Don’t forget to look down.

It’s early in the spring and the warblers have yet to pass through, however that does not mean there’s nothing to see…you just have to look a bit harder.  If you do; you’ll be treated to a handful of bird species that are specially equipped to handle this time of year and the challenging conditions it offers to animals.  These intrepid forest floor foragers include the American robin, Common grackle, Song sparrow, Fox sparrow, Red-bellied woodpecker, and European starling.

These hardy birds are among the first to “arrive” each spring, to the upper Midwest region.  Male American

robins show up within a few days of each other in their annual quest to reclaim (or claim if it’s their first time) a small patch of territory in which to find a mate, build a nest, and raise each of up to three broods.  They are particularly adept at “hopping” stealthily under the tangle of brush and fallen trees in order to “flip” (with their beaks) last year’s fallen leaves in search of something to eat buried underneath.  Robins have been said to “mate for life” although it’s not entirely clear if that’s the case.  Females will be arriving soon and they also are territorial by nature.  It may just be that the same two pair meets again for another family brood due to the proximity of their two chosen (and defended) areas.

Invertebrates are also the spring favorites of the opportunistic Common grackle until they can get the “other” 25 percent of their diet; other animals.  This of course means waiting until more species arrive and begin laying eggs and having babies.  I have seen firsthand when a hungry grackle carries off a young fledgling Northern cardinal.  Fox and Song sparrows employ a different methodology of finding food in the detritus of the woods; bi pedal scratching.  This amounts to the same motion used when straightening the doormat with both feet (using no hands); a kind of backward scootching motion.  This clears the leaf litter and exposes the underneath with the beak in perfect position to stab suddenly downward and snatch whatever was just uncovered.

European starlings are scavenging feeders who also like to take advantage of other’s hard work.  They can

be first heard (then seen) harassing the Red-bellied woodpeckers (red-headed – no red on their bellies) as they are hollowing out their nest cavities for the season’s clutch of eggs.  The RBWs are very cautious and will quickly fly away from their chosen tree when they sense that the starlings are watching.  They will abandon their labor-intensive excavations for long periods of time until they are certain that the interlopers have moved on; sometimes for good if need be.

Weather at this time of year in Milwaukee can be very unpredictable.  Just when you think the groundhog finally got it right; snow reappears.  This makes it challenging and dangerous for the early birds who decide to move in and begin their annual familial preparations.  However, do not fret too much; these animals are specially equipped and nature-ready to survive, even though it may look bleak for them.  Simply enjoy their antics, techniques and strategies as you marvel at what God has created.

The Unwitting Killing Fields

How can something which appears so good on the surface, have such an unanticipated and seemingly dark side?  That one question just about sums up life on this planet at times doesn’t it?  Unintended consequences, best intentions, and didn’t see that one coming moments are a merely part of the imperfect lives we all must live.  We make calculated decisions based upon whatever “research” we have conducted, questions asked and answered of trusted resources, juxtaposition against personal ideals and beliefs, all blended with a modicum of “gut” feelings every day.   Sometimes we get it right, sometimes wrong, and sometimes there are no absolutes…just unintended consequences.

One such tangible example of the above happens at your very own bird feeders with regularity; killing fields.

That is to say that no one planned it, made it so, or purposefully endorsed it; but it is as certain as the coming of spring.  Each season we lovingly place feeding stations in our yards surrounding them with inviting flora, hoping to attract all manner of hungry avian visitors.  These frequenting birds come to “depend” (or at least expect) that food will be provided and available to them as their source of easily obtained nutrition.  In the late winter and early spring, birds will decide where to locate their nesting sites in large part due to careful triangulation of their basic needs; shelter (habitat), food sources, and available water.  Access to and availability of these vital resources imprints somewhere in the (still not completely understood) areas of a bird’s brain and appears to be passed along to future generations of that bird’s offspring.  Left there; that serenely pastoral picture would be completely lovely and innocently sublime year after year.  Unfortunately to the keen observer; there’s a little more to it, and it ain’t so pretty.

The Common grackle is a medium-sized bird that looks like a small crow.  It's black and purple shiny plumage is somewhat iridescent and its range is almost all of North America east of the Rocky Mountains.  It has bright yellow eyes and a rounded, keel-shaped tail which it uses to "steer" itself on the wind very much like a sailboat.  It's beak is long and pointed.  It is very comfortable simply walking around on the ground to move from place to place.  A grackle's call is described as "abrasive, harsh, and grating." 

A few years ago in the early morning as I was walking to my truck in the alley across the back yard, my heart was first briefly warmed then immediately broken at what I witnessed.  A baby (immature) cardinal was hopping in the grass on an apparent solo trip away from its nest when out of the blue appeared a Common grackle.  The grackle snatched the baby by the neck in its long and powerful beak, and flew several neighbor's yards away as I stood there in horror.   At that time, I didn’t put the pieces together - this year they clicked; you go fishing where the fish are…simple as that.

Barbara and I have transformed our apartment’s yard over the past two seasons into a bird-friendly oasis.  This particular winter into spring we have supplied vast amounts of black-oil sunflower seed and suet and have attracted a faithful following of American robins, Northern cardinals, Red-winged blackbirds, European starlings and (of course) House sparrows.  Birds have been nesting nearby and began to bring their individual fledglings to the source of all their food and water.  Fluttery-winged “babies” stand on the grass squawking

and keening for a parent-delivered beakful of suet.  They hop-fly awkwardly to the topside of curved iron shepherds hooks innocently awaiting their next feeding in the pecking order.  That’s when they strike…Common grackle assassins.  This year the circle of life has been especially brutal to witness out our upper apartment window as one after another unsuspecting juvenile bird is carried off and systematically shredded into a meal.  Did I cause this to happen?  No, not intentionally, however I do have some blame to claim for setting the dinner table.

I am a firm believer in the aforementioned “circle of life” but that does not include or excuse the seemingly indiscriminate beheadings I have also discovered below the feeders.  They always appear to be young House sparrows whose bodies are lying there in the grass sans head, in a pile of strewn feathers.  Why the grackles do not take away the rest of their kill on every occasion is unknown to me.  I am only left to ponder in some anthropomorphic manner as to their motives.  Why are some consumed entirely and others only left behind in a dismembered state? Is the head the tastiest part?  Is it to send a message to the rest of the flock that these feeders have been claimed by grackles, for grackles?  Are these the unfortunate targets of a few “rogue” birds that have passed along a penchant for murderous behavior to their offspring?  Whatever the reason; it is extremely violent and unsettling to the casual nature-lover who witnesses the act at their own feeder; but it is nature nonetheless.

The Internet is dotted with posts from individuals who wish to know if a grackle perpetrated this or that heinous crime involving avian cannibalism.  No one definitive answer has been offered that I can find, however I can personally attest to the behavior first hand.  Does it make me hate grackles and wish to take revenge?  Absolutely not, but I can understand that some might feel that way.  So, will I stop feeding birds so that grackles can’t swoop in to pick off unsuspecting baby birds in the spring?  No I won’t, but be forewarned; if you are personally faint of heart – prepare yourself for the inevitable fishing expedition into your well stocked pond.  Plus, remember that it’s not your fault…it’s only “natural.”  We all make choices, we live (or die) with them accordingly; but we make them and go on.