Evening star., 1939-07-05
Unemployed Man Gets
SoIuce in Bird Study
Believes Wild Creatures
Teuch Lesson of
Devotion to Duty

Devotion TO Duty
| To the Editor Of The Star:
What does an unemployed man do
with his leisure?
This is an important problem for many
unemployed. like myself, who find that
killing time" is one of the most nerve
racking tasks that an active man has
to face.
spend lot of time watching birds,
and find that it is a health-giving di-
version in time of trouble and nervous
strain. I have discovered wooded glen
not far from the White House, in which
I have observed 40 species Of birds while
I have been out Of work.
It has taken me over two years to
note them all. That is the way one
must observe birds-patiently, not in a
hurry.
Patience is one of the great lessons
the hobby has to teach.
How does bird study encourage pa
tience and help us to regain composure
and sense Of balance?
First, like all close contact with ma
ture. bird study breathes patience. We
do not find many impatient people
among those who live in the forest or
in the mountains, among those who
were brought up close to the soil, look
ing after the needs of and learning to
love their domestic animals. Common
sense may we'll be another name for
that sense of balance-it is not too
much to call it that type of education
which nature gives directly to those
who live close to her. The pioneers had
it. and those who are brought up on
the farm nearly always have it. Per-
haps this is the reason so many of our
great men were country boys.
Second, the birds teach the lesson
directly. Not long ago came upon a
ruby -throated hummingbird sitting On
her tiny nest on a low limb of small
pine. I trod softly, but I poked my
inquisitive nose within feet of her.
She did not move a feather, just sat
there looking at me. patiently doing
her duty in the face of seeming danger.
The other day I discovered a pair
of downy woodpeckers feeding their
young in the home they had drilled in
the dead trunk of an old apple tree not
10 feet from the ground. 1 sat down a
few feet away and, keeping as still as
possible, tried to merge into the back
ground. Every two or three minutes
one of the birds would come with bill
full of choice grub or insect for the
hungry youngsters. The father came
first and hesitated only an instant at
sight of me before alighting at the hole.
He fed one Of his young and was soon
of again for more. But the mother
found it harder to accept me as safe.
She had great time twisting her head
this way and that, and hopping from
place to place in the tree before she
found the courage to disclose the hiding
place of her children. But, though OBJ
viously frightened, she did not forget
her duty. Here again was patience in
the face Of danger, and patience on the
seemingly endless search for proper food
for those ever-hungry mouths until the
young were old enough to fend for them
selves.
But I think the greatest lesson in pa
tience is that taught us by the parent
robin as she feeds her young after they
have left the nest. We have all seen
fhie orI houo fo1t i'm, wit
her for being so considerate of her big
lazy youngster, which often looks larger
than the mother and certainly seems
old enough to 60 it alone. But we forget
what difficult job it is for robin to
pull an earthworm from it's burrow in
the hard sod. First, they have to train
their eyes to find the worm, and this
alone takes patience. Then, with a
series of quick, hard jerks, they have to
pull it from the sod before the worms
sluggish nervous system is able to bring
its full muscular powers into play. Did
you ever try to pull worm from the
ground? Usually it will break in two.
Yes, for the robin, successful living de-
pends on being quicker in thought and
action than the worm. The robins task
as a parent is not finished until her off,
spring has learned these things Mere
size and the ability to fly is not enough
Some time when you are going fishing,
try to get can full of worms without
digging or using lantern at night. 1t
will give you more respect for the robin.
The fact that the robin is the only bird
that has mastered this trick is another
indication that 1t is difficult, and no
easy lesson to teach fledgling. How
far would the parent bird get without
patience?
Third, because no one can become q
real student of the birds without prac-
ticing patience. After becoming ac-
quainted with dozen or so of the more
common species, the bird lover will not
progress much farther unless he does
practice patience. 1t is not by tramping
hurriedly through the woods with pair
of glasses that one become acquainted
with the birds. In my experience the
best way is to find spot where they
are likely to come, preferably by some
quiet little brook where the vision is not
obstructed by too much foliage, and sit
patiently and wait. In this way I have
seen the male American redstart alight
on reed not feet from my head and
lab ,,oo al ouar A,J ~, NF>X,