Evening star., 1945-06-01
This and That
BIZ Charles E. Trdce1pell

Long lengths of string or wool should
never be put out for the nesting birds.
Always make the lengths short. not
more than two or three inches long.
What may happen unless this is done
was shown in a recent photograph Of a
poor mother robin hung in tree.
This column has warned against any
thing except short bits Of string, cord,
twine and wool for many years, but
people keep on putting out long lengths.
Except in few species, the birds pre-
fer the shorter bits.
Baltimore orioles like their twine
slightly longer, because they lash the
hanging nest to the long extended limb
Of tree.
This job is done by the mother bird,
who is praised by engineers for her COM
plete understanding of stresses and
strains.
All the other species, however, really
prefer short pieces of string, etc. They
make better use of these, and run no
danger in their handling.
Even for the oriole, however, no
lengths Of cord should be used greater
than inches.
This is long enough, and gives the
bird every aid. No bird has any way of
cutting twine or cord, and even long
pieces Of wool are difficult for them to
tear apart.
Orioles will become entangled in long
twine, and many of them have come to
their death by such pieces.
1t is so easy simply to put out any
length that happens to be at hand and
then sit back feeling very virtuous that
one "has helped the birds"
Helping the birds means using COM
mon sense. There are many ways of
helping our feathered friends, and all
of them call for some real understand
ing of birdlife.
Bright-colored bits of cord or wool are
not as good as gray or white, for the
former are conspicuous, and call the at
tention of squirrels and crows to the
nest.
So if you intend to give the birds some
nesting material, select it carefully, and
be sure that it is short
\ X
Old feathers, especially small ones,
would be acceptable to many species.
They might be lodged in shrubbery.
Bits of string save the birds a great
deal of work.
The oriole, for instance, must make
her own cord by stripping off fibers from
the milkweed and dogbane, II nothing Is
put out for her.
1t is good plan to empty the fluff
from the vacuum sweeper bag, now and
then, where the birds can get at it.
Horse hair is difficult for them to find
nowadays The gray fluff is good for
lining the nest.
Small squares of paper at times are
used by some Of the birds.
1t all gets back to not keeping the
yard too tidy. just as the too-tidy place
often lacks the best appearance, being
rather fussy to many eyes, so the super
clean yard is not the best for the birds.
Overgrown bushes and wild clumps of
untrln1med Saplings and berry bushes
even with plenty of stickers-offer the
best sanctuary.
If one really desires to help nesting
birds, good way is to put out small
mound of ground meat.
This is easier said than done, nova
days, but even today some meat may be
secured, and a bit given to the birds.
All baby birds are fed on insects and
the like. Meat is good protein food for
them, and if little of it is placed where
cats and dogs cannot get at it, it will be
accepted eagerly
Water is another prime necessity. Too
often the friends of birds mean well, in
this respect, but forget to fill the bird
bath or bowl.
Shallow pans sunk in the earth, or
simply placed on the ground, make fine
bathing and drinking pools, but they are
only mockery when allowed to go all
day without refilling.
A good husky robin can flop all the
water out in few minutes. If several
baths are used, none more than two
inches deep, it should be part of the
regular routine to fill them several times
q day.