THE BIRDS THAT NEST
IN GOLDEN GATE PARK
Ben Blow
TO one who loves the woods and
all the little furred and feathered
people that gather there. Golden
Gate paxk is at Its best. There is
a fragrance now to the new born fo
liage of each tree and shrub that van -
Jehes when foeterlns sun warmth
brings maturity "and everywhere oae
hears the eong of birds.
Oa each bright day the . park Is
thronged. Great automobiles slide down
lie emooth, hard roads with noisy,
equalling horns. The Tins of iron shod
'oofs resounds, and on each path and
*.n each tiny byway men end maidens
•wander, as xaan end maid have wan
dered, troolng, since the world began, j
But there are those of xia who shun
ihe paths and drives and delve iato the
thickets, listening to the songs that
fwcll cp like a choir celestial from
puffed out, feathered throats. For all
the blrfis are matins now and busy
pinging love songs and building nests
end hatching babies out, and In the
gladness of the time they Eing. their
best. •r.-T.'f*
There Is no finer natural park In all
the world than Golden Gate. Its \-istas
are superb. The sweep of shrub lined
road that leads to where the surf beats
on the shore surrenders only to a eea
scape where the sun glints on some tiny
oft shore sail, and oa beyond Is China.
where the west Is east. Deep down Jn
tJny valleys nestle tiny ponds. High
up on sandy hills climb tangled vines,
and art end nature meet upon a com
mon ground. In places all Is stereo
typed. Driveways and paths laid out on
Hogarth's lines of b»auty maze to and
fro between symmetrically spaced rows
of trees and endless stveeps of .close
cropped lawn: but Jn tlir hidden places
of the park aix- tfingjed thickets where,
fairy parkways run and make a \u25a0w-iider.
ECSS.
Love of the woods, its people and
i their tiny 2:ome spots is a precious gift,
iand one who leaves the beaten path
jways of the park and delves into the
j byways where the little people - live
! finds rich return. Tiny t!iickets. minia
ture Jungles, sod untrac.ked by any
human foot, make one forget the dust
and turmoil of the downtown streets.
the need to struggle for existence and
the Inhumanity of ;.;^.ii to mau. The
'somber shadows of clos« jj'" nw "ing ever
greens make co«l, dark cav«s. Th<>
Fprtngy yield of turf untrod is pleasant
to tired feet. The fragrance of the
1 pines and flowers and grass makes one
I forget the moil and rumble of the city
;Rnd Its fevered breath. And on a sway
jJn^ branch tip, his throat puffed out. a
» white crowned sparrow swings and
| sings. Unmindful of his audience, he
: lifts his lilt of song and sends it shrill
jlng to the blue beyond the skies in very
jjoy of life, a pean of praise. ' -* ' \ '
Some place close at hand Mrs.
iFparrow is house keeping demurely
(hoping, goodness gracious, that no one
jwill drop in on her and very much
i afraid lest woe betide her tiny habita
ition and her precious baby t eggs. But
\u25a0when Ebe is discovered she' slips shyly
:over tea nest's edge and disappears
j!nto the 'thicket, calling little nervous
, cries of alarm which serve to end the
isong-. With head cocked saucily on
jone side her mate flies up and regards
jtho Gargantuan interlopers, chirping
j angrily trhlle the seclusion of his home
ils laid bare before the camera, but
Iwhca. lie drooping branches have
ifwung to again and veiled tboir'nest
ithe interrupted house keeping resumes,
| the mother bird chirps throatily that
ia.ll is well, and then her. mate resumes
jhis perch, reslngs his song and all their
• tiny world Is happiness and peace.
One needs only to leave the beaten
pathways of the park to find bird
j house keeping going on happily all
j around. Th*e varieties that nest' there
' are mzjiT. sot less than 50 at the very
1 least— may they never be* disturbed.
Quail call out on every side and scut*
Ue around noisily In dense thickets or
fly up Into ;, the concealing branches of
ithe pines and eye Intruders; curiously.
{apparently not the least afraid, seem
ilnsr to know that they are protected
from all . harm. Their nests are many
there but hard to find <so carefully are
jthey hid from prying eyeu. But when
!a close and careful search ends: Jn suc
jcess there la en ample recompense for
!*h* time epeat..v •: \u25a0. '•;:.'.
vs(fi
Wltkla two feet of th* border' of a
well traveled path In tha southern por
tion of the park there Is a quail's nest
with 16 of the pearliest, whitest,
epeckliest eggs that ever \u25a0were. . Tha
nest is built Sat on the ground of
weeds and roots and grasses woven in
with leaves. The eggs are piled up In
it to the brim. SlJ^n. drooping, vlnelike
branches swing before it and make a
curtain that sways and whispers with
each passing- tiny wind. Thick grasses
make a screen that hides the brooding
mother bird from any but the sharpest
prj'ing eyes.
The mother quail -was close at hand
while her domicile -was .being photo
graphed and scuttled to and fro with
little clucking nervous cries until her
mate came up to comfort her and scold
the visitors. But when the picture had
been made and the curtaining grasses
and veiling vines replaced peace set
tled down once more and little mother
bird vrith feathers fluffed resumed. tha
brooding of Tier speckled eggs with a.ll
their life to be. " ;
Up a little liill not far from where
the quail's nest was, a robin's. nest. >
mud plastered and Uecorated with rags
and bits -of i>aper, . was found. This
bird Is one that seldom nests In Golden
Gate park, preferring the , quiet ) of the
foothills, singularly enough, " for / in;
other parts of the United" States -, Mr.
Robin Is a sociable and "; man loving
bird and ceems to be happiest when
nesting: close 'beside some house. : Th 9
?rreen-blue og-ss, unspecked or spotted,
leave no room for doubt and some
place closest hand there Is the un
tnistakablo robin's whistlingr call
sounding subdued and anxious lest the
visitors who pry ;so curiously bring;
harm to her and hers. Beyond the,
robin's. nest, and concealed* flat on the
ground, is the. nest of an Oregon'to
•whee. "-The grasses arch above' "It
curvingly and- make a tiny cave. 'The ,
nest Is wonderfully built from: a pro
tective standpoint * and can : scarce be
distinguished \u0084from. from its surroundings.
The three f ggs are still ' warm, 'but
while the camera was being unlimbered \
and during all the focusing. and fusei
Ing that is incidental" to .the setting of )
a nesative , ...that shows up: clear ; thero
was no cry or call of alarm. The own
ers , of i the i, tiny -; habitation \u25a0•..were,*; per
haps, too shy to raise a cry; of i protest,
or, perhaps, and better still,- they knew
intuitively that v their, visitors y. who
peered "• so , curiously ; would not harm
them for all the ;\u25a0 world. . -> ,
A; little rfartheri on . and > a , y erltabla
bird bungalow, a;: Hliputian cottage
. built by Anna'humming.blrds,' la found.*
It is a tiny, -lichen covered lump upon
a tiny," swaying twig. Soft,i padded in- :
. Blde l ,Trith down. and. fairy^feathers,"lt^
makes . a cradle ; for/ tha • smallest! baby '
birds of all. that come tp life In Golden
Gate .park. One,; looking : at- the
'\u25a0 thatched : and - fluffy domicile can . only ;
marvel at its delicate > construction ' and
wond er how : the I little architects ' could
- weava ; and ' build a ; home ' so; miniature
and so'compacL'^The nest is empty and
.the tiny,' pearly.'eggs yet to be laid, but
soon the 111 lput Ian house keeping: will
be on and ' there ' tha - miracle of It fa In •
all its mystery. In "all ; its
r will coma. to' be. iv;: ,;..; ; ;;'.:':;-';-:::-:;:. : - ;
\u25a0 ? :* Up ;In a -~ tree ;; close : ; by .'.the; lichen'
' thatched *, habitation of the : hummers : Is '
' * russet backed thrush and some place
close at hand his nest. It is a compact
structure, set solMly in a crotched
shrub and woven sturdily of roots 'and
entwined grass. -It holds three essa,
greenish, .brown blotched, v: This : bird
Is one of the sweetest singers in \ the
park, but few are fortunate enough to
hear his clear and vibrant notes.' which
swell out 'on', the -'air >' like music : from
some loud but 'distant - Aeolian ' harp
played on caressingly by the wootnK
passing breeze, \He slngs^ his best at
early morning, when the cool, moist!
dampness of the night begins to fade
before the first rays , of : the" sun, but!
\rhen the day climbs up the : eastwardJ
sky he seeks 'the • coolest shadowed:
depths and whistles only now and then
a. bell like, far" reaching note.: Early
to bed and early •to rise for the song
of the russet backed thrush.- .
Oae of the most Interes tin g Wrdrf of V
all f that : nest': In -s the ? park >, Is * the > Call- \-.
fornlan bush-tit The tits are tiay birds
with i ash 8 eray.h plumage & that* -i blends s
wonderfully;? with t their t surroundings. '
The I nest I they ; build Xis pendulous I and %
bulky.* swlngtngjtari down< and; swaying f
to 2 every;, breete * that y blows; | an% Ideal v
cradle'fQrjbabylblrdsUo, snooze" in. ' -It lr!l r !
Is woven of moss -and lichen, thatched.*
and reßembles nothing so much as ,a |
long, necked.' gourd. Tbeentranc*- is a
tiny Jhole^upt near- the; top, andv inside {/\u25a0
the eggs rest on a bed of Softest down.
The commonest bird of all those that
home in the park ia the Brewer black
bird. He Is an erratic follow, ne«tlng
sometimes Yon the . ground - and ' some
times 5 high? up: in trees. ,. The nest is ">'\u25a0\u25a0
clumsily constructed, made of twigs
or roots and plastered up with mud.
Tha ; birds ', ar« ft graenith ' black withy/
something ;of \u25a0an Iridescent cheen to
tbelrr feathers ?and th«y, ara very •«?
clable. On any afternoon at thlt sea
son (of the year the 'little fellows can
be seen prowling the spreads of green
that" stretch-out ? in : ; the : park^tndua'v
triouslyi hunting bugs l and t worms !ito
still iitha? etrldent? saualllng^of^ their ;;
younf;.\j'-V&* r '^ ; '' ; »' : '- : y.-' > 'ti- - - : ' : - 'C--&--" : **'i :? -' ;j :
'0 Alveryi! little' ; time fda'voted %to iblrd ,?
study Sin;, tba^parkl will" brta*i|rouchl
pleasure, and now Is "the time when all |
are [slnsingibesti Each dump lot [doss |
." cunningly J away \u25a0. rrom , pryrcs eyes a'ni
I soon ; the i busiest' time I will lof all
»thej year. for : all i tbe birds,' -The; babies
;srow,wlth\wonderful rapidity and their,
j appetites [are enormous. c With ' 16 little
'\u25a0 red •, lined 5 hungry | mouths *to | feed. Mr.
.; and J Mrs. Quail -will 'Cbe*# a every ; busy
\ pair.';?} 1 Insects, bugs \u25a0'\u25a0 and I berries must
be supplied by countless thousands, and
r t rom i the i moment % th.af . they ? chip forth
; from J their > shiells birds Iwill '
I have ;; a : fear (of : . man \ that : seems almost
\ pitl f vi; % Let some Tone ; approach a*- nest
I of I young / quail i and^; they « scuttle I forth '
i into :tha gbushas/a hiding i. under;* leaves
I and { choosing theirs surroundings "with"
; such' remarkable attention to protaett /a
I coloring, that It ! Is ; impossible to detect
itbem^byJ thai closest ;6crutinyv7 - '-.;.-; ' • : \u25a0-
And | so the living of the ; little f eatb-"
the; park i goes on. ; At
•arlymorn.afld when the shadows of
the evening" stripe the grass with lon^,
; Jtr*y^ ahadea;; they,; sing/WAll f day I they ;
I tend their babies., hunting food > and
J «var • bearing squalling cries i for; ; mora^
E Not only , must the f youngsters j be . fed
{ and : - cuddled, > . but ,< also, ; a ; little « later,
S they ; must Sbe taught ?to I fly.i f or j baby I
birda can no more uae their wings with
out Instruction % than baby : boya and
girls | can | walk. *!* So • all l the feathered
| fathers i and v mothers -of the % park • are
busy,: now. t and S whenl tha I sun Sf shines ;
% bright >. and . all , tha Is ky above Is \u25a0. bl u». '
labor V: cheerily^ and T: sing their ;
I songs that % reach ; Out bey ond * space, - a
pean^of;prai(»e to shim; who notes the
i-sparroWaifaU^ : •? n \u25a0?>?; • :^>'-v;^c "-\u25a0:.'\u25a0 -
\u25a0 '
Tha San. Francisco Suadav CalL
SPRIQHTTI^V WOMEN
WHO FISH AND HUNT
(Continued from Front PagO
was reared on the firth of Clyde, her
home being, close to the water's edge.
From her earliest childhood • she was
;on the water daily and can '. hardly; re- ,
member learning .to fish. As a;conse
quence Bheiunderstands boats perfect
ly. AH her fishing in. Scotland ; before
coming to "America was salt water fish
ing, cod, haddocks, whitings, fish ,in
America called, sand "dabs. _
For 15 years Mrs.' McMillan has mafia
her home in the United States and has
become an ardent devotee. to trout fish
ing.-- She fishes every year except when
she varies her habit by. making a visit
to the x old home In Scotland,, which
becomes a necessity ever>\ fourth year.
she says. She knows all the mountain
streams of the state. The first flshinp:
she did here was at Weber lake and
in all .the streams near Trucks*. She
fishes alone in her boat, preferring to
feel; that : her fortunes and misfor
tunes are all her own. with no one
\u25a0to -blame and.no ons to prals* but her
self.; * Wljere the pools jire clear with'
no snags she loves to drift a mile or so. .
*; Three years ago she fished at Glen
Alpine and : for the last two seasons \u25a0
has {fished along the Eel. . going by
boat to Eureka and then inland and,
stopping . at r Weymouth Inn, beloved of
anglers. she waits for her
outing "until the ... middle of September
and the run of: the steel head. On all
her trips' she :1s accompanied by her
, husband. \u25a0-_ She. candidly confesses that
she could not live. without the" fishing.
'Shells a; true sportswoman and is. con
tent wlth'nothing. less. than. the gamest
fish that the state affords.* "
Mrs. George : H. * Newman cares more
for- the = hunt than for fishing with its
requirement of patlenca. Her 1* gauge
shotgun is her pride. - She has handled
a gun only, four years, but has become
quite an expert One . day last season
at Point Reyes she bagged the limit of
quail.' Two deer have been her portion,
not -as: large, however", as she is am
bitious for .this ' season. Three years
ago she brought 'down 14 mallards In
\u25a0 flight. . • Such j a -. shot we would be glad
to claim "as ; a 'California -product. , but
unhappy circumstances gave her to. the
\u25a0 east. - However, "as \u25a0 a huntress ; « may
claim -her. \u25a0.;"': ,' -v \u0084- -.-*:• ; ;
Mrs. Newman had her first lessons In
. duck shooting at Collins ville where tha
Montezuma gun club holds forth. That
was in the days whan the club did not
eonflne ' Its bospi tality . to men. Several
ather members' wives -were learning at
tha . same time and Mrs. Ktwmaa re-
lates with enthusiasm 'tha great rivalry
that existed among them and the^mus
ance. She loves animals; has a splendid
mount and 'excellent^ dogs. "?« n «*
i Mrs.- Thomas J^Walsh. learn«d to usa
a. gun on -, the • preserves (of the Mohte
sutna, club. - } Durins:the -last threa
yearsv of ..women's ; ; admittance y she
Joined iln tha duck , shooting.' Sha has
no - desire ito vwal t '•; for ~ the r e venine
Bights but ;was; up. in',the:mornln^ £f
o clock day, after day/was \u25a0 peeping out
of-her,bllndfat:3:3O i end?perp\.trltlns
a«*«y/. d«eds ' wlth>: tha < rest \of \u25a0 thenT
B^tyMrs.uWalsh:;is \u25a0 an- artist ; and°sha
has , to- admit ? missing the
(light -because of :: her utter 'engross
ment In -the", sunrise." ; However - thera
ire ; plenty ,i of .sunrises s and Talso ' plenty
af . teal, : canvasbacks : and ; the ' like. '
!-{The ! enthusiasm? of Mrs. r J/ F-Nlckeli
Is ' of; the . sort 1 that ils born \u25a0of - the new
*ndunusual.^She;has ) had i ,but one sea
son's ; experience 1 at fauck? hunting and
the ivery; blunders thatlarosa from her
Inexperience • are - dear.; to ; hers memory
She 5 tells I how she . shot ; at ; the "decoys
because ; they ; were mora, or -less ate.
tlonary i and i not . so ; apt 1 / to ,; annoy' one
by away?; any % moment; "how «he
was S^ miserable "'•• they S did > not
ilnk.twhich: she; supposed * would •have
been^the (natural -? resulti had l she hit -
themr and ' how ,: tho [ menTdlscovered that
she I had I riddled % them "; with .? holes
iplit i them * abominably. -When * she " set
sut: the: first ; morning for Uhe -fuzzy
little -bnndUhat^ had r been; assigned to
her a!i* announced that ihs would
bring something home If It were only
a mud hen. And - she did. But the
pathetic part of It was thafe they would
not . let her bans It , up. She couldn't
tell' why. --•
Mrs. Nickels Is enthusiastic over the
Joys of the sport and Its heal thfuln ess.
aha cannot say enough for the outdoor
Ufa as a substitute for the fall and
winter card tables in town.
Mrs. Ai IT. Cummin* says of th«
sportsman's ltte that it Is "the only
Ufo there is." Last year when the
stress; of things In town rendered It
necessary for her to leave tha fishing
tackle unmolested in various boxes
and for her and her husband and
"Treat" -to t remain -at \u25a0 home, the suns
laid away, the whole, year was spoiled
and life seemed hardly worth living.
. Mrs. Cummlngs* affections ar«
pretty equally divided between the two
sports. She has made some wonder
fully fine catches of striped bass on
the San Antonio slough -where she con
siders the best bass fishing is to ba
had. The Gumming** ark, "The Cuc
koo," is her home durins tiie season.
She baits her own hooks with clams,
generally, for bass and has met with
great success. She did not have to
wait to learn to fish under the Inspec
tion of Mr. Cummins; sh» has fished
all her life. She Is familiar with tha
streams and lakes in- the- northern
counties. \u25a0 This year the two will reach
Klamath Hot Springs early.
For tha duck and quail shooting Mrs.
Cummins: goes to the Field and Tule
club's preserves. Her spaniel. "Treat."
:Is* constantly with her and she avows
that he takes a decided Interest la th«
fishing: as well as the hunting-.
The * most enjoyable fishing trips
taken by Mrs. George Webster Adams
of Alameda. one of ; tha popular brides
\u25a0of last year, have been the Trinity
county trips.. The two days' hard,
staging were no trial by reason 'or the
beauty of the scenery, as the road fol
loired the wayward bendings of th«
streams. Mrs. Adams is not a fly
fisherman. . She acknowledges thac
.frankly. She 'fished as th« people of
the place fished, chiefly wtth grass
hopper bait. Grasshopper bait did the
work and grasshoppers Were always
handy,. a thing- that could not be said
as truly of artificial flies.
Mrs. Adams is another womaa who
has fished . all her life and *• not sci
entifically at least successfully, which,
\u25a0would appear, to be tha greater con
sideration to the unbiased mind. Sh*
enjoys salmon fishing in Monterey bay
and gpes.there often In July whan tha
bijgr schools are running.
Her enthusiasm knows no bouads In
tellins of the deer hunt ia Trinity
county— how in early August, when tha
dawn broke at 4; they, set out at mid
night, having, to so a great distance.
. and. came down *tly» sides of a ravine
to wait for the coming of tho deer and
how, at- first,. being the same color a*
the dawn .the deer "were almost indis
tinguishable to any but the old hunts
men; and how deadly quiet It all was
and mysterious.
.A* friend of Urs. W. W. Richards,
who has enjoyed duck and snip* shoot
ing with her at the hunting lodge in
Sulsun county is Mrs. Charles V. Gross
of Oakland. Mrs. Gross Is exceedingly
fond of ; the gun. but is quit* as much
interested In fishing. In tha Ben Lo
mond mountains she and her husband
have a fishing lodge, tha doors of which
open to them at the beginning of every
season. This year they. will entertain a
house party and are already making
preparations for it. Tha streams they
cast > over are Bear creek. Boulder
creek. Love \creek and some smaller
ones. --
Mrs. Gross* great'arabltlon Is to be
long-to the Tuna club at Cataltca.
Since belonging to the Tuna dub im
plies ;tha catching' of a tuna, which, to
use Mrs, Gross' expression. la as larga
as a : drains? room table, she realizes
how almost . beyond * the \u25a0 hop* of *
woman such a distinction Is. Never
theless sha t has no Intention of giving
up trying. She has landed several of
, the big sea' fish there unaided aad
considers It excellent sport, even xt
difficult. •
.This year she hopes to make a hunt*
ins trip into Dakota. Not long ago
she shot grouse In British Columbia.
Mrs. E. ; p. Farnsworth. prominent as
a club woman during the winter, like*
nothing better ; than • to get: off in the
\u25a0summer. to some of the beautiful auiet
places In: California 'to enjoy tho fish
ing and tho scenery. -Some of the most
delightful -angling she has done has
been in v the :Yosemlte right over tha
edge of. the ' Nevada' falls, where tha
-xxsn come very close and never ceasa to
nil her with wonder at. their ability to
Keep -. from " going over with tha Im
mense crushing body of .water.
Fishing in Maudodno county at
JUlerly s . O n the . McCloud. Ec! and
Truckee-.b<Ho creak and : riier— has
afforded, Mrs. great de
llght. .She la -a : California womaa of
Merced and has \ always : fished. Tha
?* cC J° ud river 8n « consider* most de
lightful :of all -as - a feast , for . tha ayes.
v runs ; boisterously -and Is very clear.
She says the colors in Its d*pths make
ner^ think of. \u25a0 crushed emeralds \u25a0 and
W >s rtul P^k .precloujs i stones.
Mrs. "George C., Williams is credited
with beingrable to.cast a pretty fly.
Three years ago.' she '* took; perhaps tha
pleasantest-ofaUi her trips Into the
oig Meadows; country, and ;her flahinst
excited , the admiration of all In the
?? T w* * P ar *icularly „; the men.' To get
tfta^besfjfishing.'that^the county could
wllllngfto^do .the neces
sary ,» s. miles of staging.
>, iV 16 ;could; couId not r meet women mora
run 'of j the lova of : Ufa : than theaa
women , of , rod r and "? sma.