[wisb] Spark Bird
- From: "R & C Dermody" <cdermody@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:27:11 -0600
Those of you who have heard this same old story please just hit "Delete".
Dad worked for the railroad and was allowed to sweep out the boxcars where
grain was spilled. He brought home many bags of corn and fed it to the
birds in our yard next to Seminary Woods. Even the Pheasants would show up!
One of my favorites was the Scarlet Tanager which was much more plentiful in
the 50's. They didn't seem to come for feed but would show up just the
same. Another bird that was much more plentiful then was the Red-headed
Woodpecker. Sometimes there would be 3 or more in the yard!
I grew up and thought more about boys than birds. I married a young man who
soon had a job with the U.S. Forest Service and we moved to Ironwood, MI.
We took an interest in lots of wildlife. We had Snapping turtles in an
aquarium. A youngster brought an injured Kestrel to my husband's office.
He brought it home and nursed it back to health. We fed it a dead bat that
our cats had killed (in the house)and a Night Hawk that had dived into a
store window. Later some Indian kids brought in 3 young red-tailed Hawks.
We were not successful with helping them.
Many years later and back in Milwaukee, it was Good Friday and my youngsters
had some vacation time. We took a walk in Seminary Woods and soon something
crashed down out of a tree. It turned out to be a "branchling" Great Horned
Owl! We tried had to rescue it and called the Humane Society. We were Told
to take it back to where we found it, which we did. I couldn't believe my
eyes next morning when I saw it had climbed with its beak and claws back to
where its sibling waited. By then I was in my 40's, feeding yardbirds but
still not going any further. At about 50 I decided to find out where all
the other birds in my bird book were. I started taking an old pair of bins
out into Seminary Woods, Wehr Nature Center, and Lake Park regularly. I got
some better bins and a spotting scope. I'm still not an ace birder but I do
have a list of over 200 species in several states, Canada, and Mexico. My
favorites are the spring warblers.
Cathy Dermody, St. Francis, Southeastern Milwaukee County
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