I won't even hazard a guess as to what species of bird Daniel Boone was
describing. However, I would like to comment on something someone brought
up.
"...it seems the Columbus-area population (of Carolina Wrens) was thumped by
the -13 degrees F temperatures this past winter..."
I am not entirely convinced that the cold weather had much to do with the
decline in the Carolina Wren population in the Central Ohio area. Nor am I
convinced that there was a population decline so much as a population shift
for the following reasons'
1) In the 29 years that I have lived in the Columbus area, we have had a
cold snap lasting anywhere from a week to a month when the temperature drops
to below zero or into the single digits. Until this year, that didn't seem
to have a ill effect on the Carolina Wren population. In fact, the Carolina
Wren population seemed to be increasing.
2) I saw or heard more Carolina Wrens in the spring than I've seen or heard
in the same places all summer.
3) The population decline seems to be very localized
a) It used to be that I couldn't even get out of the car at Area M in the
Hoover Nature Preserve without seeing at least two Carolina Wrens (more than
that after fledging). Now they seem to be absent from most parts of Hoover
Nature Preserve (or at least, very scarce).
b) I hear them very frequently at nearby Char-Mar Ridge Preserve but I
never see them because they are way back in the woods off-trail.
c) I see or hear them every time I go to Dublin Kiwanis Riverway Park.
There is also a heavy House Wren population there. The House Wrens are
mainly concentrated around the north end of the park off the boardwalk while
the Carolina Wrens are concentrated in the south end of the park where the
trail is crushed stone. The next time you are at Dublin Kiwanis, note the
difference in vegetation between the north end of the park and the south end
of the park.
d) This year I have seen House Wrens at Lazelle Woods park in the area of
the park where the Carolina Wrens nested last year but I haven't heard a
Carolina Wren there since spring.
4) Until recently the Northern Mockingbird bred in more southerly climates
but has begun expanding its range northward. Despite the harsh winters
we've been having (Northern Ohioans can laugh here), Northern Mockingbirds
have been increasing in numbers to the point where it is a relatively common
bird in northern Franklin/southern Delaware area.
These are just my observations as a novice birder but it seems to me that
there has been a population shift in the Carolina Wren population as they
are muscled out of their traditional breeding grounds by the smaller but
more aggressive House Wren. He effects from last winter's weather seem to
have been minimal by my observations.
Al LaSala
Columbus, OH
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bill
Whan
Sent: Monday, August 10, 2009 8:50 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [Ohio-birds] Daniel Boone's Ohio bird riddle
My first idea was the Carolina wren as well. One problem is that both it
and the waterthrush were unlikely in Ohio north of Chillicothe at the
time. Wilson (1828) said the wren was rare as far north as Pennsylvania
(he investigated Ohio along Lake Erie and the Ohio River, but not in the
interior); Ohio's first ornithologist Kirtland (1838) wrote: "The Great
Carolina Wren was common at Cincinnati the last winter. I have not seen
it north of that city." Since that time, though this species has proven
vulnerable to hard winters, it's inclined to nest farther north than two
hundred years ago. Right now, it seems the Columbus-area population was
thumped by the -13 degrees F temperatures this past winter, for example.
Of the waterthrush (and most ornithologists of the time lumped the
Louisiana and northern waterthrushes), Wilson said pretty much the same
thing: rare in PA, but common further south; he also paradoxically says
it passed through PA on its way north (undoubtedly the confused sister
species). Kirtland says a few stay to nest in Ohio, but most passed to
the north in migration--again confusing the two. The waterthrush's song
does sound spookier than the wren's, I'll admit. It looks like either of
these species would be decidedly uncommon between Chillicothe and the
Lake at the time. But the text Bob quotes does say this bird was "not
often seen," and "uncommon." You have to hope a bird of ill omen would
not be seen every day!
Bill Whan
Columbus
Scott Moody wrote:
> From: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
>
> Bob Evans,
> Geologist, etc.
> Hopewell Township, Muskingum County
>
> wrote:
>
> Subject: Daniel Boone's Ohio bird riddle
>
> The old English vernacular "sparrow" just means a small bird so which
> little bird would start singing a lot when disturbed? And be inhabiting
> clearings, not woodlands, but cleared areas that would be devoted to
maize,
> beans, pumpkins, etc.? Certainly not a Louisiana Waterthrush; I would
> instead suggest the Carolina Wren
>
> Scott Moody
> Ohio University
>
from Bob Evans:
...Daniel Boone spent considerable time in Ohio, mostly either fighting
the "Indians," (Miami and Shawnee) or as their captive. A couple
chapters describe customs he observed while a prisoner of the Shawnee.
Ultimately his bravery and backwoods skills resulted in his being
adopted by a prominent Shawnee widow. "He often accompanied them in
their hunting excursions, wandering with them over the extent of forest
between Chillicothe and lake Erie."
One passage that is relevant here is, "There is in that country a
sparrow, of an uncommon species, and not often seen. This bird is called
in the Shawnese dialect by a name importing "kind messenger," which they
deem always a true omen, whenever it appears, of bad news. They are
exceedingly intimidated whenever this bird sings near them; and were it
to perch and sing over their war-camp, the whole party would instantly
disperse in consternation and dismay."
I wonder what it is, or was? Does anybody know? Maybe it is extinct. I
suppose it may not even be a sparrow, given that this is a
mid-nineteenth century account of incidents from 1778, but it was
probably a small brown bird, thus a "sparrow." It was "uncommon" but
certainly well-known among the Shawnee. It had a song of sufficient
clarity and duration to be regarded as a message of warning. We're not
talking Henslow's here. It lived in the primordial forests of Ohio, and
would at least sometimes perch in the trees, and so it could be "over
their war-camp."
This passage certainly illustrates that both the native Americans and
Daniel Boone were familiar with bird song and bird identification, which
I think is pretty cool.
My favorite candidate is Louisiana waterthrush. Any other thoughts or
suggestions?
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