Hi Tweets,
It seems early for the Cedar Waxwings to make their appearance in my
Gig Harbor yard but there was a small flock here this morning eating
green Indian Plums. At the same time a medium-sized group of tiny
Bushtits swarmed my little suet feeder. The Bushtits were newcomers to
my yard as of last fall and they continue to make near daily
appearances. Good that one kind of bird doesn't scare off the other,
isn't it?

This simple wired suet feeder is just outside my office window and
steps from my front door, so definitely not out-of-the-way, but it has
also aroused the intense and usually early morning interests of at
least one otherwise secretive Pileated Woodpecker* and three or four
Northern Flickers who check out the food all day long. Quite amazing
to see those big birds maneuvering. The suet attracts a few Downy
Woodpeckers, plus the requisite squadrons of nuthatches and chickadees
but surprising to me, the resident Towhees also consider this suet
their own. They have strange ways of standing on the top of the feeder
and knocking loose some morsels, then dropping to the ground below to
retrieve it. The Dark-Eyed Juncos have their own method to get suet;
they can't cling to the wire, so they flutter below, pecking away at
little bits before swooping down to eat what has fallen. Seems like a
lot of work.

With two hummingbird feeders nearby, this has become a very active
feeding area all day long and just as interesting as the water bath
antics of birds on the opposite side of the house. I feel a little
like a voyeur, but I do enjoy watching birds take baths, don't you?

Speaking of the bird bath, I'm attempting to "make-friends-with-the-
crows." Having read that Seattle crows keep track of enemies, I
thought maybe they'd also be smart enough to keep track of good
friends. What do you think? Earlier this month, when some crows were
hanging about I ostentatiously put out a small pile of ears of fresh
corn on a picnic table, then checked & readjusted it several times.
Within a day or two, the crows, who had always left our area strictly
alone, landed to check out their "picnic." They ate all the corn and
carried most of it to the bird bath. Why they wanted to wet it down, I
don't know and was it messy? Yes! But now there are at least a couple
of crows who seem to find me on my neighborhood walks and instead of
flying away from me, will land nearby. I swear they look me right in
the eye and caw which seems like a reasonably friendly overture.
Corvid Peace in our time? Maybe. Guess I'd better put out some more
corn!

Thanks for all the birding reports around the area, They're always
great fun to read.

As ever,

Patty
PC Kennedy
Gig Harbor

*Fuzzy photos taken through the window screen are available on request.
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