The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 37, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 13, 2001 Page: 9 of 28
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7& RECORD
THURSDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 2001
r
LEARNING
THE
BIRDS
By Ruth Rogers Erickson
There it is again, clear as day:
two young phoebes calling out
their names. It's easy to spot one
in a tree, with the yellow breast
that brands him a juvenile. His
tail is bobbing up and down and
when he cries, his nearby brother
answers, both apparently proud
of the sound the/re finally
making.
At fust they could only twitter
to themselves, while the adults
cried FEE-bee, FEE bee all
around, to show them how. It took
the youngsters moat of the sum-
mer to master the cry, and now
here they are showing off.
I take a special interest in
these two birds, even a mother’s
pride in their accomplishment*
Although I can't be sure, it's
likely they're the same two East-
ern Phoebes bom in a basket on
my south porch this past 4* of
July. Their timing was not good:
they entered the world at the
start of a long brutal heat spell,
six weeks of over a hundred de-
grees and no rain It was touch
and go for awhile there .. But be-
fore I tell you that, let me explain
about the basket.
As I may have mentioned, my
front porch has been a haven for
bam swallows and phoebes long
before 1 got here. They swap out
raising off their young in the mud
nest over the porch light that’s
wrapped with hail screen to keep
the owls away There's a broken
piece of an augur that hangs from
the ceiling on a braided rope — a
perch right handy to the nest
Two birds began hanging
around the porch in emit) spring
this year, two white-breasted
Eastern Phoebes who would
perch on the augur and on the
rocking chair nearby. I figured
they'd be fluffing up the barri-
i aded nest any minute now. But
instead they focused on the au-
gur, and began sticking bits of
mud and grass onto that curl of
metal, as though in that void
somehow they meant to construct
a nest.
It seemed a hopeless plan.
They were building in a hole, in
effect, and the futility was obvi-
ous: mud feU off. they stuck more
on. and it fell off again. This went
on for days, without appreciable
progress. Exasperated. I scooped
up some of their mud and put it
into the mast, hoping they would
follow the smell and “discover"
this perfectly good nest going to
waste (and so abandon their faek-
iaaa course of action). It didn’t
work. I smeared mud onto the
hail screen — nothing
Finally, 1 could stand it no lon-
ger. I found a small wicker basket
and wind it to the augur, with a
weight to keep it steady in the
south wind, and old cloth lining
the bottom. The phoebes took to
it right sway, and filled it with a
pretty round nest In no tune fiat
two eggs were laid, and then on
the 4* of July, the porch-baby
phoebes wen bom.
The basket was eye level for
me, so I had no trouble keeping
tabs on the new family. It wasn't
long before I was worried.
The parents worked them-
selves to s frazzle trying to keep
those two alive. They were always
on the scene and bringing food,
and their energy in such condi-
tions was commendable. But it
waa hot It was a downright hell-
ish world to be bom into, relent-
less, sweltering, with no relief in
sight As soon as they were
strong enough to lift up their little
heads, the savage heat made
those beads hang down. I
watched them drooping over the
edge of the nest panting in the
crackling heat and knew 1 had to
act or go mad.
Human intervention in the
lives of birds is a tricky thing,
something generally to be
avoided. Too often our clumsy ef-
forts end up causing harm. We do
good to think long and hard be-
fore we interfere. But these birds
were practical!}' family — I could-
n’t stand back and watch them
perish. So I went to work.
A row of burlap bags made a
good curtain, tacked along the
roof. They darkened the space
and swayed in the rare breeze but
didn't brush the nest, and I
misted them as often as I could
remember. I misted the babies
too, sometimes — they didn't
seem to mind — as well aa the air
around the nest Then for several
days when my thermometer lost
its mind and claimed it was 112,1
stood on a chair and dropped wa-
ter from a straw down into the ba-
bies' mouths.
The parents fretted but still
tolerated me, and kept bringing
food to the languishing youth.
Sometime in the fifth week of
hundreds, I noticed they weren't
scrawny anymore. They were
plump and running out of room in
the nest, and sure enough one ifay
they woe gone. 1 missed them,
but was awfully glad they were
healthy enough to fly away.
They’ve done well since then,
if the two juveniles I see daily are
indeed my porch-baby phoebes
grown up. Their proud cries are a
happy sound to bear — proof that
human intervention Isn't always
folly, and might just sometimes
do tome good.
(on/off ^
the
^record
In Hemphill County Hospital
on Wednesday: Nettie Cade, Roy
Williams, Mary White, Katherine
Yarnoid, Maria Rodriquez. Dis-
missed during the week: Glen Bill
Walker, ZoUie Rotramel (Sept 6).
Cathy Rumbaugh (Sept 7), Anna
Shore, Stewart Scroggins (Sept
10).
During the past week there
have been 43 Riyaical Therapy
visits and 93 procedures, 3 Car-
diac Rehab visits, 34 Home
Health visits, 10 Hospice visits, 72
Out-patient procedures, 13
Emergency Room patients and
eight Ambulance runs.
Canadian received .78* of
rain during the past week, with
.76" on September 5 and .02* on
September 9.
The low overnight tempera-
ture for the week waa 46 degrees
on September 10 and the high
overnight was 68 degrees on Sep-
tember 7. The high daytime tem-
perature waa 88 degrees on
September 6 and 11 and the low
was 75 degrees on September 9.
HealthBriefs
The Women'* Center of the Don and Sybil Harrington Cancer Cen-
ter will conduct a Breast Cancer Screening Clinic at Hemphill County
Hospital, 1020 8. 4th, in Canadian on Wednesday, September 19.
Breast Cancer affects one in eight women. The key to winning the bat-
tle against cancer is early detection by having an annual breast exam,
mammogram and performing a breast self-exam each month. Partici-
pants will receive a low-cost screening mammogram. Each woman
screened will receive a breast health risk appraisal and individual in-
struction by a registered nurse in breast self-examination. Funding is
available through the Texas Department of Health for Texas residents
who qualify for assistance. All exams are done by appointment only.
Call 1-800-377-4673 for more information. #33
Immunization clinks offering vaccines that give protection against
several childhood diseases will be held in area towns in September . Ca-
nadian: Monday, September 24, at Canadian High School (school-age
children only), 10 ajn.-12noon and 1-4 pan. Higgins: Tuesday, Septem-
ber 25, at Higgins School, 10:30 a.m.-l p.m. #36
The Hemphill County Hospital Emergency Medical Service is hold-
ing CPR and First Aid classes the second Saturday and the third
Thursday of every month at the EMS Barn located on the west side of
the hospital Call 323-6422 for more information. #35
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Ezzell, Nancy & Brown, Laurie Ezzell. The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 37, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 13, 2001, newspaper, September 13, 2001; Canadian, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth737391/m1/9/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Hemphill County Library.