Well, He was back this morning, I guess he liked his dinner and was looking for breakfast.
I got a few reasonably good shots of him this time. Then I rushed out the door to do a few errands. When I got home and started to tell Ric about seeing the Hawk, he told me that after I left the Hawk hung around all morning terrorizing the small birds. He got several nice pics too.
Teri, You have such a nice view of the tree line from your conservatory/ kitchen area you could easily have DH or BIL throw a few lines over a 10-14' tree limbs for a feeders, and tie it off. Then you could untie, let it down, fill it, pull it back up, and tie it off. The same can be done for suet in the fork of a small tree, that way the woodpeckers have a tail support, be sure the tree's thin enough to discourage climbing. That's the way people who enjoy birds in real bear country do it. The bear may be attracted to the seed falling to the ground at first, but will soon find it's not worth his effort.
I wish our hawk would develop a taste for squirrel. LOL :-}
I think that's a juvenile Cooper's Hawk, so it might go after squirrels; I think Sharp-shinned Hawks are to small to nab one.
I haven't seen hawks lurking around recently; I think it helped that I spread the feeders around the yard and put the caged feeders the little birds use in places where they're not easily seen from above. I know they have to eat, too, but I want them to fill up on Starlings, Grackles, House Sparrows, mice and Norway rats rather than pick off the cute little birds in my yard.
I saw a Yellow-rumped Warbler today! It's the first time I've ever seen one, but it was pretty easy to ID by the bright yellow patch on its back. It flew away when I got up to get my camera, though.
I wish our hawk would develop a taste for squirrel. LOL :-}
Sniff...squirrels are fun to watch, and they play a major role in regenerating our oak forests.
Isn't this little guy (or gal) adorable?! It was patiently waiting for peanuts.
This message was edited Jan 30, 2015 6:25 PM
I have no issue with the squirrels. I think they are cute, too. LOL
I even like the Hawk, just wish it went out to the fields to do his hunting.
Same here! Like the other birds, it's just looking for an easy meal, but I can't help feeling that it's more like a canned hunt for the hawks.
A few pics from the yard this morning. A few of the Squirrels there were 8 of them there at one time. 4 under the sunflower feeder, 2 on the feeder, 1 running across the yard and 1 on the wild bird feeder.
The Doves are always here early ground feeding under the wild bird feeder.
We have plenty of cardinals here are just a few of them and a pretty good pic of one of the Jays,
there are at least 3 pairs.
When I think about the sheer number of birds we help I have to count the hawk too. They only hunt for subsistence, a fed cat is different. We probably have more squirrels than the local woods would normally support, and I understand their usefulness in the woods. I do not really appreciate their efforts with all the oaks and walnuts coming up in the garden and beds.LOL They even plant the deer corn sometimes. The birds are out of proportion also, but we have more suitable habitat than 6-8 acres of over browsed woodland, that I don't feel bad about. A pair of wolves would be nice, but I think I'm fighting a losing battle in that respect. I have considered taking a deer or two to help control the local population, and there is no waste at our house. The deer population has been reduced in recent years and the woods is showing some recovery.
Nice pics Holly, interesting thoughts Ric. I weigh my bird feeding and cat ownership, my personal consumption of resources and my personal efforts to keep a wildlife friendly yard and participation in discussions of organic gardening or promotion of enjoying natural resources. Of course, what I am doing is exactly balanced and totally correct ROFL
The pork fat I hung was being eaten by a downy the other day when it was very cold. Maybe they don't like it when its too soft on our milder days. If that's the case, they may like it a lot for the next several days, so I'm glad if it gets eaten.
Jill and Ric, thanks for the suggestions on how/where to place bird feeders that will be out of reach for bears. I was thinking about doing something about it today, but stepped outside and said forget it until another day LOL. Brrrrrrrr, windy and bitter cold. The driveway is all ice and the pond is frozen over. Sounds like a good day to stay inside.
Holly--
I love your picture of the lone Blue jay---he looks so forlorn....
I found 5 small wedges of some kind of pure fat --probably beef--in my freezer.
Took it out and hung it by the trunk of my maple. So far--no one has been interested...
it IS hanging freely--maybe that is the problem. I will bundle up and go outside
and switch it to the crotch of my smaller maple by the shed. At least there the birds
can land and then peck away at the suet.
Have to go outside anyway--all the seed is blown away from the patio floor.
Still have not done anything on the repaired 3-tube feeder. need to measure
the D I need on that piece of PVC tubing that i will glue into the hole of the feeder
and then, somehow, affix a hanging hook to it.
Much cleaner than all the chaff flying around from the seed on the floor..
I am cooking again--those BQ Country spare ribs that are so awesome.
I go through these cooking binges---What else can one do home every day?
I do work tomorrow...Yeah! My one day of work. It will get better soon...
1--switched the beef suet with the reg. suet cage that was in the tree crutch
2--Now--there are 2 suet feeders on either side of the trunk.
I still should make the peanut, etc. suet mix and smear it on the old nark of these trees...
I think I am afraid of the gooey mess it would be.,........:o
g.
Holly - great bird pics! The ones of the hawk were good closeups, definitely key to ID'ing birds. I find that I can't see enough detail unless I take photos; even the blurry ones help.
Gita, you're lucky you can place suet feeders like that - squirrels and grackles would eat it all very quickly if I did that. Take some photos for us!
Ric, the squirrels specialize in planting peanuts in my yard! I only have 1 oak seedling.
I'm all for deer hunting, and I'm glad there's culling in our area. If the deer population isn't drastically reduced, eventually we'll have very few birds and other animals in the woods because the food chain will have been wrecked.
I read that sterilization costs up to $1200 per deer. Nice if communities can swing it and cover all human needs as well, but when children are going hungry - just over half of the kids in local schools are living under the poverty level - I'm opposed to spending that kind of money.
This message was edited Jan 31, 2015 2:41 PM
muddy--
So far--I am blessed NOT to see any blackbirds here....maybe one or two.
I know they would demolish the suets. Hope they stay away!!
The most squirrels I have seen here at one time are five. They have plenty to eat--
as I still have to feed the birds on my patio floor.
The Squirrels eat up all the Sunflower seeds in one day.
It is hard for me to take any pictures from inside as every window has plants in front of it.
I also do not have a good enough camera to zoom and still have anything in focus.
Mine is a small Nikon Touch Screen--a feature I hate. Also--the lens cover does not
close any more--I have to, kind of, do it by hand.
Been wanting a better camera.....that can do a good macro. Self B-Day gift??
Anyway--I am cooking all day today...just felt like it...good stuff....
One of the things I will be fixing is some Brussel Sprouts. Got them all cleaned up.
Question---Do would any birds like to eat the little leaves of the Brussel Sproust?
Probably not--as it is in the cabbage family....However--fresh greens in the winter??????
LMK. G.
I doubt birds would eat the leaves; you're probably better off composting them.
Sorry for my deer rant above, but they are out of control here! I just took a walk around part of Wolf Trap Farm Park's trail (.6 mile from my house) so I could read the sign with their "deer stats". It said there are an estimated 158 deer per square mile in the park when there should only be 10-15 per sq. mile.
They have several natural habitat projects going on there; I'll post some pics later.
Muddy, what is supposed to be eating the deer? I'm sure there was a natural predator at one time.
Wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, native population without hunting restrictions. Major population factor is suburbia providing food, shelter, and safety.
Wolves were one of the main predators in my area....which is called Wolf Trap for a reason : - )
Now, the major "predators" are cars.
Wolf Trap is owned by the National Park Service, hence the "US Boundary" sign, which always cracks me up. Who knew I could enter and leave the U.S. without leaving home?!
Next is the sign on their "deer exclosure", which explains their experiment to see which native plants will re-appear in a fenced-in area.
Finally, a photo of Wolf Trap's native meadow...not very colorful, but the birds love the seeds! There are 42 kinds of plants in the meadow, all from North Creek Nurseries...this link shows what it looked like in August. http://www.northcreeknurseries.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/news.detail/recID/85/index.htm
I'm going to pay very close attention to what survives in this meadow, the ultimate test of deer resistance!
This message was edited Jan 31, 2015 7:33 PM
A few comments re; squirrels/cats/birds/rats/hawks/deer/ loss and degradation of habitat, etc etc etc.
It is amazing to me to witness the predatory skill of two wild cats in first repeatedly catching squirrels, and secondly working together to do so. Perhaps a squirrel was the prey their wild mother introduced them to instead of birds or rodents, or garbage. Cats are top of the line predators across the world and a lot less domesticated, tamed and dependent on humans than wolf descendants.
Cats it seems to me have never given up their predatory perrogative whether well fed by humans or not. A well fed predator is more ready and able to make their next predatory move. Falconers do not starve their birds so that they will be 'driven' to hunt. Predators hunt, and they do so daily. When they make a kill they gorge and then cache what remains for another day without the assurance that it will be there when they return.
The many cats I have known do not calculate how many days a bag of kibbles or a case of cans will last them and only hunt when they see the empties go out but no new coming in...! Each day is a new day and hunters never tire of hunting. My cats almost always preferred an early morning meal. before I awoke or my alarm went off, or I had fed myself. My dogs seemed happy to wait until I was ready to eat to be fed if they could be let out into the yard in sufficient time to do their business. Even a wellfed dog will rarely pass up a foul smelling morsel it finds!
As I have learned. the main predator of white tailed deer were Eastern Panthers, with wolves and black bears taking out sick and injured deer and fawns respectively, along with coyotes.
Harsh winters took their toll and some were hunted by the native population. When Europeans arrived the forests were continuous and vast so there was little overpopulation and crowding of deer to little islands or degraded habitat because the deer have no way to spread out.
To me, suburbia is not a deer haven or sanctuary where deer are sheltered, safe, and fed.
In my next post I will quote some ides from a wildlife sanctuary in Georgia that would like to reintroduce the Eastern Black Panther back into its former range. Unfortunately, there are only known to be about 100 of them left. White tailed deer are the preferred prey and they are superb predators of same.
"Eastern Panthers were hunted to the brink of extinction in the 1900's because they attacked flocks of sheep, livestock, and rarely - man, but mostly because they appear so fearsome. The result of removing this top line predator created another animal issue: the overpopulation of deer. Absent their main predator, deer numbers have exploded across the eastern United States.
Deer hunting has not proven to be an effective over-population control mechanism. Natural predators, like cougars, take the young, weak or sick animals from the population. Man kills the largest and strongest of the species, disrupting the evolution of DNA improvements important to the survival of the species. The young, weak and sick are not taken by man. Man also hunts only in the fall, while natural predators take deer all year long. One result of the absence of major predators is the greater survival of multiple fawns that grow and breed within 2 years, but are often still too small to be of interest to hunters. Consequently, human control of deer herds by hunting has largely failed across the species entire range, and may actually make over-population worse.
Reintroducing the top predator into areas over-populated with deer will prove to be a more effective control and species improvement mechanism than efforts by man."
http://thewildlifesanctuary.com/easternpanther.php
Interesting, Coleup. I really would rather not see one of those around here! Coyotes, yes - panthers, wolves, bears or wild pigs, no.
The removal of keystone predators has upset the whole cart. Wolves, cougars, and bears are needed to maintain the balance. We just can't have them among us. The elimination of these has cause wide spread defoliation of important plant species such as aspen in areas where over browsing occurs, as well as the elimination of mid story and under story growth needed by song and game birds. A tenable and sustained means for controlling the population of ungulates has to be devised before the potential for regrowth is lost forever. I'm very pro hunting for this reason, population control, not sport. The reason we have wasting disease in white tails is over population and lack of removal of inferior or diseased animals. Natural selection has been eliminated.
Coleup - before the Europeans arrived the eastern US was mostly heavily forested as you noted. Where there were extensive areas of unbroken, dense woods the settlers found little large game available. Well documented in journals and other writings. Deer feed primarily in open areas and margins because that is where the browse is. They take refuge in the woods but do/did not primarily forage there. The opening of the land is indeed what has allowed the population to grow so dramatically. Assertions that the spread of suburbia has "driven" deer into populated areas is is an urban myth perpetuated by the "poor Bambi" crowd.
We moved to the inner MD suburbs when they were just being built in the early 1950s. Growing up I spent much of my time in the woods and NEVER saw a deer. Driving (riding) in the country regularly I NEVER saw a deer. Riding through Rock Creek Park I NEVER saw a deer. Despite all the time I spent in the woods I did not see a deer in the wild until well into middle school, and that was in Kentucky on a family trip. Sightings of deer were actually news worthy. Now they flood the suburban (and urban) areas and populations are estimated to be SIX (6) times or more what they were when the Europeans arrived, which flies in the face of the assertion that the suburbs have displaced them. Anyone of "mature" age who has spent their entire life in the area can attest to the dramatic explosion of the deer population. Less than 100 years ago the white-tailed deer was nearly expatriated in Maryland, hardly the case now.
coleup, thank you for your observations and information. I completely 'get' the argument about predators taking weak easy prey versus humans taking more choice specimens.
I'm not convinced that a housecat raised being fed will have the same predator drive as a feral cat. It is really better for cat health if they stay indoors all the time though.
I say yes to panthers. I think they would stay in large forest areas and be shy of humans. And since they are so rare, don't they deserve some help? But imagine the perceived 'horror' if panthers were reintroduced to a park with camping and hiking. And how will we entice the deer to move away from the people and towards the areas the panthers find comfortable?
I say no thanks to coyotes, i think they've demonstrated more willingness to encroach on human areas and be a nuisance. I could be wrong. Do coyotes take deer? I'm not saying I want to go to war with coyotes. I don't think they need help either.
Pretty soon will be the time of year when I start seeing the sapsucker on the maple tree. When I see the trunk wet with sap, I'll have to remember to drive up the driveway slowly and look for it.
True. The grass and landscape plants in my neighborhood provide enough food for a deer population 10x higher than what could otherwise be sustained. The deer are not afraid of humans, either. They've stood 10 feet away from me; a buck once rested in my back yard; and a doe parked her fawn by my front door while she "foraged".
Sally, our posts crossed. Good points, all. The well-fed cats in our neighborhood generally don't hunt, although a neighbor's Himalayan kitten might prove to be an exception. Why they let him out when a fox probably ate a previous one is beyond me. Another neighbor's cat was on a strict diet and regularly ate chipmunks. Lest anyone think that's a good thing - that neighbor had to deworm his cat on a frequent basis. Yech!
True - reintroduction of predators might make the deer more likely to hang out in people's yards. Coyotes might not be able to take down a deer, but fawns would be easy pickings.
I hope you can get a photo of the sapsucker; it must be fun to see him/her!
Very interesting discussions. We use to have a lot of Red Fox in our area. We would see them all the time crossing our pasture and other fields in the area in the early morning. Once while out on a ride we came across a den with several Kits playing outside. They were so cute. Now we don't see them often. I think that there may still be some near Jamie's home, he doesn't want them though, they might go after his chickens.
Yesterday's picture, I was actually able to get the sliding door open and get a good clear shot. Not one thru the dirty windows. LOL
Oh, I think I may have seen a Mockingbird this morning. We don't usually see them in the winter but a larger bird flew in this morning and was sitting on the top of the thistle feeder. I was just noticing the larger bird and wondering about it when it flew away and I saw the bands of white under the wings as it went. So either a Mockingbird or something else with the same under wing markings.
Great shot, Holly! I see what looks like a small bird inside the other feeder, but it can't be....no birds are small enough to fit in there, are they?
I saw a Mockingbird today too. It ate some suet from a feeder but didn't stay long, probably because it had a slippery perch. I think I'm noticing more birds because I'm always looking for the Bluebirds. The Starlings kept scaring them away today; it was very frustrating.
We don't see Red Foxes that often either. The last one I saw was in my back yard and seemed to have jumped my 6' fence when he saw me. There are cross rails 3' up, but I was still surprised it could do that. I couldn't see any other way it could have exited that fast, though.
I saw several robins on the grass today, spring must be near...
; ^)
Robins are so nice and easy...just give them some sodden sod and they're happy!
What you see in the other feeder is a piece of scrap metal that is used to mount the feeder on the pole.
Holly made a special trip to the Ace so our poor birds would not go hungry during the pending snow storm. She took JR and the neighbors 3 children along for sundaes, they had a good time.
I think the fox population collapsed in our area due to over population. After Pa. passed new fur taking fees everyone quite taking any. Our local population went nuts, there wasn't a rabbit, pheasant, or quail to be found anywhere. Then boom, the fox disappeared and the small herbivores and birds started to come back. Whether the shift was disease that sweep the over populated species or there wasn't sufficient prey to support the population, I don't know.
Thanks, Holly. That Pileated is awesome! They're such amazing birds; I always think of Woody Woodpecker when I see one.
Snow definitely brings more birds to the yard; good thing you're prepared.
We're not supposed to get snow here, just rain.
Interesting points about the deer population everyone. I've heard that coyote are still around and mountain lions in much less populated areas.
I took a walk about our backyard Sunday and noticed considerable rabbit damage on our Pyracantha hedge row. It's crazy they will eat around the thorns and whatever is left of the branch, they leave lying on the ground. From ground level to 1 1/2' is where the damage is. I think I'm going to have to put out our trap and see what I come up with. I'll wait until the temps aren't so cold though. I'd hate for a little rabbit to be stuck in a cage all night with no shelter from the cold.
The new suet feeder is MIA this morning. I don't think it got blown off with the wind gusts yesterday and don't see it anywhere in the vicinity. When it warms up, I'll expand my search. A raccoon removed the other one from the gutter a couple of years ago, but has left it alone since then. A coule of 'possums visit the porch each night, but I don't think they're responsible for the missing suet and cage.
Maybe the bear went over to your side of Lucketts!
Reminds me of a childhood song. "The bear went over the mountain". LOL
Mission accomplished!!!
My 3-tube bird feeder is back up! YEAH!!!! I fixed it!!! Double "YEAH!"..
took a little 'thinking out" to get it right.
1--remember this? Took a long time to glue all these together.
Tried Loc Tite Super glue--after the Epoxy mix did not work. I think it was old...
Thr Super glue worked--just a slow pricess--having to let every step harden.
2--Got a right-sized PVC pipe piece and glued it into the hole with Epoxy. (new tube).
Waited till the next day to make sure it was set...Drilled a hole through the top of tube
for it to hang by. Went through a lot of options--thin chain--thick pull-chain piece--
but settled on just putting a large hanging hook in there. This will hold better
that a piece of chain. Was worried about the weight. and--the baffle had to
pass over it--so something removable and easy to hang won out.
3--Testing--1--2--3---. Will this work OK? YES! It will work fine! Yeah!
4--And---We are back in business.....Last fix-it job on this tube feeder.
This was #4. Gonna use my 5' little folding ladder to hang it up from now on.
Glad to have been able to fix it. My resourceful mind at work---again.....
Gita
