"On reaching Cadillac, Michigan, May 8, we found that large flocks of
pigeons had passed there late in April, while there were reports of
similar flights from almost every county in the southern part of the
State. Although most of the birds had passed on before our arrival, the
professional pigeon netters, confident that they would finally breed
somewhere in the southern peninsula, were busily engaged getting their
nets and other apparatus in order for an extensive campaign against the
poor birds.
"We were assured that as soon as the breeding colony became established
the fact would be known all over the State, and there would be no
difficulty in ascertaining its precise location. Accordingly, we
waited at Cadillac about two weeks, during which time we were in
correspondence with netters in different parts of the region. No news
came, however, and one by one the netters lost heart, until finally
most of them agreed that the pigeons had gone to the far north, beyond
the reach of mail and telegraphic communication. As a last hope,
we went, on May 15, to Oden, in the northern part of the southern
peninsula, about twenty miles south of the Straits of Mackinac. Here
we found that there had been, as elsewhere in Michigan, a heavy flight
of birds in the latter part of April, but that all had passed on.
Thus our trip proved a failure as far as actually seeing a pigeon
'nesting' was concerned; but partly by observation, partly by talking
with the netters, farmers, sportsmen, and lumbermen, we obtained much
information regarding the flight of 1888, and the larger nestings that
have occurred in Michigan within the past decade, as well as many
interesting details, some of which appear to be new about the habits of
the birds.
"Our principal informant was Mr. S. S. Stevens, of Cadillac, a veteran
pigeon netter of large experience, and, as we were assured by everyone
whom we asked concerning him, a man of high reputation for veracity
and carefulness of statement. His testimony was as follows: 'Pigeons
appeared that year in numbers near Cadillac, about the 20th of April.
He saw fully sixty in one day, scattered about in beech woods near the
head of Clam Lake, and on another occasion about one hundred drinking
at the mouth of the brook, while a flock that covered at least 8
acres was observed by a friend, a perfectly reliable man, flying in a
north-easterly direction. Many other smaller flocks were reported."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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