The "Bird Hotel" Has No Vacancies!

  The arbor around the french doors has a canvas awning cover.  I hang a few potted ferns on either side of the front steps and then always have large plants on stands under the ferns.  Last year, a tiny wren loved the fern so much that she made her nest there twice.  She survived a tropical storm without ever leaving her nest.  I had tied the fern from all sides to keep it from swinging too much so she was safe and sound.  Since then, she has returned to the nest and her broods come to roost on the beams and some nestle down in the fern with her.  The sweet little family is welcome to stay as long as they like, however, this spring, they may have company.

  On the opposite side (about six feet from the fern nest), a pair of doves have taken a liking to the other fern.  Another nest is in the process of being made.  Doves, like wrens, seek out places that are near humans that they trust.  It makes me feel good to know that my critter friends feel safe around me.  I am in hopes that both birds will nest near the door and be at ease with each other.  Both wrens and doves are not overly territorial so it should all work out fine.

  The pair of doves come to the plant stand that now serves as a feeder.  I had taken down the other feeders when the hawk was visiting (but not for sunflower seeds).  Several birds were snatched before I realized what was happening.  The plant stand was beneath the broad leaves of an avocado tree which provided a blind for the songbirds.  Since our hard freeze, the leaves are slowly dropping.  The feeder protection is almost naught now and I noticed the hawk has returned.  Son and I were pondering how to devise another shelter for the birds.  Hopefully, tomorrow will find us with some suitable deterrent.  While I love the hawk, it needs to leave my sweet songbirds and search for a nice fat rat!

The "Down Under" Birds

   I love feeding the songbirds that are fulltime residents or are migrating visitors to the Bayou.  I consider the birds among my friends so  why wouldn't I share a meal with them?  You can imagine how it wounded me to see that I was fattening them up for the small hawk that is also a resident here.  The Cooper's Hawk found that the birds were easy pickings from the feeders as it sat in the nearby hickory tree.  After finding the telltale feathers of a recent kill, I decided to stop putting seeds in the feeders.  I just could not...would not enable a hawk to have easy access by my doings.  If the hawk caught a bird anywhere else, so be it but I would not make them "sitting ducks", so to speak.  The songbirds did not understand this sudden lack of foodstuffs and often scolded me if I was nearby.  It was a quandary.  Do I neglect the songbirds?  Do I allow the hawk to feed?  Puzzlements.

  Well, things always have a way of working out for the best.  The constant scolding from the cardinals, chickadees and titmice finally convinced me to buy more birdseed.  To semi-protect the little birds I had to come up with a new plan.  I had to outsmart the hawk or, at least, make it more difficult for the predator to feast upon the songbirds.  Now, the birds have gone "down under".  No, I did not send them to Australia.  I simply put the seed under the flower benches next to Puddle Pond.   The smaller birds eat in peace and drink safely from the Pebble Creek under the cover of overhanging plants.  In fact, the hawk seems to have gotten the idea that it would be simpler to look elsewhere for prey.  It has not been visiting as often as it had in the past.  Maybe the birds are tad safer now.

Scared Stiff!

  Early this morning while I was outside painting the new screen doors, I heard a familiar sort of "cackle".  Ahh, yes, Friend Hawk was visiting.  It stands to reason that the hawk would be nearby because I had filled the squirrel...uh..bird feeders yesterday and a good dozen or so squirrels were munching the sunflower seeds.  Occasionally, a bird would get a chance to grab a morsel but, more oft than not, the squirrels would chase the birds.  A few birds had gotten smart and were searching the ground under the feeders for errant seeds from the squirrels' foraging.  (Squirrels are not the neatest diners.)  One smart bird was the Red-bellied Woodpecker.  The bird would hunt for a seed on the ground then poke it in a hole in the post to crack it.  

  Not only was the bird smart for finding food in this way, it was far wiser in another way.  As I heard the hawk cry, I turned to check the feeders.  I really did not want to have set the doves up for an easy massacre even though I love the little Cooper's Hawk.  Let that hawk catch a squirrel!  We have far too many of those rascally rodents.

  Nope, there was nary a bird in the feeder nor on the ground.  Even the squirrels had scampered to safety.  The only bird near the feeders was that woodpecker and it was playing it safe.  The hawk was on the south side of the feeders in an oak tree.  The woodpecker was on the north side of the post and was being as still and quiet as a church mouse.  I watched as the bird hunkered down close to the feeder's post.  Hmm?  I eased my way down the board path toward the feeder.  This movement made the hawk a bit skittish and it flew back toward the canebrake.  The woodpecker, however, was not moving a muscle!  It was scared stiff...or just being overly cautious.  If the technique worked against a hawk, perhaps it would work against this intruder (me), as well!

  I decided to let the woodpecker be and headed back to my painting.  After a bit, there was a bit of a skirmish in the feeders as the squirrels had returned and the woodpecker tried to chase them!  Smart bird.

Not The Most Pleasant

  Not every hike about the hillside is pleasant.  Sometimes, a find along the way can be saddening.  This morning, a pile of feathers meant that another songbird met its untimely death in the clutches of the Cooper's Hawk.  These hawks are amazingly agile hunters and can swoop in and out of tree branches without ever making contact with any.  This gives the hawk and almost unfair advantage over other birds.  A Cooper's Hawk rarely ever misses its target.  Besides using the speed and agility, the bird also relies upon stealth in its quest for a meal.   Just last year, I watched as a young hawk fly into the hickory tree just above the feeders.  Before dawn, it would take its station in the tree to await the songbirds that would come for breakfast.  Then, at daybreak, it would choose its prey and swoop down for an easy meal.

  I used to enjoy watching the birds come to the feeders but since the hawks have moved into the area, that is not an option.  It is not up to me to fatten the doves for a hawk's meal.  Now, the feeders sit empty and my songbirds have moved to other areas.  Perhaps, if the food source is removed, the hawks will find another breeding ground, as well.   My yard is not their diner!

  Finding the feathers this morning made me sad for the songbird but, in a weird (almost morbid) way, glad for the hawk.  If the hawk is able to catch prey, then it is healthy. I do enjoy watching the hawks but wish they would eat the voles that plague the garden instead of the songbirds that visit the feeders. 

Be Safe, Little One, Be Safe!

  Back during the summertime, I had reasonable amount of concern about the mother rail and her chicks.  Mama had nested near the pier and hatched four of her eggs.  The little black fuzzballs scampered about the marsh and mudflats with great jubilation.  They were the cutest little chicks that I saw all summer.  Sadly, one by one, the chicks disappeared until only one remained.  My concern was that some predator was dining upon the baby chicks and would soon devour all of them.  Just days before I found the chicks, I had seen two quite large watersnakes in the same area.  I worried that those might even decide to make a meal of Mama Rail given the chance.  I watched the mama and her lone chick as they scavenged the mudflats for any tidbits they could find.  I, also,  observed Mama teaching her little one to be wary of intruders.  This gave me hope that the little one would survive.

  A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that the youngster was quite on its own.  It had grown into a handsome bird and was doing well as it fed upon the fiddler crabs.  I assumed that Mama Rail had left it on its own near the pier as she knew there was a good food supply there.  

  Then a new predator came on the scene.  The Cooper's Hawk was seen eyeing the young bird.  This hawk has left its mark on the population of the songbirds in the yard to the point that I have had to stop filling the feeders.  By supplying the birds with a ready source of food, I was also fattening them for the hawk.  While I could at least make an attempt to protect the songbirds, there was not a lot I could do to help the rail.  Hopefully, the hawk will deem the bird a bit too large and have second thoughts about attacking it.  That little rail family has had enough problems.  They do not need to be harassed by the hawk.  Go away, hawk!  Leave my little friend alone!

Heartbroken

  The songbirds here on the Bayou have been having a most terrible time this spring.  What with a Screech Owl and two Rat Snakes raiding the nests of the little ones, Crows and squirrels snatching eggs as soon as they are laid and now the Cooper's Hawk murdering the adult birds, things are not looking good.  This evening just before dark, I heard a familiar sort of "clucking" noise.  Hmmm?  Where had I heard that before?  Then it dawned on me.  The Cooper's Hawk was in the yard again.  Oh, geez!  I have taken down the bird feeders for this very reason. This hawk is great at staking out a place near the feeders and then attacking when the songbirds come to feed.  But the feeders are down...and have been for some time now.  Why is the hawk still here?  I figure that it has a nest nearby and needs food for its little ones and one of my fat Mourning Doves fit the bill readily.

  I headed outside to see if I could prevent at least one murder of the slow-moving doves.  Perhaps my presence would make the hawk move to other parts.  It did not happen as planned.  Just as I stepped out the gate, I heard the soft twittering of a dove's wings as it rose from the far end of the rose garden.  Before I could even take two steps, a flash of wings and the dove was in the clutches of the hawk.  I wish I had not seen that.

  Even though I was too late, I still meandered over to where the cruel deed had been done.  A single feather floated softly down from above. My poor dove.  It seems as if the predators are winning this year and there is nothing that I can do to change that fact.  I guess I should be happy that the little ones of the predators are well fed.........I guess.  I do like the hawks.  I just do not like them eating my songbirds!

That did not go as planned.

  There are times in life when things just don't go as planned.  To (mis)quote Robert Burns "The best laid schemes of mice and men, often go awry."  This, it seems, also pertains to birds.  No matter how well things are laid out in order to build the perfect nest, to lay those perfect eggs and hatch said perfect eggs, things can go wrong.....oh, so terribly wrong.  

  The pair of mockingbirds (that decided to put the chickadees out of their cozy nesting box) met such a moment of things going awry today. Their nest atop of the rose arbor did seem to be the perfect homesite. The sharp thorns of the roses made a thatched roof above Mama Mockingbird as she sat on the five blotchy blue eggs.  By my calculations, yesterday should have been hatching day for the eggs. The world seemed perfect from most aspects...that is, until this morning.  At daybreak, I heard the the pair of mockingbirds fussing at something.  I did not think too much of this since they have a tendency to fuss at Ms. Nycto, the princess cat whenever she walks under their nest.  Perhaps I should have taken notice but, then again, perhaps I should not mess with the course of nature.  The birds' anxiety was not on account of Nycto but rather a hawk.  The small Cooper's Hawk raided the nest. Mama Mockingbird met her demise as she tried to shield her little ones.  The hawk made quick work of her and once she could no longer defend the helpless little ones, they were devoured on site.  Her limp body was carted off to the hawk's nest where she became food for its little brood.  That circle of life was in full swing this morning.

  I am saddened by the loss of Mama Mockingbird and the little ones.  I do believe that she was one of the orphans that I raised a few years back.  She was just too tame not to be.  But, as I have said before, Karma has a way of biting back at those who treat others unjustly.  As much as I love the mockingbirds, they set themselves up for this loss by ousting the chickadees from their nesting site.  There is plenty of room around the Bayou for all to have cozy nests. Now this nest sits empty save for a few bits of fluff.  Those are the remains of the tiny birds.  Now the arbor sits empty of either nest....mockingbirds or chickadees.  Sad.

A Cat, a Hawk and a Little Bird

  Whether it is a sign of a hard winter that will take its toll on much of the wildlife or whether it has just been a prolific summer for birds, there has been a lot of nesting going on around the Bayou. Normally during late summer, the birds fatten themselves up for the coming winter. They are not having families that take a lot of care and are physically draining for the mother bird.  The little ones born in the spring are well on their way to adulthood and can fend for themselves.  They are not dependent on their parents.  Late nesting produces little ones that will not have fully developed into maturity by winter and therefore it will be doubtful they will survive the cold when food is short.  But, on the other hand, as a matter of survival of a species, there could be an innate urge to mass reproduce if there is an indication of a severe weather phenomenon. Survival of the fittest and all of that.

   I noticed a small Brown Thrasher out by the compost this afternoon and thoughts of its chances of survival this winter were quite grim.  The poor little thing seemed lost as it was.  I can only imagine its struggles during the cold.  While I was watching the little bird, things took a turn for the worse for it.  Its woes had already begun.  A Cooper's Hawk swooped down and tried to make supper of the juvenile Brown Thrasher.  There was a bit of a toss and tumble event going on when Ms. Put, the Bayou Queen wandered into the picture.  Now she would have normally made quick work of the little bird but just her presence saved its life.  Although unintentional, when she meandered around the canebrake, the hawk became startled.  That momentary lapse in attention was just what the little thrasher needed to make a hasty retreat into the compost pile.  Ms. Put had no intention whatsoever of attacking the hawk (hawks have been known to attack cats!) but the hawk had no way of knowing that.  It eyed the Bayou Queen with a wary countenance.  You could just see the concern in its face.  The standoff only lasted a few seconds but the cat won.  The hawk, still hungry, flew to the top of the pine tree and let out a cackling alarm.  Ms. Put continued her leisurely stroll past the compost without even paying heed to the bird.  Little Bird hid beneath the morning glories that covered the fence.  All was well.

   This was one of the few times that I have ever gone outside without my camera.  The chance of a lifetime photographing the true to life incident would have been exciting.  Once I did retrieve the camera, the hawk and Ms. Put were long gone.  Little bird came out for a single picture before he made a clean break for the middle of the canebrake!  Stay put, Little Bird, stay put!   You have a lot to learn before the bleak winter ahead.

The Odd Couple!

Now a conundrum..do owls and hawks get along together well enough to become friends?  To answer this, I researched all I could  find on both the Great Horned Owl and the Cooper's Hawk..the two birds in question.  Most all I could find said that there is no way that these two birds should be friendly with one another. The Great Horned Owl should be a predator to the smaller Cooper's Hawk, yet, it seems as if I have a pair that are buddies. Early this morning, my friendly mockingbird awoke me at the crack of dawn.  Normally, I would have gotten up and headed to the pier to watch the sunrise but this morning a fine mist of rain and distant thundering changed the plans.  I sat listening to the mockingbird and staring out the window.  Suddenly, the watchbirds of the Bayou sent up a ruckus!  The blue jays had found some intruder and they were not about to sit idly by and let it interrupt their peaceful morning.  After a few minutes, I heard the telltale call of a Cooper's Hawk come from the nearby pine tree.  Aha!  So that was the culprit!  Rain or not, I slipped out the front door and to the rose arbor.  From there, I could see the pine tree but also get a bit of shelter.  Sure enough, I saw a large bird in the treetop!   I took a few pictures before retreating into the Little Bayou House.  I knew better than getting my camera soaked!  I had my picture of the hawk and was plenty satisfied.

Great Horned Owl waiting for breakfast.

Imagine my surprise when I viewed the pictures and found that I had not photographed a hawk at all!  Where there should have been a slender hawk was none other than the Great Horned Owl!  Now that was strange!  Surely, I had not misheard or imagined the call of the Cooper's Hawk.  It is very distinct.  But..pictures do not lie.  I had taken a picture of an owl.  Hmmm?  By this time, the rain was harder and the smaller birds had chased the predator far down into the Bayou.  For now, there was peace at the feeders.

Great Horned Owl on the lower limb of a pine tree.  Cooper's Hawk sitting just above.  These two seem to be unlikely friends.

A bit later, I heard the same ruckus.  This time it was back behind the shed so I had a bit of cover.  Sure enough, I heard the Cooper's Hawk call.  Surely, that owl was not mimicking a hawk!  I photographed the owl.  After about five minutes of staring at the owl, I heard the call again.  The owl had not made the noise!  Just above the owl was a hawk!  The same two birds were once again in the same tree.  As matter of fact, they were just a few feet apart!  I watched as the blue jays pestered the poor hawk. None were even noticing the owl for the moment. Finally having enough of this torment, the hawk flew down behind the peach orchard.  To my surprise, the owl followed and landed in the same Black Gum tree that the hawk had chosen.  This was getting too strange!

Cooper's Hawk eyeing the doves at the bird feeder.

Were these two friends?  Was there some sort of relationship based on food supply?  Was the owl using the hawk to deter the wrath of the blue jays?  I have no clue but whatever the attraction is between this odd couple, it seems to be working.  I will keep watch on the feeders to see if either or both raptors are hiding nearby.  My poor doves will be double-teamed!