Squatter's Rights

I've been moving plants out of the greenhouse a little at a time and there's finally a clear view for a few pictures. 

The red spider mites are taking over the joint and the temperatures are topping out at over 100 degrees, but apparently some creatures find this environment appealing.  Looking through the front doors to the back south east corner, I found a little surprise.  

A female cardinal built her nest in the pencil cactus.

I guess the pencil cactus and plumeria providing nearby support are going to have to stick it out in the greenhouse a little longer while they play host to a family of cardinals.

I think Mrs. Cardinal has laid 3 eggs.  I've tried to respect her privacy and not invade her space too much.

She is very skitterish and doesn't hang around if I get too close.  One false move and out the window she goes with a squawk.

Through the back windows you can see that there are still a lot of plants in the greenhouse. Unloading will continue, but I'll work around the cardinals and try not to bother them too much.

Smaller plants get loaded into my trusty, faded yellow wagon and off they go to find a home under a shade tree.

Brown-headed Cowbird

Two weeks ago I was surprised and excited to find a new bird in my front yard.  My excitement quickly dissipated when I discovered the new visitor was a Brown-headed Cowbird.  Now I’m just beside myself wondering what to do as we appear to be Cowbird central for about 5 males and 4 females.

Male Brown-headed Cowbird

Cowbirds are bad news.  They are referred to as “brood parasites”, because they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds.  The female Cowbird lays about 40 eggs in a year.  Many of these eggs are laid in the nests of song birds.  

 

Some species of song birds such as the Black-capped Vireo may be threatened by these birds.  According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife website, “studies have shown that the removal of one female cowbird enhances the survival of 35 songbirds per year.”

Male Brown-headed Cowbird (left) and Female (right)

When the female Cowbird lays her egg in the nest of another bird, she will sometimes destroy one or more of the eggs already in the nest.  Sometimes the Cowbird chicks even push the other chicks out of the nest, so that the host bird ends up raising a Cowbird and no actual chicks of her own.  With this sort of behavior, it’s easy to see why many attribute the decline in the songbird population to the Cowbird.

Birdie Buffet with Surprise Visitor

We’re a little bird crazy at our house.  Our kitchen window is bird-theater central with five feeders providing a little something for all the birds that may be passing through. 

Check out the finch in mid-flight in the lower left corner of the picture below. 

Finch in Mid-Flight (lower left)

Busy Feeders

Each season brings different birds to the garden.  In the summer, the painted buntings are the stars and in the winter, the finches steal the show.  

The finches ability to eat upside down is so fascinating, I could watch for hours. They love nyger seed which is served up in a special feeder. The umbrella domed top helps keep the seed dry for these picky eaters.

During the shoulder seasons, Baltimore orioles and other exotic visitors pass through our yard, but Cardinals are our most colorful and constant visitors.  Cardinals will keep the same mate for multiple seasons, and I have witnessed males sharing food with their female mate.  It's very sweet to watch. 

The male is bright red and black, while the females are buff with an orange beak and redish tuft of feathers on their head.

Woodpeckers are frequent visitors to my feeders, so I bought a special feeder just for them.  Our new peanut feeder is specially designed for woodpeckers.  Weight sensitive perches protect the peanuts from being pillaged by unwelcome visitors.  I haven't spotted a woodpecker on my new peanut feeder yet but the chickadees seem to like it.

Woodpecker on Traditional Feeder

Chickadee on Peanut Feeder

Protecting feeders from squirrels and raccoons can be challenging.  Baffles are commonly used to keep climbing animals from creeping up poles.

Squirrel Baffle

Squirrel Baffle Closeup

Raccoon Baffle

Raccoon Baffle Closeup

A squirrel proof feeder with weight sensitive perches keeps even the most persistent critters from accessing the seed.

Safflower is highly desired by Cardinals, but the squirrels just leave it alone.

Unprotected feeders are free game for squirrels.  Squirrels will suck a feeder dry in a short period of time if you let them.  Unfortunately, they will destroy feeders, so it's best to keep them out of your bird feeders and provide them with separate ground feeders. 

Mr. Squirrel Climbs the Pole

Reaching for the Feeder

"The seed is mine for the taking", says Mr. Squirrel

Yum! Yum!

Giant Squirrel Finds a Home

Do you have a love hate relationship with squirrels in your garden?  I sure do.  Nothing is more infuriating than squirrels taste testing green tomatoes and tossing them aside only to move on to the next batch of green tomatoes.  

On the other hand, squirrels can be amusing garden companions.  I have often stopped to marvel at their sometimes perplexing and often entertaining antics.

I imagine pecan growers must share similar sentiments and yet Berdoll’s Pecan Farm on Highway 71 East has decided to embrace their conflicted feelings with a new giant squirrel monument.

The monument artist captured the essence of the squirrel perfectly. From one angle, he appears to be flaunting his pecan stealing craft, but from a different angle he appears to be more humble and almost, but not quite, penitent.

Critters in the Garden

Here in Central Texas this has been a difficult summer for gardeners and the critters who share our gardens with us.

This summer was so dry, bees visited my bird bath for the first time.  I thought they were thirsty, but apparently, the bees take the water droplets back to the hive for use as a sort of evaporative cooling system. 

Word got out and more bees came.  I'm usually better about cleaning my bird baths, but this year... well, how do you clean a bird bath full of bees?

Luckily, I have more than one bird bath, because this was the kind of summer where even the hawks felt like a swim.  This hawk came regularly throughout the summer to drink, swim, and do a little hunting now and then.

It was so hot, the frogs decided to become birds.

Even the lizards tried to blend into the furniture.

And, the squirrels, well, they tried to stay cool the best they could. 

The only critters who seem to take the heat in stride and go about their business was the road runners.  Beep! Beep!