Bold or bashful

It's enjoyable to see beautiful birds at our feeders (including our native plant "feeders"), but observing different birds' personalities adds to our enjoyment.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology explored the survival value of personality differences based on a study of 156 individual bushtits (a bird found in Europe). As you might have noticed in flocks of chickadees that visit your yard, some individuals are bold and some are bashful.

When the experimenter provided birds with desirable food, but in a dangerous location (i.e. in an open area far from shrubbery), bold birds behaved differently than bashful birds. He found that "adventurous birds risked their necks to fill their stomachs. But cautious birds stuck with the sheltered feeder even in the morning, risking starvation to stay safe."

When food is scarce, bold birds have an advantage, but when there are predators, bashful birds have the edge, so both personalities survive in the population. Read more ...

Thwarting the not-so-bashful house sparrow
 
One species that is anything but bashful is the non-native house sparrow. Many people find that this species is aggressive toward other songbirds and is a problem at feeders (as well as being a problem in nesting season).

Possible solution: In addition to sweeping away seeds from the ground beneath feeders and not serving millet, the Project Feeder Watch blog describes another solution to try: Feeder halos. They report that it has worked in many situations!

They speculate that the house sparrows "perceive the wires as a possible hindrance to rapid escape from the treated feeder.  Interestingly, the effect seems to be relatively species-specific, as other species such as finches, cardinals, and native sparrows are unperturbed by the wires. The effect may also have something to do with the angle at which different species approach feeders.

Read more including a description of how to make one ...
More information about this device on the Sialis bluebird website ...

An amazing amount of life can exist in one cubic foot of space. To document this incredible diversity, photographer David Liittschwager traveled the world, dropping one-cubic-foot metal frames into gardens, streams, parks, forests, oceans, and then photographing each creature found within that space.

He found hundreds or thousands of little creatures within these small cubes everywhere he went -- even in NYC's Central Park! These small creatures represent the wealth of biodiversity found on our planet.

(Read an article by E. O. Wilson about this project, see some of these fascinating photos and view a video about the project, all on the National Geographic website.)

A world denuded
This project inspired NPR Science Writer Craig Childs to explore what could be found in a cornfield. Not much! Childs said, "I listened and heard nothing, no bird, no click of insect. ... It felt like another planet entirely," he said, a world denuded.

Recently the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a position statement on pesticides.

From the abstract of this statement: "Epidemiologic evidence demonstrates associations between early life exposure to pesticides and pediatric cancers, decreased cognitive function, and behavioral problems."

The statement also notes, "Children encounter pesticides daily and have unique susceptibilities to their potential toxicity."

The report discusses how kids are exposed to pesticides every day in air, food, dust, and soil. Children also frequently come into contact with pesticide residue on pets and after lawn, garden, or household pesticide applications.

Read more about the report from Beyond Pesticides...

Make 2013 a pesticide-free year for the sake of children, pets, and wildlife!