The Zen Birdfeeder

Wings on Wednesday

Purple Finches
Male (top)
Female (bottom)
Enjoying Safflower Seed from WBU Quick Clean Seed Tube

Small Countries...Great Bird Diversity

 

COUNTRY	BIRD DIVERSITY	SIZE
Ecuador	Almost 1,600 species	A bit larger than Colorado
Indonesia	1,540 species	3x the size of Texas
Congo	1,150 species	1.5x the size of Alaska
Kenya	1,100 species	2x the size of Nevada
Mexico	1,050 species	3x the size of Texas
USA	950 species
Costa Rica	850 species	About the size of W.Virginia
Australia	770 species	Just smaller than USA
Russia	740 species	1.8x the size of USA

Source: Wild Birds Unlimited BIRDTracks® produced by BirdWatcher's Digest.

A New Yard Bird - Great Crested Flycatcher

We heard it for a day or two before we say it.  A clear "wheeeeep" call coming from the deeply wooded backyard.  Then on June 10, the flycatcher showed itself, giving us some very nice looks of his yellow belly, gray throat, and a flash of orange in his tail as he took flight.  He's a good sized bird, at 8-1/2 inches high, compared to our resident phoebe that's only 7 inches high.

When I see a new yard bird, I always read up a little on it and inevitably find out some new facts about it.  Here's interesting facts I found out about the Great Crested Flycatcher:

• Most interesting and news to me: this is a cavity-nesting bird! In fact, it's the only cavity-nesting flycatcher in eastern North America.
• Its nest is usually in a natural hole in a tree or an old woodpecker hole, 20-50 feet high.
• Will sometimes nest in a birdhouse.
• Availability of nesting cavities is essential to its presence in an area.
• It's known for adding a shed snakeskin to its nest or hanging out the cavity hole.

The Great-crested Flycatcher is my 89th yard bird and the second addition in 2010.

Chickadee Nesting Report #6 - Fledged!

My chickadees have fledged - all 4 safe and sound I hope!

Following my last in-box check on June 14, I knew they would be fledging fairly soon.  Both mom and dad chickadee did a great job bringing a steady stream of mealworms and other goodies into the nest.  Each time they did, the raucous nestlings inside would chatter-chatter-chatter!  It was such a wonderful sound.

The morning of June 19, I was able to capture this glimpse of one of the nestlings as he peeked out of his home.

Birdcam image

In the early evening hours of June 19, adults were still seen at the box (above). 

Birds often fledge in the morning, and I got up early on the 20th hoping to witness the young leaving the nest.  But by the time I walked to the box at 6:15am, no chickadees were in the area, and no sounds were coming from the box.  I checked the memory card in the BirdCam and the last image was the one from last evening.  The BirdCam doesn't always capture quick entries or departures from the box so it didn't catch the fledgling's exit - darn it!

I watched for a couple more hours and didn't see any adults near the box, though a chickadee or two did visit the feeders.  At a little before 11am, I opened the box - the chickadees had fledged!  No signs of predation - still a neat little nest.  One unhatched egg and a presumed 4 chickadees off into the world.  One egg unaccounted for.

I updated my NestWatch nesting attempt and when asked why I thought the nest was successful, I entered "Baffled nestbox.  Good weather - not too hot, not too cold, not too wet.  Plentiful food nearby.  Best landlady in the world!"

I'm glad I've added two chickadee nesting attempts to the NestWatch program because there aren't too many chickadee nests reported - only 4-5 in all New York this year.  You can see where those nests are located using the NestWatch Explore Data Interactive Map page.

As far as my chickadees, I hope they're doing fine.  I haven't seen chickadee fledglings in the yard, so I'm hoping the adults are feeding them in a nearby location and will return with them to my feeders soon!

If you watch a nest regularly during the nesting season, please consider joining the free NestWatch Citizen Science program.  It would be a great activity to do with kids or grandkids!  And the more scientists learn about birds, the better we can all work to protect birds.  Even information about what we consider our most common nesting birds, like the chickadee, is needed.  

Read Chickadee Nesting Report #5

Read Chickadee Nesting Report #4

Read Chickadee Nesting Report #3

Read Chickadee Nesting Report #2

Read Chickadee Nesting Report #1

Read Nestboxes and Birdhouses - The Top 10 Things You Can Do for the Birds

Focus on Fledglings 2010 - 2

The fledgling parade continues!  Here's a recent addition to my yard - the Blue Jay - along with my behavior observations and hints on what to look for to identify fledgling jays in your yard.

BLUE JAY

First fledgling sighting:  heard June 12; saw June 14
What to look for:  I first heard the whiny call of Blue Jay fledglings high and deep in the trees.  Two days later, they started appearing in the yard.  The first few days they don't visit feeders; they'll wait in a nearby tree or shrub for parents to return with food.

Look for these physical characteristics to help identify newly fledged jays: 

• shorter, flatter beak
• lighter colored beak (vs. adult black)
• fleshy part at corners of beak
• downier feathers
• shorter tail
• undeveloped crest

This young jay's tail feathers are the most undeveloped I've seen on a fledgling jay.  His tail feathers are only developed at the tips so far and the shafts are fully visible.

Fledgling Blue Jays are world-class beggars.  They give the full routine: whiny calls, big open mouth, and huge wing quiver.  They'll continue to beg even when they are fully able to get food themselves!

Wings on Wednesday

Great Egret
April 2010 - New Jersey

Birds in a City Oasis

Our staff member Linda lives right in the city of Saratoga Springs, on a lot that measures only 1/15th of an acre.  But head into her backyard and you've entered a whole different world...a world of the birds!

Linda graciously had us over for breakfast at the beginning of June.  She especially wanted us to meet the family of Carolina Wrens that calls her yard home.  She's a wonderful landlady to the wrens, providing a steady stream of live mealworms for her wren tenants.
 

Young Carolina Wren waiting for mom inside 

Oh, she does have the usual urban suspects as well - starlings, Rock Doves, House Sparrows, and grackles.  She works around some of the issues these sometimes troublesome birds create, like when starlings were gobbling up all her mealworms.

When served In an open bowl, European Starlings were helping themselves to these tasty tidbits.  But when Linda started serving the mealworms in a bluebird feeder, the starling buffet was over!

Besides the wrens, the Downy Woodpeckers have also been using the bluebird feeder to eat up mealworms.  The sparrows can get in as well, but so far have not been TOO troublesome.

Downy Woodpecker at entrance to bluebird mealworm feeder

Sometimes the wrens and downies vie over the mealworms.  They squabble over the entrance to the feeder, and one time, a downy even took a mealworm right out of the beak of a wren!  How bold!

Her yard provides a wonderful wildlife habitat right in the city.  She provides food, water (a heated birdbath), shelter and a place to raise young with lots of trees, shrubs, and gorgeous plantings.  All her hard work developing this habitat has its rewards: her yard is host to a very nice diversity of birds including cardinals, goldfinches, woodpeckers, titmice, nuthatches, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and catbirds.  We also heard Cedar Waxwings high in the trees and saw a Chimney Swift pass overhead.

Gray Catbird

Linda has breakfast every morning "with her birds" - she in her kitchen and the birds in the oasis of her yard.

American Goldfinch

Through Blades of Grass

You get a different perspective of a bird when you get down low to photograph them.  Here's a handsome Chipping Sparrow, seen through the blades of grass.

Father's Day Bird Fun Facts

FATHER-OF-THE-YEAR AWARD
The Downy Woodpecker gets this award. Though they share daytime nest duties with mom only the dads incubate and brood at night and roost in the nest until the offspring fledge.

Downy Woodpecker male

PROUD PROVIDER
Chickadee and nuthatch dads feed mom while she incubates and broods the eggs. Dad also helps feed the young once they have hatched.

DAD’S FAVORITE DINER
Downy Woodpecker and American Goldfinch dads like to take the family out to eat.  When the young fledge from the nest, dad leads them to top food sources and teaches them how to use his favorite backyard bird feeders.

American Goldfinch male

SHARPLY DRESSED MAN
Ladies love a sharply-dressed man, even in the bird world. Only the most colorful and well-groomed House Finch and goldfinch males are preferred.  Carotenoids, a pigment found in foods that create bright feathers, help a potential dad communicate his reproductive fitness via his plumage.

IT’S GOOD TO BE KING
The White-breasted Nuthatch male gets a special protection detail. His mate protects him from trouble and is a “watchdog,” leaving him more time to concentrate on hunting for food. She rarely strays far from him and stays in constant vocal contact.

ON-THE-JOB TRAINING
Pygmy and Brown-headed Nuthatches provide future dads with on-the-job training.  A third of all breeding pairs of Pygmy Nuthatches have 1-3 male helpers. 20-60% of all breeding Brown-headed Nuthatch pairs have at least one helper. They assist in feeding incubating females, nestlings and young fledglings.

Pygmy Nuthatch (from WBU Inc. Image Library)

TOOL TIME
Dads dig tools.  Nuthatches are one of the few species of birds known to use “tools.” The White-breasted Nuthatch has been known to use stinky beetles as a tool by crushing and then sweeping them in and around their nest site to deter squirrels from their eggs and young. The Brown-headed Nuthatch will take a flake of pine bark in its bill and use it to pry up bark in search of prey.

HE'S A ROCK STAR
Adult male Song Sparrows love to perform. They sing 6-20 different melodies every eight seconds and average over 2,300 songs a day. The larger their repertoire of songs, the more successful they are in attracting a mate and in holding their territories.

Song Sparrow (from WBU Inc. Image Library)

A FAMILY MAN
Mourning Dove dads love to raise families.  They may have up to six clutches per year, usually with two eggs per clutch. This is the most of any North American bird, most likely due to the fact that the average life span for an adult Mourning Dove is 1½ years. 


K-I-S-S-I-N-G
The male Northern Cardinal 'kisses' his mate during courtship. He feeds her seeds while courting her and it appears they are kissing each other.

(Northern Cardinal image from WBU Inc. Image Library)

Chickadee Nesting Report #5

Nestling Period Part 2

Earlier this week, I made a second nesting period visit to my chickadee nestbox.  It will also be my LAST open-box visit for NestWatch.

Adult chickadee getting a mealworm from APS® Sidedish Feeder

Both parents are busy-busy-busy bringing food into the box.  I'm putting live mealworms out for them, which makes the food-gathering process easy for them.  And they're also finding all kinds of other juicy tidbits out there in nature.

Adult chickadee with food for the young

The chicks are deep in the nest and difficult to see.  I take pictures off a small mirror to capture 1 to 2 images that will allow me to count the little guys.  When I opened the nest, they tucked their heads and didn't utter a peep.  In contrast, when mom or dad go in, they're noisy little things.  They've been taught well!

Chickadee nestlings Inside nest

To me, it still looks like 4 live young.  Neither of the unhatched eggs are visible, if they're even still in there.

So...eggs layed about May 18.  Estimated hatch date June 1.  Sixteen days as nestlings, so they should fledge very soon!  Hopefully they'll hesitate at the nestbox opening for my Birdcam to catch them taking flight for the very first time in their lives.

Until then, no more opening the nest box since as the young become fully feathered, they may leave the nest prematurely if I do.  For the next week or so, I'll check on the nest from a distance, watch for adults, and listen for sounds coming from inside the box.  Stay tuned for Chickadee Nesting Report #6!

Read Chickadee Nesting Report #4

Read Chickadee Nesting Report #3

Read Chickadee Nesting Report #2

Read Chickadee Nesting Report #1

Read Nestboxes and Birdhouses - The Top 10 Things You Can Do for the Birds