BY THE WAYSIDE 
11 
consented to move. Soon a pair of 
Chippies came along and built their 
nest inside of the deserted one and 
raised their brood. 
One lady told me how she used to 
catch and tame them for they made 
such bright and cheerful companions 
and how she used to send them to friends 
who lived where there were none, but 
she could not do it now as there i^ a 
law against it. What a blessed law. 
j They love to haunt the grape arbors but 
they kill enough insects to more than 
pay for the few grapes they help them¬ 
selves to and will remain all winter 
where dried up fruit is left hanging on 
the vines or where there is a mountain 
ash tree. 
E. S. E. 
Winter Birds. 
Dear Wayside : 
I find it is the belief of many people 
that the English Sp arrow is the only 
bird that remains with us all winter. 
In some places it may be true, but not 
here in Appleton. For several winters 
birds have come to my window and 
porch for suet and peanuts. The win¬ 
ter just past they came in such numbers 
I fancied the first comers must have 
I left marks as tramps are said to do. 
f irst, and most important were the 
Blue-jays. One would light on the elm 
tree that grows against the porch, and 
! investigate the window sill for peanuts. 
If he found them ready for him he 
would utter a loud cry, as if to notify 
his friends. If there weren’t any, he 
would give a different call, and repeat 
it, until someone heard him and put 
some out. He would wait awhile to see 
if we went away then would drop from 
the tree to the porch railing, run along 
the railing till under the window. 
Suddenly he would light on the win¬ 
dow sill, stretch his long neck to see 
where we were, sieze a nut and be off 
with it, m a flash. Then the other 
would come and go through the same 
performance. They never noticed the 
suet that hung on the corner post and 
the side of the v r indow, while the Downy 
oodpeckers ate greedily of the suet, 
but never attempted the nuts. The 
Nuthatches ate impartially of both, 
taking the suet for first course, then 
the nuts, looking at me with their little 
bright eyes, as if trying to say, thank 
you. Both the Downy and Nuthatch, 
after eating all they could hold, would 
carry pieces to the tree and tuck them 
undei the bark, as if for future use. 
But the little Brown Creeper always 
came and ate them. Then there were 
the Chickadees, many, many Chicka¬ 
dees, who also ate both. They would 
light on the window sill with a whirr of 
wings that always attracted my atten¬ 
tion, and often a cheery Chick-a-dee, in 
return for its breakfast. Can vou im- 
agine a Chickadee, dying away with a 
peanut over an inch long in its tiny 
bill? Both the Chickadee and Nuthatch 
when frightened, would tastily brush 
the nut from the window-sill with one 
wmg, taking care to reach the ground 
as quickly as the nut did, lest some un¬ 
scrupulous feathered friend, would 
reach it first; Small docks of Evening- 
Grosbeaks are frequent visitors in the 
ravine during the winter, but seldom 
come up to the house. Some winters 
the Bohemian Waxwings also come. 
The Jays and Downys are always with 
us. One winter there were no Nuthatches 
and a year ago, n Chickadees. 
E. K. E. 
