By Ann Mitchell (Contact)
Sunday, June 3, 2014
Charleston Post Courier (subscription), SC – Jun 3, 2014
Mockingbirds seem to be about as welcome around here as a cup of hot cocoa in August. Harold Perry of Walterboro recently asked for ideas on how to deter mockingbirds, which have been pestering the bluebirds trying to set up housekeeping in his yard.
In response to Harold’s request, I received a couple of not-so-humane suggestions — I’m sure you don’t need my help figuring out what they are — but readers also offered some live-and-let-live ideas and a few interesting stories.
“Mockingbirds are more than aggressive; they are the terrorists of the avian world,” writes Judith Lunsford of Mount Pleasant. “I live in Park West. I have had bluebirds nest for the last three years and, without fail, I have agonized over whether the parents, much less the babies, would survive mockingbird tyranny.”
Judith reports that she’s tried putting up a mockingbird feeder at some distance from her other feeder, but she says the mockingbirds just ended up feasting at both of them.
“The assertiveness of mockingbirds is not limited to bad manners at the feeder. This spring, I was home recuperating when the bluebirds began building their nest. Because I was immobile, I had a front-row seat as a bluebird couple meticulously gathered nesting material while mockingbirds swooped down and hissed at and pestered them. The male bluebird kept ‘watch’ while the female stuffed straw and twigs into the hole of the box. If the male bluebird left the rooftop and the female finished her nesting activity and wanted to escape from the house and the aerial attacks by the mockingbirds, the female would poke her head out the hole and wait for the male to return. He usually perched close by and would signal an all-clear. Even so, the bluebirds’ progress was frequently delayed when one or two mockingbirds sat on the roof of the nest box. It took six days of slow and steady building for the bluebirds to complete their task.”
She adds, “What I can offer Harold Perry is this: Bluebirds somehow survive mockingbird angst. Also, I observed that the mockingbirds feed quite early — 7 a.m. The bluebirds are early feeders, too, but the bluebird male always comes back around 8:30. If I spot the bluebird male, I immediately head out to the ground feeder, where I nestle four to six mealworms beside some large whole peanuts. The bluebird male nearly always spies the mealworms; often he takes a few back to the female, who is still brooding.”
Regina Ford of Wild Birds Unlimited in Mount Pleasant says some people have good luck with offering the mockingbirds their own feeder because the birds will protect it. “The key to alternative feeding is to locate the mockingbird’s feeder as close to her home as possible. If you can figure out which bushes she calls home, place a small open feeder on a shepherd’s crook. This will allow you to feed her a variety of seeds, dried fruit and occasional mealworms, which should keep her closer to home.”
If the mockingbirds are going after the mealworms you put out for the bluebirds, Regina recommends a cage to cover the mealworm feeder. The cages have a small mesh that lets the bluebirds in but keeps the mockingbirds and other big guys such as blue jays out.
Nest notes
Last Sunday’s column about whether to remove an old bluebird nest from the box to make way for a second brood drew a couple of notes.
Eddie McKnight, who lives in Cordesville and has numerous active bluebird boxes, writes, “Over 30 years of watching them nest, I have learned on my own (and read) that they almost always build a new nest on top of the old one. The problem is that multiple nests will rise up to the point that they will be near the hole, and the birds don’t like that because it’s easier for predators to reach in. They like to be at the bottom of the box. Therefore, I throw away the old nests immediately after they fledge.”
Albert Spung of Mount Pleasant says that about eight years ago, with the help of some other folks, he started building and putting up bluebird houses at Snee Farm Country Club. “At the present time there are 26 houses on the golf course. Last year 25 were used! Not all, however, by bluebirds — some by sparrows,” he writes. “Because no one monitors the houses on a regular basis, the nests are not removed until I do it in January prior to the nesting season. Many of the houses have two nests with one on top of the other. As a result of the number of houses now on the golf course and in the yards around the course, we are provided with a show of these beautiful birds when we play golf. Makes any kind of a game a good one.”
Strike one, two, etc.
Cardinals running into windows has been a problem for several readers. Dallas Ruark of Beaufort says cardinals have been running into the glass alongside his front door for several months, and Nancy and John Meyer of Summerville have had a similar problem. “We have tried a few things to deter her — hanging suncatchers, putting up a picture of a scarecrow, etc. Nothing works! Last year we had another smaller bird doing the same thing for about a month. It stopped as suddenly as it started. Just wondered why they do this and if anyone has tried anything to deter them that has worked.”
Barbara Spence of James Island has tried window decals and, like the Meyers, didn’t get good results. “Mr. Cardinal thinks he’s seeing another male cardinal and is protecting his territory by flying into the glass and trying to scare him off. I had the same problem with a male bluebird earlier this spring. I bought decals but I can’t say they did any good.”
Reader Laura Kunze of North Charleston recently passed along the name of a Web site devoted mostly to bluebirds, and it has a section on “window strikes.” The site, www.sialis.org/windowstrikes.htm, says that according to a March 2004 article in Audubon magazine, window strikes kill between 100 million and 1 billion birds in North America each year.
Among the reasons birds collide with glass, according to the site, are that they can’t see the glass at all because it’s transparent, or they see their own reflection and react territorially. The site also notes, “Bluebirds, cardinals and robins typically do this. Territorial window strikes are more common in springtime, but may occur year-round.” They can also happen in the fall when males birds get “a second flush of testosterone.”
There are quantities of ideas at the site for trying to deter window strikes, so check out that page online if you’re in need of a couple of ideas to try.
Purple martins
Eddie McKnight, who shared some advice above about moving bluebird nests, is also a purple martin landlord and had some interesting news to share about these favorite birds.
“I have more nesting martins this year than ever before, and I have heard the same from other landlords. The biggest issue this year (and many others) is the predation by European starlings and house (English) sparrows raiding the nests. There is a new entrance hole designed by a veteran landlord that allows purple martins to enter by clinging and rolling in, as opposed to the 2-inch-round holes recommended for years. It’s called a ‘clinger’ entrance, and the starlings pretty much cannot enter because of long legs, and the martin glides right in.” Eddie shared a photo of a homemade martin house with clinger-style entrances being easily used by a martin.
“Riding around the Lowcountry, you can see numerous setups for martins where they are infested with starlings and sparrows (both of which are not native, and are legal to exterminate). The problem is mainly that inexperienced landlords may not realize that starlings and sparrows are invading purple martin nests, killing babies (and) adults and tossing out eggs. I used to have the attitude to live and let live if the starlings are present, but they don’t have that same philosophy. They will actively seek out and kill native species. That’s one reason they are so active and thriving in the United States.
“(I) just would like to make an appeal for some attention to be paid to this wonderful, amazing native bird, so that we can help it thrive and prosper in the future. In the Eastern United States, they pretty much only nest in manmade housing or gourds, so they are dependent on us to help them — not to mention the pleasure and grace they bring to backyards of bird lovers.
“The most helpful information about them can be found at
www.purplemartin.org.”
>I’d welcome any stories or photos from other readers who have experience with martins.
Thought for the week
If you’re fighting crabgrass in your yard the way I am, you’ll appreciate this from humor columnist Dave Barry: “Crabgrass can grow on bowling balls in airless rooms, and there is no known way to kill it that does not involve nuclear weapons.”
What’s the news from your backyard? If it’s blooming, chirping, growing, visiting a feeder or otherwise getting your attention, let us know. Photos of backyard birds and critters are welcome. Reach Ann Mitchell at 937-5557, amitchell@po
