![]() Sandhill cranes must love this time of year, with the woods full of a favorite treat. I’ve also observed a large gang of these tall, wading birds following a harvesting tractor to snap up small rodents suddenly left without cover. Great blue herons are reported (and shown on YouTube) eating rabbits, ducks and gophers. Downy woodpeckers give themselves a sweet treat by sipping at hummingbird feeders. There are a number of reports of orioles visiting trumpet creeper flowers for nectar, either sipping it from the opening or puncturing a flower base to steal nectar from the bottom. But one observer reported tossing some old, freezer-burned corn-on-the-cob onto the compost pile one April day, then looking out later to see six orioles busy at the corn: “They ate the cobs clean, and it took them a couple of hours,” she said. Orioles are associated in our minds with oranges and grape jelly, and they certainly do enjoy these treats, even though the bulk of their springtime diet is made up of insects. I’ve also observed a cardinal fluttering like a hummingbird near a hosta stalk in late fall, pulling out its large, luscious seeds to eat. We don’t think of cardinals as being flycatchers, but one reader reported seeing a cardinal fly out of a tree, “knock a butterfly to the ground, then pick it up and fly off.” Somehow this cardinal had learned that there was a high-protein meal between those butterfly wings, and either ate it himself or took it to his youngsters. Crows also clog up her birdbath fountain when they wash pieces of roadkilled rabbit before eating. Since crows are omnivores, the whole world must look like a smorgasbord to them, and another reader reported that her neighborhood crows relish the fish heads she leaves out after cleaning freshly caught fish. This went on for 20 minutes and I was laughing out loud,” writes a crow fan. How about the south Minneapolis crows who gathered at a backyard picnic table for popcorn (unsalted) and fresh water? “They’d take the popcorn and either dump it into the water before eating it, or hold a kernel in their beaks and dunk it. He’d seen an oriole or catbird slurping up the purple stuff and decided to try adding a condiment to his invertebrate meal. They watch each other, too, for clues about what’s good to eat, which is probably how the robin caught on to the jelly. Many birds are eager learners when it comes to adding new items to their regimen. We humans may have more rigid ideas about bird diets than birds themselves do. The reader who sent this tale noted, “We enjoyed watching this epicure enjoying his gourmet meal.” He’d dunk a freshly caught worm into the jelly, and then gulp it down. Robins relish big, juicy earthworms, right? Well, how about the Elk River robin who visited a grape jelly feeder frequently this summer-and not just for a sweet treat. Contributing Writer Birds don’t always order off the regular menu, including a robin who makes his own jelly worms to orioles dining on corn on the cob.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |