The winter is often very severe even on the sparrows and the chickadees, and a little effort can save many to be cheerful companions during the 
winter and will keep some of the song birds by you throughout the year 
Feeding the Birds in Winter 
WHAT MAY BE ACCOMPLISHED IN TAKING CARE OF THE BIRDS THAT STAY DURING THE COLD 
WEATHER-SUCCESSFUL WAYS OF MAKING FRIENDS AND COMPANIONS OF OUR GARDEN BIRDS 
by Hanna Rion 
Photographs by Craig S. Thomas, Grace Aspinwall, and others 
T HE winter care of the birds really begins during the 
summer before. For then it is that we plant great 
quantities of sunflowers, planting so many we may leave at 
least half the seed heads un¬ 
touched for the autumn birds 
to help themselves to, the 
remainder being stored away in 
crates carefully protected from 
rats for the bird hard times in 
midwinter. 
There is also a large patch of 
peanuts planted for the chicka¬ 
dees and nut-hatches. The 
chickadees eventually become so 
tame they permit us to offer 
them peanuts in the fingers, 
perching on the hand when 
nibbling. The peanuts (crushed) 
are daily spread on a shelf ex¬ 
tending beyond the studio win¬ 
dow in full sight, where we 
may enjoy the merry feasting 
of the chickadees and the sly 
thief-like snatching of the 
hatches. 
During the autumn little bird 
hotels are erected in sheltered 
spots, out of cat-reach, in trees 
near the house for the univers¬ 
ally and unjustly despised Eng¬ 
lish sparrows. We take ordi¬ 
nary wooden boxes and by add¬ 
ing partitions form various lit¬ 
tle apartments, for even sparrows like private rooms and, having 
once appropriated them, hold and defend their property against 
all intruders. A little carpentering increases their attraction. 
During the snow storms they 
will patronize the “Catlas-Jar- 
Inn,” and when ice hangs heavy 
on the boughs overhead they 
will hie to “The Sign of the 
Bumford Baking Powder.” 
After five years of intimacy and 
unprejudiced careful investiga¬ 
tion of the English sparrow, I 
have not found one thing their 
detractors say to be true. And 
they do not chase other birds 
away. 
I have attracted all the spar¬ 
rows I can to my garden and 
I have more robins, juncos, 
thrushes, cat-birds, chickadees, 
nut-hatches, hermit thrushes, 
Phoebes, orioles and song spar¬ 
rows than can be found any¬ 
where else within miles of the 
Wilderness. The sparrows live 
on terms of greatest amity with 
all the other birds—their quar¬ 
rels being confined to their own 
family. 
And as for quarrelsomeness, 
the nearest approach to actual 
dueling I've ever witnessed was 
between two robins. For sheer 
The winter care of the birds really should begin in the summer when 
we may make them at home at the bird bath and plant sun¬ 
flowers to provide them food 
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