This is my third year beekeeping, and I have not noticed this before - I really like cat birds, but have been watching them gobble bees for the past two weeks. I think it is two nesting pairs, but maybe only one. They will do it while I stand there and watch. At first it seemed they might be picking dead or nearly dead bees off of the ground, but today I watched two new behaviors: fluttering in front of the landing and picking one out of the air, or hopping under the hive and picking bees off of the screened bottom! At first I kind of shrugged, but today I just watched them take a bee, leave, and come back about every 40 seconds! That will start to add up! Anyone had this problem? Anyone have a solution? Only thing I could think to do would be to drape the hives in bird netting as for protecting berry bushes.
Get a daisy bb gun and make the problem go away. You might get away with hanging aluminum pie tin around so that they move in the breeze and startle the birds.
According to a book on how to ID birds, cat birds may have 1 to 2 broods a year and 2-6 eggs each brood. It's probably several different ones. They see it as a feeder now.
Try an owl or eagle bird statue and move it daily
They like grape jelly more then bee's.
Quote from: GSF on July 01, 2014, 07:16:44 AM
According to a book on how to ID birds, cat birds may have 1 to 2 broods a year and 2-6 eggs each brood. It's probably several different ones. They see it as a feeder now.
That's absolutely what it looks like - they kind of look at me standing there as if saying, "Hey! Try some - they're really good - we don't mind sharing!"
a neighbor has one of those owls with the head( solar batteries ) that moves to keep the birds from crapping on his truck. seems to work. I've heard mixed reviews on how effective the plain owls are.
LOL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eNtF7TxQxY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eNtF7TxQxY)
The minute anyone states they have any kind of birds eating there bee's someone always comes up with "get a gun". My response to this is as always. Its Illegal. These birds have federal protection. My wife feeds the orioles from early spring to fall. About a quart of grape jelly a week. The cat birds being mainly fruit and berry eating birds also visit the feeders daily. I keep between 10 and 20 colonies at my place every year. All with in sight of these feeders and the cat birds completely ignore them. Give them something they like better then bugs (fruit) and they will take it. Hell you might even get a few of the prettier song bird coming in
danno, are you sure about federal protection? i've never heard that before.
that's why I mentioned the mechanical owls. I personally do not shoot songbirds or raptures. I've taught my grandsons to do the same.I do however define ALL English sparrows, starlings. & gray squirrels as targets. all snakes are protected in Missouri but thousands are killed every year. raptures are federally protected but lots of them are also killed every year.
Thanks for the jelly suggestion. How do you put it out to feed? I really like catbirds - they have so much personality - so I wouldn't want to harm them. I was thinking that it's just nature at work (which it is) I just got alarmed when I realized how many they were eating!
i knew birds of prey and vultures were protected. yeah, my neighbor's kid has chickens and told me that he shoots chicken hawks. i'm not too big on killing non game animals but i know it happens a lot.
Sorry if my suggestion offended some but I feel that I have a right to protect what's mine. I don't advocate killing things for sport but when I have a nuisance animal causing problems I generally choose the more direct approach.
ray, the first thought that entered my mind was "get a gun." when i read the original post. i'm a very active hunter but i'm also big on following any laws where shooting animals is concerned. if i weren't there would be a lot less stray dogs and cats around here.
Rob, I don't see hunting as sport killing. To me it's a good way to put meat on the table. Shooting animals for sport is simply killing for the fun of it. Could just be the way I was raised. I never knew that it could be against the law to shoot a cat bird.
<I never knew that it could be against the law to shoot a cat bird.>
...or a snake.
Starling, English house Sparrows and Pigeons are the only birds that can be controlled at anytime without a lic. The rest are considered Migratory and are protected.
ray, i have to admit that i've been prairie dog hunting a few times and shot dove in argentina once. those are agricultural pests, though. in both cases it's wholesale slaughter. i've passed up several free argentina hunts since then. i'm glad i did it once and i may do t again but no time soon. i'd drop what i'm doing now and go to south dakota to shoot prairie dogs, though. so, i have to admit to a certain amount of sport hunting.
without googleing does any one which states it is legal to shoot the state bird? I have lived and hunted in 2 of them
Quote from: danno on July 02, 2014, 09:28:29 AM
Starling, English house Sparrows and Pigeons are the only birds that can be controlled at anytime without a lic. The rest are considered Migratory and are protected.
Danno, if ignorance is bliss then I'm very happy. Is that a federal thing or a Michigan statute? Down here it's open season on pests like squirrels all the time. They dig up your yard and chew up the wiring in your house. I'd consider bee eating birds in the same category. IDK.
Quote from: 10framer on July 02, 2014, 09:46:18 AM
ray, i have to admit that i've been prairie dog hunting a few times and shot dove in argentina once. those are agricultural pests, though. in both cases it's wholesale slaughter. i've passed up several free argentina hunts since then. i'm glad i did it once and i may do t again but no time soon. i'd drop what i'm doing now and go to south dakota to shoot prairie dogs, though. so, i have to admit to a certain amount of sport hunting.
Rob,I heard dove in Argentina are like startling here. They eat up the farmers crop. Prairie Dogs burrow and cause damage to livestock. There are sanctuary set a side for them. On private property they are pests. In my defence I did offer up the pie tins idea. :-D
Hmm.... all of a sudden the thought popped into my mind - "Hey, that swarm of honey bees in my backyard (or hive in my attic) are a nuisance and a danger, so I don't care if they are protected, I'm sprayin' 'em". An example of why maybe it shouldn't just depend on our own personal perspective... This is truly just meant as an insight, not an insult!
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Danno, if ignorance is bliss then I'm very happy. Is that a federal thing or a Michigan statute? Down here it's open season on pests like squirrels all the time. They dig up your yard and chew up the wiring in your house. I'd consider bee eating birds in the same category. IDK.
Quote from: 10framer on July 02, 2014, 09:46:18 AM
It has nothing to do with squirrels. Its the federal migratory bird act and has been around for almost 100 years. Its purpose is to protect only birds. As far as a bird eating bee's, sure they do. Its not realistic to think that bee eating only happens in your yard. They are always in danger of this as soon as they leave the hive and as far out as they travel. Bee's are also splattered on car windowshields all the time. Keeping them strong and healthy can out weigh all these things.
To answer the question above on how to feed grape jelly to cat birds do a search on Oriole feeders. The easiest way to make one is to use a half of orange nailed to something. After the birds have eaten all the orange out fill the shell with jelly
Year before last I had a hen turkey sitting next to my hive and every time a bee would come out she'd get it.
I was wondering why that one hive was getting weak.
I sit with my binoculars and caught the gal red handed.
Sooooooooo I told the land owner my problem and he said shoot it.
I sit down with a .22 magnum and eliminated the problem.
Oh yes and that turkey shore was good deep fried.
Quote from: capt44 on July 02, 2014, 08:48:32 PM
Year before last I had a hen turkey sitting next to my hive and every time a bee would come out she'd get it.
I was wondering why that one hive was getting weak.
I sit with my binoculars and caught the gal red handed.
Sooooooooo I told the land owner my problem and he said shoot it.
I sit down with a .22 magnum and eliminated the problem.
Oh yes and that turkey shore was good deep fried.
hope you're just trying to get someone fired up. you just admitted to breaking at least 2 laws.
Your bird netting idea would pretty much eliminate the problem too, the bees could fly right through it, but it would make it a lot harder for the catbirds to catch them. I like the catbirds also, I love how you can mimick them, and they will always answer back.
JC
Really guys I am just stating the law. I'm far from a nut case animal rights person. It would be a very safe bet for me being a fur trapper for 40 years, a ADC company owner for 20 years, a big and small game hunter in 4 states that I have killed far more animals then at least most if not all of the members here. In Nov. of 85 I even shot a Kodiak brown bear for just the hide and skull. (that is all that is required by the AK fish and game) I've been on this site for about 8 years now and this same thing has come up every year. Members should know that if they shoot that cow bird or that turkey that they could be arrested and telling several hundred members on a open forum is probably a bad idea
I agree Danno. I consider myself a middle of the road person when it comes to such things - I figure if you can solve the problem without great distress and without grabbing a gun that that is the better way to go. I personally trap gophers around my house and approve of hunting for the table and even for trophies as long as the critter isn't endangered. But you are right, any bird that is native, and not considered a game bird is protected nationally by law. While I would disprove of someone taking the tact of shooting first before trying ANY other solution, I am not going to run off and report a person, and I think all of the regular, long term forum members probably think the same way. HOWEVER, others often come on this forum just casually, and sometimes to post a very extreme "green" agenda topic. I agree that stating that you have engaged in an illegal act, especially after it has been brought to your attention that it is illegal, might be slightly dangerous.
JC
Quote from: danno on July 03, 2014, 03:46:19 PM
Really guys I am just stating the law. I'm far from a nut case animal rights person. It would be a very safe bet for me being a fur trapper for 40 years, a ADC company owner for 20 years, a big and small game hunter in 4 states that I have killed far more animals then at least most if not all of the members here. In Nov. of 85 I even shot a Kodiak brown bear for just the hide and skull. (that is all that is required by the AK fish and game) I've been on this site for about 8 years now and this same thing has come up every year. Members should know that if they shoot that cow bird or that turkey that they could be arrested and telling several hundred members on a open forum is probably a bad idea
Well danno, I looked it up. Your right. Cat birds (Mocking Birds) are protected. While this may not change how I handle these issues, I certainly won't advise others to break the law on an open forum. Thanks for the heads up. Again.
Quote from: tjc1 on July 02, 2014, 11:40:35 AM
Hmm.... all of a sudden the thought popped into my mind - "Hey, that swarm of honey bees in my backyard (or hive in my attic) are a nuisance and a danger, so I don't care if they are protected, I'm sprayin' 'em". An example of why maybe it shouldn't just depend on our own personal perspective... This is truly just meant as an insight, not an insult!
No insult taken. I've searched but never found any law that protects our bees. Maybe someone could point me in the right direction on this issue also.
Ray
Well Ray, I just learned something. I didn't know yall were talking about mocking birds. The birds we call mocking birds around here aren't migratory. I say that because I see them here year round.
I'll tell you something else about them. Set your cell phone out in the yard and call it a couple of times. It won't be long and you'll hear them trying to mimic it.
Honeybees are not 'protected'.
Quote from: tjc1 on July 02, 2014, 11:40:35 AM
Hmm.... all of a sudden the thought popped into my mind - "Hey, that swarm of honey bees in my backyard (or hive in my attic) are a nuisance and a danger, so I don't care if they are protected, I'm sprayin' 'em". An example of why maybe it shouldn't just depend on our own personal perspective... This is truly just meant as an insight, not an insult!
Here is alphabetical list of protected birds. Catbird and mocking birds are to different birds and both are listed. A bird does not have to fly south to be migratory
http://www.pacificwildlife.org/info/online%20docs/fmbtalist.pdf (http://www.pacificwildlife.org/info/online%20docs/fmbtalist.pdf)
Quote from: deknow on July 03, 2014, 09:00:18 PM
Honeybees are not 'protected'.
Sorry - the 'it oughtta be so' perspective of a beekeeper... :( Though is it possible that a swarm cannot be exterminated? I found this link on a local exterminator's blog:
Traveling Bees
Thousands of bees on plane wing delay flight at Pittsburgh airport
Published August 06, 2012 / Associated Press
IMPERIAL, Pa. – A beekeeper says he had to be called into gather up a swarm of thousands of bees that delayed a Delta Air Lines flight from Pittsburgh International Airport to New York.
Master beekeeper Stephen Repasky tells KDKA-TV he was called out on Wednesday when the bees gathered on the wing of the plane as crews were getting ready to fuel the plane.
The beekeeper was called to remove the insects because they're a protected species that cannot legally be killed.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/08/06/thousands-bees-on-plane-wing-delay-flight-at-pittsburgh-airport/#ixzz22m9OXVDq (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/08/06/thousands-bees-on-plane-wing-delay-flight-at-pittsburgh-airport/#ixzz22m9OXVDq)
Amusing end to the story -
So i put out a dish with grape jelly and raisins on the stair railing where the cat birds like to perch before bee picking, and...
they disappeared! I watched and waited for two days - not a cat bird to be seen! I figure that they're so smart, they think it's a trap - anyways it seemed to solve the problem. Then this afternoon I hear a 'meow' behind me and there is a catbird looking at me 4 feet away. 'The raisins are for you", I say. She looks at me, turns, and hops into the raspberry bush which is just getting its first ripe berries... at least they're off the bees.