Bird Protection and the Definite Results Obtained 
By Paul B. Riis, Illinois. 
THE many disappointments falling to the lot of the 
newly converted bird lover in attracting birds to 
the yard should rather be a stimulant to greater 
efforts, to conduct a more intensive campaign. The con- 
ditions surrounding most homes are usually prohibitive for 
birds and the initial inducements in food trays, bird boxes 
and bird fountains held out to them must necessarily go 
begging for some time. Prospective birds must be 
weaned away from their regular range by sufficiently 
attractive factors, such as safety, food supply, water and 
shelter in order to make them sever the strong home 
ties. The bird population of a yard or a park to begin 
with is usually of a negative quantity. The return of last 
year's fledglings, which are not yet bound by home ties, 
therefore always offers a chance to secure an increase 
of feathered tenants. No one but the most ardent bird 
lover will continue his labors of love after the discourage- 
ment of the first two years, marked by results hardly 
justifying the efforts made. But the strong homing in- 
stinct of the birds lends encouragement to continue the 
v\'ork, for we feel reasonably sure to have those birds 
which once nested with us return again year after year, 
perhaps together with some of their offsprings and also 
casual stragglers. These discouragements also fall to the 
lot of the bird protector, who has ideal conditions to 
begin with, who may have large natural ranges for the 
various species. The first and second years of his in- 
itial efforts simply refuse to come up to his expectations 
and very often the work then is dropped. The feeding 
stations at first always serve as a Mecca for all the 
hungry sparrows within a radius of a quarter of a mile. 
This invariably takes place, but rather than to discourage 
the sparrow just then, let them alone. They are the 
pioneers, blazing the trail for others to follow. Their 
numbers attract the attention of other birds, which soon 
learn to visit the feeding station regularly. At this time 
any of the methods recommended in Farmers' Bulletin 
No. 493 of the United States Department of Agriculture, 
''The English Sparrow as a Pest," will help to reduce 
and check the numbers of the house sparrow. P>ird pro- 
tection, like education, takes shape slowly, the initial 
stages in both being imperceptible to the eye and mind. 
It would seem rather difficult to check up the results 
attained in this work on a larger area, such as a public 
park, but this can be done on a smaller area, such as 
around the home. Such results would prove sufficiently 
applicable to a larger area and in proportion would prove 
fully as favorable as those of my own experience, my 
efforts to attract birds to Sycamore Terrace, m\- present 
home in Rockford, 111. 
Six years ago we took up onr residence in the present 
home, located hard at the city limits. I'Viur or(linar_v city 
lots, a little more than one-half acre of land, made up 
the sum total of our possessions. The land was entirely 
bare, save for seven fine sugar maples, tweh-e inches in 
diameter, which lined the highway. The adjacent land 
also had been but recently converted from a cornfield 
into city lots and trees were correspondingly at a pre- 
mium. Two old estates, a block away, however, bore 
ample testimony of the owner's love for trees and a 
small grove of white pine, a row of Norway spruce, one 
balsam fir, a number of white cedars, some fine white 
elms, and white silver maples grew to stately proportions 
and held out many inducements for birds to take up their 
residence, but bird life was not abundant. Bird protec- 
tion was unknown here and bird enemies ranged freely 
and in great numbers. 
Some robins nested in these trees and occasionally 
made us a visit, also a flicker, but for three years not a 
bird nested with us, excepting some English Sparrows. 
Determined to give bird attraction and protection a 
consistent and systematic trial a cement drinking dish 
was kept well filled with fresh water and two Von 
Berlepsch nesting boxes, one for a flicker and the other 
for a bluebird or redheaded woodpecker, also one wren 
house, were placed in the trees in the spring of 1913. A 
change was noted at once, undoubtedly due to the bird 
bath. Robins and flickers came in increased numbers and 
ranged freely over the yard and made free use of the bath. 
A pair of brown thrashers also began to frequent the 
place. The shrubs and trees and some coni ferae by this 
time had grown to some extent and in these we found 
two nests of the yellow warbler, but unfortunately they 
were defiled by the eggs of a cowbird. A pair of chip- 
ping sparrows built a nest in another evergreen and 
successfully raised four young. A redheaded woodpecker 
also raised four young in the flicker box, the bluelaird box 
being intermittently occupied by English sparrows. The 
house-wren also hatched four offsprings, The chipping 
sparrow barely escaped capture by a cat in her second 
venture and she transferred her housekeeping outside of 
our place. Here was a transformation at once, one that 
warranted operation on a larger scale. The first season 
totaled twelve young birds in three successful nests and 
three unsuccessful nests. 
The bird-l)ath was continued until freezing-up time and 
millet, sunflower and hempseed scattered on the ground, 
a suet holder and \'on Berlepsch foodsticks nailed on the 
trees and a large hanging feedery suspended in the sum- 
mer house. Slate colored juncos came early in the fall 
and delighted, especially in long protracted immersions in 
the bird-bath. They remained throughout the winter 
and were later joined by two downy woodpeckers and one 
hairy wodpecker. Feeding on the ground was continued 
during Spring of 1014 and man>- white throated sparrows 
availed themselves of the food. Their exquisite chorus 
from a nearby young orchard is one of the sweetest 
memories of their three weeks' stay. 
An ornamental bath made of cobble^ones, with a rising 
misty spray, was installed early in the spring and a num- 
ber of new nesting boxes, all of the \'on Berlepsch pat- 
tern, were hung up in suital)le places. Of these there 
were three for the bluebirds, one for flickers, three for 
chickadees, two for nuthatches, one for redheaded wood- 
pecker, six for wrens and one large house for martins. 
Many migrants stopped oft" going north and this place 
aoparently became one of their "small way-stations, where 
feed was always plentiful. Meadowlarks, oven birds, 
111 
