The Newtown bee., 1904-09-09
THE HOME CIRCLE. OUR BATTERED FRIENDS. BY WILLIAM GAYLORD TAYLOR.

uereSteo m DlrQS) what 8 great amount of pleasure had last winter feeding the birds in my back yard. Fourteen varieties and 25 to 30 at time, and all but lone have readily eaten the food which I put out for them, and that one was the most beautiful and loving o1 them all, the blue bird. He seemed to be satisfied with Natures store. I be. gan early in the fall and put out bones and suet for the woodpecker, nuthatch and chicadeeSand for the two latter l cracked butternuts till I had used a half bushel of them and when they were gone l Iresorted to peanuts, which I fed raw, shelling and chopping them fne, and l used 15 quarts in all
 THE WARY CROW
 even, has come to "pick the bones" in the apple tree, not more than 25 feet from my door, but he always came very early In the morning, just at daybreak, thinking there would be no one stir ring. I have seen three at one time picking scanty breakfast from the bones, but face at the window was all that was necessary to cause them take wing and with loud leaving" hastily seek safer quarters. The sweet httle chicadee seemed the least sus- pictous of any of my flock and he read fly took his food from my hand and as long as l kept perfectly still, was con- tented to sit and eat, casting wonder Ing side glances at me occasionally. Both he and the nuthatch seemed to fear that their food supply would run out, for they carried away great quan- titles Of the nuts and hid them under heath the bark of trees land in cracks in the shed, everywhere and anywhere they could tflnd place to tuck them away and here the little brown creeper, with curved and slender bill, finds an abundant food supply and I can imae- inc poor little "Dee's'' disappoint- ment when he goes to look for some of the dainty morsels he has so carefully tucked away. The downy and hairy woodpecker have both been callers. the former constant but the latter only occasional, and last winter is the hrst time I have seen him in this To- cality and he seemed to heartily enjoy the suet which hung in a temporary cedar lone which adorned my parlor as Christmas tree) and not 10 feet from my door, where I stuck it in a | snow bank.
 l was much surprised, late in De- to receive
 CALL FROM A CEDAR wAxw1Na. first noticed him eating the dried grapes that hung to vine on my back shed, so l threw out some seeded rais. lns which he seemed to enjoy greatly. He also fed on the berries of honey 'uckle, which covers porch; his visit was short as l missed him after two pr three days. My greatest surprise, however, was to see, one very cold day ID January, song sparrow nestled in the vine on the south side of our shed, He looked cold and forlorn so at once let about making him comfortable. arranged shelf on the shed high up md partially hid it with cedar bouphs ma then scattered grass seed over it. He very6oon got:it and ate ravenously. put one very cold morning after a visit 'f only three or four days, I missed linn and suspect he was frozen on his 'erch at night.
 The tree sparrow finally found the eed, and from one lone bird the flock rev till there were IA. They were { onstant visitors all winter and were r 'ith me till March 12. Timothy and C lillet seed was their principal diet. though for change and in way dessert they ate peanuts ad fat meat. They are an Itremely happy set, full of life and yht, and I never tire of watching z lem, they readily drive the English t, arrow, and when one ventures to s' ight among them sudden dash from l tree sparrow caused Ihim to 'light V \, It." l greatly missed them when al ey lett. for their far northern:home. 8. The Junco with his modest slate lored coat and white vest came to c number of two, but they did not 4. sm to be welcome visitors among the Ts ys arrows, and came only occasionally. le goldfinch did not find his food SUD- 1n the seed which put az t as l did not see him A' ting anything except the berries on ds e honeysuckle. One Sunday morn. 3 in February, was fir
 M ERJOYED TO RECEIVE CALL FROM da
 A PURPLE FINCH, g only specimen I have ever seen Ill re. He came while I was watching DO other birds, alighting on clothes pl; @ directly in front and not five feet m my face, he then flew to the u" tn and picked up few seed but his y was very short, efforts to locate