A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 "The Birds" have arrived

For the last 2 mornings hundreds of birds (Starlings I think) have invaded my back yard. The sky goes dark and they shriek for several minutes. It's almost apocalyptic. I don't want them, I'm afraid they will scare off the song birds and I can't afford to feed that size horde. What do I do???

STAY IN THE HOUSE!!! The minute you step outside they will attack you and peck out your eyes!!!

Actually this is normal for this time of year. They will soon move off to pester someone else.

They've been bad here too....some days it's my yard...other days there flocked in my neighbors yard....as long as their out their eating bad stuff I don't mind....

They do eat grubs and stuff right?

I've been feeding them.....
Lola loves to hear them making their bird noises.

They cleaned the feeder out twice today and ate 6 suet cakes.

Better go make some more suet cakes..... :rolleyes:

That made my laugh so hard...I'm crying!

I just knew that would happen....

Apparently they have already moved on before I was able to videotape the nightmare. I have a neighbor who is terrified of birds (?) and I was hoping to entertain her - maybe next year.

As soon as I was reading that, I could see that movie and hear those birds squawking in the background???

You are toooooo funnyyyyy!!!

Guess what?

I was standing in the kitchen and heard some distinct bird noises that even I recognize...

I looked out the window, and yep--sure enough there were 2 blue jays hanging out near my feeder.

I know that not everyone loves them because they are loud and can be bullies, but I was glad to see them again!

Most of us birders are CRAZY about Blue Jays. We watch them every chance we get even though they are VERY common. Right now, on my birding forums, we have started to notice the incredible VARIETY of sounds that Blue Jays make. Also we are noticing NEW and UNUSUAL behavior amongst Jays. Crows and Jays are getting a lot of our attention lately because it appears that they may be almost equal to humans in intelligence and sophistication!!

I like watching them crack open the sunflower seeds on the top of the fence....

I was wondering Thornius, do they mate for life? It seems like they are always in pairs when I see them around here....They are fairly common in the summer, but this is my first official viewing of them so far this year!!!

Wow--can they be loud!

I'm not sure if they mate for life, but they are EXTREMELY social. You don't often see a lone Jay. I have 5 or 6 that live in and around my and my neighbors' yards.

That's true...I don't recall ever seeing one by itself. I think this pair I saw today must be the same pair I watched last summer...I guess they know where to go to get some good food!

I like them....I haven't noticed any cardinals yet, but I imagine I'll be seeing them soon too.

Then the robins!

And finally the tiny, precious little hummers.

We have Cardinals and Robins right now......but NO hummers. Be about another 6-8 weeks for the hummers.

Guess what? Yesterday I saw my first pair of doves....Today I saw 2 male cardinals(they were fighting), and my first robin.

I'm keeping track of their arrival in my garden journal so I'll be able to see the arrival differences in coming years.

I just love cardinals, they are probably my favorite other than hummers.