The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1914-03-12
Where Are Our Birds?

Thirty years ago Iowa was vocal
with bird song the year around. OF
course many kinds visited us only in
summer time when they nested here
but when the snow began to fly took
their babies south for the winter,
often coming back in the spring seek
ing the old home nest, to hatch and
rear another brood. Now, alas, from
the first part of November until April
Iowa is practically birdless, save for
the tiresome English sparrow.
What is the cause? Some put all
the blame on the pugnacious spar
row. While he is guilty enough, do
not believe he is wholly to blame.
Bailey in his Two Hundred Birds of
Iowa" says: Lying in the embrace
of two mighty rivers, our state forms
part of the greatest pathway for
bird migration in all the world. With
in our borders lie marshes, lakes,
level plains, rolling prairies, timber
ed bottom lands and wooded bluffs,
in fact topography suited for the
nesting of many BIRDS" Mr.. Bailey
lists twenty-five birds who are either
residents of the state all the year
around or are winter visitors. How
many of this number have you seen
this lovely winter? Very few. With
a favorable locality and mild wealth
er We should have had many winter
birds. Where are they? When our
streams freeze and snow covers the
ground, what is left for birds to eat
or drink? Instinct tells them to move
south for food, while the sparrow
fights the brave ones who try to stay
the winter.
If every farmer in the state would
hang a chunk or two Of suet Or tai
low in tree near his home, it would
tempt many birds to settle near him
for the winter and they would repay
him many fold the next summer by
eating thousands of harmful insects
and bushels of seeds of noxious
weeds on his farm. Make the birds
welcome and they will prove good
friends.
New and destructive insect life is
appearing on our farms each year,
because our birds are decreasing.
The quail at one time so plentiful is
now rarely seen and the hunter takes
the few who try to stay with US. The
law has now protected the little Bob
White" from the gun, but he needs
more help during winter. A writer
in a Boston paper recently said of
the quail, "he is boon to the farm
err" He has taken great pains to
study and compute the value of the
work of the quail. He takes Virgin
ia and North Carolina as his field
of observation. He says there is be-
lieyed to be four bob Whites" to
every square mile, making 354,820
birds in each of these states. Accord
ing to the figures, the quail of these
two states disposed of 1,341 tons of
noxious weeds, besides giving their
little bodies for food for the farmer
later. He says every farmer should
regard the quail on his land as per-
sonal property like poultry and live
stock and care for them accordingly.
William butcher, president of the
National Audubon society, rates the
mourning dove as one of our greatest
weed destrOyers. He says recent in
vestigations made by the biological
survey of the United States depart
.ment Of agriculture of the food of
the dove proved this bird to be of
incalculable value to the farmer. An
other writer tells US it is in the de
rect interest Of the crop producers
that the natural balance of Dame
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