MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 19, 2020
Generalities about habitat preferences in birds don’t always hold. Red-wing blackbird males wants to grab one of the better patches for its breeding territory. The competition for the best territories is intense, probably explaining why males return to Maine in the spring a month ahead of the females. Downy woodpeckers prefer edge habitats when feeders are present but switched to a preference for deciduous forest when feeders are absent. Blue jays, house finches and American goldfinches prefer edge habitats when feeders are present, but that preference disappeared if feeders are absent. The closer we look at biological interactions, the more complicated they become. ~ Herb Wilson