Evening star., 1948-02-12
This and That
BIZ Charles E. TrdceWell
ALEXANDRIA, Va.

Your column is enjoyed in this house and
looked for as one of the first items each
evening I like every subject covered but am
especially interested In the birds. = :.
1--WE haven't had success with birds in this
present homeSite because of forever hungry
dogs and chickens in the neighborhood which
overcome each and every obstacle we have
installed to keep them out 7t.. , .,1
Some folks care little about other peoples
property, and with such neither courteous
explanations nor even requests have assisted
us; naturally, fussing is not desired.
1--WE struggled with this problem for almost
10 years and in the late fall of 1947 had abso-
lutely no birds. We had given up trying.
This total absence was so noticeable that
I decided once again to feed them and do
my best to get rid of the nuisances.
I'm few days we had three little sparrows,
and after week or so about 20 of these and
few juncos, with three or four starlngs oc-
casionally in the evening and early morning.
Then came the snow, and what a blessing
it was for as you know, it forced the birds
to seek everywhere for food.
1--WE next had one cardinal who comes daily,
and one morning, four bluejays!
"Never before had we had jays.
when first noted the jays were hammer
ing away on the bark of sassafras tree
which we allow to remain because the birds
like it. They hammered away In one spot
like a woodpecker; we decided they were
cracking seeds, as scratch feed contains many
hard ones.
"I want to ask about the juncos. These
look almost black on top and more like the
Oregon junco.
"On January % heard bird sing, it was
the song sparrow, and I heard him several
times during the day. Is this early, or have
I been missing this in former winters?
Watching the birds Is fascinating, their
world looks like our own in miniature, with
all the types of people represented.
Another thing-it seems to me the birds
stay closer when I 60 outdoors with blue
clothing than when wear all white.
Birds do not know color as we do but do
YOU suppose white makes more brilliant
image for them?
"The little birds amuse me, when I go out
to chase chickens and dogs, they merely hop
into fir tree while the big birds, so big and
brave fly away!
''The minute turn my back, the little ones
are down again feeding When I go to the
mail box. they perch on the ridgepole and
watch-until look up. Some one said they
were frightened at seeing persons eyes.
- y
Many thanks for your column about every
thing, not forgetting your friend Templeton
Jones. Best wishes and good luck and may
more people put their attention on these real
things and thus be helped to clearer thinking
TOO often. because 1t is so easy, we become
frozen with fear by the barrage of news
items of strife, every one saying what is
wrong but leaving the impression that there
is nothing we can do about it, and thus we
add, by our attention and feelings, to an even
greater fund of this negative and destructive
activity.
'I do not mean to say that We can stick
our heads in the sand, as an ostrich is sup
posed to do, but by studying nature we can
surely do comparative thinking, without the
emotions going haywire, and thereby we should
find the solution.
Sincerely, M L. D."
Birds do not like white.
Cottage cheese for instance, put in feed
ing station, will drive them all away.
There is some connection, in the bird mind,
between whiteness and danger.
We know that fishes are white beneath
and dark above, in most cases, so that they
will blend with the light above when looked
at by an enemy below them and with the
darkness of the water, when looked at from
above.
The white of clothing, foods, ETC.. may In
some way strike the bird as belonging to q
bird of prey such as the white of some hawks
when dropping upon them for the kill.
Darker clothing blends with shrubbery and
SO on, and thus does not tend to give the
small birds alarm.
1t Is the glitter of the eyeball that spurs
birds to fly when eyes are turned directly
upon them.