OK, so birds

[Mabouya]

Jorn,

How long does your mixture last in the fridge? I've been making only two cups at that time because I'm not sure how long it will last in there.

[j44ke]

Jorn,

How long does your mixture last in the fridge? I've been making only two cups at that time because I'm not sure how long it will last in there.

Seems to last a while, but if a gallon is too much, base amount on the thirst of your hummingbirds and then do enough you only have to make more weekly.

[j44ke]

House wrens took over one of the bluebird boxes. I tried to persuade them not to, but they were stubborn and industrious, rebuilding the nest 3 times. Now the female laid her eggs so they win. Sneaky shot taken through the entry hole. Tiny bird making all those eggs.

[Mabouya]

House wrens took over one of the bluebird boxes. I tried to persuade them not to, but they were stubborn and industrious, rebuilding the nest 3 times. Now the female laid her eggs so they win. Sneaky shot taken through the entry hole. Tiny bird making all those eggs.

Jorn, you will go down in house wren lore as the monster who almost destroyed their home, but in the end was defeated by the good guys:

[j44ke]

I know. I felt like a monster. I don’t feel too bad about being defeated.

Bluebirds still have one house available if they really want to try for another brood. They were fighting with the wrens this morning over that house. The wrens insist that house should be filled to the roof with sticks. No nest, just sticks. Bluebirds want it empty to start. Oy! the drama.

[72gmc]

I'm on team wren. We had a pair make a nest in my wife's potted plant right when the pandemic started, right outside one of our windows. Little cheeping reminders that some things were still OK in the world.

[j44ke]

I'm on team wren. We had a pair make a nest in my wife's potted plant right when the pandemic started, right outside one of our windows. Little cheeping reminders that some things were still OK in the world.

We have 5 boxes, two with house wrens, two with tree swallows and one with bluebirds who seem to be at least contemplating a second brood. Meanwhile we have yellow-billed and black-billed cuckoos nesting within 50' of the house due to the gypsy moth caterpillar infestation going on (their favorite food,) a family of Broad-winged hawks giving all the birds heart attacks, Scarlet tanagers, Baltimore orioles, Tufted titmice, Black-capped chickadees, White-breasted and Red-breasted nuthatches, 5 kinds of woodpeckers all nesting in the vicinity, plus a doe with two fawns, a dozen turkeys, a woodchuck with a harem of girlfriends, etc. etc. etc.

Hard to take myself too seriously when most of the world around me seems to get along just fine whether I do anything or not.

[Mabouya]

a dozen turkeys

Yesterday I was by the garage and heard something walking in the grass / weeds. We haven't had much rain lately so things are pretty dry and crunchy, so whatever it was was pretty loud. I peeked around the corner and saw a turkey, so I carefully withdrew and let it continue on with it's business. I used to see turkeys around all the time, but this was the first one in quite a while.

A few minutes later I was inside and noticed one of my cats looking intently out a window that was on the same side of the house as I had seen the turkey, so i went over to look and sure enough, it was the same one I had seen. I was about to go back to my chores when I saw something smallish moving behind the turkey, but mostly concealed by the tall grasses. That's when I realized that there were at least two young ones following mom. Didn't have time to take a picture.

[Tom]

Its funny. The house I thought the wrens took ownership is packed to the rafters with sticks and the male no longer calls all day in my back yard.

[j44ke]

Its funny. The house I thought the wrens took ownership is packed to the rafters with sticks and the male no longer calls all day in my back yard.

Yep. Bird OCD. Male house wrens seem really good at finding all the choice nest holes within their territory. Then they stuff them full of sticks. When they get a mate, the female checks out all the choices, and then unpacks the one she wants to use. Then they build a nest. The others stay fully packed. I can only guess that this approach increases food supplies for raising the brood as most cavity nesting birds won’t build in a box or cavity that already has nesting material in it. So the wrens have that corner of the woods or yard or wherever - and all the bugs in it - to themselves. And for tiny birds, they raise large broods. The problem is that there are always more nesting birds than cavities, and male house wrens often have an outsized view of their capacity to defend a particular territory, so they will take more cavities out of circulation than is actually really necessary. And they’ll try to stuff impossible spaces full - my sister-in-law finds hundreds of sticks in her two kayaks from her local wren who tries to fill up them up every spring.

[davids]

I heard an amazing, but sad, bird story at a wedding this weekend. A family hit a buzzard, in mid-air, as they drove up the highway. I always think that, as close as those guys swoop in, they know what they're doing when they buzz cars. I guess not all of them do...

[Tom]

So this morning I was amused for a while looking out the front window while I drank a couple cups of coffee. A hawk, exactly what kind I don't know but certainly a juvenile, was trying to nab one of the numerous selection of squirrels in my front yard and the bushes across the street. I think it must have been juvenile because it missed every time it swooped down and then it would attempt to run down the target squirrel, which would skip away fairly casually. The one time it tried to get a squirrel off the other side of our big maple from across the street and flared around the trunk in chase was pretty cool.

[j44ke]

So this morning I was amused for a while looking out the front window while I drank a couple cups of coffee. A hawk, exactly what kind I don't know but certainly a juvenile, was trying to nab one of the numerous selection of squirrels in my front yard and the bushes across the street. I think it must have been juvenile because it missed every time it swooped down and then it would attempt to run down the target squirrel, which would skip away fairly casually. The one time it tried to get a squirrel off the other side of our big maple from across the street and flared around the trunk in chase was pretty cool.

Yep. The kids are all on their own and prone to going for the giant burger with all the toppings when they would be wiser collecting field mice and big grasshoppers.

Those giant burgers are quick.

[thollandpe]

Those giant burgers are quick.

Around here the squirrels are coyote food. Or at least primarily responsible for the color and texture of their scat.

[echappist]

So it's probably for the best that I didn't take a picture of this.

While I was about to mow the lawn yesterday, I noticed a dead bird right under the gate of my (metal, mesh-ish) fence. It looked larger than a sparrow and had a mottled belly, and I wasn't quite able to identify it as one of the usual suspects (e.g. female goldfinch).

In any case, as I got closer, I noticed insects buzzing around it. That was expected; what was unexpected was two yellowjackets appearing to take sustenance from the carcass.

I had wanted to bury the bird and decided to dig a hole in the garden, and when I returned, the yellowjackets were still there, getting their fills. I remembered that yellowjackets are most active in the evening hours and decided to just let them be.

This morning, I grabbed my shovel and planned on giving the dead bird a proper resting. Except it was no longer there. Circle of life and all that.

Come to think of it, I think this was probably a migratory bird unaccustomed to suburban yards. No idea why it was flying low (perhaps to evade a predator, but then the predator would have surely taken the carcass), but it was and probably wasn't able to appreciate fully the danger of a metal fence and just barged into it head first.

[j44ke]

So it's probably for the best that I didn't take a picture of this.

While I was about to mow the lawn yesterday, I noticed a dead bird right under the gate of my (metal, mesh-ish) fence. It looked larger than a sparrow and had a mottled belly, and I wasn't quite able to identify it as one of the usual suspects (e.g. female goldfinch).

In any case, as I got closer, I noticed insects buzzing around it. That was expected; what was unexpected was two yellowjackets appearing to take sustenance from the carcass.

I had wanted to bury the bird and decided to dig a hole in the garden, and when I returned, the yellowjackets were still there, getting their fills. I remembered that yellowjackets are most active in the evening hours and decided to just let them be.

This morning, I grabbed my shovel and planned on giving the dead bird a proper resting. Except it was no longer there. Circle of life and all that.

Come to think of it, I think this was probably a migratory bird unaccustomed to suburban yards. No idea why it was flying low (perhaps to evade a predator, but then the predator would have surely taken the carcass), but it was and probably wasn't able to appreciate fully the danger of a metal fence and just barged into it head first.

Finding a bird dead under a gate suggest to me that something was carrying it and tried to squeeze under the gate with the bird but dropped it, possibly after being surprised by you coming out of the house at some point. A cat possibly. Or a hawk sitting on the gate with the bird dropped it when it flew off. If the hornets were on it, then it probably had open wounds so that suggests something was eating it or at least attacked it to kill it. And birds are pretty adept at avoiding obvious obstacles like gates or fences. They are less adept at windows or reflective surfaces that mirror surrounding vegetation back at them. But while a bird might not be familiar with suburban areas, they are familiar with obstacles, so pretty unlikely it hit the gate and died. They have to be, because there is a family of hawks called Accipiters, that are particularly skilled at chasing and killing other birds for food - sharp-shinned hawks, Cooper's hawks, and Goshawks. And Accipiters are amazing.

[j44ke]

Around here the squirrels are coyote food. Or at least primarily responsible for the color and texture of their scat.

Coyotes are pretty amazing. Squirrels are hard to catch. Though I once saw a golden retriever catch a squirrel. The dog faked left around a tree then nearly tied itself in a knot going around the right side. Squirrel basically ran right into the golden retriever's mouth. The owner was horrified. Wild dog brain in the domesticated Muffin.

[SlowPokePete]

My dog Wilma (Border Collie mix) hates squirrels more than any other animal.

She killed one once by running along our deck while the squirrel was running along the ground. It did not notice her up above, when she dashed down the stairs and intercepted it.

The timing was absolutely perfect.

SPP

[thollandpe]

Coyotes are pretty amazing. Squirrels are hard to catch. Though I once saw a golden retriever catch a squirrel. The dog faked left around a tree then nearly tied itself in a knot going around the right side. Squirrel basically ran right into the golden retriever's mouth. The owner was horrified. Wild dog brain in the domesticated Muffin.

Saw this old beast bag a chipmunk the last week of her 17-year life. One bum leg, completely deaf, cloudy eyes. But she could put a good solid bite on your front tire while you were riding, and not even pull you off your line. Lightning quick jaws.



I once watched that dog and her younger and smaller partner dismantle a wood pile to get at chipmunks. Hours of barking, jumping, and digging. Bloody lips and toes, they leveled my wood pile to bag one chipmunk.

Next day I watched a neighbor's barn cat spot a chipmunk dart into a stone wall. Cat hopped onto the wall and fell "asleep". Chipmunk got bored after five minutes and tried to make a break, cat pounced, game over.

I think once they crack the code, these chipmunks, squirrels, and rabbits are like fast food.

[echappist]

Finding a bird dead under a gate suggest to me that something was carrying it and tried to squeeze under the gate with the bird but dropped it, possibly after being surprised by you coming out of the house at some point. A cat possibly. Or a hawk sitting on the gate with the bird dropped it when it flew off. If the hornets were on it, then it probably had open wounds so that suggests something was eating it or at least attacked it to kill it. And birds are pretty adept at avoiding obvious obstacles like gates or fences. They are less adept at windows or reflective surfaces that mirror surrounding vegetation back at them. But while a bird might not be familiar with suburban areas, they are familiar with obstacles, so pretty unlikely it hit the gate and died. They have to be, because there is a family of hawks called Accipiters, that are particularly skilled at chasing and killing other birds for food - sharp-shinned hawks, Cooper's hawks, and Goshawks. And Accipiters are amazing.

Thanks for the explanation and the video. Really impressive display of acrobatics by accipiters

The thing that surprised me was the scavenging behavior of the hornets. Didn't realize that they also feed on carrion.