I Can't Reach....

The cake of suet with bugs in it (yum) was very popular today. I spent an hour or so watching the feeder this morning, and noted that different birds have different strategies for getting suet out of it. The nuthatches are creepers and have no trouble flying in, landing on the cage-like holder and helping themselves. They can be upside down as easily as they can be right side up, so they have no trouble even when the cake has been reduced to a nubbin like this one.

The acorn woodpecker, however, is a different story. He has the advantage of being big and fierce. The other birds fly off and await developments when he flies in, but he is not the most agile. And he's a little crazed and paranoid, looking all around him before he makes a move. When he lands on the feeder he surveys the scene but can't even see the suet. He carefully works himself further down but even hanging on for dear life and stretching himself upside down and around the corner he still can't quiiiite reach....

The stellar jay perches on top of the feeder and feeds to her heart's content until the level of the suet becomes too low for her. Then she tries plan B. She sits on the ground underneath the feeder and jumps straight up, flapping her wings furiously to try and rise high enough to grab a morsel. This is pretty exhausting so she gives up after awhile and just waits on the ground for other birds to drop something.

The ravens are the most impressive. They are very big birds and don't seem to be able to latch on to the feeder at all. They also jump up from the ground but can flap their wings long enough to reduce the level of suet considerably in one try. Unlike crows, who are raucous and travel in groups, ravens are dignified, handsome and roost in the oak trees, keeping their eye on things until they decide the moment is right.

All the small birds...finches, goldfinches, chickadees, oak titmice, sparrows and more crowd around the regular seed feeder. There are six perches around it and when it is full in the morning every perch is full. Scores more wait in the trees and the whole area is a flutter of birds coming and going. Only they understand the pecking order. It is no wonder OilMan refills the feeders every day. We have seen bluebirds up in our arbor, but they never come down to the level of the house. They like to sit on fence posts and look for bugs. Perhaps they prefer the altitude and the more open view.... 

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, all the birds vanish as a hawk can be heard flying past, for their meal of choice is small birds....