Robin nesting material. Photo by Heather Van Rykn, Walnut Creek, CA.

Hi Gary:
Found these while playing at the Presidio in San Francisco: Winged Wisdom – 3 sites that describe robin behavior. Each letter is framed with a steel armature and mesh netting and is filled with straw, providing nesting material for the American robin.

I love living in the Bay Area!
Heather Van Rykn, Walnut Creek, Calif.

Photo by Heather Van Rykn, Walnut Creek, CA

Hi Heather:
You’re right! You never know what you’re going to find lurking around the next corner! (I’ll bet a lot of other bird species will be taking advantage of all this free nesting material.) /Gary

Resolve conflict with song. Photo by Heather Van Rykn, Walnut Creek, CA

Robin eating red berries. Photo by Jim Kardos, Walnut Creek, CA.

Speaking of robins: “YUM! It’s the berries!”
Photo by Jim Kardos, Walnut Creek, CA

Got interesting photos of wild creatures in your backyard (or in the area) that you’d like to share with the rest of us?

Please e-mail your digital photos to me at gbogue@bayareanewsgroup.com. Please include the name and city of the photographer (example: “Photo by Joe Smith, Walnut Creek”). Also please include a statement that it’s OK for me to publish your photo(s) in my blog.

Thanks! Looking forward to seeing and sharing your pictures of local wild things. /Gary

Cooper’s hawk sits on the fence, checking out sparrows feeding at a nearby bird feeder. Photo by Lloyd Garbutt, Livermore, CA.

Gary:
I have a Cooper Hawk which visits every once in a while in my backyard and I managed to watch him for some time trying to flush out some sparrows from the bushes below my bird feeder. Attached are some photographs which I took.
Lloyd Garbutt, Livermore, CA

Lloyd:
Cooper’s hawks, being bird-eaters, always try to take advantage of bird feeders by preying on the little birds that are attracted to the feeders.

Because of this, the sparrows, doves, finches and other birds that use the feeders have to continually be on the alert for these aggressive hawks. Otherwise, it’s bye-bye-baby.
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Starling and spider webs. Photo by Gloria Crim, Crockett, CA.

Gary:
I have enjoyed your column for a long time and now I need your expertise to answer a question that presented itself in my front yard in Crockett.  Actually it was my grandkids who brought this to my attention.  They asked me the question and I couldn’t come up with the answer … Grandmothers really don’t know EVERYTHING!

I have attached photos of a dead bird caught in a spider web in a tree outside my front fence. What kind of spider in our area can weave a web so strong that it will capture a good-sized bird and hold it til it dies? Scary scene … especially for the super-active imagination of two kids! Thank you in advance for your input.
Gloria Crim @ home in Crockett, Calif.
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American goldfinches photo by Joe Oliver, Walnut Creek, CA

Gary:
American goldfinches feeding  on my backyard sock feeder.
Joe Oliver, Walnut Creek, California

Everyone:
From time-to-time I’ll be running photographs of wild creatures that live in the Urban Wilderness: Our backyards. If you happen to take such a picture, please send me a copy attached to an e-mail to gbogue@bayareanewsgroup.com so I can post it here for others to see. Please include your name and the name of the city and state where you live so I can properly credit you as the photographer. Thanks! /Gary

Endosulfan is toxic to cedar waxwings and other birds (Amanda Rose/El Sobrante, CA)

Finally! The Environmental protection Agency is canceling all uses of the toxic pesticide, Endosulfan! About time. This is VERY nasty stuff! /Gary

MEDIA RELEASE:

EPA Moves to Cancel All Uses of Toxic Pesticide Endosulfan

(Washington, D.C.,  June  29, 2010) — American Bird Conservancy today hailed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision to end all U.S. uses of the insecticide endosulfan (trade name: Thiodan prior to 2002 and later called Thionex) which has been found to pose reproductive and neurological risks to birds, other wildlife and humans.
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Fireworks and moon. Photo by Flickr user I’ll Never Grow Up used under a Creative Commons License.

Planning on firing off some illegal fireworks this coming 4th of July holiday weekend?

Please read the following information first. OK?

Thanks for caring. /Gary
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Cat killing bird. Photo by Flickr user Andrew Currie used under a Creative Commons License.

Just received the following information (below) from The Wildlife Society (TWS) and the American Bird Conservancy (ABC). Please read it carefully and think about it. The lives of our cats, young birds, rabbits, squirrels, and other wild creatures are important.

We need to do all we can to make sure they are safe. Thanks for caring. /Gary
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Deer at my bird feeder (Lyrinda Snyderman/Berkeley, CA)

Gary:
I finally figured out why the bird seed vanishes so fast out of my feeder!
Lyrinda Snyderman, Berkeley

Lyrinda:
Ah, yes, the Antler-Crested Deer-Bird. They tend to eat a lot of seed. /Gary

Western bluebird parents catching insects to feed young. (Brian Murphy/Walnut Creek, CA)

Gary:
Attached is what happens when western bluebirds nest in a pesticide-free garden like The Gardens at Heather Farm in Walnut Creek, CA. There is such an abundance of insects to feed young, the parents have to take turns to get into the nest box as they are catching insects so quickly.  The flight to catch insects is less than 100 feet from the box into the gardens.
Brian, Walnut Creek, California

Brian:
Down with pesticides … UP with bluebirds! Thanks, Brian! /Gary