Everyone knows the long enemies list of nesting birds: Cats, snakes, raccoons, foxes, dogs, skunks, ants, and other varmints.
But one of the biggest threats to little birds is a bigger bird.
My uncle in Charlotte had a hummingbird feeder on the window of his kitchen nook. One summer, he noticed occasional dead birds on the ground near the feeder. He couldn’t figure out the cause of the avian murders until one day he personally witnessed a hummingbird nail another bird in the top of the head, and that was that. If a hummingbird can kill another bird, imagine what a hawk can do?
This spring I have seen several occasions of crows carrying away baby grackles. I’ve also seen them making off with young blue jays. Blackbirds and jays will return the favor and kill and eat other smaller birds. One of the biggest enemies of all for a bluebird family is a blue jay.
This week I saw a male and female cardinal squawking and carrying on just outside of my basement window. They could see me inside, I was within a foot of the window, and that’s usually enough to send the skitzy birds on their way. But they stayed, hopping up and down and chattering away. Then I saw the hydrangea bush move a little. There two tiny little balls of feathers that I could see. There may have been more. Mom and pop cardinal were doing their best to lure the babies away. I suppose they considered me a threat of some sort, and eventually the baby birds fluttered their wings and made an awkward attempt at flying. One cat, one blue jay or one crow and they young family would have been destroyed.
It’s a tough world out there for birds.