neverspent (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
neverspent) wrote2011-01-13 03:23 pm
neverspent) wrote2011-01-13 03:23 pm
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January 13: More birds
The bird feeder at the farm is mainly visited by sparrows, cardinals, juncos and the occasional mourning dove or tree creeper. It's interesting to watch them.
They'll be gathering, cheerfully pecking seeds from the ground, the cardinals cracking open black oil sunflower seeds, more little birds arriving every minute and then suddenly a quick whir of wings, and all together they're gone. I usually don't even know what startled them. I just know they're highly evolved to notice movement that might be a threat. It's amazing, really. In some ways, they're so fragile, so tiny with hollow bones and nothing but feathers and beaks between them and the teeth and jaws that would like to feast on them. But they're quick and alert and they can fly. It's a pretty good system.
They'll be gathering, cheerfully pecking seeds from the ground, the cardinals cracking open black oil sunflower seeds, more little birds arriving every minute and then suddenly a quick whir of wings, and all together they're gone. I usually don't even know what startled them. I just know they're highly evolved to notice movement that might be a threat. It's amazing, really. In some ways, they're so fragile, so tiny with hollow bones and nothing but feathers and beaks between them and the teeth and jaws that would like to feast on them. But they're quick and alert and they can fly. It's a pretty good system.
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http://www.scotsman.com/news/Robins-may-be-festive-but.6669402.jp
This article describes how they bump each other off, but I bet they wouldn't hesitate to harm another kind of bird as well.
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