April 23, 1961 - It's Time to Buildg
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Original Sunday Review Sketch by Dennis Puleston, Brookhaven
Focus on
It's Time to Build!
Nature
by Paul Stoutenburgh
A short time ago I overheard one of our despondent
winter residents, the woodpecker. He was complaining about
the lack of houses hereabouts,
saying, "They're just not
making dead trees the way they used to. As a matter of fact
it's almost impossible to find
even a dead old stump nowa-
days." .It's his belief that modern
man should be rewound .
and set straight about a few
things such as cutting down
dead trees and continually
ciearing out every piece of
woodland.
to floor
This little tale of woe was noth-
squatters would steer clear of
ing compared to the blistering
them.
attack I received from our newly
Remember, whenever 'y o u
arrived visitor, the tree swallow,
build try to use rough cut
Seems he was one of the classy
lumber or better still slabbing
fellows who had spent the winter
near a fancy resort down south.
from the sawmill. This slabbing
He just couldn't understand
is rather hard to get here on
how we Northerners were let-
the Island but wherever a saw -
miff is found elsewhere it can
the those squatters take over
usually be picked up gratis.
the government housing. was
Second best is clear unpainted
a
referring, of course, to the star-
wood.
ling and English sparrow.
Many a bird has been turned
Seems years back when they
away the first season of renting
weren't around there was no pro-
by a lingering smell of linseed
blem. When a fellow finished his
oil and turpentine. Too often we
domestic duties in the fall to go
paint the houses the way we
south, the house was left unguard-
would like them rather than think -
ed until the next year. This is a
ing of what's best for the bird. If
far cry from today, for even the
you decide to use paint try to use
country houses in the deep woods
dull colors and one's that will
are being taken over by t h e
blend in with the surrounding
starlings!
area.
T h e r e were other feathered
Try to incorporate in the nesting
friends who joined in with their
box some way of cleaning it. This
complaints; the flicker, bluebird,
can be done either by hinging
chickadee, nuthatch, house wren,
them on the bottom or on the
crested flycatcher and others to
top, I find the idea of hinging
name a few. All complained of
them at the top most interesting
the housing problem. Why, they
for I can lift the top up on oc-
all asked, can't the so- called hu-
casion to see the eggs and later
man world, who after all started
to see how the brood is doing.
all this trouble, do something
A catch of some sort should be
about it?
provided here to keep the
And do something about it
squirrels and cats from opening
we must. We are guilty of tak-
the Tid-
ing away their natural homes,
Also try to provide so me
so we must provide artificial
means of ventilation, for these
homes for them. So let's get
man made homes do not have
serious now, for bird houses are
the insulating qualities that the
a worthwhile project.
dead wood of a tree w o u l d
At the end of this article you
have.
will find a list of measurements
Many times we overlook t he
from Cornell's Department of Or-
simple house that can be con -
nithology which will help y o u.
strutted from earthernware flower
Nothing is more worthless than
pots. These make an ideal house
a birdhouse that is so ill- designed
requiring little work. The only
and placed that the only thing
thing necessary to complete them
it attracts is starlings and
would be a wooden back that the
sparrows.
flower pot would be attached to
Also, I am sure you have all
by wire or bent nails. Break the
seen the gaudy colored bird
hole larger to accommodate the
houses that are elaborately paint-
bird you wish to attract.
ed and have so much bric-a-brac
Another ready -made house can
on them even the above -named
be made from gourds. Holes drill-
Cutchogue
ed in these and hung in trees are
an invitation indeed to J e n n ,y
wren.
One thing you must remem-
ber to keep away froin when
building bird houses is using a
metal roof or making an entire
house of tin. This type 4 house
will turn into an ova i when
the hot summer days c o me
around.
To attract the robins, b a r n
swallows and phoebes, s h e I l s
should be placed in convenient
and safe locations. Usually, under
the eaves of the house or garage
away from the everyday traffic,
prove most successful.
To attract a martin colony, a
special apartment house must be
built. Simple plans can be found
in the April Boys' Life Magazine
which most Scouts subscribe to.
In locating your house notice
there are definite measure-
ments above the ground and it
is interesting to note that most
birds adhere quite strictly to
these. The house should be plac-
ed as near as possible to where
the natural habitat would be.
Again I am afraid many bird
houses are put up in dubious
locations not for the comfy -t of
the bird but for the convenience
of the builder.
Now is the time to do some-
thing about this shortage of na-
tural nesting sites. A well- design-
ed house, properly located, will
pay for itself in years of enjoy-
ment.
Next week Mrs Martha Jane
Paul of Nassau Point will write
on our local seaweeds. She has
done considerable research and
experimenting in the preserving
of them in the past few years.
This is a subject that many of
us should know more about.
FIELD OBSERVATIONS — —
GREEN HERON -- White's Lane,
Southampton (L R Ernest) April
17.
MEASUREMENTS FOR BIRD HOUSES
Depth of
En-
In-
En-
Bird
Interior
trance
terior
trance
Nest
to floor
Diameter
Diam-
to
eter
Ground
Bluebird
8"
6"
4x5"
1 %2"
8 to 18'
Robin
8"
open
6x8"
open
6 to 15'
Chickadee
7 to 10"
6 to 9"
31/x4"
11/8"
5 to 15'
Nuthatch
8 to 10"
33 /xli /2"
1%"
12 to 25'
House Wren
6 to 10"
7 to 9"
4x5y2"
1' /a"
6 to 18'
Tree Swallow
6 to 10"
8 to 10"
4x51/2"
1%"
8 to 30'
Barn Swallow
6"
open
6x6"
open
8 tb 12'
Purple Martin
6"
6 to 8"
6x71/2"
21 /x"
14 to 60'
Phoebe
6"
open
6x6"
open
8 to 12'
Crested Flycatcher
8 to 12"
8 to 12"
51/2x6%2"
21/8"
8 to 40'
Hairy Woodpecker
12 to 15"
12"
6x6"
11/2"
12 to 20'
Downy Woodpecker
8 to 10"
8"
4x4"
11 /"
6 to 20'
Flicker
12 to 18"
12 to 16"
61 /2x7/2"
21/2"
6 to 35'
Screech Owl
12 to 15"
9 to 12"
8x10"
31/2"
10 to 30'
Barn Owl
15 to 18"
4"
10x18"
6"
12 to 18'
Sparrow Hawk
12 to 15"
12"
8x8"
3"
10 to 30'
Wood Duck
10 to 15"
3"
10x18"
6"
4 to 20'