What do Pale Male and Lola Do? More on Sparrows vs Bluebirds and "The Ravenmaster's Secret"

Lola on the Fifth Avenue nest, 4-17-08, D. Browne

A Brown-tail that looks a lot like Thunder has appeared in Tulsa after a nearly two month run without a sighting of her. Catbird of the Tulsa Forum sent in a question-

Donna,

Would Thunder have already left for southern climes if she was going to or is her current presence in the Kay and Jay territory an indication that she will probably stay the winter?

Catbird



From the sounds of things, I'd say Red-tails don't migrate south from Tulsa. Kay and Jay are still around. There must be your typical high urban prey base in town as they're still in residence. So there is no reason for Thunder to leave unless she's struck with wanderlust. Red-tails can tolerate reasonably cold weather if they have enough food. Tulsa, with all it's parks and the river area, may be one of the raisins in the raisin bread spots where Red-tails from all over come to spend time in the winter as there is plenty to eat.

Remember that in Central Park in winter, we have had a half dozen juvenile RTs from somewhere besides Central Park that appear and stay until spring. And as there is plenty of food for all, they all hunt the Ramble and the adults don't start drawing lines in the sand about territory until breeding season starts up. And even then they have a tendency to start out just herding the juveniles out of their main nesting area instead of screaming and getting scary.

If that is Thunder, whatever others may say, I believe her parents will recognize her and go easy.

One year while Lola was sitting eggs and Pale Male was doing guard duty, an RT somehow managed to fly in and perch on the roof of 927 just to the right of the nest. (See photo. The roof edge is not at all far from the nest so it really could have been a big deal.) That is weird behavior in the first place, the perching part. PM and L didn't do the usual routine to blow away unwanted visitors. Often Lola streaks off the nest screaming in a very scary way during brooding, and PM goes to the nest and stands over the bowl. Sometimes raking the twigs with his talons. And then depending on the situation they may even trade places several times if it is an extended siege to spell each other or both go after the intruders leaving the nest unattended for a minute or two.

In this case, Pale Male flew up to the roof, landed a few feet from the visitor and did a scary posture, and a little jerk forward with his body. The visitor who I am convinced was a son from a previous year, just did body language that said "Oh, Whoa, sorry." and took off. PM didn't even chase him.

So if that is Thunder, and the belly band certainly looks like hers, she'll learn the rules when the time comes and stay the required distance away while her parents nest. By the end of this nesting season Thunder may well be in the market for a mate of her own. Let's hope she finds a handsome hawk to bond with who has a dandy territory in Tulsa. As she was hatched on a structure she could open up a whole new unmined resource of nest sites, as choosing a building will seem perfectly natural to her.

4-17-08, Pale Male comes off the eggs and Lola makes sure everything is as she left it before resuming her duties. D. Browne

From contributor Pam Greenwood in Maryland, who has had her own experiences with House Sparrows vs Bluebirds when it comes to nest boxes--

Hi Donna,

I was interested to see your postings about bluebirds and house
sparrows. I monitor a bluebird trail at a nearby golf course, and
house sparrows are the bane of my existence. As you know, they are
not native, being brought here by some well-meaning fools who wanted
America to have every species mentioned in Shakespeare's works. The
are very aggressive cavity nesters and will peck to death other
species trying to use the same nest boxes. This is well-documented.
House wrens will pierce the eggs of other birds if they want the nest
box but house sparrows will kill the nesting adults - hence making
the box unusable for everyone. In the spring, there are never enough
nesting boxes for cavity nesters. The only solution I have heard of
- apart from murdering the house sparrows - is to trap them and clip
their wings. When this is done, especially to the murdering males,
they become less aggressive and don't nest. This method was
developed by a local Maryland bluebird expert. I used it last summer
to good effect. It does not harm the sparrows - they can still fly
well. It does take work to trap them successfully. I am listing the
website where this method is described. If you want bluebirds, you
have to save them from house sparrows.

http://www.sialis.org/hosp.htm

Bluebirds do not migrate here in Maryland and they look for
birdhouses where they can gather together on cold nights for warmth.

Pam Greenwood

I'd no idea that House Sparrows were such a severe problem when it came to stealing Bluebird nesting boxes. Here in Wisconsin it's the House Wrens and Tree Swallows that tend to take them over.

And from Jackie, also of the Tulsa Forum, a book recommendation for any children you have in your life who are over twelve.

To tell you the truth, I'm very tempted to get a copy for myself!


Hi Donna,

One more bit about the unkind ravens. Tonight I stumbled across a children's book that was too intriguing to go unmentioned. It is The Ravenmaster's Secret: Escape from the Tower of London. I am attaching an image from Barnes and Noble's website, in addition to the following review (also from that site):

Eleven-year-old Forest Harper leads a life unlike most other boys growing up in 17th century England. As the son of the prestigious royal Ravenmaster, who is responsible both for guarding the prisoners of the infamous Tower of London and for caring for the nine legendary ravens that reside within the Tower's wall, Forest has grown up under the shadow of "The Bloody Tower" all of his life. As an inhabitant of the Tower, Forest has difficulty igniting common boyhood friendships, and his only friends are a rat catcher named Ned, whose work supplying food for the ravens often brings him by the Tower, and his favorite raven, Tuck, who stays constantly by his side. All of his life, Forest has dreamt of one day escaping the stifling walls of the Tower and "proving his courage" to the world in wild and fantastic adventures and battles, which he envisions in his imagination through the use of an old, clouded spyglass. When a young and beautiful Jacobite prisoner implores Forrest for his help before she is sent to the gallows, he finally gets his chance. Woodruff prefaces her novel with a historical background to facilitate comprehension for her younger readers, and also adjoins a glossary of 17th century terms for further understanding. A riveting, emotional plot, set within a surprisingly historically accurate context makes for an appealing and intellectual read. 2003, Scholastic, Ages 12 up.
Ronnie Ficco, Children's Literature

How about that--history, avian lore, intrigue and adventure--all in a children's book. And yet another sort of escape from the Tower of London.

Thanks again,
Jackie (Tulsa Hawk Forum)

Yes, but do they then go and dismantle TV antennas. Let's hope not. But I'll tell you, I'm awfully tempted to get a copy of this book for myself. I could use a good adventure that includes Ravens, The Tower of London, and Jacobites.

Donegal Browne

Nuthatch Underwear, Sparrow Motive, M. Downy Returns, Ravens in General, and Tower of London Ravens in Particular

White-breasted Nuthatch not only shows her underwear but also her unusual perching method of grabbing the feeder with her toes on the fly. Then she flipped around facing the opposite direction and shopped the feeder for the fattest sunflower seed. (They actually do look for the biggest, fattest seeds.)


There is some kind of ruckus going on in the grape arbor again. It's about the houses, also again. There is one on each upright of the arbor. A male House Sparrow is inside the south house fighting off all comers. What is the big deal about these houses? I could understand if it were breeding season but why now?

The female House Sparrow has secreted herself behind the post. See her standing on the pipe to the right of the post? Male Sparrow can't see her. He comes out and flies to the other house on the other end of the pipe.

In the meantime, as he flew out, female sparrow came round to the front. She is in the vines in the bottom left of the above photo. Then she flies up into the house.

Male Sparrow has gone into the second house on the other end of the pipe. Then suddenly he comes bombing out and heads for the first house. Female whips out of House One and Male dives in.

Then the mystery of the house attraction is solved! Male sparrow's head pops out and he is eating what looks like a grain of wheat. Evidently, one of the caching birds, perhaps the newly arrived Blue Jay, has been stashing grain in the houses. I need to find out if Red-bellied Woodpeckers cache. He's back as well.

Not to be fooled again by the female, male also keeps an eye peeled below the house.

What's going on in the Spruce tree? Sight lines just aren't good enough.

Male sparrow comes out and perches on the roof. Better but still not good enough.

Female sparrow bombs him off. And at this point, I have to leave. DRAT! I don't know how it all turned out.

Male Downy Woodpecker is back also as of today. Look at his eyes. There is something about certain highly active species of bird's eyes: Woodpeckers, Hummingbirds, Nuthatch. Somehow they seem to bulge more than other species. It reminds me of hyperthyroid humans.

I found this position fascinating. He's bracing himself with his vertical tail while his body is at a near 45 degree angle vertically. How does that work?

Blog contributor Jackie of the Tulsa Forum with some goodies about Ravens--

Hi, Donna:
Your recent postings about the crows, your fondness for bird group names, and your interest in things British put me in mind of our Tulsa Hawk Forum discussion about ravens a couple months ago. Here are some highlights, as well as some links of interest.

"A group of Ravens is called 'An Unkindness'. It can also be a 'Constable' or 'Conspiracy', though, depending on what they are doing at the time. For example, an unkindness of ravens might torment a dog and steal its food. A constable of ravens is stationed at the Tower of London. A conspiracy of ravens might be seen lurking in the shadows of a garbage dump." http://www.shades-of-night.com/aviary/names.html

Regarding the famous Tower of London Ravens (from Wikipedia): "It had been thought that there have been at least six ravens in residence at the tower for centuries. It was said that Charles II ordered their removal following complaints from John Flamsteed, the Royal Astronomer.[5] However, they were not removed because Charles was then told of the legend that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the White Tower, the monarchy, and the entire kingdom would fall…. The earliest known reference to a tower raven is a picture in the newspaper The Pictorial World in 1885. This and scattered subsequent references to the tower ravens, both literary and visual, which appear in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century place them near the monument commemorating those beheaded at the tower, popularly known as the "scaffold."

This strongly suggests that the ravens, which are notorious for gathering at gallows, were originally used to dramatize tales of imprisonment and execution at the tower told by the Yeomen Warders to tourists.[7]

There is evidence that the original ravens were donated to the tower by the Earls of Dunraven, perhaps because of their association with the Celtic raven-god Bran.[9] However wild ravens, which were once abundant in London and often seen around meat markets (such as nearby Eastcheap) feasting for scraps, could have roosted at the tower in earlier times…...[10]

During the Second World War most of the Tower's ravens perished through shock during bombing raids, leaving a sole survivor named 'Grip'.[10] Before the tower reopened to the public on 1 January 1946, care was taken to ensure that a new set of ravens was in place.[12]

There are currently nine ravens, whose wings are clipped to prevent them from flying away, and they are cared for by the Ravenmaster, a duty given to one of the Yeomen Warders….as of November 2006):[13]
Gwylum (male, 18 years old)
Thor (male, 15 years old)
Hugin (female, 11 years old)
Munin (female, 11 years old)
Branwen (female, 3 years old)
Bran (male, 3 years old)
Gundulf (male, 1 year old)
Baldrick (male, 1 year old)
Fleur (female, 4 years old)
The oldest raven ever to serve at the Tower of London was called Jim Crow, who died at the age of 44.[14]

In 2006, ahead of the H5N1 avian influenza scare, the ravens were moved indoors; as of July 2006, they are once again free to roam about the grounds within the tower complex." (I removed footnote markers for #6 and #8 after 1885 and Dunraven. For some reason, the posting here insists on replacing them with a couple of funky icons.
Two other entertaining links:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4098894.stm BBC article about The Ravenmaster, the officer in charge of the Tower's ravens.

More on the Tower and the Ravens in http://everything2.com/node/1060691

Enjoy!
Jackie (Tulsa's KJRH Hawks Forum)

Some years ago I visited the Ravens at the Tower of London. In the Ravens opinion it is they that run the place. They are also officially Constable Wardens of the Tower of London, or so I was told by one of the human Constable Wardens. According to report the avian Constable Wardens, can be quite disagreeable if crossed. There was something about them that caused most visiting humans to stand aside when one came their way.

I was also told that the Ravens were first made Constable Wardens because that was the way their rations could be drawn from the military commisarian. Currently the daily Raven Rations include 6 ounces of meat and bird biscuits soaked in blood. Once a week they get an egg and periodically a rabbit as the fur and other odd bits are good for them as they'd be eating that sort of thing in the wild.

I knew the Raven's wings were clipped but I also know they are very smart and willful so I asked if any of them had ever escaped. I was told, absolutely they have. One was a Raven named Grog who was rather fond of the beverage he was named for. (Grog is watered rum.) Raven Grog escaped in his 20's so no doubt he'd had time to figure out and beat the security system. He was last seen standing in front of a pub called the Pitcher and Rose.

But my favorite escaping Tower of London Raven is George. Now keep in mind these guys don't manage to sneakily grow their flight feathers out without the Ravenmaster noticing and then glide over the wall in the dark of night. Oh no. An escaping Tower of London Raven has to walk out. And he has to walk out a secured door or jump out a low secured window. Remember the Crown Jewels are kept at the Tower so the security isn't frippery.

Well, George managed to escape. In fact our buddy George the Constable Warden Raven managed to escape repeatedly. Each time he'd made yet another clean break, George would walk, bold as brass down the middle of the sidewalk, until he reached the fire escape he had his eye on that day. Upon reaching the fire escape he would climb the fire escape to the roof. On the roof, he would proceed to the buildings large television antenna, that he'd also had his eye on and proceed to dismantle it. To be honest, he chewed and tugged them to bits. And of course everyone in the apartment building would loose their BBCTV reception.

Amusing at first perhaps, but George was so good at getting away, and demolishing antennas that before long the neighbors were up in arms about him. So to save the neighbors their television reception and possibly George's well being if an irate neighbor caught him in the act, he was moved to the "protective custody" of the Welsh Mountain Zoo.

And they never did find out just how George was managing to circumvent all efforts to stop his escapes.

Two other Ravens have been banished for "conduct unbecoming". I'm told these two found it quite amusing to menace the tourists and on occasion to jump at them, and even, now and again actually give someone a nip.

It sounds to me that these particular Ravens could have used some large Raven toys to dismantle and puzzles for mental stimulation. Given an enriched environment, they might not have lost their Constable Warden status. But then again being extremely willful, it might not have made any difference at all.

Donegal Browne

Eastern Bluebird vs House Sparrows and Migration Surge

I look outside. There are Eastern Bluebirds in the back yard for the first time in many years. A small flock is flitting amongst the upper branches of the trees then down into the deep shade of the grape arbor, then into the Spruce and back to the arbor.

In a moment three have landed near the wren house with the quadruple sized door chewed wider by squirrels. One Bluebird flies up to the door, peers in, and enters. Then I remember that Bluebirds communally roost in birdhouses and cavities during cold weather, even as they migrate, and these no doubt are checking out the house for possible evening accommodations.

A host of House Sparrows arrive scolding and mobbing the Bluebirds.

Bluebird Two goes for the high ground. He goes to the roof of the house and watches as Bluebird Three flies west with a number of Sparrows chasing her.

The trapped Bluebird flies out and one sparrow follows.

The other two House Sparrows watch them go.

In ten minutes the Bluebirds return to the yard unharried by the sparrows.

Interesting as the sparrows don't use the birdhouse at this time of year, in fact they didn't use it during nesting season, but they seem to be attempting to keep the Bluebirds from using it.

I wonder if the Bluebirds will sneak back into the birdhouse come evening. I make a mental note to check and see.

White-breasted Nuthatch is madly hatching sunflower seeds into every possible bark crevice he can find.

There is another surge of Robins passing through and they've been bathing one right after another.

Female Downy Woodpecker has returned and she too is scrutinizing the bark only she is mining it for insects. Well at least I think she's after insects, perhaps she's snitching Nuthatch's sunflower seeds.

Suddenly this week having arrived with the Juncos, House Finches are applying themselves to the feeders.

And as the sun lowers, the flocks of calling and responding geese pass over.

Back to the terms of venery, this is a curling skein of Canada Geese.

I've not seen Chewy the Chipmunk since the 13th when I discovered him much later than usual still filling his cheeks. Then poof, after days of his constant presence in the feeding area, he was gone. I strongly suspect that with the 30F degree nights that Chewy his retired to his burrow for a nice long rest. Rest that is, with frequent visits to his pantry for intermittant feasting.

Dusk Bunny is out so it's time for me to check the birdhouse for Bluebirds. Trying the flashlight collection, I choose the one with the weak batteries. I want to see if the Bluebirds are there, not blind them. I head across the back yard with my, as it turns out, weaker than I thought flashlight. I can't really see a thing. When the house is about 20 feet away I angle the flashlight up and---what it THAT?? Two eyes gleam at me from the top of the bird house!! I nearly jump out of my skin.

The owner of the eyes seems a little startled too and takes to the air. When the bird gets high enough to be slightly back lit by the night lights in the park I see it's a little Screech Owl. Wow, I wonder how many nights she's been out here. Or is she just passing through and decided to sit on the birdhouse and wait for mice to go for the seed on the patio.

Wow, again. Those eyes were-- surprising.

Oh right, I'm supposed to be looking for Bluebirds. I go closer, angle the flashlight, and look in. Not a one inside. Either the sparrows deterred them or perhaps they weren't fond of the giant sized entrance.

Wait, I check the ground for feathers. Nothing. That's a relief. Not that I've known Screechs to eat Bluebirds but one just never knows in nature does one?

Donegal Browne