Watching The Birds

[Marblehead]

Hummingbird back but better redo the feeder as I have noticed it eating the sugar water -- I first made it too strong....

It sounds like you get a nice variety of birds during the summer. Some that I haven't seen here.

 

For some reason the Robins didn't fly through my area this year. They normally hang around for a couple days on their way back up North.

 

Yes, cats can be a problem for a bird lover. Even when a cat is well feed and doesn't need to kill to eat its instincts cause it to hunt and kill.

[voidisyinyang]

It sounds like you get a nice variety of birds during the summer. Some that I haven't seen here.

 

For some reason the Robins didn't fly through my area this year. They normally hang around for a couple days on their way back up North.

 

Yes, cats can be a problem for a bird lover. Even when a cat is well feed and doesn't need to kill to eat its instincts cause it to hunt and kill.

 

Yeah we probably have the SAME bird -- lives in your area in the winter and my area in the summer. haha.

 

We'd had a flock of robins hanging around -- looking for worms.

 

I tried to tell my sister about -- I said - hear that bird song? umm part of it...... (wait)...... hear that bird song? yeah. That bird winters in Cozumel!

 

No response.

 

haha. My parents honeymooned in Cozumel in 1965 and then went back there probably ten times.

 

Anyway so this Hooded Warbler is real rare in Minnesota - only three known sites that produce broods. We actually had a nest with the male and female three summers ago. If I had spread the word our land would have been ransacked by birders. haha.

 

But I didn't notice any brood and the female sings a lot so the cowbirds get the Hooded Warbler real easy. ummm. Then the next summer and summer after only the male Hooded Warbler showed up.

 

So this year I don't expect any females but I hear the male calling - most of the time on the neighbor's property. I don't want to spook the bird so am just enjoying the song without seeing it.

 

But a real handsome warbler -- http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/PHOTO/LARGE/hooded.jpg

[Marblehead]

But a real handsome warbler -- http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/PHOTO/LARGE/hooded.jpg

Yes, that's a pretty boy. Mine (the one that is in this area now) doesn't have his colors as well defined as that one.

 

The only hummer I have seen so far this year is a male. The first of my Mexican Trumpet Vine flowers opened this morning. These are supposed to be the hummers in this area's favorite flower. We'll see.

 

Yes, I was surprised when Stosh told me about the Cowbirds using the Warblers' nests to lay their eggs in - something I didn't know.

[voidisyinyang]

Yes, that's a pretty boy. Mine (the one that is in this area now) doesn't have his colors as well defined as that one.

 

The only hummer I have seen so far this year is a male. The first of my Mexican Trumpet Vine flowers opened this morning. These are supposed to be the hummers in this area's favorite flower. We'll see.

 

Yes, I was surprised when Stosh told me about the Cowbirds using the Warblers' nests to lay their eggs in - something I didn't know.

 

oh I took Ornithology at UW-Madison - one of the top schools. A third of my undergrad was ecology-biology classes.

 

But yeah so you have a Hooded Warbler too? That's awesome.

 

Yeah but anyway -- they are more common out east to be sure.

 

Yeah so Brood Parasitism - that's what the cowbirds do.

 

Oh there is a great doc by Wisconsin public t.v. but the tropic birds going to the Midwest for the summer.

 

It is definitely the most sublime thing in the Midwest but most are oblivious! haha.

 

Anyway yeah I just saw my first wildflower of the year!! Nice violet color so probably a violet flower.

 

Yeah I saw another rare warbler last year but only deeper in the forest - totally surprised me and then find out our area is their favorite habitat for the state.... I blogged on it. Should find it as I forgot the name....

 

http://fulllotusqigong.blogspot.com/2012/06/bear-got-new-suet-while-blue-winged.html

 

Yep blue-winged warbler. Real pretty. My 14 month old niece loves to say pretty whenever she sees something pretty. haha.

[Marblehead]

But yeah so you have a Hooded Warbler too? That's awesome.

Mine is a Pine Warbler. More brown than yellow.

 

I just saw a first for me a few minutes ago while looking out the livingroom window into the garden.

A bluebird came up to the cat bowls and got a couple bites of cat food. The Greyjays and sparrows do it all the time but this is the first time I have seen the Bluejay do it.

 

My Violets, Violas, and Pansies are all gone for the year. Too hot for them. Mostly just the tropical plants and the Daylilies flowering now. The mums are doing fair but they too will die back from the heat.

[voidisyinyang]

Mine is a Pine Warbler. More brown than yellow.

 

I just saw a first for me a few minutes ago while looking out the livingroom window into the garden.

A bluebird came up to the cat bowls and got a couple bites of cat food. The Greyjays and sparrows do it all the time but this is the first time I have seen the Bluejay do it.

 

My Violets, Violas, and Pansies are all gone for the year. Too hot for them. Mostly just the tropical plants and the Daylilies flowering now. The mums are doing fair but they too will die back from the heat.

 

 

We had snow a couple weeks ago. haha. But then it was over 100 F. here a week after it had snowed!!

[joeblast]

I told ya the sun was making the jet stream do funny things

[Marblehead]

That was global glaciation/global warming going through a really fast cycle.

[voidisyinyang]

Well I am no longer allowed to send my sister emails because I first sent her the science about not comforting your baby while its bawling causes brain damage and then secondly I send her two NY Times articles about domestic cats being the number one cause of song bird deaths.....

 

So my mom was going to talk to my sister about the cat - the big request was to keep the cat indoors at night since the cat goes into the forest all night to hunt birds.

 

Instead my mom yells at me to no longer email my sister. haha. I never said anything in the emails -just posted the articles and I sent them to my mom at the same time. I knew I had to be careful trying to get my sister to do something.

 

haha. So her cat now has free roam to hunt the birds at night.

 

Strange I have not heard any Oven Birds this year and Ovenbirds live on the ground.

 

Well the cat did kill a Black and White warbler which flies up here from the Gulf States or South America - but that was nearby the house.

 

The assumption is that if the cat does not bring the kill to the door then the kill has not happened.

 

The latest research is to put "kittycams" on the cats and presto! Not only do cats kill a lot more than thought but they don't bring the kills home all the time - especially when they way out in the woods.

 

Anyway I have not asked my mom yet if she ordered the book Requiem for Nature yet for our local library.

 

I figure that MOther Nature will take revenge.

 

I don't need to "save" Nature.

 

If people choose to live in their self-contained Bubble reality of capitalist censorship --

 

then Mother Nature will just wipe out life on Earth and start over so that the next dominant species has a chance to not mess things up so badly.

 

But I do get all these Minnesota birdlist emails as I'm on their listserve.

 

Too bad I can't post anymore as last time I mentioned my cat problem and the birders went BALLISTIC on me -- rightfully so.

 

I was loosing sleep about it -- we did try to put the bib on the cat so my sister "tried" last summer. First she had the collar on too loose. Poor little kitty. haha. So the bib kept coming off.

 

Anyway

 

yeah like I told my friend if you want proof that Western civilization is destroying the planet my famliy provides the confirmation.

 

The irony is my mom used to volunteer at the local Warner Nature Center and the current naturalist there got irrate about knowing we let our cat out of the house.

 

I totally agreed with him but it's my sister cat.

 

Anyway my mom ended up instead - when she "talked" to my sister the result was instead to blame the victim as usual. haha.

 

You would think my mom would know better but apparently my sister has taken charge.

 

Yeah last night I heard my sister declare to me and my mom that

 

"the cat is not an issue!"

 

haha. HILARIOUS.

 

So apparently she can command what reality is just by her pronouncements.

 

Anyway like I said - I don't have to do anything. I just provide the information. It gets censored in denial and I go -- o.k. I did my bit.

Edited May 21, 2013 by pythagoreanfulllotus

[Marblehead]

Okay, so you tried. Too bad you got in Dutch with your mom and sister. Cat lovers love their cats and rarely will they admit that their cat does anything wrong. So the birds will have to evolve and start sleeping in the trees or become extinct.

[voidisyinyang]

They're already going extinct.

 

Yeah but I did hear an Ovenbird today!!!

 

So there is hope.

 

Anyway .....

 

Where Have All the Birds Gone? - Princeton University Press

press.princeton.edu/titles/4436.html‎

by J Terborgh - Cited by 620 - Related articles

"Things are going wrong with our environment," writes John Terborgh, "even the parts of it that are nominally protected. If we wait until all the answers are in, we ...

 

Yeah I had to read that book for our Ornithology class in 1993 or so....

 

His next book is called

Requiem for Nature.

 

He's pretty much given up.

 

People who really study ecology know just how bad things are.

 

The rest of the human population is oblivious unless they live in the wilderness like the birds...

 

 

Yes I heard this bird today!!

 

It lives on the ground.

 

Trying to remember this other bird name - I can remember the song but not the bird name! haha.

 

We saw a bluebird at the feeder yesterday -- really bright stunning blue....

 

Yeah it's the American Redstart - that's the song I was trying to remember. I listened to some youtube vids but they don't sound like our American Redstarts

 

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Redstart/id

 

But this one is close enough.

 

Songs vary by region a bit.

 

O.K. so I still have yet to hear the American Redstart or the red-eyed vireo....or the scarlet tanager....

 

[Marblehead]

I don't have either of those two birds down here. The most vocal in my area is the Greyjay. And the dominant male likes to dance while he sings. (My high frequency hearing is shot from my days in the Army so it is rare that I actually hear them.)

[Stosh]

 

They're already going extinct.

 

Yeah but I did hear an Ovenbird today!!!

 

So there is hope.

 

Anyway .....

 

Where Have All the Birds Gone? - Princeton University Press

press.princeton.edu/titles/4436.html‎

by J Terborgh - Cited by 620 - Related articles

"Things are going wrong with our environment," writes John Terborgh, "even the parts of it that are nominally protected. If we wait until all the answers are in, we ...

 

Yeah I had to read that book for our Ornithology class in 1993 or so....

 

His next book is called

 

Requiem for Nature.

 

He's pretty much given up.

 

People who really study ecology know just how bad things are.

 

The rest of the human population is oblivious unless they live in the wilderness like the birds...

 

 

Yes I heard this bird today!!

 

It lives on the ground.

 

Trying to remember this other bird name - I can remember the song but not the bird name! haha.

 

We saw a bluebird at the feeder yesterday -- really bright stunning blue....

 

Yeah it's the American Redstart - that's the song I was trying to remember. I listened to some youtube vids but they don't sound like our American Redstarts

 

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Redstart/id

 

But this one is close enough.

 

Songs vary by region a bit.

 

O.K. so I still have yet to hear the American Redstart or the red-eyed vireo....or the scarlet tanager....

 

 

 

Tough tough thing to do IMO to learn the birds by song , but I have no musical ear

I cant remember which is which even though I can tell the differences ( if that makes any sense)

did you listen to birdjam's recordings ? they sound super accurate to me,

but I didnt want to spend the cash right now ,maybe after attending to better camera gear.

[voidisyinyang]

Yeah I listened to the Birdjam songs and it was the American Redstart.

 

So this a.m. I wrote a letter to the Minneapolis Twin Cities STRIB newspaper about our cat killing the birds. haha.

 

They had an op.ed. on it.

 

Also I emailed our local naturalist where my mom used to volunteer and I asked HIM to write a letter to our local newspaper that my mom used to own and operate.

 

I'm going for public shame folks. haha.

 

I then posted it on the MN Bird email list. No responses yet but that's fine with me. I already had plenty of cat responses last year when I posted the same problem.

 

But this time I asked them to write letter to the newspaper.

 

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/homegarden/blogs/200790001.html

[Stosh]

Yeah cats can be a problem , but then again so can squirrels and rats ,

and possums and ants and raccoons and.......

I watched one squirrel eat a nestfull of cardinal chicks.

I keep my cat indoors for her own wellbeing

but what the law allows, it just allows,

(even though I like the birdies a lot too)

Folks just have more concern about some creatures than others

and I dont think that will changing anytime soon.

[voidisyinyang]

Yeah cats can be a problem , but then again so can squirrels and rats ,

and possums and ants and raccoons and.......

I watched one squirrel eat a nestfull of cardinal chicks.

I keep my cat indoors for her own wellbeing

but what the law allows, it just allows,

(even though I like the birdies a lot too)

Folks just have more concern about some creatures than others

and I dont think that will changing anytime soon.

 

Squirrels eat acorns - not birds!!

 

haha. We have tons of squirrels and I've never seen a squirrel try to catch a bird.

 

Cats are well-fed and so are hunting for fun and it's easier for them since they are already well-fed.

 

I am going to write that STRIB op-ed dude since he already understands.

 

Rats - I don't think they eat birds either. Rats mainly live in the city.

 

We have little moles but the cat kills them too and it's a problem since the forest Broad-winged Hawk used to come into our yard to hunt for moles.

 

No longer.

Edited May 22, 2013 by pythagoreanfulllotus

[voidisyinyang]

http://blogs.bestfriends.org/index.php/2013/03/16/orlando-sentinel-publishes-instructions-on-how-to-kill-a-cat/

 

http://blogs.bestfriends.org/index.php/2013/01/31/fuzzy-math-on-cats-birds-clouds-highly-questionable-study/

 

Seriously this dude is an idiot.

 

He compares cats killing squirrels with cats killing birds.

 

O.K. squirrels live here all year long and are ONE species.

 

Birds fly here from thousands of miles away and each species is vulnerable to not surviving due to a lot of other conditions - forest fragmentation, cowbirds, birds hitting windows.

 

On top of all of that CATS ARE THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF DEATH OF BIRDS.

 

So he says you can't extrapolate from a dozen cats that are proven to kill birds.

 

I don't know why not?

 

What's the other method - when does the inductive reasoning fail? How many cats does it take to prove that they kill birds.

 

I know the cat at our house hunts birds as much as possible.

Edited May 22, 2013 by pythagoreanfulllotus

[voidisyinyang]

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/cats_actually_kill

 

Damn - that's brilliant!!

 

That's what we need - dumb it down with graphics so the "average U.S." I.Q. can comprehend the situation.

 

It's extremely simple but for the mind controllers who fetishize their cats as extension of certain body parts (bring in Freud).

 

Hahaha.

[zerostao]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=391474277631427&set=a.241405075971682.47251.241392719306251&type=1&theater

 

and i find county crows smarter than city crows

[voidisyinyang]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=391474277631427&set=a.241405075971682.47251.241392719306251&type=1&theater

 

and i find county crows smarter than city crows

 

Nice!!

 

Yeah I think I just heard my first American Redstart!

 

Also saw my first fawn just by my chestnut tubelings.....

 

So the fawn was too young to run away - just laid down and looked at me.

 

I was going to saw a tree but just turned around to saw a tree on the other side of the forest. haha.

[Marblehead]

Okay. Here is my first birdie picture taken with my new camera yesterday afternoon.

 

 

[Stosh]

Squirrels eat acorns - not birds!!

 

haha. We have tons of squirrels and I've never seen a squirrel try to catch a bird.

 

Cats are well-fed and so are hunting for fun and it's easier for them since they are already well-fed.

 

I am going to write that STRIB op-ed dude since he already understands.

 

Rats - I don't think they eat birds either. Rats mainly live in the city.

 

We have little moles but the cat kills them too and it's a problem since the forest Broad-winged Hawk used to come into our yard to hunt for moles.

 

No longer.

Im not sure who you are in dissagreement with ,, this was in the links

The report, “The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United States,” unfortunately relies on the agenda-driven analysis of its authors and is devoid of any critical assessment of source material or common-sense implications of its claims.

 

And I said this

I watched one squirrel eat a nestfull of cardinal chicks

 

And its easy to find testimony like this

As rats began an invasion its important to know that they will eat living things in their search for food. What living things will they eat? Well, for one they will eat birds and their eggs.

this is a reasonable point by you

Birds fly here from thousands of miles away and each species is vulnerable to not surviving due to a lot of other conditions - forest fragmentation, cowbirds, birds hitting windows.

 

rats live all over the place, and yes get out of hand in semirural and urbanized environment (which I presume where your sister and the cat are) and when they have no predators ( like cats ).

 

Broad winged hawks eat birds too as in

They also eat frogs, lizards and nesting birds during the summer.

 

 

Essentially my point here, is that I think you are laughing at me for having silly ideas about squirrels and birds.

But I dont think I am out on a limb on any of it.

I didnt believe the squirrel thing either till I literally watched one pull , one by one ,every one of the chicks out of the nest and eat them like they were burritos.

The reason why knowing- that cats do kill birds isnt enough- , is because its close to impossible to know what the relative impact of it is. Some birds are at the end of thier reproductive period,some ill, and destined not to go much further , some get replaced in the same season ( second brood) and lots of other reasons such as , you dont know what the total number of bird is OR the number of birds eaten by other critters (so youd never see the corpses).

 

So quite frankly you have no foundation to say

CATS ARE THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF DEATH OF BIRDS

even though they clearly do kill some

and it cant clearly be said that the killing habits of cats are "bad"

because then hawks and squirrels and storms are bad too.

 

So there.

Edited May 23, 2013 by Stosh

[voidisyinyang]

Yeah Cardinals live here YEAR ROUND.

 

We have a Cardinal couple that has lived here and I saw multiple males so I am assuming their nest has survived any potential raids by the squirrels. I remember hearing the Cardinal babies last summer but I could never find the nest! So it was well hidden in the brush. I made sure to leave that area alone.

 

The squirrels rely on acorns as their main diet - not bird eggs.

 

Cats rely on birds as their main diet - for fun. Unless they are feral cats - but feral cats are still domesticated bred cats. So called "domesticated."

 

I do think "invasive species" for cats is very appropriate.

 

I have not seen the Broad-winged Hawk yet this year but I think I may have seen its shadow as a large bird doubled back over the yard.

 

If the Broad-winged Hawk came into my house everyday and was petted with affection after it was fed tuna out of the frig - then yeah I would probably have a problem with releasing it outside.

 

hahaha.

 

Broad-winged Hawks also migrate here for the summer.

Edited May 23, 2013 by pythagoreanfulllotus

[Stosh]

It seems your issue is really the "badness" and "artificiality" of human impact ,

I can crush that too, but dont want to clog up this thread since its intent is more gentle.

Start a thread on it and I will be happy to respond, but right now I need to get to work

have a nice morning.

[Marblehead]

Well, anyhow, I was sitting out front a few minutes taking a break after watering the gardens and saw a Greyjay chasing a hawk out of its territory. I have seen that a number of times before in recent years. Last year I even saw a Greyjay chasing a cat down the middle of the road making it leave its territory.

 

I will post another pix as soon as I crop it for forum screen size and file size.