--just the annual drunken orgy after a good freeze makes alcohol in the berries of some bush/tree I don't know the name of. I've seen this a number of times. The little birds come all at one time in a cloud and strip the berries from the bush/tree within minutes it seems. Almost immediately, they become 'drunk', flying eratically, flying into windows - sad to say, we always found a few casualties the next day. Can anyone name the berries and the birds??
cora

Oh, Cora, that's sad. I don't know what berry it is in your yard. When I was growing up in DC, we used to have a problem with the pyracantha berries late in the fall. The birds would get drunk on the spoiled berries and crash into windows.

Hopefully your season for this problem is short.

susannah

Native, I have the same birds in my yard and love them too. The woodpecker made a home in one of the birdhouses my husband made. I have a pair of cardinals at the feeder everyday. So I am sure they'll be making a nest soon. And I love the mockingbirds antics all season too. I've had several butterflies all around as well.

Corar, that is sad! Could the bush be Brazilian Pepper?

Very nice post, Susannah!

I stopped using pesticides in my yard about four months ago. This month, I saw my first Painted Bunting and a lovely orange breasted bird I cannot identify at my feeder.

Finches seem to adore the red passion vine.

I bought a security camera at Big Lots to monitor the birdbath, but I haven't installed it yet since I'm considering returning it. (A crazy purchase given the economy?)

Don't tell SFWM, but I had some pretty funny garden hose wars with a persistent squirrel yesterday.

Pyracantha! That's the berry that made all the little finches (?) drunk. The casualties were few, considering the number of birds that showed up
cora

Cora,

Evil bush! We popped many a soccer ball on those thorns when I was a kid, and it is just murder to trim them. The thorns raise a welt on me, some sort of allergy.

But Katkin, I think you're right about Brazilian pepper. Seems I've read somewhere that birds get drunk on it too. It's really bad stuff.

And Marilyn, if your orange friends look kind of like Baltimore Orioles, google spot-breasted oriole. They're not native, were introduced, probably by Mexican farm workers who loved to have them as pets because of their pretty song. They went feral in South Florida and were thought to be wiped out in Hurricane Andrew. They appear to be coming back just recently and a friend of mine who is a birder suspects that their range is farther north than birders originally thought, simply because they rather secretly survived Andrew, when birders thought they had completely disappeared. So you might have them up in Stuart.

I'd prefer natives, but these don't seem to be terribly harmful like some exotics we get. And they sure are pretty. I haven't seen my pair yet this year, but they are so cute. They're very clearly a pair, talking back and forth to each other as they flit around the yard. Male and female look pretty much identical to my untrained eye, but he talks a lot more than she does.

Been gardening all day long. Finally put in a white marsh grapefruit - found a little one reasonably priced at HD. And I fussed over tomatoes for awhile this morning. Gosh it's nice out!

enjoy everyone
susannah

Yes, the weather has been beautiful!

I googled spot-breasted oriole, thanks for the suggestion! That's not my bird.

Regrettably, I've got to move my feeders. The old gray dobie just cannot stand those squirrels in the backyard!

I'm keeping the birdbath and moving the feeders to the side of the house that isn't enclosed by fence. Maybe we'll all find peace.

The body of that orange breasted bird is like a Tanger. It's all sunny side down though and non-descript brownish/black on the top. He's skittery, haven't had a close up and personal peek at him.