Bird lore - Project Puffin

31^ Bird - Lore
Quick Lunch
The snowstorm that came so early in
December, 191 5, brought with it, as usual,
a host of winter birds, quite willing to
sample every kind of food placed for them.
This willingness soon grew to be a per-
sistent desire for 'quick lunch.' Two food-
boxes, each with shelf for crumbs for
seed-eaters, and a large table on the porch
A HOME-MADE FOOD BOX
Wire screen fastened at bottom with two double-pointed tacks
with a hook at the top. When unfastened the wire
drops like a lid
Photographed by Margaret S. Hitchcock
against the window, covered with all kinds
of crumbs, furnishes food, so far, for two
pairs of Downy Woodpeckers, one pair of
Nuthatches, several pairs of Chickadees,
dozens of Juncos, Tree Sparrows, and two
or three Song Sparrows.
It is extremely interesting to study the
great energy and the charm, of these birds.
The Nuthatches always come with great
haste, tucking crumbs under the bark,
hiding many times more than they can eat;
then along comes the Downy toward the
box, hitching upward or downward, no
difference to him, and gracefully eating the
crumbs the Nuthatch has hidden as he
—
comes. The Chickadees flitting hither and
yon, now at the boxes, now at the table,
on the ground, everywhere; Juncos and
Sparrows, hopping on the ground under-
neath, getting every tiny bit that drops,
never an atom wasted. This is the busy
time for our winter birds. And does it
pay? you ask. Ah, if I could but express
my feeling of gratitude for their confidence
and companionship ! They verily act as if
they had found an enchanted
garden. The Chickadees eat
from the hand, and when
the door is open come inside,
look about, fly here and
there, and, when quite ready,
fly out again; but then we
have long since parted with
pussy, and it pays. We loved
our cats always, but we find
we love the freedom of the
birds more.
When the suet in the foodbox
gets low, the Downy always
calls persistently, with
his metallic chirp, to say it
is 'most empty. We under-
stand each other. I place
more suet in the box, and I
do not hear his voice, except
occasionally, farther away,
until it is quite gone again;
then comes his low persistent
chirping, at the same time
stretching his neck and bobbing
his head, to see if I am
not coming. Then the happy
chirping of each one all day proclaims
food a-plenty. Margaret S. Hitchcock,
R. D. No. 2, Morristoivn, N. J.
A Minnesota Feeding-Station
The feeding-station near my house in
this city has been and is of unusual inter-
est this winter.
December 23 was a 'red-letter day.'
During the noon hour, we saw for the first
time a flock of eight Evening Grosbeaks.
We had looked for these birds every winter,
but never before had we been so fortunate
as to see any here. They were first seen