August is Bird Month

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6618, 3 August 1931, Page 8

August is Bird Month

HELPFUL THOUGHT ASKED FOR. Many bald statements, though having scientific foundations, appear, at first sight, so ridiculous that one may wonder at those who utter them. For example, it has been said that the destruction of hawks and native owls may jeopardise tho red clover crops. Farmers, however, should consider this statement very seriously and follow out the argument thus; these birds are great destroyers of field mice, mice destroy the homes of bees, especially that of the bumble bee and the bees die.

As the pollenation of clover is so dependent on the bee, the service indirectly rendered the clover by owls and hawks is at once apparent. One of the primary objects of the New. Zealand Native' Bird Protection Society is to encourage the examination of bird problems which affect the farmer. These examinations ■ sometimes bring unexpected results and many actions of the past, intended to bo beneficial, have proved to be wrong actions. Nature’s plan is often obscure but always a good one. When bird study is more general and observers’ reports more frequent, better progress will be made. So let us this August (Bird Month) make a start to give more thought to birds —their good and bad points.