Our constant companion

 A crow occasionally comes to the platform feeder farthest from my house, taking advantage of the bread and peanut offerings. It really ticks off the mockingbirds who persistently divebomb the invader.

             In the mockingbird world, a crow is a predator.  In our world, a crow is just a bad guy. Well, that's his reputation, anyway. He's a scavenger and a wily opportunist. And he shows up in all of those horror movies, starring as a harbinger of doom. No, Hitchcock didn't start this. Hitchcock just made him a film star. Cave dwellers drew crows on their walls. Noah relied on a crow to find land. Later, crows picked up a literary agent and everybody from Shakespeare to Stephen King got in on the action.
               So crows have been prominent in our lore down through the years. And there's a reason: They follow us around; and they follow us around because we leave stuff behind. That's right. Crows like to eat things we offer. From the stray French fry in the parking lot, to the newly planted corn in the field, crows are there to forage.
               This is not to say that crows rely totally on humans for food; they eat almost anything they can get their big black beaks on. The mockingbird knows that the crow may raid its nest. And crows have been observed eating anything from large insects to small reptiles.
               But crows have expanded their range and population with humans.
               I like crows. I admire their intelligence, playfulness and beauty. And they have never raided my feeding station in such numbers that I would consider them pests.
               Most of the crows around my place are Fish Crows. I know this because of their calls. The Fish Crow and the American Crow look so much alike, it is hard to tell the difference any other way. But the American Crow has a vast range in North America. They can be seen in almost every state in the continental U.S.
               If you hear the familiar "caw" around your place, there's a chance you can get a crow to your feeding station. Try leaving out chunks of bread or a few peanuts. Corn works too. But not too much - you might get more crows than you want.
               Then judge for yourself. Good guys or bad guys; like 'em or not, crows will always be our constant companions.
      No crows today, but here’s what I did see in the feeding area:

AM, Cloudy, 79 degrees, 20 minutes
 House Finch
Carolina Wren
Northern Cardinal
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Brown Thrasher
Common Grackle
Blue Jay
Red-winged Blackbird
Mourning Dove

Species old and new

This Mourning Dove was in my back yard. 



    This Eurasian Collared Dove was on the southern

            coast of North Carolina.

Bird species can come and go with time.

           I thought of that when I saw two Mourning Doves sitting peacefully at my bird bath this morning. No, Mourning Doves are not endangered. They are protected.

Mourning Doves are game birds, but they are the most abundant of the dove species in the U.S. They come to feeders most anywhere. Their swift flight makes them a challenge for hunters. The rules hunters follow, and the licensing fees they pay, help maintain game lands and help account for the Mourning Dove's abundance.

            You see, we learned a painful lesson a more than a century ago when Passenger Pigeons were hunted to extinction. In the 1800s few people considered the possibility of the Passenger Pigeon becoming extinct. The birds flocked in such huge numbers that they were a good source of food. So they were killed regularly. People netted them and shot them. Then came habitat destruction. It all added up to a once-abundant species that vanished in just a few decades.

On the flip side, is the case of the Eurasian Collared Dove. These birds were introduced to the Bahamas in the 1970s, quickly expanded their range to the Gulf and Atlantic Seaboard, and can now be seen almost everywhere but in the Northeast. Since they like being around human habitats, they show up at bird feeders. I have not seen one at my feeding station, though. I’m right at the border on the latest range map.

           The collared dove is still a bit of a mystery. While its range has expanded – mostly toward the northwest - its actual population is still being studied. And experts are debating the possibility that the Eurasian Collared Dove may displace the Mourning Dove in some areas.

But the collared dove will continued to be monitored. And when a dove lights at your feeding station, you might take a second look.

Here's what I saw at the feeder today:

AM, partly cloudy, 80 degrees, 30 minutes

Northern Cardinal

Mourning Dove

American Robin

Common Grackle

Blue Jay

Brown Thrasher

Tufted Titmouse

House Finch

Fish Crow

 

The fallout effect

          A tropical-storm system is moving up the east coast this weekend. For most people in these areas, this can mean disaster. For bird-watchers it can mean opportunity.
          That's because of a thing called fallout. And no, not the nuclear kind. Fallout is when a weather system throws birds off course. It is particularly effective during migration when large numbers of birds are in the air. And in winter, when a system brings snow, it can provide a - dare I cliché - perfect storm for folks with bird feeders. The birds are not only hungry and tired from battling the elements; they also have a tougher time finding food because of the snow cover.
        We're not exactly in migration season anymore. But there's a chance you'll have a wandering bird at your feeder this weekend, if you're along the Eastern Seaboard. It may even be a bird that you'll never see again.

So feed up, batten down and keep a lookout.

Here’s what I saw at my feeding area today:

PM, showers, 75 degrees, 15 minutes

Northern Cardinal
House Finch
Mourning Dove
Tufted Titmouse
Common Grackle
Blue Jay

A joyous reunion

      I have trapped three more squirrels and moved them to that beautiful pecan grove far, far away. They are now with friends and loved ones who "made the trip" last week. And oh, what a wonderful reunion it must have been. They're probably roasting nuts by the fire right now, chattering on about the good ol’ days, when humans were stupid and bird feeders were cheap and easy.

    Two more of the little critters are still around my yard – a population I can tolerate.
  
    I have curtailed the feeding, however. I have just one tube feeder hanging, and I put just a couple of handfuls of sunflower seeds a day at each of the three platform feeders. This is mostly because I don't want any more wood rats. I haven't trapped one of those, yet.
  
    Meanwhile, I have devised a cunning plan to discourage the whole scavenging lot of them. More on that later.
    
Here are the birds that I saw in the feeding area today:

AM, rain, 75 degrees, 20 minutes

Northern Cardinal
House Finch
Flicker
Blue Jay
Carolina Wren
Northern Mockingbird