Missing Birds?

[The Grebe]

You know, it never dawned on me until I read an article in the paper about the decline in certain bird populations, but it seems to me that there are some missing players in our neighborhood? We have alot of small birds that come to the feeders? And squirrels! There are big fat squirrels everywhere!

We always used to have Grackles in the yard and you used to see little pods of them in other yards Grackling along with their uplifted heads and jerky gait....I'm not sure I've seen one in our yard this year?

Starlings were another bird that I used to whine about having around, I thought they were a pest bird, I think thats what they were considered to be? Well, I haven't seen any of those either?

Either these birds are missing from the scene, or I'm not paying as much attention as I should? I seen another post in this thread, where a guy from Montgomery Mn. was having trouble with Grackles...maybe our birds shifted territories?

[boatfixer]

You can bring a big truck up to my place and take as many as you want! As far as I'm concerned, I don't care to have those nest stealing, egg eating pests around

[WCS]

I found your grackles...they are all in my yard. You can come by and pick them up anytime.

[The Grebe]

I think they found out you didn't want them and came back to our place.

They just must have been missing for a few days, maybe the heat? They are back, at least some of them are, not as many as before, but they are back.

[Ufatz]

None of our Bluebirds came back this spring. The usual Grebes are missing from the rushes our front. No Tanagers at all. Lots of Barn Swallows (we have no barn!) and most of the rest are here;wrens,orioles,three species ladderbacks,Pileated,red-headed,chickadee, various song sparrows,jays,cardinals,four species blackbirds,mourning doves,grackle,cowbirds,nuthatch etc.etc.

Wood ducks and loons along our shoreline....we have about a quarter-mile untouched by the hand of man!! Gonna STAY that way too.

BUT.....sure miss our bluebirds.

And that's my report.

[The Grebe]

Ufatz....I wonder if the Blue Birds are a periodic thing? Maybe they don't hang around while migrating to their more prefered envoirments?

We had Blue Birds in our yard for the first time this past spring...first time either of us could remember anyways.

It was okay, it was nice having them as visitors earlier on....they reminded me of little faded blue Robins, but they are gone now and I haven't seen one for quite awhile.

[maros91]

I also heard that grossbeaks were missing as well. I had two at the feeder this morning. First ones of the year. My mom lives in Elk River and had a bunch last year. This year only a couple. Any reason why? Also, I bought one of those feeders with a small hole in its side about a half inch in. I'm assuming you can put suet in there but anything else? Is there a homemade remedy out there? Peanut Butter? Any answers would help. Thanks

[Ufatz]

Grebe: WE have had bluebirds around here for decades. This year we saw one or two,way back in April, and nothing since. We DO have Grosbeaks, but not as many, and plenty of Orioles etc. Blue Buntings,Thrush, Song Sparrows, three Pileated (at least) and all the others I mentioned the other day. There are still enough songsters around that it is a steady symphony in the early dawn.

[toughguy]

I am missing a ton of goldfinches in my yard. In past years I used to have to fill my 3 thistle feeders everyother day. There would be 20-30 of the little guys there almost all day. Now I'm lucky to see 4-5.

[The Grebe]

TG...Thats about what we have comming to our sock. Earlier on we had a bunch, but now it has dwindled down to one every now and then. We had a bunch of Humming birds last year also and this year so far, my wife has seen only one?

[Steve Foss]

I also haven't had the usual traffic with hummingbirds. After spring migration, it's pretty much mostly males who come in because the males aren't involved in raising the family and they are off sipping nectar. The females, with lots of little beaks to feed, generally grab insects at this time of year, and it's not until August, when the adult and young hummers start to stage for migration, that females/immatures inundate the feeders.

Nevertheless, the last two summers we had one or two male hummers hitting our feeders heavily, and this summer I only get one or two every couple of days.

Of course, that doesn't mean there's any kind of big movement in the hummer world. Birds come and go and frequent different spots in different years for reasons we don't understand.

[maros91]

I am no hummer expert but how can you tell the difference between a male and a female? I just like looking at them. Last year we had about 4 visiting the feeder and this year only one.

[Steve Foss]

Adult males have a ruby throat. Females don't. Sometimes the male's throat looks black, depending on the light. Immature males are harder to tell apart from females, because they look almost alike.

[troutman]

Just a side note here.The Audubon report on the decline of certain birds mentions Evening Grosbeaks as having declined,not the Rose Breasted Grosbeak