fortunate enough to have two song sparrows with me on the 

 feeding places every day this winter, so far. They lose their 

 song in August and sometimes sing fairly well for a short time 

 in September. 



I find, to meet with success in keeping the birds about Fern 

 Cottage in summer breeding season, I must always protect 

 them against their enemies that are disturbing them con- 

 tinually. They are the hawks, blue jays, red squirrels, cats 

 and English sparrows. 



The red squirrels and jays I shoot off the last of the win- 

 ter. Hawks I shoot when I find them in the grove. Cats 

 are a torment to the birds mostly when the young come off 

 their nests. I am continually driving them away when around 

 home. The English sparrow I will not have about my 

 grounds to stay. I shoot them with a very small shot gun, 

 using No. 13 shot. In December and January I poison them 

 and destroy nearly all of them this way. 



I dislike very much to shoot the blue jays, as they are such 

 a handsome bird. I have seen them rob birds' nests of all 

 their eggs at one onslaught, and as soon as the jays come in 

 my grove, in nesting season, the birds put up a distressed 

 cry until they leave. The same cry is heard when hawks 

 disturb them. 



Do birds love music? As I was watching the birds feeding 

 from my window December 18, 1910, Mrs. Horton commenced 

 playing the piano. Every bird stopped eating at once and 

 listened, not making a move, only looking about to see where 

 the music came from. On the butternut tree were two white- 

 breasted nuthatches, on the edge of one of the feeding boxes 

 sat a tree sparrow, on the little birch tree near the window sat 

 another tree sparrow and under the coop was the song sparrow. 

 Not one of these birds moved except their head for fully ten 

 minutes — listening — seemingly charmed by the music. 



27 



