Re: Tweety Was An Axe Murderer
Killdeer (a bird) have the run of my garden. Almost
every time I walk toward the garden, one will sound
the alarm for the others. They scurry about...
anyway, this thread got me to thinking. I wondered if
the killdeer have something to do with my leaves that
get "eaten" now and then. I found this on the web:
"The Killdeer's choice of food covers a wide variety of insect and other
invertebrate life, much of which is injurious to agriculture. Beetles, such
as clove-root and alfalfa weevils, June beetle larvae, wire-worms, the
larvae of click beetles, and brown fruit beetles, compose nearly 40% of its
diet. The stomachs of Killdeer taken in orchards have been found to be
completely filled with weevils.
Other insects, such as grasshoppers, caterpillars, ants, bugs, caddie flies,
dragon flies, and two-winged flies, make up another 40% of the diet, and
other invertebrates, such as centipedes, spiders, ticks, oyster worms,
earthworms, snails, crabs, and other crustacea form about 20%. Included in
the Killdeer's food are many pest species. Not only are many of these
harmful to crops, but some, such as mosquitoes and ticks, are injurious to
people and animals. Vegetable matter, chiefly weed seeds, makes up only
about 2% of the total food intake."
(end quote)
Wow! I think I'll try to keep these guys around. They are
still around even though I accidentally tilled under one of
their nests a few years ago.
Regards, Cliff
>From: vince <anaid_tecuod@yahoo.com>
>Reply-To: pumpkins@hort.net
>To: pumpkins@hort.net
>Subject: Tweety Was An Axe Murderer
>Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 06:49:09 -0700 (PDT)
>
>hi Kathie,
>
>There were two types of birds which attacked my plants. One
>was a small grey bird called a Touhee (i think) This bird is a
>little bigger than a sparrow. I don't know the name of the
>other bird. It is about the size of a bluejay, all grey, with
>a long narrow beak which hooks down at the end.
>
>The larger bird can dig up 100 square feet of buried vines in
>about 15 minutes. I've had problems with these guys for years.
>
>vince
>best 831, 2000
>zone 9, the pumpkin zone
>
>
>--- Kathie Morgan <fishrap@earthlink.net> wrote:
> > Vince,
> > What kind of birds were they, to attack a plant so violently?
> > During my
> > 16 years in Bodega Bay, we never saw anything like that ...
> > but nobody
> > grew pumpkins.
> > K
>
>
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