Evening star., 1948-11-04
This and That
BIZ Charles Z. Trnce,peli

A hawk in the sky Is one Of the finest bird
sights.
Especially in the cool days Of autumn do
those differently shaped wings float over sub
urban communities.
Then bird lovers who have feeding stations
must watch out for their charges
Simple issuance from the house is all that
Is necessary.
Hawks have marvellous eyes.
They see human beings as quickly as prey.
No gun is necessary
Few hawks deserve death.
They eat too many OF mans enemies to
be wasted.
Yet unfortunately the first thought of per-
haps eight out of ten persons is to kill hawk
any hawk-on sight.
This is too bad. s..
A hawk Is bird as well as any ':.
Particularly the person who feeds songsters
in the cold ought to think twice, at the least,
before killing hawk
The main basis of their hobby In addition
to the good they do. is to receive interest
Now, there, are few more interesting birds
than hawks. '...-.
They are the daylight killers of rodents,
and so supplement the night work of the
owls.
They are, above all else, sturdy, upstand-
ing. picturesque birds.
the suburban scene.
No other bird perches SO erect, with such
fearless look around, as q member of this
tribe.
From the little sparrow hawk (actually one
OF the "cutest' of all fyers) to the large Coop
ers hawk. these strange birds are friends
OF man. properly regarded.
They offer the average householder one of
his best everyday chances to learn something
about how to refrain from killing
That killer instinct, now devastating the
world, must be stopped in its tracks, else 1t
will end by killing all living things.
Today we have the means Of doing just that.
Politicians try their best to overcome the lead
OF the atomic bomb and germ warfare but
they do not seem to be getting anywhere
Perhaps the real gain will be In the average
citizen
When all the average men of the world re-
frain from killing something they instinctively
want to kill, then 1t may be that first hesi-
tating step shall have been taken against the
killer instinct in man.
Do not therefore, rush for rife, the mo-
ment you notice that slow, tantalizing drift
OF hawk over your yard.
Calm down, and just walk out That will
be sufficient.
The hawk is more afraid of YOU than YOU
of him.
Even If he takes bird now and then,
he has only done what nature taught him to
do. He has no aid from history, education:
he knows nothing of Kindness good will;
he simply does what nature has equipped him
to do
This does not excuse him, in q sense, but
in another very good sense 1t makes what
he does do appear far less reprehensible
Experts tell us that there are only q few
hawks that deserve death, and these appear 50
seldom over the suburban place that they
need not be worried about.
The others should be viewed for what they
are, interesting specimens Of bird life to be
studied and admired just the same as one
watches and LIS interested in the colorful red.
| birds. jays, titmice, chickadees and others.
The long rectangular wings of our hawks
have no counterpart elsewhere. The silhouette
| from the ground is unmistakable.
Only the vultures, or turkey buzzards, are
| such good gliders. Hawks have the ability
| of drifting over a neighborhood, casting q
| wing shadow instantly caught by every smaller
| bird.
| The speed with which the small birds van.
| ish, then, is something good to see, and SIM
| pie proof Of natures ability to take care
Of her own.