Whistling to young-uns.....
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Mary Wilson-SW Ont
- Posts: 218
- Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 6:24 pm
- Location: Leamington Ontario
Well, it certainly works .... I did my first nest checks today since discovering the "gaping" response to whistling. You know how they all pile up - there's this mess of little bird bodies, and you're trying to count beaks, or probe with your finger - well, (DUH), I tried whistling ! I found this response to be more prevalent with the younger birds. All beaks suddenly go upwards - makes counting much easier. Not all nests did this, so I conclude that if they are feeling reasonably well-fed, they won't necessarily respond this way and you still have to probe.
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Laverne
- Posts: 2216
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 1:58 pm
- Location: TX/Alvin
- Martin Colony History: Erected 1st house in 1997. Birds were checking it out before Mike got down from the ladder. Six cavities had a little colony 1st year. Grown to 88 cavities all gourds with near 100% occupancy. Most important factor for success is rain = bugs.
Hey, Mary.
I am still just totally amazed by this discovery. Did you ever call or email the PMCA about it? I know they are reading our posts and surely they are trying it, too...???
I have yet to call Margaret my rehabber. I gotta remember to do that...
Thanks again, Mary!!
I am still just totally amazed by this discovery. Did you ever call or email the PMCA about it? I know they are reading our posts and surely they are trying it, too...???
I have yet to call Margaret my rehabber. I gotta remember to do that...
Thanks again, Mary!!
Sincerely,
Laverne
Laverne
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Mary Wilson-SW Ont
- Posts: 218
- Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 6:24 pm
- Location: Leamington Ontario
Hey Laverne - no, I didn't contact PMCA - I assume they read all posts and would decide whether they may want to make it part of their archives. However, I decided to look around the archives and FAQ's for any information a person could find on dealing with feeding a nestling. I thought I had seen it somewhere, particularly with regard to how to open the beak, but I couldn't find it. I did find the admonition that it is actually illegal to possess a songbird, so perhaps PMCA does not want to include any information that could make it seem like it is supporting illegal holding of birds ?
If so, (to PMCA) - since most landlords will at some point try to assist a downed bird to survive, would it not be prudent to offer some alternatives which may give the bird a chance? I've been a martin landlord for many years, but dreaded having a bird down because I knew I would try to help it with the only way I knew how (force feed), and because I knew that if I didn't do that, it was doomed, since a rehabber is not close enough for me to take in every downed nestling from 3 different colonies. The other two possibilities to help a downed bird were ones that I stumbled across quite by accident - so they may not work all the time, for every bird at every age, but they did work for me, and have worked for others recently, as reported in several threads here.
Laverne, I will also email this to PMCA.
If so, (to PMCA) - since most landlords will at some point try to assist a downed bird to survive, would it not be prudent to offer some alternatives which may give the bird a chance? I've been a martin landlord for many years, but dreaded having a bird down because I knew I would try to help it with the only way I knew how (force feed), and because I knew that if I didn't do that, it was doomed, since a rehabber is not close enough for me to take in every downed nestling from 3 different colonies. The other two possibilities to help a downed bird were ones that I stumbled across quite by accident - so they may not work all the time, for every bird at every age, but they did work for me, and have worked for others recently, as reported in several threads here.
Laverne, I will also email this to PMCA.