4:05 AM – For a little variety, we swapped the finch sock for the suet feeder, so we could get some video of the different finches. Evidently it takes a little time for them to get used to the change, as we haven’t seen the first finch. We have, however, seen this Downy Woodpecker. I didn’t know they used the finch sock, but, okay.
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We have more conflict at the platform feeder. This Titmouse goes for the Purple Finch. I guess it’s all natural. I like the way the finch pops right back after the Titmouse leaves, though I see him looking around, to be sure the coast is clear.
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And now for some bluebirds. Here are four of the young ones, hanging out.
1:52 AM – I don’t know what’s gotten into these birds. Usually the sparrows (all varieties) mind their own business. This one lights into a Tufted Titmouse, gets thrown back, circles around and attacks again. Flies right into his little flank. Wow. Maybe it’s all the rowdy adolescent bluebirds, infecting the whole Foodcourt.
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Later the same afternoon, a couple of the Bluebird Gang (now numbering four males and a female) were hanging around the water when a Purple Finch stopped for a drink. Surprisingly, they didn’t attack him. After a bit, he flew off. Then more of the bluebirds came – there were four males in all. This is the first real verification of the numbers.
4:35 PM – A flock of Goldfinches moved into the neighborhood recently. The cold winter up north drove them further south than they usually come, according to the lady at Wild Birds Unlimited. In this video they are swarming a finch thistle sock. They are all Goldfinches, I think. The Cornell bird website shows non-producing males/females with very little yellow color. I estimate there’s about 10 – 12 in this flock, but that could be wildly inaccurate. The video is about three minutes long, and nothing much happens except Goldfinches feeding at the thistle sock, and occasionally squabbling about territory.
7:50 AM – Our first customers at the worm feeder (captured by the Worm Cam) are two Titmice.
4:20 AM – We made a trip to the Wild Birds Unlimited yesterday morning, and indulged ourselves. We bought two new feeders – one for big round blocks of suet, and one for meal worms (not the live ones). The latter is supposed to attract Bluebirds. We also bought a Bluebird house, a slanted arm to attach to the deck for one of the new feeders, and some squares of replacement suet. One of them is Pepper flavored. The Birds Unlimited expert tells us birds can’t taste the hot pepper flavor, but mammals – meaning raccoons – can. The theory is ‘Rocky’ will taste it, and never return. To that feeder, anyway.
Yesterday afternoon we set up the feeders, and rearranged the cameras. We’ll put up the Bluebird house tomorrow, probably. The new arrangement isn’t permanent yet, we’ll see how it works.
Of course ‘Rocky’ Raccoon visited, twice last night. The second time he was on the deck rail while we were right inside. The video below shows him reaching for the deck suet feeder, looking at the house, listening, then deciding to leave. On the first visit, he got into the new suet feeder on the deck, the platform feeder and the original suet feeder in the tree. He didn’t knock that one down this time, but did detach the camera from it’s mount and leave it on the ground.
These videos aren’t very good, but I’ll edit them down and post them to illustrate and document ‘Rocky’s’ bad behavior.
2:00 PM – The new feeder/birdbath arrangement is up. The food is now in the larger pan, closer to the water. It can accommodate at least seven White Throated Sparrows at one time. See video below:
8:00 AM – The rain last night filled the birdbath we’ve been using as a platform feeder, covering up the seeds. Here’s a Tufted Titmouse at dawn, expecting a morning snack and finding…nothing.
7:05 AM – A few weeks back I saw a male Cardinal that had be mauled by something – maybe a hawk or cat. There was an ugly gash between neck and wing. I think I saw him again, and the wound had healed. This video shows the before and after:
In this video we get a brief view of a squirrel with a bite taken out of it’s ear. It’s not the same one-eared squirrel I saw a few days ago. Evidently this kind of injury is common due to fights over territory, or dominance. It’s no picnic being a wild animal.
10:30 AM – D filled the platform feeder again. Minutes later the place was overrun with hungry birds. Here are female House Finches (the ones with striped breasts) and White Throated Sparrows sharing. I think those sparrows are the White Throated variety, but they don’t exactly look like the pictures on the Cornell Lab bird ID site.
A few minutes later, while the sparrows are still feeding, a Red-Bellied Woodpecker flies in. When he tries to step into the feeder, he slides down to the bottom. The feeder is really a birdbath, and not well suited for feeding, but for now it will have to do.
8:10 AM – D took down the platform feeder (previously bird bath) because the seeds were soaked through from the rain. She’s going to replace it with fresh food, but before she could, the birds discovered that their favorite feeder was gone. Here’s the Carolina Wren scavenging in the upside down feeder, then giving up:
And here’s a bewildered Tufted Titmouse. He tries a peanut, but that’s not good. One last look at the camera, and he’s gone:
5:20 AM – These White Throated Sparrows are always around the feeders, but I don’t post videos of them very often. The ‘color’ birds (Jays and Cards) get all the press. But I like the markings on these little Sparrows. Here’s a couple feeding, before getting run off by Mr. Cardinal (naturally).
10:30 AM – We had some snow, but mostly sleet that froze into solid ice on the deck. Friday night we pulled the cameras in, but this morning, I set them up again.
Over the last few days I tried to keep some liquid water in the birdbaths. The sub-freeing temperatures put a layer of ice on the water, even in the day time. At night, the water froze solid into one big slab. I carelessly left one of the birdbath pans out over night, with water in it. Of course the water froze, expanded and cracked the plastic. We’re using a kitchen container temporarily, until we can decide what to replace it with .
The birds ate a tremendous amount of food in the cold spell. I guess they need to, to keep fueled up and warm. I don’t know. Maybe cold weather just makes them hungry.
Here’s a couple of videos from this morning. A Tufted Titmouse gets a drink:
And a squirrel drinks and sits for a few moments thinking about something. He ought to be thinking about how good he has it here in the Backyard Food Court, but I doubt that he was:
1:00 PM – Not many birds around the baths this morning. They’re still eating at the feeders, but evidently the rain we’ve been getting has taken care of their need for water. I suspect that the bird baths are a resource of last resort for the birds. In the drought, they were all over it. No more drought, so no more birds. Actually, the Purple Finch and Black-eyed Junco made an appearance, but no cardinals, no varieties of sparrow.
The squirrels, however, must find the baths convenient. It’s been all squirrel traffic today. But the birds are sticking to the feeders.
We put up a ‘Finch sock’, a cloth feeder with thistle. That’s supposed to attract Finches. We’ve already got plenty. I haven’t seen any of them on the new feeder yet, but it’s still new.
No videos so far. There’s nothing interesting to see.
1:30 PM – Looks like the Tufted Titmouse and White-throated Sparrow are back at the baths. Here’s the Titmouse bathing: