Amid our total winter
misery, one bright spark of
light shone: we have attracted a flock of
bluebirds in Berwyn and it appears that
they intend
to hang around. In the past we’ve tried to entice these beautiful creatures onto our property, erecting the
regulation bird housing and chanting
incantations, but haven’t had any
success. Now it seems that they’ve
discovered us, our old tree trunks and high branches, and the fruit and yogurt Caroline has left for them. Gorgeous and high-spirited,
they’ve lifted our hearts and excited our minds.
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880. Why is it necessary for
man to erect bird houses? In natural wilderness areas, there are generally quantities of
tree cavities in which birds may
nest. As man settles an area, he tends to prune dead branches, remove hollow trees, and even fill in cavities
in tree trunks. Thus he eliminates
sites formerly utilized by
cavity-nesting birds, and if he wishes to keep
those species around he must offer
them substitute birdhouses.
881. When was the first
birdhouse erected in North America? No one can give a
definite date. The first white settlers
on this continent found purple martins using hollowed gourds hung on tall poles by the Indians.
882. What kind of birdhouse
is usually the most successful? The simpler the box the better. The more it resembles an
old hollow limb or a hole in a fence post, the
more success it is apt to have, and the more appropriate it will look in the
garden. Brightly colored, fancy-looking houses with chimneys, steeples, frescoes, porches, balconies and other
absurdities should be avoided. Houses with several compartments are not advisable
unless specifically designed to attract purple martins.
Buffalo
Springfield: Bluebird
(Link)
Text: 1001
Questions Answered About Birds by Allan D. Cruickshank and Helen G. Cruickshank (Toronto,
General Publishing Company, 1958).
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