Red-breasted Nuthatch: Winter Visitor

This afternoon, October 13th, we saw for the first time in our yard, a Red-breasted Nuthatch. He was flitting around our half dead dogwood tree by the street. I managed to get one decent photo for you of the distinctive head stripes and orange breast.

This little bird with a stumpy tail is one of our winter birds. They have been coming to the area about a week and some will over winter here. They will come to your suet feeder. A wonderful little bird who finds our winters warmer than in their Northern Canada breeding ground!

Yellow-billed Cuckoo In Luria Park

Early this morning in hopes the humidity was less we headed out to see any fall migrating birds heading south. We spotted a Yellow-billed Cuckoo in the maple tree by the bridge in Luria Park.

The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is one of our summer birds spending winter in South America. They like to stay hidden in the tree canopy preferring to remain very still unless they are foraging for caterpillars. They prefer large hairy ones like tent caterpillars.

They are a large slim bird about 11 inches long. They have a distinctive long black and white tail. They will perch with shoulders hunched to disguise their bright white underparts while they look for tasty fat insects.

Exciting to see this elusive bird in Luria Park. Fall migration is in full swing and you may very well see some unusual birds on their way south.

We also saw a Brown Thrasher gobbling down the fruit from a tree by the bridge.

These large thrushes will migrate to Georgia and Florida for the winter. And this fellow was fueling up for his journey!

Our Backyard Birds in Summer

Recently Sanny Wroblewki and Whitney Redding sent me photos of some summer bird action on Add Drive.

Whitney carefully got this shot of the new House Wren hatchlings sleeping in a stroller pocket. Soon these fuzzy cuties will be singing in the trees!

Sanny got this shot of a male Goldfinch enjoying black-eyed Susan seeds. Please keep any plants that have gone to seed in your yard for a while before deadheading them. The songbirds love the seeds!

Birds Lay Eggs in the Strangest Places

The Cogbills on Add Drive returned home from vacation to discover that they could not use their stroller which was left outside near their house. This is why...

A House Wren had decided that the stroller was a great place to lay eggs! According to Cornell Lab of Ornithology House Wrens usually nest inside tree holes and nest boxes. As the season progresses their nests can become infested with mites and other parasites that feed on the wren nestlings. Perhaps to fight this problem, wrens often add spider egg sacs into the materials they build their nests from. In lab studies, once the spiders hatched, they helped the wrens by devouring the nest parasites.

Here are two photos of a House Wren I took at Luria Park.

This little bird weights as much as two quarters. It will fiercely compete for a likely nesting site with loud vocalizations and pecking much larger birds. They are one of our summer birds and will migrate to South America in the fall.
Thanks to the Cogbills for forwarding the nest photo and for protecting our song birds!

Bird Feeders and Domestic Cats

Hello!~~

We all love our songbirds and our pet cats. Our cats love the songbirds too. Really love them. In their mouth.
Recently several neighbors have told me that they have found the remains of birds in their backyards by their bird feeders and have seen a cat or two in the vicinity. Now songbirds are prey for raptors, squirrels, fox, and raccoon, but by far the domestic cat is one of the major reasons we lose so many birds.
Song birds have a tough enough time in this big world of ours and we can certainly help them along by feeding them and by keeping our pets (cats and dogs) under our control. This time of year is an especially vulnerable time for songbirds as there are many many fledglings, young birds, who are easy prey.
This is not to say you must keep your cats indoors if that is not your inclination. If you allow your cat to prowl finding his or her inner tiger or lion, that's fine, but please put a bell or other noisemaker on your cat's collar. And if at all possible please bring your kitty in at night.
Our big cat, Gyro, is an indoor kitty and he has full access to all windows and supervised access to the deck where he can watch birds, squirrels, and chipmunks to his heart's delight. His instincts cause him to "chatter" when he sees a tasty treat with feathers but he must contend himself with his kitty chow and myriad of cat toys.

For further information please see this great article by The Wildlife Management Institute.

Big Monday In Luria Park

We finally had a clear sunny day on Monday, May 16th. I decided to go into Luria Park in the morning, mid-day, and late afternoon. Late afternoon beginning at 5:30, we met up with Raymondale residents, Sarah, Sanny, Lisa, and Ashleigh. As our merry group made our way into Luria Park we were joined by residents from Homes Run including Amanda, a bird expert newly located here from the Windy City. We saw so many birds late in the day that we didn't wrap up our birding until 7:30.

At the end of the day we tallied 34 species including some warbler migrants just passing through. Here are the highlights:

A Turkey Vulture noshing on a raccoon carcass on the side of the Raymondale entrance to Luria Park. We certainly need these carrion to keep our world neat and tidy. Amanda noted that their heads are feather free because they don't want to get their nasty meal stuck on their feathers.

Industrious Blue-gray Gnatcatcher pulling webs from tent caterpillars to make his home soft and cozy. Note his beak full of web.

Eagle-eyed Ashleigh spotted a small flock of Cedar Waxwings chowing down on seeds from a river birch near the basketball court. These smooth birds have a very high whistling song and usually travel in small flocks stripping the tree they land in of seeds before moving on. These birds will probably breed further north of our area.

This Eastern Kingbird was spotted on a small branch near the creek by the bridge. He was very active getting a drink in the creek and a bug on the wing. He was soon joined by a second Kingbird and they flew off toward Raymondale. They will breed in our region having flown from South America to be here. Note the white tail tip.

The Eastern Wood Pewee's were very vocal in the park on Monday. You can hear their distinctive song: "pee-a-wee". Males announce their territory with the song while perched in a conspicuous place. This male was sitting on a piece of wooden tree fencing near the bridge.

Along the trail from the Fallowfield entrance a pair of Grey Catbirds foraged in the path for insects and small worms. A bold bird that allowed me to get very close before flying to a nearby branch until I moved on from their feasting ground.

Young birds were all over the park, including this fluffy Tufted Titmouse waiting for mom to bring him a tasty treat.

Warblers were all over the park, not so easy to photograph, but so very welcome as they have traveled a great distance to be here or to feed and head northward. This Red-eyed Vireo was feeding from the underside of leaves hopping all over the place. They prefer the shady leaf canopy. Note the black eye stripe and olive drab feathers. They have a distinctive song that sounds like" "Here I am...Where are you?"

A highlight of the later afternoon was looking very high in an oak tree by the boardwalk and spotting this very colorful Blackburnian Warbler.

He was very active in the high tree canopy searching under leaves for tasty treats, even hanging upside down in his quest.

As you can see the shots I got from way down below were mostly of his underparts, but you can see the very distinctive bright orange and black stripes on his head, around his eye, and along his neck. Everyone got a nice look, and Sanny commented that the bird's coloring reminded her of parrots! I agree!

And less parrot like coloring but a welcome spring/summer resident is this Swainson's Thrush foraging for insects on the path with his Catbird friends. Note the white eye ring and dark neck speckles. Such a serious looking fellow!

It was a great day and I was happy to get a few photos to share with you. Here is the complete list of what was seen in Luria Park this sunny Monday in May:

Eastern Wood-pewee
Turkey Vulture
Swainson's Thrush
Common Grackle
Northern Cardinal
Red-eyed Vireo
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Carolina Chickadee
American Redstart
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Grey Catbird
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Great-crested Flycatcher
Northern Parula (heard)
Northern Flicker
Tufted Titmouse
Mourning Dove
Pileated Woodpecker
Blue Jay
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Carolina Wren
Wood Thrush (heard)
House Wren
House Sparrow
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
American Goldfinch
Chimney Swift
Common Yellowthroat
Red-bellied Woodpecker

Thanks to everyone who came out and we'll do this again soon! Happy Birding!

Despite the Clouds and Rain, A Backyard Birdy Bounty

This week has given our yards lots of green growth and it has also ushered in more spring migrating birds as well as active nest building with our summer residents.

Our thistle feeder has been crowded this week with bright American Goldfinches.

Several Blue Jays have been very active in our yard stealing a sunflower seed or two from the feeder and making a lot of noise. Here is one in a more contemplative moment.

A male Red-bellied Woodpecker has found  a handy tree hole in our neighbor's front yard. I caught him excavating a future nest site.

And a special highlight was the return of the Red-breasted Grosbeak to our sunflower seed feeder as he migrated through our area.

And again, Happy Spring!

Yellow-crowned Night Heron and More!

On a very cloudy Wednesday April 27 we walked Luria Park to see if any spring migrating birds had arrived. The first bird we found was the Yellow-crowned Night Heron who we have seen in the park in spring for the past two years. It was so satisfying to see he had returned. We spotted him standing so still watching the water for his dinner. He was in the creek that runs under the boardwalk on the Raymondale side.

We stood on the main bridge by Luria Park and saw a nice sized flock of about 20 Yellow-rumped Warblers in the Pin Oak and flying around the Poison Ivy vines. They were wearing their bright breeding plumage.

And farther down the creek across the place where there are fresh tree plantings, we saw two birds flitting on the branches of a Sweet Gum tree. They were quite far away but with binoculars we saw the distinctive black and orange plumage and the highly active movements of the American Redstart. They move so much and the light wasn't great, that getting a decent photo proved difficult. But here is one of the birds.

The Baltimore Oriole has the same colors but it is a larger bird and the orange is much larger on the black.

Along the trail closer to Fairview Park we saw an active Grey Catbird foraging in the leaf litter for insects.

Spring is in full swing with these insect eating birds now back in our area. These birds do breed here so maybe we'll see the youngsters later on!

Wednesday Morning Luria Park Birding

I took advantage of the crisp blue sky, sun, and cool air this morning and walked into Luria Park hoping to catch a glimpse of the resident Red-headed Woodpeckers. The morning did not disappoint.

After hearing the short loud calls and quick hard drumming, I spied the Red-headed Woodpecker near the Raymondale entrance to Luria Park, to the far left of the kiosk high on a tree snag. He drummed a lot and remained in the same place for quite a while. He was pretty far away and high up so the photos aren't that great but you see the distinctive red head, white belly and black and white striped back.

In addition to the Red-headed Woodpecker, I saw a first for me in Luria Park: the Field Sparrow.

This pink beaked little fellow has a distinctive bouncing ball like song. He also has a wide rusty cap and narrow white eye ring.

It was a sparrow morning as I also saw a White-throated Sparrow poking around the muddy stream bank.

These nifty sparrows will soon be heading out of our area to breed northward.

In the bushes along the edge of the park, a Song Sparrow was vigorously singing.

Note the distinctive triangular black dots beneath the beak.

Luria Park was filled with song this morning. Red-winged Blackbirds, Blue Jays, and Northern Cardinals sang and sang.

The male Northern Cardinal will sing to attract a mate or to warn off intruders into his territory.

One the way back to Raymondale I saw a hole in a tree where a couple of years ago we saw Hairy Woodpeckers nesting. This time a White-breasted Nuthatch had taken up residence.

And high up a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks circled and called. Here is one of the two:

Spring is in full swing in our little corner of the world. More and more birds will be migrating through so take a look!

White Throated Sparrow: Winter and Spring

You may know that birds, especially male birds, have two kinds of plumage: breeding and non-breeding. The most obvious example in our yards is the American Goldfinch male which sports olive drab plumage in the winter and lemony yellow plumage in spring and summer. This change to the brighter breeding plumage occurs with molting when the bird sheds his winter feathers and new brighter feathers grow in place. During this transition the bird can look really mangy.

The same is true for one of our winter birds, the White Throated Sparrow. This bird with distinctive yellow dots above the beak spends winter in our area and then migrates northward to breed. By the end of May most of these birds have left our area. But before they migrate, the males transform into their breeding plumage so by the time they reach the breeding/nesting areas they are ready to attract a mate.

Here is the White Throated Sparrow on our deck in January during the big snowfall:

He looks cold and miserable and his feathers aren't too dazzling.

Here is a White Throated Sparrow at our thistle seed feeder on April 13th:

You can really see the feathers on his head are brighter and more defined.  And his white throat is much whiter.
So nice that this northern breeding sparrow let us see his fancy feathers before taking his leave!

Summer Bird: Chipping Sparrow

Today and for the past two weeks we have observed small flocks of Chipping Sparrows in our yard. This fine fellow was puffed against them morning chill in our backyard today.

These small size sparrows do not winter in our area preferring the warmer winter climes of Florida and southward. They do breed in our area and are considered a common sparrow. Just look at this beautiful little sparrow that measures an inch smaller than the really common House Sparrow. The Chipping Sparrow has a bright rufous cap and bold black eye stripe. You will usually find them foraging on your lawn for seeds and insects. So look out for this nice wee bird and welcome spring!

Rusty Blackbirds and Swamp Sparrow in Luria Park

This afternoon we saw a flock of about 20 Rusty Blackbirds in Luria Park in the flood plain before you get to the boardwalk coming from Raymondale.

This is a pair of Rusty Blackbirds, the male is on the left.

This a female Rusty Blackbird.

To find a flock of them in a swampy area is unusual. The Rusty Blackbird is one of the most rapidly declining species of songbird in North America. The reason is unknown. They winter in our area and will migrate north and breed in Northern Canada. We were thrilled to see them in our neighborhood and wish them well on their journey northward. This is the first time we have seen them in Luria Park.

Another bird that is a first for us to see in Luria Park is the Swamp Sparrow. We saw this little guy pecking at the clay along the creek bank under the roots across from the bridge.

The top of his head is a distinctive russet line bordered by gray with spots of black.

Not an uncommon bird but one with wonderful markings that help conceal him on the muddy ground where he likes to feed.

Eastern Bluebirds in Our Yard

This morning, March 4th, after a covering of heavy spring snow, I observed a pair of Eastern Bluebirds perched near our suet feeder. This was a first for us, having Bluebirds in our yard.  We have observed them in Luria Park where there are nesting boxes set up around the perimeter. Bluebirds do not usually come to feeders unless meal worms are offered. Our meal worm feeder is currently empty as we usually fill it later in spring hoping to attract Warblers.

So, imagine my surprise at seeing this pair so very interested in our offerings. They couldn't access our suet feeder as it's designed for Woodpeckers and smaller songbirds. So I cut a piece of suet into small bits and laid the pieces along the deck railing. All the while the male Bluebird was watching me from a nearby branch. As soon as I went inside. The female Bluebird swooped down and gobbled as much suet as she could until the male scared her away and had his fill.

I hope that this pair will make a nest near our yard and visit our meal worm feeder. Fingers crossed! Here are photos I took of the male and female Eastern Bluebirds who visited us this morning.