Saturday, 10 December 2016

Re: [cobirds] Disturbing bird incident

Ira, some of my metal feeders have the metal as manufactured covered with a thin layer of plastic.
The guys (and girl) at the Wild Bird Center at Yale and Wadsworth may have some answers (and protected feeders).
 
Karl
 
 
 
From: "Ira Sanders" <zroadrunner14@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2016 2:50 AM
To: "Joe Roller" <jroller9@gmail.com>
Cc: "SeEtta Moss" <seettam@gmail.com>, "Colorado Birds" <cobirds@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [cobirds] Disturbing bird incident
 
Hey all,
I really appreciate all the information that has been shared on this subject and I have learned a lot from it.  I'll be taping the cast iron hooks to try to keep this from happening again.  I'll probably use cloth electrical tape as I think it will hold up better than duct tape.
To answer what SeEtta said, the best I can guess is that the goldfinch had been at the water feature bird bath before going to the feeder pole, and it's foot may have been wet.
I haven't had any trouble with birds sticking to the metal style thistle feeders that I use.
 
Ira Sanders
 
On Fri, Dec 9, 2016 at 12:35 PM, Joe Roller <jroller9@gmail.com> wrote:
When the dew point is at a certain level, everything gets covered with some moisture.
 
For example: 
"Frosted windowpanes, candles gleaming inside..." The Christmas Waltz
 
Joe Roller, Denver
 
 
 
On Fri, Dec 9, 2016 at 2:28 AM, SeEttaM . <seettam@gmail.com> wrote:
Thank everyone for sharing about this issue but I have a continuing need for clarification .   Both USFWS and National Audubon as well as a number of others have previously stated that birds feet don't freeze to metal and metal feeders are not a risk. Yet clearly some birds have had their feet stuck to metal feeders or accessories as explained by several in this thread. 
 
"Birds don’t have sweat glands in their 
feet, so they won’t freeze onto metal 
feeders. There’s no need to cover 
any metal feeders parts with plastic 
or wood to protect birds’ feet, 
tongues or eyes. "
 
"“Our fingers may stick to metal ice cube trays because moisture freezes on contact with frigid metal,” explains Kress. “However, a bird's feet are covered with dry scales, so there is no surface moisture to freeze to metal perches. Eyes, tongues, and beaks are usually safe from exposure to metal feeder parts."
Do Birds Stick to Metal Feeders In Winter? | 
 
 
 Could there be another reason the birds documented in this thread had their feet stick to metal--maybe there was melted snow on the metal?? Some other explanation? Or were USFWS and National Audubon just plain wrong?
 
SeEtta Moss
Canon City 
 
On Dec 8, 2016 6:44 PM, "Eric DeFonso" <bay.wren@gmail.com> wrote:
 
Regarding heat capacity...just a small correction to the earlier discussion. Metals actually have relatively low heat capacities, especially compared to water. What metals do have however is high heat *conductivity*. Their free electrons make them especially good not just at conducting electricity but also heat energy, and this is why the metal in the feeders was so effective at draining the heat from the moisture in the birds feet.
 
If you've ever lived near a large body of water like the Great Lakes or an ocean, you've experienced firsthand the heat capacity of water, with its ability to moderate temperatures year round compared to inland or high elevation locations.
 
Eric DeFonso
Westminster, CO
 
 
On Thu, Dec 8, 2016 at 1:23 PM Kathy Kay <kathykay228@gmail.com> wrote:
The very same thing happened at my feeder this very same week last year.  I wasn't able to get to the Pine Sisken before it freed itself sans foot (separated at the knee).  He still comes to my feeder and bird bath.  He seems to be doing just fine a year after the incident.  You may see your Goldfinch again soon.
 
Kathy Kay
Golden, CO
 
On Thu, Dec 8, 2016 at 10:34 AM, Christy P <passerculus@gmail.com> wrote:
You have to be very careful applying heat of any kind to wildlife outdoors, especially one that may already be hypothermic. Oftentimes well-intentioned individuals kill animals trying to warm them back up by putting them into shock. Finding a heat source that only affects the portion of the bird that is stuck, as opposed to its entire body, would be recommended. With something as small as an American Goldfinch, assuming there wasn't a build-up of ice, maybe even just covering its foot with your warm hand and defrosting it that way may have worked, or would in future. 
 
Thanks for sharing Ira, it's always our worst fear to leave birds worse-off than they were to begin with. But at least you freed it.
 
Christy Payne
Wheat Ridge
 
On Thu, Dec 8, 2016 at 10:27 AM Mary Keithler <mkeithler@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Ira and birders,
 
Perhaps a hair dryer with a long extension cord would work better.  
 
Mary Keithler, Arapahoe County 
 


Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 8, 2016, at 8:41 AM, Ira Sanders <zroadrunner14@gmail.com> wrote:
 
This morning when I went to put out the feeders, there was a goldfinch hanging from the metal arm of the hooks we use to hang the feeders.  At first it wasn't moving and I was wondering how a bird could somehow die in that position.  I have no idea how long it was there, but I'm sure it was long enough to weaken it. As I got closer, I saw it's eyes were open and then it started to flutter a little.  It's foot had frozen to the iron arm and it was hanging by 1 foot.  I ran in to get some water to get it loose, but our efforts, which were incompetent and inadequate, didn't save all of it's foot.  
My first efforts only caused ice to form and made it worse.  
The bird did fly from Tammy's hand but part of it's foot was still on the metal.  Obviously we did it wrong.  In retrospect, I don't think warm water was a good idea at all.
In case someone else has this same miserable experience, maybe some forethought could result in a successful outcome and not our utter failure.
 
--
Ira Sanders
Golden, CO
"My mind is a raging torrent flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives."

 



 

 





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--
Ira Sanders
Golden, CO
"My mind is a raging torrent flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives."

 

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