Birdsong: I can certainly understand why you feel the way you do. In fact, I agree with your views 100%. I am saddened that we are all in the position of losing our tempers because this issue is so near and dear to our hearts, and we always feel that we are losing the battle (especially when facing the approaching season of Chemlawn ads). I think I pointed out to Dil in one post why we all feel as strongly as we do: . . . I have often seen posts on this board seeking information on how to lure and feed deer, raccoons, etc. only to later see the same people here seeking a solution when the natural reaction has created a nuisance. . . . so you can see why people develop strong opinions about this issue. However, after spending a couple of years reading, I believe that we all have a unique opportunity here. This kind of board gives us the opportunity to debate these ideas online for many people to read. I like to think that there are other people out there, like Dil (and probably each one of us at one time or another), who are similarly fertile ground. I think that when we do lose our tempers and get sharper than we want to, our argument loses power. I'm as guilty as anyone of losing my temper in this thread, but the amazing thing about Dil is that he hung in there. I personally think that takes a pretty big person . . . not to mention that Dil has promised to try to explain his new understanding to his neighbors. He won't win them all over, but he may convince a few. What more can we ask for? Afterall, what we are asking for is a paradigm shift. Our culture values making money and personal enjoyment above and beyond all else. So, we are asking for deeply-rooted cultural ideals to change. That won't happen overnight. Maybe I'm being way too optimistic, but I think if people did understand the common sense of it, some of them wouldn't do the things they do. The only way to hope to change people's opinions is to debate them respectfully. So, while I understand where your anger comes from, I hope you will rethink your approach. You obviously understand the issue clearly and have some valuable insight to add.

Mockingbirds are very territorial. They are also great native birds to have around. Even if you could, I would not discourage them from being in your yard as they have a job to do just like the bluebirds do. If they have been reinforced by getting mealworms so far, you will have to do something to extinguish their behavior. One basic tenet of behavior is "unrewarded behavior eventually extinguishes itself." So, if you make it impossible for them to get any mealworms for a while, they will eventually stop defending the feeder and move on. One way to do this is to stop feeding the mealworms. The bluebirds don't need the mealworms. The mockingbirds will move on if they don't get any mealworms for a while. Another way you can do this is to create a feeder that will not allow the mockingbird to feed from it. A feeder that has holes that are too small for the mockingbird to fit in but will allow smaller birds into it would work to accomplish this. I will include a link to some plans. The thing that you will have to do is to train the bluebirds to recognize the new feeder. This will be hard when they are competing with the mockingbirds. You have to link the two feeders in their minds by gradually changing the feeder over so that the bluebirds connect the worms with the new feeder. The only way to do this is to have the new feeder open for a few days until the blues find them. Like I said this will be hard to do when the mockingbird is chasing them away, so I would stop feeding mealworms for a few weeks and then try this and see if the mockingbird forgets about it and moves on to a new source of food. The other thing you may have a problem with at some point are hawks that will notice the concentration of song birds at the feeder. This seems to be a bigger problem when you feed seeds as you have many more birds frequenting that kind of feeder. This also creates other problems besides hawks, like disease. I have seen enough people end up with hawk problems from artificial feeding to warn you that it could be the next problem you are facing. Hawks are a necessary part of the system as the bluebirds and the mockers, so you should be happy to have them all. The berry bushes in your yard are a natural way to feed everyone, but they double as cover that helps to protect the birds from the larger predators giving them a fighting chance. Just something to think about when you consider artifical feeding. Here is a link that might be useful: mealworm feeder

I have the blue-domed feeder from Duncraft and it works great. My Blues were used to a little cup that I had nailed to a tree stake, but then a very FAT Robin found it. So I bought the dome version and left the top off of it for several days while the Blues got used to the new container. The I put the dome on in it's highest position (the Robin could still get in during this "training" period). After about three more days, I lowered it to its lowest setting and then only the Blues could fit. The great thing about this feeder is that it can be hung or mounted on a pole - it has a screw-in bottom that is just the same size as a standard broom handle. I purchased a broom handle from the hardware store, gorilla glued the feeder in place for good measure, and then simply pushed the handle about 5 inches into the ground. No fuss, no muss and now only my blues can get the mealies...

Lydia, thanks for your response. The usual silence about the Mrs. Dubose episode has always puzzled me. I don't know if readers generally don't find it compelling or it is relatively unmemorable coming on the heels of the indelible image of Atticus shooting the mad dog. But I'm with you about that quote. It is Atticus's warning to Jem and foreshadows that the first baby steps of standing up to the status quo cannot be expected to succeed but are nonetheless necessary.It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.It epitomizes Atticus's involvement, don't you think? I think it is one of the most powerful messages in all of TKaM.I am interested in how the novel is perceived by those from countries other than the U.S. Netla has already weighed in - I wonder if there is any equivalent to this way of life and the beliefs expressed in the novel in other places? Those of us from the industrial north might view the novel as though it is in fact from other country!Siobhan, I'm sure you would prefer to hear directly from readers outside the U.S., but your question interested me so I asked two of my non-U.S. friends about what they think. I thought I would share their responses. The first friend was born, bred, and still lives in Yorkshire. She says that she half-expected TKaM to be completely foreign to her. Instead she found that, although many of the characteristics make the place and people of TKaM unique to the American South, there were just as many instances in which she could identify. She feels that Maycomb could almost be any small town in England, with similar eccentrics, prejudices, and pathos. She sees the theme as universal to the human condition. My second friend is Argentinian. She says what enchanted her so much was the children's day-to-day lives: how they were left to their own devices and how safe their world seemed until, of course, things were no longer safe for them. I think I have profoundly thoughtful friends! An experience of mine: I tried to read Ne tirez pas sur l'oiseau moqueur, but I finally gave up because Jem and Scout speaking French just seemed too incongruous to me. It makes me wonder how many English translations come out sounding absurd to the speakers of the language the story was originally written in.