Evening star., 1944-12-27
This and That
By Charles Z. TrdceDeH.
TAMPA. FLA.

AANA6 a. xLA.
Dear Sir:
you can imagine how we felt when
we moved down here about half q mile
from our old home-for there was not a
wild bird around, and we did not like
the stiffness
I'VE missed our bird calls so much.
Il was quite sure they would never
find us, but think Of this, about two
weeks passed and then one day Mr..
Cardinal came
He scolded for all get out, and next
day flock Of wild quail, and now all
our birds have found us and their old
feeder and bath
"Our very same birds, all Of them!
Sincerely, B. B."
This letter should prove a real salts
faction to many readers who have won
dered, from time to time, whether their
birds would follow them If they moved
1t now seems that they will, at least
to the distance Of half mile.
Those who have built up In their
yard real bird clientele do not like the
idea of leaving their feathered friends
behind when they move.
Yet they cannot take them with them.
The birds must come on their own, II
at all But will they do it? Can they
do it?
1t is a question many ask. There is
surprisingly little evidence on the
matter.
It is not small thing, for those who
have spent much time feeding birds, to
think of leaving them behind.
No doubt, as strange as 1t may seem
to some, many persons have stayed put,
as 1t were, rather than take the risk of
their birds failing to follow them.
Their birds" is the way they put It,
1t exactly expressed the way they feel.
Out Of the billions Of birds In the world,
these 20 or 40 or 100 have become
theirs" in very possessive sense.
No one who has not put in time and
money and thought on this activity can
understand exactly how such persons
feel.
others to regard them as cracked" or
half baked" or at the least eccentric.
Nothing could be farther from the
truth.
Hundreds of hard headed business
men engage in the happy little busi-
ness OF building up bird clientele
around their place
They discover, In time, that 1t is q
good recreation, one which interests all
members of the family and guests, and
one which pays dividends, too.
Places where birds abound, both win
ter and summer, will have far fewer
insects to poster Victory gardens and
foundation paintings.
-
1t would be necessary, of course, for
any one to be sure that their own birds
had followed them, to be able to identify
few Of them, at least, by special
markings
Then If several Of them were surely
the old BIRDS and the general complex
ion Of the gang" about the same, the
observer could feel pretty sure that his
old group was back at the old stand.
After one has got the feel Of the birds
that he would be able to tell them any,
where.
Just how he would do this he perhaps
could not say, exactly. A cardinal is q
cardinal, Of course, wherever you md
him. One blue Jay looks pretty much
the same IN Maryland as one in Vir-
ginia.
Still, If one had group of eight red
birds on one street, and, moving not
too far away, had eight cardinals again,
he might feel fairly sure that they were
the same birds.
How far the group Of birds might
follow one Is still question. Our guess
is that one mile might not be too far to
expect. II any one has any more ideas
on this subject. especially from expert
snce, We would be glad to hear from him
% her.