BACKYARD SECRET – THE HOUSE SPARROW POPULATION IS DECLINING

Mar4

       The North American Breeding Bird Survey has found that between 1966 and 2015 the house sparrow population has plummeted 84 percent in the United States and Canada.

       Cornell University’s FeederWatch Program corroborates the decline.  Data collected volunteers taking part in this survey reveal that since 1995 the proportion of FeederWatch sites reporting house sparrows dropped by 7.5 percent.  In addition, the size of house sparrow flocks decreased some 22 percent.

       This does not mean the house sparrow is not facing extinction. Surveys indicate that 82 million house sparrows are still flying about the United States and Canada.

       This is good news, however, for those folks that for decades have been building, erecting and maintaining nesting boxes for bluebirds, tree sparrows, and many other native cavity nesting birds.  As they all know, too often house sparrows will out compete these birds for nesting sites.

BACKYARD SECRET – A WAY TO KEEP WATER OUT OF NEST BOXES

Mar1

         Here is a simple way to help keep rain out of nesting boxes.  If a nestbox is properly built (with an overhanging roof), in most cases, rain is kept from entering the box.  However, wind-blown rain is a different matter.  While it is impossible to always keep this type of rain out of boxes, you can reduce the chance of this happening by simply erecting a box so that the opening to the nestbox faces away from the prevailing wind.

 

CAN COLD WEATHER HARM BLUEBIRD NESTLINGS?

Feb25

      Recently a bluebird landlord told me that when he recently checked his bluebird nesting boxes, he found three dead bluebird hatchlings.  Since there were no apparent clues that revealed the cause of their deaths, he wanted to know that since the birds he found the young birds during a stretch of unseasonable cold weather, could the frigid temperatures inside the box could be responsible for the birds’ untimely deaths. He also wanted to know if plugging the ventilation holes found on each box would help preventing this from happening again.

       The answer to both questions is yes; extremely cold weather can cause the death of bluebird hatchlings.  In Georgia, bluebirds typically begin nesting in late February and early March.  This means that bluebirds are nesting in the latter stages of winter. As such, there is a good chance that we will experience cold weather before spring arrives on March 20.  For example, just two nights ago, after a weekend when temperatures soared to 80ºF, the temperature dropped to 22ºF.

       The North American Bluebird Society recommends that temporarily plugging ventilation holes during both cold and wet weather can benefit the hatchlings.

       Keep in mind, that the ventilation holes are designed to prevent overheating.  As such, once there is little chance that exceptionally cold weather will return, uncover the ventilation holes.

BACKYARD SECRET: DEALING WITH SQUIRRELS EATING SUET AT FEEDERS

Feb22

          If you are having a problem with gray squirrels eating more than their share of suet, here is something you might want to try.  Typically, squirrels prefer eating suet laced with peanut butter and peanuts.  If this is the case in your backyard, simply replace the peanut butter suet with plain suet. While birds will eat it, it seems that bushytails are not particularly fond of plain suet.  While this solution might not work in all backyards, this simple, inexpensive approach to this problem just might work for you.

EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES HAVE NOT ALWAYS BEEN SEEN AT GEORGIA FEEDERS

Feb18

          There are three exotic species of birds that can be seen at most Georgia birdfeeders.  These birds are the starling and house sparrow and Eurasian collard-dove.  While none of us were around when starlings and sparrows were introduced to the United States, if you were feeding birds during the 1980s, you probably remember when Eurasian collared dove first flew into your backyard.

          Supposedly, a bird breeder living in the Bahamas was burglarized in the 1970s. During the event Eurasian collared doves escaped their confinement.  Sometime thereafter during the same decade Eurasian collared-doves had leap-frogged to Florida.  By 1989 the birds were seen in as far north as Florida’s Lake Okeechobee.   In 1989 the collared doves were seen in North Florida.  The birds were spotted in South Georgia by 1998. In 2006, the birds had spread across the entire state except for extreme Northeast Georgia.

           When they visit feeders they most often dine on black oil sunflower seeds, corn mile and wheat.

          When I began feeding birds decades ago, I never thought I would see the likes of a Eurasian collard-dove at my feeders. While they rarely visit my feeders nowadays, I regularly see them perched on utility wires in cities and towns.

         If another exotic seed-eating bird appears in the United   States, there is a good chance it will suddenly appear at a backyard bird feeder.  Keep watching.

         

REASONS WHY GEORGIANS OFTEN SEE MORE DOWNY THAN HAIRY WOODPECKERS

Feb15

      If you are one of the Georgians that has wondered why you see far more downy than hairy woodpeckers in your yard, you are not alone. Let’s look at some of the reasons why this is the case.

       To begin with, downy woodpeckers are far more abundant than hairy woodpeckers.  Approximately 11 million downy woodpeckers live here.  In comparison, only 8.7 million hairy woodpeckers are flying about the Peach State.

       Which woodpecker that you see most often is also affected by the habitat in and around your home. 

`     Hairy woodpeckers prefer to live in forests composed of large, mature trees.  Here they spend most of their time hunting for the larvae of wood boring insects.  These insects comprise about one-third of their diet.  The next most important item on their menu is amts.

       In comparison, downy woodpeckers are most often found living in more open habitats where there is an abundance of smaller trees and weeds (e.g. goldenrod).  In addition, they also often feed on seeds extracted from pinecones. 

       On the other hand, Downy woodpeckers prefer hunting for food in more open habitats dominated by young trees and herbaceous plants like as goldenrod.

      

SUET AND BIRD PUDDINGS ARE NOT THE ONLY SOURCES OF FAT EATEN BY BIRDS

Feb11

       The use of animal fat by birds dates back at least to the 1890s. For example, historians tell us that in 1898 Florence Merriam Bailey and others were feeding animal fat to birds.  These bird early enthusiasts simply tacked raw suet to the trunks of trees. This practice continues to this day. 

       Several years ago, a good friend of mine conducted an experiment to try to determine whether birds prefer chunks of suet (fat found around the kidneys of cattle) to rendered suet.

       It is easy for us to believe that birds only obtain animal fat from raw suet, rendered suet and bird puddings.  Quite by accident several years ago, I found this is not the case.

       At the time, I made my discovery I was working at a checking station on the Rum Creek Wildlife Management Area. I was one of the folks that examined each deer harvested. These animals were examined under an open deer weighing shelter. After the deer were examined, chunks of deer fat were often left behind.

       One day during a deer hunt, I just happened to notice dark-eyed juncos were feeding on bits of deer fat had collected along the edge of the shelter along the edge of the shelter.

       I suspect that birds of been eating the fat found on dead animals of millions of years.  Dark-eyed juncos are not the only birds that have been known to eat the fat of dead animals.  The list of others that do the same are tufted titmice, wrens and woodpeckers. 

 

BACKYARD SECRET – BLUE JAYS HAVE A NEAT WAY TO CARRY LOTS OF ACORNS

Feb8

       The acorn is one of the most important foods in the blue jay’s diet.  Unwittingly blue jays store (cache) many of the acorns they gather in spots that are sometimes located a few miles away.  That being the case, more acorns can be stored in less time if jays could carry several acorns at a time.

       Well, as it turns out the blue jay has a simple but effective way to carry up to five or six acorns at a time. It accomplishes this fete by removing the caps of each acorn. If you carefully watch a blue jay collecting acorns, you will find that, in most cases, it removes the cap from each nut before stuffing it into its mouth.

       It is equally amazing to me that blue jays bury each acorn with its tip down.  It sounds similar to the way we plant bulbs with the bottom of each bulb facing downward. Since jays never find all of the acorns they bury, unbeknownst to them they are planting oaks.

       If you just take the time to watch a bird, there is no telling what you will learn.

THE GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT – BIRDING WITH A PURPOSE

Feb5

          There are 365 days in the year, however during four special days in February you and your family can take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count.  During these four days you will be able to join literally hundreds of thousands of bird enthusiasts living in more than 200 countries scattered across the globe in a survey designed to assist ornithologists better understand the world’s bird populations.

          The 2026 Great Backyard Bird Count will take place February 13-16.

          The survey is sponsored by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, and Birds Canada.

          This has got to be the simplest bird survey you have ever seen.  All you have to do is select an area (e.g. backyard, park, you name it) and count all of the birds you can identify in just 15 minutes.  You can survey as many areas are you like during the four-day count period. In fact, you can survey the same areas each day. 

          Then after you complete a survey count you submit the data online.  The survey form is very simple and takes only a few moments to complete.  One of the neatest things about the count once you submit a survey you can visit a map of the world displaying where the counts are being held.

          You do not have to be an expert birder  to take part in the survey.  This is because you count only those birds you can identity.  Consequently, this is a survey practically everyone can enjoy.

          For more information regarding this super event, simply go to your computer’s search engine and type in Great Backyard Bird Count.  The  website  will provide you with all of the information you need to enjoy some tine birding knowing that the bird list(s) you submit will help bird conservation.

 

NORTHERN FLICKERS RARELY VISIT FEEDERS

Feb1

       If you have never seen a northern flicker at your bird feeders, you are not alone. I personally have never spotted at one at mine either; however, they infrequently visit my birdbath.  In spite of my inability of entice a flicker to my feeders, the Cornell University’s FeedWatch survey reveals that in some states, more than half those participating in the survey report  their feeders are visited annually by flickers. Even then the birds are not regular visitors throughout the entire winter.  Those folks that host them say they see rarely see more than one or two of the birds at a time.

       It seems that when they visit feeders, they most often dine on bird puddings are suet.  The list of some of the other foods eaten by flickers includes the likes of baked goods, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and millet.

       I hope you have enjoyed seeing flickers at your feeders.  Northern flickers are truly fascinating birds.