Unusual Birds At Our Feeders
©Bert Gildart: If I had to list the single most pleasure of being home I think I would have to say it’s our bird feeders. Throughout the years our two caged chunks of suet have attracted everything from pileated woodpeckers to small chickadees. Meanwhile our large columned feeders have attracted various types of song birds and several times, it has attracted turkeys. Once a bald eagle plopped in.
Right now the combination of feeders is attracted two birds we don’t see often: the Blue Jay and the Steller’s jay. Neighbors say the blue jay (eastern) is rare here and attribute their expanding population to changing climate.
L to R: Eastern Blue Jay and Steller’s Jay, two birds that rarely visit our feeder — photographed yesterday within 15 minutes of one another.
In the past our feeders have also attracted raccoons (Raccoon Problem Resolved), and when that happens I use a portable drill, detach the screws and bring the feeder in. Takes about a minute.
Though we have heard reports of bears several miles from us, if we ever thought our feeders were attracting bears, again, we’d take them all down. We ascribe to the philosophy that a fed bear is a dead bear, and recently, a sad episode dramatized that fact. One hundred miles south of us in Missoula, an elderly woman was trying to “help” bears out by feeding them. Soon, one of the fed bears began to associate the lady with food. When no one was around, the bear broke into her house and attacked and fatally wounded the woman. That happened just a few weeks ago.
We learn much from our feeders and from the interaction of the different species at our feeders. From the way in which the various species interact, we’ve drawn some parallels between the species – and politics. So… if you want to know which species might represent the various political parties, click on my link (Are Birds Political Creatures? You bet). Click as well on Raccoons At Our Bird Feeder.
Hope it brings a smile to your face.
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THIS TIME LAST YEAR:
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4th ed. Autographed by the Authors
Hiking Shenandoah National Park
Hiking Shenandoah National Park is the 4th edition of a favorite guide book, created by Bert & Janie, a professional husband-wife journalism team. Lots of updates including more waterfall trails, updated descriptions of confusing trail junctions, and new color photographs. New text describes more of the park’s compelling natural history. Often the descriptions are personal as the Gildarts have hiked virtually every single park trail, sometimes repeatedly.
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Montana Icons is a book for lovers of the western vista. Features photographs of fifty famous landmarks from what many call the “Last Best Place.” The book will make you feel homesick for Montana even if you already live here. Bert Gildart’s varied careers in Montana (Bus driver on an Indian reservation, a teacher, backcountry ranger, as well as a newspaper reporter, and photographer) have given him a special view of Montana, which he shares in this book. Share the view; click here.
$16.95 + Autographed Copy
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Glacier Icons: What makes Glacier Park so special? In this book you can discover the story behind fifty of this park’s most amazing features. With this entertaining collection of photos, anecdotes and little known facts, Bert Gildart will be your backcountry guide. A former Glacier backcountry ranger turned writer/photographer, his hundreds of stories and images have appeared in literally dozens of periodicals including Time/Life, Smithsonian, and Field & Stream. Take a look at Glacier Icons
$16.95 + Autographed Copy
