Night visitors and bird videos

A number of readers have sent in photos and anecdotes about activities only tangentially related to songbirds, but they're fun and we thought we'd share them. These tales show that there may be more going on in the backyard than we realize and that other creatures can be avid bird watchers, too.

Night visitors

Jay Wifler, Plymouth: "I have a large assortment of feeders for the birds to choose from, and I also smear some chunky peanut butter on a tree trunk for woodpeckers, nuthatches and chickadees to enjoy. It's always gone by morning, and I thought the culprit was a raccoon or opossum. One night I camped out in the kitchen, with a light on the tree to see what was finishing off the peanut butter. Around 1 a.m. there was some action so I went outdoors with my camera. I got within 15 feet and took a flash shot before walking right up to a flying squirrel — I'd never seen one before. I don't even have to stay up late now — two of them come every evening to lick up the peanut butter. They are very quick and fun to watch."

A fallen falcon

Jim Sheehan, Golden Valley: "We had merlins nesting in the neighbor's tall pine tree last summer. When one of the chicks fell out of the nest I advised the neighbor to contact the Raptor Center. This area is not in the merlin's normal range so I don't know if they believed us at first. The people who came out made a nest for the chick about 10 feet up in the pine, since the original nest, with the other sibling in it, was about 80 feet up. The chick fell right back out of the new nest but the parent birds would come by and drop off a meal for it, and the chick would make short work of it. With all this going on, the birding around our house was lousy all year and there were feathers all over from the merlins' meals. To be honest, I hope they nest somewhere else next spring."

Cat 'saved' by birds

Kim Gordon, Minneapolis: "The young cat I adopted from a rescue organization started to over-groom himself, which sometimes is a stress reaction to change. A behaviorist at the Humane Society recommended providing distraction for him, so I googled 'best bird videos for cats,' and came up with one showing English birds close up and with sound. It immediately caught his eye and he watches it intently. I try not to let him overdo it but he gets to watch the 18-minute show after he eats in the morning. Sometimes he calls and wants me to turn it on for him, and he'll express displeasure if an ad shows up; he'll "preet" to get me to skip through it for him. The bird videos have helped him relax and become more playful and more interested in watching real birds out the window."

Suet thieves

Cathy Olyphant, Spring Valley, Wis.: "One evening during supper we heard a "thwump," as something landed on the feeder close to the kitchen window. I flipped on the outside light and sure enough, there were three flying squirrels at the feeders. They move so darn fast I'm surprised I could get a photo. We've had flying squirrels for the 33 years we've lived here, and I hear them all summer long, squeaking up in the trees around the house. Ever since we had the house sided in vinyl they can't run up like they did with the old cedar siding to jump into the peanut feeder hanging from an eave. But now they use the bur oak that's close to the deck and "fly" over to the suet. They're such a treat to see that I totally forgive them for eating up all our expensive suet cakes."

So there you have it, bird fans, some tales from the backyard (or inside, watching on a screen).

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.