Bird lore - Project Puffin

'^fje Butruljon Societies;
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
Edited by ALICE HALL WALTER
Address all communications relative to the work of this department
to the Editor, 67 Oriole Avenue, Providence, R. I.
TAKING A ROBIN CENSUS
In previous issues, various methods have been described of stimulating
interest in bird-study not only in schools but also throughout civic centers.
During the spring of 191 5 a public-spirited business man in the city of Sterling,
Illinois, undertook to awaken the people, and especially the school-children in
his vicinity, to an appreciation of their bird-neighbors by conducting a Robin
Census. Although elderly, occupied with cares, and handicapped by deafness,
this man determined to pass on to others the joy of a knowledge of birds, a joy
which had come to him late in life,—he writes: "l was fifty years old before I
took great notice of birds,"—and accordingly he visited each of the three
public schools of the city explaining his plan for taking a Robin Census in
April. To quote his words: "The teachers and the boys fell in with it at once
and there was much enthusiasm developed." Sterling lies along the north
shore of Rock River and is about two miles from east to west, and one-half
mile wide, making nearly a mile square, or 640 acres, fully covered with dwell-
ings. Its population is nine or ten thousand.
The method employed in conducting the census was competitive. In each
of the three public schools of the city a captain was named, under whom was a
corps of young boys who did the counting, and reported the results to the cap-
tain. The count began at 5 a.m. when nearly all* the Robins in the census area
were on the ground feeding. Starting at the base of each avenue at the river,
one boy on each side worked north to the city limits, in this way covering the
area quite thoroughly. Making due allowance for errors in counting, the final
result was thought to be a fair average since, while some birds may have been
counted twice, it is probable that not every bird in the area was on the ground
as the observer passed. The total count numbered 3,252 Robins. Mr. George
P. Perry, the organizer of the census says that fully twice that number of
Robins might have been seen in Sterling by June of the same year.
Of the three schools which took part in the census. Central School led with
a record of 1,386 Robins; Lincoln School came next with 1,077, and Wallace
School third, with 789. The largest single number recorded by any pupil was
164 and the smallest 18. Only four pupils observed over 100 Robins. Sixty-
three boys took part in the contest. The interest created, however, extended
far beyond the three schools immediately concerned, as the results of the
census were printed in detail in one of the city papers, giving wide publicity
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