Given:

1. Sparrows are attracted by birdseed.
2. If you attract sparrows, kestrels will come to hunt the sparrows.
3. You want to see kestrels, but you don’t want to unwittingly engineer a sparrow slaughter.
4. Crows are attracted by peanuts.
5. Crows repel kestrels, but only until they’ve removed all of the peanuts, and,
6. This isn’t a logic problem, it’s business as usual on our balcony in the coldest winter months when E. feeds the birds who need a little extra help.

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So who was on the balcony this winter?

Sparrows were on the balcony.

A jackdaw was on the balcony.

A Cyanistes caeruleus was on the balcony, but it was supersonic.

A jay was on the balcony, and it took a little nap.

A mouse, eating a seed like a corn on the cob, was on the balcony (although it wasn’t exactly invited).

A kestrel was on the balcony, looking for the mouse.

A kestrel was on the balcony, being beautiful.