On the Wing at Lake Big Fish

Little Birds in Big Cages

Birds in the House

Zebra Finches are tiny birds, about twice the size of a hummingbird. That's a small mouthful for a cat. But George was not about to be any cat's snack, not even Oliver's! Oliver learned that lesson the hard way. Back when there were fewer birds in a smaller cage, Oliver (who was also much smaller at that time) attempted to climb the cage while it was hanging 8 or so feet above the ground. He launched from the fireplace, and managed to catch the cage with his front paws. The cage was swinging. The cat was trying to get all four paws on the cage. That is when George attacked! He flew at Oliver, screeching loudly, wings beating furiously! And he pecked! George pecked and pecked and pecked at Oliver's paws until the blood began to flow and Oliver let go and fell to the floor. It was not a graceful landing. Oliver was soundly defeated that day. He may sleep on top of the bird cage, but he always makes sure that his paws are well out of beak reach.

These little birds have it good. A south-facing window in the house during the winter, a spot in the back yard under the eaves in the summer.

Birds in the Garden

Having a pond, native food plantings and several feeding stations, I am rewarded by hoards of birds visiting on a daily basis. Some of the ones I've been able to identify (The Sibley Guide to Birds, 2000) are listed below.

Blue Jay More Blue Jays

Blue Jays, Cyanocitta cristata Northern Cardinals, Cardinalis cardinalis Brown-headed Cowbirds, Molothrus ater Dark-eyed Juncos, Junco hyemalis House Wrens, Troglodytes aedon Bewick's Wrens, Thryomanes bewickii Purple Martins, Progne subis Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Archilochus colubris Northern Mockingbirds (every house on the block has a resident mockingbird and this one, or at least his family, has been here longer than I have!), Mimus polyglottus Assorted song sparrows Red-winged Blackbirds, Agelaius phoeniceus American Robins, Turdus migratorius Cedar Waxwings, Bombycilla cedorum American Goldfinches, Carduelis tristic House Finches, Carpodacus mexicanus Purple Finches, Carpodacus purpureus Common Nighthawks, Chordeiles minor Red-tailed Hawks, Buteo jamaicensis Sharp-shinned Hawks, Accipiter striatus Cooper's Hawks, Accipiter cooperii Eurasian Collared Doves, Streptopelia decaocto Mourning Doves, Zenaida macroura White Winged Doves, Zanaida asiaica Inca Doves, Columbina inca Downy Woodpeckers, Picoides pubescens Red-headed Woodpecker (I've only seen one), Melanerpes erythrocephalus Great-tailed Grackles, Quiscalus mexicanus Common Grackles, Quiscalus quiscula European Starlings, Sturnus vulgaris Monk Parakeets (there is a large colony established at a park about a mile away), Myiopsitta monachus

Mockingbird Downy Woodpecker

I never could figure out why the water level in the tub gardens in the front yard was always low. I mean, these are plastic tubs and they don't leak. Then one day I happened to glance out the window and I saw about a dozen birds taking baths in the tubs! The smaller birds hop out onto the lily pads, which sink just enough under the birds' weight to let them get wet without drowning. The jays were sitting on the edge of the pots (which are about an inch below the water line) to take their baths. And the bladderwort is so thick in the tub with the cattails that the mockingbirds were sitting on top of it. It only took an hour for the birds to lower the water level in one of the big tubs by about one inch. There are traditional bird baths all over the neighborhood, but I guess those birds just like to live a little dangerously. They also prefer the dogs' water bowl to their own bird baths!

The food available in the habitat is augmented by feeders. Thanks to the depravations of the dogs, all of the bird feeders are now in the front yard. There are peanut feeders, feeders for compressed cakes or suet, thistle socks, trays for seed and fruit, and traditional seed feeders. The birds don't seem to mind that the cats sit in that windows and watch them intently. In fact, the only thing the cats watch more intently is their food bowls!

Sometimes, unfortunately, the birds at Lake Big Fish become food for other critters. There are several hawks that regularly thin the flock of doves that nest in the crepe myrtle and plum trees.

Bird Cams

Mariah and Kaver - Peregrine Falcons who nest atop the 19 story Kodak Tower in Rochester, New York
Jersey City Pergrine Cam - Jersey City, New Jersey
Peregrine Falcons - downtown Salt Lake City, Utah
Jack & Jill - Pergrine Falcons nesting at 55 Water St. in New York city
Buckeye & SW - Falcons nesting on Terminal Tower in Cleveland, Ohio

Wild Birds Unlimited Bird Feeder Cam

Birds & Birding