Spring Sunset

It's a peaceful spring evening and I am outside on the back deck enjoying my new fire pit and a pretty sunset. The birds are singing their evening serenades and the bull frogs are tuning their banjos. I love this time of day when the creatures go to bed, the air calms and the colors wane. I am enjoying the crackle of a pine wood fire and the smell of wood smoke wafting through the air. My senses are calmed and soothed by such pleasurable surroundings. It's moments like this I thank God that I'm alive.

This afternoon I planted lettuce and spinach seeds. Since I don't have a conventional garden I decided to use them at the front of the flowerbeds as edging plants. Granted, lettuce and spinach make odd edging but once we've eaten them all, they will be gone. I also planted some tomato seeds at a corner of the back deck and placed a tomato cage above them. It's a hot location, something tomatoes are fond of.

A Bald Eagle flew over our field tonight and I just now saw a Red-Tail hawk soar just feet above it, heading to the windbreak to roost for the evening. How lucky I am to have so many large raptors feel this safe here on the Twelve Acres! How many people get to see a Bald Eagle fly through their back yard so regularly?

My cousins are out enjoying this lovely weather too. I hear them going around the family property on their four wheeler. I checked all the trees I planted and so far it looks like they are doing well. I lost a few that were planted last November, but they were free so I'm not upset about it. I planted 6 white birch trees yesterday before I went to work and I used them to replace those that didn't make it.

On a very sad note, Oscar was ousted from his nest box yesterday by Starlings. I was so upset! I put a bounty on those Starlings though, and rest assured, we will kill them. I am not worried about Oscar and his family. There are plenty of cavity nests all around the property. It's just that I was hoping I'd get to see him and his mate raise a brood so close to the house. I absolutely despise Starlings and I'd like to slap whoever it was that decided it would be a good idea to import them from England. They are a scourge to our native cavity nesting species!

Graphing Trap Results

Spring is fast approaching and I am looking forward to being able to watch the local birds raise their young in the nest boxes we've provided around the twelve acres. I trapped another starling today and recorded the bird on the graph I created to help me visualize my results. I've trapped 56 European starlings since the beginning of January. The coldest days bring them out in large groups. As they migrate I no doubt will catch many more. Thankfully, my husband Jim is able to help out by shooting at large flocks of them as they pass through our area. Today he managed to get 12 of them. Hooray for our side!

I have not caught any House sparrows since January 21. I don't quite know what to make of this since these birds do not migrate. Should I allow myself to feel victorious in my efforts to eliminate the local population? Perhaps! Even on the very snowy bitter days I only see one or two at the feeders, a huge reduction in the mobs that I used to see back in October. It's so nice to see the native birds at the feeders relaxing and enjoying a meal without any pressure from aggressive HOSPs!

The graphs shows something else I should feel really good about--I've caught many more males than females. Since males are the ones who wreak havoc on Bluebirds, and many other native cavity nesters, it is the male HOSP one should strive to destroy. Without a mate, a female will simply move on without attempting to raise the young on her own. My tally so far is 64 males and 29 females for a total of 93 birds since November 17, 2007. Fantastic!

Owls at Work?

By my records, I have trapped and dispatched 42 European starlings and 94 house sparrows since I got my sparrow trap last October. I love this trap because it attracts the non-natives and gives me the opportunity to kill them humanely without harming the native species in any way. The occasional Dark-Eyed Junco, House Finch or Tree Sparrow gets trapped but I can easily release them unharmed--and it's a great opportunity to see the native species up close.

Here's a photo from the seller's website showing a sparrow trap full of quarry:

I haven't killed all the starlings I've trapped. I have clipped the primaries on a dozen of them and released them during particularly harsh winter weather to give the raptors an easy meal. Apparently, it worked (see photo at bottom). I've found two dead starlings with clipped wings in the windbreak, both headless. My first thought upon finding them was that the screech owls caught them and only had the heads for a meal. I've read that, in good times, Saw-Whet owls will eat only the heads of mice, but I seriously doubt there are any Saw-Whets here. I hope other birders with more experience than me will chime in and offer their opinions.

To the uninitiated this practice of trapping invasives and killing them probably seems harsh. But it's a bird eat bird world out there and I feel that I'm helping the local cavity nesters by eliminating as much of their competition as I can. I cringe at the thought of finding starlings nesting in one of my owl or duck boxes! I read an article about managing bluebird trails that simply stated it is irresponsible on the part of the bluebird landlord to place nest boxes for them and not monitor them to prevent competition from non-natives. Trapping is legal since invasive species are not protected under federal laws and in some areas it is encouraged by wildlife authorities.

Cooper's Diner

Welcome to "Cooper's Diner". This Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) stops at the feeder occasionally to see if he can snatch an unwary songbird. I have yet to see him succeed in grabbing a light snack (pardon the pun). If I am watchful enough I know I'll someday get to see him catch a bird.

Cooper's Hawks have the nickname "chicken hawk" because one of their favorite meals is also one of our favorite meals...chicken. Birders don't always appreciate hawks attacking the songbirds they feed, but we must realize that all birds play an important role in the avian world-predator and prey alike.

I welcome all birds to my yard with the exception of two: House (European) Sparrows and European Starlings. Both are non-native species introduced in the last century. Since they are non-native, trapping and killing them is not only legal but in some localities, encouraged. If you think it's cruel, you should read up on how House Sparrows invade the nests of our native songbirds and kill the young, toss eggs out and even kill the adults if they are lucky enough to trap one inside a nest box. Starlings compete with our native owls, woodpeckers and flickers for nesting cavities. These two species are a perfect example of what can happen when we introduce exotic species into our habitats.

Fortunately, raptors like the Cooper's Hawk, Sharp-Shinned Hawk, and American Kestrel are very adept at capturing small birds like House Sparrows and Starlings. It is best if mankind leaves nature alone to follow its natural course. Things go terribly awry when we interfere and try to manage nature.