Eurasian Collared-dove, Streptopelia Decaocto

Day 225: As if Band-tailed Pigeons weren't bad enough, I now have another unwelcome guest at my feeders. No, this is not a Mourning Dove, although it looks very similar. Note the black line on the back of the neck. This is a Eurasian Collared-dove, a bird whose range has expanded to include most of the United States outside the Northeast since an accidental release from a Bahamian pet store in the 1970s. In some locales such as Texas and Florida, Collared-doves are reported to be displacing native doves with whom they compete at feeders. As far as I'm concerned, they're just another (insert the purple-hued invective of your choice) pigeon, although they do contribute to my cardiovascular health, given the number of times each day I leap from my chair and run at the window, shrieking and flapping my arms.

Damn Nuisance

Day 116: You know I love birds. Most birds, that is. There are Exceptions: pigeons, starlings, eagles (just big pigeons with white heads and a larger appetite for garbage). I even enjoy seeing Canada Geese as long as they stay over there when I'm over here, and I have never had any specific personal issues with the notorious English Sparrow. However, then there are Red-Winged Blackbirds. If they'd just remained in their bogs! But no, they stopped by one afternoon several years back and discovered that black-oil sunflower seeds are somewhat tastier than cattail seeds, and now I can't get rid of them. I bang on the window. I clap my hands loudly. I run through the yard waving my arms screaming invective strong enough to curdle milk, but they only move across the street, returning as soon as I turn my back. The other birds seem to understand the dilemma, hardly pausing when they see me raving about "*$&%ing blackbirds!!!" It's as if they know that I'm defending the feeders, something they daren't try against this highly aggressive species. No other bird scares them away: not jays, not crows, not even the ravens. Talk about a sense of entitlement! I'll stand a blackbird up against a welfare recipient any day.

Brown-Headed Cowbird, Molothrus Ater

Day 194: While they aren't exactly the brightest crayons in the box, Brown-Headed Cowbirds have a nesting strategy which ensures their survival at the expense of other bird species. Molothrus ater does not construct a nest of its own. Rather, this native species (N.B.!) is known to parasitize the nests of at least 140 hosts with a wide range of sizes from Kinglet to Meadowlark, and has been shown to contribute to the decline of such species as Kirtland's Warbler. A female Cowbird may lay as many as 30 eggs in a year, and takes no part in feeding the young, leaving that task to the host. Young Cowbirds generally develop more rapidly than the chicks of the host species and often displace them from the nest. Cowbirds frequently share roosts with blackbirds (here, Red-Winged and Brewer's), and communal roosting sites may hold populations of 100,000 or more. In the last two weeks, several dozen Brown-Headed Cowbirds have joined forces with the Red-Wingeds in my yard, much to my annoyance. While I would never wittingly hurt a bird, my slingshot sits at the ready beside a bowl of rocks at the back door. I aim low, hoping to hit a branch. The ensuing "THUNK!" sets them in flight, but seldom for long. By the time I've walked back around to the living room, one or two of the bravest will have re-settled, inspiring me to run at the window, arms flailing as I scream, "Get outta here, you (censored)!" I won't win, but at least the method has deterred a few.