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Strange bird behavior -Indiana USA (1 Viewer)

DaBudMan

DaBudMan

Active member
On more than one occasion I've watched the birds flee from my small tree where I feed them with seed and suet. Usually there are a handful who stay and remain very still for at least 5 minutes or more. I've always attributed this to the presence of a predator of some sort (cat, hawk) but have never been able to identify the source. This morning the birds suddenly scattered and there remained two downy woodpeckers and a nuthatch clinging to branches in the tree and a red-bellied woodpecker hanging from a seed feeder. The birds stayed completely motionless for over 5 minutes. I searched from every window and door of the house but couldn't find any sign of trouble for the birds. Just curious. Any reasonable answers, anyone?

Thanks

Bud
 
I know that birds generally have far superior eyesight to us humans. In my field studies I've often experienced this when the bird(s) (Florida scrub-jays) that I'm watching gives an alarm call and dives for cover. Invariably when I subsequently search for the cause I'll find an accipiter some distance away often only detectable with my 10x40 binoculars! When it's a case of life or death, it pays to be both aware and cautious.

So, perhaps they've seen or perceived a threat ...
 
[EDIT: posting at the same time as Steve].

It could be there is a hawk that they see but you do not. Accipiters especially will often try to observe birds from an inconspicuous location (e.g. perched low in a tree with many branches), which can make them hard for people to spot.

Best,
Jim
 
This is typical behavior when there is a hawk present.

Just a fly-over from a hawk can cause this behavior as well.

I always look for a hawk in flight as soon as I see the feeder birds react this way. If I see nothing flying I will scan any nearby trees or bushes for a perched hawk, typically an accipiter.

Mike

[EDIT: posting at the same time as Steve and Jim, looks like we are all in agreement.]
 
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I've seen small birds dive for cover when an Accipter flies over which I have nly found with Bins, and have seen a similar thing with wild and high flying Perigrine on falconary birds of prey
 
Thank you all very much. This confirms what I thought was happening but couldn't prove. I have recently had a juvenile coopers hawk land in the yard just a few feet from the feeders. Maybe this guy is lurking somewhere and I can't find him. ;) I'll keep looking though.

Appreciate all the quick responses. Thanks again.

Bud
 
I get these strange freezes in my backyard in Reno regularly & whenever I take the trouble to seek out the cause, there's always an accipiter or Merlin perched somewhere in the vicinity. Actually, "hushes" would be as good a term as "freezes", since except for quail “ticking” from deep cover, there’s usually dead silence as well which lasts until the intruder moves on. The reaction to non-specialist predators like Red-tails is always much milder, if there's any reaction at all.
 
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Just a fun alternative theory: there's a squirrel (or flying squirrel) with a nest inside the tree. The occassional movement spooks them....but not the woodpeckers and nuthatch, who know about the squirrel because they are there daily. (Just a SWAG).
 
jmepler said:
I have a resident Red-tailed Hawk that my feeder birds ignore completely.
Click to expand...

That’s pretty much true of my feeder birds as well, the exception being when one of the local Red-tails flies low overhead in moving from a nearby perch to one further away. And even on these occasions it’s mainly the big birds--the quail and pigeons--that are spooked. Otherwise, the feeder birds ignore the Red-tails completely.
 
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The fact is that all those birds have all their eyes constantly scanning the skies and when one sees a predator and sounds the alarm call They all react. I've read that chickadees and nuthcatches actually communicate and that they have different alarm calls for more dangerous predators. Chickadees would be alot more worried about a sharp-shinned hawk than a Red-tailed hawk.
 
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