Brown Thrashers know which creatures, even which specific birds, will threaten their nest. The question is, how do they know? Thanks to AutistiVision for his footage of Mockingbirds attacking a Crow • Mockingbirds Harassing...
Oh Jo, I just love your narration, sometimes witty and at other times philosophical but always entertaining. I loved the bacon and eggs part ha ha. Joan
Joan Ouellette what a welcome comment yours is, Joan. You nailed what I aim to do in each movie. (And I also thought that the bacon and eggs description was the most fun line in the film.)
Oh! I just discovered your channel and am very much looking forward to more. Beautifully done. And I can tell you have a real understanding and affinity for the birds. Thank you!
🤗 Don't miss the lizards mating. Hearing from my viewers and responding to their comments is a pleasure. Unfortunately I must forgo answering comments for awhile because the rotator cuff tear in my left arm is healing slowly, and I just learned that I have carpal tunnel syndrome in my right arm. I seem to have a body made out of cheap spare parts. So I won’t be answering comments before the beginning of August, if then. But if there’s something you’d like to tell me, please do so. I’ll be interested in what you have to say. It’s just that you’ll have to guess at what I would have answered. (I’ll be pasting this answer to every comment I get for the next few weeks.)
Great footage and great questions! I currently have House Wrens nesting in a nest box under the eaves above my back deck, under our awning. While the male sings territorially all day long, making a big arc around the entire backyard area, the Wrens have yet to bother the rather large family of Blue Jays who hang out in our yard on and off all day, feasting on suet, sunflower seeds, and peanuts in the shell. Wondering if that will change soon…
Well, the Brown Thrasher's nest was right near a food source that the Bluejays visited all the time. The proximity to the nest is probably what prompted the attacks, so the House Wrens may choose to leave the jays alone ... considering how much bigger the Bluejays are.
Now THAT is a compliment, Sylvia! Thank you. And since you’re a new subscriber, may I suggest a couple of my old movies that I am especially fond of and that you might not become aware of: green herons feeding their juvenile offspring and lizards mating. Welcome to my world.
Must be in their DNA as well as hearing it on the mobbing grapevine. That or I also wonder if it's the kind of beaks/bills that the other egg eating birds have. It's a great question and you've done a wonderful job with amazing illustrations. That thrasher vs. squirrel footage is amazing! Love the way the thrasher fans its tail with the blue jay - never saw that before.
I agree: I thought it was an interesting question. I used Jennifer Ackerman's Book the genius of birds in trying to answer it. Ain't it wonderful when your camera just looks out and captures Something As Bizarre as that squirrel versus thrasher footage! I'm sure you've experienced it. As for the treasures spreading his tail, I was just commenting to my husband a couple of days ago how much I love the way thrashers and catbirds spread their tails. We've been spreading dried mealworms on the ground near our feet and waiting to see which birds are brave enough to come close to where we are sitting. Oddly, the catbirds are by far the bravest. They often show up two at a time and spread their wings and tails in threat displays. They each hope to drive the other off and have all the food. Love watching it!
Sounds like great entertainment Jo. Forgot to mention - excellent opening editing!! Love the perfect timing of the thrasher landing in sync with the music.
I like to hear that, Maya. Thanks for telling me. (And I hope you also clicked the bell by the subscribe button so that you’ll be notified whenever I put a new movie up.)
Fantastic video again Jo! You always make me smile 😊! I love all the birds shown in that video, especially Thrashers and Jays. My Jays are very tame and used to me, and funnily enough they seem to get along with all my other birds except when the Grackles have their babies. The Grackles become bossy, lol. Maybe it's because I feed them a lot and they don't bother with other birds' nests. Who knows. Hope you are all better! Thanks!
I find the jays to be very skittish, but I'm trying to earn their trust by feeding them dried mealworms. It'll be interesting to see how much progress I can make with them this summer. To my surprise, the birds that trusted me quickly were the gray catbirds. I am healing but V.E.R.Y slowly. Thanks for asking after my health.
I love Tuesdays! Thank you Jo! Just witnessed Blue Jays nest raising twice in two locations! I documented it in my nature journal/sketchbook! I’ll have to share some pages with you sometime.
I just found you, and after the first video I subscribed. Which I rarely do. I absolutely love your quality videos, the great information, along with your voice and your witty sense of humor ❤
By the way, I’ll be posting a movie this afternoon about tree swallows defending a nest box. If you clicked the bell when you subscribed, you would get an email informing you that it was up. I publish every fourth Friday afternoon.
Very good observations. I have doves, thrashers and sparrows here in western Texas when I feed but here lately I’ve noticed a gang of blue jays hanging around. The thrasher pair that usually hang out stay away. I guess I know why now.
I recently discovered your videos and am really enjoying them, thank you! Brown Thrashers are also known to detect and eject cowbird eggs from their nests, they are fascinating.
Welcome! Hearing from my viewers and responding to their comments is a pleasure. Unfortunately I must forgo answering comments for awhile because the rotator cuff tear in my left arm is healing slowly, and I just learned that I have carpal tunnel syndrome in my right arm. I seem to have a body made out of cheap spare parts. So I won’t be answering comments before the beginning of August, if then. But if there’s something you’d like to tell me, please do so. I’ll be interested in what you have to say. It’s just that you’ll have to guess at what I would have answered. (I’ll be pasting this answer to every comment I get for the next few weeks.)
I am so glad I found your channel! I want to learn more about these wee dinosaurs! I saved what turned out to be a brown thresher; it had been hit or brushed by a car and was panting in the road, but couldnt yet move. I picked him up and took him home to recover. He seemed to recover his wits about him hours later and I returned him to the same spot that same day. Everything appeared to be fine! I knew he needed to go about his day because he squawked and bit me, haha! What a gorgeous bird he was! And he happily flew away 😀
Great story! You're building good karma. Thanks for passing it along, Deb. Brown Thrashers are elegant ... and funny. Since you want to learn more about them, type "Brown Thrasher Alwood" into the YT search box and a couple more videos will pop up. And here's a link to another film you might otherwise miss that has footage of him (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bNieFyUZYvE.html).
Hilary Russ I am glad this was timely info for you, Hilary. And now that I think of it, I have another movie - just a short one - about Blue Jays mobbing a Mississippi kite. It might contribute a dab or two of knowledge about the subject.
Yeah, they're shy all right. Every day for the last month I've been laying dried mealworms mixed with grape jelly on the ground 7 to 10 feet from a bench where I sit and waiting to see which birds are brave enough to come that close to a human for a treat they really want. The catbirds are the bravest (to my surprise), but the thrashers will also show up some of the time. I'll be making several movies about the birds quarreling over the food.
@@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME Oh I have a good story about a catbird. During a drought one of them came right up to me while I was watering plants as if to say "Excuse me. May I have a drink of water please?" So I flooded the ground in front of him and he took a big drink. I actually took a picture of him. He actually looks like he's asking for water. :)
Very interesting video. I have a hand raised African Grey that I personally raised from egg, never been in any other environment except with me for the past 31 years. We occasionally have a stray cat that wonders into our back yard and my parrot lets out an alarming sound that gets my attention. She has never been in a flock of other birds to learn this behavior from. She even sounds the same yell when there is utility truck painted the color orange driving by…. Crazy how birds/animals are born with instincts to danger.
Well that was fun and interesting to read about. You gave me an interesting nugget of knowledge, especially the part about her yelling over the color orange.
Hi, Chuck. Always good to hear from you and I am glad you loved the movie. Feeling well? Hmm. My energy and outlook are great, but I always have so many Health issues that my husband kids me that I have a body made out of spare parts. 🥴
The fledglings are starting to go to ground again this year, and I'm starting to hear that tell-tale radar chirping the adults do nonstop. I hope some are able to survive all the cats and foxes in the area.
Yeah, I get your protective attitude. After all, about sixty percent of baby birds are destined to be food. Sad but true. Songbirds need to raise two or three broods just to keep their species numbers stable.
The thrasher in our backyard is definitely a juvenile since it was eating at the bird seed buffet with a couple of squirrels like they were old friends. 🤷🏻♀️
I have an "issue" with the Brown Thrashers nesting in my tea olive trees. I need to trim the trees from around the air conditioner unit, but the last time I tried I got a "hissing/growling" sound that kind of freaked me out. Given that I've read these birds can draw blood, I left the birds alone. But I'd like to know when they might abandon the nest, it's been about a month since they complete the nest. It's very difficult to see inside the nest because the foliage is quite dense.
Sorry to hear about your problem, Billy. The good news, according to Cornell Lab's Birds of the World, is that the Thrashers probably won't reuse that nest for their second brood. "Occasionally reuses nests built in previous years, rarely nests constructed within same breeding season. In ne. Kansas, 4% of 94 marked old nests were reused and only 1 of those nests reused within same breeding season (Cavitt et al. 1999). Prior to reuse, adults remove and replace all of old nest-lining and often add additional sticks." Cornell Lab says the eggs hatch in 11-14 days." Eggs hatch in 11-14 days. I didn't see I didn't see any mention in Birds of the World of how long it is before the nestlings fledge , but it's probably a couple of weeks. I don't know how much help this info is or how crucial it is to trim around your AC unit. Good luck with it. And feel free to let me know how it turns out.
@@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME I can wait, it's "recommended" that a 4-foot area be cleared around the a/c fan. These birds are funny, they show pretty much no fear of humans. I've sat on the back porch watching them and they'll come within 3-4 feet without a care. Right after I discovered their nest I was seeing them "tag team" for worms, then I wouldn't see them at all for 3-4 days. I'll give them enough time to be sure they're gone. Thanks for the information!!
@@billywrench2610 I'm glad you found the info helpful. When I read your original comment, I thought that I couldn't help because we've never had to bother one of their nests. But surprisingly, Birds of the World did help with the news that they don't usually reuse the first nest. I'm happy to be of use.
Just caught a baby bird that can’t fly yet but he probably fell from nest he can only glide a little I got him on back deck in a tank mom still feeds him how long before he fly ???
All of a suuden, i have a thrasher visiting the feeder, and he seems to get along with our jays and squirrels. The jays get along with everyone unless a mourning dove gets too close Maybe! Maybe he is still a juvenile. He is very pretty!
Your jays don't get along with Mourning Doves? Hmm. Surprising. You might want to check out the other two movies I made about Brown Thrashers. One of them is about the juveniles.
This video made me a little sad. I've been under the delusion that thrashers never attack. I always consider the cardinals to be the only nasty species based off of the drama I see in my backyard. Also jealous that you have blue Jays!! I wish I got to see them in my area.
nbalover1022 I hate to break it to you, but the only way to survive in the bird world is to be prepared to fight! I think all of them do it. In fact I can’t think of a single species that I haven’t seen fighting either with flock mates or with other species. So I figure, no need to be disappointed in the thrashers; they’re just trying to survive.
I consider blue jays to be very nasty, considering that they eat the offspring of other birds! How can you not consider that nasty? They're beautiful but nasty. It's really odd to me that you like blue jays but not the relatively harmless cardinals, who just want to be left alone.
@@edennis8578 to be fair I probably only like blue jays because I've never actually seen one in-person (meaning I've never seen their nasty side like you mentioned). I still like cardinals but the ones in my backyard are mean, especially the female ones!
I too have brown thrashers nesting in my shrubs. I also feed all the birds.Mostly i buy hen scratch to feed. Only I have never seen brown thrashers feeding on my feeder...never!! I thought they were only worm or bug eaters! which is correct??
They'll eat a few seeds, but mostly they want bugs (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0Tf5gixXVT0.html) and fruit (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bNieFyUZYvE.html).
I legit have like over 12 or more feral cats that live around my house and but that doesn't seem to stop the birds around my house because I have a birth sanctuary in my backyard with every bird you can think of literally a brown thrasher Cardinals Blue Jays doves mockingbirds but I also have a swamp and words that's a Wild Life natural reserve and I have a bunch of bushes for little Black seeds are berries whatever they are but the brown factor I would have to say makes the craziest noises I've ever heard I even have a woodpecker that stays behind the house and I walked in the woods and not on the tree and it flew down and started staring at me like it was offended I was knocking on its tree LOL and then I'll play different bird sounds and literally the female cardinals. And fly over my head and so will the brown thrasher they get used to me coming on the back porch and whistling at them but I can't seem to figure out what bird it is that makes a really annoying scratchy short scream sound like a crying baby it's probably the most annoying one LOL in the female cardinals sweep down over my head and get angry almost as if I'm trying to steal their man when I Whistle for play the sounds on RU-vid but the brown thrasher I saw through my binoculars and it was near enough but true other birds were also flying to the nest that was not the same as brown thrasher but we're the same as each other and I think the brown thrasher things all day looking for a mate when I started playing the brown thrasher noises on RU-vid I started to hear Twenty other Thrasher's around me calling out sometimes they get annoying because I can hear them when I'm in the house but mainly I love hearing them but they can get annoying
Bird sanctuary and may I add that I do feed cat food to the feral cats on my porch but I also seen a cat on a thin branch and a bush tree I thought I was tripping because there was no way that tiny Lim supported its weight but it was so crazy how it was literally on the very edge of a very then Lim trying to catch a bird but most of the cats are used to me feeding them but on another note I know this is long but about a couple weeks ago I was at a friend's house and I seen a baby woodpecker which I've never seen before only being adults and then I started to do the baby woodpecker sounds on my speaker outside I'll look at the tree and there's over 20 baby red headed woodpeckers in about two or maybe three adults in One Tree it was amazing to see I have a video you can't really make out the kind of birds in the videos for the Sun but it was amazing to see I have a video you can't really make out the kind of birds in the videos for the Sun but they were a red-headed woodpeckers I never seen a pack or whole family before didn't know that was a thing
Sparrows wont eat their babies but theyll peck holes in other birds eggs. Even worse than a Jay imo. They also harass my goldfinches on the thistle feeder even tho they dont really eat it.
Well dadgummit, I relish corresponding with my viewers, but right now I can't, not before the end of August. On the 13th I am having a stem cell procedure done to minimize my carpal tunnel syndrome. Until that has time to heal, I might occasionally type five or six words but usually I'll just paste this answer so that commenters will understand why I didn't respond specifically. Please know that I still enjoy reading your comments. Thank goodness the carpal tunnel doesn't keep me from filming--which I love doing!--but I've had to hire my granddaughter to edit movies for me. One way or another, I'll continue to post every Tuesday.
My strawberry field attracts them this year，that is why I‘m searching about this bird information here and coming on your video now. I don't like them making my strawberries gone very fast……
And I don't doubt for a second that they are chowing down on your strawberries. I did another film about how much they love berries! Can you put netting over the strawberries?
Wow, amazing vid. I live in the suburbs of Chicago and have all kinds of birdhouses that I put up this summer, I saw this bird for the first time yesterday and I saw (maybe a different one) this morning, 2 days in a row!! it's crazy how many different birds there are! For some reason ive only seen MAYBE 5-10 blue jays all summer. i wonder why?
I couldn't say for sure why you've seen such a paltry number of species this summer. If you stopped feeding them, as we do in warm weather, that would account for most of it. And, of course, if you don't have lots of native plants to attract bugs and give them seeds to feed on, that would also send them to other locations. By the way, I do have a couple of other videos about Brown Thrashers if that would interest you, not to mention movies about other yard birds--how Robins find worms, for example.
