The Zen Birdfeeder

Fun Facts about Nesting

• A bird's primary consideration when choosing a nesting site is security. Protection from predators and proximity to food is of vital importance to the success of a bird's offspring.
• You increase the chance of a Black-capped Chickadees using a nestbox when it has a few inches of wood chips on the bottom of the box.
• The one-foot-long hanging nest of a Bushtit resembles an Oriole’s nest and is woven out of a variety of materials including mosses, lichens, leaves and spider's webs.
• The nest of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird is about the size of a walnut and is camouflaged with lichen, making them very difficult to locate.
• Chimney Swifts build their nest in chimneys, tree cavities and on walls by gluing twigs together with their sticky saliva.
• Male Red-bellied Woodpeckers may start excavating multiple cavities but the female chooses the one they'll use.
• Eastern Phoebes may use the same nest site repeatedly, sometimes building right on top of the old nest.
• Chipping Sparrows line their nests with animal hair, preferably horse hair.
• Tree Swallows line their nests with light-colored feathers.
• The Rose-breasted Grosbeak nest is so flimsy the eggs might be visible from below.
• American Crows do not breed until they are between two to four years old and they often stay with their parents and help them raise the young of following years. Family groups may include over a dozen individuals from five different years.
• Tufted Titmice often line their nest with animal hair.  They have been known to pluck those hairs from live animals or even from humans!

Tufted Titmouse gathering human hair. Photo provided by WBU customer Susan B.

• The Cactus Wren builds an elaborate gourd-shaped nest in about ten days, and may fuss with improvements for another several weeks.
• The Great Crested Flycatcher nests in a cavity and will usually include a piece of snakeskin in its lining.
• Male House Wrens will start multiple nests, letting the female choose the best nest to use for their brood.

From material provided by WBU, Inc. and from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman

FAQ - Do All Birds Migrate?

Q. Do all birds migrate?

Carolina Wren

A. Not all bird species migrate, but most do.

Migration is defined as the seasonal movement of birds, north in the spring from the wintering grounds and southward in the fall from the breeding grounds.  Among the birds that are resident, or do not migrate, are many grouse, ptarmigan, and quail species, many owl species, pileated, red-bellied, downy, and hairy woodpeckers, white-breasted nuthatch, Carolina wren, northern cardinal, wrentit, ring-necked pheasant, Townsend's solitaire, common raven, gray jay, and northern mockingbird.

Originally published in the Winter 2005 WBU BirdTracks®

Bluebirds by the Numbers 2nd Ed.

3     The number of bluebird species in North America (Eastern, Western and Mountain).

2     Number of bluebird broods per season, and maybe even a 3rd!

3-5      the percent of young birds that return to the territory where they were hatched

45     mph is the speed that bluebirds can fly!

75     percent of the time, when choosing a natural nesting cavity, that Eastern Bluebirds choose an abandoned woodpecker cavity

1934      the year the first bluebird nesting box trail was established in Adams County, Illinois in 1934, by T.E. Musselman.

See our first edition of Bluebirds by the Numbers

FAQ - Do Birds Have Ears?

Q.  Do birds have ears?

A.  Yes, they do!  They're just hidden under feathers called auriculars that cover the ear openings on the sides of their head.

Like humans, birds have an outer ear, a middle ear, and an inner ear.  Feathers cover the ear opening to protect it and cut the wind noise.  But if you ever see a bald bird (more common in Blue Jays and Northern Cardinals), you might have the opportunity to see their ear openings!

 

Click on picture for a larger view of the ear opening

 

The First of the Early Birds?

Spring migration came to my yard today in the form of a male Red-winged Blackbird.  He arrived well before what is their average return date in my yard (March 22), and might raise the question, "will we see an earlier spring migration because of our mild winter?"

 

Red-winged Blackbird in the snow-covered trees

As we emerge from our warmer-than-normal winter (though 18" of new snow now covers the landscape), we might be tempted to attribute earlier than normal spring arrivals to the mild winter.  But remember that migration for many species starts thousands and thousands of miles from here and that a warm, snowless winter in the Capitol region of New York doesn't mean that birds will wrap up their winter stay in Mexico or South America or the Caribbean and start their journey north early.

 

There might be more of a chance of a single mild winter affecting migration amongst short-distance migrants, like Red-winged Blackbirds, some of whom spend winter in southern portions of the state.

But don't necessarily expect to see all your spring birds earlier than normal just because of a mild winter.  If they do start arriving earlier on a continuing basis, it's something much bigger than a single snow-less winter!

Squirrel Babies Like Soft Nests Too!

I've moved what was left of last year's nesting material over to a tree and now momma Red Squirrel has discovered some soft alpaca for the nest she's building.

Multiple times during the day, she has worked to extract the remaining alpaca fiber from the grapevine ball, organized her treasure in a neat little wad, and headed off to her nest in the woods.

Don't worry, soon I'll be hanging a brand new alpaca nest ball in a squirrel-proof location for this year's bird nests in my yard.  I've seen Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, and even Purple Finches gather nesting material to line their nest.  I love nesting season!!

FAQ - What Bird is our True Harbinger of Spring?

Q. What is our true harbinger of spring?

A.  Here in upstate New York, we say that the return of the Red-winged Blackbird is the true sign that spring is really on its way.

 

Blackbirds leave our area each fall but they don't necessarily go too far (they can be seen in winter in southern parts of the state).  They can start their northward spring movement in February.  In my yard, I can expect to see them as early as the second week in March.  Early spring is the most likely time of year for me to see Red-winged Blackbirds at my birdfeeders.

American Robins are not the harbinger of spring that perhaps they used to be.  Robins are now seen year-round in our area of upstate New York, feeding on the remaining berries and fruits on trees and shrubs.  Watch for robins in winter at your heated bird bath as well!