Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1924-04-10
URGES OBSERVANCE
OF NATIONAL BIRD
DAY in THIS SECTION
Dear Mrs. Gelders:

have been saddened of late years
to note the steady decrease in the
J Isnber OF song birds in Georgia, and
lEonder if anything I say through
your department of the Leader-Ent-
erprlse might not excite the interest
OF some others in following the ex-
ample of the Farm Journal in observ-
ing the second Friday in April as
National Bird Day.
Fer a number of winters following
the severe freeze of Feb. 18th, 1898. no
robins appeared during February and
March as they always had, coming in
great numbers and making our forests
and parks alive with their sweet song,
and when l thought they might never
come again l was filled with sadness
to think that my own children would
miss that thing that was so dear to
ME in my childhood, the arrival OF
those thousands of harmless song
birds.
They have come back, though not in
such great numbers, and I have been
saddened again to note the increasing
vigor of our little boys in killing or
manning them with sling shots.
At recent gathering l heard quite
discussion concerning the popular
sling shot, of how one of the ladies
leaving home after call was shot
in the arm by some little boy and PAIN
fully hurt; of the number of children
wearing bandages in the school room
from similar accidents, and I decided
that if Goliath should come stalking
among us we would have no trouble
producing little David.
But one of the ladies had discovered
through the sling shot the MEANEST
BOY IN TOWN. He had shot a
hooking bird and had broken its leg.
The little songster had succeeded in
dragging himself to the window sill
of this lady's home and his piteous
cries had attracted her to it. She am
putated the leg, dressed it and fed and
watered the little sufferer until. as she
described it, it would flutter to her
window and sing, Come Hither, Come
Hither, Come Hither" until she came.
This little one-legged pet has become
JOY to the neighborhood with his
sweet songs in spite of his crippled
condition, which, she said, did not
seem to annoy him very much except
when he tried to preen his feathers
There are other stories l might tell
of pairs of red birds roosting under
windows in shrubbery, and some of
their habits, which are really quite en-
PERTAINING, but I only wish to find who
others are that are interested in the
protection and preservation of these
little feathered friends and see what
might be accomplished along this line
by the observation of this National
Bird Day, which is this year April the
18th.
In the first place the pound master
might be prevailed upon to help re-
duce the number of useless stray cats
in our alleys; we might plant shrub
berry with berries to attract and feed
the birds. We might prevail upon the
boy with the sling shot to assist in de-
stroying the troublesome English spar
row that helps to fight away the real
song birds; we might study the insect
1vorous birds that are so valuable in
destroying insect pests and protecting
our trees, and lastly, follow the main
suggestion of the Farm Journal in en-
couraging the teaching of practical or
anthology in our public and private
schools.
Will you not ask for other appeals
along this line and see if we cannot
begin observing this National Bird
Day in Fitzgerald?
"A LOVER OF NATURE.