FeederWatcher Stories
 
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 Hummingbird nest
Project FeederWatch participant Marjorie Simons of Tucson, Arizona, discovered hummingbirds nesting on her hummingbird wind chime--first Broad-billed Hummingbirds and then Anna's Hummingbirds. Read the story and see more photos. |
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Broad-billed Hummingbird nestling. Photo by Marjorie Simons. |
Who's disturbing our feeders now?
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| Ralph Guenther of Fairport, New York, wrote, "We had problems with raccoons getting into our feeders. Using a cone and cylinder baffle deterred squirrels, but a raccoon could bend down the edge of a cone and reach over it; he could work his way up a cylinder by hugging it. Placing a cone on top of a cylinder solved the problem." Ralph thought his feeders were finally safe. However, he went on to say, "After many years without further intrusions, we once again noticed our feeders were being disturbed. We couldn't understand how the 'raccoons' were defeating our baffle system. Late one evening in April, we happened to look out the window and our question was answered." |
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Ralph sent us this photo to show us that a
deer
is now defeating his elaborate baffle system. |
Bird shower
"On a rainy day in February, a fat dove was hunched down on a branch just above the birdbath, getting soaked. Then it started raining harder. The bird lifted up a wing and really stretched it out fully. Then it leaned over and let the rain run down all its feathers, washing out the wingpit! After a bit, the dove did the other wing, then repeated the process over again and ended with a good overall preening. It was the first time I had ever seen a bird take a shower!" --Marcy Beckelheimer, Charleston, West Virginia
Harvesting maple syrup
"A behavior I love to watch each year is the annual tapping of the small suger maple in my yard," wrote Kristin Smith of Rhinebeck, New York. In February, Downy Woodpeckers tap into her maple. Pine Siskins, Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, and the woodpeckers later sip from melting icicles formed from the running sap. According to Kristin, "The tree becomes a fountain, as sap rains down to form dark puddles on the frozen earth, a spring tonic."
More icicle sipping
Margaret Monto of Wilmot, New Hampshire, noticed a chickadee coming to an icicle hanging from her roof gutter. She wrote, "The chickadee clung to the icicle and drank from the drips forming at the end, slowly sliding downward. Just as it was about to slip off entirely, it would flutter back up a bit and continue on. This behavior was repeated a number of times over several days."
Clever corvids
"I set a large plastic saucer on a tree stump in the feeder area to provide water for those birds that didn't use the two raised bird baths. The crows found this water source quickly and used it often. A year or so later, I noticed one crow carrying bread to the water, dropping the bread into the water, waiting a bit, then eathing the soaked bread. This behavior continued and 'spread' to the other crows. I observed them appearing to line up, bread in beak, to dunk bread before eating it or flying away with it. Now they also dunk shelled peanuts and even suet chunks."--Paula Chipman, Newtown, Connecticut
Junco
fun |
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Andrew
Taylor of Emmitsburg, Maryland, sent us this sketch
to illustrate the junco he observed "playing with
a pin oak leaf." Andrew said that he enjoyed watching
the junco "twirling the leaf around and around." |
Magpie
funeral?
That's
sure what Nancy Marsh of Aspen, Colorado, thought she was
watching. After a magpie died
in her yard, she observed, "Seven magpies came and gathered around
the dead bird. They were making lots of noise, hopping around.
Every now and then one would pull at a wing or leg on the
dead bird. They took turns doing this. Some would fly to
nearby low branches, still 'talking' and then fly back by
the bird. One by one they flew away, leaving one live bird
who stayed on the ground next to the dead bird and leaned
close and squawked several times and then flew away. The
incident lasted about fifteen minutes." This behavior
pattern is often observed in birds of the corvid family.
Researchers believe the birds are trying to understand what
happened and learn how to avoid a similar fate. They may
also be trying to revive the dead bird.
Now
that's dedication!
"We
live in a very rural area with severe, long winters that
I have never really enjoyed. However, this winter was an
immense pleasure. We had several inches of snow and my feeders
were located on the woods' edge over a large area. Each
day, usually before 7:00 a.m., I would strap on my snow
shoes, fill my two 5-gallon pails with various feed and
venture out to refill my feeders. I experienced winter at
her best, windchills as low as -70°F and blizzard conditions.
Some days I was forced to cover any exposed skin and had
to where ski goggles to protect my eyes. Each day was like
a special gift given only to me. I can actually say that,
despite the severe conditions, I enjoyed myself more than
I ever thought possible. I was committed to keeping the
feeders full and maintained. My self-esteem rose because
of this committment. Thank you for the opportunity to participate
in this survey. " --Kathleen Swanson, Chapman, Maine
Where's
the beef?
Shortly after Diether Peschken of Regina, Saskatchuen, set up his feeders one fall, a pair of Downy Woodpeckers visited the pole where he had placed suet in previous years. Diether watched the woodpeckers peck furiously at the spot where the suet used to be fastened. He wondered, "Did the woodpeckers smell traces of past suet, did they remember the spot, or did they simply want to remind me to supply the fat?"
A
new feeder design brings rare bird
Cheryl
Johnson of Campton, New Hampshire, decided to build a new
feeding station to allow her to photograph birds in a natural-looking
setting and was thrilled by some new visitors her creation
attracted to her yard. Cheryl reported, "The feeder
consists of chunks of logs, a section of hollow tree, dead
branches, and a couple of evergreens, all tied around a
pole set in the ground. I covered the whole thing with oak
leaves, fir boughs, and branches from my rose bushes. I
filled the crevices in the bark with melted suet and scattered
seed all around. Within minutes of completing this project,
two female cardinals arrived--a first for my yard!"
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A short time later, much to
Cheryl's amazement, a Harris's Sparrow (shown at left) showed up and posed in her new feeder
"studio." Harris's Sparrows are rare in New Hampshire in winter. They normally
winter in the central United States from Nebraska to Texas. |
She doesn't know
when the sparrow arrived, but recalled, "I was playing with my new camera late in the
afternoon on November 16 when I spotted a sparrow-like bird behind the evergreens that I
couldn't identify. When it finally came into view, there wasn't much light left, but I
managed to snap a blurry photo. I searched my field guides and tentatively identified it,
then waited anxiously for the next morning. Not long after daybreak, the Harris's returned
and allowed me to get some nice shots. Not only that, but the bird was very cooperative
for the dozens of other birders who came to see him." |
Defeating
magpies teaches new tricks to woodpeckers
Tired
of how quickly Black-billed Magpies devoured the suet she put out, Kathy Karjala, of
Bozeman, Montana, created what she calls a "Magpie Foiler." In describing the
creative process, Kathy says, "First we turned our suet container upside down and
left it in its plastic. That way the birds had to go upside down to get it. |
| The magpies had
trouble with this set-up while the nuthatches, chickadees, and woodpeckers did fine.
However, the magpies soon learned to cope with the new arrangement. So, we came up with
the idea of hanging a piece of laminate (the foiler) underneath the suet." The
foiler, hung 4 inches below the upside-down suet, makes the space under the suet large
enough only for the smaller birds. We started out hanging the foiler with wire, as shown
in the picture, but eventually ended up suspending it with fishing line." |
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| Tray installed below suet feeder to prevent magpies from accessing bottom of feeder. |
| The
invention worked, and Kathy reports that few magpies raid the suet now. However, a new
problem arose that led to a fascinating observation. Snow started to build up on the
foiler, blocking access for the woodpeckers. Kathy explained that upon noticing snow
blocking the bottom of the suet, woodpeckers would go to the top of the feeder and brush
away the snow. Then they went under the suet again only to find snow still in the way.
They would then go back to the top and brush away more snow. Kathy said, "This
routine repeated itself until I went out to clear the snow for them. It seems likely that
they are used to brushing off snow, which may be covering a food source or a hole. But
when the snow was underneath their food, they were flummoxed. Of course, I wouldn't
want to lean upside-down and stick my head in a snowdrift either!" |
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Fortunately, at least one
woodpecker did eventually learn how to clear the snow off the foiler. As the photo at left
shows, Kathy spotted a Hairy Woodpecker that went under the suet and brushed the snow off
of the foiler with his head. The experience showed that "woodpeckers can," as
Kathy exclaimed, "learn new tricks!" |
| Woodpecker pushing snow off of tray to access suet. Photos by Kathy Karjala. |
| What's
eating at my feeder? |
| Lots of FeederWatchers report fascinating new birds at their feeders each
winter. But Mike Bibler, of Papillion, Nebraska, had a different sort of new visitor to
report. He sent along this photo, asking us for identification assistance. "Perhaps
they were cowbirds," he joked. Mike went on to explain, "My house is adjacent to a
golf course, and the cows came from a farm on the other side of the golf course." |
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| Cows visiting feeders. Photo by Mike Bibler. |
| The cows were grazing on the fairways before they decided to vary their diet with a visit to
Mike's feeders. After eating Mike's finch mix, the cows visited the nearby golf course
pond before returning to the farm on their own. Mike theorized, "I guess the finch
mix made them thirsty." |
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