schultz@inuxg.UUCP (Paula Schultz) (01/28/85)
Due to bad weather last weekend and being sick this weekend, I have had to stay home a lot lately and have really been enjoying my feeders. I have three feeders behind my apartment (a suet feeder, a thistle feeder, and a large one for sunflower seed) and I have three feeders in my patio. Last Sunday and again today, I have had an American Kestrel checking out my feeder (probably for weakened birds). This is a first experience for me. Later this morning, a redtail hawk flew over my feeders also. Even though I know there is a survival of the fittest rule in nature, I'm not sure how I will feel if I should see one of these hawks catching one of my little chickadees that I love so much. Since I have not been going out with my Audubon group very much, I will tell you the few birds I have had at my feeders to let you know about the common birds in Indianapolis!! Each morning the first birds at my feeders are the beautiful Cardinals, then the Chickadees come in, and then the Titmice. Then come the Sparrows and the Mourning Doves. Then come the biggest eaters of them all--the squirrels. I have three very smart squirrels. I used to have a large plastic trash can on my patio with 50 pounds of bird food, until the squirrels ate through the can--now I have to store the food inside!! They have destroyed three of my feeders so I was very interested in the squirrel-proof feeders mentioned in another article. I will look into them for sure. During the summer and fall I had quite a few finches at my feeders, but it has been quite a while since I have seen them. If there are any birders in the Indianapolis area, please get in touch with me and I will let you know when the Audubon trips are. They have one trip per month that they visit different spots around Indiana.
prs@lanl.ARPA (02/24/85)
This has been a good year for feeders here in Los Alamos. I have had over l00 pine siskens eating thistle seed; house and Cassin's finches, Oregon, pink-sided, and gray-headed juncos (with a Slate-colored showing up for one day only-here where it's rare); a pair of canyon brown towhees very briefly-this is a bit high in altitude for them; Steller's and scrub jays; white-breasted nuthatches, mountain chickadees, a few evening grosbeaks, and since Christmas day the best of all-a Harris' sparrow, which also is rare here. Pat Snider