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BACKYARD SECRET – YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS RELISH TENT CATERPILLARS
Tent caterpillar nests built on tree limbs are common sights in yards and trees lining highways throughout Georgia at this time of the year. Each nest contains scores of hairy caterpillars. While most birds shy away from dining on what appears to be an easy source of food, the yellow-billed cuckoo relishes them. In fact, it is one of the few bird species that eat them. They can consume 100 or more tent-building caterpillars during one attack on a tent caterpillar nest.
The reason why most birds stay clear of the juicy caterpillars that reside in the web-like nests is the caterpillars that live there are covered with stiff spines. The yellow-bellied cuckoo, on the other hand, it is able to eat them because it is able to do so is periodically the bird sheds the lining of its stomach and hairs found there. When the bird expels its stomach lining and stiff caterpillar hairs form a mass that looks much like an owl pellet.
MOCKINGBIRD SANG DURING FIREWORKS
Both male and female mockingbirds sing, however, by far the male sings the loudest. These birds sing both day and night; however, young males are more apt to sing during the nighttime hours than adults. Last night I learned that loud noises do little to deter them from singing.
For several days, a mockingbird has been loudly singing in the neighborhood. For the past few days, I heard him singing both during the day and at night. When I got up went outside the each morning, he was still singing. These vocalizations continued throughout the day.
Last night the whole neighborhood celebrated the 4th of July by setting off firecrackers and fireworks. Prior to the beginning of the celebration the lone singer continued to sing. When the sun finally set, I was certain the bird would stop sing. Boy was I ever wrong! In spike of the fact some of the explosions were so loud literally shook the house, and the skies full of beautiful fireworks the bird continued to sing. When the lights and sounds finally faded away, he was still singing.
When I got up and greeted the day, the tireless songster was still at it. If this mockingbird was not deterred by all that went on the night before, what will?
BACKYARD SECRET – MOCKINGBIRDS NEST MORE THAN ONCE PER YEAR
It is commonly believed that northern mockingbirds nest once a year in the Peach State. Actually they nest 2-3 times of year during a breeding season that extends from February through August.
Interestingly, it has been reported that mockers have been known to nest up to 7 times in a single year.
BACKYARD SECRET – LEAVING HUMAN SCENT ON A BIRD NEST WILL NOT CAUSE BIRDS TO ABANDON IT
Most of us have heard that, if we touch an active bird nest or young birds, the scent we leave behind will cause the nesting birds to abandon it.
This advice is false. The reason why this is the case is most birds have a poor sense of smell.
While we will never know where or why this myth originated, some feel it was perpetrated by adults to discourage youngsters from disturbing bird nests.
HELPING CHIMNEY SWIFT NESTING SUCCESS
The vast majority of the chimney swifts that nest in Georgia build their nests in masonry chimneys. If chimney swifts nest in your chimney, you can enhance their nesting success by simply having your chimney cleaned annually. This should be done before the birds return to the Peach State in March.
The reason for this, if creosote builds up on the interior of your chimney, the buildup creates a fire hazard. It also reduces the odds that a tiny chimney swift nest, attached to a chimney’s creosote-laden wall, will break loose before nesting is completed. When this happens, the nest containing eggs or flightless young tumble down.
BACKYARD SECRET – HOW MANY BIRDS VISIT OUR FEEDERS?
If you have ever wondered how many species of birds visit our feeders, here are some figures you might find interesting.
Across the country, some 350 species of birds feed at our feeders. Ninety of these species are either regular or casual diners. The remaining 260 species are rare visitors.
Here in the Peach State, those of us that feed birds in our yards can attract as many as 25-35 species to our bird cafes.
How many species of birds do you feed in your backyard?
WHAT NOT TO DO WHEN PHOTOGRAPHING BIRD NESTS AND YOUNG IN YOUR BACKYARD
Many of us are fortunate that birds nest in our yards. Some of the birds that commonly nest in our trees, shrubs, and nesting boxes are cardinals, brown thrashers, and mockingbirds. If we just happen across a nest while walking about our yards or notice adults regularly bringing food to their young, it is not hard to find a nest. When you locate one, often the first thing that often comes to mind is the desire to take pictures of the nest, eggs and young. There is nothing wrong with this however, if you are not careful your attempts to take great pictures can result in the birds abandoning it or the eggs and/or young found in the nest falling prey to predators. Here are a few tips that will help ensure that this does not happen.
Keep your visits to a minimum. If you visit nests where the adults are incubating their eggs, the nesting birds will often abandon their nests. This is especially tree early in incubation. In addition, frequent visits can alert predators that a nest is near.
When photographing nests and their contents, you should never cut leaves and branches that prevent you from taking clear photos. When you cut down the vegetation, you are making it easier for predators to find it.
Resist the urge to take pictures from as close as possible. Take your photographs as far away as possible. Then regardless of whether you are taking photos with a camera equipped with a telephoto lens, or a smart phone, you can later easily edit the photographs digitally.
In addition, when photographing adults bringing food to their young, you should always stand as far away as you possibly can. When you are too close, the parents will sometimes not visit or reduce the number of times they bring food to their hatchlings.
If you are careful, you will be able to take some memorable photos of the nest and while you witness a new generation of birds fledge—it does not get any better than that.
DO BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS LAY THEIR EGGS IN MOURNING DOVE NESTS?
Brown-headed cowbirds never build a nest, however, they lay their eggs in the nests of more than 220 species of birds. One of these species is the mourning dove.
It seems cowbirds rarely lay their eggs in dove nests. When a female cowbird lays her eggs in a dove nest it proves to be a poor decision. The doves typically damage or refuse to accept the cowbird eggs. If an egg is happens to be incubated, a cowbird hatchling cannot survive on the diet of crop milk mourning doves feed their young.
