Evening star., 1945-09-05
This and That
By Charles E. TraceDell
MOUNT RAINIER Md

Dear Sir:
1T seems to me that the birds have
been singing so much more this summer
than in past years. Could the cool ca
and wet summer have anything to do
with it?
The phoebe and the peewee have been
especially persistent in their singing.
The phoebe usually is heard in the early
morning. His lifting and melodious call
Is so sweet and refreshing to hear!
He is somewhat of recluse and
keeps to the wooded section. Only on a
few occasions have seen him come to
the trees near the garden.
The peewee appears to be more neigh
borly. He likes to perch on the clothes
line or in the locust tree and sing his
little plaintive 'pee-a-wee' between sud-
den darts for insects in the air.
We can usually hear him morning,
has sleepy tone, and we like to imagine
that he must take nap after each Pc
riod of singing.
That beautiful but elusive bird. the
Baltimore oriole, also has been heard
almost daily all summer, usually in the
morning. His loud call in summer is
shorter than the one he sings in spring
His call now sounds like 'cherr-per
chez per Chez. He seldom can be seen
easily as he keeps to the tops of tall
trees. Recently I got a close view OF
two of these beauties from the second
story window 1 was only about feet
away from them.
They were in an oak that grows
close to the house, picking out some kind
of worms off the oak leaves Both were
OF the same vivid orange and black anG
apparently were not mates
These orioles travel all over the
neighborhood in their daily search fol
food and their loud calls may be heard
quite distance
Every spring when the tent cater.
pillars are on the wild black cherry
| tree the orioles are seen cleaning then
off in good order.
This summer, however, I had the
pleasant surprise of seeing the oriolt
going up and down the rows of sweet
corn searching and pulling out corr
ear worms. He went about his busines:
very earnestly, making no loud call a!
he often does.
About that same time my neighbo,
| told me she had Baltimore oriole anc
two babies visit her feeding place on tn.
ground. Sincerely. v. I. S."
Wet weather is good for plenty of in.
sects, and many insects are good TO
| birds.
So no wonder they sing
Who wouldn't sing, or make other ap
propriate noises, if ones food material
lied plentifully without any work?
Such is the state of affairs in bird
land in wet, soggy, humid summer
Human beings may not like such wealth
er, but the birds do, because it mean
more food more easily gathered in.
Millions of yawning mouths call TO
that food, so it is no wonder their par
ents rejoice when it is plentiful.
Wet weather means bad crops, in som
cases, and good crops in others, but ais
it means more insect pests, as human
call them.
Food is what the birds call 'em.
The phoebe is not always a recluse
We know of one pair which built it
nest on the inside Of stone porch arch
| There it blended so nicely with tn
stone that stranger would not hav
noticed it.
In our own neighborhood the oriol
songs and calls have not been heard TO
many weeks. This is enc of the brighes
cheeriest of birds, altogether good t
have around. 1t is seldom that the
| will come to feeding station.