OUR WINTER VISITORS. 



Few people know how many birds we have during 

 the cold weather till they read the books and keep 

 their eyes open. "Winter is an excellent time in which 

 to begin the study of birds. Being few in number, 

 they are not confusing as in May, and they are easily 

 seen among the bare trees. During the winter of 

 1904- '05 four species were daily visitors to the arbor 

 vitas tree in front of our bay window. They were the 

 white-breasted nuthatch, the downy woodpecker, the 

 chickadee and the brown creeper. All that is needed 

 to attract them is a piece of suet nailed to a tree. 



In November, or as soon as the days as well as the 

 nights are cold, I put out the suet. In 1901 I melted 

 some mutton fat and poured it over the trunk of the 

 tree. The climbers seem especially to like this ar- 

 rangement, and every day I would see them chiselling 

 out the bits of fat with their slender bills. 



The nuthatch is the bird most easily attracted to 

 the house. He is very fond of the great elms, which 

 are the glory of Concord, and at any season of the 

 year may be seen scrambling up and down their rough 

 bark. He has been well named "the upside down 



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