At the Feeding Station

Northern Harriers

2010-09-27T15:29:00.000-07:00

Earlier this summer, a family of Northern Harriers took up residence, identified by their white rump patch and their call, a weak nasal whistle. They liked to perch in my maple tree and watch the little birds servicing the suet block. For several weeks I could often hear them calling from other trees in the neighborhood, or see one or two take wing.

One morning I looked out my front door window to see four of them: Two in the maple, one on the ground, and one perched on my car!

Sadly...

2010-09-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

My chickadees were wiped out by the back-to-back blizzards of last winter. Only one pair set up housekeeping this spring, and they were from out of town.

I am training their chicks, however. :o)

Another smarty

2007-12-15T07:42:00.000-08:00

A chickadee, this time.

I have for some time had some tamer chickadees that will come down and eat from a small custard dish of seed held in my hand. One in particular is quite demanding, and will hover right in front of my face if I'm headed for the car -- like: "I'm here. Feed me!"

Yesterday, I saw my chickadee family in the tree, and extended my arm and the seed cup outside with the door only partly open, it being rather cold out. One of my guys came down and perched on the edge of the dish for a moment, turned, and gave my finger a couple of pecks, then flew off.

This had never happened before. On bringing the cup in, the reason became apparent: The dish was empty! I had forgotten that I had tossed the remnants in the yard with the intention of refilling it.

So: here was this bird giving me hell and saying "What are you trying to pull here! Fill the damned dish!"

-R.

One Smart Jay

2006-05-04T07:35:00.000-07:00

I noticed a lone Blue Jay this morning doing something peculiar. S/he would peck at the ground a few times, then fly up to a low-hanging limb of the maple and appeared to lay something down, then pick it up and fly to a smaller branch suitable for opening seeds like sunflowers. My binoculars revealed that he would pick up three or four sunflower seeds, lay them out in a neat row on top of the broader branch then take them one by one to the smaller branch to open and consume them. I watched him do this trick a number of times before a crowd of Grackles chased him away.

I knew that Corvids (Ravens, Crows, Magpies and Jays) were smart, but I thought that most of the smarts had been given to the bigger birds. It seems that my Jay may have gotten more than his share!

I had previously noticed a Chickadee do something similar. It would pick up two of the black sunflower seeds, then appeared to be searching for something in the tree, flying from branch to branch. I had observed them do this before, searching for a suitable twig for opening such seeds, but this one was examining only larger branches. It finally found a branch with a crevice into which it stashed one seed while it flew off to open the other. It then returned to reclaim the stashed seed.

Chickadees and some other birds do hide seeds in bark crevices for later use, especially in Winter. I see the above performance as a simple modification of that behavior.

But the Jay's trick was uniquely clever.

Harbingers

2006-03-08T11:11:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I saw a large flock of Canada Geese heading North -- but what do they know? Silly geese.

The radio weather folks have been saying for several days now that "Spring is in the air!"

Today I saw my first Robin. Three, in fact. Now I believe it!

Birds of a Feather

2006-03-01T08:36:00.000-08:00

March first. Soon I'll start seeing the Spring Returns. One of the great flocks will be the Blackbirds: Starlings, Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds, Brown-headed Cowbirds. Icterids all -- excepting the imposter starlings -- they always travel together. When they arrive, Spring cannot be far behind. Do they know that they are related? How?

The Professional

2006-03-01T03:59:00.000-08:00

I hang a suet block in a little cage from a limb of the maple a few steps from my door. A number of different birds visit it, including several woodpeckers, or similar. Many of them have become tolerant of sharing the block, allowing another bird to feed from the other side -- as long as s/he is not right in their face. And they line up on the branch, taking turns. If someone is taking too long on the block, they may get pushed off, but patience seems the general order.

This will give you an idea of the incredible reaction times and speed of these guys. The suet hangs only about 5 Ft. (1.6m) above the ground. I have seen, say, a Nuthatch, lose a piece of suet and fly down to catch it before it hits the ground. By my calculation, that works out to a little over ½ second to estimate if it can be caught and then fly down to catch it before it hits the ground. I'm impressed!

The normal feeding mode is peck, peck, nibble, nibble. But not the Red-bellied Woodpecker. When s/he swoops in, being a bit larger, the others vacate. Chop, chop, chop -- and s/he flies off with a big chunk.

It's always a pleasure to watch a professional at work.

The Merlin!

2006-02-27T14:28:00.000-08:00

Two years ago, I guess it was. I happened to look out the front door window to see what was going on at the feeding station. Nothing. Not a bird in sight. Then a motion at the edge of my field of vision captured my attention.

It was a small hawk! Just starting to tear into a Junco, not four feet (ca 1m) from my front stoop, under a cedar tree! A quick trip through Peterson's identified her as a Merlin, a/k/a Pigeon Hawk, which identification was confirmed by telephone with the Raptor Center. They are uncommon in this area, but not unknown. I watched for the half hour it took her to dispose of the Junco, leaving only feet and feathers! What a beauty she was.

She hung around for a while, because I saw her again in my front yard with another bird, but she took it away before I could identify it. I have never had another good sighting, but there have been a number of instances where something has swooped down on the ground crowd, but too fast for me to eyeball, so I suspect she is still about.

I notice that the Downy Woodpeckers seem particularly vigilant before alighting on the suet block.

The Gang of Three

2006-02-27T13:02:00.000-08:00

I get plenty of Chickadees, but these three always travel together. I'm sure they are unmated nest-mates fledged last Summer, with lots of the pushing and shoving you see among siblings.

Some Chickadees will come to my hand to eat, but not these guys!

Carolina Wrens

2006-02-27T12:54:00.000-08:00

I have a pair who have shown up each winter for the past few years, and disappear come Spring. I don't know if they stay in the area or move on, but I'm sure they're busy on wren business!

They love the suet block I put out and only occasionally hit the seed that I toss on the ground. They're cheeky little things, almost as bold as the Chickadees, with a unique trilling song. A recent article I read leads me to believe that what I perceive as a single song may in fact be a tight duet!

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

2006-02-27T12:35:00.000-08:00

Yes, there really is such a bird, a sort of woodpecker.

It's a female, and I only ever see the one, and only in the worst of winter weather. This morning was only the second time I've seen her this winter, and it was really cold last night, ca 11°F.

Since we are at the northern edge of their winter range, it's my theory is that her winter home is somewhere north of here, and the extreme cold drives her temporarily south -- to my feeding station.

2000 July

2000-07-20T19:31:00.000-07:00

Some of the older Squirrels are getting a distinctly moth-eaten appearance. Half-tail is losing his fur around his shoulders.
Had some black cherries, and tossed a couple to the Squirrels. Suspicious at first, but they were soon eaten.
Put some mango rinds out. Squirrels loved it!
I now have 4-5 Chipmumks who come by. Still, one or two don't know about peanuts. One 'munk has lost half his tail.
As a family of Jays, adult + fledged chicks, flew off, I saw that one of their member was distintly orange in color. As they were flying directly away from me (to the sycamore tree), I couldn't tell what sort of bird it might be. By the time I got my binocs, it was too late.
A Sparrow is forraging and feeding a fledged chick 2-3 times its size, and gray in color. A Cowbird chick? I have seen Brown-headed Cowbirds in the vicinity.

2000 June

2000-06-27T19:08:00.000-07:00

Chipmunks, two of them have been coming for about a week. Today, one of them came while I was sitting on the step, feeding a squirrel. He came in cautiously, but soon was stuffing his little cheeks full of birdseed. I started tossing shelled peanut kernels to him until I put one right under his nose. He ate it, but seemed unaware of the others laying about. Then I started tossing whole peanuts, but with their shells cracked. I was finally able to put one very near him, which he picked up right away, turned around a few times, then took off towards home, which seems to be somewhere near the front (hitch) end of the trailer. A couple of the Jays are getting quite bold. I think that at least one of them will be taking peanuts from my hand before the summer is out.
We had a lot of rain recently (broke records), leaving a small pond in my dooryard. Today, Grackles are having great fun wading in for the drowning worms. They really don't mind the water and, even with their rather long legs, were sometimes belly-deep in it.
Chipmunks either don't have very keen smellers - or they don't have a great love for peanuts. I've seen them shove in-shell peanuts out of the way to get at other seed buried in the litter!
One of the Chipmunks (living by the trailer across the way) now recognizes peanuts as good tucker, and even approaches quite close to fetch them when tossed to him. He always trucks them back home, with his little legs a blur, and his little leaps and bounds. Halftail will now allow me to stroke his back while he is busy munching a peanut. The first time I did this, he immediately turned and looked at me, as if to say, "What'choo doin' there, Boss?"
A couple of the Jays will be eating from my hand soon, I think. The new folks in the trailer to the left have a cat. They're not supposed to have pets.
I just saw a Jay collect a peanut, fly off about 20 yards and bury it in the yard. He then plucked some grass and brought a dead leaf from a few hops away to cover it! I had no idea that Jays buried food.
This chipmunk is quite a clown. He is now fearless of me - but can't quite bring himself to take a peanut from my hand yet. I saw him in the yard, so grabbed a few peanuts with the idea of enticing him to take a nut from my hand while sitting on the stoop. When I opened the door, it turned out that Halftail was already on the porch. As I was getting rid of him, Mr Chips ran under the porch. As I sat down, waiting for him to appear, I heard a noise behind me! He was practically ready to climb up my back! He races around like a little demon.
(later) Mr Chips now takes peanuts by hand. I shell one nut, and he takes both kernels in the cheek pouches, and another whole one crosswise in his mouth. These little tykes have a horrendous respiration rate, in excess of 300/minute.
The squirrels sometimes scratch at the door, asking me to come out and play - "And bring the peanuts, please!". Today I heard them scratching and when I opened the door I was greeted by two squirrels on the railing and one on the deck!
Halftail still rules, warning off the young turks with a soft growl - perhaps muted by a mouthful of peanut! It's quite warm today. The Jays are coming in dripping wet, straight from their bath, I suppose. It's quite amusing to see a squirrel munching a peanut while lying flat on his tummy, on the cool ground, with his back legs splayed out.
I have noticed for several days that two of the squirrels have some sort of damage to their paws. There is a loss of hair, showing pink skin. It seems painful, but not totally disabling. I put it down to mange, or something of that ilk. Today, I noticed that Halftail has a wound on his side, near the juncture of his thigh. He wouldn't stand for a close inspection, so I only got glimpses, but it looks more like a cut about 1" long. The new tenants have a cat that I've chased out of the yard. Perhaps he has something to do with it!
Bought another 50# bag of peanuts: $65 incl. tax
I put out a heel of a tomato that has dropped on the floor. Everyone ignored it - except the Chipmunks. And they only liked the seedy pulp.
Ducks! Three Mallards in the back yard, eating something, with a few Crows.
I thought that the Chipmunk would like some peanut butter, but he sniffed it, tasted it, then went back to scrambling around looking for his peanut!
When he (the Chipmunk) first sees me at the door, he gets so excited that he races around like a kid on Christmas morning!

2000 May

2000-05-15T18:57:00.000-07:00

Rufous-Sided Towhee today!
Grackles have a method of peanut attack different from other birds. Other birds (Jays, Titmice) find a sturdy branch and chisel the nut open with blows of their beak, using the branch as an anvil. Grackles remain on the ground and, with only occasional foot holding, crunch the shell with their powerful beak, eating the nuts in pieces as they fall from the shell.
Called several people in Animal Control and DEC about the squirrel malady. No answers yet.
It's been raining off and on all morning. I saw a female Red-winged Blackbird flitting about in the maple, keeping to the small branches, and apparently eating something off the leaves (which are now about ½ out). Binocs revealed that she was drinking the raindrops clinging to the leaf margins.
Saw a pair of Brown-Headed Cowbirds.

2000 April

2000-04-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

Snow today! The Juncos are digging little mines through the snow to the seed on the ground beneath. They are little claim-jumpers, and will abandon their own digs to evict a neighbor who seems to be having better luck. I have also noticed that Juncos are aerial acrobats, conducting high-speed dogfights through the leafless branches of the maple tree with amazing agility. I have also seen individuals swoop down on the other members of their flock, smack into the bole of the tree. But they hit the tree with their feet, pause there for an instant, then pop down to the ground.
A Jay came down to steal a peanut missed by a squirrel. It had a long fiber or string in it's mouth: probable nesting material. It hopped to the ground next to the peanut, dropped the fiber, picked up the peanut, then tried to pick up the fiber too. Failing this, it left the fiber and flew off with the peanut. A minute or so later, it returned and flew down beside the fiber on the ground. Glancing around (for more peanuts?), it picked up the fiber and few off.
Mystery LBJ, resting at feeding station for at least ½ hr:
- Sparrow-like and -sized
- Mottled brown back & wings
- Breast: gray, lightly mottled
- Eyebrow: prominent, from beak to back of head, yellow between beak and eye
- Crown: one stripe, narrow, tan, from beak to back of head
- Gorget: white
- No yellow on breast
- No chestnut epaulettes
I have identified this as a White-Throated Sparrow, White-striped form. (Peterson's p.278) 21 Apr 2000
Grackles and Starlings are semi-regulars now.
Heavy rains today, Good Friday. When picking up peanuts, experienced squirrels give their heads a little shake, perhaps to verify the contents by its rattle. It seems that there are more squirrels exhibiting the "wobbly" symptoms. Perhaps this is some contagious disease?
Squirrels have excellent sense of smell. If I toss a peanut, and a squirrel comes within 2 feet of it, he will usually find it. I'm sure it's their sense of smell, because they don't seem to have very keen eyesight. The White Throated Sparrow must have told all his friends, because now it is not unusual to see small flocks of eight or so at a time.
Doves make that cooing sound without opening their mouths. Their throat just puffs up a bit.

2000 March

2000-03-17T18:25:00.000-08:00

Titmice are really particular about the branch they choose as an anvil for opening the sunflower seeds that they seem to love. It must be close to horizontal, and neither too big around nor too small. Yesterday, I saw one smart Titmouse that was using a stick on the ground as his anvil. He would forage for a seed, then hop over to the branch to open it. I'm sure that used less energy that flying up into the tree to find a branch for each seed!
Grackles today! Common Grackles, I think.
My Robin is back again, today. There's in snow, slush and ice on the ground, and he's standing at the edge of the crowd feeding on the seeds I put out. I thought that he was watching in envy, wishing that he was a seed-eater, too. But, no: He was hunting! Suddenly he extracted a nice fat worm from the edge of the shallow puddle he was standing in!
Earlier, when it was still snowing heavily, the Juncos had retreated to the Maple. One of them had a big block of ice frozen to his tail feathers. It obviously bothered him, but he didn't know how to get rid of it. He could fly, but with difficulty.

2000 February

2000-02-28T18:12:00.000-08:00

Suet block going fast now that the woodpeckers have found it. A pair of Downey's, recognized by their stubbier beaks. At least one of the Jays has learned how to take two peanuts at once. He first takes a smaller nut, and nearly swallows it, allowing him to take another in his beak. I've switched to a different seed, with no cracked corn. It didn't seem that any were eating the corn.
Some of the Titmice have learned about French fries. If I bring home McD, I usually get a small bag of FF, and only eat a few. The rest I toss out for the birds, but I never saw who was getting them. I suspect that the Crows got most of them. This time, however, a Titmouse immediately flew down and very purposefully took a FF and flew off with it.
Something has partially dislodged the suet block holder. A puzzle. A few House Finches came, but they concentrated on the feeder, which was empty, of course. They obviously knew what it was for, but didn't know that here the food is on the ground. A squirrel took peanuts from my hand for the first time.
The suet block is now on the ground. Replaced it on its hangers. These are just two cup hooks. I may have to replace them with the sort that have "keepers" on them, as used in motor homes, e.g.
The suet block mystery is solved, I think. I just saw a starling going at it. A bird this size might be able to dislodge it when landing or taking off.
Saw a gray squirrel investigate the suet block. He unhooked it from one of the two hooks. I'll have to replace the hooks. Also saw a Titmouse after the suet block - which is almost gone now...
Something new: A red squirrel!

2000 January

2000-01-31T17:38:00.000-08:00

I have seen the crows post sentries to watch for me to toss out food. They roost in the tops of one of the two poplar trees. When they leave, several fly up to the sentry post. A few minutes later, they all, but one, fly away. How do they decide who stays?
The squirrels are getting bolder. One scaled the door to peer in the window! The noise he made scared the fool out of me!
Put out a suet holder with a block of peanut butter & suet in it. The pet store has quite a variety of different flavor suet blocks. Next, I think I'll try one of the ones with blueberries in it. Bird pemmican!
No activity yet at the suet block. Four inches of snow today.
Noticed a chickadee at the suet block. I'd like to see some woodpeckers. I may have to mount the holder at a higher elevation. Right now it's barely 4' off the ground.
Lots fewer squirrels with the snow on the ground.
I've also noticed that the LBJs are a lot more skittish in the snow. Do they know that the snow robs them of their natural camouflage? Noticed the first House Finches feeding. These were real pests at RR. There were only a few here today.
Saw a Titmouse at the suet block. Still no Woodpeckers. The Mourning Doves like to come in a small flock at dusk.
Saw two Starlings feeding for a while. I hope they don't bring their friends. Most of the Chickadees have finally figured out the suet block, and now line up for turns.
Crows have remarkably sharp eyesight. A Crow was in the drive, at least 40' away, and was keeping watch in my direction. I was standing about 12" from the door window, which is about 10" x 20", so I was in shadow. The Crow could easily see me, and took flight when I shifted my head a few inches.
Heavy snowfall today; a Nor'easter. Birds are struggling to scratch through the snow to get the seed, which soon gets buried by fresh snow. Starlings have an odd behavior to uncover seed buried by the snow. They insert their long beak into the snow, then open wide, the lower beak pushing aside some snow to make a small hole about 1" deep and, perhaps, a seed or three.
The Chickadees are the boldest. They will fly down to pick up seed that I have just put down. With me standing right there, they will fly right down to my feet for the seed. And I know that they see me, because they will scold me from the branches before flying in to take a sunflower seed.
Saw my first woodpecker at the suet block. It was either a Downey Woodpecker or a Hairy Woodpecker.

1999 December

1999-12-31T17:02:00.000-08:00

The new feed has cracked corn and the larger, stripped sunflower seed, and attracts a bigger variety of birds: More Chickadees, Jays and Titmice. Also bought a 50# bag of raw peanuts. $75 on birdfeed! I must be nuts!
The Crows are the wariest. The slightest movement of the curtain over my door window will scare them away. But they are very watchful. When I put out something interesting, they will appear within minutes - if I'm not in plain sight.
The Blue Jays are the most watchful. If I toss out a few peanuts, they fly in out of nowhere and pick them up within seconds. They are also the boldest. One or two will take peanuts off the porch railing right by the door - with me watching in the window 3' away. I'm sure that they see me, too. It is amusing to watch these greedy gluttons when there a bunch of peanuts on the ground. One will swoop in and pick up a peanut, then hop over to another peanut and try to pick up that one, too. Unless the first peanut is small and can be half-swallowed, they cannot do this. After a couple of tries, it drops #1 and picks up #2, then tries to pick up #1, too. This alternation will be tried a couple of times, then both are dropped on the ground and the bird seems to be sizing them up. First one, then the other is picked up, then dropped. Finally, one is chosen, and off he goes. I wonder if they will learn to purposely pick a small and a large nut in order to be able to pack both at once.
The Titmouse crowd has feeder experience. When they started coming in, they first flew to the small feeder hanging unused in the tree before dropping to the ground, where I put all the seed and nuts. Now, they don't bother with the feeder at all. Only a few have figured out the peanut angle. One is so bold that he will take peanuts off the railing.
These squirrels apparently have no experience with peanuts. After getting them accustomed to my presence, - tossing out more seed, etc - I have had to toss peanuts right into their lap before they would pick one up! Once a squirrel tastes one, though, he seems to learn pretty quickly that these are worthwhile food packages. I'm pretty sure that I'll have a few of them eating out of my hand before long.
Half-tail is the king of the squirrels, the obvious alpha squirrel. All the other squirrels defer to him and he will chase away any of the others. He has been too busy protecting his "turf" that he hasn't yet figured out this peanut thing.
I have been tossing the bodies of the mice that I trap (14 so far this season) onto the feeding area. I assume that the Crows are getting them, but haven't actually seen it happen. Tossed one out this morning, while there were a bunch of squirrels around. They showed great interest, inspecting the body one after another. At first, I thought that they were actually eating it, as the first couple actually picked up the body and appeared to be nibbling or licking it. Now, I suspect that they were just licking the peanut butter bait from the mouse's mouth. Ugh!
Chickadees usually take a sunflower seed to a nearby branch and, holding it between their feet, hammer it with their beak to get at the seed. Just watched one fly up to a horizontal limb, then fly to the underside of the limb where there is a short stump of a small branch. Clinging upside-down, he rammed the seed into a hole or crevice. Now, how did he know that was there? It certainly isn't visible from the top of the limb.
Half-tail has finally figured out what peanuts are. He chases all the other squirrels away and then buries the peanuts! While he is distracted burying a nut, another squirrel may be able to sneak in to steal one, but not often. I've seen him come racing back to the feeding area to chase away a rival, then calmly walk back to continue burying his nut. Once, while Half-tail was burying a nut, a Crow landed about 5' away. Half-tail ignored him, and as soon as he started back to the feeding ground, the Crow dug up the peanut!
Some birds hop, while others stride. Size is a big factor: the larger birds stride. But Mourning Doves walk while similarly sized Jays hop. Crows do both, but stride more often than they hop. Some birds scratch, while others never do. Scratchers include Sparrows & Juncoes. One reason I broadcast the birdseed is because I love to watch them scratch like little chickens.
Squirrels have no interest in: celery, apple cores and parings. Juncoes are a sort of finch. Chickadees are a sort of titmouse.
Saw my first nuthatch today.
I'm not sure exactly what they're doing, but it sounds like the squirrels are trying to scale my front door. The first time I heard it, it scared the bejesus out of me! Now, I just heard it again, and when I looked out the door window, there was a squirrel on the porch. A couple of these squirrels are bold enough that they are very close to eating from my hand. I'm sure that if I spent a couple of hours working at it, they would. A tiny sparrow, no more than 4". Brown, strongly streaked breast, capped with two dark stripes; similar to Savannah Sparrow, but smaller, darker & no sign of yellow eyebrow stripe. A true LBJ.
Not so agile, after all! As I was leaving the house today, of course the squirrels scattered. As I approached the car, I heard a thump behind me. A squirrel had failed to make the jump from the maple to the fir tree and fell to the ground! I knew that they were getting too fat!
Jays usually fly away to open their peanuts. One stayed in the Maple to open his. The nuts are swallowed whole, once removed from the shell, and he did know that there are two nuts in the one shell. I was wondering about that. Chickadees and Titmice take sunflower seed and fly up to the nearest branch (must be at least ½" in diameter) and, placing the seed under a toe, hammer it with their beak to crack the shell. The seed is eaten in pieces.