Archive | December 2023
BACKYARD SECRET – THE MOCKINGBIRD’S FEEDING TERRITORY CHANGES IN WINTER
The northern mockingbird is a welcomed sight in most backyards throughout the state. However, although the mockingbird is a permanent resident, sometimes they disappear from our yards during the winter. In some cases, the reason for this may be that mockingbirds alter the size of the size of their feeding territory according to the weather.
Studies conducted in North Carolina’s Piedmont found that the territories defended by these feisty birds actually shrank by more than half during extremely cold weather from October through December. The birds’ territories then increased a bit in January. By the time spring arrived, the territories had grown to encompass those areas they vacated during the winter.
Biologists believe that a prime reason for mockingbird territories shrinking during the winter is that the smaller the territory the less energy a bird has to expend to defend its food supply. In the case of the mockingbird, a key food component in a territory is the availability of fruits and berries.
WHAT WOULD CHRISTMAS BE WITHOUT THE CARDINAL?
If you asked our fellow Americans what bird they believe is most deserving of the title America’s Christmas bird, I am sure the majority would say the cardinal.
I believe this is primarily due to the crimson red plumage of the adult male. This is important because red is one of the two colors most often used to adorn Christmas decorations, tablecloths, ornaments, Christmas cards, you name it. In addition, it is also the color of the suit worn by the jolly old elf named Santa Claus.
Those of us that live in Georgia are fortunate that we do not have to wait for the U.S. Postal Service to deliver a Christmas card bearing the likeness of a cardinal to see one. Here in the Peach State the bird is a permanent resident. In fact, we actually have the opportunity to see more cardinals in our backyards in winter than summer. This is because during the winter cardinals often join other cardinals to form flocks that move about looking for food. These flocks can number anywhere from a dozen or less, to more than five dozen birds. Interestingly a flock of cardinals is sometimes called a college, deck, or Vatican.
I hope you will see one or more cardinals on Christmas day. Seeing America’s Christmas Card Bird on Christmas makes this wonderful holiday even more special.
On behalf of the blog’s sponsor, The Environmental Resources Network (TERN), the blog’s webmaster, Kim Walton, and writer, Terry Johnson, we want to wish you a very Merry Christmas.
WHY DO BLACK VULTURES ROOST ON THE ROOFS OF HOUSES IN WINTER?
When the weather finally gets cold in the Peach State black vultures seem to roost more often atop the roofs of apartment buildings and houses. Typically, those folks that live in these dwellings do not greet the large birds with open arms. Some even interpret the vultures as being harbingers of death. While most people don’t believe that is the case most people want to know why the birds are roosting there.
BLACK VULTURES–PHOTO CREDIT: Anna Leverett
One of the reasons why black vultures seen more abundant and prone to roost on houses in winter is black vultures are migratory birds. Most of the migratory black vultures that spend the winter in the Southeast originate from the states of New York, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. Once here they compete with our homegrown black vultures for food and roost sites. With more vultures flying about, the chance of them roosting on a building jumps up.
BLACK VULTURES–PHOTO CREDIT: Anna Leverett
Perhaps the main reason why the birds roost on dark roofs is the dark surface of the roofs help the birds regulate body temperature. In winter, you often see the birds roosting with their bodies facing the rising sun. As the sun rises, heat from the dark roofs radiates upward into their bodies. In an effort to speed the process, some black vultures will even stretch their wings and allow the sun to shine on the undersides of their wings where feathers are sparse and blood vessels are located very close to the skin. The quicker they can increase their body temperate faster they can take wing in search of food.
YIKES—THERE IS A GREAT HORNED OWL IN OUR BACKYARD!
Most folks that attract birds to their yards are always hoping to add a new bird to their yard list. Recently, my niece, Vicki, looked out her window and spotted a great horned owl perched atop a tractor-drawn rotary mower parked in her backyard. Needless to say, she was startled. This was not a “new” backyard bird one would expect to see in most yards.
However, the truth of the matter is there is a good chance that great horned owls have flown over or near your yard in the past. One reason is they are now nesting closer to humans than ever before. As we continue to blanket the Georgia countryside with well development, great horned owls are now nesting in suburban backyards and with sight of high-rise apartment buildings in cities such as Atlanta. I have even seen a pair of great horned owls nesting high up in a pine growing on the grounds of the Cloister on Sea Island. Another reason why we do not often see them in our yards is great horned owls do the vast majority of their hunting under the shroud of darkness. However, they will also hunt during the daylight hours too.
My niece and her husband, John, will probably never know why this owl was out and about on a sunny early winter day. However, more than likely it was hunting. Owls will typically hunt from a perch and swoop down on unsuspecting prey. However, they will also walk across the ground in search of mice, voles or other small mammals.
This particular bird stayed in my niece’s backyard for two to three hours. During this time, it moved from one piece of farm equipment to another.
This was indeed a rare and wonderful wildlife encounter!
WINTER IS A GREAT TIME TO LOOK FOR MIXED FLOCKS OF BIRDS FLYING ABOUT LOOKING FOR FOOD
Winter is a super time to look for flocks composed of different species of birds moving about looking for food. When we are fortunate enough to spot such a flock, we can sometimes see birds that we rarely, if ever, see in our yards.
Flocks can be composed of a variety of species, however, often the individuals found in a flock are similar in size and share the same food preferences. Some of the birds that form such flocks include kinglets, Carolina chickadees, brown creepers, yellow-rumped warblers, nuthatches, and tufted titmice.
A number of theories have been advanced to explain this behavior; however, nobody knows for sure why birds engage in this behavior. One theory suggests that being a member of flock reduces a bird’s chance of being caught by a predator. Others believe that birds in a flock have a greater chance of finding food than birds foraging on their own. Who knows?
I rarely see mixed feeding flocks. However, when I have seen one, it was always something special. If you have seen such a flock, I would like to know about it.
MEALYCUP SAGE IS A GREAT WILDLIFE PLANT FOR CONTAINERS AND TRADITIONAL GARDENS
One of the many traits I like about gardeners is their willingness to share information with others. A good example of that is this past week during a conversation with Jean O’Shields (she and Terry Waith coordinate the Community Wildlife Project for the Garden Club of Georgia). During our call, Jean told me about a plant that was still blooming in her Ft. Valley garden long after a recent freeze killed many of her flowering plants. The plant is mealycup sage (Salvia farinacea). She was impressed with the plant’s hardiness, beauty, as well as the fact that it attracts loads of pollinators long after most plants were dead or not producing pollen or nectar.
I must admit that I had never heard of the mealycup sage. After doing a little research on the mealycup sage, I now wish that I had made an acquaintance with it years ago.
Don’t be put off by the plant’s unattractive name. Its name stems from the fact that the plant bears cup-shaped flowers covered with a dust-like substance.
While mealycup sage is not a Georgia native, it is a native of North America. Its range includes parts of Mexico, Texas and nearby states. Horticulturalists have developed several cultivars that enable gardeners to choose plants that display flowers ranging from white, blue, dark purple, to two-tone blue and white blossoms.
The plant blooms from late spring until fall. Georgia gardeners will be pleased to know the plant is rabbit and deer resistant. It also tolerates drought, is low maintenance, will grow in a broad range of soil conditions ranging from well-drained soils ranging from alkaline to acidic. It will even grow is clay soil types. The plant will grow in full sun to partial shade.
Mealycup sage is an ideal addition to traditional gardens, borders, xeriscapes as well as containers. If planted in containers, they do best in three-gallon or larger containers.
Since the plant will attract hummingbirds, bees and butterflies, it is an ideal candidate for inclusion in wildlife-friendly container gardens. Here it can be combined with other plants such as coneflowers and zinnias that are also attractive to wildlife.
If you create a container garden for wildlife and would like to earn certification in the Community Wildlife Project’s Container Gardening for Wildlife Category, download an application found on the Garden Club of Georgia’s website (gardenclubofgeorgia.org). When you visit the website, look at all of the other ways in which you can create a beautiful, wildlife friendly, backyard.
The Community Wildlife Project is a conservation initiative sponsored by The Garden Club of Georgia, The Georgia Department of Natural Resources and The Environmental Resources Network (TERN).
ROBINS INFREQUENTLY VISIT FEEDERS
Wild birds dine at feeders more often in winter than at any other time of the year. However, some birds such as tufted titmice are regular visitors throughout the year. Birds like the gray catbird dine on suet during the spring and summer. Other birds such as dark-eyed juncos visit Georgia feeders only during the winter. Then there are birds like the American robin. Regardless of the season, these birds rarely partake in our feeder offerings.
Those folks that seem to attract robins most often do so feeding them either dried or fresh fruit. The birds will also sometimes even dine on seeds. One of my friends told me that a male American robin spent an entire winter in his backyard feeding on black-oil sunflower seeds. Others report robins will consume sorghum, peanuts, peanut hearts, safflower seeds, and cracked corn. Robins will also consume bird puddings, jelly, popped corn, and peanut butter.
My wife and I have never seen an American robin at our feeders. However, we sometimes spot robins drinking and bathing at a nearby birdbath.
If you have been lucky enough to attract robins to your feeders, I would like to know how you were able to accomplish this almost impossible task.
ARE RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS A THREAT TO FEEDER BIRDS AND PETS?
As urban and suburban sprawl continues to spread across Georgia, red-shouldered hawks are being seen more of near our homes. When homeowners see one nearby, they often become concerned that the avian predator poses a threat to the birds attracted to their feeders, dogs, or cats.
In truth, since red-shouldered hawks usually consume nothing larger than a squirrel or rabbit, unless your feline and canine pets are extremely small, they are safe from harm. While red-shouldered hawks do eat mammals, voles, and chipmunks are their preferred prey. In addition, they will also catch and consume fish, frogs, crayfish, cotton rats, large insects, worms, shrews, and birds.
