Archive | September 2024

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH RUBYTHROATS

Sep26

      Ruby-throated hummingbirds exhibit many behaviors that endear themselves to us.  One of my favorites is their habit of flying right up to our faces, hover, and stare directly at us before suddenly zipping off.

       A couple of weeks ago, while I was hanging a feeder full of fresh nectar on a Shepherd’s hook, a hummer that was flying about anxiously awaiting me to complete my task so that it could resume feeding, flew up within a foot of my face and hovered. While he hovered there, I heard the humming of its rapidly beating wings. I stared into the bird’s dark eyes, and he stared back into mine.  It displayed no fear.  Then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone.

       Unbeknownst me, on the same day, half a state away my daughter was treated with a close encounter with a hummingbird of her own. While standing near the entrance to a veterinary office a hummingbird flew up to what appeared to be a red power cutoff switch.  The bird briefly hovered in front of the bright red switch and immediately flew to within inches of her face. The bird seemed to be transfixed with the red and black shoulder strap attached to the purse.  In a few seconds, it departed as quickly as it arrived, leaving my daughter trying to process what just happened.

 

       When events such as these occur, we never know why hummingbirds display this heart-stopping behavior.  In my case, I believe the bird did not shy away from me because it recognized my face; I am the one that has been refilling feeders at these locations for weeks on end. This belief stems from research that proves hummingbirds are capable of facial recognition.

       The reason why the bird flew so closely to her could possibly be it was checking out potential sources of food.  Since hummingbirds seem to associate red with food, perhaps the bird thought the red color on the shoulder strap and switch were flowers.  Who knows?

       In the end, it matters not why such encounters take place. The fact is such experiences happen more often with hummingbirds than any other bird.  As such, it helps make the birds so very special.

       It is always exciting to have a close encounter with a hummingbird.  There is something exhilarating about looking deep into its eyes.  When this happens to me, I cannot help but wonder what it is thinking about when it looks into my eyes.  What I do know is, when we experience a close encounter with a hummingbird, we are forging a link with the natural world.

        My wife and I have hosted a huge number of hummingbirds this summer.  Many days my wife prepared 16 cups of nectar to keep up with their seemingly insatiable appetite.  The combination of feeding and watching so many hummers and having a close encounter with one at the end of the season, caps off a hummingbird summer we will long remember.

 

BACKYARD SECRET – MOCKINGBIRDS SING A DIFFERENT TUNE IN THE FALL

Sep22

       We all enjoy the songs sung by our backyard birds.  However, many of our feathered neighbors do not sing in autumn.  Fortunately, for us both male and female mockingbirds continue singing long after most other songsters have migrated or our permanent resident feathered vocalists have closed their songbooks for the year.

       Mockingbirds most often sing from February through August and September through November.  Ornithologists tell us the repertoire of songs sung by these popular backyard birds differs somewhat during these two distinct periods of the year.

       It is interesting to note that while both male and female mockingbirds sing, the songs sung by the females from September into November are more subdued.

       I must admit that I have never noticed this difference. This fall I am going to try to pay attention to more mockingbirds and the mockingbird songs I hear in my backyard. I hope that I will detect some of these differences. Even, if I do not notice any variations, just taking a little more time to listen to the songs I too often take for granted will add to my backyard experiences.

      

BACKYARD SECRET – MALE BUMBLEBEES DON’T COLLECT POLLEN

Sep18

       Male bumblebees lack pollen baskets.  Although they eat pollen and nectar, they do not collect pollen and bring it back to their nest.

LIGHTS OUT HELP MIGRATING SONGBIRDS

Sep15

      Each fall literally hundreds of millions of migrating birds pass through Georgia en route to their winter homes. The vast majority of these birds are songbirds that fly over the Peach State between August 15 and November 15. Many of them such as warblers, tanagers, vireos, and thrushes migrate at night.  During peak migration periods, as many as 30 million birds may be in the air over Georgia during a single night. Far too many of them collide with buildings, transmission towers, powerlines, houses, and other objects.  Estimates reveal that each year anywhere from 350 million to one billion birds die or are injured strike  manmade objects during migration.

       For years, conservation groups like the National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, and Birds Georgia (formerly known as Atlanta Audubon) have been urging the owners of large buildings to shut off their lights during migration.  These efforts have undoubtedly saved the lives of millions of birds. Recently conservation groups have also been urging homeowners to join the effort to save these Neotropical migrants.

      The reason why turning off the lights can save the lives of migrants is the birds use a number of mechanisms to stay on tract; one is employing celestial objects such as stars as navigational aids.  Consequently, bright human-generated lights can confuse birds to the point where they are actually hit the well-lighted structures or endlessly fly around them until the fall to the ground utterly exhausted.

       One way homeowners can help reduce this mortality is to turn off the lights illuminating their homes and other buildings between 12:00 AM and 6:00 AM during the time the birds are migrating through our state. These simple steps include closing window blinds and shades to prevent indoor light from being seen from outside our homes.  If possible, security lights can be turned off. In addition, outside lights can be shielded to direct light toward the ground.

       Although the number of birds that strike our homes pales in comparison to those that strike tall buildings, smokestacks, and other massive structures, every little bit helps, especially when a large number of homeowners decrease the light around their homes.

      

 

BACKYARD SECRET—HOW FAR DO RUBYTHROATS MIGRATE PER DAY?

Sep11

        As we all know, the ruby-throated hummingbird migration is taking place right now.  With this in mind, have you ever wondered how far a rubythroat travels overland en route to its winter home?

       The answer is according to hummingbird experts the tiny birds that pass through our yards on their fall and spring migrations average flying 23 miles per day.

SUMMER TANAGERS ARE ON THE MOVE THIS MONTH

Sep8

       The summer tanager is one of Georgia’s most beautiful birds.  Fortunately, it inhabits many backyards during the summer.  However, from September into October these colorful migrants are migrating south to their wintering grounds.  These amazing flights take place mostly at night.

       Summer tanagers are indeed long-distance migrants.  Each fall summer tanagers that breed in Georgia migrate southward on a flight that requires them to fly across the Gulf of Mexico to reach their winter home.  They have a vast winter range that stretches from Mexico all the way south to Bolivia and Brazil.

       To reach these far away destinations, prior to migration they store fuel as fat.  If a bird takes off from the shore of the United States without storing enough fuel, it flies as far as it can before dropping into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.  Fortunately, a vast number of summer tanagers successfully make the flight with fuel to spare. One study found that summer tanagers arriving in Panama were still toting enough fuel to fly an additional 553 miles.

FEMALE SUMMER TANAGER–PHOTO © Terry W Johnson

       Summer tanagers rest and feed at various places along their migration route.  Some of these birds might use your yard as a stopover site.  If so, listen for them calling from the canopies of the trees growing in your yard.  If you hear a call you are unfamiliar with, use your MERLIN to help you identify it. 

       Also, keep your birdbath full of clean water.  Although I have never attracted a summer tanager to a bird feeder, on many occasion I have seen them bathe and drink at a birdbath.

       Even if you have never seen summer tanagers in your yard, keep your eyes peeled for them.  This may be the year you they just might visit your yard before moving on to their winter home.

      

EYE-CATCHING AMERICAN BEAUTYBERRIES ARE CURRENTLY HEADLINERS

Sep4

      The plants that catch my eye every time I step into my backyard during this, the first week of September, are American Beautyberries (Callicarpa Americana).  The reason for this is their stems are covered with clusters of round, magenta berries (actually called drupes).  I know of no other native berries that have such a unique color.

       If you had gazed on them in spring and early summer, you would not believe these are the same plants.  Before the American beautyberry is festooned with clumps of magenta berries, they are unimpressive plants that blend into the landscape.  Now however, their transformation into beautiful shrubs make it impossible not to notice them.  Since these berries are beginning to disappear, it is obvious that wild birds have also noticed them.  More than 40 species of birds dine on the colorful drupes.  Some of the birds than dine on them in my backyard are gray catbirds, northern mockingbirds, northern cardinals, and house finches.

       American beautyberries also provide food for migrating warblers and other Neotropical migrants.  I must admit that I have never seen what I was certain was a bird on migration eating beautyberries in my hard.  However, one migrant I would love to see do so is the black-throated blue warbler.  The drupes of the American beautyberry are said to be a favorite food of this colorful bird.

       If this short Georgia native shrub is not growing in your yard, you might consider adding one or more to your home landscape.  It will grow in both moist and dry sites, is hardy, and drought tolerant.  The only negative thing I can say about this native is that it has a tendency to spread away from where it is planted.  However, if volunteers sprout in spots where you don’t want them, they are easy to control.

 

 

 

THE DAPARTURE TIME FOR FALL MIGRANTS

Sep1

       Although it is still summer, the fall migration for many of songbirds that inhabit our yards from spring into summer migration is already underway.

       In most years much to my chagrin, I rarely see an orchard oriole in my backyard in September.  However, some commence their migration in the middle of July.  By late August, most of them are en route to, or have already arrived, in their winter home in a vast area ranging from Costa Rica southward to Columbia.

       I find it odd that for many songbirds and others, in spite of the fact, much is written about the fall bird migration, for them the fall migration is a misnomer.  For the sake of accuracy, it should perhaps be renamed the mid-summer migration.