Nesting Box Bluebird Hope
The tuneful bluebird once
again includes a song of
hope in its repertoire.
Warbling a cheerful melody
hasn't been easy for the
fabled bearer of happiness.
Once fluttering close to
extinction, the birds are
staging a comeback thanks
to a series of nesting box
trails in the United States
and Canada.
"The eastern bluebird—
now so scarce that most
people under 30 have never
seen one—surely is one of
the loveliest and most
appealing of North American
birds," writes Dr.
Lawrence Zeleny in a recent
issue of National Geographic.
"Its extinction
remains a real possibility,
but a determined rescue
campaign has been mounted
in the United Stales and
Canada."
Numbers Have Dropped
Since retirement in 1966 as
an agricultural biochemist,
Dr. Zeleny has devoted all
his efforts to the nationwide
Build your
own bluebird
nesting box
"How readily the bluebirds
become our friends and neighbors
when we offer them suitable
nesting retreats!" wrote
19th-century naturalist. John
Burroughs. His observation
seems even more relevant today
as aggressive house sparrows
and starlings usurp bluebird
nesting places, and man
with his disdain for tree
stumps and dead branches
saws them down.
Thus pressed, bluebirds
take quickly to boxes, such as
this large one (right). Its extra
depth protects against raccoons
and other marauders.
Where predators don't threaten,
shallower boxes suffice
(diagram be low h
In the past five years nearly
1,00(1 bluebirds were raised
in 85 boxes by Dr. Lawrence
Zeleny, who reports on the
embattled bluebird in the
June National Geographic.
Bluebirds prefer open areas
with scattered trees. Boxes
may be constructed of almost
any type of wood, and they
should be mounted three to
five feet off the ground for
convenient monitoring. Fence
posts make practical supports;
greased metal poles help
thwart predators.
An entrance hole P/2 inches
wide will bar starlings but not
sparrows, which must be
evicted. The persistent squatters
have been known to return
eight times or more before
giving up.
effort to save the bluebird.
During the past forty
years, the numbers of the
eastern bluebird (Sialia
sialis) may have plummeted
as much as 90 percent.
The mountain bluebird in
the Rocky Mountain region
and the western bluebird
have suffered less, but
gradually they are succumbing
to the same pressures.
Two rival birds, the
starling and the house
sparrow, have contributed
to the catastrophe. These
aggressive interlopers like
to nest in the same natural
or man-made enclosures re
quired by the milder-mannered
bluebirds.
People, too, have sped the
decline. In city and countryside,
dead trees with
cavities that once provided
bluebird nesting sites have
been cut down and hauled
away.
Old wooden posts where
bluebirds once found cozy
hollows have been replaced
by metal posts. Unable to
find suitable places to raise
their young, bluebirds face
disaster.
Saved By Nesting Boxes
Conservationists and bird
lovers have fostered a
modest comeback by build
ing trails of nesting boxei
for bluebirds. A trail maj
consist of any number ol
nesting boxes, usually plac
ed a hundred yards or more
apart. The generous spacing
prevents fighting among the
highly territorial birds.
Says Dr. Zeleny: "The 85
boxes of our Beltsville,
Maryland, bluebird trail
have yielded hundreds ol
healthy fledglings, dramatic
evidence that the most
practical way to help these
azure-and-russet songsters
is to supply them abundantly
with nesting boxes."
In the United States most
bluebird trails lie east of the
Mississippi River. Canada
boosts the world's longest
bluebird trail. Threading its
way through Manitoba and
Saskatchewan, the string of
nesting boxes covers a
distance of about 2,000
miles.
Bluebirds nest in every
state except Hawaii, and in
every Canadian province
except Newfoundland. The
birds have always been an
asset to farmers and
gardeners. Most of the year
their diet consists almost
entirely of such insect pests
as crop-ravaging grasshoppers
and cutworms.
Energy Saving
Gets Lip Service
Only one in 10 people feel
there is no need to conserve
energy, but many Americans
are not putting their
beliefs into actions.
According to Dr. Justine
Rozier, extension family
resource management specialist
at North Carolina
State University, national
government-conducted surveys
reveal the main reason
people save energy is to
save money.
Thirteen per cent of all
people surveyed feel there is
no energy problem at all and
only five per cent know that
the nation's problem is
related to dependence on
foreign oil supplies.
Seventy-six per cent say
they are willing to cut their
car's fuel consumption by
sharing a ride to and from
work, but only 10 per cent
now carpool, eight per cent
now ride buses and five per
cent walk to work.
Forty-two per cent of the
people do not know where
their water heater control is
to adjust its temperature
and 50 per cent do not know
that it takes less gasoline to
restart a car than to let it
idle for one minute or more.
Deaths And Funerals
MISS HELEN RICKS
Graveside services for Miss
Helen Ricks, formerly of
Blacksburg, Va., will be
held at Grace Church,
Palmer Springs, Va., at 2 p.
m. Thursday, August 25.
DAVID LEE FAULCON
Funeral services for Mr.
David Lee Faulcon, 62,
owner and operator of
Faulcon's Cabs, will be conducted
Wednesday afternoon
at 2:00 o'clock at the
Greater Lovely Hill Baptist
Church in Embro. The Rev.
Robert Burnett will officiate.
Burial will be in the
church cemetery.
Mr. Faulcon died Friday,
after a lengthy illness.
He is survived by his wife,
Mrs. Maria Faulcon of the
home; two sons, David Lee
Faulcon, Jr., of Bronx, N. Y.
and Leonard Faulcon of
Charlotte, and eight grandchildren.
MRS. LETTIES.
RODW ELL
Funeral services for Mrs.
Lettie Seward Rodwell, 73,
were conducted at 1 p. m.
Sunday from Norlina Baptist
Church by the Rev.
Jasper R. Johnson. The
Rev. S. P. Massengill is
pastor of the church. Interment
was in Jerusalem
Christian Church Cemetery
at Palmer Springs, Va.
Mrs. Rodwell died on
Thursday, Aug. 18, in Maria
Parham Hospital in Henderson
after a lengthy illness.
The daughter of the late |
Peter and Bettie Seward,
Mrs. Rodwell was born in
Mecklenburg County, Va., i
on April 16, 1904. She joined
Jerusalem Church at an ,
early age and remained a ]
faithful member until her
health failed her. She was
married to the late Pink
Rodwell. :
Mrs. Rodwell is survived <
by four daughters, Mrs. !
Carrie B. Kiser and Mrs. 1
Mary B. JTloyd, both of 1
Portsmouth, Va., Mrs. Pin- ]
kie Fields of the home, and <
Mrs. Johnnie M. Walker of
New Jersey; five sons, ]
Eddie L. Rodwell of Am- 1
herst, Va., Henry L. i
Rodwell and Thomas E. c
Rodwell, both of Charlottes- I
ville, Va., and Simon Jones 2
of Norfolk, Va.; 19 grandchildren,
and 15 great- I
grandchildren; five sisters, (
Mrs. Nellie Mitchell of f
Manson, Mrs. Bessie Se- C
ward of Youngsville. Mrs. a
Lucy B. Jones and Mrs. t'
. a
Ellen Johnson, both of
Palmer Springs, Va., and
Mrs. Mary Hendricks of
New York City; four
brothers, Louis Seward of
Washington, D. C., Peter
Seward of Philadelphia,
Pa., and Morse Seward and
Jake Seward of Manson.
Pallbearers were John
Jenkins, Thomas Kersey,
Francis Alston, Alfred Coleman,
James W. Johnson and
James Hargrove.
MRS. MAGGIE T. HUDSON
Funeral services for Mrs.
Maggie Taylor Hudson, 56,
of New York, were conducted
at 1:30 p. m., Saturday,
Aug. 20 from Ashley Grove
Baptist Church of Vaughan,
by the Rev. M. L. Harris.
The Rev. W. L. Dilday is
pastor of the church. Burial
was in the church cemetery.
Mrs. Hudson died on Tuesday,
Aug. 16, at Montestore
Hospital in Bronx, N. Y. The
daughter of the late Nora
and Ashley Taylor, she was
born in Warren County on
March 5, 1921. She was
married to Albert N. Hudson
and to this union one son was
born. She joined Ashley
Grove Baptist Church at
Vaughan at an early age. As
a young adult she migrated
to New York and became
affiliated with Co-op City
Protestant Church.
She is survived by a son,
Clayton Alonzo Hudson;
three sisters, Ethel T.
Boney, Bertha Washington
and Clara Bennett; and two
brothers, Ashley Taylor and
Ernest Taylor.
Pallbearers were Jesse
Carter, James E. Clanton.
Michael Carter, Sam Powell,
George L. Bullock, and
Lorenso Harris.
THOMAS ARCH CREECH
HENDERSON - Funeral
services for Thomas Arch
Creech, 22, were conducted
Sunday at 3 p. m. from J. M.
White Funeral Chapel by the
Rev. J. W. Crosswhite.
Burial was in Elmwood
Cemetery.
Mr. Creech died Friday at
Duke Medical Center in
Durham after a short
illness. He was an employee
of Harriet Henderson Cotton
Mill and a resident of Route
2, Henderson.
surviving are nis parents,
Rubin Arch and Dollie Mae
Griffin Creech of the home;
five brothers, Rubin A.
Creech, Jr., Ludie E. Creech
and Claude F. Creech, all of
the home, and R. C. Creech
and Julian Creech of
Warrenton; and his maternal
grandmother, Mrs. Lillie
Ann Griffin.
Pallbearers were James
Pierce, William Overby,
Thomas Hill, Robert Overby,
Roger Allen, John
Newhouse and Jerry Peoples.
WILLIE BOYD
Funeral services for Willie
Boyd, 76, were held
Saturday, August 20, at the
Second Baptist Church ih
Macon with the Rev.
Jeremiah Webb officiating.
Burial was in the Mt. Zion
Church cemetery.
He is survived by three
sisters, Mrs. Vergie Moss
and Miss Lillian Boyd of the
home; Mrs. Viola Minggie
of Suffolk, Va.; two brothers,
Walter Boyd of Hackensack,
N. J., and Nathaniel
Boyd of the home.
In Hospital
Patients in Warren General
Hospital on Tuesday at
5 p. m. were listed as
follows:
Romie Lyles, Annie Tunstall,
Nellie Mitchell, Gilmore
Copley, Henrietta
Davis, Frances Bullock,
Mary Wortham, Christine
Felts, Clara Kimball, Mary
Fleming, Perceda Green,
Mary Alston, Henry Robertson,
Luther Eddie Boone,
Deborah White, James
Richardson, Lois Journigan,
Hester Thornton, Annie
Pegram, James Wortham,
Charles Fields, Arthur
Stephenson, Rita Fields.
Add longer life to a shower
curtain beginning to tear
from the hooks by placing
cloth reinforcements at the
holes