Hi Tweets!!!
Just wanted to post that I was gifted with 7 Evening Grosbeaks on Fri.
4 were male and 3 females!!! I haven't seen any since Oct. 15 1998 when 15
visited my sunflwr seed feeders. And boy, were they beautifull!
Haven't seen my first Rufus yet, the currant buds have yet to swell open,
but I am awaiting them with my feeders.
Varied Thrush still visiting ground feeders- did you know the V. Thrush likes
the coconut chips in my fruit seed mix?? Saw him pick over seed and prefers
the coconut! Weird???
Also with all the sparrows, towhees, chickadees and juncos males strutting
their stuff, the woods and backyard has become a fighting ring! Chasing each
other, feathers flying. It would seem like a perfect time to take advantage
of
the males distraction for a Sharpie. He came back for a couple days- then
left.
Red-shafted Flickers also doing some fraternizing (sp) 3 were on top of a
Douglas
Fir, vocalizing. Two seemed to be showing some kind of feather display, to the
one.(female?) It was the first time I've seen this! COOL!
The Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers seem to be in the fighting spirit also. Yet
why do the males and females I've seen, seem to fight? The couple I've seen
chase each other, trying to peck each other, untill one flys off? I realize
around the suet
feeder there is bound to be some male rivalry, usually each waits till the
other is done then feeds on the suet. Only once have I seen 2 D. woodpeckers
feed
at the same time (male & female.) They must have had a prenuptial agreement!
Hee-hee!!! :)
Also there is some kind of foot problem affecting the House Finch's, I've seen
3-4 males with a bulbous growth on the top of the foot where the toes meet.
It must be painfull as they hold the affected foot up while feeding and
sitting.
Could be a genetic thing? I did see a few with the same problem last year.
Not that I LOVE these birds, it's just hard to see anything in pain.
I could use a little help on the bird house placement dept. I've got a large
feeding
station, (my backyard) with a greenbelt of mostly decidious (sp) trees behind
our
fenced backyard. The last 2 years I've placed the houses various places
(under house eves, in huge shrubs and medium trees yet no houseguests! I know
birds
won't nest right next to their food source, so I know I'll have to place them
in
the woods somewhere, but with all the leaves yet to open, how to pick a
sheltered
and secluded spot in a bare naked tree?? I realize there is different heights
ect.
for different birds, but I just don't know how to pick the perfect spot for
Wrens,
Chickadees in bare trees? Won't the 5-6 *># at * -grey squirrels see the houses
and commit murder in the spring? HOW TO SQUIRREL-PROOF BIRD HOUSES?
Do we take that in consideration in house placement? I mean every place you
can
place a bird house, a Grey Squirrel can go! Hmmmmm.
Okay, just one more question...the Kent Ponds and the Ole Fishing Hole are
they one in the same? Are they the Kent-Frager RoaD Tower Ponds? I"ve
seen various postings and do not know the exact names for the Kent and
vicinity
birding areas. I go the the Kent Towers by the river, the Emerald Downs
relocated
wetland-pond and the Blue Heron Rookery, yet what do you call them
when you post?
Love all you Tweeters!!! And I thank you for all the info and the laughs.
BIRD ON!!!
KATHY KRIENKE
AUBURN, WA.
FLWRWM at AOL.COM