I have found that feeding the birds has provided great entertainment. While I am not much of a fan of "reality TV", the reality entertainment that nature provides can be very entertaining and unlike "reality TV", the stakes are high. Some of the participants in my backyard drama really die. Not that death was what I had planned for when I embarked on this feeding the birds project, I have been trying to prevent death.
Sometimes as many as 70-75 (really hard to get an accurate count since they don't sit still for more than a few seconds) doves will be at our feeders. They feed on the ground picking up what the house finches, Oregon juncos, wrens, and sparrows knock to the ground during their frantic gobbling of seeds. The doves and the little perching birds have developed a symbiotic relationship. (My old biology teacher would be proud of me!) I have taken to adding a couple of cups a day under the feeders just for the doves because we have had such nasty weather the past few weeks. We also have a flicker that comes to the feeder. He is a kick to watch because he is waaaay too big for the feeder. He grabs the edge of the tray with his feet and has his tail go way under the bottom where it rests giving him the leverage so that he can just reach over the edge with his bill and gobble down seed. It is quite a struggle for him. Kind of reminds me of putting on and tying my hunting boots. He spends the rest of his time, which is quite a bit, drilling holes into our attic. It is really tempting to get out the shotgun and protect our house from this villain.
Speaking of shotguns, we have a thousand or so (this is really not an exaggeration) Brewer's Blackbirds congregate in the fields every so many days. They particularly like to bathe in the waste water from our heating system that empties into the ditch beside the field in back of our house. I never knew that blackbirds were such clean freaks. I don't know what they feed on. They spend a lot of time working the surface of the fields. They do not come to the feeders. I thought that they might be a problem if they were attracted to the feeders, but so far they have shown no interest. I have not blasted away at them, but the thought enters into the dark reaches of the evil side of my mind once in awhile. If they stay around through the summer, the local farmer will have a heckuva time trying to get acrop of field corn to mature. Then I might not feel the urge to shoot blackbirds needs to come from the evil side of my mind. I will be doing valuable work!!
So far I have bought 300 pounds of bird seed and it looks as though I will probably buy another one hundred pounds before the winter is over. I can get 20 pound bags from Clausen's Ace Hardware in Weiser for $5.95. Actually, bought three bags on sale for five dollars last week. Well, if I buy 400 pounds, I am going to have about $125 into this project. The good news is that every place I have looked charges twice what Steve is charging for bird seed including Zamzow's in Boise. Thank you, Steve. It does sometimes pay to buy locally in Weiser.
I have been filling the feeders every day and the feeders are always empty everytime I refill.
We have had some deadly reality at the feeders this year. The local hawks have found that the collection of doves at the feeders make for an attractive meat market. I know of only one dove who has met her demise while dining. A small kestrel took her out for lunch. I am sure the dove would have turned down the invitation if she had known she was to be on the menu.
A sparrow or some other small bird also provided lunch for a local hawk. J was watching the birds feed last week when she was shocked to see a bald eagle do a fly by at about 15 feet. That fly by was right over our front yard. J said the doves really went into freeze mode. No attack was made, but the talons were open and ready for action. Now, that is pretty exciting "Reality Show" drama.
The question that I have is, "Why in the heck are doves not down in southern Arizona and California?" In the past doves have always lit out of our area at the first frost. These use to be real smart birds. These descendants of those birds have either gotten real lazy or real stupid. I wonder if I were to quit feeding them, if they would indeed fly on down to visit Nephew Don.
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