The Zen Birdfeeder

A Photogenic Supermoon

 

The Supermoon through the pines.
Digiscoped with Vortex Razor Scope
and Sony Cybershot P&S

I betcha the Supermoon over the weekend was one of the most photographed moons in history!

Word of the Supermoon spread like wildfire and with the availability of cameras on phones, digital cameras, and digiscoping, thousands (maybe even millions?) of people were out there trying to capture an image of the moon Saturday night.

Supermoon is a fairly new term, popularized in 2010 to identify the moon that will APPEAR larger and brighter than all others that calendar year.  This year's Supermoon appeared 14% larger and 30% brighter than a typical full moon.

 

 

One day before Supermoon, 98% full.
Digiscoped with Vortex Razor Scope
and Sony Cybershot P&S

The experts use the word "appear" because the moon is not actually larger or brighter, but just looks that way.  The moon is at perigee (a new term for me) meaning the day each month that the moon is at its closest to earth.  On the night of Supermoon, it was a mere 221 thousand miles away!

So let's get together for next year's Supermoon, which will occur on June 23, 2013.  See ya then!

 

Windshield Year Birds

After an initial batch of 12 new birds for the year by watching my feeders at home, my next batch all came through the windshield of a car.

On my first trip into the store this year, I knew I'd pick up a few more easy year birds.  I expected to see these suburban birds that usually don't visit my feeders.  Sure enough, along Jones Road I saw American Crows, and from the Chipotle parking lot, a few House Sparrows perched in a small tree while across the road on Route 50, over 100 European Starlings were perched on the power lines, like quarter notes playing out a long, monotonous tune.

European Starling (digiscoped 2009, NY)

A couple days later, I headed down the interstate on a trip to the Philly area.  I saw Rock Pigeons clustered around exit 12.  All along my drive, Red-tailed Hawks perched high on trees and poles looking for their next meal in the snow below.  In New Jersey, I started seeing Turkey Vultures with their teeter-totter flight.  Turkey Vultures leave upstate New York in the winter, though now I know they don't go far.

Black Vulture (April 2009, TX)

In New Jersey along interstate 78, I saw a smaller vulture with a white only on the tips of their wings - now I'm glad I learned to identify Black Vultures during my trip last year to Texas!  In Pennsylvania,  Herring Gulls frequented the parking lots of the King of Prussia mall area.

Fittingly, near the Audubon exit on Route 422, many skeins of Canada Geese - and many other unidentifiable waterfowl - flew overhead.  Unbeknownst to me, I was within minutes of the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove.  I'll definitely make time for a stop there next time I'm in the area!

So my year list stands at 21 right now.  I'll be in downtown Atlanta soon and while there, I'll be on the lookout for birds that can be seen in an urban environment to add to my year list.

WBU-Saratoga Customer Favorite Birds

We recently surveyed our customers asking for their favorite birds and the votes are in!  The Northern Cardinal is their #1 favorite bird!

Northern Cardinal
Our customer's favorite bird (Digiscoped image)

Top Ten WBU-Saratoga Customer Favorite Birds:

1. Northern Cardinal
2. Black-capped Chickadee
3. American Goldfinch
4. Eastern Bluebird
5. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
6. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
7. Tufted Titmouse
8. Pileated Woodpecker
9. Downy Woodpecker
10. White-breasted Nuthatch

Black-capped Chickadee
Our customer's 2nd favorite bird

The full list of all 60 birds is available to add to your Thayer Birding Software.  Follow this link to the list and this link to instructions to download it to your software.  Thayer Birding Software lets build custom lists of your own and to share those lists with other users.

Thayer Birding Software is available at Wild Birds Unlimited - Saratoga Springs NY, at many other WBU shops, and online.

Spring Migration First of the Year Report 2010-5

Migration wraps up this month so this will be my last report on the birds returning to my yard this spring.  I've used the arrival of each bird to learn something new or fun about them from Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion.

YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER

Male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Sapsuckers returned on May 15th, later than previous years.  As the Mountain Ash trees in my yard decrease (I lost another this winter; read about it in my Lamenting the Loss of a Tree post), I wonder how long sapsuckers will continue to stop in my yard.

The two sapsuckers I saw went straight to work on the lone surviving ash tree, drilling a few new sap wells.  It was then very fascinating to watch a chickadee check out the wells after they were drilled, I imagine searching for the insects that the sap attracts.

Chickadee visiting a sapsucker well

Dunne Fun Fact
"A shy bird, Yellow-bellied often moves to the far side of a limb to avoid study...observers are often unaware of the bird's presence.  Dislodged shards of bark are few, and the bird's tapping is surprisingly soft, almost soundless.  Often birders are alerted to the bird's presence by its call." 
All so true, just as I've experienced the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker!


TREE SWALLOW

Appearing later this year than all other migratory birds to my yard, Tree Swallows usually show up in mid-April but they didn't show up until May 16th!  I don't really have a good habitat for them to breed, but they regularly pay me a spring visit and are often seen catching insects on the wing.  I oftentimes witness courtship behaviors and copulation as well before they move on to more open areas.  This year was no exception.

Dunne Fun Fact
"Sometimes carries (usually white) feathers aloft and, releasing them, pursues them in the air." 


EVENING GROSBEAK

Male Evening Grosbeak, April 2009. Digiscoped image

I had been wondering about the total absence of Evening Grosbeaks in my yard this spring.  Birdwatchers in British Columbia, Canada and in the western U.S. seemed to be hogging all of them!

But then on June 2, I was lucky enough to have a pair pass through the yard.  In years past, they came through in April!  Unfortunately, they moved on after staying only a few minutes.

Dunne Fun Fact
"In breeding plumage, the huge lime green bill is too anomalous and imposing to ignore...The yellow eyebrows make the birds look fierce or cross."

FUN FACT SOURCE:  Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion, Published by Houghton-Mifflin, 2006.

Attracting Orioles to Bird Feeders

Bullock's Oriole
(photo from WBU Image Library)

Of the nine oriole species found in North America, the Baltimore Oriole is the most widespread in the east and the Bullock's is common in the west.  Orioles of all kinds can be drawn into our yards by offering food such as orange halves or slices, grape jelly, or mealworms.  Orioles might even use the protein-rich mealworms to feed to their nestlings!

Baltimore Oriole (digiscoped image)

Female Baltimore Oriole
(photo from WBU Image Library)

When serving grape jelly, it's important to put out smaller quantities and in shallow dishes.  This will help minimize the danger of other small birds inadvertently getting trapped in the thick jelly. 

Orioles will also visit nectar feeders, which supplements the natural nectar they find in flowers.  You'll need a special nectar feeder for orioles; their beak is too big to access nectar in hummingbird feeders.  The nectar solution for orioles is also weaker than hummingbird nectar - a 1 part sugar to 8 parts water solution (vs. 1-to-4 ratio for hummingbirds).

Orioles seem more easily attracted to feeders if their preferred foods are waiting for them upon their return from their tropical winter homes.  That's why it's a good idea to maintain a journal of the bird activity in your yard from year to year.  Orioles return to my area within the first 2 weeks of May each year.  It's when the black cherry trees are in bloom - another easy way to remember!

Oriole enjoying apples on a Johnny Apple Feeder
(Photo from Holland Hill Birdfeeders)

Place feeders in the open so they're very visible.  Remember these are treetop birds so try to think about their perspective when you choose a spot for your feeders.  It's also best to keep oriole feeders separate from other bird feeding stations.

Orioles at a recycled plastic oriole/jelly feeder
(Photo from WBU Image Library)

WBU Oriole Feeder serves nectar, an orange half, and safe quantities of grape jelly
(Photo from WBU Image Library)

Remember to keep the foods you offer orioles fresh, replacing the food every few days.  Clean the feeder regularly.  And BE PATIENT - it may be several seasons before orioles find and utilize a feeder.  But it will be worth it, so give it a try and in the meantime, enjoy this gorgeous bird and his wonderful song!

Orioles are also amongst the birds that are known to winter in shade-grown coffee farms.  Help protect the birds you love by drinking only certified shade-grown "Bird-Friendly®" coffee like Birds & Beans™ brand.  Available at WBU-Saratoga Springs NY and online.

Fort Edward Grasslands Important Bird Area

The Fort Edward (NY) Grasslands Important Bird Area (IBA) is a 13,000 acre agricultural grassland complex located in the towns of Ft. Edward, Argyle, and Kingsbury.  The IBA contains working farms, grassland areas, cultivated fields, small woodlots, and wetlands.

The site is the largest intact grassland habitat in eastern New York and is vital for grassland birds, many of whose populations across North America have plummeted in recent years due to habitat loss.  High quality grassland acreage in New York State has been rapidly decreasing due to fragmentation and urban sprawl.

- The IBA hosts many summer breeding bird species, including Northern Harrier, Upland Sandpiper, Grasshopper Sparrow, Henslow's Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Bobolink, and Eastern Meadowlark.

Savannah Sparrow

- The IBA is also an important raptor wintering area.  Species commonly found include Northern Harrier, Short-eared Owl, and Rough-legged Hawk.  Non-raptor species that depend on the grasslands include Snow Bunting, Horned Lark, and Lapland Longspur.

Rough-legged Hawk, Ft. Edward IBA 2009

- Other interesting sightings in the IBA have included: Merlin, Snowy Owl, Brown Thrasher, Northern Shrike, Blue-winged Warbler, Dickcissel, and Orchard Oriole.

Snowy Owl, Ft. Edward IBA 2009 (digiscoped image)

Nearly all acreage in the IBA is privately owned.  Pressure from residential development has put this special place at risk for not only the grassland birds, but for residents who value their rural lifestyle.

You can help by getting involved with Southern Adirondack Audubon Society's efforts to save the Fort Edward Grasslands Important Bird Area.  Please visit their website for the latest information.

Birding in the Ft. Edward IBA?  Please consider entering your data at www.ebird.org.  This online database will help keep track of the locations and numbers of birds using the IBA.

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This information is reprinted from The Fledgling, the newsletter of the Southern Adirondack Audubon Society (links added).  Please support SAAS by becoming a member.

Read more about The State of Grassland Birds from the 2009 The State of the Birds Report.

5 Years of Project FeederWatch

Now that we're well into 2009-10 Project FeederWatch season, I thought I might take a look at my PFW data over the past 5 years and see what the information might be telling me from my own non-scientific point of view.  And if any of my friends from the project happen upon this post and care to offer any of their thoughts, I'd be eternally indebted!

I have records for the last five PFW seasons, starting with 2004-05.  So first I'll start off with a list of the 36 species of birds that have been included in my PFW counts.  Alongside each bird is the highest individual count of that bird that has been recorded, as well as the year that high count was recorded.  For simplicity purposes, I'm putting them in alphabetical order:

1	American Crow	10	2008
2	American Goldfinch	41	2007
3	American Robin	9	2006
4	American Tree Sparrow	2	2007
5	Barred Owl	1	2008
6	Black-capped Chickadee	26	2007
7	Blue Jay	25	2009
8	Brown Creeper	2	2007
9	Brown headed Cowbird	2	2006
10	Canada Goose	6	2009
11	Cedar Waxwing	8	2008
12	Common Grackle	1	2007
13	Common Raven	5	2008
14	Common Redpoll	200	2008
15	Cooper's Hawk	1	2009
16	Dark-eyed Junco	82	2007
17	Downy Woodpecker	3	2005
18	European Starling	4	2007
19	Evening Grosbeak	30	2007
20	Fox Sparrow	2	2006
21	Hairy Woodpecker	3	2008
22	Mourning Dove	19	2006
23	Northern Cardinal	2	2006
24	Northern Goshawk	1	2007
25	Pileated Woodpecker	1	2006
26	Pine Grosbeak	3	2007
27	Pine Siskin	31	2009
28	Purple Finch	6	2009
29	Red bellied Woodpecker	1	2009
30	Red-breasted Nuthatch	6	2005
31	Red winged Blackbird	10	2007
32	Ruffed Grouse	1
33	Sharp-shinned Hawk	1
34	Song Sparrow	2	2008
35	Tufted Titmouse	5	2005
36	White-breasted Nuthatch	2	2004

Evening Grosbeak (digiscoped image)

From my perspective, there are some wildly high counts here, either in terms of crowded feeders (jays, doves), amazing activity (chickadees, redpolls, juncos), or sheer gratitude (evening grosbeaks):

• 26 Black-capped Chickadees
• 25 Blue Jays
• 200 Common Redpolls
• 82 Dark-eyed Juncos
• 30 Evening Grosbeaks (high in today's standards)
• 19 Mourning Doves

I'm fortunate in my yard in the foothills of the Adirondacks to not have many starlings or cowbirds, and to have never seen a house sparrow or pigeon.  The altitude, latitude, and habitat also grace me with amazing birds like the grosbeaks, year-round juncos and Red-breasted Nuthatches, Common Ravens, and one year, a Northern Goshawk.

Northern Goshawk

But those same features also mean that such common PFW birds such as Northern Cardinals and increasingly common birds like the Red-bellied Woodpecker or Carolina Wren are rare or absent in my yard.  Common summer birds like the Purple Finch also become rare here in winter months.

Here's some other interesting numbers summarizing my PFW season, showing high and average species and individual bird counts:

	04-05	05-06	06-07	07-08	08-09	Ave
Weeks Counted	15	18	17	15	19	16.8
High Species Count	12	15	15	14	17	14.6
High Indiv.Count	68	162	146	250	131	151.4
Ave Species Count	10	11.5	12	11	13.8
Ave Indiv. Count	35	68	77	102	77
Total Species	15	20	24	20	29	21.6

Common Redpoll

The biennial irruption of Common Redpolls shows through in the High Individual Count tallies.  Irruptive years were 2005-06 and 2007-08.  Here's my high redpoll counts each year; you can see the impact they have on Individual Bird counts:

                          04-05    05-06    06-07    07-08    08-09
Redpoll High Ct       14        120        0            200        7 

So, with no redpolls, what contributed to the 2006-07 high individual count (average 77)?  Dark-eyed Juncos.  As I mentioned before, these are year-round birds for us but that winter, we had tons of them!  Their numbers started to climb in January with my highest count on a PFW day being 82.  But on April 12, 2007, after PFW had concluded, I had 166 Dark-eyed Juncos in my yard.

Dark-eyed Junco on suet log

They were everywhere - on the ground of course, but even clinging to feeders they normally don't frequent like peanut feeders and suet logs.  It was amazing.

What I like that I see in the chart above is a very nice upward trend over the years in the number of species (almost doubled!) and in the sheer number of birds.  What has changed here?  As the years have gone by, we've increased the variety in our birdfood choices and the way we present it:

• Lots of variety in the foods we provide - many different types of loose seeds (black oil and striped sunflower, sunflower chips, safflower, niger) straight up and in blends; peanuts in and out of the shells; seed/nut/fruit cylinders, and a variety of suet
• Variety in how we present the food - tube feeders and hopper feeders, suet logs, mesh feeders, open tray feeders, window feeders 

We have a diverse habitat and a chemical-free yard, no outdoor cats, and lots of shelter for the birds.  We provide water for the birds year-round, using a heated birdbath during the winter.  We keep the feeders fairly clean and watch for sick birds, like when salmonella passed through some siskins in late winter last year.

American Robin on heated bird bath

I guess this steady increase in the number of birds and the variety of birds in my yard shows is that in any given habitat/yard and from any given starting point, you CAN grow the birds that visit.

If you this type of bird count information, please consider joining Project FeederWatch (count weekly from November through March).  Or you may want to start your citizen science journey by participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count, which is coming up February 12-15, 2010.  And you can read about my PFW and GBBC counts on The Zen Birdfeeder by clicking on the Project FeederWatch/eBird/GBBC link in the Categories list on the left side of the blog. 

Double and Triple Digit Yard Birds

Evening Grosbeak pair (digiscoped image)

Using my citizen science project records (Project FeederWatch, Great Backyard Bird Count, and eBird), here's my honor roll of Double and Triple(!!) Digit Birds I've seen in my yard:

DOUBLE DIGIT YARD BIRDS

• Red-winged Blackbird - 10 in 2007
• Purple Finch - 12 in 2007
• Cedar Waxwing - 15 in 2007
• Mourning Dove - 19 in 2006
• Black-capped Chickadee - 26 in 2007
• Evening Grosbeak - 30 in 2008
• American Goldfinch - 41 in 2009
• Blue Jay - 43 in 2009
• Pine Siskin - 53 in 2009
• Canada Goose (overhead) - 55 in 2009
• Snow Goose (overhead) - 60 in 2009

Dark-eyed Junco

TRIPLE DIGIT YARD BIRDS

• Dark-eyed Junco - 166 in 2007
• Common Redpoll - 200 in 2008

Common Redpolls on mesh finch feeder

What are YOUR triple digit yard birds?

Birds by the Numbers

STARLINGS

European Starling (Digiscoped image)

100     the number of European Starlings imported from England to be released in New York's Central Park

1890     the year starlings were first released in the U.S. 

1960s     decade in which the starling completed their coast-to-coast U.S. expansion

200 million     the current population of starlings in the U.S.

Source:  Nature Watch and National Geographic Complete Guide to Birds of North America

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