DAILY DOINGS 



other advised us to shoot the blue jays and cowbirds. 

 We have learned by experience the wisdom of this 

 warning. Then with the quantity of small birds who 

 learned that they would find protection in our woods 

 came their worst foes, the Cooper hawks. Very slyly 

 and very early in the season two pair built nests in the 

 deepest part of the woods, and while awaiting the 

 warblers, found plenty of refreshment in our neigh- 

 bor's poultry plants! Great was the excitement of the 

 crows at this invasion of their domain; fierce battles 

 took place but the hawks stayed. Wary creatures are 

 these denizens of the forest and it took weeks to get 

 two of them shot. 



This morning in a secluded dell we spied an oven 

 bird walking through the grass, and from the tree-top 

 at the same moment came "Teacher, Teacher," in 

 eager repetition. We searched the ground, but fruit- 

 lessly; any one of those leafy mounds might be the long- 

 sought-for nest; to find an oven bird's home had been 

 my dream for years. Finally we decided to sit down 

 quietly at some distance and watch. 



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