Hi Tweets,

Burton Guttman writes:

>A friend who lives right on Long Lake, in Lacey, has been having visits
>by a pair of Wood Ducks at her feeder. The feeder isn't meant to feed
>ducks, and it contains the usual seed mixture. The male and female come
>singly to the feeder; they land on the porch railing, walk over close to
>the feeder, look at it, don't attempt to feed and then after a few
>minutes seem to give up and fly off. The ducks are apparently nesting
>nearby, across an arm of the lake. Any idea what's going on here?

Still no mail for them? Inaccurate paperboy?

It may be that the feeder doesn't allow them easy access, or access that
allows them to feed and simultaneously watch for predators, or keep their
balance while they're feeding --what design is the feeder?-- or maybe the
ducks don't associate "usual seed mixture" --millet with some black and
striped sunflower seeds?-- with food, or maybe do with the millet but the
presence of unshelled sunflower seeds put them off.

If seed is put on the ground for them, this may open up some difficulty. If
the seed is put anywhere but in the open well away from shrubbery, this
means they--and any other birds attracted to the seed-- can't escape easily
from a charging cat, dog or raccoon (one old boar raccoon developed the
technique of waiting until the Lost Lagoon ducks were feeding under the
canopy of shrubbery by the Stone Bridge and would charge when their escape
route of straight-up flight was cut off--one local birder, not me, watched
him get eight in a four-hour period, all Wood Ducks Aix sponsa; I watched
him get one and eat it, then go for another one).

If in the open, the same vulnerability to cats in particular applies.

Michael Price A brave world, Sir,
Vancouver BC Canada full of religion, knavery and change;
mprice at mindlink.net we shall shortly see better days.
Aphra Behn (1640-1689)