The Zen Birdfeeder

Calories In Calories Out

Chickadees, titmice and nuthatches have become more regular at the feeders and today they're focusing on one thing: PEANUTS.

Black-capped Chickadee coming in for a landing

Shelled peanuts are a great winter food for birds since they pack a calorie punch:  412 fat calories in each 1/2 cup serving.  And calories provide energy for birds during cold winter days and nights.

Red-breasted Nuthatch 

First thing in the morning, you'll see these little guys feasting on peanuts, working hard to replenish the calories they burned overnight.  And all day long, they pack in the calories, looking for easy, high calorie food sources either at your feeders or in nature.

White breasted Nuthatch on feeder

You'll notice another feeding frenzy just before dark, as birds use the last few minutes of light to gather calories needed to make it through the night.  As they huddle up close to a tree trunk or maybe in a roosting box, they puff up their feathers to keep warm.  They can lose up to 10% of their body weight on extremely cold nights.  Then they're up at first light to start it all over again.  

Tufted Titmouse

Even birds that don't typically cling well on feeders like the junco below will try to access high-fat peanuts on an especially blustery winter day.

A Dark-eyed Junco joins a titmouse on the peanut feeder

Birds do not rely on our feeders to survive - remember, they've been surviving for centuries before humans ever put out feeders!  If you took down your feeders, they'd do just fine.

But providing birdfeeders, including one filled with high energy peanuts, can help their survival by preserving precious calories in a bird's search for food to make it through the winter's day.

Chickadee...off with a meal!

Note: You can serve shelled peanuts in a specialty peanut feeder.  Follow the links to find them online.

NYSOA Launches Searchable Ornithological Data Base

In January, the New York State Ornithological Association (NYSOA) announced a terrific new resource for ornithologists, students, and birders.  The Kingbird, NYSOA’s quarterly ornithological journal, has been in print since 1950. Now anyone can go online and search a database of 57 years of The Kingbird free of charge.

Being able to find specific information quickly with a computer will save researchers the countless hours of work that were previously necessary when sifting through hundreds of paper issues of The Kingbird.

This unique research and educational resource, incorporating 229 issues of the journal, clearly demonstrates NYSOA’s commitment to its mission to “further the study of bird life and to disseminate knowledge thereof.”  NYSOA expects that the data base will not only serve as a rich source of information for studies already underway but also stimulate new work on the birds of New York State. For birders, it is a treasure trove of information that can deepen understanding of field observations and trends….or simply provide hours of enjoyment or reminiscence.

The archive represents a $15,000 investment by NYSOA in the future of New York State’s birds. NYSOA volunteers spent well over 100 hours working on the project. The searchable data base currently contains about 8 million words on nearly 16,000 pages comprising more than 5,200 files. In addition, there is an online library of 229 full issues and 4 ten-year indices available for download or online browsing. Four issues of The Kingbird will be added to the archive each year.

With deep gratitude to past members who made bequests to NYSOA for educational purposes, and to all those who have contributed writings and observations to The Kingbird over the years, NYSOA encourages all birders and ornithologists to explore, utilize, and enjoy the archive. Check it out, even if just for fun, and spread word of it to others who share your passion for birds.

For more information, contact NYSOA president Carena Pooth at president1@nybirds.org

Information provided by and posted with permission of Andrew Mason of the Delaware-Otsego (NY) Audubon Society

ADDENDUM:  Please consider supporting the New York State Ornithological  Association by becoming a member.

Project FeederWatch Week 8

Week 9 of my Project FeederWatch season was January 4-5, cold days not above freezing with still a fair amount of snow on the ground.

Hairy Woodpecker with WBU Seed Snowman

Here's the recap in the order I saw the species:
Dark-eyed Junco  18
Black-capped Chickadee  13
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
American Goldfinch  8
Tufted Titmouse  1
Blue Jay  20
Hairy Woodpecker  5
Downy Woodpecker  1
European Starling  1
Mourning Dove  9
White breasted Nuthatch  1
American Crow  1
Brown Creeper  1

SPECIES        13
INDIVIDUALS    80

European Starling

This was my highest species count so far this PFW season. 

FIRST 15 MINUTES
Had a pair of eights in the first 15 minutes of day 1 - 8 juncos and 8 chickadees.  Tough hand to beat.

Dark-eyed Junco on WBU Window Tray Feeder

DOUBLE DIGIT BIRDS
Juncos, chickadees, jays

Blue Jay on hopper, Hairy Woodpecker enjoying Bark Butter

BONUS BIRD
A single Brown Creeper visited the yard...but I haven't seen him since!  When present, the creeper is a suet eater, but only from the suet sandwich feeder that lies flat against the tree trunk.

Brown Creeper

MIA
A Sharp-shinned Hawk has been present during 5 of the last 7 counts but not this one!

A GOOD SECOND DAY!

Absent the first day were the doves, White-breasted Nuthatch, crow (overhead) and the creeper.  I reached the 5 hairy count on day 2, which turned out to be a very productive day!

White-breasted Nuthatch

BEHAVIOR TIDBIT
With 5 Hairy Woodpeckers in the yard, there are sure to be some interactions between them.  I noted 3 males and 2 females.

One of the most interesting and vocal is when two birds interact on a tree trunk, moving their heads from side-to-side while vocalizing.  They move around the tree during this standoff until one flies off.  Here's what the Stokes Guide to Bird Behavior Volume I has to say about this behavior:

-  Done by male or female
-  Done during winter, spring or summer
-  Context: Given during intrasexual conflicts; also given to some extent between members of a pair in courtship.

It's very exciting to have 5 hairies in the yard at one time and watching them interact is a bonus!

Hairy Woodpecker

Lamenting the Loss of a Tree

We lost this tree in December.  Its twenty foot length came down, victim of a winter wind out of the west.

It's a Mountain Ash, one of about a half dozen bare root seedlings I planted in 1992. It became the favorite tree of the Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in our yard.

Sapsuckers first appeared in our yard in August 2004, most always seen on the mountain ashes.  They'd occasionally check out the maple and plum trees, but they always ended up back on the ash trees, creating wells to create a free-flow of sap and to feast on the berries.

Many young sapsuckers have used these trees in their first weeks of life to drink the sap and eat insects that were drawn to the sap.  Perhaps 5 or 6 generations of sapsuckers have drilled their first wells on this tree.

Two other ashes succumbed to sapsucker damage a couple years ago.  They are now lichen covered skeletons, still standing, but devoid of their compound leaves and orange/red berries during the growing season.

The healthiest survivor still hosts sapsuckers as well as other fruit-loving birds.  It's a beautiful tree, shorter than the one that fell, but in a critical corner of the yard.  I hope it recovers each year from the wounds inflicted on it by the sapsuckers.  But even if it falls someday, I'm pleased that a half dozen trees I planted in my yard have provided food for generations of sapsuckers.

Now the big question: I didn't see the tree fall, so...did it make a noise?     

Christmas Frost

Sorry for the absence of posts recently.  I've been back about a week now from a buying trip and a Caribbean cruise.  So I've got some catching up to do and I will start by going back to Christmas morning.

We woke up to a frost-covered world on December 25th.  All the trees and shrubs were covered with bright white spikey frost crystals.  I wish I had been better able to capture their beauty - it was an amazing sight!

Frost forms when water vapor freezes into ice crystals on cold surfaces.  The frost we had on Christmas morning is known as Hoar frost.  Here's what the CloudsRUs.com site says about Hoar frost:

"Hoar frost occurs when water vapour touches a very cold surface and freezes on it instantly. This can happen to the leaves and branches of plants, and will cover them with ice crystals that look like spiky fingers."

Read about other frosts like Rime frost and Fern frost on CloudsRUs.com

Catching up on Project FeederWatch Reports

As the sun sets on the end of my current Project FeederWatch day, I'll recap Weeks 4 through 7.

Week 4 was December 7 - 8, moderate temps in the twenties and still no snow on the ground yet.  Out of the 72 individuals seen, 50 of them were of 3 species.

A Sharp-shinned Hawk paid a visit, as he has in 3 of the previous 4 count periods.  Here's what I saw in Week 4:

Blue Jay                  17
Hairy Woodpecker           2
Black capped Chickadee   5
Dark-eyed Junco              17
Red-breasted Nuthatch    1
Mourning Dove                16
Downy Woodpecker         2
Tufted Titmouse             3
White-breasted Nuthatch   1
American Goldfinch           3
Sharp-shinned Hawk         1
American Crow             4

SPECIES         12
INDIVIDUALS    72

HIGH COUNT BIRD
My high count bird was a tie between the "J" birds - that is, juncos and jays!

DOUBLE DIGIT BIRDS
Species showing up in double digit numbers include the jays and juncos mentioned as well as 16 doves.

MIA
Still no cardinal...I assume he's moved on, to my disappointment.

THE FIRST 15 MINUTES
It was fast out of the gate this morning with half of my species and 30 individuals of the 72 individuals showing up in the first 15 minutes of the count.

Mourning Doves

BEHAVIOR TIDBIT

The big flock of doves hung around most of the day.  It seemed everytime I counted, there were a tight 14-16 doves to be found.

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Week 5 were short days for me as the store got busier for Christmas.  I only watched for 4 1/2 hours over the 2 day count.  Good news is that snow has arrived - there was a good 12" of snow on the ground for week 5, December 14-15.

Goldfinches and Junco

Here's what I reported in this shortened count:

Blue Jay                  23
Hairy Woodpecker           2
Black capped Chickadee   3
Dark-eyed Junco              12
Mourning Dove                7
Downy Woodpecker         2
Tufted Titmouse             2
American Goldfinch           1

SPECIES         8
INDIVIDUALS    52

Blue Jay at window tray feeder

DOUBLE DIGIT BIRDS
Even on this shortened watch, both jays and juncos were double digit birds.  These kind of jay counts are unusually high, as the PFW site asks for confirmation of jay numbers this high.

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Week 6 was another short count period, only 2 hours total.  But again, the jays did not disappoint - my high count of jays was 32. 

21 Blue Jays in the plum tree

Here's the recap for December 21 - 22:

Blue Jay                  32
Hairy Woodpecker           2
Black capped Chickadee   7
Dark-eyed Junco              5
Mourning Dove                4
Downy Woodpecker         1
Tufted Titmouse             2
Red-breasted Nuthatch    1
Sharp-shinned Hawk      1

SPECIES         9
INDIVIDUALS    55 

BEHAVIOR TIDBIT
I started my count at daybreak starting at 7:15a that Monday.  It was only 17 degrees out and the jays seemed to sleep in.  Chickadees, titmice, juncos, and a red-breasted nuthatch were already busy at the feeders by the time the first wave of 14 jays swept in around 7:35a.

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Week 7 was back to a longer count, watching a total of 11 hours.  Jays continue to dominate, and the Sharp-shinned Hawk also continues to cooperate by showing up on count days.  I haven't seen him catch anything though...

Blue Jay on suet log

Here's the recap of Week 7, gaining in individuals AND species as I have a longer time to observe:

Blue Jay                  28
Dark-eyed Junco              18
Hairy Woodpecker           2
Black capped Chickadee   19
Tufted Titmouse             2
Downy Woodpecker         2
Mourning Dove                7
White-breasted Nuthatch   2
Red-breasted Nuthatch    1
Sharp-shinned Hawk      1
American Goldfinch       5

SPECIES         11
INDIVIDUALS    87

Black-capped Chickadee

DOUBLE DIGIT BIRDS
Jays, juncos, and chickadees.  These large groups accounted for 65 of the 87 individuals seen!

BEHAVIOR TIDBIT

I started counting at 8:15a on the first count day and the jays, juncos, chickadees, hairy, tufties, and downy were all at the feeders by the time I started.  The doves didn't roll in until over an hour later, both the nuthatches didn't show up until noon, and the hawk came through around 1:15.  There is no time pattern that the hawk has been making its appearances, sometimes a.m. - sometimes p.m.

American Goldfinch

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

My First Bird of the Decade

My first bird of the decade was....(drumroll please)....a Black-capped Chickadee!

Now, folks who consider themselves "serious birders" would be disappointed by such a common bird being the first they'd see this decade.  In fact, they probably didn't even look at their feeders on New Year's morning so that they could travel to a cool location to find a less common bird to be their first bird of the decade.  Maybe a Rough-legged Hawk or an Hudsonian Godwit.  Just not a chickadee, please! 

Me?  I was totally content with having this common little cherub, which just happens to be my favorite bird, be my first bird of the decade.

Here's the other birds I saw on January 1st, starting my 2010 year list at 10 (not counting the unidentified hawk).  Having barely stepped out of the door all day, it's not too bad.

First bird:  Black-capped Chickadee
Second bird:  Tufted Titmouse
Third bird:  Dark-eyed Junco
Fourth bird:  Blue Jay
Fifth bird:  Hairy Woodpecker
Sixth bird:  Downy Woodpecker
Seventh bird:  Red-breasted Nuthatch
Eighth bird:  Mourning Dove
Ninth bird:  Unidentified hawk
Tenth bird:  American Goldfinch
Eleventh bird:  (First of season) Pine Siskin (an individual sisken amongst a flock of about 2 dozen goldfinch)

In 2008, my year list was 100 and in 2009, it increased to 128.  Who knows what 2010 will hold??

Did you keep a year list in 2009?  If not, why not start one right away for 2010?

WBU Year in Review 2009

2009 turned out to be a great year for Wild Birds Unlimited - Saratoga Springs NY!  Here's a look back on some of the highlights of 2009:

~ Our area experienced an unprecedented high level of bird activity in January and February.  Feeders were amazingly busy with all the usual suspects, and we were part of the major irruption of Pine Siskins that impacted a good portion of the country.

Pine Siskin reports during Great Backyard Bird Count February 2009 - Alleghany Region

Pine Siskin reports during Great Backyard Bird Count February 2009 - North America

~  We were the first Wild Birds Unlimited store and the first retailer in New York state to  introduce Birds & Beans® shade-grown coffee.  Birds & Beans is a great-tasting coffee that we know is good for our migratory birds, having been certified Bird-Friendly™ by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.  Since its introduction, we have sold over 150 bags of shade-grown coffee and introduced countless others to the concept of certified shade-grown coffee.

~  In March, we were thrilled to host nationally recognized author, conservationist, educator, and birder Kenn Kaufman to speak about the merits of shade grown coffee and the impact of sun coffee on our migratory birds.  Following his visit, Kenn honored us with a wonderful post on his blog, Meeting Kindred Spirits over Coffee.

~  Almost in counterpoint to the increase in bird activity earlier in the year, we experienced an  unprecedented drop in bird activity in September, October, and November.  Everyone was asking, "where are my birds?"  Summer conditions produced a bounty of berries, insects, pine cones, tree nuts and more, providing widely available and plentiful natural food sources for the birds and other wildlife.  Mild temperatures and lack of snow cover kept these natural foods widely available well into December. 

~  We were featured on the cover of the September issue of Birding Business, a trade publication for the birdfeeding hobby.  The issue included a 4 page spread about our store and our ground-breaking use (at least within our industry) of the internet and social media such as our website, blog, Flickr, Twitter, and Facebook.

~  Despite the economy, 2009 was our best year ever at WBU-Saratoga Springs!  For this, we owe a debt of gratitude to our loyal customers, who have recognized the value of including birds in their lives and have turned to us to help enhance their enjoyment of the birds in their yards.

Thank you for a fantastic 2009!  It was quite a ride!