This past weekend at Lake Chelan, we were adopted by an immature cowbird
with a particular fondness for pecking at shoes, sandals, and, absent the
above, toes. We named it Imelda since it liked shoes. Imelda became a real
problem. Gordy was building a stone wall and Imelda like to hunker down on
the stone next to the one he was hefting into place. Fearing he would crush
the bird, Gordy put out his gloved hand, the bird stepped neatly onto it,
and he carried it to a nice buggy place away from his wall and then, get
this, ran around the cabin, hoping to elude Imelda. I like the image of a
6-foot tall gent running from a teacup sized bird. Imelda ignored the dog,
was happy around the feet of groups of 6 to 8 people, and tried to eat off
of plates (honey dew melon was a very attractive item). I had problems with
Imelda wanting to sit on the cross piece of my easel and hopping onto the
table with my palette and oil paints.

Questions for Cowbird experts+ADs-
1. Did Imelda think we were her cows? Was she expecting us to kick up bugs
for her dinner?
2. Do cowbirds work over the hoofs of cattle? Is that why it was so
attracted to sneakers, sandals, etc.?
3. Are cowbirds omnivores? I remember someone last week reporting on
Tweeters that cowbirds left in finch nests can die of malnutrition if fed
only a diet of seeds. Imelda spent a fair amount of time grazing below the
seed feeder. Was it picking up bits of seed or, perhaps, insects attracted
by the seeds?

Cheers,
Caroline Feiss, Seattle