Evening star., 1947-01-14
This and That
BIZ Charles E. Traceuell.
"CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY

CAIdOLlC UNIVERSITY.
Dear Sir:
IT am a constant reader of your
wonderful column. I have read about
birds elsewhere, but they usually just
tell of birds seen; none of them tells
how to attract them. have learned
great deal from reading your daily
column
when I put out food for the birds,
take the crusts of fresh bread, raisin
and whole wheat and cut them up into
crumbs with my kitchen shears. 1t only
takes minute and more birds can be
fed and the place kept tidier.
"In neighboring yards where people
throw out whole slices, they attract
rats, and the bread gets SO hard it is
not eaten. By putting out crumbs as
do with some seeds, I save the price
of seeds The birds that come are tit
mice, cardinals, various kinds of SPAR
rows, Knockers, nuthatches. They seem
to like my system. I do not seem to
attract any towhees.
with every good wish,
Sincerely yours, H. c."
Bread makes a good winter food for
wild birds
If whole slices are used, they first
should be well moistened with water
or milk.
This makes them easily available
even to soft-billed birds, and insures
that they will be consumed.
Cutting bread in the manner sug-
gested by this correspondent is good
idea, but some persons would not wish
to bother with scissors.
Practically all the species which win
ter here can and do eat bread, either
of whole grains or the vitamin REIN
forced kinds.
Bread makes a good supplement to
the grains and seeds used in the So
called wild bird mixtures.
Sunfower seed, now rather expen-
sive, makes the best of all winter foods
for seed-eating birds.
If these are not included in mix
lures, a small quantity should be put
in each batch for the formal feeding
station.
It will be found that by exercising
a little restraint, much good is done
this way and it will not be expensive,
as the birds love to poke their bills
through the other seeds in order to
find their favorite.
This adds excitement to the cold
weather. One may feel practically sure
of this. If a human were confronted
with a number Of foods all heaped
together, and told that a favorite was
among them, undoubtedly he would
find and eat the favorites first.
It is the same with birds. They like
sunflower seeds and rake them out of
the mass.
Any food put out for the birds, If
left overnight, may show up rats.
That is why every one who feeds
birds should make special effort to
eradicate rats as they appear.
This will take some work, and little
money, but it is necessary. Food for
the birds does not, in a sense, actually
attract rats-the rats are there already,
and the food simply draws them to
place where they can be found.
Whether you put out food for birds
or not, rats are around, you may feel
sure of that; but If no steps are taken,
then the left-overs become rat food.
Poisonous rat bats. however, will
often kill pet dogs and cats, and even
the birds, so the admirer of bird life
must see to it that he is very careful in
trying to eradicate rats.
Red squill is the material which offers
the least danger to pets and birds, and
at the same time it is highly effective.
The danger is reduced. because the rat
has no vomit reflex, but the others
have; that is. they can throw up the
poisonous material, whereas rodents
must keep it down, to their ultimate
extinction.