804 Union Bay 



"That shows they need help/' I said. "Snow that creaks 

 when you walk on it and that drifts waist high is nice to look 

 at, but it belongs to New England, and these birds aren't 

 used to it." 



People did not like such weather any better than did the 

 birds. It had been the worst January in years. The news- 

 papers told of many broken weather records, such as longest 

 cold spell, greatest snowfall, and lowest temperature. Storms 

 blocked traffic and closed schools and factories. Farmers 

 were unable to get feed to their livestock. The dispatches 

 called attention to the desperate condition of families which 

 had been cut off without fuel and supplies. Relief authorities 

 had to use tractors and planes to reach outlying districts. 



I read much about the effectiveness of the aid to man and 

 his stock but little about aid to wildlife. I thought about it 

 every time a storm howled about my home. How was wild- 

 life faring? The wild creatures of the Puget Sound area were 

 accustomed to mild days and open water, with only a few 

 short periods of snow flurries and frosty weather. What was 

 happening to our birds? What had become of the bitterns 

 which remained when their fellows migrated? They were 

 now trapped in this most severe of all winters. Were they 

 and the other marsh residents getting enough food? I de- 

 cided to investigate. 



The manager and I moved in front of the canoehouse 

 where we would be out of the wind. The new feeding tray 

 was on a post a few feet away. Bread and grain half filled it 

 and some of the scattered contents had dropped on the snow. 

 Two hen pheasants fed on the ground while small birds chat- 

 tered as they flew back and forth from the low willows 

 nearby. Then I saw birds in the shelter of the shrubs. 



"Why, those are Virginia rails," I said. "Nobody could mis- 

 take their slender bills and ruddy color. It's the first time I 

 ever saw them come to a feeding tray. I thought they would 

 only eat snails and other small marsh life." 



