A blue jay is the alarm bell within the forest and on the chook feeders. Photo by Roy Lukes.
Door To Nature
This previous month, I’ve typically regarded out on the feeders in my entrance yard and seen no birds. Few of the standard seed-eaters have been right here, and plenty of seeds that I put out at nightfall are nonetheless on the platforms nicely after daybreak.
Then, impulsively, the birds arrive and begin chowing down. When the flock of blue jays flies in, they dominate the platform feeders and scare off all of the smaller birds.
I place shelled peanut halves on the platform’s decrease degree particularly for the chickadees and nuthatches, however the jay finds them and grabs as many as it will probably carry in its beak.
buddy gave me some peanuts within the shell and placed just a few handfuls on prime of the larger platform. At first, the jays didn’t appear to know what they had been, however ultimately, they realized there was tasty meals inside. They can often carry solely one after the other, which retains them busy hacking open every shell to get the nut.
It appears blue jays will eat something placed on the feeders. Years in the past, when Roy and I lived within the Ridges Rangelight residence, I favored to make sourdough pancakes. When I had fried all of the batter, there have been sometimes leftover pancakes. I’d tear them into small chunks and put them on the feeder platform. The jays fought over them and crammed as many as doable into their beaks.
I noticed that one motive there are not any birds on the feeders is as a result of my resident sharp-shinned hawk is lurking within the close by woods, patiently ready for the primary unwary chook to fly into the feeders. I as soon as noticed it chase and catch a male red-bellied woodpecker and land on the driveway on prime of its prey.
The sharp-shinned hawk is an accipiter, or a part of a genus of medium-sized forest-dwelling hawks. Like Cooper’s hawks, they pluck the feathers earlier than consuming the chook. Last week I went to Sturgeon Bay and after I returned, I noticed many small grey feathers scattered by the wind on the snow. I knew the sharpie had caught a dark-eyed junco.
Blue jays are thought of the alarm bells of the forest. They name loudly when there may be hazard, so once they do come to the feeders, the opposite birds might really feel it’s secure for them to do the identical.
Last week, it was half-hour after dawn earlier than any chook got here right here. One blue jay flew in from the southeast, however quickly headed again in the identical course because the sharpie flew in from the northwest.
Then the hawk sat within the cedar timber behind the feeders wanting in the direction of the bottom for a hidden junco. I went out on the deck to chase it away, however it solely flew to the next department within the close by maple tree. This chook is so used to being right here that it isn’t even afraid of me anymore.
I went again inside and timed the hawk. It sat on the maple department for 5 minutes earlier than leaving the realm. Then I seen a bushy woodpecker clinging to the trunk of a small ash tree behind the feeders. It stayed immobile for 44 minutes after the hawk disappeared. These small birds appear to know that sitting immobile is vital to their survival till different birds fly into the yard, signaling it’s secure to maneuver.
Blue jays and mourning doves are straightforward targets for accipiters; they’re gradual flyers and make a hearty meal for these woodland hawks. That’s why, when the blue jays return to the feeders, it often means the coast is evident, and the smaller birds and woodpeckers come again to eat.
As the snow cowl diminishes on the open fields, begin on the lookout for returning horned larks. These sparrow-sized birds nest in lots of the inland meadows away from the lakeshore. When snow stays within the fields, you possibly can see them looking for weed seeds alongside the shoulders of roads. They will fly up into the sphere as you method, letting you see their darkish tail.
Patience is significant for birds on the feeders, whether or not they be accipiters or small songbirds. As birdwatchers, we should be affected person too.
