Norwich bulletin., 1914-04-15

In the study and tanning of our na- tive birds, one soon learns that there are numberless tragedies in the seem ingiy joyous lives. The hawks. owls, butcher birds" and domestic cat are always ready to take advantage of the second when the bird Is not upon the alert It is unfortunate that more of the farmers and small fruit cultur- tsts do not realize the benefits to be derived from the presence of these feathered allies. If the common wild birds had been given fair chance in the past, there would be but little need or spraying the orchards and gardens and the crop of troublesome weeds would be much smaller Many who have learned that it is impossible Tor birds to obtain their natural food when trees and shrubs are covered with ice and the ground covered with a deep or crusted snow supply them for a time. This movement needs to be more widespread for there have been numerous reports of the finding of dead birds after the bad storms of the past winter
 In 1914 the following kinds of birds have visited my feeding places: Crows, biuejay, meadow lark Ia flock of eight) hairy woodpeeker. downy woodpecker,
 nuthatch, chickadee. Juneo, gold6nch English sparrow, song sparrow, tree sparrow, brown creepsT. and a very ! are common on adjacent property. l F'hckers are occasionally seen and l have heard q bobwhite a few times. l Now the bigebird robin and phoebe 1 have arrived. As a few robins and | bluebirdS sometimes winter as far ! north as Connecticut, the time of their | first appearance in a given locality is ! variable. The coming of the phoebe 1 Is more regular. My records for nine l years give March 24th as the earliest ! lot ha latest 1 March 29th is the average time. when 1 one may expect this useful and com | mon member of the fiy-catcher fam l fly in this neighborhOod. This year one was here on March 27th. One day in | February. when a nuthatch and two 1 chickadees were eating on the window 1 shelf q hawk dashed against the glass 1 Frightened and perhaps hurt 1t flew | away, apparently without catching i anything, although one chickadee was | missing the next day. The hawk was | seen sailing around on other days but not near enough for Identification 1 It looked about the size of a bluejay 1 an6 showed some bright reddish brown i feAthers as it flew away and disap l peared over the barn.
 1 The winter of 1912-13 was the only one during the past eight years that | had no tame chickadees. The winter before there were six for time al | came readily to the window shelf ano at least four would fly neaTleSSiN JC ! my hand both at the window and 1T the yard. One pair evidently nestet | nearby and were visitors at the win 1 low shelf as late as June Ith- The ! male continued tame enough to ca i from my hand. Once in July one came
 to the window and to my hand in the
 yard. Then for almost seventeen
 months none came for food. although there were sometimes two and once | four in the yard
 During the latter part of last No vember one or two were to be seer
 quite often but as there is no iarg'
 tree near they could not see the food
 which was kept on a second story win
 dew-shelf. They soon discovered thu
 squash seeds, which, cut in half ant
 strung like beads. were tied on Smal
 tree In order to bring them neare
 a heavy cord was tied between the tre-
 and the corner of the ell. At inter
 Vals strings of seeds were tied aboU
 the cord and on a bush near wher
 it ended. Also on the edge of the win
 dow-shelf and the blinds This worl
 was completed just as a flock of si
 came to the little tree. They at one i discovered the seeds on the line an
 performed a variety of acrobatic feat ! in their unsuccessful efforts to stan 1 on the slack line and pick the mea !, from the seeds, but by clinging under r heath. with backs down. they wer
 more successful even. when the cor
 swayed back. and forth in the win6 i They soon reached the bush at tn . i corner of the house and in just flftee , minutes from the time the windo1