Masked Bandits

Okay so I'm a nature loving fool but my neighborhood masked bandits have stolen one too many suet bricks and now it's war. It all started about 2 months ago when the first raccoon was spotted on my deck at the regular bird feeder. At first it was cool because I actually like raccoons. It was about this time that my first suet brick disappeared. About a week later, I spotted three bandits on the deck and thought okay that's a little much and I need to do something.

The local stores didn't have anything that I thought would work but online I found a 36" pole that attached to the deck and swings in and out to fill up. Perfect - order two! Well, this worked for about a week and sure enough another suet brick disappeared during the night and the arm was swung in like they were asking me to refill it. Now, if they can't swing it in they just climb out it and with their weight they have managed to break one of the deck boards. So this is WAR! I finally have woodpeckers at my suet feeder and these bandits are not going to ruin that. Tonight I decided to research what to do and thought I'd share one set of "Tips" with you.

• Fastening a pipe around the pole of the feeder that moves when raccoons step on it. This can be an old stove pipe or a piece of hard plastic tubing. Make sure it's not ridged on the outside, or the squirrels and raccoons will find a way to climb up. Pairing this with a baffle may deter the raccoons from trying to climb the feeder. (Going to try this one)
• Hang your feeders away from tree branches, structures or sheds that raccoons can use to get to them (DUH)
• Try a “bird feeder clothesline” - drive two poles into the ground and string a line between them. String empty pop bottles lengthwise along the line, and hang the feeder between the bottles. If an animal attempts to step on the clothesline, they'll be spun off by the rotating bottles. (White Trash bird feeding - not going to happen in my yard)
• Use a raccoon or squirrel repellent. They're perfectly safe for the animals and can be found at any pet or birding store. (I can only imagine what this smells like - so NO WAY)
• If nothing else works, try taking your feeders into your garage or shed at night, or, if you don't have an enclosed area, invest in a raccoon-proof container to store your feeders and seed. (Double DUH but too much work to bring all the feeders in at night)

Well, that's the research. Look for updates on what happens!

Nothing like a good field guide or two

So as you can imagine any good birdwatcher has their "go to" bird book. I actually now have two. The Sibley's Field Guide to Birds, which I like all the Sibley's Field Guide books for all things nature and the other bird book is the Kaufman Focus Guides Birds of North America. I always had the old trusty blue covered field guide that I think everyone in our family had but one day in Barnes & Noble I decided to look at their bird section and was shocked by how far bird guides had come.

The Sibley's series of books are great. They are all done with drawings but very detailed drawings and lots of other good written details about our little feathered friends. This is my "go to" bird field guide and in most cases all I need. However, I decide to get the Kaufman book strictly because it is full of real photos and sometimes that's exactly what you need to make the final call on those difficult to identify little guys.

If interested you can check them both out on amazon.com and there are photos of the inside of both books.

Sibley's - http://www.amazon.com/Sibley-Field-Guide-Eastern-America/dp/067945120X/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272414374&sr=1-11

Kaufman - http://www.amazon.com/Birds-North-America-Kaufman-Guides/dp/0618073248/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272414408&sr=1-19

Game on

Last year, I went for a bike ride on the C & O Canal near Oldtown, MD. During that trip we saw lots of the "normal" birds like cardinals and such but at one point on the trail we came across a Great Blue Heron which happens to be one of my favorite birds. I've spent years trying to sneak up on this bird. Growing up they would visit our pond and I would try every different trick to get close enough for a picture without them seeing me and leaving. It simply never happened, you just don't sneak up on a Great Blue. It's become kind of a game for me over the years to see just where that 'fly away' line is and when I cross it.

But back to the C & O Canal, as we first saw this guy I started moving slowly to get my camera out to snap at least one "not good enough for the wall" photo. So I snapped that first picture and now "Game on" it's now time to see how close I can get before it flies off. One step, snap a pic. Another step, another snap of the shutter. Again the same and about 30 clicks later it was like "Okay, something isn't right." The Great Blue had take a few steps but not flown away. This was by far the closest I've ever been to one and didn't make sense after 20+ years of playing this game. There is no such thing as a tame Great Blue especially in an area like the C & O Canal so why wasn't he playing?

So, did you know that a Great Blue Heron can't fly with a fish in their throat? Well they can't and this guy taught me that. After watching him so closely, it was obvious that his last meal was not cooperating. We watched as he tried to coax his catch down. We decided to let him be and ride on. On the return trip, we wondered whether he would still be there but we were happy to see he was gone and that he must have figured out how to readjust his catch and move on.

To this day I wonder if he was more traumatized by us being there or maybe it made him trust humans a little more. I hope to return this year and see.

Someone's Canary got out...

As I look out the window at the finch feeder, I can't help but remember the day I came home from work only to be met by two different neighbors. The German neighbor from across the street came running waving her arms and all I could think is "what happened" and "this can't be good."

As soon as she got to my car and I got out, she was yelling that "someone's canary got out and it's been in your yard all day." I of course was concerned and instantly starting thinking about how to catch it because canaries aren't meant to live in the wild in Kentucky. As I'm listen to the neighbors and thinking of what to do I hear "THERE IT IS, THERE IT IS." I turn look at the feeder and instantly start laughing. They were not amused when I said "that's not a canary, that's a gold finch." Since they didn't believe me, I proceeded to go in my apartment and get my bird book. Only then did they believe me that it wasn't someone's pet canary.

That day I felt good that I had educated a few people on the birds of Kentucky. When I bought my house and moved I presented each of those neighbors with their own finch feeder and bag of seed. They were so happy that they would still be able to see the "Kentucky Canaries" after I left. I only hope that they still have that same enthusiasm for those little gold finches.

Crack whores of the bird world

My yard has been taken over by the birds I like to call the "Crack Whores" of the bird world - the Cowbird! It's the one and only bird we were allowed to shoot growing up and right now I wish I owned some bird shot!

Why do I call them crack whores? Well, it's easy. They get pregnant then say "Hold up! I don't have time to build a nest, sit on an egg and feed my kid" so they let others do it for them. They find other birds' nest, kick one of the eggs out and lay their own in that birds' nest. The unknowing victim birds then raises the Cowbird young for them while the Crack whore goes on partying without a care in the world. Oh and it's not a one time thing either, that crack whore female can lay up to three dozen eggs in one summer. Other thing is that usually the Cowbird chick is larger than than other chicks so it will take most the food and the other chicks will die.

Now tell me if you agree with the name. I think rather than the Brown-headed Cowbird I might petition the Audubon society to change the name to Crack-whore Cowbird.

I would put a picture up by I will NEVER take a picture of this bird unless it's after I purchase and successfully test the use of bird shot or maybe a high-powered bb-gun.

Top graphic

I made the header graphic for this blog using some of my many photos so I thought I would tell you where they were taken.

From left to right: Great Blue Heron taken on C & O Canal near Oldtown, MD; Ruby Crowned Kinglet taken on West Thumb Geyser walkway in Yellowstone National Park, WY; Sanderling taken at Assateague National Seashore, MD; Indigo Bunting taken in my backyard in KY; Eastern Bluebird taken in my backyard in KY; White Pelican taken in Grand Teton National Park, WY; Turkey taken in Custer State Park, SD; Thayer's Gull taken in Assateague National Seashore, MD; American Bald Eagle taken near Lower Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park, WY; Tufted Titmouse taken in my backyard in KY; Western Bluebird taken on Upper Terrace of Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park, WY

Recovery time

So I haven't yet got over the fact that I'm not going to be able to watch the bluebird family this year. Still not sure what happened but time to move on. It's late April and the hummingbirds should be showing up any time now. So it's time to get out the hummingbird feeders. This year I purchased a new glass one that pretty to look at even without the hummingbirds but I hope they like it. I still have their old favorite out but time will tell if they like the new one.

When looking for bird supplies on the web, I came across Hummingbird Houses. Well, they call them "houses" but they are just a metal branch with some fake leaves. Of course they sound like they work great in the description and instructions but then again that's just plain good marketing. The instructions also seem to be really focused on the New Mexico area where the company is and of course a high population of different hummingbirds. Here in Kentucky, we have one type but they are still an amazing little bird. My little Ruby Throated friends come back every year but we'll see if they like the new feeder and what they think of the "houses" which I have two of.

The houses like I said are just metal branches with a built in area that's perfect for their little nests. The fake leaves are for them to perch on or at least that's what the instructions say. But we'll see. I also purchased a cage of nest building material to hopefully encourage they a little bit more to build a nest right under the eaves of the house.

If interested in the hummingbird houses or nest material check out www.duncraft.com/.

Not a good start...

Well, as my first post stated I was so excited that this year was the year that the bluebirds were going to stay. Let me say today is a sad day. I came home from work and noticed that the male was no longer proudly sitting in the chestnut tree as he has been every moment of every day for weeks now, so I watched the house for awhile. Waiting a few hours with no sign of either bird I decided to check the house and the eggs are gone. No clue what happened. No sign of the raccoons digging through the hole which has happened in the past so maybe a snake but doesn't much matter now does it?

Well, tomorrow we'll find something else to focus on and we'll go from there.

Blog name...

Well, let's hope this blog that is for the birds doesn't end up being "For the Birds." I've wanted for awhile to start a blog. First criteria was a subject that would give me enough good content to justify what I want to be a nice blog. Second was that it wouldn't get me fired! So, this one goes to the safe and ever loving love of birds.

Birds are something that I grow up loving. Blame it on my Audubon loving Grandmother that kept a daily chart of all birds seen. From as young as I can remember it was always a special treat to mark off the birds for the day. The mornings at her house I would run out to be the first to mark off the chickadee or maybe that titmouse or cardinal or whatever feathered friend caught your eye first. I would happily grab that clipboard and put a little check mark in the box on the appropriate line of that perfectly aligned graph paper. As I grow older I gained the honor of creating the next month's chart, first row - dates - first column contained the names of the birds. No birds could be added till they were seen but the first day was always full of those everyday feeder visitors so there was a good many to write. What an honor to be the one to write the bird in your own handwriting for the whole family to see!

So fast forward quite a few years and here I am still loving birds. Every spring I find myself wondering if this year will be the year that the bluebirds stay in my yard. Well, I've been in this house almost 9 years and I'm happy to report that year has finally come. Every year the bluebirds start building a nest in one of my birdhouses but would always abandon it and others would happily move in - usually the little house wrens. Last year, however I has very happy to have a chickadee family move in and produce the cutest little chick. But this year, for whatever reason they STAYED! I'm so happy! So as you can imagine one big subject will be my family of bluebirds among a few other subjects.

Well, hope you enjoy and here's hoping it's a good blog "For the Birds"