Our Vanishing Wild Life Part 10

MAINE:

Wood-duck, upland plover, purple martin, house wren, pileated woodp.e.c.k.e.r, bald eagle, yellow-legs, great blue heron, Canada goose, redhead and canvasback duck.--(John F. Sprague, Dover.)

Puffin, Leach's petrel, eider duck, laughing gull, great blue heron, fish-hawk and bald eagle.--(Arthur H. Norton, Portland.)

MARYLAND:

Curlew, pileated woodp.e.c.k.e.r, summer duck, snowy heron. No record of sandhill crane for the last 35 years. Greater yellow-leg is much scarcer than formerly, also Bartramian sandpiper. The only two birds which show an _increase_ in the past few years are the robin and lesser scaup.

General protection of the robin has caused its increase; stopping of spring shooting in the North has probably caused the increase of the latter. As a general proposition I think I can say that all birds are becoming scarcer in this state, as we have laws that do not protect, little enforcement of same, no revenue for bird protection and too little public interest. We are working to change all this, but it comes slowly. _The public fails to respond until the birds are 'most gone_, and we have a pretty good lot of game still left. The members of the Order Gallinae are only holding their own where privately protected. The members of the Plover Family and what are known locally as sh.o.r.e birds are still plentiful on the sh.o.r.es of Chincoteague and a.s.sateague, and although they do not breed there as formerly, so far as I know there are no species exterminated.--(Talbott Denmead, Baltimore.)

Ma.s.sACHUSETTS:

Wood-duck, hooded merganser, blue-winged teal, upland plover; curlew (perhaps already gone); red-tailed hawk (I have not seen one in Middles.e.x County for several years); great horned owl (almost gone in my county, Middles.e.x); house wren. The eave swallows and purple martins are fast deserting eastern Ma.s.sachusetts and the barn swallows steadily diminishing in numbers. The bald eagle should perhaps be included here.

I seldom see or hear of it now.--(William Brewster, Cambridge.)

Upland plover, woodc.o.c.k, wood-duck (recent complete protection is helping these somewhat), heath hen, piping plover, golden plover, a good many song and insectivorous birds are apparently decreasing rather rapidly; for instance, the eave swallow.--(William P. Wharton, Groton.)

MICHIGAN:

Wood-duck, limicolae, woodc.o.c.k, sandhill crane. The great whooping crane is not a wild bird, but I think it is now practically extinct. Many of our warblers and song birds are now exceedingly rare. Ruffed grouse greatly decreased during the past 10 years.--(W.B. Mershon, Saginaw.)

MINNESOTA:

The sandhill crane has been killed by sportsmen. I have not seen one in three years. Where there were, a few years ago, thousands of blue herons, egrets, wood ducks, redbirds, and Baltimore orioles, all those birds are now almost extinct in this state. They are being killed by Austrians and Italians, who slaughter everything that flies or moves.

Robins, too, will be a rarity if more severe penalties are not imposed.

I have seized 22 robins, 1 pigeon hawk, 1 crested log-c.o.c.k, 4 woodp.e.c.k.e.rs and 1 grosbeak in one camp, at the Lertonia mine, all being prepared for eating. I have also caught them preparing and eating sea gulls, terns, blue heron, egret and even the bittern. I have secured 128 convictions since the first of last September.--(George E. Wood, Game Warden, Hibbing, Minnesota.)

From Robert Page Lincoln, Minneapolis.--Partridge are waning fast, quail gradually becoming extinct, prairie chickens almost extinct.

Duck-shooting is rare. The gray squirrel is fast becoming extinct in Minnesota. Mink are going fast, and fur-bearing animals generally are becoming extinct. The game is pa.s.sing so very rapidly that it will soon be a thing of the forgotten past. The quail are suffering most. The falling off is amazing, and inconceivable to one who has not looked it up. Duck-shooting is rare, the clubs are idle for want of birds. What ducks come down fly high, being hara.s.sed coming down from the north. I consider the southern Minnesota country practically cleaned out.

MISSOURI:

The birds threatened with extermination are the American woodc.o.c.k, wood-duck, snowy egret, pinnated grouse, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, golden eagle, bald eagle, pileated woodp.e.c.k.e.r.

MONTANA:

Blue grouse.--(Henry Avare, Helena.)

Sage grouse, prairie and Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, trumpeter swan, Canada goose, in fact, most of the water-fowl. The sickle-billed curlew, of which there were many a few years ago, is becoming scarce. There are no more golden or black-bellied plover in these parts.--(Harry P.

Stanford, Kalispell.)

Curlew, Franklin grouse (fool hen) and sage grouse.--W.R. Felton, Miles City.

Sage grouse.--(L.A. Huffman, Miles City.)

Ptarmigan, wood-duck, sharp-tailed grouse, sage grouse, fool hen and plover. All game birds are becoming scarce as the country becomes settled and they are confined to uninhabited regions.--(Prof. M.J.

Elrod, Missoula.)

NEBRASKA:

Grouse, prairie chicken and quail.--(H.N. Miller, Lincoln.)

Whistling swan.--(Dr. S.G. Towne, Omaha.)

NEW HAMPSHIRE:

Wood-duck and upland plover.

NEW YORK:

Quail, woodc.o.c.k, upland plover, golden plover, black-bellied plover, willet, dowitcher, red-breasted sandpiper, long-billed curlew, wood-duck, purple martin, redheaded woodp.e.c.k.e.r, mourning dove; gray squirrel, otter.

NEW JERSEY:

Ruffed grouse, teal, canvasback, red-head duck, widgeon, and all species of sh.o.r.e birds, the most noticeable being black-bellied plover, dowitcher, golden plover, killdeer, sickle-bill curlew, upland plover and English snipe; also the mourning dove.--(James M. Stratton and Ernest Napier, Trenton.)

Upland plover, apparently killdeer, egret, wood-duck, woodc.o.c.k, and probably others.--(B.S. Bowdish, Demarest.)

NORTH CAROLINA:

Forster's tern, oystercatcher, egret and snowy egret.--(T. Gilbert Pearson, Sec. Nat. a.s.so. Audubon Societies.)

Ruffed grouse rapidly disappearing; bobwhite becoming scarce.--(E.L.

Ewbank, Hendersonville.)

Perhaps American and snowy egret. If long-billed curlew is not extinct, it seems due to become so. No definite, reliable record of it later than 1885.--(H.H. Brimley, Raleigh.)

NORTH DAKOTA:

Wood-duck, prairie hen, upland plover, sharp-tailed grouse, canvas-back, pinnated and ruffed grouse, double-crested cormorant, blue heron, long-billed curlew, whooping crane and white pelican.--(W.B. Bell, Agricultural College.)

Upland plover, marbled G.o.dwit, Baird's sparrow, chestnut-collared longspur.--(Alfred Eastgate, Tolna.)

OHIO:

White heron, pileated woodp.e.c.k.e.r (if not already extinct). White heron reported a number of times last year; occurrences in Sandusky, Huron, Ashtabula and several other counties during 1911. These birds would doubtless rapidly recruit under a proper federal law.--(Paul North, Cleveland.)

Turtle dove, quail, red-bird, wren, hummingbird, wild canary [goldfinch]

and blue bird.--(Walter C. Staley, Dayton.)

OKLAHOMA:

Pinnated grouse.--(J.C. Clark); otter, kit fox, black-footed ferret.--(G.W. Stevens.)

OREGON:

American egret, snowy egret.--(W.L. Finley, Portland.)