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A Western Bird-Table 



Bird-lovers in the East who dread the 

 appearance of frost and snow would do 

 well to remember that it is these things 

 alone that make possible the friendly 

 intimacy of winter bird-feeding. The 

 accounts which I read in Bird-Lore bring 

 back to me chilly remembrance of the 

 friendly Chickadees, Nuthatches, and 

 Blue Jays in Wisconsin. 



I myself have a bird-table prepared in 

 my yard, yet though it is placed in a most 

 inviting situation, under the shelter of a 

 giant, broad-leaved, red-berried madrona, 

 not a single bird \-isits it, nor do I expect 

 any to come unless we have a fall of snow. 

 Then for a day or two, or, if the winter 

 is severe, for a possible two weeks, the 

 birds fairly swarm to the table, only to 

 desert it entirely with the coming of the 

 first 'Chinook.' Perhaps some of you would 

 be interested in knowing of the birds 

 that visit a Pacific feed-table. The follow- 

 ing is my latest list: Oregon Towhee, 

 Rusty Song Sparrow, Oregon Junco, 



Brewer's Blackbird, Western Robin, Varied 

 Thrush, Red-shafted Flicker, Harris's 

 Woodpecker, Northwestern Redwing, 

 Townsend's Sparrow. 



I have had as many as four of these 

 varieties feeding at once: Rusty Song 

 Sparrows, Oregon Juncos, Varied Thrushes, 

 and Western Robins, and, at another time, 

 Oregon Towhees, Oregon Juncos, Varied 

 Thrushes, and Western Robins. 



The Juncos are the first and most 

 frequent visitors. They fairly swarm about 

 the table, from twenty-five to one hundred 

 birds often waiting for their turn. Town- 

 send's Sparrows are very shy, seldom 

 more than two or three visiting the table 

 at once, and easily frightened. The Red- 

 shafted Flickers and Harris's Woodpeckers 

 are also shy and come creeping along 

 the picket fence to the table in a depreciat- 

 ing, apologetic sort of way. The Western 

 Robins, though shy, are undoubtedly the 

 'boss' of the table, driving all other visitors 

 right and left. I have often seen one of 

 them after gorging himself sit for half an 

 hour at a time, keeping all the other 



CHICKADEE AND TUFTED TITMOUSE 

 Photographed by T. L. Hankinson Charleston, lU. 



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