The Zen Birdfeeder

WBU Saratoga in the News

Wild Birds Unlimited - Saratoga Springs NY has been in the news recently!

First, we were interviewed by Kathy Bowen of the Daily Gazette for their article "Feeding birds brings small dose of low-cost beauty".  In the article, she talks about this winter's bird activity and how people now more than ever are looking for ways to enjoy nature close to home.  Read the rest of the Gazette article.

Then, on February 23, a new customer named Christen Gowan walked into Wild Birds Unlimited and worked with co-owner Lois Geshiwlm. The next day, she featured our store in a post on the Times Union blog Saratoga Seen. 

Here's a little of what she had to say:  "The store, which literally has a cult following (I’ve heard people rave about this place), takes birding from a backyard hobby to full-blown obsession."

Read the rest of her post Backyard Birdfeeding 101.

Many thanks to the Gazette's Kathy Bowen for a fun article and to Time Union's Christen Gowan for her very complimentary blog post.  Christen: let us know how that new finch feeder is working for you!

Bird Deaths and Communications Towers

Action Alert from the American Bird Conservancy

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that up to 50 million birds are killed each year because of lighted communications towers.  Scientists have shown that -- especially during bad weather conditions -- migrating birds become disoriented and trapped by the halo of light surrounding towers that use steady-burning illumination.  The birds circle endlessly until they either collide with the structure, each other, or simply fall dead from sheer exhaustion.

In just one instance, more than 10,000 dead birds were found under a single communication tower in one night!

Simple steps can be taken to prevent these needless deaths, but for over ten years, the FCC (the government agency that licenses towers) has been dragging its feet in implementing them, despite  repeated appeals by American Bird Conservancy, Audubon, and Defenders of Wildlife, as well as independent scientists, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and even a federal court order.

With the annual bird spring migration nearly underway, please take action to help American Bird Conservancy push the FCC to take immediate action to prevent future migratory bird deaths at towers.

Please, consider taking action personally and then forwarding this information on to another bird-loving friend.

3/4/09 UPDATE: The FAA has agreed to study lighting requirements on communications towers.  Read more on the American Bird Conservancy website.

The Grouse in my Yard

Back in January and early February, I saw a Ruffed Grouse in my yard a number of times.  I spent some time reading up on the grouse, which is also sometimes called a "partridge".  Here's just some of the interesting stuff I read about the Ruffed Grouse.

APPEARANCE
They have a plump, mottled body with a smallish head that has a bit of a crest.  Their long, squared-off tail has broad, dark bands and a white tip.  There are two morphs: grey morphs are found mostly in the north and red morphs are found mainly south.  They are 17" long, have a wingspan of 22", and weigh about 1.3 pounds.
In winter, scales grow out along the sides of the grouse's toes giving them temporary snowshoes. (Budliger/Kennedy)

 

BEHAVIOR
Ted Floyd comments that the Ruffed Grouse "almost never wanders away from the woods". They are generally solitary and shy, though in winter, they may gather in small groups of 4-5 individuals to feed and roost together. At night, they roost in conifers, in stands of tightly packed saplings, or beneath snow cover. (Dunne)
Though capable of flight, they are most often seen moving about by foot.
They glean the ground and on vegetation to feed.  Their omnivorous diet includes seeds, buds, flowers, berries, catkins, leaves, insects, spiders, and snails. (Dunne)  Their diet varies with the season; fruits and berries in summer and fall, then switching to tree buds in winter, especially in the north when the ground is snow-covered. (Kaufmann)

PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS
When I've seen Ruffed Grouse in my yard, they are always in or very close to woodland cover.  I enjoyed watching the bird pictured walk out along tree branches that I thought were too small to support it.

It would walk out as far as possible, then turn and walk back.  It would almost jump rather than fly to the next branch.  These pictures were taken in cherry trees and sumacs, and the grouse was enjoying the buds on the cherry trees and the fruit on the sumacs.

THE GROUSE IN NEW YORK STATE
Ruffed Grouse are fairly common year-round residents, breeding in April - June.  They are the most common and widespread grouse in the state. (Budliger/Kennedy)
New York trends (as well as nationwide and regionally) show significant declines in Ruffed Grouse populations from 1966 - 2005. Substantially fewer grouse were recorded (during the second atlas survey) and gaps are apparent.  The North American Bird Conservation Initiative has listed the grouse as a species of conservation concern in New York.  Population can be restored through proper forest harvest and management, including proper clearing. (McGowan/Corwin)

Sources:

• Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Ted Floyd
• Birds of New York State, Bob Budliger and Gregory Kennedy
• Lives of North American Birds, Kenn Kaufman
• Essential Field Guide Companion, Pete Dunne
• The Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State, Kevin McGowan and Kimberley Corwin

Read more about the Ruffed Grouse on rightbird, WBU's online field guide.

This post was submitted to Bird Photography Weekly #26.

Great Backyard Bird Count 2009 Yard Summary

We're one week post-GBBC so I thought it's about time to summarize the results from my yard.

American Robin 2009

I counted all four days, for a total of 22 1/2 hours. In all, I saw these 17 different species:

Mourning Dove
Blue Jay
American Crow
Cooper's Hawk
Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Black capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Northern Cardinal
American Robin
European Starling
Dark-eyed Junco
American Goldfinch
Common Redpoll
Pine Siskin

I averaged just over 14 species each count day, with the low being 12 and the high being 17.  For GBBC 2008, I averaged 11 species/day, with a low of 8 and a high of 12.  So my species counts increased this year.

Northern Cardinal GBBC 2009 (Digiscoped image)

Here's a quick summary by species:

• Mourning Dove - Seen all 4 days.  High count 6
• Blue Jay - Seen all 4 days.  High count 21
• American Crow - Seen 1 day.  High count 3
• Cooper's Hawk - Seen 1 day.  High count 1
• Hairy Woodpecker - Seen all 4 days.  High count 2
• Downy Woodpecker - Seen all 4 days.  High count 2
• Black capped Chickadee - Seen all 4 days.  High count 14
• Tufted Titmouse - Seen all 4 days.  High count 3
• Red-breasted Nuthatch - Seen all 4 days.  High count 2
• White-breasted Nuthatch - Seen 3 days.  High count 1 (female)
• Northern Cardinal - Seen all 4 days.  High count 2 (pair)
• American Robin - Seen all 4 days.  High count 1
• European Starling - Seen 3 days.  High count 4
• Dark-eyed Junco - Seen 3 days.  High count 3
• American Goldfinch - Seen all 4 days.  High count 21
• Common Redpoll - Seen 2 days.  High count 1
• Pine Siskin- Seen all 4 days.  High count 53

I saw an average of 94 individual birds a day, ranging from a low of 75 birds to a high of 111.  For GBBC 2008, I averaged 114 individual birds, ranging from a low of 87 birds and a high of 140.  So while I saw more SPECIES this year than last, I counted fewer INDIVIDUALS this year.

Common Redpoll 2008

Last year's high count of individuals was a result of the Common Redpoll irruption of winter 2007-08.  During last year's count, I averaged 85 redpolls each day, with a high count one day of 100.  This year's Pine Siskin irruption, while significant across the country, hasn't brought the sheer numbers of birds to my yard.  Over the 4-day count period, I averaged 38 siskins with a high count of 53.

Pine Siskin GBBC 2009

My raptor visits in 2008 came from a Northern Goshawk - what a thrill THAT was - and also a Sharp-shinned Hawk.  This year, a Cooper's Hawk was counted on day 4.

Sharp-shinned Hawk GBBC 2008

Seen this year and not last year:  Pine Siskin, Cooper's Hawk, starling, American Robin, Northern Cardinal, American Goldfinch. 
Seen last year but not this year: Northern Goshawk and Sharp-shinned Hawk.

Comparing the two years is interesting and provides just a glimpse into what the ornithologists at Cornell study from the results of citizen science projects like Great Backyard Bird Count.

If you participated and have not submitted your checklist, you have until March 1 to do so.  Follow this link to enter your counts.  So far, over 86,000 checklists have been submitted reporting 603 species and over 11 million birds. 

If you have a story you'd like to tell about your count, we'd love to hear it!

Wordless Wednesday

White-breasted Nuthatch

Great Backyard Bird Count Day 4

American Goldfinch

Today was the final day of the Great Backyard Bird Count and I had all day long to count!  And what a day it was!  Here's the species I observed:

Cooper's Hawk    1
Mourning Dove    3
Downy Woodpecker  1
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Blue Jay  15
American Crow  3
Black-capped Chickadee    14
Tufted Titmouse     2
Red-breasted Nuthatch    1
White-breasted Nuthatch     1
American Robin    1
European Starling  4
Dark-eyed Junco      3
Northern Cardinal  1
Common Redpoll    1
Pine Siskin   31
American Goldfinch   21

17 Species
104 Individuals

Dismayed by the small numbers of juncos on days 1-3, I broadcast WBU Select Blend (a heavy millet blend) on the ground and picked up a couple more juncos.

The finches continued to show up in big numbers, with the goldfinch count growing to 21. Our friend Mona is a GBBC participant and had joked about how we were all counting the same single redpoll.

Common Redpoll

A single robin has been a reliable daily visitor every day of the count.  I just listen for his whinny and know I'll find him in the Mountain Ash tree.

American Robin (digiscoped images)

The male cardinal visited early and late, but without the female today.

I had no raptors visit during the first 3 days of the count, but today a Cooper's Hawk barrelled through the yard, successful in his hunt.  More details on that strike later this week.

Cooper's Hawk with prey

So ends the 2009 Great Backyard Bird Count.  Have fun exploring the results.  I'll summarize my 4-day count in a post later this week.  Thanks all for participating!

Great Backyard Bird Count Day 3

Today was Great Backyard Bird Count Day 3.  I was able to count for just over 3 hours before heading to the store.

Pine Siskin

Here's what I observed:

Mourning Dove    6
Downy Woodpecker  1
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Blue Jay  13
Black-capped Chickadee    6
Tufted Titmouse     2
Red-breasted Nuthatch    2
White-breasted Nuthatch     1
American Robin    1
Northern Cardinal  2
Pine Siskin  31
American Goldfinch  9

12 Species
75 Individuals

Hearing the titmice sing their "peter peter peter" song just makes me smile.  Either male and female will sing this song any time of year, but it is most frequent during breeding when males sing to establish territory or advertising for a mate (Stokes Nature Guide to Bird Behavior, Vol. II).  To hear it makes me feel that spring is indeed right around the corner!

So far the participation in the area surrounding WBU-Saratoga Springs has been fabulous.  Here's the map of New York showing participation through 6:30p Sunday.  Look at all those red dots in the Saratoga County area!  That's us!!  We rock!

As of this writing, Gansevoort has submitted 18 checklists, ranking the town #5 in all of New York state!  This for a town with a population of 17,000 people!  It is only behind Ithaca (home of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology) and the large metropolitan areas of Rochester, Syracuse, and Buffalo.  And if you added in Wilton's 2 checklists, they'd be tied with Buffalo!

Here's the checklist count from other communities where our bird-loving customers live:
Saratoga Springs 11
Clifton Park  10
Ballston Spa  8
South Glens Falls  7
Burnt Hills  6
Ft. Edward  6
Queensbury  5

Follow this link to find out how many checklists are coming in from your New York community or to find your community elsewhere.

There's still one day left to count for the Great Backyard Bird Count.  Don't miss your final day!  Click here to find out how to participate.

It's been fun hearing from participants!  So if you participated today, drop me a comment and let me know you did and where you're from.  Share your counts and special finds as well!

Female Cardinal's Understated Beauty Wins Photo Contest

The Nature Conservancy recently announced the winner of their annual photo contest and a stunning image of a FEMALE Northern Cardinal won.

I'm glad to see the accolades go to an image of a female cardinal, who in her understated brownish beauty, can go unnoticed and unappreciated in the presence of her mate with his flashy red suit.

Follow this link to see the winning photo as well as runners up and other entries.

Congratulations to the winning photographer, Howard Cheek of Kempner TX, and of course, to Mrs. Cardinal.  You go girl!

Great Backyard Bird Count Day 2

It's Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) Day 2.  Today was a shortened watch day for me but it was still a great count day. 

I was able to count for just over 2 hours as I ate breakfast, checked email, and got ready for work.  You really only need 15 minutes to count and my guess is that scientists at Cornell can tell as much from what happens during a 15 minute count as they do from a longer one.

Here's what I observed this morning:

Mourning Dove    3
Downy Woodpecker  2
Hairy Woodpecker  2
Blue Jay  21
Black-capped Chickadee    8
Tufted Titmouse     3
Red-breasted Nuthatch    1
White-breasted Nuthatch     1
American Robin    1
European Starling  4
Dark-eyed Junco      1
Northern Cardinal  1
Pine Siskin  53
American Goldfinch  10

14 Species
111 Individuals

Yesterday's MIA White-breasted Nuthatch showed up to be counted today.  The robin returned, as did the starling with some friends.

White-breasted Nuthatch female 

The siskins and goldfinches were here in even greater numbers today.  You had to look closely at all the members of the mixed-finch flock to pull the goldfinches out from the larger number of siskins.

Pine Siskins

Its fun to explore the results on the GBBC site.  Want to know more about this year's Pine Siskin irruption?  Through the Map Room, you can see just how many reports of siskins have come in after just two days of this year's count in the upstate NY area.

And here's a map showing just how widespread siskin reports are up and down the whole eastern seaboard so far this year.

Siskins just weren't around the US in these numbers in the 2008 count.

You have to go all the way back to 1998 to see significant reports of siskins.

Follow this link to explore the results for your location or for your favorite species.

There are two more days of Great Backyard Bird Count.  So it's not too late to participate.  Click here to find out how.

Again, if you participated today, drop me a comment and let me know you did and where you're from.  Share your counts and special finds as well!

Great Backyard Bird Count Day 1

Today was the first day of the 2009 Great Backyard Bird Count, where citizen scientists like you and me count the birds to help real scientists understand them better.

Blue Jay (digiscoped image)

This 4-day event is held every year over the long Presidents Day Weekend.  You can count every day as long as you have 15-minutes of time!

I was able to watch for 6 hours this morning before heading into the store.  Here's what we observed: 

Mourning Dove   1      
Downy Woodpecker 2               
Hairy Woodpecker  1                
Blue Jay 13               
Black-capped Chickadee     14                
Tufted Titmouse 3                
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1                
American Robin     1        
European Starling 2                
Dark-eyed Junco 1                
Northern Cardinal 2                
Common Redpoll     1              
Pine Siskin     38               
American Goldfinch     4

14 Species
84 Individuals

A special visitor included an American Robin eating berries off the Mountain Ash.

We had a good range of finches including goldfinches, one redpoll, and lots of siskins. Big numbers of jays and chickadees too.

A "regular" that didn't show: White-breasted Nuthatch.  Some "uncommons" that didn't show:  Sharp-shinned Hawk, Brown Creeper, Ruffed Grouse, Red-bellied Woodpecker.  But overall, a good species-count day!  I'm looking forward to tomorrow's count.  I won't have as much time, but all you need is 15 minutes!

Last year, Saratoga Springs submitted 21 checklists; Gansevoort/Wilton submitted 14.  Follow this link to check stats for your New York town or this link if you're outside New York state.  Let's all try to beat our local records!  There are three more days left.  Click here to find out how to participate.

If you participated today, drop me a comment and let me know you did and where you're from.  Share your counts and special finds as well!