Fierce Animals in the Yard

[bec_87rb]

There is a wooden birdhouse in our dogwood in the front yard, and it had what I assumed was an aborted nest. You know how a bird will start to build in a crevice or cranny that seems likely to her/his bird eye, then be made too nervous to finish?

Comments

[oreos_are_crack]

Hahaha... that's great... I wish birds would live in the birdhouse on our tree. When I was little, there'd be a family of... sparrows, if I remember right.

Then, blue jays tried to take over.
Then a family of kittens and a cat moved in next door and came over to mess with them.
Then the cats moved out but a Scottie dog replaced them.

So we have no more sparrows... I miss them. All we have now is two big freakin groundhogs that live under our shed XD Oh well...

[bec_87rb]

If you put out food, they might brave the Scottie dog, and sparrows are not a nervous bunch if they have cover. I mean, if you ever eat outdoors at a fast food place you know they don't scare easy if the eatin's good. :) Of course, bird food costs money.

[oreos_are_crack]

Yeah, good point.
And I know birds still come over, they just always seem to come when we aren't looking. Almost like a conspiracy...
...
But yeah, when we put out bird food, it's gone before the day's over! I just wish they'd stay. >_O

[iwasinvisible]

Awwwwww. That's so sweet.

My boyfriend's family loves the birds and creatures that hang outside their house. The bluebirds will practically eat from your hand, they're so tame from being fed.

There's also a peacock. Don't ask. :o

[bec_87rb]

Hubby loves the birdies, and had several kinds of feeders and we have varied cover on the lot, so this is a bird gathering spot. We even have had raptors, looking to snag a sparrow for lunch. This also makes the backyard a prime cat prowl. I get cat paw prints across my car if I park in the carport.

Oh, yeah, the lure of the peacock. My uncle Don had a bunch of them around his house, so if you wandered off the fields into the woods near dusk you could hear screaming! "Heeeeeelp!" "Heeeeelp!"

It was bloodcurdling!

Have you gotten any good feathers?

[iwasinvisible]

Only if they fall off, and we haven't found any...I'm not getting near that thing. It's HUGE. My old man feeds it from his hand. He. Is. INSANE.

Did you know peacocks love dog chow? It's a fact.

[ieatbigboogers]

I don't know the species, swallows perhaps, but my dog used to frequently chase away little birds that would poach his supper. I'm not quite sure what they did with it, the kibble was the size of their head, but they'd take the food nonetheless.

[turkeyanne]

We have a birdhouse in our backyard, but it's made of this odd plastic-fauxporcelain stuff, and has proven too lightweight to fight moderate gusts.

[bec_87rb]

I haven't had luck with birdhouse or bathouses, so I was really surprised it was being used. We have more problem with feeders getting blown off the trees. Also, I think the squirrels have a vested interest in getting feeders onto the ground, so they might "help" them fall. :) Squirrels aren't smart, but they do have little hands.

[leolapyre]

Cute and somewhat frightening story! I know that there was an article in the newspaper recently about territorial birds becoming aggressive with the surrounding human-folk. They mean business!

[bec_87rb]

It wouldn't surprise me at all! This little bird restricted his/her displeasure to verbal warnings from inside the tree, fortunately, although I've had birds fly at my head if they get nervous about my proximity to the nest. Blue Jays are really aggressive, and sometimes mockingbirds. We have lots of the later, and they are obvious because they sing so much and their wing flashing is so glaring. Plus they start singing at 4:30 am. *yawn* Yes, yes, we're all awake now, thanks.

We had several years ago a shiny new car with a big side mirror that faced the forsythia bush if you pulled into the driveway. The territory encompassing the bush belonged to a very excitable male mockingbird who was just sure that handsome fellow he could see in the mirror was a rival, so he spent lots of time warning and then flying and pecking at the stubborn intruder. The car spent lots of time at the carwash, until we gave up and parked it on the street.

[ieatbigboogers]

I'd suggest leaving it the heck alone unless there is an immanent threat of collapse, birds can be weird about nests that have been messed with.

[bec_87rb]

Crap. Too late. :/