We may encourage birds to live about us, if we bear in mind their needs.
In winter we may feed the Chickadees, Cardinals, Downy Woodpeckers, and
other birds which live in our neighborhood. We may tack pieces of suet
on a sheltered branch and scatter grain and grit on “feeding counters.”
When snow is on the ground the birds have considerable difficulty in
getting enough food, and our assistance will sometimes keep them from
starvation. Feeding-shelters may be very simple, or they may be
elaborate, but they should be placed and built so as to serve the needs
of the birds best. A feeding-shelf built at a window furnishes a very
attractive and useful device.
Before spring is upon us we should erect nesting-boxes for the Purple
Martins, Bluebirds, and House Wrens we wish to attract. Those who are
interested in securing specifications for these boxes should write to
the Game Commission at Harrisburg for their bulletin, “A Year’s Program
for Bird Protection.”
In spring we should think of the trees or shrubs which will attract
birds. A fruit-laden mulberry tree always attracts birds in midsummer.
Thick bushes placed in clumps will almost surely lure nesting Catbirds
or Chipping Sparrows; a trumpet vine will mean Hummingbirds!
In midsummer the birds’ bath must be arranged. Such a bath may be very
simple. But it must not be deep, and the edges should slope into the
deeper water gradually. Remember that the water should be changed
frequently unless a running stream is provided.
House cats and birds do not thrive together as a rule. If you wish to
make conditions as nearly ideal as possible for your bird friends, you
had better not keep a cat, for these animals are, by nature, crafty and
bloodthirsty, and they will catch birds for “sport,” even though they
are well fed.
If you carefully watch the birds, you will become aware of their needs.
You may find it necessary to shoot Starlings occasionally if they
persist in ousting Flickers from their nests. You may have to plant
sunflowers to attract Goldfinches; you may find it desirable to allow
part of your property to grow up into weeds and bushes so that it may
furnish a home for some unusual bird neighbor. At my home at Bethany,
West Virginia, we have permitted raspberry vines to grow on a hillside
back of the house, and here Indigo Buntings nest, within a few rods of
the open windows!