PAGE 2—-T BY EDWIN JOHNSON Back Mountain Bird Pini Nature hates being obvious; yet she has shown in a million ways that spring has come. Pintails and Buffle-heads proclaimed our spring on February 27. Canvas-backs and Ringnecks did the same on March 7, while a cho- rus of Baldpates, Wood Ducks, and Blue-winged Teal said the same on March 16. Lowly grebes, both horned and otherwise, have told us and Snipes have verified it. Grackles and Cow- birds have already grown tired of telling us. Ringed-billed Gulls have stopped on Yalick’s fields to let us know, while Herring Gulls early checked our lakes for signs of wa- ter. Loons are standing by, waiting for Ceasetown Dam to open up. Smith’s Pond has had her Phoebe two weeks now, and College Miseri- cordia heard the Flicker just this week. Our Lincoln’s Sparrows are here and will be gone before we know it. Pikes Creek has already heard the Bluebird’s call and so has Ross Township. \ The Towhee is here and so is the Purple Finch. The Swamp Sparrow is back on Machell Avenue, and the Herons are on their way. But spring does not begin in March for Back Mountain, but ra- ther in December. We can feel it on cold clear nights at North Moun- tain when the Great Horned Owl be- gins his haunting calls. Others feel it also, the Screech and the Barred cannot resist joining in for an Ice- landic chorus or two. By the time the first bold Robin settles on some Dallas lawn, this winter owl will be on her eggs. February finds bird life unobtru- sively slipping into the Back Moun- tain area. The Red-wing comes to the thickets back of Joe Parks’farm to make sure all is well while Mea- dowlarks huddle along snow-piled fences at Bryce Major’s. Northern Horned Larks are working the open road sides and sheltered Centermoreland fields. February sees the Crow popula- tion begin to swell and hears the first bright Killdeer’s call. So thrill- ed at being back is the Killdeer that he sings well into the night. By March the Killdeer will be joined by other night singers, the Woodcock and the Snipe. White Lake, Sylvan Lake and Lee’s Swamp will resound with the nup- tial flights and songs ofthese birds. In March the Savannah Sparrow About The Pictures One of the joys of living in a home that overlooks Huntsville Reservoir is the opportunity of its owner to observe the many varieties of waterfowl and song birds that frequent its shores and bordering thickets. For Post Photographer James Kozemchak and his wife, it was an especially de- lightful experience last summer when a pair of robins selected a blue spruce for their home, built their nest, laid their eggs, and reared their brood where the whole Kozemchak family could watch every busy moment of their private lifes. Eor Jimmy it was a rare op- portunity to set up his cameras and capture the complete life cycle of his new neighbours. And as though that were not enough he had the added thrill of watching a warbler lay her eggs in the abandoned next after the robin family had reared its fledglings. arrives at his summer home in De- munds. The Field Sparrow to the Country Club and the White-throat- ed Sparrow to a woodlot in Dallas Borough. Fox Sparrows will be at Huntsville Dam, scratching last year’s leaves, while a distant Mourning Dove mournfully pro- claims “it’s spring.” But, the procession did not end with the arrival of the March and the robins. Wave after wave is following. Winter Wrens and Kinglets will be closely pursued by Hermit Thrush- er and Vesper Sparrows. Ducks and geese are now at Lake Silkworth, Harveys Lake and North Lake. Purple Martins will again returnto Centerhill and East Dallas. Chim- ney Swifts will dot the sky and Whip-Poor-Wills will come to Leh- man. Bobolinks and Indigo Bunt- ings will again share Jane Schooley’s woodlots and fields with Henslow and Grasshopper Spar- rows. Finally as May days begin to pass, the Warblers and the Vireos will come, giving ample testimony that nature has saved her most bril- liant chapter for the appleblossoms and the melodic arrival of the Balti- more Orioles. NCOVERING the WANTED...MORE ENERGY Not since Don Quixote has the windmill received as much atten- tion as it’s getting from space-age technologists. Harnessing the ancient contrap- tion to today’s needs is part of an international program to stimulate worldwide use of “‘nonconventional energy.” The term embraces direct use of wind, sun and volcanic power. Two things lend urgency to the program, being carried out under the United Nations Economic and Social Council. They are: —The increasing demands for power in a world ‘exhausting its fossil fuels (coal and petroleum.) —The need to provide cheap en- ergy for awakening regions—par- ticularly Africa, Asia and Latin America—that have insufficient conventional fuel resources and cannot afford to build hydroelec- tric, thermoelectric or nuclear plants. Major advantages of wind power are that it is free, inexhaustible and —unlike some rivers—can be used without siphoning off a neighboring territory's supply. Windmills, traditionally used for pumping water and grinding grain, now bring electricity to regions that never before knew the electric light. Mass production of such windmills has begun in several countries, including the United States, France and Germany. Denmark is successfully operat- ing a 200-kilowatt unit. In Russia, 25-kilowatt units are electrifying villages and collective farms more cheaply than diesel or steam plants could, Soviet scientists say. Modern design favors three- bladed propeller units up to 90 feet in diameter. True to their heritage, however, Dutch engineers are try- ing to adapt the traditional sail- type windmill to the new job. WELL, WHAT DO YOU KNOW? NEW NEIGHBORS! 2 WATCH IT MOM, YOU DALLAS, PIRINSYLVANIA AFR Lr 7 ’RE GETTING A LITTLE HIPPY! en ei re i rm REESE
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