12 MISC. PUBLICATION 15 9, T.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



stacked hay and other property. Regular feeding of hay in winter 

 has been resorted to for man} 7 years by cooperating Federal and 

 State agencies on the Elk Refuge maintained by the Bureau of 

 Biological Survey in Wyoming. 



PREDATORS NEAR FEEDING STATIONS 



Many valuable hawks and owls are to be seen in winter coverts 

 that shelter game and rodents. Without further evidence, however, 

 this should not lead to the assumption that they are seriously de- 

 pleting the game species. Where there are good coverts and plen- 

 tiful food, farm birds suffer little winter loss from predators. With 

 the exception of the large, rare goshawk and the smaller Cooper's 

 hawk, predacious birds ordinarily need not be eliminated from the 

 vicinity of feeding stations. Indeed, such forms of wild life add a 

 great deal of animation to winter scenery, giving pleasure, the im- 

 portance of which to the nonshooting public, hunters should be will- 

 ing to concede. There is no excuse for slaughtering snowy owls, 

 red-tailed hawks, screech owls, and similar species of beneficial ten- 

 dency. Where such slaughter does occur in the name of sport or for 

 its reputed advancement, those interested in nature in general are 

 fully justified in seeking to prevent it. It is well to recall that a few 

 hundred mice, which are the common winter food of many birds of 

 prey, may easily eat more than enough grain to feed a covey of 

 quail through a storm period. 



PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR 



When a winter-feeding campaign has been successfully carried 

 out one year, it is important that preparations be made for an even 

 more effective one the following year. Satisfactory sites for winter- 

 feeding stations having been decided upon, their value may be en- 

 hanced in many cases by improving the adjacent cover. For exam- 

 ple, some stations may be rather openly situated, and these may be 

 improved by planting a patch of sweetclover for cover, by fencing in 

 a corner of a pasture or grazed wood lot, or by planting shrubs or 

 trees. The farmer or sportsman who has carried on active winter 

 feeding in severe weather will come to appreciate the scarcity of 

 adequate game coverts. Winter feeding of game is of great impor- 

 tance, yet it will be realized that compared with the task of cover 

 restoration it is but a small contribution to the welfare of the various 

 species. Winter feeding, consequently, should be considered as but 

 one part, possibly a minor part, of a larger program of year-round 

 assistance to the wild life of the farm, involving cover restoration, 

 protection from natural enemies, adjustment of the total kill to the 

 available supply, and many other factors. 



With farming and other industrial operations constantly encroach- 

 ing on the former domain of wild life this valuable natural resource 

 needs all the assistance man can lend in its preservation. Not least 

 of these is the provision of food during periods of stress, particularly 

 in winter. 



U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1933 



For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington. D.C. Price 5 cents 



