The cowbird army has arrived. And to think they were fairly rare in western
Washington until the 1950s. They came with habitat fragmentation,
clear-cutting, feedlots, etc. As soon as my last Golden-crowned Sparrows
leave, I stop feeding birds in the summer, not wanting to subsidize
cowbirds, starlings, corvids, and house sparrows.

I think they'll disperse some. With cowbirds, it's the females that
establish territories -- the males just rove around.



On Tue, Apr 25, 2023 at 8:49 AM Sego Jackson <pond at whidbey.com> wrote:


> Last evening on our tray feeder and below it, on Whidbey Island, we had a

> minimum of 30 cowbirds show up to feed. Previously had only seen a couple

> at a time. Mixed male and females but probably 75% males. My first thought

> was "none of our songbirds have a chance for just their own eggs." Do any

> of you have thoughts on if a flock like this is just passing through, or if

> it disperses locally, or do they stay in a flock like this locally? Thanks.

>

>

>

> Sego Jackson

>

>

>

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--
​Steve Hampton​
Port Townsend, WA (qatáy)