Page 46 - Our Vanishing Wild Life

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24 OUR VANISHING WILD LIFE
there is no protection at all for the latter in this state, even in the nesting- season; and thousands were shot last spring, in the unprecedented con- centrationofthespeciesinthesoutherncoastcounties. (SeeChambers' in The Condor for May, 1912, p. 108.)"
The California Condor is one of the only two species of condor now living, and it is the only one found in North America. As a matter of national pride, and a duty to posterity, the people of the United States can far better afford to lose a million dollars from their national treasury thantoallowthatbirdtobecom.eextinct. Itspreservationforallcom- ing time is distinctly a white m.an's burden upon the state of California. The laws now in force for the condor's protection are not half adequate I I think there is no law by which the accidental poisoning of those birds, bybaitsputoutforcoyotesandfoxes,canbestopped. Alawtoprevent the use of poisoned meat baits anywhere in southern California, should be enacted at the next session of California's legislature. The fine for molesting a condor should be raised to $500, with a long prison-term as an alternative. A competent, interested game warden should be ap- pointed solely for the protection of the condors. It is time to count those birds, keep them under observation, and have an annual report upon their condition.
The Heath Hen.—But for the protection that has been provided for it by the ornithologists of Massachusetts, and particularly Dr. George W. Field, William Brewster and John E. Thayer, the heath hen or eastern pinnated grouse would years ago have become totally extinct. New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts began to protect that species entirely too late. It was given five-year close seasons, without avail. Then it was given ten-year close seasons, but it was too late!
To-day, the species exists only in one locality, the island of Martha's Vineyard, and concerning its present status, Mr. Forbush has recently furnished us the following clear statement
The heath hens increased for two years after the Massachusetts Fish and Game Commission estabHshed a reservation for them, but in 1911 they had not increased. There are probably about two hundred birds extant.
I found a great many marsh hawks on the Island and the Commission did not kill them, believing them to be beneficial. In watching them, I concluded that they were catchingtheyoungheathhens. Alargenumberofthesehawkshavebeenshotand their stomachs sent to Washington for examination, as I was too busy at the time to examinethem. SofarasIknow,noreportoftheexaminationhasbeenmade,butDr. Field himself examined a few of the stomachs and found the remains of the heath hen in some.
The warden now says that during the past two years, the heath hen has not in- creased, but I can give you no definite evidence of this. I am quite sure they are being killed by natives of the island and that at least one collector supplies birds for museums. We are trying to get evidence of this.
I believe if the heath hen is to be increased in numbers and brought back to this country, we shall have to have more than one warden on the reservation and, eventually, we shall have to establish the bird on the mainland also.