Unwelcome Guests

-

 

Bluebirds

I should have guessed it was too good to be true. All winter I was enjoying the bluebirds visiting my feeder. I bought a huge bag of dried mealworms. They are expensive but the bluebirds absolutely love them. All was good for several weeks.

One day I heard a ruckus and saw a bird I hadn't seen before. It was a European Starling. It is not a native bird. In 1890 Eugene Schieffelin released 60 Starlings in Central Park after two other failed attempts. The rest is history. They thrived and reproduced.

Starlings love mealworms and swarm down to gorge on them. They are not polite to the bluebirds. They spook easily so I can chase them away if I see them.

Common Starling

I haven't found a feeder that will defeat them. This one has a cover which I lower to make it harder for the starling to feed since they are a larger bird.

Fun Fact, Mozart had a pet Starling and it could sing  part of his Piano Concerto in G Major (KV. 453).

Comments

Post a Comment

I'd like to hear from you

Popular posts from this blog

Why can't I find lyrics to "Hupaj Siupaj"?

-
Image
UPDATE (June 21, 2016) - I found the words! I have found a book called Treasured Polish Songs which contains the word to "Our Company" the song that most of us know as Hupaj Siupaj. The book is available at Amazon . Nine years ago after a fruitless search I posted a request on my blog. Some of the comments pointed me in the right direction. I'm including the words but STRONGLY suggest you buy the book, it has all the Christmas Songs and so much more. Page 104 - Treasured Polish Songs Page 105
Read more

823rd Bomb Squad - “The Terrible Tigers”

-
Image
On April 16th, 1944 over three hundred bombers and fighters of the 5th Air Army took off on a mission to bomb and strafe the Japanese airfields located at  Hollandia , Dutch New Guinea. The mission was successful and no aircraft was lost to enemy action, however their safe return was blocked by a massive weather front. 37 aircraft were destroyed or went missing because of the bad weather.This event known as  Black Sunday  and marked the biggest operational loss due to weather in WWII. My uncle piloted a  B-25  on this mission. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea Ed Poltrack's Squadron The experience of crews who did find an airfield was no better. Alfred B. Colwell,Jr., was the Navigator/Bombardier on a B-25 in the 38th Bomb Group based at Nadzab, New Guinea April 16 Mission #48 – Hollandia. … The whole area was full of planes-B-24s, B-25s, A-20s and P-38s. We got down to 50 feet above the coast and followed it towards Sa...
Read more

Caturday (Analog Edition)

-
Image
Saturday is Caturday Saturday is Caturday , a time to post photos and videos of our feline companions. While reviewing some of my scanned slides and negatives I found this purr-fect collection to share. Our old friend Mojo didn't mind being dressed up. He was a gentle soul who could actually play catch with corks We had a black and white cat when we lived in an apartment in 1973. This cat was hit by a car and I now suspect he suffered from congenital sensorineural deafness which is common with blue eyed white cats. In the Navy I was stationed in California. I spotted this guy in a flower bed. In the 1960s my sister found a kitten which she called Andrew, Eventually that became Fat Andrew. Fat Andrew wasn't fat she was pregnant. Like all cats she did her best to disrupt any desktop activity I was involved with. In this photo I was working on a Linocut  for a Christmas card. My mom had a Siamese she named Abigail, a beautiful creature with deadly claws ...
Read more