Subject: [Tweeters] Re Spring/Summer Feeding
Date: Mar 23 10:08:31 2005
From: Steve Ellis - sellis at coup.wednet.edu


We'll stop feeding at the end of the month. This prevents cowbirds from
hanging around and hammering the local nesting birds. Since we've adopted
this policy we've experienced at least a 75% drop in junco, warbler, towhee,
and who knows what else nest parasitism. If the cowbirds don't have a ready
source of food available they keep moving on. Our local juncos always raised
1 brood of their own and then 1 brood of cowbirds. Now is the time to put
out nesting materials- it's much more fun watching that process than seeing
a towhee raise a cowbird.
Steve Ellis
Coupeville,Wa
sellis at coup.wednet.edu