The Zen Birdfeeder

More Young'ens

Here's more of the young birds in our yard, a mix of fledglings (have left the nest but are still not independent) and immature birds (no longer dependent on parents).

Mourning Dove - note the light edging of the feathers.
 

Downy and Hairy Woodpecker males - red is on the top of the head versus the back. The young females are a little harder - they are just fresher- and cleaner-looking than frazzled mom. 
 
 

Dark-eyed Junco - streaked appearance versus solid grey
 
 

Red-breasted Nuthatch - junior is on the left.  A little shorter bill, and newer, neater appearance (raising kids is tough on the adults!)
 

Rose-breasted Grosbeak - there's the start of that beautiful rosy breast!
 

Fledgling Identification Tips

My yard is FILLED with Blue Jay fledglings! Each day as these young birds become more independent, they seem to be replaced with more youngsters just emerging from the nest.
 
 

With so many young jays around, it's a good time to look for the things that help us identify fledgling birds. (Click on any image to enlarge to see greater detail).

Watch for wing quiver behavior as they beg for food.
 
 

Their landings are sometimes clumsy and they'll stumble on to perches.
 
 
 
Listen for whiny, squeally calls that come from one area for a period of time.
 

Their plumage appears softer and more "downy-like" than the adult.
 

Their beak is a bit shorter too.
 
 

They learn to preen their downy-type feathers.
 

Look for a soft, fleshy part at the edges of their beak.
 
 
 

Watch for baby jays!
 

Read "Backyard Mystery Birds" for more hints on identifying juvenile birds.

Earning My Birds Back

As you could probably tell by the infrequency of posts in June, I was really busy all last month.  Besides a 1-day trip to Saranac Lake NY for the Adirondack Birding Celebration, I was also gone 4 days mid-month in Illinois, back home, then gone for 8 days in Indiana.  When we returned from Indy, every feeder in the yard was empty and the bird activity was slow.  I had to EARN my birds back.

I filled the hummingbird feeders and added one more, and the hummingbirds came back very quickly. 3-4 have been very competitive at the feeders and adding more feeders can help break that up a little.
 
 

Purple Finches returned when the safflower was put back in the tube feeder.  Isn't he beautiful?  If only the darn chipmunks didn't eat the stuff too...ggggrrrr.
  

It didn't take long for the Blue Jays and Mourning Doves - adults and young - to return when I refilled the hopper feeders. And there was still a smidgen of niger left in the finch feeders to take care of the goldfinches during my absence.

Luring the woodpeckers back took a little while longer.  The suet logs were picked clean and the seed cylinder was long gone.  The hairies had fledged their young before I left, but the downy young were still in the nest. While I was gone, the downies fledged and they now share time on the suet log feeders.
 
 

It took a couple days for the 3 male and 2 female Rose-breasted Grosbeaks to return.  They have since fledged their young.
 

Things seem almost back to normal.  And I promise to return to more "normal" bird posting activity (if work doesn't get in the way!)  It's so nice to get back behind the camera!!!

Still Blogging After All These....Months

Mike Bergin of 10,000 Birds recently posed this question to the bird blogging community:

"Why are you still bird blogging?  Why, despite the difficulties, time-pressures, and other things to do (like birding), are you still at it?"

So, what IS my motivation to write The Zen Birdfeeder blog?

The first thing that came to mind for me was LEARNING.  To keep The Zen Birdfeeder blog interesting (and I hope you do find it interesting), I've found that I have to really observe, read, listen, and constantly, well, just pay attention. We all do this to some degree anyway, but keeping a blog vibrant and alive pushes it to a much higher level.

I love the opportunity to showcase creativity.  Admittedly, creativity doesn't come often or easy for me, but when a fun idea like the SOM Seeks SOF post comes along, I love being able to share it!  And I love getting comments that provide a big "thumbs up" to my work.

The Zen Birdfeeder also provides a great opportunity to share my passion for the birds, especially the birds we see everyday.  The Zen Birdfeeder blog has been around for 14 months now, and my 248 posts are mostly about the birds in my yard.  Chickadees and Downy Woodpeckers and Blue Jays and Purple Finches.  The usual suspects.  But I still have yet to tire of seeing these "commoners" in my yard and sharing my observations.

The abundant but always appreciated Black-capped Chickadee

Lastly, I think the The Zen Birdfeeder blog helps fill an important niche in the bird blog community.  Specifically, it helps bridge the gap between serious birders and the people that "just" feed the birds.  There are literally millions of people that care deeply about the birds.  And the majority of those millions do not follow rare bird alerts or maintain life lists.  We just show our love and appreciation for birds by maintaining  feeders in our yard.  And we are thrilled every day by the most common of birds that visit those feeders.  The Zen Birdfeeder blog is THEIR blog.  And to all you hard-core birders, I hope you find it enjoyable too.

The Spring of the Sparrow

The calendar indicates that summer has arrived, even though the temperatures are very moderate. So before the heat of summer is upon us, I thought it would be a good time to look back on spring. For me, it was the spring of the sparrow.

Migrating sparrows graced my yard from late March through the end of May including a sparrow new to my yard, my "regular" nesting sparrows, and good-sized groups of migrating sparrows.

The Song Sparrow was the first sparrow species through the yard on March 28th, while the snow and cold temperatures were still around.  They do nest in New York, though these were passing through - they were last seen in my yard April 17th.
 

Fox Sparrows were next, arriving April 9.  This was just a few days later than in 2007.  They were busy ground foragers, especially in the underbrush on the wooded side of the house.  They were here in good numbers (up to seven at one time) through April 20th.  This is the biggest group of Fox Sparrows that I've had at any one time.
 

White-throated Sparrows appeared April 12, a full eleven days earlier than in 2007.  They were around in good numbers (up to nine at a time - again, more than I've ever seen in my yard before) and steadily until May 11th. They have one of the most recognizable birdsongs, though the translation is open for debate.  Do you say "Oh Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody" or "Oh, Sweet Canada, Canada, Canada"?  Me?  With Canada our neighbor to the north, I prefer Sweet Canada.  Besides, I love their national anthem.  But I digress....
 

Chipping Sparrows returned April 15, a week earlier than in 2007. Chippers did not always nest in my yard, but they and their young are now welcomed as regular summer residents.  Though seen here enjoying a seed cylinder, I spread lots of WBU Deluxe Blend (with white millet) on the ground for the chippers, juncos, and all my visiting sparrows.
 

I always watch very closely in early April hoping to see BOTH an American Tree Sparrow and a Chipping Sparrow in my yard at the same time.  But these two sparrows seem to time their arrivals and departures so you never see them both at the same time! The last American Tree Sparrow I saw was in the snow on April 3.
 

In early May, two Savannah Sparrows visited.  This was a new yard bird for me (#82) and they visited for one lucky day only.  Not the best image below; had it in digital zoom range.
 

White-crowned Sparrows passed through on May 7, feeding under the feeders and using the birdbath for a one-day visit only.  White-crowns don't nest in New York; 2 out of every 3 of them nest in the boreal forest. It's easy to at-a-glance pass a white-crowned off as a white-throated.  But a little more attention to the details pays off with this handsome bird. White-crowned Sparrows were new to my yard in 2004 and now visit every migration.  Makes me wonder if I just wasn't paying close enough attention before.
 

After it seemed that sparrow migration was all wrapped up, I had a couple stragglers pass through on May 21.  A White-throated Sparrow and a White-crowned Sparrow stopped by for a one day visit on their way to their breeding grounds.

So all that's left are the Chipping Sparrows, busy nesting in the area.  Before you know it, summer will be wrapping up and the next wave of sparrows will pass through, but this time with many youngsters among them.  I'm looking forward to it!

Welcome Renee

I'd like to welcome my sister Renee to the readership of The Zen Birdfeeder.

Renee hung her first birdfeeder this year - a hummingbird feeder.  She has added more colorful flowers to the area where it is hanging in the attempt to lure these little jewels to this new feeding source.

Renee: good luck in attracting your first hummingbird! They will come, and when they do, I think you'll discover why so many people are entranced by these little beauties.  I love you and welcome you to my world of feeding the birds

Zen Nature Lessons

This monthly feature highlights 3 blog posts from the last month that exemplify the Zen nature lessons of Attention, Acceptance, and Responsibility. I encourage you to take a moment to enjoy these thoughtful posts.

Attention
Aunt B's Backyard is a new blog for me - beautiful photography and wonderful things going on in her backyard. "Take the Time to Observe the Beauty that Surrounds You" is a great zen lesson in attention. She wraps it up perfectly: "Such beauty there is to behold in this world!"

Acceptance
The Zen acceptance lesson this month is not a blog post but rather a poem.  It was sent to the Wild Birds Unlimited store in Germantown, Maryland by one their customers and was written by a customer's son who is in first grade.  To me it demonstrates his understanding of nature and love of living things, all at a very young age. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Responsibility
The debate about drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge seems to never go away. DC Birding Blog discusses the issue in "Small Savings for a Big Loss". I was particularly taken with the US Fish & Wildlife map showing how widely the birds that nest in ANWR travel. Check out the post and make sure to enlarge and check out the map.

Namaste

SOM Seeking SOF

Single Oriole Male, new to area since May 18th, looking for Single Oriole Female for monogamous relationship.

Great singing voice.  Enjoys meals of caterpillars, moths, aphids, and other insects as well as oranges, nectar, and grape jelly.  8" long, weight 1.2oz.  Flashy dresser (wears orange and black suit).  Well groomed.  Love to travel long distances twice a year. Vacations during winters along Atlantic Coast of US.  Spends summers in rural area of upstate NY. Will help build great pouch-shaped nest in treetops. Hope to raise 4-5 young ones this season. Establishing territory right now and waiting for that special somebird.

This male oriole has been around and singing exuberantly from the tops of trees every day since the 18th. I posted his song on the 18th and decided to try to help him out some more with this personal ad.  If any one out there has an extra female oriole looking for love, send her this way!

Banded Grosbeak

This male Rose-breasted Grosbeak that visited my feeder Wednesday morning has a band on its right leg.

Only about 1% of banded songbirds are encountered after their initial banding. If you ever find a banded bird, reporting the information makes a very valuable contribution to the bander.

A bird with a metal band on its leg was banded under a permit from the U.S. Bird Banding Laboratory. Federal Fish & Wildlife bands are plain aluminum, inscribed with a nine digit number. Read about types of bird bands on the USGS site.

It is important to report banded birds if you can get the numbers from the band. Without the numbers, nothing can be reported. The information that must be recorded includes:

• band numbers and letters
• town, county, and state where the bird was found
• date found
• alive or dead? how did it die?
• finder's name, address, and phone number

Call the information in to 1-800-327-2263 or report it on the Bird Banding Lab's website www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl. It can also be sent by mail to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bird Banding Laboratory, 12100 Beech Forest Road, Laurel, MD 20708-4037.

If you call them, they can often tell you where the bird came from and how old it is. They will also notify the person who originally banded the bird. You'll get a certificate with information about the bird and thanking you for helping the program.

Unfortunately, even with a digiscoped image, I cannot read the numbers on the band, so I'm unable to report it. But it does make me stop and wonder who had the joy of holding this beauty in their hand? Where was he caught and released? How long ago was he banded?  Was it just this spring?  What would the bander be able to tell me about my bird? 

I wish I could report SOMETHING to the bander, but I know that if I could, it would probably mean the bird had died.  I much prefer it this way.

Crown Point Birding May 08

We visited the Crown Point Bird Banding Station on a gorgeous spring day last week.  It was just a little too gorgeous as far as bird banding opportunities were concerned.  With no activity to observe at the mist nets, we spent time looking for birds at this Important Bird Area on Lake Champlain.

We saw/heard 31 species (last May we counted 50 birds, but we had our good friend and better birder Mona with us then!)  Here's the list of the birds we counted this year.

Tree Swallows were extremely numerous and always gorgeous.

Eastern Kingbird

Cormorants roosting over Bulwagga Bay.

Turkey Vulture overhead

Eastern Meadowlark - couldn't get a closer image.

Enjoyed observing a pair of bluebirds at a nestbox. The female was gathering nesting material and taking it into the box; the male would be around and fly to the top of the box after the female entered it. It was fun to watch their behavior during this nest-building stage.

The banding station is open until May 25th and is open to the public. Hopefully the activity has picked up for Mike, Gordon, and their team.