Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-09-09
SCOME DROPS DUNN HARRISBURG
OUR BIRD POPULATION
By Frederic ]. Haskin
Continued From Editorial Page,I

| ~e@SSs~ - - e~~SS~ess
CONTINUED From Editorial Page.1
areas of timber tracts both of decidu-
| Gus and evergreen trees.
Flock Around Humans
1t may surprise most people to |
know that the birds are thicker in !
areas near to human habitation. Not
withstanding their suffering at the |
I hands OF, men, birds evidently love .
human companionship and prefer to |
build their homes near those of man |
kind. The efforts of the Audubon So |
ciety and kindred organizations have
secured great interest in bird pro- |
! lection in many rural communities |
and the localities in which this pro-
| lection has been longest established |
show the largest percentage of birds !
The highest number of birds to the |
acre so far recorded was on n tract |
at Chevy Chase, Maryland. where the |
average was seven pairs. 1t is claimed |
| that this large number is due to the /
announcement given to the feathered /
tribe by the residents of the neighbor-
/ hood. Nesting boxes are literally !
provided. Shrubbery and trees are /
available for the birds preferring 20 !
build their own nests and every pre- |
caution is taken to protect them from |
fright or injury. |
The owner of onc-half acre lot in I
Chevy Chase had IS pairs of birds rails |
! ing young ones upon mis- premises last |
year. He provided a permanent bird !
bath for their convenience. Next TO |
| Chevy Chase comes a tract of fifteen |
acres near Kennilworth, Illinois, where |
1 birds have been protected for several |
years. The enumerator counted |
eighty-four pairs of birds upon this |
! tract.
Robin Most Abundant
All the enumerators did not report |
| the varieties of birds because they did |
! not know them but the census indi- |
Gates that the robin is the most abun- |
dant species in the nation as it appear
ed upon all but three of the reports |
taken last year, and upon all of the |
| reports yet tabulated for this year. |
! The English sparrow, which is much |
objected to even by most bird lovers. |
ranks next to the robin in point of |
numbers. OF the other birds it is in |
, dicated that for each 100 robins there |
are forty-nine catbirds, thirtY-seven |
| brown thrushes, twenty eight house |!
1 wrens, twenty-seven kingbirds and |
| twenty-siX bluebirds.
The bluebirds are in great favor
everywhere. Bird lovers who know |
that almost the entire bluebird popu- !
lation of the eastern part OF the coun- |
! try perished seevral years ago dur
| ing an unusually severe winter will be |
glad to hear that the tribe is recover
| ing lTOIu the catastrophe ana now
numbers several millions
Aside from the practical value of |
the service the bird renders the far |
/ mer by the destruction of insects |
detrimental to his crops, there has
come a tremendous recognition of the |
esthetic value of bird life in the coun- |
try within the last decade. Nature
study in the public schools, the Boy |
Scout movement and several other in
1 fluences have aided this Boys no
longer rob birds nests of their eggs
! or pride themselves upon killing rob- |
ms with their pop-guns or air rifles. |
instead they are learning to protect |
! them from other destructive influences
and are building thousands of bird
houses each year in their manual |
training classes.
Many Protective Measures
! The Federal and State Governments
are cooperating to protect the birds |
from injury. Each year the shooting |
laws are becoming more protective |
especially for the smaller birds. Bird |
refugees, under private and public aus |
pices, are also increasing.
The United States Government has !
now seventy-four bird reserves scat |
tered over the country to provide |
quiet hooks for their protection. Ten |
of them have been established within !
the old parade ground of the Fort |
Niobrara Military Reservation in Ne |
braska. 1t has been fenced in and |
general invitation given to all birds TO |
come in and have a good time at
Uncle Sans expense.
! A considerable amount of attention
| is now being given to the cultivation |
of wild plants and weeds bearing the |
seeds which the birds prefer as food. |
A list of these seed bearing plants has
been compiled by the Department of
| Agriculture and may be secured by |
any bird lover. A number of women's |
clubs are having these plants cult |
waited in public parks for the benefit of
the birds of the com munity.
The cat is the greatest menace to
the bird life of the country and much |
| consid Grafton is now being given to
some plan for restricting the feline
| race. In residential districts, stray
cats can be abolished by the pound or
some other restrictive measure. Even
the most cherished pet cat cannot,
/ however be entirely cured of bird
eating proclivities. In some communi-
| ties, inverted tin collars, of sufficient
( size to prevent Puss from clint bing
over them, are being fastened upon
all trees in which birds are nesting.
But it is not only in the towns and
villages that the cat interferes with
| bird life. Millions of cats are now to
woods of the entire country. They
are animals which have escaped or
been driven out from domesticity and
have returned to their native wild
state. The habit of taking unwel-
come cats to the edge of the woods
and dumping them there is costing the
lives of millions of young birds each
year.
! Exterminating Many Cats
Trappers, during the last ten years
! have been capturing many cats in the
snares set for animals bearing more
valuable fur. They are already be-
| ginning a vigorous campaign of cat
determination and many sportsmen
are joining in It,
A naturalist, who was two years
ago conducting a scientific study of
the physical resources of Central Cali
fornia, came upon an especially at
tractive forest which was literally
swarming with cats. He only found
( four bird nests in an area of over
twenty miles and was fortunate enough
to rescue one of these from a cat
which was creeping up to secure a
breakfast of young birds. He ordered
his men to destroy as many cats as
possible. Several other parties made
war upon the cats and a visit to the
F. -I,a TI.a%