Bird Feeders

Maryland Department of Natural Resources wildlife specialists cautioned songbird lovers yesterday to keep bird feeders clean, after reports of isolated outbreaks of disease among some finches and sparrows.Edith Thompson, DNR urban wildlife biologist, said sick or dead songbirds have been spotted this spring around the state, although most reports have come from the Baltimore-Washington area."We've had more reports than normal," Ms. Thompson said, adding that there is no link between the diseased songbirds and the avian cholera that killed more than 35,000 waterfowl this winter on and around the Chesapeake Bay.Ms.

"Rats! They fought the dogs and killed the cats, and bit the babies in the cradles ... " Baltimore County's rat problems may not be as hair-raising as those above in Robert Browning's poem "The Pied Piper of Hamelin," but the disease-spreading vermin are an enduring presence in the yards and alleys of many neighborhoods. The county's response to rodent infestation is Rid Rat, a complaint-driven program that gathers data from phone calls (on a phone line dedicated to rat problems)

Call it wildlife tourism in reverse. As spring turns into summer, young black bears hit the road, and in recent years it seems a few turn up on the outskirts of Baltimore, ambling across manicured lawns, rummaging through trash cans and raiding bird feeders. A bear visited northern Baltimore County last week, stirring up the Jacksonville community when it was sighted near an elementary school and then in a resident's yard. There were bear sightings last weekend in Harford County, and two Aberdeen men on Wednesday were the latest to report having seen one in Susquehanna State Park.

Milton Lee Eckstein Jr., a retired grocery store manager and fast-pitch softball player, died of complications from cancer Saturday at his Inwood, W.Va., home. He was 84 and had lived in Joppa. Born in Rosedale, he attended Kenwood High School. He worked at A&P grocery stores for 27 years, including one on Sinclair Lane, where he was manager. He later became head of maintenance for Maryland General Hospital. He also owned a business, E&M Home Improvement. In 1984, he was inducted into the Maryland Fastpitch Hall of Fame.

In Baltimore City Residents urged to recycle gift-wrap, boxes, holiday cards The city Department of Public Works has issued a reminder for Baltimore residents to recycle gift-wrap rather than throwing it away. Recyclable items include cardboard boxes and packaging, wrapping paper, tissue paper, colored paper, holiday cards, gift cards and envelopes. The city does not recycle ribbon, foil or foam packing material. For more information, call 311. Walbrook library branch schedules Kwanzaa event The Walbrook branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library will hold "Telling for Kwanzaa," a one-hour holiday presentation featuring the storytelling troupe the Growing Griots, at 2 p.m. tomorrow.

When Lisa Moore searched outside her house in Jacksonville on Thursday for her 4-year-old daughter, she instead found a 2-year-old black bear. "I looked for her, turned the corner… I see this bear on its hind legs and it was trying to eat bird seed from a bird feeder" hanging in the tree, Moore said. After about 10 seconds watching the bear in awe, she said, "it hit me, where is my daughter?" Luckily, she was inside and, together, mother and daughter watched the bear hanging around a swing set, occasionally making his way to the bird feeder.

"Rats! They fought the dogs and killed the cats, and bit the babies in the cradles ... " Baltimore County's rat problems may not be as hair-raising as those above in Robert Browning's poem "The Pied Piper of Hamelin," but the disease-spreading vermin are an enduring presence in the yards and alleys of many neighborhoods. The county's response to rodent infestation is Rid Rat, a complaint-driven program that gathers data from phone calls (on a phone line dedicated to rat problems)

Bird watching is the perfect hobby for a busy world. You can do it while you're on the phone and while on your way to take the kids to soccer practice. You can watch birds at a bus stop or while you eat a sandwich. "Bird watching is the fastest-growing outdoor activity," says John Bianchi, a spokesman for the National Audubon Society. About 71-million Americans are bird watchers, Bianchi says, and more than 60 million have bird feeders in their back yards. While we're enjoying the bright flash of a goldfinch, the antics of a blue jay or the determined progress of a wren as she looks for insects in the fissured bark of an old oak, we're also becoming conservationists.

Dumb animals can be pretty smart. Looking out our kitchen window the other day, my wife glanced into our neighbors' yard, where they've got one of those bird feeders fixed with a barrier to keep squirrels from getting at the goodies. It was hanging by a thread from one of their trees. Hanging onto the feeder from a cylindrical piece at the bottom was a squirrel. The feeder spun around as it dangled from the branch, and the squirrel twirled along with it. "Whee!" I said, laughing.

Milton Lee Eckstein Jr., a retired grocery store manager and fast-pitch softball player, died of complications from cancer Saturday at his Inwood, W.Va., home. He was 84 and had lived in Joppa. Born in Rosedale, he attended Kenwood High School. He worked at A&P grocery stores for 27 years, including one on Sinclair Lane, where he was manager. He later became head of maintenance for Maryland General Hospital. He also owned a business, E&M Home Improvement. In 1984, he was inducted into the Maryland Fastpitch Hall of Fame.

Call it wildlife tourism in reverse. As spring turns into summer, young black bears hit the road, and in recent years it seems a few turn up on the outskirts of Baltimore, ambling across manicured lawns, rummaging through trash cans and raiding bird feeders. A bear visited northern Baltimore County last week, stirring up the Jacksonville community when it was sighted near an elementary school and then in a resident's yard. There were bear sightings last weekend in Harford County, and two Aberdeen men on Wednesday were the latest to report having seen one in Susquehanna State Park.

When Lisa Moore searched outside her house in Jacksonville on Thursday for her 4-year-old daughter, she instead found a 2-year-old black bear. "I looked for her, turned the corner… I see this bear on its hind legs and it was trying to eat bird seed from a bird feeder" hanging in the tree, Moore said. After about 10 seconds watching the bear in awe, she said, "it hit me, where is my daughter?" Luckily, she was inside and, together, mother and daughter watched the bear hanging around a swing set, occasionally making his way to the bird feeder.

Dumb animals can be pretty smart. Looking out our kitchen window the other day, my wife glanced into our neighbors' yard, where they've got one of those bird feeders fixed with a barrier to keep squirrels from getting at the goodies. It was hanging by a thread from one of their trees. Hanging onto the feeder from a cylindrical piece at the bottom was a squirrel. The feeder spun around as it dangled from the branch, and the squirrel twirled along with it. "Whee!" I said, laughing.

In winter, my backyard looks like the mall food court. Dozens of birds line up at my feeders and suet holders like hungry teenagers: jays, flickers, wrens, house sparrows, cardinals, all shoving each other out of the way. This time of year, there is also plenty of action in what my son calls "the bird hot tub," a heated birdbath that does not freeze when other sources of water do. I am not a knowledgeable bird-watcher, but I love to sit in my kitchen...

If you're looking for great garden design ideas, perhaps a little bird can give you some pointers. Wild birds have a terrific sense for landscaping, and if you let their ideas of what is right, proper and needful inspire your garden's design, you'll have a wonderful garden -- lively, pretty and full of color, life and song. One of the very best things you can do to make your garden more attractive to birds is to plant a songbird flower bed, says Steve Kress, a bird conservation expert and vice president of the National Audubon Society.

Animal Planet and Comcast are giving families plenty of opportunities to get up close and personal with animals this weekend. The Animal Planet Expo comes to Centennial Park in Ellicott City on Saturday and Sunday. "There's something for everyone at the Animal Planet Expo," said Benne Gallion, a marketing representative for Discovery Networks. Visitors can see dog flying disc demonstrations and other animal shows, participate in animal trivia games, watch films in the Animal Planet Expo Theater and get a preview of the Discovery Channel's new series, Atlas, in the Discovery HD Theatre Dome.

Animal Planet and Comcast are giving families plenty of opportunities to get up close and personal with animals this weekend. The Animal Planet Expo comes to Centennial Park in Ellicott City on Saturday and Sunday. "There's something for everyone at the Animal Planet Expo," said Benne Gallion, a marketing representative for Discovery Networks. Visitors can see dog flying disc demonstrations and other animal shows, participate in animal trivia games, watch films in the Animal Planet Expo Theater and get a preview of the Discovery Channel's new series, Atlas, in the Discovery HD Theatre Dome.

Pine cones, peanut butter and seeds make good bird feeders. Deer need grass, water and shelter to survive. Grass, in turn, needs water and space to thrive.Children can learn these and other basics at hourlong educational programs sponsored by the Patuxent Research Refuge -- North Tract in Laurel. The refuge offers a selection of free programs for children 4 and older, as well as nature programs for all ages."One of the missions of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is to educate the public about nature and resources," said Marion Kinlein, outdoor recreation planner at the North Tract.

Still no reason for Md. to allow killing of bears It's shocking that The Sun's editorial page has reversed its position on Maryland's attempt to open a trophy hunt for black bears ("Maryland's bear season," editorial, Aug. 3), because not much has changed since the paper published its opposition to that same radical shift in our half-century-old wildlife policy ("Bearing the burden," editorial, Jan. 25, 2000). The bear population is still small, estimated at only a few hundred animals.

Bird watching is the perfect hobby for a busy world. You can do it while you're on the phone and while on your way to take the kids to soccer practice. You can watch birds at a bus stop or while you eat a sandwich. "Bird watching is the fastest-growing outdoor activity," says John Bianchi, a spokesman for the National Audubon Society. About 71-million Americans are bird watchers, Bianchi says, and more than 60 million have bird feeders in their back yards. While we're enjoying the bright flash of a goldfinch, the antics of a blue jay or the determined progress of a wren as she looks for insects in the fissured bark of an old oak, we're also becoming conservationists.