[Mnbird] Oak Grove observations

[Pamela Freeman]

High summer and the birds have successfully, at least some of them, nested,
hatched, and raised young.
I know this because the number of birds at some of my feeders have
increased greatly in number.
Each year, the numbers of orioles increases, it seems they return from
whence they were come from, so see, or so it seems we see,
more each year.
Certainly they are more easily perceived than some of the drabber birds
that also have high numbers.
The cat birds, for instance.
We hear both cat bird song and orioles, both greater than almost any other,
except perhaps the witchity withcity of the common yellow throat.
And of course, a background chorus of all the others that one doesn't pick
out, but are there, the gold finches, swamp sparrows, red winged black
birds providing accent notes, rose breasted gross beaks a coloratura, and
others, the chickadees, the blue jays...

The feeders.
I only really have the jelly feeder and the meal worms going full now, as a
young bear, cute, but destructive, has taken an interest in our suet and
seed feeders which hung farther from the house.

The commotion around the jelly feeder is unceasing, from dawn to dusk,
usually family groups now, interestingly, males, surrounded by offspring,
all fluttering their wings in the avian version of "pick me pick me, me
me!!"  vying for the attention of his beak-full of grape jelly. They all
ring around him, perfectly capable of attaining their own jelly, but making
him do the work, insuring that it really is food, I suppose.
Not far from the jelly are my raspberries, slowly ripening. I don't dare
hope that they will not notice them and keep their interest in the jelly.

The chickadees meanwhile have their own large broods, but they go for the
meal worms. The whole family gets into the feeder at once in a, dare I say
it, melee of meal worms.

The cat birds are opportune and will feed off of which ever is available at
the time.

This year, we have observed a pair of cardinals eating the jelly, something
that I have not observed before.
And, a chipmunk, also.
Grape jelly is apparently a universal food.

Pamela
Good Birding





- Pamela
Never give up on a dream just because of the length of time it will take to
accomplish it. The time will pass anyway. - Unknown

“There are some who can live without wild things and some who cannot.”
― Aldo Leopold
I am one who cannot.
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