OK, so birds

[j44ke]

We had squirrels molesting our suet feeders. Now we have a red-tailed hawk. I haven't seen a squirrel in weeks.

[echappist]

Saw my first rose-breasted grosbeak earlier this week. And if i'm not mistaken (I may very well be), I think I saw his mate as well. Hard to tell, as the suspected female grosbeak otherwise looks like a sparrow of some sort.

Also found an active nest in a small evergreen, and I'd like to know if someone could help me identify the species (singular or plural) responsible.

It's quite a small cup-shaped nest, and I'd suspect it's the nest of a house finch. The interesting thing is that one of the eggs doesn't look like the other three, and I wonder if there's brood parasitism going on. I don't recall seeing too many cowbirds around, but I may just have been careless. Anyone has suggestions on what bird(s) may be responsible here?

[j44ke]

Cowbird egg definitely. Note both the speckles and the rounded shape. You can help out by tossing it if you want. Otherwise the cowbird will hatch and push the other eggs out or the other nestlings. But usually the cowbird hatches first. Or let nature take its course. House finches were originally a bird of the western US but have moved eastward over the last 20-30 years, competing successfully with purple finches, chipping sparrows and juncos, and other birds for nest sites and habitat. Cowbirds are native US birds who moved eastward far longer ago but also expanded territory. So they deserve each other?

[ides1056]

Let's have a poll:

I vote ditch the cowbird egg.

[echappist]

Cowbird egg definitely. Note both the speckles and the rounded shape. You can help out by tossing it if you want. Otherwise the cowbird will hatch and push the other eggs out or the other nestlings. But usually the cowbird hatches first. Or let nature take its course. House finches were originally a bird of the western US but have moved eastward over the last 20-30 years, competing successfully with purple finches, chipping sparrows and juncos, and other birds for nest sites and habitat. Cowbirds are native US birds who moved eastward far longer ago but also expanded territory. So they deserve each other?

Thanks for the ID. In that case, I'll let nature sort it out then. I was really hoping that one egg wouldn't be a cowbird egg, but alas. At least it wasn't a house sparrow nest (though cowbird parasites in a house sparrow nest would be quite the karmic pairing).

Let's have a poll:

I vote ditch the cowbird egg.

Well, if the Migratory Bird Act weren't the law of the land, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Effing freeloaders. But alas, hands are figuratively tied

I just really hope that the cowbirds haven't gotten to the cardinal nest located in a similar evergreen across the street (I see the male cardinal constantly flying into and out of the foliage of this particular tree).

Some sneaky creatures the cowbirds are. I don't think i've seen them at all this year, but they've already left quite the mark. This particular nest was quite difficult to spot, too. I actually saw an abandoned one located next to it and was going to check that one out; instead, I accidentally came upon this active one. And to think that the cowbird observed all of this and executed its plan. I doubt if the one responsible is even within 10 miles of where I am.

[ides1056]

You are so right.

My apologies.

There's a local group that hunts coyotes with collared dogs. Makes me sick. Wrong of me to think to tip Nature's hand.

[j44ke]

Basic rule of bird nests is that if a person can find it, everyone else knows where it is.

[echappist]

Basic rule of bird nests is that if a person can find it, everyone else knows where it is.

And on that note, I found a robin's nest located in a not-so-dense shrub outside my kitchen window, located at 1.5 stories above ground. I saw signs of construction yesterday, but the nest is close to completion today. It would be a miracle if anything hatches though, as we often have squirrels and chipmunks in the general vicinity. Oh well.

[SlowPokePete]

I've got multiple (like more than five) bird nests under construction in my carport.

SPP

[SlowPokePete]

I've got multiple (like more than five) bird nests under construction in my carport.

SPP

Correction, four under construction, one already occupied with mama bird sitting on eggs.

SPP

[echappist]

Correction, four under construction, one already occupied with mama bird sitting on eggs.

SPP

Indication as to the species present?

Also, the cowbird apparently is hanging around. One more cowbird egg in the finch nest, along with one more finch egg. So total of four finch eggs and two cowbird eggs.

[davids]

I somehow missed this thread first time around, so thanks for resurrecting it!

We’ve got a birdbath, berries and trees here in leafy Boston, and I get real joy out of watching our avian neighbors enjoying our small yard. Sparrows, titmouses, Jays, robins, doves and now, I’m pretty sure, a hawk in the small woods behind us.

I was out in the yard today, washing our windows, toting around a bucket and ladder. And the sparrows and at least one robin gave me a mere glance before continuing on with their business.

I have also identified at least 4 species of bees working our plants.

[SlowPokePete]

Indication as to the species present?

Really hard to get a look...

SPP

[echappist]

I somehow missed this thread first time around, so thanks for resurrecting it!

We’ve got a birdbath, berries and trees here in leafy Boston, and I get real joy out of watching our avian neighbors enjoying our small yard. Sparrows, titmouses, Jays, robins, doves and now, I’m pretty sure, a hawk in the small woods behind us.

I was out in the yard today, washing our windows, toting around a bucket and ladder. And the sparrows and at least one robin gave me a mere glance before continuing on with their business.

I have also identified at least 4 species of bees working our plants.

neat. i like bumble bees

[echappist]

Also, the cowbird apparently is hanging around. One more cowbird egg in the finch nest, along with one more finch egg. So total of four finch eggs and two cowbird eggs.

Update, the finch nest is on the other side of the wall of where my home office is. While looking outside my office window, my wife and I saw a crow perched on the roof of my neighbor and holding something in its beak. Took a second for me to realize that it was a finch egg. And to think, i haven’t seen crows at all recently (when it’s common to see a murder of them around at times)

After the crow flew away, i checked on the finch nest. Out of the four finch eggs and two cowbird eggs, only a sole cowbird egg remains. Cue “Circle of Life”.

I really hope one robin would hatch in the robin’s nest outside of my kitchen, but i have a feeling that predators will get to the eggs first. Perhaps for the better, as the robins could (and should) rebuild somewhere a bit more out of sight.

[j44ke]

We have three crow nests around our house. During breeding season, they are completely different. Very quiet mostly. Spend a lot of time on the ground looking for snacks for the kids. The kids are really noisy when the parents show up. That’s how I know where the nests are. These crows are part of a larger clan that hangs out all winter at our neighbors’ house, because they throw out corn for the turkeys. Probably about 30-35 crows total. If a hawk shows up in the sky overhead, the quiet is broken as the all-hands alarm goes up and suddenly there are a lot of crows yelling. Because there three species of hawk nesting here too - red-tailed, red-shouldered, and broad-winged - there are often these running skirmishes until the hawks get out of the no-fly zone. Coincidentally, the neighbors two houses down got chickens - very beautiful assortment of many different types - and while the hawks would love a chicken, they can’t get past the anti-aircraft defenses of the crows. So the raccoons got a couple but no hawks, thanks to the crows. I whistle to them when they fly over and they always wheel around to give me a second look, and when I am working outside, they always know where I am and make a call that must be something like “here he is” in crow language. Amazing really how many non-“cawcaw” calls they have. Super smart. Those finches probably never had a chance.

[j44ke]

Bluebirds are both feeding heavily this morning so there must be hatchlings in the box now. Would be right on schedule. The number of bugs they’ve caught just this morning is pretty incredible. I think I will see if I can fit 4 more houses for next year in the sunny areas at the front of the property where there are some grassy openings.

[echappist]

Bluebirds are both feeding heavily this morning so there must be hatchlings in the box now. Would be right on schedule. The number of bugs they’ve caught just this morning is pretty incredible. I think I will see if I can fit 4 more houses for next year in the sunny areas at the front of the property where there are some grassy openings.

Have you ever set up a nest cam? Would be a cool thing to witness.

[j44ke]

Have you ever set up a nest cam? Would be a cool thing to witness.

No I haven't. They are very popular, so I guess they must not be horribly complicated?

[echappist]

No I haven't. They are very popular, so I guess they must not be horribly complicated?

One would hope so. Main things to consider would be power and storage. I'm not well versed with either, but I would think wired power would be bad, as it gives predators a way into the house. A battery mounted one on the roof of the bird house is probably the best option, with a replacement battery swapped in every few days.

I often see youtube videos providing continuous feed for days, and I have no idea how those are powered. They would seem to be a bad idea for song birds (if powered via a wire).
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Also, a few more bird-related developments.

On the same neighbor's roof where we saw a crow eating a finch's egg, I saw what I thought looked like a nest. Sure enough, it's the same finch's nest (which was completely empty yesterday). My guess is that the cowbird was checking on it earlier today and noticed that it was empty. In its thuggish rage, it expended energy to tear apart the nest (which was abandoned anyway). It's probably too dumb to surmise that it was the crow who made the eggs disappear, and not the finches. I already don't have anything positive to say about cowbirds, this just makes me think even worse of them. At least the cuckoo is known to eat certain types of caterpillars deemed too noxious by other birds. I'm not sure what's redeeming about cowbirds...

Also, a mourning dove flew into our garage, and it was making quite the ruckus. We really don't want it to nest inside the garage and resorted to banging a metal watering can with an aluminum bike handlebar to get it to fly off of the rafters. Thankfully, that mostly worked, and the poor thing eventually flew low enough that I was able to corner it, grab it, and release it outside.

Lastly, the robin's nest outside of the kitchen seems somewhat abandoned (and I really hope that's the case). Over half of the time I checked on Saturday (indoors, from my kitchen), the robin was there. I saw it once yesterday, and I have yet to see it today. As you can see, it's quite out in the open and quite low to the ground (slightly above my AC's condenser unit), and I took this picture from the same deck where squirrels frequent. I always wondered why robins loved mailboxes and window sills as nest sites, and I can see why now. At least there's almost no chance of predation from land-based mammals when the nest is located high enough. And if the nest is under an eave, most raptors probably wouldn't bother either. Still won't save it from crows though.