Apparently I Have A New Feeder

I’m in the process of putting in a hummingbird and bee garden on the site of an old greenhouse. There was a sizeable ant colony in the greenhouse, and they’re beginning to surface in the garden. In addition to those ants, I was halfway through spreading cedar mulch around the perennials when I realized there was also a sizeable ant colony – bigger, biting ants – inside the bag.

One morning last week, I was awakened at 5:30 am by a cacophany of grackle noise. Being a true birder, my first waking thought was aha, there’s an owl in the back yard.

I got out of bed and made my bleary-eyed way to the window in the kitchen. I checked all the trees and everything looked calm. Then I noticed a great deal of movement in the hummer garden.

There must have been 20 grackles in there, pecking away at the ground, and jumping up in the air occasionally. I watched them for a while, and realizing I couldn’t get a picture without opening the door which would scare them away, I went back to bed.

Later that morning the ground in the garden was covered with house sparrows, all pecking and jumping.

In the afternoon, a young flicker moved in – a species known for eating more ants than any other bird, even if they are a woodpecker.

He not only did the pecking and jumping, but he also gave himself a good anting. Sitting with his feathers spread gave the ants a chance to climb all over his body. Irritated ants secrete formic acid, a powerful insecticide that kills the pests in the bird’s feathers. Then he ate resumed eating.

Soon it was time for a good old dust bath. Then he resumed eating.

So in effect, this young star had a bite to eat, had a rest, then had a bath. All courtesy of the ant population in my garden. Then he posed for his photo op among the flowers.

With all this bird activity out there I’m not sure how long the ants will last. I hope it’s quite awhile – you can’t buy a better bird feeder for a full service flicker spa!

These pictures were taken through the window, but I really didn’t want to open the door and interrupt his efficient system of eat-bath-eat….