Evening star., 1945-02-08
This and That
BIZ Charles E. Tr1ceDell.
FALLS CHURCH. Va

AAA1o Sx1oktS11, va.
Dear Sir:
Il am inclined to agree with B. E. In
his tolerance Of the bow-legged star
dngs, but as you very well know have
no use whatever for squirrels Only their
acrobatic antics are amusing, and even
they are but the result Of Mr.. Squirrels
determination to hog everything for
himself, regardless of devastation and
the right Of other animals and of hui
mans
II remember how, last July, you be-
rated Chevy Chaser because he
'gummed up the squirrels attempts to
steal all his bird food, and determined
to see If the birds and could somehow
outwit the gray highwayman without
harming them. Taking advantage Of the
power Of fight, think we've got 1t.
I fastened the side Of the feeding box
with little landing LEDGE to the
Hanged top Of a piece of galvanized
pipe about feet long, driven into the
ground far enough to hold it upright.
Then creased the pipe-and bottom
and edges Of the box-with thinned
petrolatum.
ut is too far for a straight-up Jump
for the squirrels and too sleek for them
to climb. They did shin up once or
twice before creased the pole
Now they can only gaze up, yearn
and hunt their grub somewhere else. A
little bland grease on their toes will
only prevent trench foot
But the birds-oh, boy! They revel
undisturbed except by other birds, and
notice that even the jays and starlings
let wee birds feed with them.
only the male cardinal appears to
be high-hat
In the short week have furnished
food I have seen, besides the birds lust
mentioned. English and song sparrows,
tuncos, tufted titn tce and Il think the
Carolina wren; a4p two unidentified
"One bright pate dned visitor more
nearly resembling tn 4 mountain chick
adee than any other 3lored cut have:
though that seemed J be described as
strictly Western bir..s
Small peanuts. pht, with husks and
salt removed seem tb be the choice of
nearly every bird (and especially the
cardinals and titmice) to the exclusion
OF all small mixed grains
IT the gray rascals solve our feeding
combination and but in again, I'll let
you know. Sincerely, D. G."
Our correspondents two birds are
probably the red-breasted nuthatch,
which is seen here now and then, and
the white -throated sparrow, which has
white stripes along each side of its head.
The only chickadees to come here are
the black-capped chickadees and the
Carolina chickadee The one we see
mostly hereabouts Is the latter. Both
have black caps.
The mountain chickadee has never
been seen here, as far as we know.
The red-breasted nuthatch is beauty,
slightly smaller than the more COM
mon white-breasted nuthatch The red
breasted has particular fancy for pine
seeds.
The use Of creased pole is perhaps
the best way to outwit the gray high
wayu1an," as our correspondent calls
Washington's best-known animal.
Often, however, as rains and cold air
dry out and wash away the grease the
bold ones in fur manage to get to the
top.
Getting to the top is something with
which Americans ought to have SYM
pathy.
In this, the acrobatic powers Of Mr.
Squirrel stands him in good stead. He
Is able to climb q creased pole or pipe If
anything can. Certainly, this is the most
human way to outwit the squirrel, If this
Is believed necessary. It always has been
our personal opinion that this is not
necessary. The squirrel Ts hungry, too,
especially In the cold, and he often finds
food dinicult to come by, just as the
birds do. We feel sure that our corre-
spondent's bump Of tolerance, having
now expanded to take In the ''bow-leseed
starlings," eventually viii broaden to
include squirrels and others. This atti.
tude, one may feel sure, ID the salvation
/ Of the world. Il there Is to be any sey.
tng the human poetion q Il.