BY THE WAYSIDE 
l 
■ severe storms the grouse is as comfort¬ 
able as if in a barn. In the night time 
I it also hides under the thick branches. 
There it is not seen by owls. 
Chickadee also take shelter in this 
northern bird-house and stays with us 
the year round. The slate junco nests 
here in summer and is the last bird to 
leave in autumn, or rather it does not 
leave until winter comes to stay. The 
tree sparorw makes a short call as it 
j passes from its northern home. But the 
; red poll, pine siskin, snow flake, cross 
! bill, pine grosbeak, hairy woodpecker 
jU 
1 and the blue jay stay with us through 
the winter. All these leave in the spring 
and go farther north except the blue 
jay and hair woodpecker, which are 
I local residents. I have never seen any 
i evidence of our local winter birds ever 
in want of food or ever suffer from the 
cold. They feed on the seeds of the 
cedar and white birch and insects which 
lie under the bark or are concealed in 
| the buds. The snowflake feeds similar to 
; the city sparrow on waste grain dropped 
in the road or other places. 
After severe storms which sometimes 
( last three days, I have expected to find 
frozen birds and have watched frequent- 
j ly in winter, but I have never found any 
jc so I am confident, that the evergreen 
j trees, white birch and mountain ash fur- 
! nish an abundant supply of food. If 
I you love birds, plant trees that feed and 
j protect them. 
j One morning in summer as I Avas 
watching a white throat sparrow singing 
in a tree, a crow flew along, the sparrow 
[It; quickly hid in a balsam, but as the crow 
I; cawed, the sparrow came out and lit in 
the same place and sang again. This 
i led me to believe the Avhite throat first 
j 
!i took the crow for a hawk and also that 
63 
crows here do not molest small birds as 
they are said to do in some places. But 
the butcher bird, from what I have seen, 
dca v enemy to all small birds and 
should never be alloAA T ed to nest in any 
locality, and if possible, shot on every 
occasion. 
I am sorry the Christmas tree custom 
is denuding some parts of the country 
of evergreen trees. The spruce, balsam 
and cedar should Be planted in all Avaste, 
places to take the places of those which 
are cut for Christmas. 
John Watkins, 
Calumet, Mich. 
(Continued from page 60) 
But when the sun sinks in the Avest, 
Against the big round moon 
He spreads his Avings the while he sings 
His weird and solemn tune. 
A strange, mysterious bird is he, 
And AAdth him Romance flies 
On picturesque and silent Aving 
Across the winter skies. 
So grieve no more for summer friends, 
They’ll sure come back again; 
Three feathered friends, tried, staunch, 
and true, 
Still loyally remain 
T give the landscape life and cheer— 
A funny trio they, 
Whose strident voices make us smile 
This dreary winter’s day. 
Scorn not their songs unmusical— 
In wflnter’s Amice they sing. 
As through the storms and hoA\ T ling 
gales 
They roam on valiant wing— 
The saucy jay whose roundelay 
Is “To-roo! loo-roo! loo!” 
And that queer pair who hoarsely cry, 
“Caw, caw!” “To-whit! to-AA-ho!” 
—Louella C. Poole. 
