[va-richmond-general] Re: Message From RAS Website Link
- From: mervin warner <mervinwa@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 1 Mar 2015 15:20:30 -0500
We have bluebirds actively feeding at peanut suet cake. They come for that
every year. They seem to be healthy.
Alice Warner
Bon Air
On Sun, Mar 1, 2015 at 2:59 PM, Wendy Ealding <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
> I live in a densely developed neighborhood in Midlothian, it is my first
> winter at this location. Because this is a new development, there is very
> little in the way of trees or shrub cover. I have been having Bluebirds
> come to my feeder regularly since mid-December. The feeder is a
> pole-mounted hopper type, fairly close to the house, and I feed sunflower
> hearts and have a peanut butter suet cake in a basket mounted on the pole.
> The Bluebirds are taking the sunflower hearts, and haven't shown interest
> in the peanut butter suet.
>
> Because this is my first winter at this location, I don't know if this is
> typical.
>
>
> Wendy Ealding
> Midlothian
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Joe Lively <joelively@xxxxxxx>
> To: va-richmond-general <va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Sun, Mar 1, 2015 2:35 pm
> Subject: [va-richmond-general] Message From RAS Website Link
>
>
> Re: Report of dead bluebirds by Alyssa Salomon.
>
> I live in a very rural
> area near Farmville. After reading your report, I checked my boxes today and
> found two male bluebirds dead (each in seperate boxes). Another was found on
> the back deck. There were no external marks to indicate dying due to predator
> action. Although bluebirds will tend to crowd into a nesting box on cold
> nights,
> no active bluebirds have been observed subsequent to the two snows.
>
> First
> thought: I would think that a die-off might well be related to the unusually
> cold conditions. During our recent snows, two bluebirds were observed feeding
> at
> suet blocks, along with other species that are not commonly seen around house.
> In past years, I have taken photographs of bluebirds showing them consuming
> berries from wild sumac bushes. They have also been observed visiting a
> hanging
> feeder filled with black-oil sunflower seeds that had been liberally sprinkled
> with freeze dried meal worms. So from field observations, supported by
> photographic documentation, I do know bluebirds eat seeds. Each observation
> (and
> photographs taken) occurred during snow, ice and unusually cold conditions.
> Record cold conditions prevailed this past month.
>
> The questions are:
> 1.
> Was a source of wild seeds or supplemental feed available?
> 2. Was this apparent
> die-off due to the frigid temperatures
> 3. Did pathology have a role?
>
> If more
> reports come in from a wide radius, concerned bluebird hosts might consider
> delaying the cleaning out of nesting debris from the previous season. This
> would
> provide addition insulation against the cold.
> Should numerous reports continue
> to come in, it might be an issue for Audubon to explore.
> Joe
> Lively
> Jetersville, Va.(804) 561-3082 You are subscribed to
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>
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