Evening star., 1948-04-14
This and That
Bu Charles E. Trdcepell

OcdT
"Ihave noted In your column recurrent refer
ences 10 difnculties with pigeons, which ]
brouFht on myself, also some time ago, BY
starting to feed scratch feed for poultry.
IF it contains peas. it is all the more certain
to draw them.
only millet on the ground, and stnhower seed
on q couple Of shelf stations.
They hung around for . while, but soon
disappeared. The millet Is too small to pay
pigeons for the trouble Of gathering; it is not
satisfactory with the hull on, and to remove
the hull would be still more trouble.
1.-THE pigeon does not have the knack OF re-
moving the hull from the sunflower seed, and
50 that does not appeal to them either al
though they may eat few, case and all.
"Millet appeals to the mourning dove. all
sparrows, the junco, chickadee tufted titmouse
towhee, etc.
"The sunfower Is highly priced by the
cardinal, jay. and the others named.
There's great excitement at our house
now q pair of bluebirds having rented one OF
the three houses put up for their accommo-
dation three years ago.
"A wren took one within half an hour Of its
placement. Starlings have been seen, and the
bluebirds were very doubtful. cleaned out
the coarse sticks left by the starlings, and
grass nest left by kingbirds that raised .
brood there late last summer.
II noted one correspondent mentioned put
ting up the bluebird house. as though he
would take 1t down each fall and put 1t up
only in the spring Is this good practice2
The next houses build will have hinged bot
toms, 80 they may be cleaned readily.
Sincerely, H. L. w."
+++
Those with pigeon trouble" might try this
plan, but If their pigeons are anything like
those which clutter up some roofs, there will be
little relief.
Pigeons are long-sunering. They will wait
patiently for hours, days, weeks, even months
it seems, in the hope that at last their kind
Of food will be put out.
No one should underrate the intelligence Of
this creature.
1t never has just one source Of supply, as
sparrows often do.
The pigeon has its eye on two or more,
probably as many as six feeding stations,
within easy flying distance.
It leaves half of its flock on guard, and flies
OH with the others from place to place.
That is why it will seem to the long-sunering
householder shat there is no diminution in the
pigeon supply at all.
The pigeons will be back at the old stand in
short order.
Those which have become accustomed to
eating at one place display never say die"
spirit, and keep on trying to find something
to eat
Cutting out entirely, as suggested, the foods
named may or may not ease the situation.
All depends upon the length OF time the birds
have been around.
The difnculty comes when the oldtimers
refuse to leave.
Their persistency may even build up q Ger
tain admiration for them, because they, too,
are hungry in q hungry world.
Some bird lovers take down their bird
houses every winter. Certainly, they do little
| good in the open in the cold. There are few
| species that seek refuge in them.
If they are taken in, one must be on the alert
to get them out early enough. This means
about February l.
Old bird houses should be cleaned out every
| winter. So 1t is a good idea to put the bottoms
| on hinges. Screws may be used. In either
| case the bottom is removed more easily, and
| the old nest falls out without any trouble.
This is q sanitary service to the birds that
| they appreciate While they are fully able to
| clean them out for themselves and often do,
| it is something they do not relish, for they
| have plenty to do without it.
Nice clean houses ought to make something
| Of the same appeal to birds they make to
| humans. The old nesting material. In bird
| houses, Is equivalent to dusty. dirty rooms.
The debris is just something to be gotten rid
| Of; If the birds find 1t gone, there will be no
| sighs at all from them. What they look for Is
| the site, rather than the house itself. II they
| had q completely new house every spring. 1t
would be al right with them.