Adult Jay and juvie cards.

1 of 5. Nervous young male Cardinal.

2 of 5. Hungry adult Jay.

3 of 5. Two juvie cards, different broods.

4 of 5. Jay checking out the food dish.

5 of 5. Showing some wing.

Great pics trois! I'm seeing a lot of juvie Cards here too!

Excellent pics trois!

Thanks, pelletory and Grandmaggie. We are watching three broods of juvie cards now, and they are working on a forth. They are very busy this year.

trois

There does seem to be more young cardinals than normal this year.

I think West Nile reduced the Jay and Crow population that had been eating Cardinal eggs and young. Last year I saw several crows carrying young cardinals as they flew past me.

Oh, how sad!

Crows spend a lot of time seeking the young of other birds. They follow as far as they can see, then wait there until another passes, getting closer each time until the nest is located.

Wow, thats devious! I had Crows here for a short time, they would go to a tall cotton tree behind my property and break off fairly long thin branches to take to another location; I guess for a nest somewhere. They seemed very intelligent and I was just happy to see a different bird around.

Beautiful pictures, Trois. The only birds worse than crows are hawks. I was passing on a street the other day and looked up and there was a huge one on a pole staring downward. I thought what is he after? I looked over to the right and across the street and there was a pen with many chickens. He was getting ready to have himself a good meal. I had two cardinal juveniles this year; I am so hoping that they are able to defend themselves till they are grown.

This is a comical story: My young daughter-in-law was telling a story about the hawks. Something had hit her window one day near the patio. A bird had hit the glass and was dazed, and another bird dashed in and picked it up. She was shocked that the larger bird was trying to help the smaller one. I had to explain to her, "Dear, that was the hawk's lunch". Everyone enjoyed that laugh.

If anyone knows how to reduce the hawk population, let me know (legally that is:) Cats around here are constantly stalking the birds. I would like to see a reduction in those too, although I have my own inside cat.

Most cities and towns have ordinances about cats but they are ignored and uninforced. I wish there was some way to show people what harm their cats do to the neighborhood birds.

That is a funny story!

I don't think theres anyway to legally reduce the Hawk population but if it makes you feel any better they say that Hawks only spend 10% of their time hunting birds around feeders You would think it would be more.

The cat thing is easier to deal w/ but requires a bit of work on your part.

We don't have very many of either. Very few feral cats, most probably eaten by coyotes, and it seems most hawks have moved to town where all the pigeons are. Also more bird feeders to stalk, and they never get shot at in town. We have several owls that feed on voles and such down by the bayou.

In my area they are so overrun w/ cats at the pounds they will no longer take any in.
I was lucky when I trapped 12 feral kittens that their used to be a no kill shelter and they were all adopted out. That shelter is unfortunately no longer around.
It's a very sad situation, they have a terrible life.

It is a sad thing. There are very many cats that have never had an owner. Truly feral.

The cats around here all have owners and are well fed. They go after the birds for sport. I have talked to some of the owners and they don't seem to care. Neither does animal control.

Trois, great photos, as always!!! I read that Cardinals had been "introduced" in Southern CA . . . wish someone would "introduce" them out here in the Pacific Northwest!!

We have a feral cat that we feed and he never looks at the birds. Sometimes he sleeps 3 feet from the feeder. The birds don't seem to mind.
If Cardinals have been introduced any where on the West coast, they will be there soon. Patience!

This message was edited Aug 1, 2007 3:48 AM

I might be getting too old to be that patient, Trois, but I'll try!!!!!

LOL.

I just do not have the heart to take cats to the pound when I know the gas button awaits them. Some cats are just born hunters no matter how much they are given to eat while others wouldn't even chase a mouse much less the harder tactic of catching a bird. We seem to have more hawks here than cats. I looked out the window one day, and there was a hawk on the birdbath, and he was staring at the wax myrtle where all the birds love to hide. It is a huge tree and very dense. When I scared him, he flew into the tree and straight through it with no problem which was quite a shocker. He happened to be a red-tail hawk. The sparrow hawks are small, but they will chase birds their size or larger. If you pay attention to the bluejays, they warn all the other birds when a hawk is near or other dangers as well. I heard one screaming, went outside to take a look, and there were two hawks circling way up above the house. There was a ring-neck dove eating my sunflower seeds on the driveway, and a hawk made a dive and caught the dove in just one attempt.

Have never heard of crows carrying fledglings but have seen them chase many hawks away. I thought they were the good guys? Guess I learned something new. :)

Yes I would be heartsick if I had to start trapping cats again especially now that the No Kill Shelter is gone. Our neighbors have asked us several times when we will start trapping cats again. Honestly what do they think we are the Cat Police? Anyone is capable of doing this but of course they don't want to be bothered with it.
I have recently seen 2 male cats that were very beautiful and obviously tame. Over time their looks have changed, they no longer look healthy they are thin and scruffy looking. It looks like someone might have moved and left them behind or just dropped them off.
Makes me sick. I have always loved cats.

Same here, Pelle - I adore them. One of mine goes out quite often, but rarely goes after birds. She loves to hunt rabbits. That bothers me, too, but we have so many of them and they eat my plants so I try to just ignore the whole thing! I know some people who would like to rent her for awhile!

Oh I know! I had recently bought 2 Viburnums (they were real nice size plants) and in 1 night the rabbits ate 1 of them down to a 1 inch stick in the ground. I was sick about it but believe it or not the little thing has started to come back with some leaves on it.
I need to invest in some chicken wire. :-)

Plants sure can surprise us with their resilience!! Those bunnies are so doggone cute, but oh my - yes, they can destroy a plant in an amazingly small amount of time!

That is why we keep a small patch of Bermuda grass just out away from the house. They seem to prefer the grass as long as it is fresh and green.

There are tons of hawks out here. All my feeders are under trees, so that offers some protection from the hawks, but no cover for the biggest most popular bird bath. Very rarely a hawk will fly down to the deck. All the other birds are gone before he even touches down. Maybe my crows are keeping the hawks at bay. And maybe, because we have loads of tree cover, the hawks spend more time nearer to open areas.

Past two summers we have had record droughts (this year record rains). Both those summers I had a noticeable lowered population of rabbits AND last summer I had more hawks circling directly over my house than I've ever seen. One older than me old timer suggested that the drought had something to do my observations. I acted like I "got it" but I really don't know what he meant. Our rabbit numbers are back up this year AND I haven't seen any haws circling directly above the house either. BTW... although our tree frog population has been steadily rising for several years now, our toad population has been decreasing. I haven't seen a toad all summer. I thought maybe it was the resident Hognose snakes that breed and live right near the house but I think it is more than that.

The one neighborhood cat (this is not a real neighborhood as houses are all on acreage and pretty far apart, in woods), that was stupid enough to come over to my house, with very prey oriented dogs, to stalk the birds, disappeared last year. I don't think my dogs got it as they always bring in their "kills" but coyotes and bobcats do get small pets out here at night.

We had cats when we first moved out here 20 years ago. We need them now because of the woods rats eating the auto wiring recently, $10 K damage two winters ago, but we've decided we just can't protect the birds. Bummer as I love cats. We've thought about letting the cats out only at night, keeping them locked up in one area of house during day, but that will be difficult as the dogs have in/out access day and night. I'd probably have to pen the cats during the day, which wouldn't be too awful for them but I'm afraid that the coyotes, bobcats, and poisonous snakes might get them at night. Also, cats might get my precious night birds, especially the Eastern Screech Owls, that are totally unafraid of us, who hang around the deck at night catching the rats that feed on scattered bird seeds down from the deck.

When I go down to visit my friend in the Yucatan jungle, her feral cats spend a lot of time playing with the bats they catch. What's to keep a cat from catching my precious bats? After a few years seeing only a few bats, where in the past we had many, our population of bats, out here, is slowly rising.

We certainly don't have any reduction of youngsters of different species this year; record bumper crop of young Cardinals looks like to me.

I've seen the crows catch snakes but never seen one with a bird and they certainly don't bother the birds at my feeders. The other birds just ignore them at the feeders. I'm not in any way saying that it doesn't happen; I just haven't seen it.

gg=alice

gg=alice.

My feeder is near our porch, under a tree. The hawks just wait for the birds to leave the protected areas, then go after them.
The feral cats seldom go for the birds, as they prefer the voles and wood rats. Cayenne pepper will usually keep them (rats) away from places where they damage things. That is if it is protected from rain.
We have many toads and tree frogs. The owls prefer the tree frogs and hang around for them. Down by our big pond Horned owls feed on voles and rats. The Herons keep most of the snakes away.
We have very few crows now, and they are always leery of coming close to the house.
We have fewer Jays, more Cardinals this year due to West Nile.
This is the first year I have seen not a single snake. So far.

trois

Resin,
Interesting link re campaign for keeping cats indoors. Will read all of it at a future date when time allows. I love cats, but no more are planned for our family. My old fellow is now 17 years, and the vet says he could possibly live at least 10 or more years. He certainly has had special care.

We recently purchased acreage way west of Houston and have great plans to have it certified as a wildlife habitat for all animals/critters. My motto is: All creatures have a right-to-life............. Texas seems to be a State that is pushing wildlife projects, so I am proud of that fact. This should be a world-wide endeavor.....................as far as I am concerned. But, nature has a way of containing itself, so we all can only do so much. And, gee when you love both animals and plants, it sometimes becomes quite difficult. :)

Someone mentioned bats, and I hear different sources advertising bat houses. I think that is a great idea because they decrease the insect population, but they also seem to be prevalent carriers of rabies more so than other critters, so I am interested in hearing everyone's pro and cons in regard to actually trying to attract them to your property.

We have had bat houses up for several years, but no takers. I have never seen one flying around, but did frequently in Houston.
We were going to certify our place, but they required removing all the Chinese Tallow trees, leaving nothing for the winter birds to eat. Dr. Goldman ran into the same problem. It seems they are more interested in hating Tallow trees than protecting wildlife.

This was once a rice field where we live. It was farmed to death about 40 years ago and was then taken over by Giant Coastal Ragweeds, Yupon Holly, and Sea Myrtle. None of this provided food for migrating birds. Lots of folks believe as you do, and in Florida they are much more of a problem.
They are a beautiful tree, not a weed, and they provide most of the winter food for birds in our area. The leaves have great fall color, the berries are the first target for the robins, the flowers smell delicious, and the wood burns sweet in a fireplace. Here they grow right down to the edge of the riparian forest at the edge of the bayou, but do not successfully compete with the native trees. They only displace mostly undesirable plants. The Giant Coastal Ragweed has been in serious decline since they were "invaded" by the Tallow trees.
In any event, these trees are here to stay. They are very easy to remove where not wanted, as they come up in lawns only to disappear when it is mowed. If they were not here, the landscape would return to the desolate appearance it had 25 years ago.

I have always liked the fall color of the tallows, but there are none on that particular property, so that isn't a problem for us. For some reason, the habitat group are totally against anything foreign. They seem to only take into consideration the native plants from what I understand. Here at home, we do have many that come up, but dh never lets one survive. I wouldn't mind at all having at least one for the beautiful fall color.

This past spring, we planted 15 wax myrtles. All the birds are attracted to the waxy berries. I have read, though, that there are both male and female plants, so in order for the birds to enjoy the berries, the right selection is important. They are the fastest growing tree that we have ever had, and they can be pruned or the tops removed, and then they they grow even faster. They seem to like our gumbo earth. They also make great privacy hedges and are very dense where the birds can hide.

We are on 10 acres and there are hundreds of Wax Myrtles. They are a great plant and do harbor some birds, but the Tallows are number one on the migrating birds list, then the Wax Myrtles. Few things eat the Yupon Holly berries. They stay on a long time.