Archive | December 2024

BACKYARD SECRET – THE CARDINAL’S COLOR IS AFFECTED BY WHAT IT EATS

Dec30

      The cardinal is known as the Christmas Card Bird because it adorns more Christmas cards than another other bird.  It is easy to understand why this is the case.  A glimpse of a male cardinal perched in a holly tree or bare limb dogwood tree that seems to be frosted with white icing is something you cannot forget.

 

       We often take the cardinal’s breathtaking plumage for granted without giving any thought to why it is so red.  The truth of the matter is the brightness of its colors is greatly affected by the food it eats.  It seems the brightest cardinals are those that eat lots berries, fruits and flower seeds.  Consequently, it is no coincidence male cardinals eat more of these foods during the mating season when they are trying to impress mates.

BACKYARD SECRET – BROWN THRASHERS WERE ONCE RARELY SEEN AT FEEDERS

Dec24

       The brown thrasher was rarely seen at feeders at the turn of the 20th century.  Today, however, they are now regularly visit feeders throughout Georgia.

       It is thought that this change in behavior is related to the proliferation of feeders and birdbaths.  During the winter 95% of the brown thrasher‘s diet consists of small insects and other critters uncovered by scratching  among dead leaves beneath trees and shrubs.

       If you want to try to attract a brown thrasher to a feeder, place a feeder near thick shrubs.  Although the brown thrashers that visit my yard do so primarily to drink and bathe in water offered in birdbaths, they will also eat suet. Thrashers will sometimes eat scratch feed, dried fruit, crumbs, shelled corn, and birdseed beneath feeders.

BACKYARD SECRET – SUNFLOWER SEEDS CONTAIN MORE CALORIES THAN ANY OF THE MOST POPULAR BIRD SEEDS

Dec22

         Many of us try to watch our calories. Unfortunately, this means we have to avoid or eat small amounts of some of our tastiest culinary delights.  Such is the case with birds.  Some of the best foods they can consume are high in calories.

       With that in mind, pound for pound sunflower seeds are packed with more calories than any of the other birdseeds on the market.

       Black oil sunflower seeds have thin hulls. This makes them easier for smaller birds to separate the hearts from the shell.

       When I began feeding birds quite some time ago, the only sunflower seeds available were striped sunflower seeds. They are much larger than black oil sunflower seeds. In addition, their seed coats are difficult for small birds to breach.  Also, their hulls make a bigger mess than black oil sunflower seeds hulls.

       You can also purchase hulled sunflower seeds (often called sunflower seed hearts).  The birds love ‘em, and they don’t leave a mess.  They are, however, more expensive and spoil much quicker than unhulled sunflower seeds.

       Well, there you have it.  While we tend to shy away from foods loaded with calories, they are great for birds.

WHY ARE PURPLE FINCHES MORE ABUNDANT IN SOME YEARS AND NOT OTHERS?

Dec18

      The purple finch has long been special to me. This is because many years ago when I was in the fifth grade, my class took a field trip to a wildlife sanctuary operated by the National Audubon Society.  While there, I was captivated watching a purple finches banding operation. In fact, I vividly remember saying to myself, I am going to do that one day.  About two decades later, I became a wildlife biologist and banded my first purple finch.

      Since that time, I learned that the number of purple finches we see at our feeders during the winter here in Georgia fluctuate dramatically. Some years we see only a handful of them at our feeders.  Then every three years or so we see significantly more of them,

       While biologists do not fully understand while is behind these emigrations, it has become apparent that they are more likely to widely disperse during the winters following a seed crop failure on their breeding grounds.

       For the sake of those of us they enjoy watching these beautiful birds feeding on sunflower seeds in our backyards, I hope the winter of 2024-2025 is one of the infrequent years when a large number of purple finches winter in the South.

BACKYARD SECRET – FIRE ANT CONTROL MAY BE LINKED TO NORTHERN FLICKER DECLINES

Dec15

       For more than three decades, northern flicker populations have been waning.  To date, ornithologists have been unable to pin down the causes for this alarming decline.

       Researchers are investigating a number of potential causes for this situation.  One of the factors being scrutinized is the use of chemicals to thwart highly invasive fire ants.

WHERE DO TUFTED TITMICE CACHE SEEDS?

Dec12

       If you regularly read this blog, you know that I am fascinated with bird behavior. I have found one of the best places to watch feeding behavior is at my feeders.  One of the birds I enjoy watching at my feeders is the tufted titmouse.

       These perky birds fly to and from my sunflower feeders countless times every day.  Each time they carry off a single seed.  Sometimes, they will land close enough for me to watch them hull and devour a seed.  In many cases, though, they fly out of sight.  When this happens, I assume that they are going to store (cache) a seed.  While I have never witnessed a tufted titmouse cache seeds, many others have.

       Based on their observations, we know that tufted titmice cache seeds within 130 feet of a feeder.  Some 46 percent of the time seeds are stored beneath the loose tree bark.  They will also wedge seeds between the burrows found on the trunks of trees.  If a tree has broken limbs, they also will store seeds in a limb’s rotting wood.  They will even bury seeds in the ground.

       Titmice will also cache seeds in odd places.  One of the most unusual spots used by the birds is a camellia blossom.  Since I learned that the birds use such beautiful locations to hide sunflower seeds, I often check camellia blooms around my house. Much to my dismay, I have never found would that held a sunflower seed.

       If you have seen tufted titmice storing seeds in odd places, please let me know.

A GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFT TO INTRODUCE SOMEBODY INTO BIRD FEEDING

Dec8

      If you are looking for an inexpensive Christmas gift for an adult or youngster that harbors an interest in birds but does not feed birds, consider giving them an inexpensive clear plastic tube feeder.  This type of feeder keeps seeds from getting wet and spoiling. In addition, allows a homeowner to monitor how much seed remains in the tube and is easy to clean.

       It is also important to provide them with a bag of high-quality birdseed.  Emphasize to them that the best seed mixes are composed of a mixture containing high percentages of black oil sunflower seeds and millet.  They should shy away for mixtures containing large percentages of milo, corn. or wheat seeds.  While these mixes are often the least expensive, birds often eat very little of these types of food.  Invariably, these components end up on the ground beneath the feeder where they spoil and can cause a health risk to birds.

Photos are for illustration purposes only.

       A tube feeder stocked with a high-quality seed attracts a wide range of birds that eat millet and/or sunflower seeds.  Here is a list of a dozen birds that just might pay a visit to their feeder (or will feed the ground below the feeder) this winter:  chipping sparrow, house finch, Carolina chickadee, cardinal, blue jay, eastern towhee, white-throated sparrow, song sparrow, dark-eyed junco, purple finch, and American goldfinch.

       When they open their gift, you should advise them that bird feeding could be addicting.   As such, feeding birds just might be something they will enjoy the rest of their life.

ARE WOODPECKERS ATTRACTED BY THE SOUND MADE BY HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES?

Dec6

       Every so often people ask me if woodpeckers are attracted to the sounds generated by household appliances.  Supposedly, the faint buzzing sounds made by electrical appliances mimic the sounds made by insects.  If a woodpecker detects these sounds, it excavated holes attempting to feed on the hidden bounty of insects.

       Whenever I am asked this question, my answer is, “NO!”    I have never seen any evidence that this is the case.

         Many other factors appear to play a role in why woodpeckers damage certain houses. According to Cornell University, a study involving more than 1,000 houses in Ithaca, New York revealed that the type of siding used on a house plays a significant role in whether or not woodpeckers damage a home.

       The study found the siding that is most susceptible to woodpecker damage is grooved plywood.  In addition, researchers found that earth-toned homes stand a greater chance of sustaining woodpecker damage than those painted in brighter colors.

SOME REASONS WHY WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES ACT THE WAY THEY DO

Dec1

       You can learn much about the various species of birds that visit your feeders by taking the time to watch them. Take the white-breasted nuthatch, for example.

       If you watch them often enough, you will notice you rarely see more than two white-breasted nuthatches at your feeders at the same time.  In most cases, the reason for this is each pair of white-breasted nuthatches defends their territories throughout the year. It is not uncommon to find these territories are 20 to 30 acres in size. As such, if other white-breasted nuthatches trying to dine on the sunflower seeds or suet offered at your feeders the pair will vigorously try to chase them away.

       About the only times that you will spot three or four white-breasted nuthatches at your feeder is during the nesting seasons fledglings may dine at feeders; or when your feeders are located near the border of another pair of white-breasted nuthatches.

       One the amazing things about these territories are we cannot see where one territory ends and another begins.   However, the birds sure know where the boundaries of their unseen territories are located.