282 Bird -Lore 



pruned to the last degree; but they are birdless now, and, even m May, hold 

 but few nests, and those evidently of inexperienced young couples. Then, too, 

 when the shallow water in the stone drinking-basin freezes through, and the 

 pool also has turned to ice, there is, below Bluebird Farm, a tiny brook, fed by 

 surface water and melted snow, that not only gives the Meadowlark his last 

 obtainable drink, but draws the first Redwings that venture to return to 

 their old haunts in the alders. 



There is something in old apple trees so attractive to winter birds that one 

 comes to search out even old stumps, and use them for feeding-places. Such 

 an one fell on its knees behind the wall, and, being very comfortable and much 

 appreciated for its picturesque attitude, decided to live a little longer, and 

 put forth fresh wands that are wreathed in pink each May. A few large lumps 

 of suet, carefully lashed with wire, make the derelict a favorite borderland 

 feeding-place. Is this not a much better use for the old native than cutting 

 it up for kindlings, and baring and repairing the tumble-down wall that has 

 been its boon companion these many years? 



For a certain group of winter birds, evergreens are a necessary lure; 

 and among these are the Crossbills, Pine Grosbeaks, Cedar Waxwings, the 

 Pine Siskin, the Owls, great and small, and the rare and surprising Cardinals. 



Winter is always cheerful among the spruces, for there is no sound more in 

 harmony with the gentle drip of melting snow than the snap and rustle of the 

 cones, as the Crossbills strip them in their feasting. More than once, among 

 these spruces, I have come suddenly face to face with a somber Barred Owl, 

 sitting upon a sharply horizontal branch, but yet so close to the trunk that it 

 appeared to be a part of it and they are the winter roost of the Night-Heron. 



The Owl is a bird more often heard than seen. Many a time I have said 

 there are no Owls about the place this winter, only to find the needle mold 

 under the pines and spruces covered with 'Owl balls' of their undigested and 

 ejected food, compounded chiefly of rodents, — that is, as far as the Screech 

 Owl is concerned. As for the Long-eared and Barred Owls, I am sorry to say 

 that I have found Meadowlark, Bluebird and Flicker feathers among the 

 garnishing of their balls of skulls and bones! Make ready, before the snow 

 comes, for the flocks that either fly from the north before it; or else are driven 

 from their haunts by the covering of their food supply. Always have one 

 food-station in the lea of house or outbuilding, and see that the daily supply 

 is kept up, and the shelves swept clean after a storm. 



A good broom is as necessary a garden tool in winter as a rake in summer. 

 Before thaw has turned the snow to ice and barricaded friendly bushes, knock 

 it off with sharp strokes from your broom (it is, by the way, this freezing and 

 thawing of the snow that clings to box bushes that kills them). 



Brush little spaces bare, and scatter chickfeed on the ground. Break a 

 path open to the brush heap in the garden, and use the broom freely, to keep 

 the snow from weighing too heavily and making the shelter sodden; also add 



