Dear Larry and folks,
Over the years I have had PUMA nest here on our ranch, from one to
ten nests /year. Last year I had 3 nests, and spread out crushed egg
shells on a pathway they could see from the sky. I had 14 to 18 PUMA
come in the evening as Larry states, and, sometimes in the morning, to
eat the egg shell. They came from all directions, and flew off in all
directions. I sat on a bench nearby and could see one adult male pick
up as many as ten pieces of egg shell and fly off into the unknown. I
presumed to take it back to the female on eggs. Later I saw one of my
nesting males take a mouthful of eggshell back to my nest box to a
female waiting to be fed (eggs had not yet hatched). They don't seem
to mind the sharp edges on the shell, but I crush it with a pestle.
Last year I had MONARCH BUTTERFLIES here laying eggs on all the
different kinds of milkweed (Asclepias) I had planted in one area of
the garden near the egg shell paths. PUMA would swoop past the
MONARCHS and head directly for the egg shell as I would hold my
breath. I am hoping the PUMA have learned on their migration that
milkweed fed MONARCHS taste terrible. All Monarchs here are wild. I
just plant Asclepias and they come.
Pat Waldron
Scio-land
On May 14, 2015, at 5:52 PM, Lawrence McQueen wrote:
Not about Band-tails, but to add to this thread of calcium source. Years ago, I had a female Calliope Hummingbird hover over my fire ring and dip for ashes, at East Davis Campground. It returned several times for more. I couldn’t see the ash in its bill, it was too quick. But that is my interpretation of its behavior.
Back in the days, 68, early 70s, eggshells were scattered anonymously at the South Eugene school bus garages in mid June, presumably because someone discovered that a group of Purple Martins would land and collect them in the evenings. Around 9pm, about 30 of them would then fly for the south Eugene hills. I could never trace their route completely to get a notion of where they were nesting. But egg shell is a well known source of calcium. I just never observe them being consumed, or understand how the sharp edges of the shells were tolerated.
Larry
On May 14, 2015, at 1:24 PM, J Ward <jebward@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I live in the forested hills of NW Portland and get Band-tailed Pigeons every year, but they don't use the feeders, they come in twice a day for the water.
Jill
On May 14, 2015, at 12:51 PM, Marlene Hubble wrote:
I live in Tigard and at least 30 Band-tailed are coming to my feeder everyday.
On Thu, May 14, 2015 at 12:40 PM, Paul Sullivan <paultsullivan@xxxxxxxxxxxx > wrote:
OBOL:
We know of a couple mineral licks in Yamhill County. It is amazing to see
so many birds congregated in one place. We also know that ODF&W monitors
these sites to get census data so that they can set bag limits for the
hunting season.
Paul Sullivan & Carol Karlen
---------------------------------
Subject: Re: bedtime hours of swifts, family life of urban Band- tails
Date: Thu May 14 2015 13:05 pm
From: gerardlillie AT outlook.com
That is very interesting. Band-tails are known to fly a good distance if
necessary to get the minerals they need. I believe Lars mentioned this
already.
Gerard Lillie
Portland, OR
________________________________________
Subject: Re: bedtime hours of swifts, family life of urban Band- tails
Date: Thu May 14 2015 11:45 am
From: larspernorgren AT gmail.com
This is a fascinating subject. Someone on Wednesday's walk mentioned seeing
a score of Band-tails on the mud of Koll Wetlands, or a similar place in
Beaverton. It's interesting how human activity can passively enhance
bio-diversity. Lars
On May 14, 2015, at 8:05 AM, Wilson Cady wrote:
There are some unexpected sources of minerals for Band-tailed Pigeons in
developed areas. On Lady Island, in the Columbia River at Camas, the
Georgia-Pacific paper mill has a waste-water treatment facility for their
operations. Large amounts of lime is used in paper manufacturing and there
is a huge mound of lime rich sediment that comes from the settling ponds,
this material is then sold for use as an agricultural soil amendment. This
mound of wet material creates it's own mineral streams as it dries and I
have seen over 500 Band-tailed Pigeons there at a time. I wonder how many
other man-created sources of calcium there are out there? Cement plants
might also have calcium rich puddles as well.
Wilson Cady
Columbia Gorge, WA
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