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Answer
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Dave
asked
on
5/16/2007,
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Jim, as you know, I live in a condo. I had neighbors in the unit next to me who fed the birds all the time. They moved away last fall and the unit is still empty. I'm seeing beautiful birds land on my deck railing. (goldfinch, rose breasted grosbeak, scarlet tanager to name a few) Are they the same birds that fed at my neighbor's feeder and are looking in at me and asking, "Where's the beef?" |
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Jim's answer: |
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Good question Dave. It's difficult to say whether of not some or all of the birds you are seeing outside your window this spring are the same ones your neighbor was feeding last fall. Some birds do in fact return to the same feeders and nesting areas year after year although some biologists believe that many, if not most, birds end up in a particular area more by chance and discovery than by memory or some sort of homing instinct. I tend to give our little bird-brained feathered friends more credit than that however. After all, just think of the distance the few birds you mentioned have traveled since last fall. Although some goldfinches do spend their entire winter season with us here in Wisconsin, many migrate south to the Gulf Coast and southern Mexico in late fall. The beautiful reddish-orange scarlet tanagers we enjoy seeing in our backyards in spring spent their winters in Columbia and Bolivia. Rose-breasted grossbeaks area always a treat to see at the feeder and are especially hungry this time of year. After all, they just flew back from their own wintering grounds in Mexico and northern part of South America. It sure seems to me that all birds have an excellent sense of direction and very good navigational skills. There really is no reason why they couldn't return to the exact backyard feeder year after year. Yes, your birds probabably are begging to be fed since nobody told them that your neighbor's bird-seed restraurant was closed. They'll eventually find another favorite backyard but if you want to keep the around its time to fill up the feeder with sunflower seeds, millet, and cracked corn; pour some niger seed in seed bags and tubes; get some suet feeders hung out; mix up some red-colored sugar water for the hummingbirds and buey some oranges, jelly, and yellow-colored juice for the oriole feeder. Bird watching is fun by can also be expensive too. |
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