I have been having trouble acclimating this summer with the sudden heat and
humidity of July so have been sitting back in the recliner watching the
squirrels and jays.
Young of both species have to learn what their parents already know. They
sure try to get into feeders that are off limits and sometimes can solve
the puzzle their parents gave up long before. But if they fail, they quit
trying.
One young jay has learned that gray squirrels are messy eaters when
shelling peanuts. The squirrel can drop the second peanut and a fast jay
can snatch it. The squirrel learned to be more careful. So the jay learned
to jump at the squirrel from in front and startle it into dropping a peanut.
The squirrel learned to turn its back as out of sight out of mind. and the
jay never hits it as squirrels bite or claw well. Jay learned to leapfrog
squirrel in drop right in front.
Squirrel moved next door and hid behind pot. Jay learned to jump around
pot. Squirrel finally got peace by getting under the 2" rail on the balcony
and the pot and lying down to eat. Jay tried repeatedly to land but cannot
get a grip in the small space. Squirrel wins.
Until the jay learns about tails. Even when under a board they can be
snatched while flying past and pinched hard. Peanut drops again. There is
now a draw depending on whether the tail is tucked away from the edge or
not. The squirrel does not tuck other by chance and the jay does not always
pinch in any case. But it keeps trying
It took the young jay about a week to learn its performance. No other jays
have copied yet but a second is starting to work on a fox squirrel. That
squirrel does not intimidate as well so I can keep watching.
The young female cooper's hawk got a dove this am off the window just as
the dove hit it trying to escape. The hawk did not lose a feather and has
learned to use the window and wall to trap feeding doves. With luck the
hawk will get the doves to migrate for labor day hunting season in the
valley.
The young red-tailed hawks are now soaring way up there to beg for distant
parents to bring food. The call really carries a long way. Long bouts of
calling do not work much anymore but the highest bird can swoop to the one
parent that still brings something now and then.
No migrants seen or heard over the last 10 days or so.
--
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx
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