Somewhere, a few yrs. back, I read that chipmunks are more destructive to birds than are cats.
Really, where can the exact proof be of such statistics? Both are exceedingly destructive. Add in red & gray squirrels, racoons, skunks, possums, snakes & turtles as well as other birds. Other sections of the country probably have other types of nest raiders. Right here, I have house sparrows amongst other animals, including tame & feral cats. We have a home-made bird trap for our boxes but while it works, many birders don't have boxes that can easily be opened, if all, in order to catch the invader in a plastic bag .... or to clean debris from the boxes. Tree swallows make a horrendous mess in their boxes. Unfortunately, once an invader finds a nest, it often will return until its prey is all destroyed. Yes, sparrows catch insects, too, but I dare say, the male sparrow here has killed at least 30 nestlings & mothers, to say nothing of the number of blue bird & tree swallow eggs destroyed. I consider the insects they catch as small potatoes compared to the many "good" birds lost & the insects they & their offspring would have destroyed. This male sparrow doesn't even appear to have a mate! In late April, nearly every nest box had a male sparrow sitting in a hole to keep bluebirds & tree swallows away. Two wks. ago, I put 3 plastic bird-size eggs in a swallow/bluebird box. Within 20 min., the male sparrow had carried 2 of them20' away & dropped them. I replaced the plastic eggs with 4 marbles. The sparrow couldn't pick them up or peck them open, so he then repeatedly tried to cover them with the grass nesting material I had put in the box as "starter" nests. The next day I watched as the male, after covering the marbles, proceeded to take pieces of grass away, apparently trying to empty the box of the nesting material ... the old idea,"if I can't have it, neither can anyone else." Melissa, many of these "visuals" which you, Meena, Diana Whiting, John & Sue Gregoire/& _m__any_ _others_/ find, are intensely educational & enlightening both to you & to others with whom you share your sightings. We're all gaining in this educational process & thank you for the part you play. Fritzie Gas in Union Springs is $3.52.9. On 6/14/2014 5:17 PM, Melissa Groo wrote: A pair of Robins were frantically alarm-calling and repeatedly flying at a chipmunk sitting on a branch near their nest, and in the midst of eating one of their nestlings. -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
