# Bird Behavior



## CAPT HEAVY (Nov 4, 2002)

In the last 3 weeks I have had some birds around the feeder acting funny. Almost like they were drunk. You could get within a foot or so, then they would "fly" a few feet away from you. I one instance my wife and I had them in our hand. 2 yellow finches and a Pine Sisskin. Could they have spent too much time on the feeder and not have enough power to lift the increase in weight? They didnt appear to be injured, also they would be gone within a hour or 2.










I got close to this guy, without any effort.


----------



## Ole Spike (Nov 22, 2004)

I don't have any science to back this up, but I think their metabolisms simply slow down during harsh winters to conserve energy. I have several doves in our yard that are the same way, like they are in slow motion. I have observed deer in the UP in winter moving very slowly, almost as if they were about to fall asleep and afraid to burn any more energy than necessary.


----------



## Greenbush future (Sep 8, 2005)

Fruit and berries that are still on the vine actually turn to alcohol that has caused birds around my place to be drunk, but this is usually in the fall, and after a few hard frosts. It could be causing what you are seeing, but most all of my grape vines are bare with no fruit right now. It is quite funny to watch birds that are drunk, flying around and acting goofy, they always fly into the windows and sometimes with deadly results. 
My folks up north had some type of hawk that hit one of their large 6x10 bay windows, and died, not sure if he thought he had a competitor of territory issue but he lost the battle.


----------



## ENCORE (Sep 19, 2005)

Greenbush is right but there can also be another problem. You need to clean your feeders. By that I mean bring them inside and clean them out with water and a brush, then let them dry before hanging them back up. I can't remember the name, but there's a diease that birds can pick up from dirty feeders. Old feed and residue gets moldy and can cause them to get sick and act like what you're seeing and some will die. If you have neighbors that are feeding, you should tell them also. Bird books will give you the proper name..

I think we have somewhere around 13 or 14 feeders (a lot anyway) and the wife cleans them a few times each year. (Not to mention the water that's heated all winter) Cleaning them will keep the birds healthy. With all the bird feeders (and birds) that we have, its not uncommon to see birds that have reached the end of the line. Old birds that just aren't going to make it. We see a finch or dove about every month that's lived its life out. Matter of fact, just the other day the wife came out to the barn crying, holding a dove that wasn't going to make it. Although I tried to convince her that it was part of life, she still made a nice nest for it and put it in the warm garage. She said, "it isn't right letting it die in the cold." It was gone in the morning.....

(Oh..... the sharp shinned hawk has a ball around here:lol


----------



## Banditto (Jun 9, 2000)

use bleach water when you clean them too


----------

