[TN-Bird] Red-cockaded/goldfinch
- From: Dthomp2669@xxxxxxx
- To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 13:31:02 EST
At 11:00 AM today (Sunday), Public Television Channel 8 in Nashville had a
program on "Snakes". During the first quarter of the program, they had a
short segment about the red-cockaded woodpecker's "trap" for keeping its nest
protected for its worst enemies, snakes. It told how the woodpecker nests in
live pine trees, pecks holes just below the nest hole for protection. The
program then featured a corn snake crawling up the tree, showed the resin
seeping under the scales thus irritating the snakes tender flesh and, then,
the dramatic sudden fall of the snake from the tree when the irritation
became more than the snake could stand. The short segment ended with the
victorious red-cockaded peering out of the nest hole and flying off to tend
to business. Since PBS reruns all its programs several times, you might wish
to check your local listings for the program "Snakes" on NATURE. It's worth
a view. It sure reminded me of my Florida home to see a nesting red-cockaded
as I grew up watching one nest in a pine just off a state road right-of-way a
couple of miles from home. Of course, development came, the road and right
of way were widened, the nest pine demolished, and my adorable red-cockadeds
left!
My lone goldfinch that appeared during the seven inch snowfall was back this
morning feeding away on sunflower seeds. In just this week, he has begun
"yellowing-up" real good as one of my old-timey ornithologist friends used to
call it.
Yesterday afternoon, one of my "boss" mockingbirds came at my call to get its
peanut butter. The bird was so totally wringing wet through and through that
it reminded me of a drenched anhinga just as it emerges from under the water.
I have seldom seen a wetter bird. As soon as I had placed the peanut
butter, this mocker got down there an ate greedily as if it had not eaten for
hours.
By the way, even though my six mockers are bossy, I do not think they are
quite as possessive as the one Ann Varney writes about. Other birds can eat
at my feeder..............after my first-in-command pair of mockingbirds have
had their fill, then my second-in-command pair and the bottom-of-the-barrel
pair have finished. Even my sweet little Carolina wrens get into the peanut
butter. My mockers all fight the starlings which is fine with me. In the
past, even the young baby mocks fight adult starlings from the day one when
their parents get them to the feeder. Baby mocks learn to take care of
themselves in a hurry!
Cardinals are aggressive too. My white-crowned sparrow took a real "beaking"
from a male cardinal a few days ago. The w-c was feeding among several
cardinals on my deck, and, suddenly, one of the male cardinals dashed over to
the white crown and just went "peck, peck, peck, peck, peck", full force and
hard, right on the top of the sparrow's head. The sparrow flew to the deck
rail, acted a little stunned, stayed there, then came back and fed in peace
when the cardinals got full and left. The next day, I saw my white-crowned
out there at times when the cardinals were not. Lesson learned!
Go get a lifer today!
Dee Thompson
Nashville, TN
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