212 



Bird- Lore 



so as to allow water to drain off) placed 

 high enough from the ground to be out of 

 cat-range, to hold the food. As an addi- 

 tional precaution, a few nails may be driven 

 at a downward angle of 45° into the post, 

 tree, or building upon which it rests. 



This shelf should be spread with crumbs, 

 sweepings of granary or hay-loft, cracked 

 corn, nuts, and pounded dog-biscuits, while 

 upright twigs of a near-by tree should be 

 sharpened close to the trunk to hold the 

 lumps of suet craved by ail insect-eaters like 

 the Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, Chickadees 

 and Brown Creepers. 



Protected boxes in the south side of brush- 

 heaps or in the center of the stacks of corn- 

 stalks left standing in fields, kept supplied 

 with grain-sweepings or cracked corn, will 

 make a vast difference with the Ruffed 

 Grouse and in the Quail flocks the next 

 spring; and if the gentleman farmer can be 

 persuaded to sow even one-quarter of an 

 acre of buckwheat, and leave the shocks 

 standing to be so many field lunch-counters 

 for the hungPi' game-birds that furnish him 

 with autumnal sport, another important step 

 will be taken on the road of Bird Protection. 



Once let a community get in the habit of 

 feeding its winter birds, and it will gain a 

 good reputation among them, and surprising 

 results will ensue. 



Winter housing is of necessity on a differ- 

 ent plan from the providing of family quar- 

 ters for the nesting season. Cover, not 

 privacy, is the one thing needful, and shelter 

 from the wind is the first consideration. 



On the trunk of the old apple tree that 

 holds my bird lunch-counter a board has 

 been fastened against which a flat- backed 

 lantern is hung nightly. The lantern frame 

 being of tin, a slight heat is imparted to the 

 board, but merely enough to take the chill 

 from it. Several winters ago I discovered 

 that Nuthatches and Downy Woodpeckers, 

 evidently attracted by the warmth, made 

 their bedroom in the nooks between this 

 flat board and the rounding side of the tree, 

 the rough bark giving them a firm grip; 

 while Chickadees and Juncos have been 

 found roosting in the cow -barn just above 

 the cattle, where the air was tempered by 

 their warm breaths. 



As an experiment I have tried utilizing 

 boxes the size that contain one hundred 

 pounds of laundry soap. On the front of the 

 box a rough hood is fastened with a drop 

 equal to half the height of the box, and 

 perches are placed across three-fourths of 

 the way up, with pegs like stairs placed at 

 intervals from the bottom upward. These 

 boxes were placed in sheltered places, under 

 the leaves of a low building, etc. 



The first season they were unoccupied, but 

 for two years, feathers and droppings show 

 how well they have been appreciated by 

 birds of many kinds and sizes, and this 

 season I am thatching two of them with straw 

 to make the shelter more snug and attractive. 



Spring is the best time for setting up 

 winter houses, and winter the season for 

 preparing nesting houses, as a certain amount 

 of "weathering" is necessary to remove all 

 suspicion from the bird's mind, which 

 appears to be ultra-conservative and averse 

 to newness. Above all, avoid the use of 

 strong-smelling paints, and if you cannot 

 obtain old weathered boards for your lodg- 

 ing house, be content with a dull green or 

 brown shingle stain not of the creosote 

 variety. — M. O. W. 



Report of the Audubon Society of the 

 District of Columbia for 1903-4 



Commencing with October 17, 1903. a 

 millinery exhibit was held at the Raleigh 

 Hotel, attracting many strangers as well as 

 residents. A bad. rainy day was against us, 

 but, in spite of that, the show was a success. 

 This was followed by an autumn water- 

 party to the Great Falls of the Potomac. 

 The day was beautiful, and birds and hu- 

 mans were both happy. November 10, a 

 reception for members of the society and 

 their friends was held at the Washington 

 Club. Charts, literature and some good 

 music added to the social pleasure of the 

 evening. 



Regular meetings of the society were held 

 through the winter as follows: 

 Decembers, 1903. — Illustrated lecture, 'A 

 Naturalist in Mexico.' Speaker, Mr. E. W. 

 Nelson. 



January 20, 1904. — Annual Meeting. Re- 

 port of the secretary and the treasurer. Lee- 



