Show I E c D E S NOTED i ECOLOGY cOLOGY EDUCATION n it ft By liY Mary 8 R R. R 4 Jan Ian Gandy Candy ft Bi Bird rd feeders A good winter project for nature lovers is bird feeding During the winter natural foods are usually scarce so your feeding station will attract many year-round year resident birds as well as some winter visitors However during the times when food is not readily available from natural sources these birds will become dependent on your feeding station so it is important to keep feeding them all winter if you are goi going to start now Otherwise they may starve Even if you live in a downtown downtown downtown down down- town apartment many species of birds can be attracted to your feeding station depending on the variety varies of f food that IOU you use Many Ues of bird seeds are available at the grocery grocery store but often these mixes may be composed of seed varieties that are attractive to only a few species in the area rea However with a little time and interest you can easily determine which birds like what food and mix your own bird feed that is especially designed for your feeding station You can try a variety of ingredients grains of various types suet apple and orange slices bread and cracker crumbs cheese chopped hard boiled eggs broken dog biscuits dry cereals popcorn grapes and a variety of seeds be sure that any seeds used are not treated with poison polson Within a few weeks preferences will become obvious obvious obvious ob ob- if you use several small feeding stations with one food type in each In the long run this selective feeding will bemore be bemore bemore more beneficial to the birds and cost you less because there Utere will be less waste of unwanted food Regardless of what food you use make sure that it is kept dry and unfrozen Soggy or frozen food is less attractive may spoil and may require more energy to digest than it contains If U birds are not using your feeding station it may be due to its location Ideally it should beIn bein be bein in a wind sheltered area that is at least ten feet from the shelter to discourage ambush by pets and other predators You may also want to add a cat shield to the post of your feeder You might have to move your feeding station several times to find the ideal location When you find your ideal location and the right food for your station you will probably attract a wide variety of species of birds Each time that you observe your feeding station write down what species of birds you see If you do not know what they are are a good reference book called SO 50 Birds of Town and Country from the US U.S. Government Printing Office Washington DC D.C. will help you in identifying them This book cos costs only 1 in paperback or in hard cover Bird BireL Feeding S 50 a on 1 on dat detach n be tain 1011 and nd snOW Cover hopper V for or fe j i parch eh ear I S shrubs torn plot or tr trio For or secant see security Y q as least Id 10 la pt ft Q away Cat shield and s Stable kaep S Support t aval Clo Clota ta table L r. r at Got alt fr TI s a ij WATER FACTS All the worlds world's fresh water comes from rain snow and other precipitation but 75 percent of all precipitation falls ails in the Ute ocean The highest rainfall areas areas' of earth get over inches inches inches in- in ches of precipitation per year Other areas get only a trace in inmany inmany inmany many years If all the worlds world's rain fell evenly every spot on onearth onearth onearth earth would receive about 26 inches per year About 40 percent of all water used in the Ute United States goes for irrigation and over 50 percent goes for industry A 1977 survey taken by the US U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service after the Whooping Crane breedi breeding season shows of these rare birds in existence inthe in inthe inthe in- in the wild and in captivity Twenty-nine Twenty of these were hatched this spring These numbers exceeded all expectations expectations ex ex- ex- ex and the outlook for Whooping Cr Cranes nes has not been brighter in many years NATURE QUIZ 1 Canada Geese can be instantly instantly instantly in in- recognized by W the black patch that runs under the head and up each side of the face True or False 2 The word means feeding on flesh Animals that are carnivores are easy to identify True or False 3 Your heart has four chambers but a fishs fish's has only two-one two to receive blood and andone andone andone one to push it out True or False 4 The average amount of water needed in the United States for each person is gallons per day True or False 5 All conifers cone bearers are evergreen True or False ANSWERS p Bj gaea pue JUB ase PUB pue S 'S g 9 le pus pue pool su se q gars ns oj of ase jad rad dep up sad jad Odes fr y Mois Sl EJ si PIO ploy ale A sj sl situ S 'S j jIBO lea IBO nl inq aru an alUlU B V sj sl q B U 7 Z Sl SI au atU aSIU asie I |