The Zen Birdfeeder

Project FeederWatch Starts Today!

Just a reminder that Project FeederWatch starts today, November 14.  Log onto the project website for details.  It's fun - it's easy - it's for the birds!

My first PFW report and summary of my own past years' activity will be posted later this week.

Have fun counting the birds!

Wordless Wednesday

Northern Red Oak Leaf

Two Late Migrants Through the Yard

Though both Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Chipping Sparrows breed in our area, neither have been seen in my yard for weeks.  So it was a surprise to have an individual of each of these species pay a visit in mid-October.

First, a single Rose-breasted Grosbeak passed through the yard, glancing against one of the windows and perching on the Adirondack chair to gain his bearings.

I believe this might be a juvenile bird, but correct me if I'm wrong.  Our resident rose-breasteds were gone by September so I knew this guy was running a little late.  Last reported sightings across the state are reported in The Kingbird, the quarterly journal of the New York State Ornithological Association.  Over the past four falls, these were the last reports of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks in my region (#8 - Hudson-Mohawk):

Fall 2005    Vischer Ferry Sep 30
Fall 2006    Town of Florida Sep 21
Fall 2007    Fulton Nov 11
Fall 2008    Jenny Lake, Saratoga County Sep 17

So it looks like an October 12th visit was indeed on the late side.  I made sure to report him to eBird and to the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club birdline.  Here he is just before he took off again on his long journey to his winter home in a tropical forest in central or northern South America.

Then just a day later on October 13th, this little Chipping Sparrow stopped by.

The Kingbird shows reports of Chipping Sparrows as late as November in the Hudson-Mohawk region, but in my yard, most chippies are gone by the end of September.

So even though it's been a slow fall at the feeders, it's been an interesting season in the yard with some new birds (Swainson's Thrush) and these two familiar, though late migrating birds.

A Look Inside a Pine Cone

Activity at birdfeeders in our area has been very slow for over a month so we've been talking to customers alot about the abundance of natural food sources out there for birds.  Birds are amongst the wildlife that have been feasting upon this year's bounty of seeds, nuts, insects, fruits and berries.

We should've known it was coming with this summer's above average rain and mild temperatures.  Early in the season, you could see clusters of cones forming at the tops of the pine trees.  And now the ground is covered by them.  Stand outside for any length of time and you'll hear a steady stream of cones dropping from the tree tops, being chewed off by industrious squirrels.

Pine tree tops full with cones

All this got me curious to do a little hands-on learning about the pine cone.  I step over, around, and on them almost daily, but have never picked one up to really study it.

The cone of course is the fruit of a coniferous tree and its main function is to be the carrying case for the tree's precious seeds.

Rows of tough scales protect the seeds, but as the cone dries and the scales open up exposing the inside of the cone, the seeds that had been nestled away safely near the core of the cone become more accessible to the wildlife.  I brought some cones inside with the scales barely open; 2 days later, the scales had peeled back, exposing the seeds.

The seeds are attached to a wing. As they fall out of the cone, the weight of the seed pulls it toward the ground, while the helicopter-like action of the wing slows its descent, providing a fun whirlygig-like descent.

When you look inside the cone, there are 2 seed heads tucked up close to the inner core of the cone and the wings rest neatly on the top of each cone scale. 

The seeds near the bottom of the cone were more developed than those near the top.  Within an average size Eastern Pine cone like the one I studied, there could be more than 100 seeds encased within, protected by the 50+ scales.

As the cones open, the seeds can either fall out or be picked out by wildlife.  Here's a few images of a Dark-eyed Junco feeding on seeds from the Eastern Pine.

These seeds provide a feast for the birds, along with all the other natural food that is still so abundant and available.  But as days pass, insects will become less available when temperatures drop and the ground freezes.  Uneaten fruits and berries will shrivel and fall, and snow will eventually cover the ground making natural food less accessible.  And as fall turns into winter, like during the closing hours of a buffet, natural food sources will become depleted.  It is then that the familiar feeder birds that have been enjoying nature's smorgasbord will again turn to our feeders for the high energy snacks that make it just a little easier to survive the long, cold winter months.

Don't Let the Brown Crown Fool You

White-crowned Sparrows have been regular fall visitors to my yard since 2004, when they were first recorded during their fall migration.  Like they are today, they were flocking with some other native migratory sparrows, the fox and the white-throated.

Fox Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow (white morph)

At first glance, the white-crowned's bright white striped head could be mistaken for a (white morph) White-throated Sparrow, but soon you notice the absence of the white throat patch and lack of yellow lores (the yellow patch near inside corner of eye).  The shape of the White-crowned Sparrow's head is also different, flatter, less-rounded, though sometimes they raise the feathers on their head.

White-crowned Sparrow adult

I'd only seen adult white-crowneds in the yard before, so when a number of immature white-crowneds came through this fall, they threw me for a loop at first. 

White-crowned Sparrow immature

Again, at a quick glance, you could think tan morph White-throated Sparrow.  But again, no throat patch or yellow lores.  I'm just glad there isn't a tan morph white-crowned!

White-throated Sparrow (tan morph)

White-crowned Sparrow immature

Are you still seeing migrating sparrows in your yard?  If so, help them out on their journey by broadcasting a seed blend like WBU Deluxe Blend, which contains the white millet seeds they enjoy.

53 Favorite Birds from my Life List

I'm being lazy today, celebrating my birthday with a lunch of Indian cuisine, some Kahlua & club sodas, and boiling down my modest life list to the fifty-three I enjoy(ed) most.  Draw your own conclusion on the significance of 53.

Snowy Owl (Digiscoped image)
Washington County Grasslands IBA - Feb 2009

Here they are in no particular order whatsoever.  Any faves of yours?

Black capped Chickadee	Tufted Titmouse
Wood Thrush	Ovenbird
Fox Sparrow	Downy Woodpecker
Sharp-shinned Hawk	Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker	Rose breasted Grosbeak
Yellow bellied Sapsucker	Cedar Waxwing
Harlequin Duck	Scarlet Tanager
American Redstart	Hooded Merganser
Common Goldeneye	Great Blue Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron	Kirtland’s Warbler
Osprey	Red tailed Hawk
American Kestrel	Killdeer
Yellow-billed Cuckoo	Barred Owl
Belted Kingfisher	Red-headed Woodpecker
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	Blackburnian Warbler
Chestnut-backed Chickadee	Red-breasted Nuthatch
Winter Wren	Hermit Thrush
Brown Thrasher	Black-throated Blue Warbler
Pileated Woodpecker	Snowy Egret
Evening Grosbeak	Bald Eagle
Ruby throated Hummingbird	Northern Parula
Northern Goshawk	Royal Tern
Indigo Bunting	Snowy Owl
Wood Duck	Red-breasted Sapsucker
White-throated Sparrow	Violet-green Swallow
Common Loon	Brown Creeper
Baltimore Oriole

Swainson's Thrush is our Newest Yard Bird

A migratory visit by a Swainson's Thrush gave us our 86th species to be viewed in or from our yard.  It's our first new yard bird since a Red-bellied Woodpecker visited the feeders on New Years Day this year.

I saw it first yesterday tucked in the rosa rugosa bush, but I had only a front view of it.  Based on what I saw yesterday, I thought it was a Hermit Thrush, but was reluctant to consider it identified.

But today, I got a better look at it and saw that it lacked any warm reddish coloration, and especially that it lacked a reddish tail.  There was also no tail pumping, a characteristic of the Hermit Thrush.  I thought perhaps it was a Swainson's Thrush, and with the help of fellow bird enthusiasts on Facebook and Twitter, we confirmed it.

The Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State describes the Swainson's Thrush as "New York's second-rarest breeding thrush, ranking behind only Bicknell's Thrush."  Breeding within the state occurs more in coniferous, high elevation habitats such as the  Adirondacks and Catskills.  It even looks like there has been "Probable" breeding in our area of Saratoga County. 

Between the first atlas (1980-85) and the second atlas (2000-05), the "total number of blocks in which Swainson's Thrush was recorded dropped 16 percent".  Species Account Authors James D. Lowe and Ralf S. Hames posit that one might look at air pollution and acid deposition as contributing to the decline in breeding in New York state.

Swainson's are common breeders in the boreal forest, with an estimated 60% of the species breeding in the North American boreal, according to The Boreal Songbird Initiative (BSI) site.  They note that fall migration of eastern populations is mostly along the Atlantic coast.  The Swainson's winter range includes Mexico, central America, and northern South America.  BSI states that the Swainson's Thrush "is vulnerable to habitat loss and degradation in its winter range as well as significant mortality from collisions with towers on migration." 

The Swainson's has been identified as a bird species that overwinters in or migrates through shade-grown coffee plantations in Latin America.  Take a moment to read more about how your choice of morning coffee can impact birds like the Swainson's Thrush.

Fall and spring migration are ideal times to add to a yard list.  And even though bird activity is slow and fall migration is nearing its end, I still got to see a great bird and add it to our yard list! 

Citation: New York State Breeding Bird Atlas 2000 [Internet]. 2000 - 2005. Release 1.0. Albany (New York): New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. [updated 2007 Jun 11; cited 2009 Oct 13].

Just Beyond the Bird Feeders

Whenever we leave for a few days, we load up the feeders.  Hopper feeders filled to the brim, suet logs all plugged, and especially WBU seed cylinders, which seem to outlast them all.

Downy Woodpecker on seed cylinder w/Bark Butter bonus

Even so, we were surprised when we returned from our 6 day trip to the Midwest Birding Symposium last month to find that all the feeders weren't empty.  That was the first sign that bird activity in the area had tanked.

Yet even though the feeders aren't busy, there are still lots of birds around, and some in very good numbers.  Most prevalent are Dark-eyed Juncos and White throated Sparrows.  To reward their loyalty, I've been spreading WBU Deluxe Blend under the feeders and in the shrubs they feed near and within.  The white millet in the Deluxe is perfect for both of these ground-feeding birds.

Dark-eyed Junco

The White-throated Sparrows are still singing their "oh, sweet Canada, Canada, Canada" song as well.  Not in the "belt it out" voice they use during the spring but in a high pitched, feeble voice that is clearly white-throated but one badly in need of voice training.
 
Since I refilled the seed in a couple hopper feeders today, at least a dozen Blue Jays have been around, filling their crops with seeds to cache.

Blue Jays

And while I lament the paucity of birds at the feeders, over the last 2 weeks I've still seen over 24 species of birds:

Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Tufted Titmouse
American Goldfinch
Purple Finch
Black-throated Green Warbler
Red-eyed Vireo
Eastern Phoebe
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
Mourning Dove
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
White-breasted Nuthatch
Black capped Chickadee
Pileated Woodpecker
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Broad-winged Hawk
American Crow
Cooper's Hawk
Gray Catbird
Blue-headed Vireo
Ruby crowned Kinglet

Eastern Phoebe

Not too bad for "slow bird activity".  Just goes to show us that there are always birds out there, and sometimes just beyond the feeders.   

The "IT" Bird of the Midwest Birding Symposium

Silent film star Clara Bow was the original.  The "IT" girl.

No, despite the salt & pepper hair, I'm not old enough to have been around in the days of Clara Bow.  But in 1927, she starred in a movie called simply "It" and upon the film's release, she became known as the "It" girl.  The film was based on a story by English romance novelist and screenwriter Elinor Glyn who helped define the term "IT Girl":

    "IT" is that quality possessed by some which draws all others with its magnetic force. With "IT" you win all men if you are a woman — all women if you are a man.

And at the recent 2009 Midwest Birding Symposium in Lakeside Ohio, the Kirtland's Warbler was the "IT" bird.  IT too seemed to have a "magnetic force", capable of attracting all birdwatchers, men and women, alike.

Kirtland's Warber
Used with Permission (see below)

IT didn't even have to be named after the announcement of the initial sighting.  IT was first reported on Saturday morning and IT stayed around all day Saturday, pretty much in the same area of East Harbor State Park.  Anytime there was a break in the action at the symposium (which was often), a wave of  birders would head over to the park to try catch a glimpse of IT.  If you were skilled and lucky, you'd get a photograph of IT.

As you'd approach the trailhead where it was seen, you'd ask others "Is IT still there?"  As you'd leave, others approaching the trail would inquire "Is this where IT is?"  As you returned to the Lakeside grounds, fellow attendees would inquire "Did you get to see IT?"  Those that had seen IT were grilled by those still looking for IT; "Was there black in the lores?", "How bold was the side streaking?", "Did you ever see IT near the ground?"  

Why is IT so special?  What is ITs quality that draws people in?  Laura Kammermeier of Birds, Words, & Websites does a wonderful job of sharing information about IT in her post "Revisiting The Kirtland's Warbler".  She was one of those skilled and lucky enough to capture images of IT (and excellent ones at that).  Make sure you check out her post.

So I won't belabor the point further other than to say that this bird is an IT bird because IT is our rarest member of the warbler family.  How rare?  There are only an estimated 3,600 Kirtland's Warblers on this entire planet.  IT is seldom seen in migration.  And yes, I was one of the lucky ones to see IT. 

How fortuitous it was for a bunch of bird lovers to have been gathered in a spot only a few miles from where IT decided to spend one day of its long migratory journey.  The symposium was excellent in so many ways, but the short visit by the IT bird - the endangered Kirtland's Warbler - made it unforgettable and perhaps, unsurpassable.


Related Links
Kirtland's Warbler - RightBird, WBU's Online Field Guide
Kirtland's Warbler - Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Kirtland's warblers in Wisconsin Photo Gallery
Watching the warbler

Sources
It Girl - Wikipedia "It Girl"
Clara Bow - Wikipedia "Clara Bow"

Kirtland's Warbler image posted with permission from Whatbird.com.  Copyright 2002-2007.  We appreciate their approval of our request.

Does Birdfeeding Really Help Birds? Tufties Vote "Yes!"

Don't you just love seeing Tufted Titmice at your feeders?  I know I do, with their big dark eyes, chubby little bodies, and smart crest.  They are common breeders in our area and take easily to nest boxes you can provide, even in your suburban yards.

But early bird enthusiasts in upstate New York didn't get to enjoy the peter-peter-peter call of the Tufted Titmouse as we do.  That's right.  Less than 100 years ago, the titmouse did not breed in our area or in most of New York state.

Here's how the distribution of the Tufted Titmouse was described by Elon Howard Eaton in Birds of New York back in 1914.

"In New York it is confined to the warmer portion of the Carolinian district as a breeding species.  It has been reported at Williams Bridge...Riverdale...Staten Island...near Brooklyn...at Sheepshead bay...and at Bellport....Chapman's record of its breeding on Staten Island...is the only definite record of its nesting within the State which has come to my attention."

According to The Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State, the tuftie expanded into much of New York in the last half of the 20th century.  By the time the first Atlas was conducted (1980-1985), the titmouse "was well established through the entire Hudson Valley, the New York City area, and the Coastal Lowlands...common through the central Appalachian Plateau, the Finger Lakes region, and northward to the central Lake Ontario shore."  Expansion was also noted along Lake Champlain but remained absent in the higher elevations of the Adirondacks.

1980-1985 Distribution Map

By the second atlas period (2000-2005), their range had expanded and density thickened even more, though they still remain rare in the Adirondacks.

2000-2005 Distribution Map 

The atlas provides this explanation for the expansion:  "The explanations offered for the northward extension include a general warming climate, the maturation of forest on abandoned farmlands, and an increase in winter bird feeding." 

What a birdfeeding success story the Tufted Titmouse can tell!  

Citation:  New York State Breeding Bird Atlas 2000. 2000 - 2005. Release 1.0. Albany (New York): New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. [updated 2007 Jun 11; cited 2009 Sep 15].