[birding] Lazy gardeners, busy birders

[Lisa Millbank]

6/7/09 


Don & I went to work on our garden plot at the community gardens at Starker Park.  We did pull weeds & get the potatoes planted, but we were distracted by the birds most of the time! 
Violet-green Swallows, Tree Swallows, Black-capped Chickadees, and Western Bluebirds are nesting in boxes at the garden right now, and the Western Scrub-Jays and American Crows have some fledglings. 
We started feeding the friendly pair of scrub-jays we've known for 3 years.  They knew they'd get peanuts as soon as we parked the bikes.  Their gray-headed little ones begged and whined, looking overwhelmed by the world outside their nest. 
I was suprised when the chickadees came over and hopped all over the bikes, and tried to carry away whole peanuts in the shell (which were too heavy for them).  I shelled and broke up some peanuts into my hand and pretty soon I had a cute little chickadee taking peanuts from my hand or off my knee!  What a delightful surprise.  Their babies were near fledging -- a couple had already left the box and the parents used food to try to coax the remaining babies from the box. 
Eventually a fledgling chickadee flew over and landed in a sequoia.  The parents were away feeding some of their other fledglings elsewhere.  One of the jays flew toward the tree, scaring the chickadee.  As it was only a novice flier and was just out of the nest, the chickadee flew hesitantly, while the jay expertly caught it in flight.  Right behind some tall grass, the jay killed it with a strong blow.  The jay had done all this in fewer than 10 seconds, there was no struggle.  It was difficult to see the baby killed, but we were impressed with the jay's hunting skills.  It's tough for the jays to find enough high-protein food for their own youngsters.  The baby chickadee was valuable food and was quickly taken to feed the young jays.  I know people sometimes dislike jays for this behavior, but I think it's a testament to their intelligence and resourcefulness.  On the other hand, I was glad that the chickadee parents didn't witness the killing, and that they didn't seem to notice they had one fewer baby when they returned.  Western Scrub-Jays are my favorite birds and I find their predatory side an interesting facet of their lives; I'm not disturbed by it. 
After that drama, the jays came and "helped" with the gardening, snapping up bugs as we turned the potato bed. 
We watched a House Sparrow collect nesting material, a pair of House Finches courting, and American & Lesser Goldfinches eating Sow Thistle seeds.  A male Western Bluebird allowed us to get some close videos.  To see some video stills from today, including the chickadee eating from my hand, a so-so picture of the jay with dead chickadee, etc., see http://groups.google.com/group/mid-valley-nature/browse_thread/thread/7705b2c201931ed6 


Lisa 
www.neighborhood-naturalist.com 
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