The Zen Birdfeeder

Evening Grosbeaks Return

I enjoyed multiple visits from a pair of Evening Grosbeaks today.  Here they are sharing the tray feeder with a Chipping Sparrow.

Click on images to enlarge

Like the finches they are, they were flocking with the American Goldfinches and Purple Finches.  I saw four of them - 2 males and 2 females - but only 2 visited the feeder at any one time.

These are big, beautiful birds.  To look at them through the scope or binoculars was a real treat on what turned into a dreary foggy day.  I never noticed before that their large, seed-crushing bill is a very pale green.  You discover all kinds of things when you really take time to observe!

Their call is a sharp chirp.  Click on the play arrow on the controller below to listen to their loud, clear call coming through.  I recorded this earlier today.

We hear stories in the store from folks who tell of the huge flocks of Evening Grosbeaks that used to be in the area.  Hundreds of these birds would descend into a yard - what a sight that must have been!  Here is an excerpt from "Birds of New York" by Elon Howard Eaton, published in 1914.

"This interesting species, which is related to the Hawfinch of Europe, is a bird of striking appearance, especially the full plumaged males, whose conspicuous coloration of bright yellow, olive, black and white, and their enormously heavy beaks, immediately attract the attention of the most casual observer. The sight of a mountain ash tree full of Evening grosbeaks, feeding on the brilliant red berries is an event long to be remembered."

(My thanks go out to Bruce Blackie who recently dropped off this interesting volume at the store for us to use as we see fit.)

When Evening Grosbeaks visit, I'll usually see them for a day or two - then they're off.  In New York, they breed in the coniferous forests of the Adirondacks.

Read more about Evening Grosbeaks on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's online guide to the birds.

 

Time to Hang the Hummingbird Feeders!

Until the first week of April, Ruby-throated  Hummingbirds had been heading north at a pace ahead of 2006.  Then winter reappeared.  Just read my After the Storm post of April 16th when we had 11" of snow in the foothills of the Adirondacks.

What a difference a week makes.  Springs seems to have overcome winter's grip in the northeast, and the hummingbirds are back on the move.

The hummingbirds.net website tracks their spring migration and shows that yesterday, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were sighted as far north as the Lake Champlain area.  Here's a link to the migration map.

I hung one hummingbird feeder yesterday, hoping to attract the early returnees.  It's time now to check your hummingbird feeders and supplies and hang at least one feeder out there!

Taken through a (dirty) window in 2006

Just a reminder of the hummingbird nectar recipe:

1 part sugar
4 parts water

Translation:
To make 1 cup of nectar: 1 c. water and 1/4 c. sugar
To make 2 cups of nectar: 2 c. water and 1/2 c. sugar
To make 3 cups of nectar: 3 c. water and 3/4 c. sugar 
To make 4 cups of nectar: 4 c. water and 1 c. sugar

Store prepared nectar up to 2 weeks in the fridge.  I use a bright red lexan water bottle to store mine.

Speaking of red, NEVER use red nectar.  Hummingbirds will be attracted to your feeders without using nectar that has a DYE in it!  Why add a DYE to your nectar if it is not needed and may end up being detrimental to the hummingbirds?  This is our RESPONSIBILITY when we put out food for these special jewels of the garden.

Please drop me a note using the Comment function to let me know when you see your first hummingbird of the season and where you're located.  I'll report it on the Wild Birds Unlimited - Saratoga Springs website too.

Jess Turns 22!

My cat Jess turns 22 years old today.  You heard right - 22.

She was born in April 1985.  Reagan was president, postage was 22 cents, and I still lived in central Illinois.  Heck, we have 2 staff members at WBU that are younger than Jess.

The CatAge site calculates a cat's biological age measured in people years and they determined that Jess's CatAge is 125.0!  Then they give some pointers to help her live a longer life.  Yeah right.

Jess is showing her age. The luxurious coat of her younger years is duller and matted. She reminds us of Grizabella The Glamour Cat from the musical "Cats".  She doesn't hear real well which she compensates for by screaming when she talks to us.  She can't jump as well as she used to and her vision is going too.  But the nose and the appetite are still there.

Being a really old cat comes with its benefits though. As she grew older, we began to spoil her more and more. It was a case of the "she won't be around much longer" reasoning.  Now that she gets everything she wants, she obviously can't find any good reason to leave this earth.   

We frequently ask ourselves the quality of life question regarding Jess.  But everytime her nose wakes her up to the smell of grilled chicken, or she screams at us for her 3rd helping of food, or she taps us on the arm wanting to be held, we know she's still doing okay and enjoying being queen of the house.

Send Jess birthday greetings using the Comment selection.  We'll make sure she gets them.

A Great Spring Bird Day

Today was a good learning day for the Zen Birdfeeder.  I had a couple lessons from nature in ATTENTION and in ACCEPTANCE.

One of my lessons in ATTENTION came from two male Downy Woodpeckers.  The pattern of black and white on a downy's head can vary from bird to bird.  I spent some time today sketching the patterns on two different males that were on my suet log today.

One of these downies has been coming around all winter, previously nicknamed him "Whitey".  He seems to have less black on the side of his head than the "typical" downy.  Here's a couple pictures for comparison.

      

With the great sunshine and temps in the mid-70s, I enjoyed sitting on the deck today reading and watching for birds.  Watch the skies and listen for calls because they're not always on the feeders.

Two specks in the sky turned out to be two migrating hawks.  They were soaring high in the sky, catching the thermals off the southern Adirondack hills.  I'm not as skilled as I'd like to be at identifying hawks high in flight, but did observe that they had broad wings and wide black & white tail bands.  We thought they were Broad-winged Hawks, but that's a skill I need to continue to develop.

A crow-like call alerted me to two Common Ravens soaring high in the sky.  They are larger than American Crows and have a rounded vs. a squared-off tail.  The raven call is more gutteral and lower than the caw-caw of the crow.

Two species that were present 2 days ago and presumably "moved on" are the American Tree Sparrow (pictured below) and the Fox Sparrow.  I enjoyed them while they were here but both have moved on to their breeding grounds as neither nest in New York.

 

Happily, the American Tree Sparrow was replaced by its summer "twin", the Chipping Sparrow.  No picture, but the first chippy of the year showed up today.  Welcome back!

Happy Earth Day

I hope you took time today to pay attention to the natural beauty around us, to accept what nature provides, and to be responsible for our actions because everything we do impacts the birds and the world we share with them.

Signs of Spring at Last

Just last Sunday, we had 11" of snow.  Here it is, 4 days later, it's 65 degrees, the snow is disappearing on south facing surfaces, and the first crocus of the year has popped open.

Welcome, finally, to spring!  I think...

 

One late afternoon visitor today was this female Hairy Woodpecker.

Robins are visiting the yard at the end of each day. I welcome their song, "Cheery-up, cheerilee, cheery-up.  Cheery-up, cheerilee, cheery-up" and so on, and on, and on. It's getting late, the feeder activity seems to be done for the day, so the long-windedness of the robin's song is forgiven.

Bird Guide Survey

Like to take surveys?  Go to Bill of the Birds blog to answer his survey on Your Favorite Bird Guide.  BTW, Bill publishes Bird Watcher's Digest.

Check it out.

Red-Breasted Nuthatches - Male or Female?

A pair of Red Breasted Nuthatches were busy at the feeders today.  I got good long looks at them as they pulled peanuts from the mesh feeder.  It was a chance to really take in the differentiating feature between the male and female - the color of the top of their heads.

Males have a black cap which is in strong contrast to their slate-colored back.  Females have a much lighter cap that at times seems to just merge into the slate color of her back.

White Breasted Nuthatches can also be differentiated in this manner.

I just wish the Red Squirrel would stop looking at me through the window!

 

After the Storm

Sunday brought 11" of wet heavy snow with sleet followed by 40 degree temps and steady rain this morning. The wind was blowing pretty good and some birds looks soaked.

American Goldfinches were busy.  It's not often that I see male goldfinches in their bright yellow plumage with snow in the background.

Still being visited by Fox Sparrows, American Tree Sparrows, and Song Sparrows.  It's only a matter of time before these guys move on.

More on the Tree Sparrow in a future post.

Top 10 PFW Birds

The 2006-07 Project Feeder Watch season ended last Friday, April 6th.

Here's my Top Ten Feeder Birds for this season:       

#1 - Dark-eyed Junco
#2 - Black-capped Chickadee
#3 - Blue Jay
#4 - American Goldfinch
#5 - Mourning Dove
#6 - Tufted Titmouse
T7 - Red-breasted Nuthatch
T7 - Downy Woodpecker
#9 - Hairy Woodpecker
#10 - Brown Creeper

Common Redpolls, #1 in my count last season, were absent during this entire watch period. Following their biennial irruption cycle, they should return to my feeders in good numbers next winter.

Read more about Project Feeder Watch on the Cornell website. If you didn't participate this year, I hope you'll join the count next season.

I'd love to hear what birds you had on your Top 10 list.

 

More Snow, More Juncos

The juncos just continue to amaze me!  I woke to 7" of wet, heavy snow this morning and feeders FULL of birds.

   

I'm still in Project Feeder Watch mode even though the count season is over, and at one point I counted 166 Dark-eyed Juncos.  I'm a conservative counter, and I know there were more out there. 

Amongst the juncos were Fox Sparrows, American Tree Sparrows, and Song Sparrows.  The Stokes Birding Blog had a great post on April 9th about these "LBJs" or Little Brown Jobs, as they affectionately call them.  Great pix on the Stokes blog, too.

The juncos contine in their non-traditional feeding methods.  In the image above, you can see one clinging to the peanut feeder and one on the suet log.

In observing the juncos, they seemed uncomfortable in these clinging positions, often having to flap their wings just to stay put.  Didn't keep them from trying though.

But enough about the juncos. It was a great day to watch the birds and a great count day (I'll switch over to eBird now that Project Feeder Watch is done). 

Lots of American Goldfinches (15) and Blue Jays (14).  For the day, I had 16 different species and 228 individuals.  Good enough reason to stay at home.

Would love to hear what this latest winter storm might have brought to your feeders.  Comment line is open!