Moving right along...

Finally got a photo of a bird eating a meal worm. It's a Curve-billed Thrasher. Which I prefer to mockingbirds.

I also saw a White-crowned Sparrow checking it out. Right after I snapped this shot it reached into the new meal worm feeder and was gone so fast I didn't even get to see if it got a worm.

A few hours later I put in another handful (not literally, of course) of meal larva in the feeder and before long the Curve-billed Thrasher cleaned it out.

After the last larva was eaten the bird made sure he hadn't missed one.

Meal worms reconsidered

I almost caught a mockingbird in the act of nabbing a meal worm and it made me rethink the feeding of meal worms. During spring migration when the mulberry trees are loaded with mulberries for hungry migrants, swarms of mockingbirds police the trees, attempting to keep everything else out. Am I giving the mockingbirds an unfair advantage by fattening them up in the winter? Some warblers and other songbirds of declining numbers might be negatively impacted by this. Man is forever tinkering with nature and it usually isn't in the birds' best interest. I'm thinking I should focus on growing millions of meal worms for spring migration instead.

Today I had 4 lovely ladies visit, two of whom share my name. That unique event called for a photo op.

Left to right: Carolyn Oldham, Carolyn Molsbee, Gail Morris, Jerri Kerr. 

The meal worms I ordered online arrived in Alpine (without prior notice or tracking number) where my husband is babysitting them until I get to town later in the week. Meanwhile, Sue Heath and Tad Fennell brought me a bunch to tide me over until I can bring the town ones down here. I made a meal worm feeder today. Will photograph it tomorrow, hopefully with something eating meal worms from it.

Meal worm saga

My son arrived last night from Austin with 50 meal worms. This is my first experience with them, actually first contact with them, to my recollection. And I'd think I would remember something like that. Not that I had, or will have, any literal "contact" with them.

I had the container ready for them. I topped a kitty litter bin with an old refrigerator tray that I had glued screen onto. Not taking any chances on escapees. I had ordered 1000 meal worms over a week ago, but the company I ordered them from hasn't shipped them yet as far as I can tell. Holidays, I guess.

My son ceremoniously sprinkled the larva (not worms, I keep reminding myself) on top of some meal and stuff, then I added a bit of potato, apple, banana peel, and stuff. So far so good. 

That was last night. This morning it was extremely cold outside. My intent was to put out a few of the larva (not worms) in a container and watch to see what ate them.

Putting the larva into the little plastic bowl was...   well, I can't think of a good word to describe it. I used a spoon to dip one out. It wriggled off the spoon, causing me to scream and drop the spoon. I repeated that performance one more time before I finally got 3 into the bowl. To make a long story short, after I installed the bowl in a little scooped out depression where the thrush eats sunflower seeds, I waited to see what would eat the worms (er, larva).

The thrush foraged on seeds all around the container, but I got so chilled to the bone that I had to leave. When I returned an hour later, the larva were gone. I repeated the whole procedure with the same results, except the second time the bowl had been moved a couple of feet away. I'm pretty sure it was the thrush that ate the meal worms. I know they didn't climb out. Probably were frozen by then anyway. I'll try again later, if I ever thaw out. It was 32° but the wind made it much worse sitting there watching in requisite motionlessness.To be continued....

Hey, I'm two days away from having the longest Varied Thrush visit in the state of Texas! Not that there's a Guinness Book of Texas Bird Records, or anything.

UPDATE: The third is not a charm. Rather, it was a repeat of the second. But tomorrow's another day, and more exciting, there's a good chance of rain.

Merry Christmas

A Christmas Mountains Oasis Christmas.

Wish I could be there on Christmas Day. Maybe next year. Here is another look at that Green-tailed Towhee I photographed 3 days ago.

Thrush smorgastick

Can't wait for the meal-worms I ordered to arrive.

Unpredictable birds

Usually the Varied Thrush eats lots of grapes. Today he came for a couple early in the morning, then got distracted rooting around in the deer feed I spread a couple weeks before his arrival in October (see posts of Oct 6 and 11). Maybe there's a connection. I've occasionally seen him there, but not like he did today for almost the whole day.

I took lots of photos hoping to be able to determine whether he was finding bugs under the deer feed, or eating the feed itself. Originally, the feed was moldy and nothing went near it, but after being exposed to rain and sun for months, it seems pretty well sanitized.

I could never detect any insects in his beak, so I'm leaning toward thinking he's eating the feed.

This is the only photo that seems to show something in the beak. I couldn't get as close as I would have liked because that sent him scurrying for cover. I guess those deer pellets are a good source of protein. Just to cover all bases, though, I ordered a bunch of live meal-worms online.

Meanwhile, a Green-tailed Towhee is checking out the grapes. It never did eat one though.

Now the days start to get longer. That always cheers me up.

Cold day

I rigged up a small red ribbon for the grape feeder in hopes of photographing the thrush by it, but it was too cold to sit down there so I didn't witness the thrush at the feeder. Did see this juvenile male Anna's Hummingbird checking out the red though.

I opted instead to paint a red ribbon on a photo of the thrush using photoshop. I'll post it on Christmas Day. 

Snake

This is a harmless Big Bend Patchnose snake that was in the road by my oasis yesterday.

More thrush fun

Sometimes I enjoy photo-shopping a photo just for the fun of it. Here's what I did a while ago to the background of my latest thrush photo.

Weekends bring more birders to the oasis seeking the thrush. All visitors today left happy.

Masked bandit

I suspect the Varied Thrush thinks he's stealing the grapes. He sure whisks them away fast. I guess he doesn't know they're a Christmas Mountains' present just for him.

Before he came along I don't think there were any photos of a Varied Thrush with a grape in it's beak, not online anyway, as far as I can tell.

I think on Christmas day I'll put a red bow on the grape feeder and photograph him on it. It's getting boring photographing him just plucking grapes.

Here's a Rufous Hummingbird present today.

And there are literally hundreds of Lark Buntings here.