the birds examined in the museum cases may be
seen and heard in a series of natural Habitat Groups which no
preparator may hope to equal. And both in-door and out-door
exhibits are under the constant care of a Curator-Warden ready
to supply information in a way with which no printed label can
ever compete—so much more convincing is the spoken word
than the printed word. Ten acres cannot harbor many birds
nor a little museum in the country be seen by a large number of
people—as figures go now-a-days but the idea which they em-
body can reach to the ends of the earth. So we repeat our be-
lief that Birderaft Sanctuary will eventually give refuge to
birds on many thousand acres and the beauty and value of
bird-life to many generations of bird students.

(From Birdlore, Aug. 1915)

12 THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY

Three Years After —1918

SOME NOTES ON BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY
By MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT

At the public opening of Birderaft Sanctuary, over three
years ago, enthusiasm there was and much praise for all the de-
tails of construction, but certain ultra-practical folk put the
question, ‘‘Exactly what do you expect to accomplish in these
ten acres that may not be compassed in any similar piece of
ground, without so much preparation and expense?’’ Also,
‘*Will not the nearby public in a short time tire of the limited
museum exhibit and cease to come?’’

To both these queries the answer was ‘‘ We shall see; time
only can prove.”’

It did not take us long to find that the general public can
best be taught to name the birds accurately from seeing them
at close range in the museum, for it requires a special aptitude
to group markings and color scheme as shown in a flitting wild
bird, even when seen through a field-glass.

But when half a dozen birds are studied at short range
through the picture groups in the cases, the novice has a series
for mental comparison out-of-doors.

Straightway we added a second unit to the museum, to
carry out in greater detail the seasonal scheme of the first room.

In the second unit there are three large groups: (1) Gulls,
Ducks and other Shore-birds of the New England coast. (2) A
wood scene, with perspective glimpses of hills and meadows,
against which are grouped many birds of prey and the chief
mammals of Connecticut, shown because of the relation of some
to the destruction of game-birds, (i. e. a gray fox is shown
stalking some Quail while the fox cub in its den is nosing the
remains of a Ruffed Grouse, ete.) (3) A picture of the Sanc-
tuary itself is used to show all the birds that have either nested
therein, rested there during the migration, or been its winter
guests. The value of this group is to show students the scope
of bird-life that may be found in the neighborhood, as the
records kept by the warden place the display upon a scientific
basis and eliminate anything like guess-work. This 3rd picture

THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY 13

OLD ORCHARD FROM THE OVERLOOK
Photographed by Wilbur F. Smith

having served its purpose has been replaced by a meadow group.

The arrangement of our little museum aims at doing away
with the confusion that falls upon the amateur when visiting
great collections, for we limit ourselves to birds common to
Connecticut, and, in addition to the picture groups, we are de-
veloping three ‘‘study cases’’ wherein the birds are shown in
pairs, or male, female and immature, and plainly labeled.

Have people tired of this exhibit? No. Those who came at
first from mere curiosity, came again with interested friends.
Teachers make visits a reward of merit for their Junior Classes,
and automobilists leave the post-road to ‘‘take in Birderaft.’’
Our last annual record of visitors was 6,200 people, a small
number for a city museum, but very significant for a rural,
cottage affair. The use of the ground inside the so-called cat-
proof fence is confined to Members of the Conn. Audubon
Society and accredited adult bird-students admitted by card.

One hundred and thirty birds killed by natural causes have
been brought in by children. Permission having been given us
by the State Commission of Fish and Game to retain these birds,
they were mounted by the warden, for the museum, and dupli-
cates kept as ‘‘skins’’ for exchange.

14 THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY

If the great annual loss of bird-life could be more frequent-
ly saved from waste by this
method, it would be possible to
form small collections for school
study without taking the life of
a single bird.

Red-shouldered Hawks are
always set free when caught, as
the warden finds them great
destroyers of rodents, and has
yet failed to see them harry the
birds.

The Northern Shrikes, next
to the Sharp-shinned Hawks,
have proved the most ruthless
harriers of our winter birds in
the Sanctuary. They also gave

exhibits of their ‘‘butcher-

THE THRASHER ON FEEDING ree : : : :
SHELF bird’? habits by impaling vic-
Photographed by Wilbur F. Smith tims on the barbs of the fence.

Valuable and
precise data on the
cat question has been
collected during these
three years, when
107 cats have been
taken in the enclosed
grounds of Birderaft,
24 having worked
their way between
the barbs and over
the top of the ‘‘cat-
proof’’ fence! While
50 of these cats might
be classed as home-
less wanderers, the
others were well-fed
adult cats in whom
the bird-hunting in-
Three days after hatching this bird lost his wife stinct was so domi-

and thereafter raised the brood alone nant that they would

Photographed by Wilbur F. Smith take great risks to

A ROBIN TENANT

THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY 15

satisfy it. This type of cat, together with Crows, we are con-
vineed, causes quite as great losses to bird and poultry-raisers
as all the Hawks combined.

It can be easily seen that by feeding and housing more than
an average number of birds in a given area, their natural
enemies are attracted and increased, so that it is of little avail
to create a so-called Sanctuary unless constant protection from
a resident warden is supplied.

In addition to general supervision, our warden makes his
rounds early in the morning and at twilight, on the lookout for
unusual happenings and new arrivals. Predacious mammals,
and the like, must be looked for and trapped.

One lesson can be learned through our experience by those
wishing to put up bird-houses—do not place them at random or
too near together as if your garden was a salesroom. With a
few gregarious exceptions,
birds like privacy, and one
house should not be within
sight of another. Then, too, the
houses of simplest construction
find the readiest tenants. <A
long, squared box with the
proper opening at top and a
few chips and shavings inside
will suit a Flicker or Screech
Owl as well as the elaborate von
Berlepsch construction, proving
that American birds, like Amer-
ican people, adapt themselves
to all conditions.

We have found a double
reason for cleaning out bird-
boxes during the winter. In
half a dozen cases the white-
footed or deer mouse has made
a soft nest in them, and in one
Wren box a family of ten was

wintering. This house and con- My Ye ines gf. :
ao : ‘d salt a eA.
tents, carefully mounted, is an

: ae : : _ GREAT-CRESTED FLYCATCHER
object of interest in one of our AND ITS NESTING BOX

study cases. Photographed by Wilbur F. Smith

16 THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY

Among the notable birds that have adopted our home-made
houses is the Great-crested Fly-catcher, who is quite at home
in a decayed apple stub with a bark roof.

A natural brush-heap, supplemented from time to time, is
particularly attractive to the Brown Thrashers, who are fast
becoming regular visitors to the feeding-shelf in spite of alleged
shyness. <A pair of Thrashers made up their mind to winter
with us. The female succumbed after Christmas, during the
first zero weather, but the male lived on, roosting in some
salt hay that packed pipes under the north porch, feeding upon

ACADIAN OWL
Photographed by Wilbur F. Smith

cornbread, meat-scraps, and the like and sunning every day
under the shelter of a bank.

On Monday, April 1, he began to sing in a broken fashion,
while on the 10th he burst into full song! This seems to me an
important record, as the migrant Thrashers are not due until
the last week of April and rarely sing until May 1

During the winter six Acadian Owls were recorded. One
was picked up in a half-frozen state and after being thawed
out, was put in a cage and fed with pieces of English Sparrows
and Starlings that the warden had caught for it. After a time
the cage was placed in the cellar, which is light and above freez-
ing temperature. The Owl was let fly about, so that it might
een its wing action until the weather was mild enough to liber-

THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY 17

5 » ‘ ~_ ~ wi $ was Pe oy kg » “ig

a

WARDEN MOWING A TRAIL THROUGH A THICKET OF PINK
STEEPLE BUSH

Photographed by Wilbur F. Smith

ate it safely. The cellar had been overrun with meadow mice
and white-foots. Suddenly the warden discovered that the little
Acadian was catching them as cleverly as the most experienced

THE REDWING’S ISLAND
Photographed by Wilbur F. Smith

18 THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY

cat or human mouse-catcher. In a short time the cellar was
entirely cleaned and when the Owl was set free in March, he had
paid well for his board and lodging.

The having of a bird student and taxidermist as warden in
Birderaft makes it a gathering-place for those who have tales
to tell of their local experiences, and allows these stories either
to be proven by him or disproved with authority. This also helps
the warden to keep in touch with local bird-life through the
specimens brought in for mounting and he is able to control, in
a measure, illegal shooting by refusing to mount the specimens
shot and reporting them to the county warden.

As an instance of establishing a local record—word was
brought to him during the January zero weather that from

ONE PIPE FOR TWO.—A CHICKADEE SHARES THE WARDEN’S
CORN-COB

Photographed by Wilbur F. Smith

THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY 19

three to five Wilson’s Snipe were living in a marsh meadow oue-
fourth of a mile away. The first impulse was to laugh at the
report, but as the boy’s story was backed up by others, our
warden went to investigate. The Snipe were there and a record
established, the secret of the open bit of marsh being the
exhaust-steam pipe from a nearby factory which kept open
ground for the Snipe through this bitter winter.

First and last, Birderaft is proving itself a place to answer
truly the questions of the bird-lover and student, questions
asked both by eye and tongue, and to help its visitors think for
themselves. Is not this ‘‘making good’’?

Little by little native butterflies and moths will appear in
the study case and some of the vanishing wild flowers find their
natural habitats in the Sanctuary, so that the economic relation
between flowers, insects, and birds, may be made plain, but this
will be another story. Nature’s plan is eternity!

CATBIRD ON NEST
Photographed by Wilbur F. Smith

20 THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY

PHOTOGRAPHING A ROBIN TENANT
Photographed by Wilbur F. Smith

A CHRISTMAS SHEAF FOR THE JUNCOS AND TREE SPARROWS

THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY 21

March ist, 1922

This date finds Birderaft Museum practically completed, in
accordance with its original plan to exhibit the birds that may
be seen in Connecticut during the year.

Units Nos. 1 and 2, built by the Founder, showing the birds
in habitat groupings have been supplemented by a third section,
The Study Room, wherein duplicates of the birds in the picture
groups—male and female, plainly marked with their authentic
names—may be seen at close range. <A copy of the Check List
for the American Ornithologist Union (The A. O. U. so-called)
is at hand for those who wish to place the birds according to
Origin and Species and become familiar with the Latin
names. The material for this room has been drawn from several
museums and the work of mounting and placing the birds will
soon be completed.

This unit, through the enterprise of a member of the Board
of Governors, was built by friends who fully appreciate Bird-
eraft Sanctuary as an influence for good in the state.

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THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY

G27 a
A New Responsibility

The fact that a piece of ground has been set apart for a
song bird Sanctuary, from its very inception places a sort of
rotary responsibility upon its managers to keep the place true
to its name.

In the beginning cats and predacious Hawks headed the list
of undesirables, for this gathering place of birds was like pass-
ing word that here was a market place where food might be had
for the catching. Then other birds than Hawks when judged at
close range in a space of ten acres were found undesirable—
at least in the nesting season—Blue Jays, Grackles, Screech
Owls and Crows, while the wandering Shrikes of winter proved
a menace to the residents and confiding visitors at the feeding
stations, even those under shelter of the porches.

Turtles would seem to be harmless in a Bird Sanctuary and
lent added interest to the pond when the several species sunned
themselves on the log anchored among the lily pads, but what
happened? The wild Mallards brought out a sturdy brood, but
one by one they began to disappear; as the water was an unlikely
hunting place for cats and the reeds and overhanging shrubs
offered protection from Hawks—what?

The warden watched and soon discovered that the larger
turtles, coming silently from below, caught the ducklings by the
legs, pulled them down, drowned them and afterward ate such
portions as they wished! Exit turtles! Always to be on guard
and yet always just to the rights of the destroyer has proved no
hght responsibility.

One thing, however, is certain; in some mysterious way
word of our Sanctuary has spread among the wild folk, so that
an alien tribe has, within the year, claimed its protection as a
dwelling place rather than as a market. In spite of its nearness
to railway, high school and surrounding houses Reynard the Fox
has climbed the prickly fence and established himself so
eraftily that a brood of cubs, beautiful as young collies, has re-
sulted. Traps are unavailing and while three adults and a eub

24

THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY

GOOD HUNTING

THE MAKING OF BIRDGRAFT SANCTUARY

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have been shot and a clever old fox hound introduced to trail
the quarry increased the kill to eight before the end was sighted.
As far as can be known they have gone outside for their main-
tenance with real cleverness and one might almost say consider-
ation, for such feathered remains as have been found were of
Rhode Island Red Fowls, while the warden’s poultry are Ply-
mouth Rocks! Yet the number of the nests of low building birds
was found to be less at the season’s end. Of course we must
rout these foxes, even if only for the sake of the neighborhood,
yet I must confess to a feeling of admiration for their seeking
the Sanctuary and their pluck in remaining. If only we might
make a treaty with them by which they might be sworn in as
Anti-Cat Police!
M. O. W.

PHEASANT ON FEEDING SHELF
Photographed by Wilbur F. Smith

26 THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY

Twelve Years in Birdcraft Sanctuary

Now that we have begun our thirteenth year in Birderaft
Sanctuary, I have gathered a few facts from my records so that
you may judge for yourselves if Birdcraft has been a success.

During the first year we had 16 species of birds nesting and
I found a total of 76 nests; during the past year, 1926, we had
32 species nesting and double the number of nests were located.

The visitors during the first year numbered 3,356. Last
year there were 10,109, including 49 classes of school children.

Some species of birds have increased in number of nesting
pairs, while others have decreased for good and _ sufficient
reasons. English Sparrows, Crows, Starlings, Blue Jays,
Sereech Owls, Purple Grackles and Sparrow Hawks are not
allowed to nest here. While the Screech Owl and Sparrow
Hawk are beneficial in open meadows for catching mice, beetles,
ete., we have found them very destructive to song birds in the
Sanctuary during the nesting season. In 1922 a pair of Screech
Owls nested in an old button-ball tree; on the opposite side and
about four feet further down, a pair of Flickers nested. Both
raised their broods, but later on examining the cavity where the
Owls were raised, I found packed inside about nine inches of
bones and feathers, chiefly of song birds!

Two years later I located another pair, the young were
about four days old and in the nest box I found a dead Robin
and on the ground under the nest I found three more. That
evening I watched for the male Owl. Just at dusk he came to
the nest with a freshly killed Downy Woodpecker.

The same has been my experience with the Sparrow Hawk
if allowed to nest in the Sanctuary. When mice were scarce
they were very destructive to the song birds. One of our most
serious problems from the beginning has been keeping down
vermin. First and last I consider the cat the worst of all and
in spite of careful fencing, 167 have been taken up to date.

Last year we were overrun by rats. In 1923 we had a
plague of field mice of which I trapped 271. Crows, Sharp-
shinned Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks and Shrikes are also classed
among the detrimental. I believe that House Wrens in great

THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY

to
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number in a small area are also very destructive. For instauce
we had a pair of Bluebirds nesting in a box under the Museum
eaves; a pair of Robins liking the location began to build on
the roof of the Bluebirds’ house, causing great excitement
among the Bluebirds. After pulling the Robins’ nest down twice
I concluded to let it alone and finally both Bluebirds and Robins
brought out their young.

Next year both Bluebirds and Robins returned but the
Wrens had increased greatly in number and they also found this
location to their taste. I thought at the time that the Wrens
drove the Bluebirds away as the Robins again started to build
over the Bluebirds’ nest. Then noticing that the Robins were
excited over something, I kept watch and saw a Wren leaving
the Robins’ nest carrying an egg which it dropped on the trail.
The next day the nest was empty. Since then I have picked up
the eggs of the Robin, Bluebird, Song Sparrow, Field Spar-
row, Phoebe, Catbird and Wood Thrush, with the two small
holes in the side where the Wrens had punetured them with
their sharp bills.

Crows, Blue Jays and Grackles are also destructive to the
birds that start to nest before the foliage is out, but these latter
seem to seek the eges for food while with the Wren it seems to
be a matter purely of destruction.

During the course of the year | have many questions asked
of me chief among them being, ‘‘ Do you find that the same birds
return here every year?’’

In 1921-1922 I banded a number of birds to find out for
myself. This banding was done upon birds, both old and
young, that were liberated from the Sparrow trap. (We do not
believe in banding nestlings here in the Sanctuary, as it is very
difficult to determine the exact time that young birds will
leave a nest and promiscuous handling is quite likely to break
up a household before the due time.) I found that both adults
and young so banded have returned every year.

Juncos and Tree Sparrows that wintered here also re-
turned to their familiar roosting places.

The real surprise to me has been the interest the general
public has taken in our Museum—adults, school children, and
Boy and Girl Scouts alike. Scout Captains bring their troops
here to pass their tests on birds, trees and flowers and by hold-
ing their interest we feel that we are making real headway.

28 THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY

One Hundred and Sixty-two species of birds seen in,

or flying over, the Sanctuary, from 1915 to 1926.

Red-throated Loon
Herring Gull

Hooded Merganser
Mallard Duck

Black Duck

Wood Duck

Greater Scaup Duck
Canada Goose
American Bittern
Great White Heron
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
Woodcock

Wilson’s Snipe
Greater Yellow-legs
Lesser Yellow-legs
Spotted Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Black-breasted Plover
Semi-palmated Plover
Kall-deer Plover
Bob-white

Ruffed Grouse
Ring-necked Pheasant
Mourning Dove
Marsh Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Goshawk

Red-tailed Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Bald Eagle

Duck Hawk

Pidgeon Hawk
Sparrow Hawk
Osprey

Long-eared Owl

Barred Owl

Saw-whet Owl
Screech Owl

Snowy Owl
Black-billed Cuckoo
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Kingfisher

Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Sapsucker
Red-headed Woodpecker
Flicker
Whip-poor-will

Night Hawk

Chimney Swift
Hummingbird
Kingbird
Great-crested Flycatcher
Phoebe

Wood Pewee
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Horned Lark

Blue Jay

Crow

Fish Crow

Starling

Bobolink

Cowbird

Red-winged Blackbird
Meadow Lark
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Rusty Blackbird
Purple Grackle
Bronzed Grackle
Evening Grosbeak
Pine Grosbeak

THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY 29

Purple Finch

English Sparrow

Am. Crossbill
White-winged Crossbill
Redpoll

Goldfinch

Pine Siskin

Snow Bunting

Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Sharp-tailed Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Junco

Field Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Swamp Sparrow

Fox Sparrow

Towhee

Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting

Scarlet Tanager
Purple Martin

Cliff Swallow

Barn Swallow

Tree Swallow

Bank Swallow
Rough-winged Swallow
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Shrike
Loggerhead Shrike
Red-eyed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
White-eyed Vireo

Black and White Warbler

Worm-eating Warbler
Blue-winged Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Nashville Warbler

Tennessee Warbler
Parula Warbler

Cape May Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Myrtle Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Black-poll Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Pine Warbler

Yellow Palm Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Ovenbird

Water Thrush

Louisiana Water Thrush
Maryland Yellow Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Hooded Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Canadian Warbler
Redstart

Mockingbird

Catbird

Brown Thrasher
Carolina Wren

House Wren

Winter Wren

Brown Creeper
White-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Chickadee

Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Wood Thrush

Wilson’s Thrush
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Olive-backed Thrush
Hermit Thrush

Robin

Bluebird

30 THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY

Species Nesting and Number of Nests each Year

1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926

Mallard

Quail

Sparrow Hawk
Screech Owl
Black-billed Cuckoo
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Downy Woodpecker
Flicker

Chimney Swifts
Humming Bird
Crested Flycatcher 1
Phoebe

Wood Pewee

Blue Jay

Baltimore Oriole
Redwing Blackbird 1
Gold Finch
Chipping Sparrow

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Field Sparrow 12
Song Sparrow 8
Towhee ul
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Cedar Waxwing 2

Red-eyed Vireo
White-eyed Vireo

Md. Yellow-throat 2
Blue-winged Warbler 1

Yellow Warbler 1
Yellow-breasted Chat 1
Catbird 10
Brown Thrasher 5
House Wren 12

White-breasted Nuthatch
Wood Thrush

Robin 14
Bluebird

Pheasant
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Mourning Dove

Purple Grackle

Indigo Bunting

Total No. Nests 76
No. Species nesting . 16

(Seven young)

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THE MAKING OF BIRDCRAFT SANCTUARY

Birdcraft Sanctuary

UNQUOWA ROAD, FATREIELD, CONN.

Founded in 1914, and given to

THE AUDUBON SOCIETY, STATE OF CONNECTICUT, BY
MISS ANNIE BURR JENNINGS

The Founding Board of Governors

MRS. J. O. WRIGHT, Chairman
MISS A. B. JENNINGS
MRS. WM. B. GLOVER, See.-Treasurer
HON. JOHN H. PERRY—Counsellor
MRS. SAMUEL WHEELER
MISS CHARLOTTE A. LACEY
REV. ALLAN E. BEEMAN
MILTON 8. LACEY
WILBUR F. SMITH

Later Additions

DR. FRANK M. CHAPMAN
EDUARD F. von WETTBERG
MRS. EDUARD F. von WETTBERG
JOHN P. HOLMAN
(President of the Audubon Society, State of Connecticut )

Planned, and the Construction Directed by

MR. AND MRS. JAMES OSBORNE WRIGHT

Paintings in Birdcraft Museum by
MISS C. A. LACEY

Warden and Taxidermist

FRANK NOVAK

y Wilbur IF. Smith

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