Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-02-14
This and That
By Charles z. Trdce,uell.
"GAMBRILLS, Nd.

Dear Sir:
I'VE want to report our first robin.
He was seen Monday morning,
February.
"Of course, he may have been a hold
out one OF those rugged individualists
which wouldn't conform with the flock
when they went South
But we're hoping he really was
prophet of early spring.
Sincerely, M. j. L."
Several reports of robins have come
in. all Of them out in the country or in
the suburbs.
1t may be, and then again it may not,
that few advance guard robins have
left the South under cover of slightly
warmer days and made for the North.
This would be as strange, however,
coming from that direction, as the stay
ing here all winter, as perhaps half q
dozen do every year, because few robins
leave the South individually, and not
until they have Joined the great migra-
ton bands Of several million robins
which meet and roost together for few
days.
They select some one or two counties
IN some Southern State along the sea-
board.
There they gather In bands said to
total 100000 birds.
This congregation occurs sometime In
February.
1T lasts for about four days, and dur
ing that time game wardens are kept
busy trying to keep some of the birds
from being slain.
The robin, of course, is no longer
classed as game bird, and its catching
for culinary or other purposes is illegal.
Still some few persons will succumb
to the lure OF robin pie. The robin is
nice big bird and said to be good eat
ing. Certainly whoever eats him con-
sumes pure earthworm after it has
undergone transformation into bird
flesh.
Many of these poachers are caught
and hailed into the courts, where their
fines, often run as high as $50 and costs.
This makes the sport" pretty expen-
sive, SO that not many birds are taken
out Of the huge bands.
After confabbing together, the robins
gradually break away in groups of a
thousand birds.
These small groups wing their way
North and often may be seen in late
February and early March as they land
on an open meadow or in large yard.
Once down, they spread out in the
hunt for food. This is real deploy-
ment and interesting to watch.
Unless it is seen as it happens, how
ever, it Is missed, for the robins keep
spreading out and never again form
such large formation, but break up
into successfully smaller and smaller
groups.
But often in the suburbs bands of two
or three dozen will fly down and immedi-
ately spread out over a neighborhoood.
This accounts for the fact that often
all one sees in early spring in the yard
are two or three robins, and many times
not that many, but just one.
The birds are beginning their spring
and summer life when they go it alone
as families, getting ready for the nesting
and care of the young.
Robins often meet inclement weather
after they get here, so it Is good idea
to keep on the watch for them and to
put out raisins, sliced apples, currants
and soft bread when they are seen.
Robins seldom patronize bird-feeding
stations, for their bills are not fitted to
handle hard seeds and grains.
If food is put out for them-and sliced
cake also is acceptable, thank you-it
should be placed directly on the lawn at
good distance from the formal feeding
place.
The grass is the happy hunting ground
of the robins, and 1t is there that they
look for worms, even when the ground
is too hard for them to find them, so
food put on the grass will be found by
the robins easily, even though 1t may
not be seen BY human eyes.