Still stuck in Jersey.
I filled up the feeder today (it is astonishing to me that the birds have gone through 80 pounds of seed since the end of January) then went away for a couple of hours. When I looked again there was a tremendous amount of seed on the patio. I assumed the wind had blown the feeder around and dumped seed onto the tiles. As I watch a little from the dining room window, pleased to see a downy and a titmouse come (one for the suet, one for the seed), I noticed that one house sparrow was on the ledge of the feeder kicking out copious amounts of seed to his fellow sparrows on the patio floor. It was as if they had designated one of their number to distribute the seed in a more convenient place, rather than have them all fight for a spot on the feeder. I'm sure there are all sorts of Darwinian/Dawkinsian explanations for the altruism of that one sparrow, but I just thought it was funny to watch.
Only 8 species today, but, surprisingly, the downy is the first one I've seen on the feeder. There really isn't much habitat for them on these suburban streets--years ago, when there were fields across the street instead of an adult luxury community, they were more prevalent.
Mourning Dove 6
Downy Woodpecker 1
Tufted Titmouse 1
European Starling 1
Dark-eyed Junco 5
Northern Cardinal 1
Common Grackle 20
House Sparrow 25
No comments:
Post a Comment