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Cardinals and suet; begging behavior; Waterthrush persists



Josh and others;

On Monday 4/02/01, Joshua Stuart Rose Wrote:

My girlfriend's suet feeder is finally attracting some customers, but not 
the ones I expected: Cardinals! Not sure if they really like the suet, or 
if they're just picking out the seeds. I'm just glad SOMEbody's eating it!

I have had both male and female cardinals coming to my suet feeder for the
last month or so.  They only come just after I replace the "block" and can
reach through the cage to get at the suet.  I have seen them actually eat
the suet, not just the seeds.  I wonder if they need the added energy from
the fatty meal in light of all the extra calories required for springtime
aggression / nest building / egg laying?

On a related note, II had many drenched visitors to my feeders yesterday,
even during the brief hail we experienced here in Raleigh!  A pair of
white-breasted nuthatches came repeatedly during the afternoon, and I
witnessed the female "begging" for suet from the male...wing fluttering and
squeaking the entire time.  Each time the female fluttered her wings, she
sprayed water all over the male!

Also, the Louisiana Waterthrush remains at Swift Creek Bluffs in Cary.  I
was out on Saturday photographing wildflowers (bloodroot, spring beauties,
blue violets, cut-leaved toothwort, trout lily, anemone, etc.) and was met
by the emphatic chip notes as I rounded a bend in the stream.  Other species
include butterbutts, red-winged blackbirds, singing ruby-crowned kinglets,
northern paulas, and cedar waxwings.  Also spotted two gray treefrogs!!

Cheers!
Heather



Heather Wallace
Biologist, Earth Tech
701 Corporate Center Dr.
Raleigh, NC 27607
919-854-6252