This morning, a Chipping Sparrow decided that my front doormat was an excellent source of materials for her nest. It's a coir doormat, which is a natural fiber extracted from the husk of coconut. This material, along with grass, weeds, and rootlets will make up the sparrow's open cup nest, which will then be lined with fine grass and animal hair.
Even though Chipping Sparrows all look the same, I know the bird on the mat was a female, since only she builds the nest. But the male was nearby and whenever the female had finished her gathering and fly toward the nest, the male would come from somewhere nearby and join her on the perch. Then they'd fly off to the nest together. She made numerous gathering trips to my doormat, but I wasn't able to follow them to the nest location, presumably on a neighbor's land.
It only takes a few days to build the nest, so I know that in 3 weeks or so, I can be looking for the little Chipping Sparrow family visiting my birdfeeders and maybe enjoying a pool party in one of my birdbaths. I can't wait to see them!
I'm monitoring 4 nestboxs near my house this year, and 3 are already in use by Black-capped Chickadees. Of course I'm participating in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's NestWatch Citizen Science project, where I look into the nestbox every 3-4 days, record what I see, and then report in at the end of the nesting attempt.
Chickadee fledgling from 2013 broods
My expectations are high - last year, we had 4 successful fledgings, adding 26 beautiful little chickadees to the wild. As you might expect, we were elated!! I know that will be hard to match this year, but we're off to a good start.
The first nestbox with eggs was, interestingly, the one that didn't have any eggs last year...go figure! Egg-laying occurred from May 8 to 13, with mom starting to incubate 6 eggs on May 13. That means hatching will occur somewhere around May 24-26.
The other two boxes had only partial nests in them at my May 16th nest check. The back box had moss on top of chips on May 13th and on May 16th, had soft nesting material topping it off. The front nest also had an almost complete nest.
When I went on vacation for a week I had hopes/expectations that there'd be eggs in the nests when I returned. And my chickadees did not disappoint!
When I checked inside on May 23rd, the box out in front (that had two fledgings last year) had 6 eggs in it, and the nestbox in the back had 5 eggs in it. I'm not sure exactly when the first and last eggs were layed, but knowing eggs are incubated about 12 days, they should hatch sometime the first week in June.
My 4th nestbox is empty, but I still have 17 chickadees eggs in the nestboxes in my yard. And by my next report, some may have already hatched, so stay tuned!
I just wanted to share this interesting image that was shared with us by Wild Birds Unlimited customer Vern J. Here's what Vern had to say:
"Good morning. I was perusing on-line and came across your website. That reminded me that I had a picture I told you about some time ago but never showed you. This was taken in 2011 and shows a great blue heron that was hunting in my backyard. It caught its prey right behind my deck."
While we typically think of and observe Great Blue Herons eating fish, they also eat frogs, salamanders, turtles, snakes, insects, birds, and yes, rodents!
Thanks Vern for sharing your great observation with us!
"They see each other around the birdfeeder all winter long, but one red-letter day in late January they SEE each other. He offers her a sunflower see (while she's standing in them) and she accepts. As February Marches into April, the courtship quickens, and by the time the redbud's in bloom, love is too."
From Beguiled by the Wild, The Art of Charley Harper
When I've come upon Wood Ducks in the past, they were always very skittish, flying off in a flurry each time I would cautiously move closer. So I was happy to get to view and photograph a drake and a hen together while at Nashville's Radnor Lake State Park last month.
Like some of the other birds I was able to get good looks at while there, I assume this pair were a little more acclimated to people in this popular suburban park. What gorgeous birds they BOTH are!
I'm stuck. Stuck at 94 yard birds. Since I moved into my house in 1991, I've had at least one new yard bird just about every year, but I got shut out in 2013. So I'm on the lookout for my newest yard bird. And the century mark is within reach!
I've spent some time thinking, and maybe hoping, what that new yard bird might be. Near the end of last year with fall migration wrapping up, I thought my best bet might be an overhead hawk or waterfowl. That didn't happen, and as I headed into winter, the chances for a new species for 2013 looked slim.
Evening Grosbeak
All the most common winter finches are already on my list: Pine Siskins, Common Redpolls, Evening Grosbeaks. I can't say that I've definitely had a Hoary Redpoll in my yard, but there have been suspects that I just couldn't definitively label as such. And while I considered other cone seed loving birds like the crossbills as potential visitors, I thought it unlikely that they'd make their first appearance this past winter. Abundant food supplies across the boreal would keep most winter finches away all winter.
So as spring migration revs up, so do my hopes for a new yard bird. The possibility of a new migrant passing through open up significantly. In my yard, spring migration doesn't bring as many warblers as fall migration does, but I know that this is where the greatest potential for a new yard bird exists.
Ovenbird
I've had some great warblers pass through my yard, 17 species in all.
FIRST SEEN
Yellow-rumped Warbler
July 92
Black & White Warbler
August 92
Ovenbird
August 92
Nashville Warbler
August 92
Black-throated Blue Warbler
August 94
Black-throated Green Warbler
August 94
Northern Parula Warbler
September 94
Blackburnian Warbler
June 95
American Redstart
August 05
Magnolia Warbler
July 06
Canada Warbler
July 06
Connecticut Warbler
August 06
Pine Warbler
April 08
Common Yellowthroat
July 08
Blackpoll Warbler
September 08
Chestnut-sided Warbler
August 10
Palm Warbler
September 11
Most of these warblers made their first appearance in my yard in late summer/early fall. Fall warblers are a real challenge to identify, but in spring, any migrants that were to visit my yard would be in their easier-to-identify breeding plumage. And they might just be singing as well, so the conditions would as ideal as ever. The sight of a beautiful, singing male Black-throated Green Warbler on May 6th fuels my hopes for a new spring warbler. Now I just need to bone up on my warbler ID - and get out in the woods more - to be prepared when the warblers pass through our area. I hope my new Warbler Guide comes in handy.
Female Black-throated Blue Warbler at suet log feeder
Other possibilities include overhead birds, which I include in my Yard List because, well, because it's my list and I make the rules! I do get some overhead hawks and have had Broad-winged Hawks pass through at lower altitude.
So I'll keep my eyes in the trees and overhead. I'll check every foraging sparrow, just to make sure it isn't new to my yard. I'll listen closely for that song that sounds different from all the regulars, and for those hours I'm inside working, I'll keep my outdoor speaker turned on.
Hopefully my diligence and attention will bring #95 to my yard this spring as I make my way to the century mark of birds that have graced my land or the skies above it, and have let me call them "mine".
Here's a list of the 94 birds that comprise My Yard List.
Established in 1992 on the old New Jersey State Fairgrounds, Grounds for Sculpture (GFS) is a 42-acre sculpture park in Hamilton NJ displaying works by well-known and emerging American and international artists. We were able to visit during a short Easter Day trip down to New Jersey.
While we strolled the grounds, I found myself drawn to the sculptures representing everyday folks involved in everyday tasks. These were mostly created, as it turned out, by the sculptor who founded GFS, Seward Johnson, and are part of a special Seward Johnson Retrospective exhibit at the park.
I found myself especially drawn to the sculptures of men at work from his Celebrating the Familiar series. "I want my work to disappear into the landscape and then take a viewer by surprise", Johnson said to the NY Times in 2002. You could walk up to these pieces and not realize they were sculptures until you were fairly close.
See what I mean? Here are some of my other favorite pieces from Grounds for Sculpture. As it turns out, most by Johnson as well.
"Unconditional Surrender" 25 ft. tall!!
"God Bless America" 14 ft. tall
Monet-inspired "On Poppied Hill"
Our group reflected in "Lunar Brilliance" by Yuyu Yang
If you're ever in the Princeton or Trenton area, Grounds for Sculpture is definitely worth a visit.
Nancy Castillo
My Yard List 101 Species
Latest Addition: Bay-breasted Warbler
Our eyes and ears should be open and alert to the natural wonders that surround us every day. Take time to look out our windows to see the birds that visit us and open our windows to hear them. Walk around whatever space we have to enjoy the birds in nature. Every day, work on improving our powers of observation.
ACCEPTANCE
Nature happens. We cannot MAKE natural things happen (or NOT happen). We can create habitats to encourage natural things to happen around us, but there are no guarantees.
RESPONSIBILITY
Birdfeeding comes with responsibilities to the birds and the environment we share with them. If you are unwilling to accept these responsibilities, you shouldn’t feed the birds. We also have a responsibility to share these natural wonders with the next generation.
Recent Comments