The Zen Birdfeeder

Quiz Time: How Much Do Birds Weigh?

We all know that birds are amazingly light creatures. The next time you pick up a penny, stop to hold it in the palm of your hand and feel the weight of it.  A penny is often used as an example of how much (or how little!) a Ruby-throated Hummingbird weighs!

Ruby-throated Hummingbird at WBU Decorative Feeder

The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior states that "Flight requires a body light enough to be lifted without excessive expenditure of energy yet strong enough to withstand the many stresses of aerial life."

It is fairly well known that birds have hollow bones, but here are just a couple other adaptations that keep birds' weight low:

• No bird gives birth to fully developed young
• Highly efficent digestive system
• Lack of heavy toothed jaw

SOURCE: The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior

So now it's Quiz Time!   See if you can place these seven common backyard birds in order by weight from HEAVIEST to LIGHTEST.

White-breasted Nuthatch
Northern Cardinal
American Goldfinch
Downy Woodpecker
Mourning Dove
Black-capped Chickadee
Blue Jay

  

Use the Comment section to post your answers.  Have fun!  Answers will be posted in a couple days.

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ANSWERS

Mourning Dove    4.0 oz.
Blue Jay    4.0 oz.
Northern Cardinal    2.0 oz.
Downy Woodpecker    1.5 oz.
White-breasted Nuthatch    0.7 oz.
American Goldfinch    0.5 oz.
Black capped Chickadee    0.4 oz.

For comparison, check out this post to see how much squirrels weigh.

Birds by the Numbers

Actually, SQUIRRELS AND CHIPMUNKS by the Numbers

GRAY SQUIRRELS

16-20    inches in length

24    ounces in weight - that's 1 ½ pounds

2    litters each year (spring and late summer)

2-3    young in each litter

5    age to which a Gray Squirrel can live



RED SQUIRRELS

12    inches in length

5-1/2     ounces in weight

2    litters each year (spring and late summer)

3-7    young in each litter

10-12    age to which a Red Squirrel can live

EASTERN CHIPMUNKS

5-6    inches in length

3     ounces in weight

2    litters each year (spring and late summer)

2-5   young in each litter

3    age to which an Eastern Chipmunk can live

Do you love numbers as much as you do nature? 
Read all "Birds by the Numbers" posts!

Digibinning Medina Park's Heron Rookery

While staying in Bellevue Washington in late June for our WBU Annual Meeting and Vendor Mart, we took a walk  to one of Bellevue's many city parks, Medina Park.  The Seattle area is serious about their dog parks and Medina is no different. We headed for the section of the park that is closed to dogs-off-leash; unfortunately many park users thought the signs didn't apply to their dog.

What we were surprised to discover in this city park was a heron rookery.  In the last week of June, these guys were just about ready to fly.  In fact, I thought we'd get to witness one or two taking their first flights, as they stood on the end of a branch and tested their wings, just short, it seems, of taking flight.

We counted upwards of 16 young herons in about 6 or 7 different nests.  I wondered how many park users were not even aware of what was going in right above their head!

All I had with me that day was my pocket Sony digital camera and my Vortex Viper 8x42 binoculars.  So I used what I had - I digibinned!

Digibinning is taking digital images through your binoculars.  It's tough to accomplish: handheld binoculars + handheld digital camera = unavoidable shake.  I still used the 2 second delay and burst mode to try to help things out.  Here are the images that turned out halfway presentable.

A Junco's Caterpillar Lunch

This is the 3rd in my series of "blogger's block" posts, filling the creative void in my brain with images that have been piling up in my memory cards.

Because we have a little elevation where I live, I'm lucky enough to have Dark-eyed Juncos around all year.  During the winter, I occasionally broadcast a high-millet blend (WBU Select Blend) especially for them, but during the summer (and with no snow cover), they find plenty of food. 

You'll find these ground feeders searching for seeds, berries, insects, and fruits by scratching on the ground or gleaning off vegetation.  This guy had a big juicy caterpillar to bring back to the nest.

Do Individual Hairy Woodpeckers Look Different?

I've always found it fun to count the birds in my yard, which I why I enjoy participating in citizen science projects such as Project FeederWatch, the Great Backyard Bird Count and eBird.  So I'm kinda nerdy that way.

And it's also fun to try to identify individual birds that visit throughout the day.  This is next to impossible  with birds like chickadees that have little or no difference in plumage, whether male or female, winter or summer, young or old.

Black-capped Chickadee male or female?

And although individual Hairy Woodpeckers look very similar, with careful observation you can identify and track individual birds.  This is aided when young male birds have their unique plumage - they wear their red feathers on the top of the head (versus the back) until their first molt in late summer.  Females are a little tougher, though young birds can still show differences from the adult female birds.  And there are individual markings that can even help you differentiate between adults.

Young female Hairy Woodpecker

By looking for these differences, I think I'm observing at least 7 different Hairy Woodpeckers in the yard, including 1 adult female, 2 adult males, 1 young female and 3 young males.

Young hairy female (left) with adult female (right) 

I have one young male with a decent head of red feathers on the top of his head, while this guy shows only a few red feathers atop his head.

Young male hairy

Of the young males, this next individual is easy to pick out.  He has a striking amount of white about the head.  I haven't seen him in a few days, though.  Hope he's ok.

Young male hairy with lots of white on head

The two adult males I've seen also have distinct differences in the pattern of red on the back of their heads that helps me identify them as individual birds. 

This is an easy way to add enjoyment to your birdwatching experience and it also hones your powers of observation (what I call zen attention!).  By looking closely at your birds to note individual differences you'll have fun following  individual birds through the seasons!

My Journey for New Photographic Equipment Begins

April marked the 2 year anniversary of The Zen Birdfeeder blog. That was when I really started taking pictures of birds, for use in the blog but also for our store website and for marketing materials.  And I've been digiscoping since May 2007.  Here's a recap of the equipment I'm currently using along with some brief comments:

CAMERAS
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10PP
A 4.0 megapixel point and shoot camera.  Its 12x optical zoom Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens is equivalent to a 35-420mm/f2.8 lens.  This has been my primary camera since 2003 when 4 megapixels was considered a lot!  The Leica lens sold me on this camera. 

Note: Many of the bird images I take with this camera look a little "washed out".  This is due to the fact that I take the majority of my pictures from inside the house through windows.  Double pane, and more recently, TRIPLE pane windows.  As long as I continue to use my house as one great big blind, this is the price I'm going to have to pay regardless of the camera.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-N2
This pocket digital camera is my digiscoping camera. It has a Carl Zeiss 3x zoom lens and carries 10.1 megapixels. The Zeiss lens sold me on this camera, and the large touch-screen LCD display is especially helpful when digiscoping.

SCOPE
An older Nikon Sky & Earth Series spotting scope, 15-45x, 60mm objective lens. It's a smaller scope, but I like the close-focus capabilities of it.  It has been my scope since I started digiscoping in May 2007.

ACCESSORIES
DIGISCOPING MOUNT
Vortex Universal Digiscoping adaptor (size small).  Allows mounting most pocket sized digital cameras to a scope.  Available in small or large size (based on diameter of the scope's eyepiece).

I often just leave the Sony camera attached to the adaptor, making it fairly easy to add the camera to the scope.

TRIPOD
Bogen 3001 legs.  Many years old, very sturdy. Somewhat short for straight scope (need to extend center post), but height is fine with angled scope.

Bogen by Manfrotto RC-128 Micro-Fluid Tripod Head. I love the smooth movement of the tripod head.

  

I've been generally happy with my equipment but have been increasingly impressed with the photography I've been seeing on many other blogs.  I've also been fairly happy with my digiscoping attempts to date, some of which are shared in my Flickr photostream and also on this blog. 

Here's my first-ever digiscoped image, a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak taken May 15, 2007

And here's my most recent digiscoped image, a Gray Catbird taken July 8, 2009.

So I've decided it's time to make some upgrades to my equipment.  Here's what I want to accomplish:

1) Upgrade my primary camera to a DSLR.  Purchases lens or lenses not to exceed 400mm focal length.
2) Upgrade my spotting scope.
3) Use my DSLR to digiscope.

I will continue to use my existing (a) tripod head, (b) tripod legs, and (c) pocket digital camera (though it may be relegated to snapshots and used less for digiscoping - we'll see).

Actually, Step Two in my search is already complete: I am fortunate to have been able to secure one of the first twenty-four of the new Vortex Razor HD 20-60x 85mm Spotting Scopes to hit the US market.

So instead of buying a camera and choosing a scope, I will use the Vortex Razor scope as the foundation of my search for a new DSLR camera - in other words, I'm building my camera set-up from the scope up.

I will document my process and progress on my blog, my discoveries and frustrations, successes and failures alike.  Many people want to digiscope but don't know how and where to start.  Online resources are sometimes difficult to understand, using trade terms that everyday people like me don't quite get.  I hope to muddle through that jungle and share it with you in laywoman's terms.

And I welcome - no, I REQUEST your involvement in the process.  Your comments, suggestions, and warnings, etc., will become an important part of the discovery process.  Some of you may have already been down this road; if so, please share your experiences.  Others may be photography and camera geeks (I mean that in a good, complimentary way!); if that's you, speak up!

Join me in my journey by following my blog updates.  Subscribe to a feed or get notified by email of my blog updates.  I will add all these posts to my "Digiscoping" Category (scroll down on the left side for a Category listing) so they'll all be easy to find.

My thanks to the folks at Eagle Optics who helped put the new scope in my hands.  My next post will be about my initial impressions of this new Vortex Razor scope.

Young Blue Jay Gallery

My "blogger's block" posts continue, this time sharing with you images of the multitude of Blue Jays that are visiting my yard this summer.

At any one time, I can have between 1-2 dozen (yes, dozen!) Blue Jays in my yard.  Big and loud, I feel they've been dominating the feeders so much that others like the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks can't get in for some seed.

I do find it interesting to pick out the characteristics that differentiate them from adult jays.

 

It is also fascinating to note the differences between individual birds, which can include tail length (though possibly temporary), facial markings, crest, and overall size.

So even while they may be a "nuisance" at times, enjoy observing this common bird, laugh at their antics, and appreciate the color and activity they bring to your yard.

Hummingbird Activity Picking Up!

I've had a moderately bad case of blogger's block so I'm just going through a backlog of photos still on the memory card that are just waiting to be written about and shared.  So I'll start with the hummingbirds.

Male hummingbird at Bee Balm

Throughout June and most of July, hummingbird activity at the feeders had slowed as natural food sources became widely available. Female hummingbirds were busy tending to the business of nest building, egg-laying, incubating, and caring for nestlings.  (Mom hummingbird does this all on her own - the male's involvement ends with mating).

But lately, hummingbird activity has picked up, though it doesn't appear to me that the young have fledged.  It's amazing to consider that the increase in male hummingbird activity could be related to early migration.

Male hummingbird at Lone Wolf feeder

According to studies by noted hummingbird specialists, you can estimate how many hummingbirds are visiting your feeders by counting the number of hummingbirds you see at one time at your feeders and multiply by six.  Recently I have been seeing 3-4 hummingbirds at one time, so using this method, I could have from 18-24 different hummingbirds paying me a visit!  And when the young leave the nest, we'll see even more!

Through the window views

What Should You Do When You Find a Baby Bird?

Step 1:  To rescue or not?
Most baby birds do not need rescuing, so it is important to determine if the bird is truly orphaned. Fledglings might be on the ground because they are learning to fly. By "rescuing them" you might interfere with the course of nature. Keep yourself out of view and watch for at least two to three hours for the return of the mother or father bird. If no parent returns during that time, you might have
found an orphaned bird.

Step 2:  What's next?
If the bird is not in danger from predators, you should leave it on the ground. If you can locate the nest, you can return the baby bird to the nest. Birds cannot smell a human scent so the parent birds will not reject the baby bird if you touch it. Predators, however, can detect your scent and it can make
it easier for cats, raccoons and other predators to find the baby bird.

Step 3:  Call a wildlife rehabilitator
If you are pretty sure you have found an orphaned bird, call a professional wildlife rehabilitator.
It is illegal under federal wildlife law for you to have a wild bird—even an orphan—in your possession unless you are a licensed rehabilitator.
Staff at your local Wild Birds Unlimited can help you locate a rehabilitator and give you advice on what to do while you wait for the rehabilitator to arrive.  In upstate New York, North Country Wild Care is a network of home based wildlife rehabilitators serving Franklin, Oneida, Herkimer, Warren, Washington, Saratoga, Albany, Schoharie, Montgomery, Fulton and Essex Counties.  Or you can follow this link to try to locate a wildlife rehabilitator in your area.
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm

Step 4:  While you wait...
If you must care temporarily for the orphaned bird, it's important to keep the baby bird warm. You can do this by using a heating pad set on low heat, a hot water bottle or even hot water in a glass jar wrapped in a towel. In addition, create a nest-like environment for the bird so the baby bird can
rest its head. Use paper towels for your nest. Other material, such as cotton, cloth and paper can catch easily in the bird's toenails. Do not use grass clippings because they could be damp and cold. Do not attempt to feed the bird.

Caring for an orphaned or injured bird is not an easy task and should be left to people who know how to do it best. The steps outlined above are to be taken so that the bird has a chance for survival while you wait for assistance from a qualified wildlife rehabilitator.

It’s against the law in most states to keep wild animals if you don’t have permits, even if you plan to release them.

Window Box Color!!

Dahlia

In previous years, I always followed a color theme in my window boxes.  This year I decided to just go for an explosion of color.  Heck, I bought geraniums that weren't even marked so I had no idea what color I was getting!  So, how did it turn out?  Take a look....

I LOVE how they look!  The variety of color really brightens up the front of the house.  Serious garden designers may not like the mix but I love looking at it everyday!

I'm also lovin' the new window box planters.  They have a built-in water reservoir which eliminates daily watering.