Evening star., 1944-07-25
This and That
BIZ Charles +. TrdceUelI,
DARLINGTON Va


Dear Sir:
with the call for water for the
neighborhood birds and squirrels I am
offering my recipe for 7S-cent bird
swimming hole.
dwellers who feel limited In what they
can do for the birds.
Il bought wash pan for 35 cents and
a five-pound box of concrete mix for 40
cents at local hardware store.
Presto. one ole swimnin' hole for
birds.
MY various attempts to water the
birds with pans and jar tops were spoiled
by the children carrying the things of
or the yard man cleaning up.
This time I'd anchor the thing! So
close under a shrub in sight of my
window, I dug a little hole to hold my
pan.
Then stirred up my concrete mix
with some water, poured about half Of
it in the hole, put the wash pan down
firmly into it, and poured the rest of
the concrete around the rim of the pan
and into it, covering it fairly well.
This provides a rough edge so the
birds can get a footing and not slip as
they drink and bathe. This is no
beautiful marble fountain, but for the
birds it's a regular Glen Echo.
"A mother robin and her three big
strapping sons have spent a week with
us. Father robin appeared with them
at first but now seems to be away on
business. The robin boys are big lusty
fellows, way bigger than their rather
slender mother-yet they are the
greatest babies I ever saw
They fly very nicely, and could at
least pick up their own crusts and
crumbs from the ground, and swallow
them. But will one of them do it?
Not much! They tag after their
mother, squealing and squawking or
sit stubbornly in one spot waiting, while
their mother picks up their food and
pokes 1t down their throats so they
scarcely have to 60 to the trouble Of
swallowing it. suppose father robin
thinks they are as big as he is and can
support themselves and is just not going
to be imposed upon any longer, so OF
he's gone. Sincerely. L. c."
songbirds more than food. for they can
often water is hard to find.
The truth is that feeding the birds in
summer is done solely because one
wishes to do 1t. The birds are able to
find their own living, but householders
can help them great deal. especially
during nesting time.
Water is different matter. When all
small puddles are dried up, it is dif1cult
for the songsters to drink or bathe in
deep formal fish pools in gardens.
Shallow pans or bowls are the answer
These either may be placed on the ground
or sunk In it, and almost any container
will do. Rough or smooth edges make
little difference. The main thing is to
see that the bowl is kept filled.
A robin will splash all of it out in no
time.
The formal bird bath on a pedestal
is favorite of jays and others. Per-
haps the best garden setup will con-
sist Of such pedestal bath in q corner,
and several sunken baths at various
points in the yard.
What Is easily overlooked is the
evaporation of the water during the hot
days. Some thought must be given to
a regular replacement. on sort of
schedule, or it will be forgotten.
One good point to the sunken bath Is
that it caves water to wandering dogs
ana cats, and occasionally . turtle.
No creature enjoys his bath more than
the small tortoise. Water about 2 inches
deep suits him best. In this he will
stay for about minutes, with his
periscope head ana neck sticking up,
his two little eyes looking around and
expressing genuine enjoyment.