Evening star., 1947-10-28
This and That
By Charles Il. Tracsuell.

"TENNYSON STREET.
Dear Sir:
"A hawk and four male cardinals provided
me with q real show Sunday afternoon,
II had noticed the smaller birds at our
feeding station, and had duly admired them
for quite a space, but my belief is that too
concentrated looking at birds is bad for my
eyes.
80 turned away to q book. and just chanced
to glance out the window. Something made me
look up, and saw 1t was q hawk high in the
sky.
There was no mistaking those biplane wings
No other bird OF my acquaintance has exactly
that silhouette, or anything resembling it.
THE hawk was 80 high that I could not
identity it, but imagine 1t was Coopers hawk
1T slanted down toward our trees, and I
looked toward the bird feeding station to see
If the cardinals saw 1t, but they had gone
wise birds, these beauties, they had seen the
hawk long before had, and were rs gone rs
If they had never been there at all.
II watched the hawk for some time rs he
sailed around.
The chirp of birds had ended There was
not sound in the garden. I waited for the
songbirds return, but not one Of them came
back for the rest of the day, although the hawk
was gone in 4 few minutes. I saw nothing
more of him, either. Very truly j. H. E."
++**
Redbirds as well as all the other songsters
have eyes that enable them to see a hawk at
long distance.
This is natures way, one Of her ways, Of
protecting them, despite the fact that she did
not give them what we call conscious minds,
in which they might store up impressions of
dangers and ways Of combating them. She did
something just as well for them, perhaps. by
furnishing them, or permitting them to fur
nish themselves, over the centuries, with what
we call instinct.
The instinct for q hawk enables smaller birds
to get away in time. Not always, of course.
Sometimes the hawk outwits this instinct. He
does this by Slanting in behind trees, SO that
the birds do not see him. He takes up perch
in tall evergreen not too far away, and
watches carefully until he sees some small bird
nxed in position with no other birds within
more than two feet from him.
Then the hawk pounces flying straight as an
arrow to his prey, which he seizes with his
great talons.
He can achieve this without causing any Of
the other smaller birds to fly away until he
seizes the chosen bird.
For a second 1t is almost as If other songsters
were not aware Of the fate that had befallen
one Of them.
The hawk instantly rises, carrying the ILL
fated one with him. Usually he comes to rest
not far away, when he begins to tear at the
heart OF the prey with his terrible bill.
Cardinals seem to be unusually canny, in
conscious coloring must be balanced by un-
usual caution It is seldom that one gets caught.
Our correspondent has a good idea in not
watching q bird feeding station and its Gus
toners too long at time.
The birds are agile, restless creatures, SO
much on the 60 at all times, even when eating,
that too close study Of them by the same pair
of eyes tend to make many eyes especially
middle aged eyes, smart and burn.
It is q good time now and then to turn the
eyes into the room, or look away to cloud
or far trees.
In this way there is no chance for bird
watching to harm the eyes, but only to be good
for them, since the movements Of the birds
tend to make the human eye keep on the move
which Is good for 1t within reason Too close
watching Of anything may make the observer
nervous, one Of the things bird watching is
trying to prevent The nervous person, besides
taking his B complex vitamins, should be care
full to do his bird watching in segments, as it
were, and not all at once, as some try to do
There are always birds, wherever one goes. It
is possible to watch them from an ONCE window
even when one is engaged in conference. Idle
watching OF pigeons and starlings offer the
executive, no less than the clerk, chance
for momentary relaxation Of the better kind.