Lamplighter, the birds around here know me pretty well. The kestrels and the robins were the first to decide that I'm not dangerous. Using that mild OCD and the fact that I've spent my whole life training my eyes to lock on motion that doesn't match the environment, I've spent the last couple of springs chasing invasive European starlings out of the ornamental tree in front of my window. This year I've been rewarded--the cedar waxwings figured out only one tree on the block had any fruit left, and I got to see them learn that I
only chase starlings. American crows are illegal to directly harass, but they do not like the range-finding light on my camera and they don't like being watched intently. Studies show that they can recognize human faces even with disguises AND they can teach their offspring which
specific monkeys to avoid. No crow has perched within half a block of my apartment to bark about its territory in like 3 years now, a miracle of no small order considering we have a 20+ foot tall streetlight right across the road. That kestrel, the female of the breeding pair, just casually watched me out in a grassy field as I circled the tree to PUT the moon behind her
. I have multiple moon-and-bird shots, but the real challenge is the magpies because those <unladylike words here> have a sense of humor AND don't like cameras.