A Bird Sanctuary.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 20 April 1910, Page 4

A Bird Sanctuary.

* —• • — IX XOI'THA.U PTOXSIiIRK, ENGLAND. Irene Oi-guod, who has established a bird sanctuary in XoiJiampton.sbiro, England, kindly sea.ls " the Horowheiiua Chronicle" s me particulars of her establishment. She writes : — " Thinking that your readers might like to hear something of what is being done here for feeding and caring for the wild birds. I write to tell you about it. Some time ago, 1 took in about four acres of parkland and planted it with every imaginable hardy shrub and tree which bear fruits or berries beloved of the birds. it is now a fascinating tangle of leaves, fruit, berries, seeds, and cones in their season, with wild trails and natural paths leading here and there in dell, bank, knoll or wilderness. I got the carpenter to build a little feeding pavilion of oak on oak posts, with a sloping shingle roof to keep off the snow and rain. Inside there are three tiers of oaken trays, in which I have placed every morning a mixture of chopped fat, suet, seeds, oats, cracked Indian maize, meal, and grit. Over tlii.s mixture we pour boiling water, and when it cools a little the trays are filled with it. On the ground beneath the pavilion we place a large, very shallow earthenware pan of fresh water. This is renewed twice a day in the frosty weather and every morning otherwise. Fresh water is as necessary as food to our bird friends, especially in cold weather. On the crowbars that support or uphold this structure I hang cocoanuts, stuffed with suet. Our acrobatic friends, the tats, when regaling themselves on these, perform wondrous antics. This bird-feeding pavilion stands in front of our din-ing-room windows, and it is quite delightful to see the joy and surprise of the many varieites of birds which visit it. T have also invented feeding troughs for the birds, which are roofed over so as to pro teet them whilst feeding from the snow and rain. These troughs are placed in sheltered corners of the gardens. On almost every tree I have hung up great feeding sticks, with deep, round holes which are filled with fat and seeds regularly. In the wilderness I hang up meaty bones on the tree branches and othel' edibles at which the birds like to peck. Outside each of the bedroom windows I have had oak trays put np on supports of iron. On these trays food and fresh water are placed every morning for the birds. I have also put several hundreds of nesting-boxes in the trees and in many quiet retreats all over the grounds, so I think and hope the birds are happy here. In America we always gave the birds a Christmas tree, and I have tried to keep up the custom in my adopted home. Our servants are very good to the birds, and outside the windows many birds feed without fear, or chatter, gossip, and sing while the maids are sewing close by. Often when I am walking in the garden the birds come so near that I can touch them. They sing to me, and I learn many beautiful secrets from them.— OSGOOD, Guilsborough Hall, Northampton.