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Re: hummer predator



hi y'all,

hummers and cicadas are just about the same size and from a low elevation
standpoint look alot alike as they move through/around shrubbery.

apparently cicadas are a rather tasy catch for many of our feathered
friends; i've observed cardinals snag 'em, and often seen them "mantle" over
their catch like a hawk.

cicadas have been emerging in our neighborhood of late, and a bunch of
unruly juv. hummers are chasing each other over, under and around any
standing vegetation, autos, flying flags, human observers, etc. around.
might be pretty easy to mistake one for the other, esp. if you're hungry and
have a split-second to catch a meal.

'course, that's not to say a thrasher hasn't developed a search image for a
tiny, sugar-charged thimbleful of feathers....

good grief, now i gotta police the thrashers...

;-)
gary

gary phillips
conway, sc
sunset zone 31

"...where is the person, I ask, who, on observing this glittering fragment
of the rainbow, would not pause, admire, and turn his mind with
reverence..." (J.J. Audubon)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joshua S. Rose" <jsr6@duke.edu>
To: <carolinabirds@duke.edu>
Sent: Friday, September 12, 2003 4:01 PM
Subject: NHAS trips; hummer predator


> Hi Carolinabirders,
>
> Judy Murray asked me to announce here that New Hope Audubon is having a
> field trip tomorrow. Actually, a dragonfly walk, led by yours truly. The
> destination will be decided tomorrow: if we get mostly newcomers who don't
> know much about odonates, we'll head to Occoneechee Mountain which has a
> diversity and abundance of common, easily identified species. If we get
> mostly return customers who know the basics, we'll go somewhere more
> challenging, maybe the Flat River or Haw River.
>
> Meet at 9 AM at the usual NHAS rendezvous point, the parking lot in front
> of the Mardis Gras Bowling Lanes on NC 54 near the I-40 overpass. Note
> that construction has closed some of the ramps there, so taking I-40 may
> not be a good idea; 15-501 is longer but safer.
>
> I noticed that the NHAS website is way behind, still showing field trips
> from May and June. I did copy all the NHAS events from the latest
> newsletter onto the calendar page of the Duke Natural History Society
> website, along with activities of Wake Audubon, the Chapel Hill Bird CLub,
> and lots more:
> http://www.biology.duke.edu/dnhs/
>
> When the rains returned a little over a week ago, as usual the hummingbird
> activity at the feeders intensified. That's when I noticed that one of the
> local Brown Thrashers was repeatedly lurking in the brush pile near one of
> our feeders, and leaping out at hummingbirds. Trying to catch and eat
> them? Thrashers do often remind me of Greater Roadrunners, which have been
> noted catching and eating hummers at feeders out west. At one scary point
> I even saw the thrasher fly out and grab something green off the driveway,
> but then I spotted the latest hummingbird perched in its usual spot on the
> highest twig of the brush pile, so the thrasher must have caught something
> else...
>
> Good birding,
>
> Josh
>
>
> Joshua S. Rose
> Duke University
> Department of Biology (Zoology, R.I.P.)
>
> jsr6@duke.edu
> http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/