Elizabeth Dickens: a local hero, 100 years ago
"February 21, 1912: Canada Geese." Thus began Elizabeth Dicken’s 50-year habit of recording bird sightings on Block Island; and here we are, 100 years later, delving into those journals to discover and observe the birds of 1912, their common — sometimes individual — names, and the making of an amateur ornithologist.
The picture of Elizabeth Dickens’ development into a reknowned ornithologist emerges in the first volume of her journals (1912 – 1916). Like many birders of today, she started in fits and starts. At first she notes only a single species, with no indication of how many individuals were seen, and not on a daily basis. Between February 21 and April 18 of 1912, she recorded a single species on 18 days. Interestingly, on April 3, 4, 5 and 16, each notation was “Big flight Canada geese.” On April 21 her entry was simply “Horse stable swallows.” [I presume these are a specific pair (or group) of barn swallows as additional notations include: “Horse stable swallows hatched” (June 2, 1913), and “Horse stable swallows come out of nest” (June 21, 1913).]
From April 19 through May 28, 1912, the number of species observed on a day become multiple, but observations are not yet recorded daily. There are no recording of birds in June 1912. But on July 4, 1912, Elizabeth Dickens entered in her journal “Least sandpiper 4,” and thus began the habit of indicating the number of individuals seen. From July 4 to August 12, 1912, she recorded observations on 11 days. And then on August 13, 1912, with the list of: “Bartram’s tattler 4, Black-billed cuckoo 1, Yellowlegs 5, least sandpiper 5, spotted sandpiper 2, Semipalmated plover 1, Wilson tern 100, Ruddy turnstone 1, White-rumped sandpiper 25.” Miss Dickens skipped no days of recording for the next nearly 50 years.
Throughout the journals, Elizabeth Dickens made occasional other notations of interest as varied as:
"March 1, 1914: 8 a.m. temp 40. Wind at 5:30 pm 92 miles per hour. Loon 1, Herring gull 3, Meadow lark 3, Snowflake 1, Song sparrow 2. March ‘comes in like a lion.’ Fog and rain and terrific SE wind — wreck of 4 masted schooner Jacob Winslow at Split Rock Cove. 1 sailor drowned.”
"June 10, 1914: Bought oxen born in 1911.”
More germaine to her development as an ornithologist were the notations on April 21, 1913, that she attended H. L. Madison’s bird lecture; and on June 6 to 9, 1913, she took bird walking “trips” around Block Island with H. S. Hathaway. (H. L. Madison, Sr., was involved with the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, and curator at the Roger Williams Natural History Museum in Providence. H.S. Hathaway was a well known ornithologist of his time and contributed mightily to the natural history of birds in Rhode Island and New England.)
The first journal also contains a couple of entries that were clearly made by Elizabeth Dickens with an eye of recalling the past to inform the future. In the space for March 14, 1912, she has written “March 4, 1909 shot 1 Black Australian Swan at Dicken’s Point by Elazabeth Dickens – with a 22 rifle.” And also in the 1912 space she has written “Nov. 13, 1911 Big flight Great Blue Heron.”
I wish I knew what drove Miss Dickens: was it for beauty and curiosity, a pastime or hobby, a chance to contribute to her island community and the wider world as teacher and recorder, a neighborly connection? Whatever the reasons, I wonder if she knew that we would be searching her journals one hundred years later with an eagerness to glimpse at her era and envision her landscape, her wonder and the birds of Block Island — and the world — a century ago.
Inserted here is Elizabeth Dickens’ list of birds recorded in 1912. The old and colloquial names as use by her are retained — enjoy them. (The deciphering will come in a future article.) Note that she recorded only six species on her first December 26 (not yet a Christmas Bird Count) of bird observations. Join the Ocean View Foundation’s Community Bird Census on December 26 this year to celebrate and honor Elizabeth Dickens’ 100 year legacy.
Community Bird Census is an annual Ocean View Foundation event held on December 26 (traditionally the day that Elizabeth Dickens led the Christmas Bird Counts). This event encourages all who are interested in birds and enjoy the beauty of the island to spend part of the day keeping track of the birds they see. The short-term result of the day’s observations is the compilation of an island-wide bird list comprised of the sightings of many citizen scientists. In the long term these annual bird counts continue the work of Elizabeth Dickens and contribute to a much larger body of information.
All levels of participation are encouraged, from watching your bird feeder to traipsing the island. For details about Community Bird Census see the schedule below.
12th annual Community Bird Census • Wednesday, December 26
Feel free to participate as much or as little as you would like.
1. Meet at 9 a.m. at Sachem Pond where a spotting scope will be available for some early morning duck watching, and to join with others to make a plan for a day of birding.
2. Bird Walk led by Kim Gaffett at a location determined at 9 a.m. based on wind and weather.
3. During the middle of the day, participants will employ whatever means desirable to make a list of birds seen that day. The options for making these observations range from taking one or more walks, to watching your bird feeder from the warmth of your house.
4. At 2 p.m. we will meet at Bethany’s Airport Diner to begin to compile the list, enjoy some hot cider and revel in the stories of the day. Anyone wishing to call-in his or her Block Island observations may call Kim Gaffett at 466-2224. (To reach Kim “in the field” call 595-7055.)
This list of bird species seen by Elizabeth Dickens during 1912 uses the common names as recorded in the first volume of her journals housed at the Audubon Society of Rhode Island in Smithfield, R.I. The six species with (numbers) are the birds that ED recorded on Dec. 26, 1912.
Loon
Pied-billed grebe
Horned grebe (1)
Holboell Grebe (1)
Cory’s shearwater
Gannet
Cormorant — shag
Great Blue Heron
Little blue heron
Green heron
Black-crowned night-heron
Bittern
Turkey Buzzard
Whistler
Canada Goose
Brant
Mallard
Black duck
Blue-winged teal
Oldsquaw
American scoter
Surf scoter
White-winged scoter
Red-breasted merganser (2)
Ruddy duck
Osprey
Marsh hawk
Eagle
Duck hawk
Sparrow hawk
Sora rail
Coot
Wall-eyed plover
Black-bellied plover
Semipalmated plover
Wilson’s snipe
Hudsonian curlew
Long-billed curlew
Greater yellowlegs
Lesser yellowlegs
Solitary sandpiper
Spotted sandpiper
Ruddy turnstone
Semipalmated sandpiper
Least sandpiper
White-rumped sandpiper
Bartramian sandpiper
Pectoral sandpiper
Stilt sandpiper
Bartram’s tattler
Pomarine jaeger
Great black-backed gull
Glaucous gull
Herring gull (10)
Kittiwake
Wilson’s tern
Passenger pigeon
Mourning dove
Black-billed cuckoo
Yellow-billed cuckoo
Nighthawk
Chimney swift
Kingfisher
Scarlet-crested flicker
Yellow-bellied flycatcher
Kingbird
Migrant shrike
Great northern shrike
Yellow-throated vireo
Blue jay
Crow
Fish Crow
Horned lark (35)
Purple martin
Bank swallow
Barn swallow
Red-breasted nuthatch
White-breasted nuthatch
Brown creeper
Ruby-crowned kinglet
Bluebird
Veery
Wilson’s thrush
Wood thrush
Robin
Brown thrasher
Starling
Cedar waxwing
Yellow warbler
Chestnut-sided warbler
Myrtle warbler
Black-throated blue warbler
Blackburnian warbler
Pine warbler
Yellow palm warbler
Blackpoll warbler
Black-and-white warbler
Waterthrush
Maryland yellowthroat
Wilson’s warbler
Scarlet tanager
Chewink
Chipping Sparrow
Vesper sparrow
Henslow sparrow
Fox sparrow
Junco
Snowflake (50)
Rose-breasted grosbeak
Bobolink
Red-winged black bird
Meadowlark
Purple Grackle
Cowbird