January 1965
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
- - VOL. XV, NO. 1 JANUARY . 1965 FEDERATION OF NEW YORK STATE BIRD CLUBS, INC. "SOUNDS You Will Want OF The Kirtland's Warbler NATURE" by Harold Mayfield $6.00 (Winner of the Brewster recordings Award, 1961) Produced by Dr. W. W. H. Gunn The Sandhill Cranes for the by Lawrence H. Walkinshaw $3.50 Federation of Ontario Naturalists The Flight of Birds by John H. Storer $2.50 Vol 1. Songs of Spring VoI 2. A Day in Algonquin Park Bird Mortality in the Dutch Val 3. Birds of the Forest Elm Disease Program Vol 4. Warblers by George J. Wallace Vol 5. A Day at Flores Morades and others $1 .OO Vol 6. Finches and others of our list on Each at $5.95 post free. birds, flowers, insects, fish, Shipped from Connecticut Write for brochure: and Indians. FEDERATION OF Ask For A LIST ONTARIO NATURALISTS CRANBROOK INSTITUTE EDWARDS GARDENS OF SCIENCE Don Mills, Ontario Bloomfield Hills, Mich., 4801 3 THE KINGBIRD is published four times a year (January, May, July and October) by the Federation of New York State Bird Clubs, Inc. Publication office is 419 Triphammer Rd., Ithaca, N. Y. Individual membership in the Federation is $3.00 per year as of Jan. 1, 1962, of which $2.75 is for a subscription to the Kingbird. Single copies: $1.00. APPLICATION for membership should be sent to the chairman of the member- ship committee, Alfred A. Starling, 75 Brooklawn Drive, Rochester 14618. CHANGE OF ADDRESS is handled by the Treasurer, Kenneth D. Niven, 61 Broadway, Monticello. EXCHANGES, BACK COPIES, and REPLACEMENT OF DAMAGED COPIES by Allan S. Klonick, 901 Sibley Tower Building, Rochester 4, N. Y. Application for second class mailing privileges filed at Ithaca, N. Y. Vol. XV No. 1 January, 1965 Pages 1-72 CONTENTS President's Page -----,-----------------------Robert S. Arbib, Jr. 2 Eighteenth Annual Meeting of the Federation of New York State Bird Clubs, Inc. ------------ William F. Minor 4 Call for Papers David B. Peakall 4 Pesticides and Wildlife ------ David B. Peakall and Walter R. Spofford 5 A North American Nest-Kecord Card Program Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr. 13 lnformation on Snowy Owls Wanted ------------ Christian Spies, Jr. 14 Summer Ornithological Research Program for College Undergraduate Majors - -- -- -- -- -- -- ---- - - -- -- -- - - - - - 14 1964 Fall Shorebird Migration in Central New York ................................... Fritz Scheider 15 Conservation News -,-----------------.----- Maxwell C. Wheat, Jr. 20 Field Notes: Unusual Numbers of Ruffs in Central New York David B. Peakall and Jean Propst 22 Lark Bunting on Long Island ...................... Tom Robben 23 Bohemian Waxwings at Belmont Lou L. Burton 23 Highlights of the Fall Season : August 16 - November 30 ---------,--------David B. Peakall 23 Regional Reports for the Fall Sezson 1964 ......................... 25 Membership Directory 1964, Subscriptions, Member Clubs, Exchanges .................... Alice E. Ulrich 62 Editor - DOROTHYW. MCILROY Associate Editors Field Notes - SALLYHOYT SPOFFORD Regional Reports - DAVIDB. PEAKALL Photographic - DAVIDG. ALLEN Editorial Board JOHN B. BELKNAP STEPHENW. EATON ALLENH. BENTON EUGENEEISENMANN FRITZSCEIEIDER Business and Circulation Manager - to be announced Cover Design - DOIJGLASL. I-IOWL-AND PRESIDENT'S PAGE Your President v~isheseach of you and each club a year filled with good news, good birds, good times, and good conservation. And hopes that the affairs and fortunes of our Federation vr7ill continue to thrive. The most important project facing us in 1965 is the commencement of editorial work of "The Birds of New York Stare." At the moment our author-designate, John Bull. needs only our financial support to commit himself full-time to the project; indeed he has already begun a study of specimens from our state in the American Museum of Natural History collection. Meanwhile, your President and Gordon Meade have prepared a brochure for the solicitation of funds for this project. It is an attractivcl 15-page presentztion detailing the scope of the project, progress made to date, need for the fellowship^" and related exhibits. It is being sent to funds and foundations as well as governmental agencies considered possible sponsors. Any member of the Federation knowing any potential sponsor, large or small, public or private, should communicate at once with Dr. Gordon M. Meade, National Tuberculosis Association, 1790 Broadway, New York City, N. Y. In the financial area, too, is a problem that concerns our Federation and every member of it. At our last Annual Meeting, it was revealed that the Federation's finances were in need of complete re-evaluation. While we were managing to tightrope down the line between red and black, we were in the black only because various officers and committee chairmen contribute their expenses. Several hundred dollars were "donated" this way. It was also noted that the basic annual membership has gone up onlv from $2 to $3 in 17 years, and that the club membership has remained unchanged since 1947. Whereupon the Council of Delegates, representing 27 of our 35 clubs, voted to instruct the By-laws Committee to revise the by-law, increasing the basic individual dues to $5 annually, and the club membership cor- respondingIy . Unfortunately, according to our constitution, the revised by-law must be first submitted to the individual clubs for ratification, and then resubmitted to the Council at our next Annid Meeting, before it can become effective. This means no dues increase before 1966, and a certain deficit for 1964 and 1965. There is one way, however, that we can meet this fiscal crisis without being unconstitutional about it. Each member can act this year ns if the annual dues were now legally $5 (or more) per person, and each member club can remit $. 15 or more per member, as if the dues were legally increased. There can be nothing compulsory about it, but we will need these voluntary increases if the excellence of the Kingbird be maintained, and the other Federation functions be continued. (Just one example of our problem: the annual budget of the State Book Committee is $10. For the preparing of the brochures described above, the bill came to $50.40, postage will be $10 more, telephones, other postage, etc., not even included! And yet we must do this job, now.) 2 The Kinpbird Need we say more? There is another way in which the Federation can augment its income, and that is through an increase in the advertising revenue in the Kingbird. Unfortunately, this vear we hare been unable to find a chairman for this important Kingbird Finance Committee. If your President had the time, or that job, he would first go through recent issues of all the nakure, ornithology, and outdoor magazines, and make up lists of all the advertisers who might be interested in adding the Kingbird audience. It would include optical equipment, books, clothing, travel, etc. Then he would prepare a strong :elling letter detailing the advantages of advertisinp to our highly selective, highly prosperous readership (at very modest cost) and then he would send out the letter, with a sample copy of the Kingbird, to the adver- tising director of each prospect. This is a task that can show important dollars-and-cents benefits to the Federation; a job for any member who wants to be of real service. It is currently vacant. Volunteers, please! One other important job is also looking for an active volunteer: Kingbird Business Man~ger. This is the job that Allan Klunick has filled for many years, of dealing with our printer and ~articularl~of storino, and mailing hack copies. With our new Ithaca-oriented editorial board, a volunteer from that area would be k refer red, but anyone anywhere to fill this vital niche would be welcomed. Still on the matter of finances, Adrian Dignan, treasurer of our John J. Elliott Memorial Fund, reports a current total of $960 or roughly 64% of our goal. First award of the prize will be made at the Syracuse annual meeting. A judging committee will be designated within the next three weeks. One more matter. Our new Corresponding Secretary, Harriet Marsi, has asked whether Federation members would be interested in an appeal of the Florida Audubon Society to raise funds for that Society's Bald Eagle Project. This appeal (for once) costs you nothing, for the F.A.S. merely asks that you send them used United States commemorative postage stamps, which are then packaged and resold, bringing about 35c per 100. Mrs. Newel1 F. Washburn of the Naturalists' Club of Binghamton, which appar- ently has the entire city saving and turning in stamps, sends the following information: Wanted, any and all commemorative issues - those celebra- ting people, events, places; occupations, arts, etc., - not the regular Pres- idential or air mail issues. Stamps may be sent on original envelopes or clipped off, keeping one-half inch margins, but preferably will be soaked off in warm water, dried, packed in uniform bundles of a single kind, numbered. Warning: Eleanor Roosevelt and Kansas stamps run when soaked, as do some stamping inks. Send to: Florida Audubon Society, P.O. Drawer 7, Maitland, .Florida 32751, and help save the eagles. That's fellowship, dues, Kingbird finances, Elliott Fund, and postage stamps. Please consider each carefully. Robert S. Arbib Jr. The. Kingbird EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE FEDERATION OF NEW YORK STATE BIRD CLUBS, INC. The 18th Annual Meeting of the Federation of New York State Bird Clubs, Inc., will be held at Syracuse. N. Y. on June 11-13, 1965. Head- quarters will be Haven Hall, Syracuse University. FRIDAY - June 11 Registration, reception and Committee IVleetings - Haven Hall. SATURDAY - June 12 Official Meeting of Delegates in the morning. Morning field trips for those who are not delegates. Paper Session in the afternoon. Annual Banquet in the evening.