Preying for birds around the feeders: E-burg bird fan helps out predators, too

[Donna]

February 28, 2010

It's a fact of life that living creatures need to eat. Winter in the northeast can be brutal, from freezing temperatures to frequent snowstorms, making it difficult for many animals, including birds, to find a good meal. Some species of birds high-tail it for warmer weather when winter approaches, others remain and often rely on bird feeders as a food source.

While you may enjoy helping chickadees, titmice, purple finches and pine siskins find a good meal at your feeder, East Stroudsburg resident Amy Albert believes it is important to remember predatory birds as well because they are part of nature.

"Some years ago there was a saying, 'Predators are part of the picture,'" she says.

For Albert, a board member of Brodhead Watershed Association, wanting to help predatory birds began 15 years ago, after the area was hit with a heavy storm.

"I saw a small, dead owl along the highway and then read an article about how difficult hunting was for the screech owls, which depend on mice," says Albert. "I understood — the mice were under the snow. The poor owl had been hunting in the only place it could see mice, on the highway."

Darryl Speicher, an environmental educator at Monroe County Environmental Education Center and president of Pocono Avian Research Center, says that predatory birds, especially owls, are adept at catching prey through the snow.

"But there are quite a few cases of owls being injured on roadsides during wintertime," says Speicher. "Their prey is more visible along roadsides. Especially for young owls, winter can be pretty harsh."

To assist owls and hawks, Albert likes to clear the snow from around her bird feeder so that predators can find something to eat. She suggests removing the snow far enough to see mouse tunnels and to allow space for an owl to catch a mouse. She cleans around the feeder following every snowfall and after wind drifts the snow.

"Our feathered mouse hunters are having a hard time of it trying to survive when the mice are completely covered by snow," says Albert. "Let's help!"