Wild Pigeons and the Great Shooting Tournament at Coney Island

A vast roost of nesting wild pigeons along the Canadian River in central Oklahoma — on the frontier a great distance in the west from Coney Island — was the source of live birds to be used as targets by shootists at a great shooting tournament on the Atlantic seashore. It was a significant event in many ways, with widespread reporting that indicate details of the birds' capture and transportation, results of the contest, and protestations against the slaughter of the pigeons. The variety of articles are especially interesting in conveying a unique perspective of the times, associated with the Passenger Pigeon as expressed by people involved in this endeavor.

It started with a schedule for a shooting match, and the need for lively targets. A contract was signed to acquire wild pigeons, so a bird-trapping company found a spot where thousands of birds could be captured and transported. The initial place of action was the indian territory of central Oklahoma. Thousands of adult birds — taken from their nesting grounds — were captured by the men employed by the trapping company of W.P. Thomas, then taken by horse-drawn wagons to the freight station for the Missouri and Kansas Railroad at Atoka. Once loaded onto a special car, there was a quick journey eastward, to pens where the captives where kept until their eventual release, as targets for men with deadly guns.

A Car Load of Pigeons to be Shot. — A car load of pigeons is to start from Topeka, Kansas, to-night for Brooklyn, for the use of the sportsmen who assemble at the twenty-third annual convention of the New York State Association for the Protection of Fish and Game, beginning June 20, at Coney Island, and lasting until June 25. It will require 20,000 pigeons to meet the demands of the protectors of game. — June 5

Seven thousand wild pigeons from the Indian Territory are now in the coops at Jersey City, and eight thousand more will arrive on the 17th instant. ... — June 14

There was contention underway before the match even started. Henry Bergh, president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, was making accusations in the press concerning the pending demise of thousands of wild pigeons. The president of the sportsman's group responded in a letter issued in Forest and Stream.

Mr. Crook to Mr. Bergh.

The following letter has been published:

New York, June 16, 1881.

Henry Bergh, Esq.:

My Dear Sir — My attention has been called to certain squibs in some of the daily papers to the effect that, as the President of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, you had asserted your intention to break up the tournament of the New York State Association for the Protection of Fish and Game, to be held at Coney Island, commencing next Tuesday, and that I, a President of the last named organization, had returned the compliment by threatening to cause your arrest. I desire explicitly to deny that any such action has ever been contemplated upon my part. Had we the advantage of personal acquaintance with each other, such an unfortunate rumor could not have found its way into print. The association which I represent is largely composed of the most influential citizens of this State, embracing many who have honorably held seats in the State and National Legislatures and in the executive chair, and also including the representative business men of the several cities, towns and hamlets in this State, and also those who have been foremost in concerted efforts not only to protect but to propagate and cultivate fish and game. That such gentlemen should be classed with the cock-fighters and dogfighters neither just nor creditable to the person making such charge.


Nothing will afford me or the association which I represent greater pleasure than to assist your society in preventing anything which shall bear the resemblance of cruelty. The suggestion accredited to you to the effect that birds were to be drugged or mutilated could only originate in ignorance of the character, customs and purposes of the State organization. I assure you that due courtesy will be shown you and all others who may attend the tournament, and that nothing shall occur in any wise warranting any unfavorable criticism of our proceedings, and that the members of the association will prove your most reliable assistants in the humane work in which you are engaged.

Respectfully, etc., Abel Crook.

The final frantic push to get the entire lot of birds transported was evident from Oklahoma, as the start of the tournament was to commence.

Atoka, I.T., June 19. — Our little town was out in force last night, catching and hauling from pens and loading on cars 10,000 live wild pigeons for the use of the great New York State tournament, which begins on Monday, the 21st inst., at Coney Island. Capt. Elmendorf, Chairman of the Committee on Grounds and Pigeons, started on this morning's train in charge of the birds, and will arrive in New York on Tuesday evening. The energy displayed by the Captain in securing birds this time of year is worthy of imitation by our Western sportsmen. The car of birds with the car shipped from here last week is an ample supply, and assures the success of the tournament. — reported for June 19, as issued on June 20

There were daily reports of the shootist antics and events.

Sportsmen at the Seaside - The Opening of the Convention at Coney Island - The Shooting of Thousands of Pigeons Collected to Begin To-day - Essays Read Last Evening - $11,000 Offered in Prizes.

Ten traps will be kept going and several thousand pigeons a day will be shot at in the sports of the State Association for the Protection of Fish and Game at Coney Island this week. The prizes aggregate in value over $11,000. Yesterday the piazzas and halls of the Brighton Hotel were thronged by men wearing club badges, and as the day wore on their number was constantly increased. Most of them were stalwarts in their physical appearance. Thirty-six clubs are represented, each sending from five to twenty-five members. Altogether there were upward of 500 sportsmen gathered together last night.

Judge Henry S. Lott, at the head of a reception committee of twenty-five, took the sportsmen by the hand as they came in during the day, and at noon fed them with clam chowder. In the afternoon many of the delegates were taken up to Brooklyn to look at the prizes. Many preferred to look around Coney Island.

The convention of the delegates from the various local associations met in the evening. Many ladies were present. The order of business was interspersed with instrumental music, glees, tenor solos, recitations, and the reading of essays. The glee club of the Washington Gun Club brought out a fine original composition — "The American Sportsman's Song," with a Tally Ho chorus — which they sang with effect.

George A. Chappell, President of the Long Island Sportsmen's Association, bade the delegates welcome, and President Abel Crook of the State Association then opened the convention in a speech, briefly sketching the history of the association from its formation in 1859, and instancing some of the results of its labors. He claimed for it that it had initiated bench shows of dogs in this country, and had promoted fish culture and the protection of forests and game. Yet, he said, after an existence of twenty-three years, the purposes and work of the association were hardly known outside of the western and central portions of the State. To this he called the thoughtful consideration of members. The most valuable work, he thought, could be done by the local associations.

An essay by Gaston Fay, entitled "What Are You Going to Do About It? was read by F.K. Costner of the Nonpareil Club. It set forth, by some amusing anecdotes, the difficulty of enforcing game laws. Even if the writ of habeas corpus was suspended and the country put under martial law, the pot hunters would get a mess of birds whenever they could in defiance of a provost guard.

Nicolas Pike read an essay on the Game Birds of Long Island. He mourned the ravages of indiscriminate slaughterers and egg hunters. The robbing of birds' nests, he said, prevailed to a great extent even in Prospect park. Time was when the shrill cry of a blue jay, whistle of the quail, the melancholy note of the wood thrush, loud call of the black plover, and the varied tones of the yellow-breasted chat could be heard everywhere in wood and field. Now we can walk miles without seeing or hearing the commonest bird. The different varieties of game birds on Long Island were described by the essayist. — June 21

The reporting then got to the details.

Aiming at Flying Marks - The First Day of the Big Pigeon Match at Coney Island - Mr. Bergh and His Men Watch the Shooting with Field Glasses, but are Powerless to Interfere - Exciting Rivalry at the Traps.
Nine parti-colored tents, with club pennants flying, stood yesterday in a row to the right of the grand stand in the Brighton Beach race track. The members of a number of the Northern State sportsmen's clubs sleep in them by night, and receive visitors with lavish hospitality by day. In another very large ten open house to all comers is kept by the Brooklyn and Long Island clubs. The ten traps used to throw off the pigeons were pitched in the infield in front of the grand stand. White flags marked the boundary line of eighty yards within which a pigeon had to fall in order for the marksman to score a hit. In a pile of flat coops to the right of the marksmen's stand were 3,500 wild pigeons. Two squads of boys, some in red caps and some in blue, rushed out alternately to replenish the traps. During the shooting yesterday about 2,200 pigeons were used, of which about 1,659 were killed. The dead pigeons were barrelled up with ice and shipped to a Washington street dealer. ...

"This is the biggest shooting match ever seen on the face of the earth," said W.P. Thomas, who supplies the wild pigeons used at these contests, "and there never were better birds. Just see how they fly. Don't that fellow tower well?" he said, pointing to a pigeon which mounted straight up into the air. "There goes a tailer!" he exclaimed, as one flew straight away from the marksmen. "That's a driver" pointing to one that went skimming to the ground in rapid flight for safety; "they're hard to hit." The wind was blowing from the northwest with frequent hard puffs. "There are lots of incomers," said Mr. Thomas, as bird are bird came from the trap towards the marksmen. "That's because the wind blows in that direction. Ah, that fellow quartered well!" he said, as a pigeon went off to one side. "A quarterer makes the best shot," he added.

About seventy-five per cent of the pigeons were brought down. Some of the birds dropped like lead, and most of those hit fell close to the traps. The green sward was thickly strewn with feathers torn out by the shot. Sometimes a bird would be seen in strong, rapid flight after the smoke cleared away, and it would be impossible to tell whether it had been hit or not, until suddenly it would plump helplessly down. Sometimes they would have strength enough to fly out of bounds before falling. A crowd of boys hung about the outskirts of the field to pick up such birds, and the sometimes got dangerously into range. early in the day, while a policeman was chasing one of these boys, a boy fell into a ditch and broke his arm. Sportsman doctor set it for him.

Early in the day boys had distributed printed copies of an appeal from Henry Bergh. It was illustrated by a picture representing the writhings of wounded birds. The chief portion of the appeal was an imaginary speech of a bird begging sportsmen not to "immolate him on the blood-stained altar of inglorious rivalry." Between 12 and 1 o'clock Mr. Bergh, attended by a number of his officers, presented himself at the members' gate. He wore the big badge of his society, and he demanded admittance as an officer of the State. President Abel Crook told him that their sport was protected by law, that he had no rights in the premises as an officer, and that none but members could be allowed in the in-field.

"If you will come in the capacity of a gentleman," said Mr. Crook, "we shall be happy to escort you about, and to do you any service in our power."

"I desire to come in as an officer of the State," said Mr. Bergh.

"We do not admit any save gentlemen to the in field," said Mr. Crook, smiling, "and if you cannot come in that capacity you cannot come at all."

Meanwhile the steady popping of the guns went on. At every report Mr. Bergh winced and his features twitched. He harangued Mr. Crook upon the brutal and unsportsmanlike character of the shooting, and declared that he would forthwith apply to the State legislature for a law prohibiting it. Mr. Crook defended the sport in some good-natured remarks. Formerly, he said, when wild pigeons were netted for market, they were killed by crushing their heads with pinchers, as they popped up through the meshes of the net. Now that they were reserved for sportsmen to kill by shooting he could not see where the inhumanity came in. The discussion was carried on good-humoredly. Mr. Bergh and his officers then took seats in the grand stand and surveyed the scene through field glasses. They soon tired of this, and departed. Mr. Bergh prepared his bill and sent it to Albany as soon as he got home.

The real interest of the pigeon-shooting test was in the shooting of the ties. In the first ten rounds 26 marksmen killed their 10 birds apiece, 42 killed 9 apiece, 38 killed 8, and 39 killed 7. There was time to shoot off only the first class yesterday, and the three remaining will be shot off to-day. The prize of the leading score in this class was a parlor suite valued at $1,000; the second was $50 in gold. The distance from the trap was increased from twenty-one yards to twenty-six in this contest. On the first round eleven missed and dropped out. On the second round five more dropped out. There were only fine who killed their five pigeons apiece — F. Burritt and J. Langeake of the Long Island Sportsmen's Association; J.P. Fisher, Audubon of Buffalo; H.F. Gale and G. Loder, Onondaga of Syracuse.

The excitement over the contest between these five was intense. Members clustered thickly around the shooting stands, standing in perfect silence until the marksman fired, when a lusty cheer would go up if the pigeon tumbled. The wind was blowing hard, the sun was setting, and the judges had to stoop down to the ground in order to follow the flight of a "driver." Mr. Burritt fired first. His bird was a driver and skimmed along close to the ground. Bang! "She's hit; she's hit," said some. The bird winged out of bounds and was lost in the twilight. There was a deep "Ah! ah!" from the crowd. The rest brought down their birds close to the traps. On the next round Langeake missed and retired, but the others scored. On the third round Loder dropped out, and the contest was now between Fisher and Gale. Fisher is a large, burly man, and in his big white felt hat and gray flannel shirt looked like Buffalo Bill. Gale was bareheaded and in his shirt sleeves. He has shapely-cut features, and had as earnest a look as if he were William Tell shooting at the apple on his son's head. Buffalo Bill came forward for his fourth shot. The bird was an incomer, and dropped like lead. There was a loud hurrah. William Tell leaned anxiously forward and gave the word to the trap springer. The pigeon tumbled over before his wings had flapped a dozen times. The cheering was tremendous. Buffalo Bill came forward again. The pigeon was a driver. As the smoke cleared away he was seen winging his way into the distance. The Buffalo men who had crowded around their champion groaned with disappointment and turned to watch Mr. Fisher's luck with intense anxiety. He gave the word at once, and as the pigeon rose he struck it so plump and full that it fell without a flutter. Then there was a rush of congratulations on Mr. Gale and three hearty cheers were given. He had narrowly escaped being excluded from the class contest altogether. Although he killed ten in the first shooting, his name had been accidently omitted from the list of ties. When it was restored he had left the infield, and when his name was called did not respond. "Pass him over," said one of the judges. His friends objected, and it was decided to wait a minute or two for him. He came in and won. The last shooting was done at 31 yards rise. The second prize was won by Mr. Fisher. ... — June 22

During this time, pigeons were being sold at the New York City market for $2.50 to $2.75 per dozen.

Problems at the shooting event were soon apparent, according to news reporting.

The Coney Island Sports - Another Day of Pigeon Shooting by the State Clubs - Wounded Birds Flying Far Outside the Bounds - Shooting off the Ties - Challenges - The Tournament Likely to be Prolonged. Twenty-four hundred fresh pigeons were taken upon the Brighton Beach race ground yesterday for the second day of the sportsmen's tournament. The shooting was poor compared with that of the day before. May birds were so slightly wounded that they were able to fly far out of bounds into the reach of a horde of club and stone throwers on the lookout for crippled birds. May birds escaped the shooting at the traps only to be popped over by pothunters hanging around for chances to get a shot at a stray bird.

The poor quality of the shooting caused frequent challenges and called the talents of the retrievers into play. A bird as badly wounded that he can be caught with the hands in bounds is scored as a dead bird. When a bird is challenged the marksman may go or send after it. If the person who goes is an unskilled retriever, he may flush a crippled bird so abruptly as to scare it out of bounds, in which case the shot counts as a miss, although the bird may drop dead with the effort. A wary retriever will cautiously approach his bird from the outside, so that if he misses his grab the bird will be apt to struggle further in bounds and give him another chance to catch it. One pigeon yesterday made two strong flights, and could easily have gone out of bounds had it not been for the wariness of the retriever, who finally grabbed it right behind the judge's stand. ... — June 23

Rather than just report the scores, a sordid, apparently news-worthy angle was presented to convey how the wild pigeons respond once shot.

Contest of the Crack Shots. The behavior of birds when shot is very curious. Sometimes, although a fluff of feathers in the air shows that the pigeon has been hit, he will keep on in strong, rapid flight, the marksman anxiously watching to see whether he will escape bounds. Suddenly a slight unevenness will appear in the pigeon's flight, and a moment afterward down he drops all in a heap. Many times in the course of the match a bird has died just outside the boundary. During the shooting off of the ties of fifteen in the Pierce diamond badge contest, one bird went circling round to the right, striking the fence of the track just where the boundary string was tied, and rolling over dead. When the judges came up to look at its position it was just about two inches outside the line. A load of shot plump in the breast drops the bird like a plummet. A shot in the head sometimes has a peculiar effect. the bird will rise straight up in the air, fluttering convulsively. As a height of fifty or sixty feet his wings suddenly drop, and down he plumps to the ground without a flutter. Numbers of times birds when hit have dropped at the feet of their slayers. Once a bird dropped on one of the judges. On Thursday a bird darted off to the right with so strong a flight that at the marksman's stand there was a shout of "missed." The pigeon flew through the press stand so close that he could have been grabbed. He had a bloody side, and the shout went back, "No, he's hit!" He dropped close to the boundary line. Yesterday a bird flew right across to the place where the dead birds are piled up and dropped alongside one of the barrels in which they are packed. A pigeon hit so hard that he is not able to get out of bounds is scored as a dead bird; but often birds are only technically dead, for as many as half a dozen at a time may be seen flopping in the grass. Sometimes they may be seen walking around. Yesterday, in walking over the ground after the match, the reporter came upon a bird that had crouched down and died, his feathers spread and head drawn in as is he had been brooding over a nest. — June 25

The poor condition of the remaining pigeons was evident on the last day of the tournament.

The End of the Pigeon Shooting. The pigeon shooting at Coney Island came to an end yesterday. Only two matches were shot, but both of those dragged so that it was dark before the last was finished. The birds were in very poor condition, many being too weak to fly when sprung from the traps. The first contest was a class shoot of five-double rises, G.F. Gildersleeve of the Brooklyn Gun Club was the only marksman of the twenty-three entering who made a clean score, and he thus won without further contest the first prize, a bronze game piece, valued at $100. J.M. George of Bradford, Pa., won the first prize in the ties of nine, a $75 gun; C.A. Tucker of New York won the second prize of this class, a $35 suit of corduroy. The $25 clock, which was the prize for the leading score in the lies of seven, was won by J.M. Hersher of Osage City, Kan. ... During the tournament about 16,000 pigeons were shot. Although the attendance at the grand stand was not great, the entrance fees were so large that the tournament resulted in a small profit to the State Association. — June 30

A protest again the shooting of the pigeons soon made it into a Pennsylvania newspaper.

That indefatigable and over-zealous friend of dumb animals, Mr. Henry Bergh, President of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, is just now making himself rather ridiculous in connection with pigeon shooting. ... Mr. Bergh raves over this "cruelty" and talks nonsense about the birds being drugged with laudanum to make them unable to fly quickly. Now the members of the Convention are sportsmen, and men of position, and would not countenance any such proceeding, and the battues on such an occasion, are no more inhuman that is any sort of gunning. Mr. Bergh is determined to be present with his officers to look out for infringements of the law of 1875, which amply protects sporting clubs. — June 25, Carbon Advocate

There were additional indications of an obvious displeasure, readily indicated by derisionary tone and language.

It was computed that over eleven thousand pigeons were either killed or maimed at the so-called tournament of brutal fellows styling themselves sportsmen on Coney Island last week, leaving about as many more to be slaughtered or crippled during the present week. In addition to the natural bewilderment resulting from being thrown from a dark trap into a noisy crowd of the riff-raff of a great city, the pigeons in this case were greatly emaciated by the long and close confinement incident to their transportation from Kansas, thus making them an easier prey than usual to the marksmen. It is, therefore, not surprising that what they call the score is one of the best on record. But how the participants in the cowardly and inhuman pastime can go home and look their wife and children in the face, after indulging in it, is more than most people can understand. — June 27, Washington D.C. Evening Star

There were other editorials with a similar theme.

The pleasure to be derived from hunting something seems to be the only explanation for the use of pigeons in the shooting matches. Balls can be sprung from a trap just as surely as birds — in fact, even more certainly, as springs of metal answer more directly than those of living tendon. The ball responds to the crack-shot with unfailing proof, and scores his work with a precision that cannot be extracted from the quivering limbs of a trapped pigeon. The much-vaunted masculine contempt for fuss and feathers might be expected to assist in the decision of this question, unless it is counteracted by a barbarous taste for blood. — July 1

Barbarous Pastime. The bringing of twenty thousand unhappy pigeons from the prairies of the West to be shot by persons who call themselves sportsmen is a barbarous business and a blot on our civilization. the socalled sport is no more ennobling than that witnessed in the most depraved rat pit or dog fight. It is a case of the strong against the weak, to the great disadvantage of the latter. Let the sportive gentlemen who are pegging away at the pigeons test their skill on some less helpless game. Let them try a few vultures, or bald eagles, or South American condors, or owls, or hawks, or even bats. The larger of these birds would turn in destructive vengeance on their tormentors, while the smaller ones would cause them grievous annoyance. the bats would scare the sportsmen by the insertion of sharp claws among their hair. Why need they confine themselves to these creatures which navigate the air? Let them try rats. It is quite as noble to shoot a rat as a pigeon. Rats are vermin and pigeons are not. The rat is an unlovely being, whose flesh is not highly prized for food. Much skill is involved in shooting a rat which has a few seconds start of the shooter. Yet the murder is cruel. In the State of New York, where the butchery of the pigeons is going on, the "sport" happens to be legalized by a special enactment. Even if Legislatures will legalize such wanton cruelty, public opinion should frown it out of existence. — July 5, Memphis Public Ledger

There would be changes, as indicated by the targets used in subsequent shooting tournaments in different states. In 1885, numerous reports indicated the use of clay pigeons. Pigeons were still being used at multiple events, especially in Texas and California, though any indication of the actual species was not obvious with the scant details reported.

Millions of Wild Pigeons - Immense Roost in Indian Territory

The Arrival of 8,500 Pigeons in Time for the Coney Island Tournament - How they were Trapped and Transported to this Market.

There arrived on Saturday night, at a place near Jersey City, a car containing 8,500 wild pigeons that had been shipped from Atoka, Indian Territory. They are the first installment of 20,000 which W.F. Thomas of Phillipsburg, N.J. contracted to supply the New York State Sportsmen's Association. The pigeons were placed in pens, from which they will be taken as wanted. These pens are simply low, clean sheds. An inclined plane of slatted framework in each pen furnishes the pigeons with a roost. They are very shy. A slight noise on the outside of a pen produces a loud whir on the inside. When the trap door of a pen was cautiously opened yesterday to allow the reporter to peer inside, the twitter and rustle made up a strong volume of sound.

"They make a good deal of noise," said Mr. Thomas, "but it is nothing to the din at the pigeon roost where these were trapped. I have heard the cackling of the pigeons, as they were setting on their nests in the evening, fully a mile away."

Mr. Thomas makes a business of trapping pigeons for field sport. He will get four more car loads from the Indian territory, making a total of 20,000 pigeons.

"The business will not be a profitable one this year," he said, "because we have had to go so far to get them. Heretofore the pigeons have roosted in Pennsylvania or Michigan. But this year, owing to the late, cold spring, they did not come as far north as usual, and they made a roost in the Pottawattomie reservation of the Indian Territory, 110 miles away from the nearest railroad station. I had to transport all my lumber and supplied from Atoka, and the pigeons had to be hauled there for shipment. At one time I had fifteen wagons on the road. There are several streams to be crossed, but most of the way the road is pretty level. It took a wagon about three days to make the trip from the roost to Atoka.

"The roost is the largest I have ever seen. The country there is thickly grown over with what they call post oak timber, from the fact, I suppose, that tree trunks are just about post size. The acorns are so abundant that it is a splendid feeding ground for them. I went into the roost for about ten miles without finding any signs of an end. Every tree was thick with pigeons, the branches bending down with their weight. When the birds have been coming home from the feeding grounds in the evening I have seen a stream about a mile broad flow through the air for two hours thick enough to hide the sun, and making a noise like thunder. I should judge the roost to be about twenty miles long and fifteen broad.

"There has been little or no shooting, and that has been a good thing for us, as shooting makes the birds scary and harder to trap. There is plenty of deer and turkeys on the reservation, and the Pottawattomies do not care for pigeons, so they do not hunt in the roost. The Indians were very friendly, and some of them are working for a St. Louis firm that are catching squabs and shipping them to market. Men go about with poles punching the squabs out of their nests. They are packed in barrels with ice, and sent to all the large cities as far north as Boston. My business was altogether with the live pigeons, which we caught in nets."

Mr. Thomas explained the methods of the trappers. The nets used will cover a space of 40 feet by 30. One end of the net is fastened to a rope, which is drawn taut, so that when let go the net is thrown out like an arrow, falling upon the pigeons that have gathered in front of it. The pigeons are generally caught on their feeding grounds of their water beds. When a good feeding ground is located the nets are set, and the trapper puts himself in a hut of boughs at one end of the net line. Pigeons are saved from one season to another for use as decoys. When a flock of pigeons is seen coming, a pigeon is thrown up into the air to attract the attention of the flock, the bird being pulled down again with a string. This bird is called the flyer. Another decoy called the stool pigeon is made use of at the same time. He is tied to a perch on the free end of a strip of iron band about four feet long. As the flock approaches a string is pulled which makes the spring bounce him up and down, and he flaps his wings to keep his balance. He presents the appearance to the approaching flock of a bird hovering over a feeding ground, and they settle down around him.

"How many pigeons have you caught at one time?" the reporter asked.

"I once saw sixty-seven dozen caught at one cast of the net," said Mr. Thomas, "but thirty or forty dozen is an average big catch. Sometimes there will only be a dozen or so. I have seen the net lifted up on the wings of the pigeons until it bellied out like a balloon. A number of pigeons toward the edge are apt to get out, but the men are quick, and work around the edges, stowing the birds in crates as fast as they can get them out, and rolling the net up as they work in, until they have got all the pigeons, when the net is set again for another cast."

The pigeons are caught on water beds as well as on the feeding grounds. A water bed is made by filling an excavation with water. The pigeons on their way home from feeding will stop to drink, and are caught under the nets. Sometimes salt is used. "This season," said Mr. Thomas, "the acorns were so plentiful that the birds did not have to search for feeding grounds and they did not decoy well. The water beds did not draw well, either, as they had the Canada River, the water of which is alkaline, so that salt also had no attraction for them. We caught the most on gravel beds along the river as they would settle down for stones to put in their crops to grind up the acorns."

Pigeons are methodical in their habits in these great roosts. Early in the morning the Tom flight occurs. This is composed of the male birds on their way to the feeding grounds. When they have fed and drunk, they return to the nests, and the female birds go to feed. The hen flight takes place between 8 and 9 o'clock. In the afternoon there is another Tom flight, and toward evening another hen flight. The bird stop for gravel or water on their way home from feeding.

The crates in which the birds are put when caught are simply large flat coops. The netters are spread over an area of twelve or fourteen miles. Every evening teams make a round and collect all the crates. It is now necessary to get the birds "on their feed," or else they will die. They are put in pens and given corn to eat, with plenty of water to drink. For several days after they are captured they will hardly eat at all, and it is only after they have become accustomed to the change that they can be again crated and shipped. Two men travel in the car, and the pigeons are regularly fed and watered. The car load which arrived on Saturday night was shipped on Thursday morning, and the birds were fed and watered four times while en route.

Pigeons nest four times a season, having one egg to a nest. "One result of the inaccessible nature of this year's roost," said Mr. Thomas, "is that the increase is larger than ever known before. The number of squabs killed and pigeons netted is insignificant in comparison with the number hatched out. There are millions of them there."

These wild pigeons are smaller than the domestic pigeon. Their plumage is a mixture of slate and gray. They have long tail feathers, and are birds of far quicker and stronger flight than ordinary pigeons. The pigeons now penned near Jersey City will be used in the pigeon shooting tournament at Coney Island next week.

June 14, 1881. New York Sun 48(287): 3.

The following graphics were not included in the newspaper article, but are secondary items that are pertinent.

Map of a portion of the Indian Territory in Oklahoma, 1879.

A General Land Office map showing the setting along the Canadian River, including depictions of the "post-oak" woods. Although this map was prepared in August 1899, it is helpful in depicting the landscape of the era.

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Showing both the original version and the reprinted version allows a comparison between the two.

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Wild Pigeons - An Immense Roost in the Indian Territory

Pigeons for Coney Island - How They Were Trapped and Transported

One night last week a car arrived at Jersey city from the Indian territory, containing 8,500 wild pigeons, the first installment of 20,000 contracted as supply to the New York sportsmen association. The pigeons were in pens like low, close sheds. An incline plane of slatted framework in each pen furnishes the pigeons with a roost. A slight noise on the outside of the pen produces a loud whir on the inside. Then the trap door of a pen was cautiously opened to allow the reporter to peer inside, the twitter and rustle made up a strong volume of sound. "They make a good deal of noise," said Mr. Thomas, "but it is nothing to the din at the pigeon roost,

Where These were Trapped.

I have heard the cackling of the pigeons, as they were settling on their nests in the evening, fully a mile away. Mr. Thomas makes a business of trapping pigeons for field sport. He will get four more car loads from the Indian territory, making a total of 40,000 pigeons. "The business will not be a profitable one this year," he said, "because we have to go so far to get them. Heretofore the pigeons have nested in Pennsylvania or Michigan. But this year, owing to the late, cold spring, they did not come as far north as usual, and they made a roost in Pottwattomie reservation of the Indian territory, one hundred and ten miles from the nearest railroad station. I had to transport all my lumber and supplies from Atoka, and the pigeons had to be hauled there for shipment. At one time I had fifteen wagons on the road. It took a wagon about three days to make the roost to Atoka. The roost is the largest I have ever seen. The country there is thickly grown over with what they call post oak timber, from the fact, I suppose, that tree trunks are just about post size. The acorns are so abundant that it is a

Splendid Feeding Ground

For them. I went into the roost for about ten miles without finding any signs of an end. Every tree was thick with pigeons, the branches bending down with their weight. When the birds have been coming home from the feeding grounds in the evening I have seen a stream about a mile broad flow through the air for two hours, thick enough to hide the sun, and making a noise like thunder. I should judge the roost to be about twenty miles long and fifteen broad. There has been little or no shooting, and that has been a good thing for us, as shooting makes the birds scary and harder to trap. There is plenty of deer and turkeys on the reservations, and the Pottawattomies do not care for pigeons, so they do not hunt in the roost. The Indians are very friendly. Men go about with poles punching the squabs out of their nests. They are packed in barrels with ice, and sent to all the large cities as far north as Boston. My business was altogether with the live pigeon, which we caught in nets." Mr. Thomas explained the methods of the trappers. The nets used will cover a space of forty feet by thirty. One end of the net is fastened to a rope, which is drawn taut, so that when let go

The Net is Thrown Out Like an Arrow,

Falling upon the pigeons that have gathered in front of it. The pigeons are caught on their feeding grounds or water beds. When a good ground is located the nets are set, and the trapper puts himself on a hut of boughs at one end of the net line. When a flock of pigeons is seen coming, a pigeon is thrown up in the air to attract the attention of the flock, the bird being pulled down again with a string. The bird is called the flyer. Another decoy bird called the stool pigeon is made use of at the same time. He is tied to a perch on the free end of a strip of iron band about four feet long. As the flock approaches a string is pulled, which makes the spring bounce him up and down, and he flaps his wings to keep his balance. He presents the appearance to the approaching flock of a bird hovering over a feeding ground, and they settle down around him. "I once saw sixty-seven dozen caught at one cast of the net," said Mr. Thomas, "but thirty or forty dozen is an average big catch. Sometimes there will be only a dozen or so. I have seen the net lifted up on the wings of the pigeons until it

Settled Out Like a Balloon.

A number of pigeons toward the edge are apt to get out, but the men are quick, and work around the edges, stowing the birds in crates as fast as they get them out, and rolling the net up as they work in, until they have got all the pigeons, when the net is set again for another cast. The pigeons are caught on water beds as well as on feeding grounds. A water bed is made by filling an excavation with water. The pigeons on their way home from feeding will stop to drink, and are caught under the nets. Sometimes salt is used. "This season," said Mr. Thomas, "the acorns were so plentiful that the birds did not have to search for feeding grounds and did not decoy well. The water beds did not draw well, either, as they had the Canada river, the water of which is alkaline, so that salt also had no attraction for them. We caught the most on gravel beds along the river as they would settle down for stones to put in their crops to grind up the acorns." Pigeons are unethical in their habits in these great roosts. Early in the morning the Tom flight occurs. This is composed of the male birds on their way to the feeding grounds. When they have fed and drank, they return to the nests, and the female birds go to feed. The hen flight takes place between 8 and 9 o'clock. In the afternoon there is another Tom flight, and towards the evening another hen flight. The

Birds Stop for Gravel or Water

On their way home from feeding. The crates in which the birds are put when caught are simply large flat coops. The netters are spread over an area of twelve or fourteen miles. Every evening the teams make a round and collect all the crates. It is now necessary to get the birds on their feed, or else they will dye. They are put in pens and given corn to eat, with plenty of water to drink. For several days after they are captured they will hardly eat at all, and it is only after they have become accustomed to the change that they can be again crated and shipped. Two men travel in the car, and the pigeons are regularly fed and watered. The car loads which arrived on Saturday are shipped on Thursday morning, and the birds were fed and watered four times while en route. Pigeons nest four times a season, having one egg to a nest. "One result of the inaccessible nature of the locality of this years roost," said Mr. Thomas, "is that the increase is larger than ever known before. The number of squabs killed and pigeons netted is insignificant in comparison with the number hatched out. There are millions of them there. These wild pigeons are smaller than the domestic pigeon. Their plumage is a mixture of slate and gray. They have long tail feathers, and are birds of far quicker and stronger flight than ordinary pigeons. The pigeons are now penned near Jersey city will be used in the pigeon shooting tournament at Coney island.

June 24, 1881. Ouachita Telegraph 16(42): 1. June 29th in the Clearfield Republican. July 1, 1881, Daily Astorian 15(53): 1; and, August 3, 1881 in the Red Bank Register 4(6): 3.

Examples of Wild Pigeon Demise in 1880

Newspaper records from 1880 provide several exquisite examples of the reported extent of wild pigeons being killed or trapped from April to July for two basic purposes. This indicative material varies from market reports from New York City, an account by a jolly crew at a Pennsylvania roost, and reports associated with organized sporting tournaments where the birds were shot.

These are some of the readily available details, starting with the pervasive demand for edible game in markets, especially New York:

"About 50 bbls. of Wild Pigeons were received to-day from Pennsylvania, which overstocked the market, and caused a decline in price; they were selling this afternoon at 87 @ 1.00, and were not all cleared out at this figures." — New York Tribune of April 14, 1880 which indicated the wholesale price for the week ending April 13

Pigeons were nesting, in only a very few places, and these sites were where trappers congregated to earn some cash by harvesting a crop of birds.

One immense nesting site was in Pennsylvania, and another report of the season indicates additional particulars:

"Mr. George Hickok returned on Tuesday morning from Pennsylvania. He and two others caught in the neighborhood of Sheffield on the Tionesta, and Kane, Pa., eleven hundred dozen pigeons during the past six weeks. He reports immense flights of birds in that region, which have been nesting since early in March." — Ashtabula Weekly Telegraph of April 23, 1880

An first-hand account came from the Forest Republican newspaper issued at Tionesta, Pa. on April 28th as submitted by "Old Muley" from the scene, scribed in a folksy manner.

"Camp Virtue,"

Between "Salmon" & "Blue Jay,"

April 24th, 1880.

Dear Ed.

Agreeable to promise I send you a few "pencillings by the way." Our party, consisting of "Rant,", Newt," and "cap," started from Tionesta behind the spanking team belonging to friend Clark, towards the pigeons by the way of Nebraska, Big Coon, Red Hot, Black's Corner, where we took dinner, (one man ordered seven plates of bread,) had the horses fed, and started for Marienville, in a pelting rain storm; arrived all right, however, some of us staying at Col. Hunt's, and the rest at Mr. Burton's.

We tried the pigeons for the next two days, with unimportant results. We then "made a break" 6 miles into the timber, putting up at the "Hotel de Old Gent." Oh! ye gods and little fishes! After a few days the land lord "histed" us. I forget to mention that "Dad," Hancock" and "Cap." were the party that broke for the woods. "Rant" and "Newt," going to the Cunningham place. We met another "Hancock" and "Crockett" at this hotel.

When any of this party were inclined to find fault, which, strange to say, some were unreasonable enough to do, our host would answer, "D—— you, better yourselves." One day, however, we built a camp and prepared to occupy it; our host was very wroth, and shook one of the Hancocks, and called Crockett a "cat skinner;" said we were a pack of "Tionesta big bugs," etc. At times our host would treat us to a "cider cocktail," with a "drop" in it, which we would have gladly dispensed with.

We started from Mariensville with ten gallons of cider in the buggy; the roads were rough and the bung would come out about once every mile, especially if hit with a stone; the consequence was that when we got to our destination about two gallons were gone. At night "pigeon poker," — one pigeon ante — would while the tedious hours and pigeons away. Hunting stories, in which "Chat." took a prominent part, and "Dad." kept his end up, helped to amuse us. But let me remark right here that Sheffield "bug-juice" at $1 a quart, takes the rag off the bush. Then, after a few "smiles," — "rye" faces I mean, accompanied with an involuntary shiver, — the stories would be "romantic," some would say that wished to shirk the truth, but to a "man up a tree" they were certainly marvelous.

Yours, "Old Muley." — Forest Republican, April 28th

As the spring weeks progressed, reports changed from trapping perspectives to indications of pigeons being at the wrong end of a gun at contests where shootists took careful aim with every intent to blast a load of shot that would bring to the ground a living bird.

"At the shooting match in St. Louis, on Saturday last, between Fred Erb, of St. Joseph, and Capt. Bogardus, the Champion shot of the world, Bogardus won, killing 86 wild pigeons out of 100 and Erb killing 83 out of 100 which was a close contest." — Richmond Democrat of May 6

New York state Passenger Pigeons were also being taken and shipped eastward to the active New York City market in early May.

"On the Harrisburg express east this morning a part of the freight consisted of 10,000 pounds of wild pigeons, caught in the vicinity of Elmira, N.Y., and intended for the New York city market." — Lancaster Daily Intelligencer in May 1880

It cost less than a dime per bird to purchase a pigeon carcass to cook as a pot pie or any of the other ways that a bird carcass could be prepared for an evening's meal by an urban resident.

The meat of the day came from the local market in many cities.

Michigan birds were railroaded southward for a May sportsman's shoots in Texas.

"Six large coops of wild pigeons from Michigan passed down the Central last night, for the gun clubs at Houston, and four coops passed west for the club at Fort Worth. This is evidence that we will have birds for the State Sportsman's tournament which beings here the 17th of this month and continues five days. — Dallas Daily Herald, May 8th

Another "big tournament" with wild pigeons were the focus of shootists was in Ohio.

"A grand shooting tournament will be held on June 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th at Sidney, Ohio, under the auspices of the Valley City Shooting Association. The management announces that $4,200 in cash prizes will be offered for competition, and that not time will be thrown away shooting glass balls, as they have secured 4,000 wild pigeons." — Sacramento Daily Record-Union

Huge numbers of pigeons in Pennsylvania were harvested like a crop, with the extent conveyed in a few words on the page of a newspaper. Any impact on the nesting birds was tersely indicated, if at all considered. The actual extent of damage to these wild birds is not known.

As to commerce:

"Sheffield, Warren county, has shipped to market this season, 2,000 barrels of dead wild pigeons; 1200 barrels were sent from Kane." — Juniata Sentinel and Republican in June

There is no information available which conveys how many carcasses were stuffed within a barrel, though it had to be significant.

The final two reports for the four months considered for this one year are associated with shooting tournaments in Michigan and New York state.

In the "Town Talk" column of a Cheboygan newspaper, it reported:

"The Valley Queen brought down fifteen dozen pigeons for the Cheboygan gun club for their pigeon shoot on Saturday the 3rd of July." — Northern Tribune on June 26th

Pigeons had been reported as gathering near Traverse City, Michigan so takers arrived to harvest the birds as a crops, which was then packaged and transported to a market for personal profit.

Manly feats at the shootists contests were considered to be so significant that results of a New York state event was reported on the pages of a Nebraska city newspaper. A name of a one apparently "renowned" shootist appears once again.

"Capt. Bogardus and George Rimel, of London, shot a match on the 2nd instant., at Brighton Beach, N.Y., 100 birds each, $500 aside, Bogardus 30 yards, Rimel 28. The former killed 99 birds, wild pigeons, within range, the other falling dead just outside the line. This is the best shooting on record. Rimel also did will, missing only 12 birds." — Nebraska Advertiser issue of July 15, 1880

These succinct details indicate in a lesser extent the broader impacts on the Passenger Pigeons at a period when they were nearly continually "under the gun" in one way or another.

Gas Lantern Above Capitol Building Dome Killed Wildfowl

The Early Days of Gas. Experiments Made Forty Years Ago at the Capitol.

A Lantern Raised Upon the Capitol Building to Light the Surrounding Grounds - How Gas Was First Introduced into the Capitol Building and White House.

A venerable looking gentleman with an intelligent face, full beard, very white, and a bundle of papers under his arm, has been a diligent attendant upon the gas investigating committee of the Senate. This old gentleman is Mr. James Crutchett, who first introduced gas to Washington as an illuminating power. Forty years ago he resided in the cottage which stands on the top of the embankment at the corner of C and North Capitol streets. In the course of experiments entered into to please himself and gratify an active mind, he constructed works on his premises for the manufacture of gas after a method of his own investigation. He proposed to Congress to light the Capitol building with gas instead of wax candles then in use, and permission to do so was finally given him. He ran pipes from his works into the Capitol and illuminated the hall of the House and the Senate chamber by a single light in each. a large burner, or group of burners, giving a light of from 2,500 to 4,000 candle power, was located in the center of the sky-light overhead and it afforded all the illumination needed.

A Lantern Above the Dome.

Mr. Crutchett exhibited to a Star reporter a photograph of the Capitol as it appeared just after he had raised a huge lantern above the dome for the purpose of lighting the grounds. The building looked small and insignificant in comparison with the present proportions, and almost a dense thicket of forest trees then surrounded it. The columns were encircled with bands of mourning, as, at the time the picture was taken, the body of John Quincy Adams was lying in state in the rotunda. The photograph is a copy from an old daguerreotype, as the art of photography was not then known. The inside of the Capitol had been illuminated with gas for about a year when the contrivances for the lighting the grounds was hoisted.

The Saturday Evening News, of August 14th, 1847, contained an article announcing the "great lantern constructed under the direction of Mr. Crutchett, the inventor of solar gas by Buckingham," (a well-known blacksmith), would be lighted the following week. The lantern was hoisted on a mast towering about 150 feet above the dome. The mast was secured by heavy iron braces.

The lantern was surmounted by a ball and weather vane. With the glass in the lantern it weighed about 800 pounds. It contained large burners, and Mr. Crutchett says that when lighted it illuminated not only the entire Capitol grounds but all the higher portions of the city.

Birds Lured by the Light.

"The Capitol police," he added, "used to go up to the roof early every morning for the purpose of getting the game which, attracted and blinded by the powerful light, would fly against the lantern and fall helpless. They would find there wild geese, pigeons, ducks and other species of wild fowl."

The old lantern is now among the curiosities collected in the National Museum. The copper ball which was ten or fifteen feet above it is also preserved there, and it shows the marks of the lightning's wrath, expended upon it. There are five holes in it, made by the lightning's heat.

A joint resolution authorized the clerk of the House and secretary of the Senate to contract with Mr. Crutchett for lighting the Capitol and grounds, and appropriated $17,500 to defray the expense.

Meantime, as stated, Mr. Crutchett had been lighting up the inside of the Capitol with gas carried from his own works, without compensation, for the purpose of demonstrating the superiority of gas over candles. With this appropriation gas works, exclusively for the Capitol, were constructed near the northwestern corner of the building. These works supplied the Capitol with gas for some years until the Washington Gas Company prevailed upon Congress to purchase its product.

Lighting the White House.

After lighting the halls of Congress, Mr. Crutchett obtained the permission from President and Mrs. Polk to light the White House. He extended pipes from the Capitol to the Executive Mansion and carried the first gas into that building. He made his gas from grease or oil and oxygen. In order to cheapen the cost he made an oil from the refuse of pine trees. Mr. Crutchett is very confident of the future of his invention of water gas and claims that it can be made of a quality and power far superior to coal gas at a trifling cost.

May 22, 1886. Washington D.C. Evening Star 68(10313): 2.

Fashionable Cruelty - Slaughter of Birds for Ladies' Hats

What Mr. Bergh Thinks of It

Walking up Broadway one fine afternoon lately, a Tribune reporter noticed an unusually large display of plumage on ladies' hats. He was the wings, plumes, heads and bills of red birds, yellow birds, robins and humming-birds and almost every variety of the feathered songster known, doing duty in adorning the headwear and trimmings of the enthusiastic devotees of fashion. In many instances the birds that looked so pretty on those jaunty hats were complete, and the stuffed songster looked as gay as in life. In the windows of a millinery store, frequented mainly by wealthy ladies of fashion, the reporter saw many hats thus decorated. With a hesitating stop he went in and was met by a stout dame, who wore on elaborate dress dotted with dead fire-flies. In life these fire-flies had undergone a squeezing process, which causes the phosphorus in them to exude and has the effect of making a brilliant costume.

The storekeeper informed the reporter that fire-flies are imported from warm countries, mainly the Indies, where they are preserved for market. She had them for sale. One of the large counters was almost entirely covered with stuffed birds and various parts of birds, trade to be placed on hats and trimmings, as the fancy or taste of the wearer might suggest.

"Are you not afraid of being arrested for cruelty?" asked the reporter.

"No, indeed! We import them," replied the woman, looking the reporter out of countenance. "They would not arrest a woman?" she asked or rather stated in the most assuring manner.

The reporter called on President Bergh, who said: "I have noticed lately that this cruel onslaught is increasing. There is a greater display of these little tortured creatures than ever before. I notice it in the fashionable stores to upper Broadway, in cheap 6th avenue, and down in 8th avenue. The wanton slaughter, flaying birds alive, and tearing feathers from their quivering bodies, is the most barbarous cruelty that can be practised. It is an insult to the civilization which we boast. The savages can do no more than that. If he does take a few feathers from a fowl, it is the pride of a warrior that prompts him, not a merciless vanity, and he is, therefore, more excusable that our more cultivated and refined people. The feathers are plucked from these living birds, and their limbs are torn from them while in the agonies of death, under the impression that if the feathers are cured while the blood is warm they have a fresher and more lasting tint.

"They may import a few," continued Mr. Bergh, "but the demand for birds has become so great of late that the Jersey farmers are now trapping pigeons and raising squabs for this market, to be sacrificed to cruel fashion whims. The squabs are killed when only a few weeks old and their plumage is fresh and bright. A stuffed squab sometimes looks more "cunning" on a hat than a full-fledged pigeon. Stuffed squirrels are also largely used. What is more ridiculous, and yet suggestive of insatiable vanity than to see a couple of squirrels on a woman's hat? These squirrels are brought over from Jersey and the Long Island bogs by boys who sell them at 15 or 20 cents each. The young squirrels are generally selected for this bloody sacrifice because of their desirable size. Cats were formerly used, but there was so much trouble in cutting their skins down to the proper size that kittens have been substituted.

"It seems that nothing — not even the most defenseless and prettiest of God's creatures — the birds of the air, can escape the merciless hands of fashion's slaves. Fashion has such an unlimited power that are women are not only dead to mercy, but ruin their own health and sacrifices their lives in following its arbitrary decrees. A few years ago, England, and even India, took steps to prevent the further slaughter of birds. But America has done practically nothing.

"If the wealthy ladies of fashion of this city should set the fashion at discountenancing this practice, a great deal would be accomplished. If the leaders of society would cease using ornament's that were obtained only through cruelty, there would soon be no demand for them. The prevention of this slaughter rests with the leaders of fashion more than with this society; for the work is done so secretly that we cannot traces the doers to their butcher shops or get even the slightest evidence. We see only the results of their cruelty. So poplar has this cruelty of plucking live animals become that live geese are picked under the impression that the feathers make a better bed than if they were plucked after the goose was killed."

December 10, 1884. Washington D.C. Evening Star 64(9867): 3. From the New York Tribune.

Urbane Autumn Visit of Prairie Meadowlarks

After an extended walk up and down the hills on the west side of the Missouri River valley while retrieving aluminum for recycling purposes, and following a bicycle-based survey of birds based upon a long and detailed view of an area oxbow, my movement was quashed by the surprising sighting of a single meadowlark.

This bird was going about its usual larkian antics during the midst of a Sunday's time. It was walking about the low-shorn grass looking for a tidbit to eat, its mode of movement mostly dependent upon its two feet. While making its way along the side of a hill, when a local resident of color and unknown nationality stopped for a moment to glance at this particular bit of birdlife, he then moved along. The lark just walked a bit quicker away. During its transit, it moved a little bat faster and had to resort to a quick burst of flight to transport it from 49th Street into the adjacent, asphalt-covered parking lot where beer cans often lurk. Otherwise? Well, the situation ended in a manner which does not require an otherwise ... except one of continuation of a bird in action.

As it is autumn along the Missouri River valley, this migratory species more often seen about Nebraska grasslands, was walking around a tiny bit of green turf just south of 49th Street and Hamilton Street. There is no prairie expanse or even any sort of a bit of a natural grassy place which a wandering meadowlark might seem to prefer. Yet this lark of the east was satisfied with the situation.

The obvious occurrence conveys, once again, a meadowlark in the neighborhood. Seen mid-day, it was not seen later in the afternoon while gathering aluminum cans strewn about the area, while on a walk-about to note the local birdlife on a splendid autumn day when being outside was a preferential place.

While purchasing refreshments at the Hamilton Convenience Food Mart on Tuesday the 15th, the clerk Walt said there had been a meadowlark out in the parking lot yesterday. The date of occurrence was repeated three times, upon a request to get a particular indication of when there was still a lark within the city confines.

On the day he noted the visitation by a meadowlark, he talked about Red-tailed Hawks which nested in the vicinity, and about a protective parent focused upon a young bird on the ground. The youngster did not survive he said, and the cause of its demise seemed to be a cat, according to his perspective. His comments were nothing new, as he had indicated that some other patron had taken a picture of a small owl, immediately southeast of Metcalfe Park, as he was shown the picture. Some time many months ago, he indicated the visiting gulls and a Bald Eagle eating a squirrel in the same property lot where the meadowlark lingered.

Some people in Carthage appreciate birds and pay attention to their presence, and also, more importantly share their views.

Perhaps that is why there is food provided to the local birds at the place? Walt now throws out seeds or some other sort of food appreciated by the autumnal flocks of House Sparrows. Some of these flighty birds are a sight preferential to looking at the many aluminum cans or whatever other trashy items get tossed away, at particular places in the neighborhood!

While looking towards the ground a lively meadowlark is obviously a better seen.

Observations of a meadowlark in Carthage were another opportunity to appreciate this species. On October 18, 2012 a meadowlark was seen at the same place.

Might this be visitation by a single bird which during its migratory flight has found that Carthage is a place to visit? Only the bird(s) know, and their perspective is not written in any book.

Omaha's Zesto Building Conveys Design Problems and Causes

The relatively recently built Zesto building in North Downtown is gaining prominence for its significance associated with bird-window strikes.

The weekend of October 12-13 was especially revealing. Primarily the east facade — but newly realized for the north facade — the structure had at least seven window strikes on Saturday (four) and Sunday (three). There were certainly other strikes. Rainy weather on the morning of October 14th, limited survey efforts due to the wet conditions for a route which is usually traversed via a bicycle.

Birds were obviously active in the landscaping associated with the west parking lot of the CenturyLink Center, and on the north side of TDAmeritrade Park. They could be seen flying among the trees and ground vegetation, early in the morning.

A portion of the northern treescape at the west parking lot of the CenturyLink Center, with the Zesto building in the background.

Tree and ground vegetation on the south side of TDAmeritrade Park, which is directly north of the Zesto Building, on 12th Street.

Some of them hit the outer glass of the three businesses at this location: Zesto (at the south end of the building, and which is currently closed for the season), Blatts Beer and Table, and Lids Locker Room.

Most of the strikes occurred because of the glass exterior of Lids Locker Room, which is deadly to migratory birds.

Within a few days of mid-October, at least a dozen strikes occurred, as shown by the available records, derived from site visits on each day indicated from October 5th to October 13th. Weather during the most recent weekend was especially hazardous, as clear skies, slight winds and dearth of storms meant that many birds moved south in association with their autumnal migration.

• 278: 3
• 279: 1
• 281: 1
• 285: 4
• 286 (October 13th): 3

During the Saturday visit, while appropriately dealing with the triage of the birds already dead or injured on the sidewalk along the east side of the building, another bird bounced off the glass and, thankfully, was able to continue its flight onward back to the trees at the CenturyLink parking lot.

Once notes were written, the mornings' route continued on both Saturday and Sunday. There may have been other disabling strikes that happened, but there were other hazardous buildings to survey in downtown Omaha, along the riverfront and bluffs of the great migratory flightway associated with the Missouri River.

The species noted during 2013 at the Zesto building have, thus far, been the: Orange-crowned Warbler (one which was moved away from the sidewalk to beneath a tree and upon the few square feet of mulch, so it could die on a natural surface); Yellow-rumped Warbler (one), Mourning Warbler (one), Common Yellowthroat (five, which have mostly been female birds), Clay-colored Sparrow (three); Lincoln's Sparrow (seven, including some which hit the glass and suffer for quite a time upon the sidewalk as they recover); White-throated Sparrow (one); and, Dark-eyed Junco (one).

Pictures showing bird strike victims and the setting at the Zesto Building in North Downtown.

There was only one window-strike noted at this building during the autumn of 2012, in September. Six strikes are known to have occurred in May 2013. Add in an additional occurrence on September 11, 2013 to indicate the tally of suffering wrought by the architectural features of this place.

Dangerous Architecture by Design

Owners of the Zesto building are probably not aware of how dangerous their building is for appreciated migratory birds. Nothing has been done to address this intentionally built structure, which can now be known for its well recognized facet of causing bird deaths, as well as for other lesser features.

The obvious threats associated with this building were originally conveyed to its architect's before the plans began to become a structure. Some of the first strikes were indicated to the agency, so they are aware of the results.

Several obvious changes wrought the demise of so many birds in North Downtown. They include:

1. Clearing of the historic setting for urban redevelopment which has changed the urban habitat;
2. Requirements by planning officials of the City of Omaha which require landscaping features, as supported by advocacy groups such as Omaha by Design, for example;
3. Building architecture which include prominent glass facades, instead of the more "passive" wall features, such as brick, used for historic construction;
4. Failure of building architects to actively consider bird-safe designs;
5. Construction of numerous buildings with associated plantings which attract birds to a hazardous environment;
6. Failure of building owners to suitably address problems at places where bird strikes occur and have been repeatedly documented;
7. Failure of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to enforce the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, wherein every bird strike is considered a taking of a protected species; and
8. An obvious lack of intention in multiple instances by building owners to show any concern for conservation of wildbirds associated with the Missouri River valley. This is especially the case at the CenturyLink Center and TdAmeritrade Park managed by the Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority, at the 1200 Landmark Center, the Curtis Federal Building which has offices of the United States National Park Service, the Gottschalk Freedom Center associated with the Omaha World-Herald, Central Park Plaza, actions by the an unctuous official associated with the First National Bank tower, Union Pacific Center which is the home to a company which has millions of dollars in profit throughout the year and would would seem to be sufficient to provide funds to establish a bird-safe building, Holland Performing Arts Center, Zorinsky Federal Building which has federal offices and whose building management ignore the mandate of a "sister" agency of the United States of America government, Omaha-Douglas Civic Center, Law Building, etc.

Steps can be taken to reduce the incessant and illegal "taking" of wildbirds. There are a multitude of options, obvious to any knowledgeable and tendentious observer. This includes especially blinds which would be relatively inexpensive and not mar the static display of merchandise which no one might look at during the overnight and early morning hours.

Wildbirds are dying and suffering for unnecessary reasons in north downtown, and well as in the greater downtown area! Every building owner where they occur is responsible!