Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-01-30
This and That
By Charles E. TrdceUell
ARLINGTON, Va.

Dear Sir:
81 am employed in a temporary building
south Of the Lincoln Memorial Rejecting Pool.
Recently because of the bad weather I brought
some mixed nuts and dry bread to place on the
windowsill for the birds. We had many visi-
tors all day, and they were hungry lot.
Il had q bird guide in my desk, and thought
you would be interested in knowing that our
visitors included many tufted titnice and
black-capped chickadees, brown ereeper, a
downy woodpecker, the usual pigeons sparrows
and starlings, and the prize, a Cerulean war
bier, rare visitor in these parts, according to
the guide. This morning we have seen another
bird that we think Is nuthatch.
yesterday afternoon we discovered that one
of the little chickadees had flown in window
to the back Of the room and was trying to get
out a back window. We tried to release him
through that window, but he was badly fright
ened and couldn't find his way through the
to pick him up and bring him to the open
window to release him. He rested in the
hand Of the girl who was carrying him, and
seemed loath to leave, permitting himself to
be stroked and petted.
1T was certainly great fun for all of U.s.
Sincerely yours, M. S. M"
CHEVY CHASE, Md.
Dear Sir:
n lew WOIuS Ol LAWN SuOJCSt. IA LAWN
kills with his claws more so than his beak and
the way of doing is not nice. Here are few
examples that have heard, read and seen.
"A hunter in marsh heard a bird screaming
and found marsh hawk with clapper rail.
He had it on it's back and had eaten practically
all its breast while the poor rail was weakly
trying to peck it. Another time friend OF
mine heard bird screaming and hawk don't
know what kind had a flicker alive that he
had plucked off every feather preparatory TO
feast.
"a full-grown quail that small hawk, either
a sparrow or shar-shunned, was riding on its
back, trying to kill it by releasing its grip and
sinking its claws into new place at regular
intervals and so 1t goes. I have frequently
had hawk fly over me with its prey calling for
help in Its talons.
From these few examples you can guess how
much goes on in the woods that Is not seen or
heard.
Take this marsh hawk, for example. He
has very weak feet and small claws for hawk
and the reason he lives largely on mice is be-
cause he can't handle anything else But he
sure can handle baby wild ducks, and he wasn't
exactly nice to that poor rail.
'They are all ruthless killers and kill what
they can, and If rat or mouse comes along
it is OK, but am sure they don't know that
athey are only supposed to kill rats and mice
and be nice hawks.
"At that, there are far better mousers In
the woods and fields than they are and I will
put the much-maligned red fox as one OF the
best.
mo, I am afraid would take shot at any
hawk, even sparrow hawks, as 1 like Birds
rabbits and squirrels better.
yours truly, F. j c.
y
If our first correspondent really had Ce-
rulean warbler, the little fellow was far, far out
of his way because these birds winter in Cuba
and Mexico.
We wonder if she could have mistaken
white breasted nuthatch for the warbler? The
cerulean warbler is rare here even in migra-
ton but there is always outside chance, OF
course, that one might accidentally come here
out of season
Hawks kill their prey with their claws and
tear 1t to pieces with the bill. as rule.
Nature in the raw is not exactly nice, and
no one in such world as this should become
too excited over depredations of hawks.
Why. 100000 human beings were roasted
alive In ovens, and otherwise killed by the
people whom we must now feed, we are told;
everywhere cruelty and death come. and cities
become dens Of iniquity, and we try to forget
1t, II we can.
Why single out the poor hawks as rascals
when real rascals, thieves and murderers roam
the world. getting ready TO light the ovens