feederless deedee's

[Frederick W. Schueler]

Everyone,

Back in the day, we published a remark in Aleta's Daybook, that
Chickadees began to use their feebee call at the winter Solstice, and
the archives of the NatureList have pretty good verification of that
date up until the past few years.

When I do the streets I record all the species of Birds I hear, and so
far this winter there have just been a very few single Chickadees saying
deedee one or twice. In 2023 & 2024 I went out for Kemptville area
Christmas Bird Counts, and was lucky to hear a Raven overhead, or see
some Grouse tracks in the snow. I've attributed this to bird feeders
drawing the Chickadees, and a lot of our Nuthatches, to the north side
of the village, so that we have fewer here, and that they lack the
social stimulus that might provoke the feebee call.

I haven't tabulated my dates, or looked up the significance that
Chickadee behaviourists ascribe to the feebee call, but I wonder what
others, who have or don't have feeders nearby, have heard.

fred.
------------------------------------------------------------
---------Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad ------------
Fragile Inheritance Natural History - https://fragileinheritance.ca/
6 St-Lawrence Street Bishops Mills, RR#2 Oxford Station, Ontario K0G 1T0
on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain 44.87156° N 75.70095° W
------------------------------------------------------------

[Kerry Coleman]

I have a good flock of chickadees using my feeders. I heard my first feebee call on Jan 27th at 12.20 p.m.. Stone Road Oxford Mills

K

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[rmb...@istar.ca]

Since we moved "out to the lake" year round here in Perth Road 4 years
ago, this is the first winter that I haven't heard the feebee call
since before Christmas, and finally heard it this morning. I have
about 15 chickadees hitting the feeders daily, some come to my hand
when I go to fill the feeders on the patio in the afternoons. I like
to top them up so that they're full for the following morning, and I
get an earful of chatter if they run empty.

Overall I'm finding that there haven't been as many birds this winter.
Goldfinches are few and far between, there are no purple finches, the
numbers of doves is way down, and although I have a pair of hairy
woodpeckers and redbellied woodpeckers I haven't seen a downy in over
a month. There are also less nuthatches, and then only white
breasted, I haven't seen a red breasted since September.

I had a tufted titmouse for most of last winter, I am disappointed in
that it didn't show up at all this year. Last year I had 9 cardinals,
this year I had one pair show up at the feeders until about the first
week of January, then they disappeared. I suspect there is a merlin
about, a couple of times I heard the bluejays scream and then the one
or two chickadees that stayed in the bushes by the house sat frozen
still for a while, not even a twitch. I have not seen what predator
alarmed them.

Rose-Marie