Yesterday I noticed, as I sat down to breakfast, that there was some
activity at the birdhouse. I've seen sparrows lately using it.
Yesterday, One was going to the honeysuckle bush, getting something,
a seed? a flower part? and then flying back to the top of the
birdhouse, SITTING on top on the other bird who would stick it's neck
up and have it's mouth open and then fly back to the bush again. It
looked like it was hitting the bird, flying back to the bush and then
flying back again, hitting the lower bird again. Or maybe it was
mating. I don't know. Whatever it was it was funny to watch. I went
and got my camera but by the time I'd done that they'd stopped doing
it.
Today. I noticed two sparrows on the birdhouse. A third larger black
bird swooped in and was repelled. Then, what appeared to be the
previous tenant was rebuffed by the sparrows on the birdhouse. The
rebuffed bird, could have been a sparrow but might have been a wren
with its longer beak and stubbier tail, chirred from the fence post
as one of the new sparrows sat right next to it and preened itself,
confident that they had one. The old resident moved further away,
chirring, and the new residents passed a piece of tissue paper they'd
found for nesting material (litter is never too far away in this
property despite my efforts), into the nest inside the birdhouse.
I went to get my camera and looking glass for this too but when I
came back, they had finished.
This birdhouse is supposed to be for Eastern Bluebirds ONLY. I have
only seen sparrows using it, and only a few, at various spring and
fall times of year.
Also on the topic of birds, we have had geese in the neighborhood
lately, honking away. I don't know what is attractive to them here.
There might be someone's pool. Maybe someone's lawn? Both morning and
night (not so much during the day) one or two will be honking alot,
fly around and eventually come back. Something to do with the mating
season? (See also the goose on the roof story a few days ago here.)
As for the ants, I have stopped seeing the little sugar ants. I now
have, a few a day in the kitchen, larger black ants. Is the Combat
working? Is it attracting the new ones? I am happy the little ones
have stopped but wonder when the large ones will too. Ever?
The large ones are easy to capture and throw outside. They often sit
there, probably asleep and you can get very close to them without
their moving. They do run faster, and respond quicker, than the
little ants but since you can creep up on them more easily, are more
easily rounded up in cups I keep strategically near me in both the
kitchen and the living room. I open the kitchen window and band the
cup on the side and they are dropped out into the lawn below, or I go
out my front door, tap the cup on the railing and they get dropped
out onto the lawn or landing below.
For some reason, many will be attracted to my legs. Once a day it
seems I will feel one crawling up. I then walk out the front door and
shake it off. What IS the attraction to my leg? Sweat? Soap from my
shower? I don't know.
No comments:
Post a Comment