To Catch a Mockingbird Monday, Nov 27 2006

***Written by Brian***

You know how we feed mealworms to the bluebirds, and keep nestboxes for them. Well, this year, the mockingbirds have discovered mealtime, and two of them always come around to eat. A mockingbird is about the size and shape of a blue jay, and they’re pretty aggressive, while the bluebirds are about the size of a house sparrow and not aggressive at all.

The mockingbirds are more afraid of people than the bluebirds are, so it’s not too difficult to frighten them away without scaring the bluebirds. They’re welcome to eat, too, but the bluebirds are the primary customers.

Around thursday, we noticed one of our mockingbirds had been injured. A broken beak – missing somewhere between half and two-thirds of it. Here’s a picture, taken through the dirty glass door. A normal mockingbird beak is long and pointed.

With that broken beak, the bird can’t pick up the mealworms. At first it was hard to tell, but by saturday evening, she was begging the other mockingbird to feed her (standing with mouth agape, like baby birds do) and actively chasing away all of the other birds.

I called the Ohio wildlife rehab people, and they said that if I could catch her, they’d take her in.

So, how do you catch a mockingbird? I thought my sister (who knows about such things) might have an idea better than mine, which was to take a swing with a butterfly net. She suggested a trap – something I could coax the bird into, and then close the door on.

I found some 2×4’s, bird netting (meant to keep them off the berries) and some thin rope in the basement. I made a big cage on the deck with a door that would fall shut with a pull on the rope.

He came back during dinner, and looked at the setup, but didn’t go in. I took it apart and decided to try again in the morning.

This morning, at breakfast time, I set it all up again and waited by the door with the trigger rope in my hand. The broken-beaked bird showed up, and set about chasing everyone else away. I looked away for a minute and when I looked back, she was inside! I pulled the rope, the door fell shut, and she was safely trapped inside.

I went out to get her, put her in a cardboard box and took her and the boys to the wildlife rehab place across town. The folks there were unsure if the beak will grow back, saying it may be too damaged, but the only way to tell is to feed her and see. The vet will be in on monday to evaluate her further.

I checked the “please call me when her issue is resolved” box, and it turns out we may be able to release her back into the wild at our house when (if) she heals well enough, which may take several months.

A pretty exciting day. And a whole new perspective on mockingbirds.

2 Responses »

 

Why I Think Blue is an Autumn Color Thursday, Oct 26 2006

It is autumn here and cold early. This is the time of year when all of the bluebirds that raised babies or were raised in our backyard flock together for warmth. It’s also when they come begging regularly for an easy meal on our deck. We happily feed them. They are a joy to watch and so amazingly blue this time of year because they molted in August.

2 Responses »

 

Sam’s Request (or a fabulous trip to the park) Wednesday, May 24 2006

A couple of weeks ago Sam chose as one of his rewards to be a trip to our local nature preserve. We couldn’t go at the time because of weather, but we let him make another choice and told him we would still go to the park as soon as the opportunity arose. Well, we (all 4 of us) made the time to go today because Sam was still requesting this trip daily.

We had a blast. He loves to go down to the river (the Olentangy if you want to know) and throw rocks in the water. Both boys do… let me rephrase…all three of them do. Me, I like to look at the nature. We were all very well rewarded in our pursuits.

Spotted today:
-Lots and lots of wildflowers
-A snail about the size of a nickel. His shell was transluscent so you could see his body tucked up inside.
-Tons of rocks and shells and lots of water in the river and lots of trees.
-Shelf fungus-big mushrooms on dying trees that look like shelves sticking out.
-Deer, raccon and squirrel tracks in the mud
-A squirrel just across from a little bit of standing water. He was rooting and eating and didn’t much care we were there.
-Two downy woodpeckers going back and forth to a neat hole in a dying tree. And there was much chirping coming from inside the hole. I’ve seen these kind of woodpeckers before, but never seen a nest and certainly not seen them going to it.
-A baltimore oriole and its cup shaped nest high high up in a sycamore tree.
-A wren poking in and out of it’s nest in a dead tree right on the river bank.
-A red bellied woodpecker on a tree.

We had a great time and are going to try to go back again more often.

Here’s the oriole…look for the orange and black spot.

Here’s the squirrel:

2 Responses »

 

Swallows Wednesday, May 24 2006

Alex found a half of a tiny white eggshell in the yard and the swallows have been busy going in and out of their box. Brian checked on them last night and they hadn’t hatched so they must have hatched this morning!

Comments Off

 

Another nest! Tuesday, May 23 2006

I just discovered a robin’s nest in one of the maple trees in our front yard. A couple of times they’ve tried to make a nest there and found a better place, but this time they’re doing it while there are lots of leaves on the tree so maybe they’ll stay!

This makes me feel better since I hit a robin on the road the other day…well, he hit me-flew right under the van and left a huge puff of feathers behind. Ugh.

Comments Off

 

Bluebird update 5/23/06 Tuesday, May 23 2006

I spotted three bluebird fledglings this morning on my way home from taking Alex to the bus stop. They are still not proficient flyers or landers. They kind of flap all over the place and don’t get their landings quite right the first time. Glad to see at least three of them are doing well. Momma, Daddy and Uncle are still helping to feed them. We put mealworms out for them and they all grab beakfulls and fly off.

Momma bluebird was in the nestbox today. She’s started fixing up the nest for her next brood. Yeah! More baby bluebirds!

2 Responses »

 

Nest and Garden Update May 17, 2006 Wednesday, May 17 2006

All 5 of the baby bluebirds left the nest yesterday. Regretably, I missed their departures. It’s so fun to watch them leave the nest. Their unsure flights are quite entertaining and cause me to hold my breath for a safe landing. Momma bluebird encourages them. It’s a good show…if you can catch it. It is likely that they will start a second brood in a couple of weeks.

Also, Hubby finally got a good look in the tree swallow box. There are 6 eggs! I think that’s a record!

And today we released five painted butterflies out into the wild. The caterpillars were a gift for Alex’s birthday. It was fun to watch them go. I’ll try to get pictures up.

One Response »

 

Nest and Garden Update Wednesday, May 10 2006

We have 5 baby bluebirds in our bluebird box. They appear to be doing very well. Their eyes are open and their feathers coming in.
Bluebirds are very curious and tolerant birds. They don’t ever attack when we check the box. They just fly to the nearest tree as if to say, “I’m watching you.” It’s fun to see the parents flying back and forth with food.

Brian has to check the swallow box. It’s too high for me to do it without a stool and one does not just stick one’s hand in a swallow nest. They don’t easily leave the nest once they’re on the eggs. I could open the box, put my hand in there and get nipped by a swallow mama. I’ll let Brian look instead. I’m guessing there are 5 eggs like the last two years. They only have one brood. If all goes well the bluebirds will have two…the year of the Brood X Cicadas they had three broods (lots of extra food that year.)

Alex made a birdhouse out of a wood kit he got for Christmas. He’s even painted it and put a welcome sign on it. He wants to put that on our fence too so maybe somebirdy will nest there. We’ll have an even busier yard!

One Response »

 

Nest and Garden Update Saturday, Apr 15 2006

There are five eggs in the bluebird box and Mama bluebird and started sitting on them.

The tree swallows are working on their nest slowly, but they have a few signature feathers already collected to line the nest.

The daffodils are in their glory, the ornamental cherry bush bloomed today, and the redbud is preparing to bloom. I also got new supports for my peonies. They are going to need them as they are so full and last year they got so tall their smaller supports weren’t quite tall enough. There are so many little buds on it I can’t wait for them to bloom.

The Bradford Pear trees are all blooming around here too. This fall we will buy one and plant one in the yard.
It will be Dave’s tree. And when it blooms we will think of him.

2 Responses »

 

Nests! Spring 2006 #2 Sunday, Apr 2 2006

The bluebirds have started making a nest in their box. They are also doing a grand job keeping away intruders. They needed a bit of assitance with an intruding English Sparrow (aka Evil Bird). Brian dispatched him with one shot and, what he calls a “satisfying puff of feathers.”

The tree swallows are hanging out on their box-even dive bombing the blue birds when they choose to land on the swallow box.
It’s a comical sight. It’s also funny how they like to spend a lot of time in their box with their heads poking out the hole.

And we made a new discovery today while mulching all the beds. (Sunday night is Jennifer soak in the tub night-I need it today..) Brian discovered a rabbit nest. Usually when they make them they make a little cup in tall grass and risk the lawnmower. This time they are near the deck where the soil from the flower beds is heaped up. She dug into the side of that heap. Good place for a hole. Appearantly she didn’t like part of the landscaping of her new property and chewed in several places the orange extension cord that runs from the plug around the house to the bird bath to power the bird bath heater. She chewed the copper! I’m guessing it wasn’t plugged in at the time. I think it’s sweet to have babies in our backyard. Even if their momma does eat my crocuses and my lettuce and spinach! I’m looking forward to when they are big enough to leave the nest….they will still be little and will hang around the flower beds.

Update: Momma Rabbit moved the babies to a new nest last night-I don’t know where. Not unheard of especially with us mulching and moving things around there yesterday and I saw Carla dog checking out that spot last night. I’m sad that they’re not there, sad that we interfered and caused her more work but glad to know that she’s taking good care of them.

One Response »