Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1922-11-16
NOTES BY OBSERVER.

friends have taken their departure for
HSir southern homes, the winter birds
are coming in and afford a good deal
OF pleasure 10 those who love bird life
Inc fall and winter birds are delight
iulIy interesting, though they do not
ahord us the same pleasure that We
get from the spring visitors that en-
tertain us with their songs and their
housekeeping arrangements. A walk
along some OF our country lanes these
iall days is we'll worth while TO those
VINO enjoy the birds. The junkos are
here In force, and the linches and the
various country sparrow cousins arc
much in evidence. The redbirds. or
cardinals, which happily stay with us
all winter, are numerous in town and
country, and Observer heard one sing
ing most cheerfully the other morning
luSt after sunrise. The pleasant
morning probably made him think of
spring.
There are great flocks of blackbirds
throughout the country, but most of
them will be flying south now before
very long. The starlings are also
hooking together, as is their custom
In the fall of the year, and thousands
OF them are seen swirling about the
fields in their peculiar maneuvers II
is an interesting sight to watch them
as they fly here and there en- masse.
The StarlingS may be seen in smaller
companies in town just now. They love
the berries of the Virginia creepcr
and the Boston ivy. Ben hartzell has
| been claiming that the starlings sing
like the mocking bird. Observer also
| heard them the other morning, and
wants TO put them on record as being
| pleasant vocalistS. A half dozen or
so gathered to feed on the ivy ber-
RES, and they whStled and converSed
IN muscIal tones most entertainingly.
We can prove this by Will Licklider,
tco, Indeed, he had been fooled into
believing that il was the mocking bird
that was singing, when in reality it
was the starlings. The mocking bird
that usually spends the winter on
'Tater Hill is back again, and will re-
main until spring unless he changes
his former habits. The mocking birds
are solitary in the fall and winter, liv-
ing apart from each other as a rule.
They are only sociable toward each
OF er in the mating season in the
spring and while they are raising their
families in the summer. They seldom
sing or even chirp at this time of the
year, though when they get excited
at an enemy they make themselves
heard. The sparrows and the mock.
ing birds have in instructive dislike
for each other. Wonder why il is?
There are good many partridge:
this fall, and most of the farmers are
trying to rake good care Of them anc
will not allow them to be hunted. Oh.
server saw covey of Fifteen or twenty
the other day on one of the country
roads, and the cheerful little fellows
were most interesting. They are ac.
knowledged TO be the farmers friends
destroying an incredible number OF
insect pests and noxious weed seeds
There are some wild ducks along the
river near Shepherdstown that will
probably remain with us all winter.
Several have been observed in the
canal below town, and there are others
above town near Zimmerman's lock.
For years past a pair of wild ducks
have nested on the Virginia shore in
that vicinity, and it is likely that their
descendants are still making their
home there.
The Potomac river has been very
low and very clear for weeks past and
rocks and sandbars are showing them
selves that are rarely seen. Ever since
Observer was a small boy there have
been wonderful stories of sun k n
treasures-now is the time when they
might be found if the weather were not
so cool and the waters so chilly. There
is tale Of Civil War cannon that
might be found; gold watches galore
at least two or three sets of teeth that
were lost by an unlucky cough or
sneeze; fine fishing tackle; and box
full of gold coins. Ah, if it were only
summer time, when one could drift
along in a boat and wade and swim
in the clear waters!
w. M. Frye, a student at Shepherd
College, had letter from his father,
James M. Frye, giving an account OF a
family Of beavers that have taken up
their abode near his home in Hamp-
shire county, this State. The beavers
made their appearance there S o m C
weeks ago, coming from no one knows
where, and settled on a little stream
along the North river. They have
been busily engaged at work making
preparations for the coming winter.
They ave gnawed down a number OF
trees and with their sharp teeth cut
them into sections several feet long,
with which they have already built a
dam across the stream and made a
considerable pond They raided a
cornfeld near by and carried of sew
eral shocks of corn TO help make TIE
dam tight, and are reported to have
made a very good job of it. The site
of their operations is about seventeen
miles east Of Romney. Mr.. Frye is
very much interested in the beavers
and will make eyery effort tn nrotect