FEEDING BIRDS IN WINTER 53 



some warning. But to draw birds about the low win- 

 dows, where they soon grow so unsuspecting and so 

 occupied with feeding and each other, is to draw them 

 into a sure trap unless protection is offered. A high 

 woven wire can enclose a space about the windows 

 effectively. No amount of vigilance will outwit a cat. 

 Early and late I find them lying in hiding, and they 

 will spring upon the window-sill and take off a bird, 

 if they can only approach close to the edge of the 

 house. 



"In this as in all other things, the measure of success 

 will depend upon the attention given to it, and how 

 much of one's real self goes into it. Cared for to-day 

 and neglected to-morrow, failure will follow. Food 

 may be furnished and birds be present, and little joy 

 flow to the giver. But with a heart filled with a love 

 for the life all about one and a desire to solve such 

 questions as spontaneously accompany nature work, I 

 know of no other pursuit that brings richer rewards. 

 There is no side of our character which will not grow 

 finer, more tender, more reverent from the effort at a 

 closer living to nature's heart, a sympathetic study of 

 her work all about us." 



Mrs. Davenport's description refers to feeding birds 

 in gardens and on lawns in a small town, and the fol- 

 lowing species have been identified by her in and near 

 her orchard : 



300. Ruffed Grouse. 360. American Sparrow-Hawk. 



332. Sharp-shinned Hawk. 373. Screech Owl. 



333. Cooper's Hawk. 387. Yellow-billed Cuckoo. 



