The Bird Study BookPearson, T. Gilbert (Thomas Gilbert)
Science
The Bird Study Book
Pearson, T. Gilbert (Thomas Gilbert)
Birds; Birds -- Conservation
During the season when birds are engaged with their domestic duties
they are usually a very wise little people. They know perfectly well
whether a region is calculated to provide them with sure and safe
nesting sites, and whether sufficient food and water are available for
their daily wants. A little of this same wisdom on our part, and a
comparatively small expenditure, might make a bird paradise of almost
any cemetery. Such places are not usually frequented by men and boys
who go afield for the purpose of shooting. That is an important point
in the establishment of a bird sanctuary.
_Eliminate Enemies._--One great enemy of the birds, however, must be
guarded against--the domestic {232} cat. This can be done fairly
effectively by means of a cat-proof fence.
Gunners and cats having been eliminated, few other enemies of birds
need be seriously considered. Bird-catching Hawks are not often
numerous in the neighbourhood of cemeteries. Red squirrels are accused
of pilfering from birds' nests, and when abundant they may constitute a
menace.
Properly constructed bird boxes, wisely placed, have often proved a
means of increasing bird life to an astonishing degree; and they are
absolutely the only inducement to hole-nesting varieties to remain
during the summer in a cemetery from which all standing dead wood has
been removed. Even the strong-billed Woodpecker will not abide in a
region where the only trees are living ones, unless, perchance, an
artificial nest entices the resplendent and dashing Flicker to tarry.
Many a Bluebird, with its azure coat gleaming in the sunlight, visits
the cemetery in early spring. From perch to perch he flies, and in his
plaintive note can be detected the {233} question that every bird asks
of his mate: "Where shall we find a place for our nest?" In the end he
flies away. Therefore when the roses and lilies bloom the visitor is
deprived of the Bluebird's cheery song, for the little fellow and his
mate have departed to the neighbouring farm where they may be found,
perhaps, in the old apple orchard.
A few cents expended for lumber and a very little labour in the making
of a small box to be attached to the side of a tree or erected on a
post, are all that is needed to keep the Bluebirds where they can cheer
the hearts of sorrowing visitors. The tiny Wrens, whose loud bursts of
song are entirely out of proportion to their size, can be attracted in
summer to the proportion of two pairs or more to every acre.
It is a curious fact, of which I believe but little has been written,
that birds that build open nests may often be induced to remain in a
locality if attractive nesting material is placed within easy reach.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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