The Zen Birdfeeder

Thanksgiving Dinner Advice from our Feathered Friends

Don't take more than you can finish.
 

Don't eat 'til you're stuffed.
 

Watch the fatty foods.
 

Remember your fruits and vegetables.
 

Use your napkin.
 

Make sure your eyes aren't bigger than your stomach.
 

Don't chew with your mouth open.
 

Drink plenty of non-alcoholic beverages.
 

Remember there's always room for one more at the table.
 

After dinner, let the tryptophan kick in and take a good nap.
 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Wordless Wednesday

 
It's also "Chipmunkless Wednesday"!

Seems they've finally hibernated here.  Have yours?

Cornell Lab's New Online Holiday Store

Cornell Lab of Ornithology has a new online holiday store.  Their theme is “Change the Present,” which urges shoppers to consider “green” gifts that can inspire a love of birds and nature. That gift might be a membership to the Lab, participation in one of their citizen science projects, a subscription to the Birds of North America Online, and more.  All gifts benefit conservation and education programs at the Lab.

Please take a couple minutes to check out their holiday store and consider supporting the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in appreciation for the work they do all year long to protect and further our understanding of the birds.

Birds I DON'T Have in My Yard

One day a few months ago, our friend Liz (a regular reader and occasional commenter) came into the store and remarked, "You don't have cardinals at your feeders, do you?"  Well no, Liz, and thanks for rubbing it in. ;)

 

In our rural setting, cardinals are very infrequent.  In fact, we didn't add Northern Cardinal to the Yard List until 2005, nearly 15 years after moving in!

Our first cardinal was a female, then a week later the male. Not together, and they didn't stay. Since that first sighting, we get an occasional visit from one cardinal - male or female - not both - in the spring and again in the fall.

And this fall's visitor is the beautiful adult male.  Here he is showing off his beautiful crest.

 

He's preferring the wooded side of the house and the undergrowth in the front bed, avoiding the wide open feeders out front.  Even though the hopper feeders have trays, most cardinal visitors we have feed primarily on the ground.

What else do we NOT have that our customers and staff love to rub in?  Red-bellied Woodpeckers.  Carolina Wrens.  Not much else.

 
What bird do YOU not have in your yard?

  

Bird News in the Region

- Thousands and thousands of crows are roosting in the Albany/Troy area. This is an annual occurrence in this area and the crows will roost now through March.  One contributor reported 75 crows at his birdfeeders! 

- A Snowy Owl was recently rescued off the shore of the Hudson in Rensellaer.  Will Raup was there and shared the story and some pictures on his Hoary Redpoll blog.  And here's Rich Guthrie's report on the rescue from his Birding Blog.  (Rich does a Birding show on WAMC's Vox Pop radio program).

- Snowy Owls are being sighted around the northeast, unfortunately many are weak and not in the best condition.  Here are Rich's comments and advice he offered on the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club Yahoo Group:
"The snowys that move into our area are usually weak to begin with. That is even before leaving their Arctic range. These are the ones that can't defend and hold onto more favorable feeding territory up there and are forced out.
The lucky ones find their way to a good food source wintering grounds. With all the pigeons and rodents in the Albany Port area, this one might have had a good winter. In past years others have.
I see that there are reports of similar weakened Snowy Owls being found in other parts of the Northeast. So, it would be a fair bet to expect that others will show up in our region. When they do, they often generate a lot of excitement from area folks and sometimes the media. They are, after all, very conspicuous, attractive and photogenic. We as birders and bird photographers should practice restraint while letting the poor guy and gal owls get some rest while they are here."

UPDATE: On Tuesday, November 25, a Snowy Owl graced the campus of the University of Albany.  Perched in a pine tree near the library.   The bird looks good, was active, preening and in general showing off for its adoring fans. It looked like another young bird, again heavily streaked.

Compared to the one fished out of the Hudson River over a week ago, this bird looks good.

Wordless Wednesday

 
Peek-a-boo

Red-breasted Nuthatch
WBU Seed Cylinder Feeder
WBU Supreme Fare Cylinder (shown in large)

My First Project FeederWatch Report of the Season

Cornell's Project FeederWatch began on November 8th so I'm in my second week of counting.
 
 
Hairy Woodpecker

Lots of chickadee activity, as I've had all fall.  The morning started with the Fox Sparrow, who is always a welcome migratory visitor.  The day ended with a single American Robin high in the tree, helping bring my species count to 11 with 44 individuals counted.  This is about an average species count, but low individual bird count.

November 10-11
Fox Sparrow  1
Red-breasted Nuthatch  1
Blue Jay  9
Dark-eyed Junco  9
Black-capped Chickadee  12
Hairy Woodpecker  2
White breasted Nuthatch  2
Downy Woodpecker  1
Mourning Dove  5
Tufted Titmouse  1
American Robin  1

Species  11
Individuals 44

 
Black-capped Chickadee

My second set of count days was again filled with chickadees, jays, juncos, and doves, all here in double-digit numbers.  Had a group of 8 Cedar Waxwings pass through the yard as well as a single Ruffed Grouse.  A single Fox Sparrow appeared one late afternoon and the second day was graced by the day-long presence of a single male Northern Cardinal.

November 17-18
Common Grackle  2
Blue Jay  13
Dark-eyed Junco  17
Black capped Chickadee  13
White breasted Nuthatch  2
Red breasted Nuthatch  1
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Tufted Titmouse  2
American Goldfinch  4
Mourning Dove  11
Downy Woodpecker  2
Ruffed Grouse  1
Cedar Waxwing  8
Purple Finch  1
Fox Sparrow  1
Northern Cardinal  1

Species  16
Inviduals  64

 
Don't count squirrels

This was the highest species count (16) I've ever reported to PFW in the 5 years I've participated.  I've reported 15 species three times before, always well into the PFW season in March/April.  Also had a good individual count with 64 birds seen.

It's not too late to sign up for Project FeederWatch, which runs until April 2009.

 
Blue Jay

Inspired by David Sibley to Keep Asking "What are these birds?"

 
Mystery Bird #4 

Back on November 10th, I put up a post called "Help Wanted:  Bird IDs".  It was a shout out, a cry for help in identifying nine birds that I had seen and photographed (in some cases, somewhat badly photographed) in my yard in late summer and early fall.

Besides the post hoping to attract responses from loyal blog readers, I also sent the link out (twice) to the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club through their Yahoo Group.   I got a number of good responses and we were able to pin down four birds (which added 3 to my 2008 list).  Thank you!  But I still have 5 birds that haven't been confirmed.

Today, I read a post on David Sibley's blog entitled "How many rare birds did we miss before the internet?"  In the post, Mr. Sibley talks about how the internet along with digital photography has increased the likelihood that rare birds can be identified.  It takes a chain of events to make it happen, and that chain must not be broken.

Other points he makes is that the person who sees the bird must take a photo of it and then "go to the effort and the risk of showing the photos to other birders to try to identify it".  Further, if you hit a wall, you had to "continue pushing the pictures out on the internet". 

What sage advice!  Although the birds I'm trying to identify are not "rare" birds, they were different from the everyday visitors in my yard.  Were they life birds? or yard birds? or first-of-2008 birds?  I didn't know.  Some, I had an idea of.  Others, not a clue.  And the photos were admittedly poorer than average.  But I put them out there anyway, with a request for help.

So, in the spirit of David Sibley, I will put it out there again.  If you're up for a challenge, take a look at the post "Help Wanted: Bird IDs" and let your voice be heard.  Thanks in advance, and thanks to David Sibley for the inspiration.

Birdfood Friday - Safflower Seed

My last Wordless Wednesday post featured a picture of a Black-capped Chickadee at a window feeder eating safflower.  Here's some information on this useful seed, which we call our "problem-solving" seed.

 
Black-capped Chickadee 

-  Safflower seed is eaten by many birds.  At my feeders, the birds that frequent feeders filled with straight safflower seed include chickadees, nuthatches, titmice, Purple Finch, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Evening Grosbeak.  Other birds that eat safflower include cardinals, house finches and more.

 
Purple Finch pair

-  When crows, grackles, or blackbirds are a problem dominating feeders, switch that feeder to straight safflower seed.  In most cases, they will disappear from that feeder immediately.

-  Safflower is not preferred by squirrels.  Though they may try it, and eat small quantities of it, they will not devour it as they do other seed.  Unfortunately, chipmunks seem to like it just fine.

-  Safflower looks and tastes different from other birdseed. To help birds acclimate, start by mixing it with other seed you currently provide and over time increase the safflower until it is straight safflower.

    
Evening Grosbeak

-  You can use safflower in the following feeder types:  tube feeders, hopper feeders, tray feeders, ground feeders, or window feeders.

 
Purple Finch male

-  If squirrels are able to reach your window feeders, fill them with safflower seed.

 
Black-capped Chickadees

-  Safflower is also available in a cylinder form.  The seeds are compressed with gelatin into a cylinder which can be easily hung in the netting provided or on a cool WBU seed cylinder feeder.

-  Safflower has a tight shell on it so there will be hulls under your feeders.

-  Safflower is a high calorie, high fat food source which is especially beneficial during the winter.  It provides 517 calories per 100 grams, consisting of 322 fat calories (62%), 139 carb calories (27%), and 56 protein calories (11%).

Safflower seed and seed cylinders are available at Wild Birds Unlimited-Saratoga Springs NY, your local WBU, or online at Wild Birds Unlimited.

 
Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Broad-billed Hummingbird in Massachusetts in November

The Wild Birds Unlimited store owner in South Yarmouth, Mass recently shared images of a male Broad-billed Hummingbird that is currently in the Cape Cod area.

Check out the range map of these birds.  They breed in southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico and western Texas and winter south of the U.S./Mexico border!

It was spotted initially back in late August in Dennis, Mass, as reported in this news article.  It is the first time a Broad-billed Hummingbird was ever reported in Massachusetts.

According to Tom Thompson, owner of the South Yarmouth WBU, it is residing at a yard about 2 miles from his store.  The residents are reportedly "setting up some sort of heat-lamped feeder cover in hopes it may survive the sure to come soon bitter cold."

What a beautiful bird!  Good luck, little guy!

 

Thanks to Tom and his customer for sharing the story and the cool pictures. 
All images were taken on November 10, 2008