Supplement to December 1951 IOWA BIRD LIFE BIRDS OF AN IOWA DOORYARD By ALTHEA R. SHERMAN Edited by Fred J. Pierce Foreword by Arthur J. Palas CHARACTERISTIC POSTURES OF NESTLING FLICKERS WHILE AWAITING A MEAL From A Drawing By The Author A NOTEWORTHY CONTRIBUTION I In this handsome new book Miss Sherman’s important nest- ing studies are offered to a rapidly growing army of serious bird students. Although a posthumous publication, the best por- tions of her work have been preserved and nothing has been spared to make the book a noteworthy contribution to the science of ornithology. Althea R. Sherman was as unusual a personality as she was an outstanding ornithologist. She was born in Iowa in 1853, and was reared in the rugged pioneer environment which no doubt influenced her entire life. After receiving a Bachelor’s Degree from Oberlin College, she taught for several years in the public schools, and, following post graduate work at Oberlin, she re- ceived her Master’s Degree and spent several years in the study of aid. For a time she was instructor in drawing at Carleton College and then was supervisor of drawing in the public schools at Tacoma, Washington. In 1895 she returned to her ancestral home at National, Iowa. After her return to Iowa, Miss Sherman studied nesting birds with an intensity and devotion that won national acclaim for her in scientific circles. She came to be regarded as one of the leading authorities on the nestlife of various birds. The re- sults of her studies were published in leading scientific journals, and she left a rich store of unpublished material. Very fine selections from this wealth of material are pre- sented in “Birds of An Iowa Dooryard.” Fred J. Pierce, an au- thority on Iowa birds, and for more than twenty years editor of the state magazine, “Iowa Bird Life” is editor of the Sherman THE CHRISTOPHER PUBLISHING HOUSE, 1140 i ; TO THE SCIENCE OF ORNITHOLOGY book, and has done an expert job in the selection of material. The book contains a unique and valuable collection of Miss Sherman's writings — all the important nesting studies, chosen from her unpublished work and from papers published in the “Auk” and "Wilson Bulletin”, Atty. Arthur J. Palas, long a friend of Miss Sherman, con- tributes an intimate biography to the book. His Foreword gives the reader a frankly clear picture of Althea Sherman and the surroundings in which she worked. Among Miss Sherman's singular accomplishments was the building of a tower, 30 feet high and 9 feet square, for the sole purpose of attracting the Chimney Swift so that a systematic study of its nesting habits could be made — probably the only structure of its kind in existence. Peep-holes at several places in the chimney allowed the close observations which resulted in some of the most complete studies of nesting of this species ever made, over a long period of years. Miss Sherman was a member of fifteen scientific societies. She was listed in “Who's Who” and “American Men of Science,” and was honored by tl\e American Ornithologists' Union by being elevated to an exclusive class of membership. The Sherman home in the ghost town of National (near McGregor), Iowa, was visit- ed by men and women distinguished in many fields of the natural sciences while Miss Sherman was living. Near her home she made the famous studies of Iowa birds printed in “Birds of an Iowa Dooryard”. OLUMBUS AVENUE, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS AN AUTHORITATIVE BOOK TO BE CHERISHED BY ALL WHO ARE INTERESTED IN BIRDS Excellent books, many of them beautifully illustrated, have been published, giving descriptions, migration and nesting dates of birds of various states, or interesting or unusual birds of foreign lands. But here is a bird book that is different — - consist- ing largely of nesting studies of mid- western birds, interspersed with chapters on other phases of bird work, written in Miss Sherman's sparkling style with examples of her pungent wit and occasional satire. Invaluable to the ornithologist, the book will also be enjoyed by the general reader who will find the style of writing both charming and highly readable. “Birds of an Iowa Dooryard" is a distinctive volume, and a beautiful and lasting tribute to a famous lady who had the knowledge, insight and experience in studying birds to write of them in a powerful style. It is a truly appealing book that belongs in the library of every serious orni- thologist and will be cherished by thousands of bird students to whom the nesting studies will be a revelation. Cloth, Price $3,75 ORDER BLANK — ORDER NOW Pierce Book Company Win! li rop I own Please send me cop of “Birds Of An Iowa Dooryard,” by Althea R. Sherman, for which I enclose $ Name Address IOWA BIRD LIFE PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY THE IOWA ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION VOL XXI DECEMBER, 1951 NO 4 OFFICERS OF THE IOWA ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION < President — Albert C. Berkowitz, Des Moines, Iowa < Vice-President — John Paul Moore, Newton, Iowa = Sec’y-Treas. — Mrs. George Crossley, Farley, Iowa Librarian — Dr, J, Harold Ennis, Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa ? Editor— Fred J. Pierce, Winthrop, Iowa - ’ £ Executive Council: i Miss Zell C. Lee, Sioux City, krwa \ E, J, Petranek. Cedar Rapids, Iowa {- Clifford Johnson, Dubuque, Iowa { The Iowa Ornithologists' Union was organized at Ames, Iowa, February 2S. 1.923, for the study and protection of native birds and to promote fraternal re- lations among Iowa bird students. The central design of the Union's official seal is the Eastern Goldfinch, desig- nated State Bird of Iowa in 1933. Publications of the Union: Mimeographed letters, 1923-1928; The Bulletin,' 1929-1930 : ‘Iowa Bird Life.' beginning 1931, > SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $1,00 a year. Single copies 25c each, c Subscription to the magazine is included in all paid memberships, ‘l of which there are four classes, as follows: Contributing Mem- ;• ber, $10.00 a year; Supporting Member, $3,00 a year; Regular Mem- i ber, $1.00 a year; Junior Member (under 16 years of age), 50c a year. EDITORIAL AND PUBLICATION OFFICE WINTHROP, IOWA Entered as second-class matter February 9, 1932. at the post office at Winthrop, Iowa, under the Act of March 3, 1879, LEAST BITTERN NEST SCENES Incubating birds at the nest. In the lower left view both birds are seen at the nest. Photographs by Tom Kent. LEAST BITTERNS OF SWAN LAKE 59 THE LEAST BITTERNS OF SWAN LAKE By TOM KENT IOWA CITY, IOWA (With photographs by the author) During the past summer I spent considerable time gathering data on Least Bitterns at Swan Lake, in Johnson County, Iowa. Swan Lake is a 44- acre marsh, oblong in shape and ranging in depth from a few inches to not more than 4 feet. In summer the marsh vegetation covers the lake so that very little open water can be seen. The marsh provides excellent nesting habitat for marsh birds such as the Coot, Florida Gallinule, Pied-billed Grebe, Prairie Mareh Wren, Redwings and the Least Bittern. I became interested in the Least Bittern in the summer of 1949, when Dr. Vane located a nest and took excellent movies of it. That summer we sus- pected there were more than one pair nesting but did not take time to look for them. On June 17, 1951, Dick Lorenz. Norwood Hazard and I put a canoe in Swan Lake in hope of finding a Bittern nest to photograph, As we pushed the canoe through the reeds we flushed one Least Bittern after another, and it was not long before we came to a partially constructed, platform-like nest, made by bending over bur-reed stalks and adding more stalks. Bur-reed is a marsh plant which is found in an area about 20 feet wide extending all the way around the lake where the water is a foot or two deep. Before the day was over we had found four more nests in the building stage and four nests containing eggs. The next day we returned, this time to try to photograph the Least Bit- tern on the nest, Norwood set up a blind on one nest while Dick and 1 tried to photograph another from the canoe. We set up the camera near the nest, moved the canoe as far away as was possible with a 20-foot remote release, and waited. When lying down out of sight in the canoe, we couldn't tell when the bird returned to the nest. Twice we waited for more than a half hour, and when w r e rose up to see if the Bittern was on the nest, it flushed from near the nest. Finally Dick went ashore and climbed a tree so he could see the bird approaching. This time I lay in the bottom of the boat for more than an hour before the bird returned and I could get a picture. The sec- ond picture took only a half hour. By the fourth and fifth pictures it took only about five minutes for the bird to come back. From then on, after taking a picture, I got almost to the camera before the bird would rise up and flap over the reeds about 50 feet before dropping into them. On later dates I photographed from a blind. On all these occasions the male bird seemed to be doing most of the incubating and caring for the young, but this is probably due to the fact tnat the females are much shyer and do not return to the nest as readily. Once when I was photographing I noticed that as I got out of the blind to re-set the camera, the male flushed from the nest and at the same time the female flew up from a spot near by, When I got back in the blind the male returned, and when the female got in the territory he started making peculiar sounds, opened his bill, and his neck muscles began vibrating. After a long while I saw the female working her way through the reeds toward the nest. She was very shy and would come almost to the nest and then back away again; this continued for al- most two hours. I got tired waiting and finally snapped a picture when she was almost on the nest. After June 17 I visited Swan Lake 21 times and found a total of 19 Least Bittern nests. On each trip I waded around the lake, checked all nests and looked for new ones, and took some pictures. All the nests were located in the belt of bur-reed