Backyard Birding

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to go on my first official birding hike. This is the habitat we explored:

A mixed forest, filled with ponderosa pine and aspen.

A mountain stream.

And a beautiful lake, nestled in a valley.

The habitat is very different from what I am familiar with here in Eastern Nebraska. While it isn’t exactly in my backyard, the best sighting of the day was a bird that can be attracted to feeders if you live within its habitat, the Steller’s Jay.

This raucous bird has the widest range of any North American jay, extending from southern Alaska, south to Central America and east to the Rocky Mountains, which is where we saw them. Once in awhile, they may be seen far from their home range, although no one really knows why. These adventurous birds tend to be younger.

They prefer forested areas. All three of the birds we saw were near the woods at about 7,000 feet.

If you live within the range of the Steller’s Jay, you will likely be successful at attracting them with sunflower seed, corn or suet.

In October, we will be going to the Smoky Mountains. I wonder what new discoveries are awaiting us there!

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Today is Constitution Day and what better way to celebrate than with a story from the only one of our founding fathers to have signed all five of the documents which declared our independence from Britain?

January 26, 1784, Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to his daughter in response to the adoption of the Great Seal with a poorly drawn Bald Eagle as its centerpiece. He thought it looked more like a turkey. After essentially describing the Bald Eagle as an ignominious coward, perhaps more descriptive of the British than the American, he goes on to say,

I am, on this account, not displeased that the figure is not known as a bald eagle, but looks more like a turkey. For in truth, the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America. Eagles have been found in all countries, but the turkey was peculiar to ours; the first of the species seen in Europe, being brought to France by the Jesuits from Canada, and served up at the wedding table of Charles the Ninth. He is, besides, (though a little vain and silly, it is true, but not the worse emblem for that,) a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British guards, who should presume to invade his farmyard with a red coat on. Franklin’s letter to his daughter, 1784

The wild turkey can be found throughout much of the United States, and even enticed into your yard if you live in a more rural area. Like many wild animals, they love corn. I have heard of them contentedly cleaning up dropped seed under feeders, but I have also heard of them becoming a nuisance. They are large birds and travel in small groups called “rafters.” If they discover there is food to be had in your feeders, they can make short work of them as this blogger describes.

We do have wild turkeys around where we live. It is a treat to see them in the brush along the roadside on our way into town, especially when they cross the street with their poults in a neat little line. The picture above was taken during our recent outing to the Nebraska Sandhills, East of where we live. They have never come into our yard, however. I think it might be better that way.

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We had a new visitor to our feeders this week, and it has been coming regularly: a little house wren. These are not really feeder birds since they are insectivores, but they are quite a common site to backyards in North America. Our little house wren is looking through the forest of sunflowers for insects. Wrens are cavity nesters, and are very easy to attract to nest boxes. If you would like to set up a nest box for local birds, this is a good species to begin with. Your chances of success are great, and since the house wren is so small, a small hole is all that is needed to keep out sparrows and starlings.

House wrens will investigate several likely cavities before selecting the nesting site, and will defend them all. They often will pierce the eggs of other species in nest boxes and either take over the nest box, or nest nearby. The male adds sticks to the cavity for the nest and then attracts the female who makes the nest cup and lining. I found it interesting that young males nesting for the first time tend to nest close to more experienced males while older males tend to nest further away. Some think that the younger male is taking clues from the older and more experienced wrens to build his nest.

More information, including a recording of the song can be found at WhatBird.com, an online field guide.

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One of my favorite birds to watch is the barn swallow. Its agility in the air as it swoops and dives, catching insects on the wing is truly magnificent. Other than offering wide-open spaces and old buildings, there really is not much you can do to attract barn swallows. Since they are not overly concerned by human presence, and nest readily in outbuildings and abandoned buildings, they have benefited greatly from human development which has expanded their range considerably.

Massachusetts birder Robert Tougias shares his childhood memories of watching swallows in an old, abandoned casino as they swooped in and out, caring for their young.

One of the most remarkable habits barn swallows have is their unique style of skimming the surface of a lake by dragging their lower beak through the water while speeding over the surface. I can never forget that. I remember that the female never left the nest for long and her forays averaged about seven minutes. She also seemed to turn her eggs each time she returned. I don’t remember much more than that, and at age 9 my observational skills were limited. TheDay.com

It is definitely worth a drive to watch barn swallows, especially when they are rearing young. The tiny nestlings stretch their necks out so far, it seems they will fall from their nest. Stay far enough away to not disturb the parents (they will dive at you if you get too close!), but take time to enjoy these precious moments.

If you would like to learn how to sketch these wonderful birds, Jill Novak is offering “Sketching Baby Barn Swallows,” the first in her “Sketch With Me™” series for free.

Image credit: Malene Thyssen, www.mtfoto.dk/malene/

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Do you remember Woody Woodpecker?

This interesting character who became popular back in the 1940s was based on the pileated woodpecker, a species that cannot be confused with any other living species, as the note on the US Geological Survey site says.

The pileated woodpecker is a unique bird. They bore rather large, characteristically rectangular holes to find insects in trees. Small trees have been known to snap in half after their excavations. Their call is a loud “yuck yuck yuck” which is reminiscent of Woody’s laugh. You can listen to it here, at whatbird.com. There nesting behavior is interesting as well. They have been known to make more than 10 exits from their nest burrowed into a tree in order to confuse predators and allow multiple paths to escape!

I am happy to note, however, that the range map they show is wrong. While the pileated woodpecker did disappear from Nebraska, it has returned in recent years.

I did not realize that they could be enticed into your yard by anything but a suitable rotting tree to eat from and nest in, but apparently some can be attracted by large nesting boxes.

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I have to confess that I actually like pigeons. Their soft cooing, their little strut and the sound of them squabbling under the bridge as we walk through town are a nice break from all the cars. We live pretty far outside of town, but there are three white pigeons who live down by the railroad tracks. I love the way they take off and then change direction in perfect unison, as if their flight were choreographed. While I don’t advocated feeding pigeons, here is a nice sing along to share with your family:

The rock pigeon has been domesticated for at least 5,000 years. Because they have traveled around the world with their owners, escape frequently and survive so well in the wild, it is impossible to determine their original, natural range. They were introduced to the Americas in the 17th century when early American settlers released them along the Atlantic coast. Because of their ready association with humans, these birds do very well in heavily populated areas and are a frequent sight in even the busiest cities.

Because of their incredible homing abilities, these pigeons have been used to carry messages across long distances and also for recreation as racing pigeons. A great deal of research has been done on these birds. In fact, PigeonWatch has this to say:

Domestic and feral pigeons are among the most intensively studied of all birds. Knowledge of avian flight mechanics, thermoregulation, water metabolism, endocrinology (prolactin was discovered through work with pigeons), sensory perception, orientation and navigation, learning, genetics of color, pattern, behavior and other characteristics, and Darwinian evolutionary biology, has depended heavily on research using domestic and feral Rock Pigeons.

Still, scientists have a number of questions related to this very common bird. If you would like to contribute to the research, check out PigeonWatch’s program.

Pigeons can carry disease, but the risk to humans is often exaggerated. Still, it is always a good idea to recognize the symptoms, especially if you live near a rookery, frequently come into contact with their droppings, or have a compromised immune system. Here is a helpful fact sheet put out by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

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To control or not to control? The brown-headed cowbird is native to North America and used to follow herds of bison as they traveled across the plains. Perfectly adapted to this nomadic life, they parasitize the nests of other birds who have the time to raise broods. As bison populations declined and livestock was introduced, cowbirds expanded their range dramatically. They prefer the open areas near forests which man-made development tends to produce. Especially if livestock is nearby. The habitat near our house is perfect: open grassland, semi-rural and plenty of livestock. Ironically, we even have a bison farm not too far away. So it should have been of little surprise when a flock of cowbirds discovered our feeders at the beginning of spring.

They aren’t the most attractive birds and they can go through the seed! Fortunately, they seem to prefer the cheaper millet which we provide in our homemade ground feeder seen in the picture. We tried dissuading them by not offering millet for awhile, but they just switched to eating the sunflower seeds and chasing our woodpeckers away from the suet. So we relented. And fed them.

This gave us an unexpected pleasure. Their song is a wonderful gurgle which reminds me of a babbling brook. You can listen to it here. I had never heard it before this spring.

While cowbirds can have an effect on local birds, it is not usually dramatic and their population is declining nationwide. There are feeders designed to deter larger birds which can also effectively control the number of cowbirds which frequent your feeder. Or you can offer them some millet on the ground and enjoy their beautiful song.

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