May 31, 1990 - A Young Bird's Thoughts Turn to SongC8 The Suffolk Times • May 31, 1990
A Young Bird's Thoughts Turing to Song
By Paul Stoutenburgh
Have you ever noticed that the robin
that nests in your front tree or bush
seems to come back to the same general
area each year? We have had our robin
build in the same tree for three years.
We had an oriole, that brilliant orange-
Focus on
Mature
and -black bird, return for many years to
build in the same general area of our
front yard. Orioles are noted for their
hanging woven nests which are truly a
work of art. One year we had sheep, and
the oriole built its nest entirely of wool
that the sheep had lost as the warmer
weather arrived.
All birds sing their hearts out in the
springtime to attract a mate. Once the
mate is won and nest building begins,
it's a different story. The noisy bluejay
we hear call all winter long now be-
comes silent and secretive as it sneaks
about to feed its brood. Often it will
build its nest in a nearby evergreen right
alongside your house and you'll never
know it's there.
Right now, as I am writing, the little
house wren is singing its constant
song. Evidently it has not found a mate
yet. My folks used to call it "Jenny
Wren" and it would return each year to
fill every bird box we'd put up, with
sticks and grasses. What makes this
family of wrens build a nest in every
box has puzzled people down through
the years. Even the tiny marsh wren has
this habit of building endless nests but,
being out on the marsh where there are
no convenient bird houses, it builds
many reed nests and then uses only one.
Of course, the typical theory is that by
occupying every nest site in its
territory, it will discourage others from
building nearby. Perhaps that's true, but
then there's the other theory that the
bird is merely practicing. At any rate,
we're glad to have the house wren back.
An Endless Song
Speaking of singing birds, do you
wwwww i nnu *n —even inougn most birds are very good protectors and providers, there's always a
certain percentage of their young that falls prey to marauding crows, grackles, bluejays or other bandits who
aren't particular about where their meals come from.
have a mockingbird in your area? It's
that rather large bird with a long tail and
white markings when it flies. Now
there's a vocalist of the first order. It
gets its name from its ability to mock
other birds. I've heard them sing when
their repertoire extended from the famil-
iar robin right through to the most
melodious of all songs — that of the
wood thrush. The problem with the
mockingbird is that unless it finds a
mate and starts nest building, it often
will keep up its song right through the
night which, needless to say, can be
quite annoying no matter how splendid
the song.
Along with the mockingbird are the
brown thrasher and catbird. Their array
of songs are just as varied, but they
know their manners and keep to their
singing during the daylight hours.
Again, once family ties have been set
up, they also become quiet and secretive
in their actions.
Of all the local nesters, I think the
common crow takes the prize for being
the most quiet and secretive one during
nesting time. Crows are noisy through-
out the year and particularly when ha-
rassing a sleepy owl or an invading
hawk. Yet, come nesting time, they can
be right in your nearby woods and few
will realize they are there. They have an
uncanny ability to slip through the trees
in their silent pursuit of raising a fam-
ily. The problem we often see is their
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distasteful habit of robbing other birds
of their precious eggs, and often their
young. Like the noisy bluejay and
grackle that often follow the same habit
of robbing eggs and young, the crow is
a master of this plunder.
Redwings Attack Crows
This lowly habit is often brought to
our attention when smaller birds are in
hot pursuit of a crow. They'll attack
any crow that even strays unknowingly
into a nesting bird's territory. Red -
winged blackbirds are notorious for
pursuing a crow with their
bombardment and calls until the invader
is chased out of the pursuer's home site.
We have a hedgerow of pines, cedars,
autumn olive and multi -flora rose along
our pasture edge which makes an ideal
spot for birds to nest. Each year I see
the crows as they work their way
through, robbing the nests of their pre-
cious cargo. There'll be much confusion
of diving and screaming, but the crows
persist. Even with the predation of nests
and our dislike for the havoc the crow
brings, we're learning that the crows,
the grackles and the jays all do far more
good throughout the year than the de-
struction they cause during nesting
time.
Like so many things in the natural
world, we're just beginning to learn
how they relate to each other. The world
of nature is a complex system and, if
left alone, a sustaining one. The prob-
lem is man is an integral part of this
natural system and through his overuse
of world resources and his greed for
more and ore, the cycle is getting out of
balance. We know what we're doing
wrong, but I'm afraid the pill is too
hard for most to take.
We cover the waterfront
The Suffolk Times
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