Evening star., 1936-07-16

have gradually grown less in the neigh
borhood, until today there are few of
them seen. No doubt they have gone to
the woods, too. A 10-mile flight would be
nothing to jay.
The faithful robins have not left, bless
them. How they do love the hose started
running, with the nozzle left off,
This procedure saturates the ground.
Often as many as half dozen robins
will come and take baths at the end of
the hose, or simply squat down on the
soggy ground. Worms are brought to
the surface, too, much to the delight of
the birds.
1t is an always interesting sight, that
of mother robin trying to wean her
babies. They follow after her with
squeaks announcing their great hunger,
but the mother pays little attention to
them.
See" she seems to say, this is what
you must do"
And she yanks a worm from the
earth.
But the big babies cheep necessarily,
so that now and then the mother robin
relents, and, coming near, pops a fine
worm into the outStretched bill.
Among the steady occupants of the
HdlOCll lldfC bCCLl GIlC W4C1lO, lODlIlo,
mocking birds, thrashers, catbirds, flick
ers. purple grackles.
Birds which were in the yard month
ago, but which have just returned again,
include the cardinal and the English
sparrow.
For one brief moment we caught sight
of the scarlet tanager, whose vividness
puts the bright feathers Of the cardinal
to shame.
We are glad to see several English
sparrows again.
Few birds have been slandered more
than this one. 1t is called lazy, and is
said to refuse to leave feeding station
as long as food is put out. This latter
is a plain lie. The English sparrows left
Of their own free will early in Spring,
and these few specimens are the first to
return. He, too, probably is looking
along with nuthatch and the charming
chickadee to see if the feeding stations
are out yet. They are as pretty as any
birds at the stations in the snow.
7 There is strange sparrow, smaller
than its English cousin, which has been
hanging around for a week or more. 1t
may be vesper sparrow. 1t is fetch
ing little thing, which seems to like to
hook its claws over a gate, or wire, and
sit there by the half hour.
The wrens which brought up family
in the bluebird house are back again,
after a few weeks absence in the nearby
woods They will start to raise another
family. if any Wrenhouse suits them.
Evidently they do not use the same nest
twice during the same season.
Bird houses ought to be so built that
they can be taken apart easily and
cleaned thoroughly. Many otherwise
good houses violate this rule 1t would
be just as easy to build them so the
top would lift off.
Robins are notoriouSly poor nest build
ers; that is why so many of their young
drop out on the ground. The parent
birds do not take much pains in select
ing site, often building on thin branch
which any human watcher could tell
them would break in the first windstorm.
Since few watchers, however. know the
the foolish birds go right ahead
Every garden is constantly changing
picture, no two days showing the same
actors, especially among the birds. "Oh,
the garden is full of BIRDS" may mean
one set of actors one day, but a very
mucn changed list month later. Watch
ing for and noting these incessant
changes constitute two Of the real pleas
ureS of the garden.