Feeding Wild Birds

[ValerieJ]

The wood ducks have resurfaced across the river with a bunch of little ducklings. Cute as all get out, but a bit too far away for photos. When they come out of the slough into the river I'll try to get a picture.

Still fairly quiet around here.

 

[TwoCrows]

@ValerieJ I just came across this article from up near your territory that may give some insight on where your birds are, or aren't...

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/07/26/oregon-spring-birds-quieter-than-usual/

 

[ValerieJ]

@ValerieJ I just came across this article from up near your territory that may give some insight on where your birds are, or aren't...

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/07/26/oregon-spring-birds-quieter-than-usual/

Thanks. Seems reasonable, but in our case, all the birds were here and suddenly disappeared. That would mean they made it back here okay.

Also, this county is not overly developed at all. Lots of habitat here and a state that is conservation conscientious.

It is still quiet here. One day Merlin could hardly keep up with the bird songs, next day deadly silence. And that happened when Mt St Helens had the earthquakes.

I don't really understand why even the ones that have come back aren't singing anymore.

It's a mystery.

 

[TwoCrows]

Thanks. Seems reasonable, but in our case, all the birds were here and suddenly disappeared. That would mean they made it back here okay.

Also, this county is not overly developed at all. Lots of habitat here and a state that is conservation conscientious.

It is still quiet here. One day Merlin could hardly keep up with the bird songs, next day deadly silence. And that happened when Mt St Helens had the earthquakes.

I don't really understand why even the ones that have come back aren't singing anymore.

It's a mystery.

Did you notice less birds after the 4th of July? Fireworks can cause birds to vacate an area, some die due to panic and fear. (Heart attacks, colliding with each other, flying into things...)

 

[ValerieJ]

Did you notice less birds after the 4th of July? Fireworks can cause birds to vacate an area, some die due to panic and fear. (Heart attacks, colliding with each other, flying into things...)

Hmmm....I suppose that's possible, but it's very rural here and we have very few fireworks in our area. No one wants to set the forest on fire. Also, we have fairly regular gunshots as people have targets for practice, and that has never effected them. So, I wouldn't think that's it or the birds would have left last year on 4th of July, or the years before that. Literally, maybe two people, one on this side of the river and one on the other set off fireworks for about 15 minutes. It has never had an effect like this before.

And why aren't the ones that are coming back singing? I've seen 3 robins today and a few black headed gross beaks. They were singing to beat the band before, but now not one peep. Same day after day.

Oh yeah, and the crows are crowing, but even the Steller Jays are not making much noise and they are noisy birds. Still haven't seen too many of those. They have never left the area before. They are here year round.

 

[Qwerty3159]

In New England I’ve always found late July through mid August to be an extremely slow time at the feeder. Dutiful pairs of blackbirds, grackles, blue jays making trips back and forth from the suet feeder now bring their fledglings just once or twice a day.
Even the greedy doves that spend a long time gorging at the feeder are showing up a bit less often. My nonqualified idea on the topic is that there is an abundance of food and less demand for each individual bird to eat since most typical feeder birds are no longer feeding any young at this point. I have a ton of house wren boxes and they are abundant and active as ever, I still see the usual number of robins and catbirds in the shrubs and such. The robins and catbirds definitely know how to eat from the feeder and just completely ignore it right now.

I don’t think anything is scaring the birds from the feeder so much as they rely on the feeders the least this time of year out of all. Already, most birds that aren’t invasive species still maintain a largely wild diet and use feeders for supplementation. I usually see the activity ramp up as soon as the seasons begin to change.

My bluebirds always completely disappear after raising a second or third brood in the nest box, then show up again faithfully in the fall. I can only assume they take their young to some richer feeding ground that even my mealworms can’t compete with.

Re: birds not singing - most of your typical songbirds are done breeding at this point, and are molting or otherwise changing behavior with the seasons. They might be leaving their nesting territories or simply stop defending it. They are less territorial and do less singing because of it

 

[ValerieJ]

e: birds not singing - most of your typical songbirds are done breeding at this point, and are molting or otherwise changing behavior with the seasons. They might be leaving their nesting territories or simply stop defending it. They are less territorial and do less singing because of it

I did not know that. That makes sense. So, even the birds that have come back by would have no reason to be singing, I think is what you are saying.

On another note, we did have a red tailed hawk here today. They live in the area, but rarely come to this bend of the river because of the eagles. He did not stay long, that's for sure. The eagle was just across the river from him.

 

[ValerieJ]

Beginning to hear a bird here and there now. Happy about that.

However, there is something making an unfamiliar sound, kind of like a cat's weak meow but not scratchy like a cat. Maybe like the whimpering of a baby just waking up. So hard to describe, but it's driving me crazy because i cannot figure out what I'm hearing. I've been hearing it for a couple months, coming from the neighbor's yard, and seems to be coming from the trees, so I thought it must be a bird.

When I ask Merlin to identify it by sound, every time it cries he says it's a Cedar Waxwing. When I listen to what that bird is supposed to sound like, this isn't it at all. Yet, Merlin has identified it as such a half a dozen times. Anyone familiar with that noise? I think I need to try to record the call itself and figure out how to play it on here. No idea how to do that though.

Do you know of any birds that might sound like a very light cat's meow?

BTW, I've never seen a Cedar Waxwing here, but Merlin hears them all the time.

 

[alinas2010]

Beginning to hear a bird here and there now. Happy about that.

However, there is something making an unfamiliar sound, kind of like a cat's weak meow but not scratchy like a cat. Maybe like the whimpering of a baby just waking up. So hard to describe, but it's driving me crazy because i cannot figure out what I'm hearing. I've been hearing it for a couple months, coming from the neighbor's yard, and seems to be coming from the trees, so I thought it must be a bird.

When I ask Merlin to identify it by sound, every time it cries he says it's a Cedar Waxwing. When I listen to what that bird is supposed to sound like, this isn't it at all. Yet, Merlin has identified it as such a half a dozen times. Anyone familiar with that noise? I think I need to try to record the call itself and figure out how to play it on here. No idea how to do that though.

Do you know of any birds that might sound like a very light cat's meow?

BTW, I've never seen a Cedar Waxwing here, but Merlin hears them all the time.

I keep thinking about blue jays when you said a baby crying. They make so many odd noises. Could it be a jay of some sort?

 

[R2elk]

I keep thinking about blue jays when you said a baby crying. They make so many odd noises. Could it be a jay of some sort?

Blue Jays are great mimics.