Bird Board
The underappreciated Gray Catbird
As "catbird season" approaches here in South Florida, the attached article is interesting. We're happy to see the first Gray Catbirds arrive but we tend to take them for granted afterward. With a 60% annual survival rate and a long life (longevity record is almost 18 years), these birds have a strong site fidelity both on breeding and wintering grounds. So, the catbirds wintering in our yards may be returning year after year.
http://blog.nature.org/science/2015/06/10/consider-catbird-surprising-secrets-common-backyard-birds/?src=e.nature&lu=2117583&loc=b1
At Cape Florida Banding Station (Key Biscayne), returning banded Gray Catbirds show up every fall. Birds have returned that we banded in 2004 and 2007! We get unusual catbirds, including one banded in Cuba and one with a partially leucistic tail. This net-happy, common and underappreciated bird is actually quite handsome. It's been a "first" for many volunteers training in extraction and banding.
Comments
My Catbirds will be arriving soon and usually stay well into spring. They enjoy the ripe berries and the understory of the hundreds of Wild Coffee plants I have growing on the property. This year, seems like I have a bumper crop of berries. I'll try and put some dried raisins on the feeder and see if they prefer to eat the raisins or the coffee berries.
I have seen the eat my American Beautyberry berries too! The last two or three years, I have placed a small bowl of grape jelly on a platform feeder and they love it. I see them feeding from it first thing in the morning and multiple times throughout the day. They also love bird baths. They make great yard birds!
I hope to have some Catbirds at my feeder this year. I'm going to place grape jelly on a platform feeder (thanks for the idea Jeanette). I'll be looking out!
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