Q: Three owls recently spent the day on a tree branch in my backyard — I'm thinking they're great horned owls but would appreciate your verifying that. The next day they were back and were eating something on the branch.
A: You're correct, your photo shows three "teenaged" great-horned owls roosting in your backyard tree — the birds are probably three to four months old. Either one of the youngsters snagged a prey item, or a parent owl brought in something it had caught. There have been a number of owlet sightings in the metro area as this large species raises broods in old hawk or crow nests, or in snags in damaged trees.
Hummingbirds in hand
Q: Just wanted to tell you that I ordered a handheld hummingbird feeder online and 20 minutes after I first took it outdoors a hummingbird landed on my hand to drink from it. It made my day and I can't wait for my grandson to try it.
A: Thanks for letting me know about these ingenious little feeders. I looked them up online and they do look like fun, and you can use that standard 4:1 mixture of water and cane sugar in them.
Family tree?
Q: This summer we had a pair of bluebirds nest in a hollowed-out limb of a linden tree. They were in and out of there from morning to night. Do you think they had babies, and where did they all go?
A: From your description it's a sure thing that the birds raised their young inside the hole in the tree branch. The fact that they left and returned many times each day means they were feeding their youngsters. Then, once the young birds were able to fly out of the cavity, the family moved off. They could have been in the neighborhood for the next couple of weeks, or they might have moved to a park or other area with a large open space for hunting insects.
Fans of the grape
Q: We put out grape jelly for the orioles but today I saw a mother robin feeding jelly to her squawking chick. Is this unusual? And a large dark bird with a black cap and a beautiful song comes in for jelly, as well.
A: That must have been a sweet sight, with the mother robin feeding jelly to her youngster. An amazing number of birds relish grape jelly, the biggest fans being those that tend to eat fruit as a regular part of their diet, including Baltimore orioles, robins, catbirds, woodpeckers, even chickadees. Several years ago a reader sent in a report of a robin that brought in worms to dunk in the grape jelly before eating them — he was using the jelly as a condiment. Your description of the gray bird with the lovely song perfectly describes a gray catbird, another fruit (and jelly) fan.
Food dunker
Q: A crow visits our birdbath several times a day and dunks dead animal parts in the water before eating them. The water gets disgusting and needs to be flushed out. I've tried leaving it dry for several days to discourage the crow but it keeps coming back. Is this unusual behavior?
A: I'm sorry to hear that a crow is making your birdbath repulsive but this is not unusual behavior. Other readers report finding body parts of rabbits or voles in their birdbath after a crow visit. Since so many birds rely on a birdbath at this time of year, to stave off heat and cool down fledglings, I hope you can continue to hold your nose and hose out the basin several times a day. I know it's no fun but you'll be doing the other birds a real service.
A taillight tale
Q: Just wanted to tell you about a delightful thing that happened as my husband backed our trailer into a campsite recently: A ruby-throated hummingbird zoomed in and pecked at the trailer's red taillight.
A: Thanks for sharing this wonderful hummingbird tale that indicates their interest in all things red, even a trailer's red lights.
St. Paul resident Val Cunningham, who volunteers with the St. Paul Audubon Society and writes about nature for local, regional and national newspapers and magazines, can be reached at valwrites@comcast.net.
