Archives

FIND A PLACE FOR THE CHICKASAW PLUM

Feb12

       If you are looking for an attractive native wildlife friendly plant that blooms early in the spring, Chickasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia) is a plant you should consider.

       Normally the Chickasaw plum reaches a maximum height of only 15 feet (most I encounter are much shorter).  In March-April, the plant produces a bounty of delicate, fragrant flowers well before the plant’s leaves burst forth.

       Since it is an early bloomer, it is an important source of for pollinators such as butterflies.  Some of the butterflies I find nectaring on the flowers are hairstreaks like the great purple hairstreak, and the eastern tiger swallowtail. However, other pollinators are also drawn to the woody plant’s pollen.

       From May to July, the plant is laden with small drupes.  These tasty plums can be range in color from red to yellow.  If you want to eat your share of these sweet morsels, you had better do so early as they are also relished by a host of birds and mammals such as the red-headed woodpecker, quail, gray catbird, American robin, wood thrush, northern mockingbird, gray fox, raccoon, white-tailed deer and others.

       Insectivorous birds feed the insects drawn to the large shrubs especially when they are in bloom.

       If allowed to form a small thicket, birds such as catbirds, loggerhead shrikes, brown thrashers are others will nest and among this native plum’s thorny branches.

       Butterfly enthusiasts will be happy to know that a number of butterflies such as the eastern tiger swallowtail, coral hairstreak, and spring azure lay their eggs on the Chickasaw plum.

       Chickasaw plums do well in most soil types, are drought tolerant, and grow best in partial shade to full sun.

       Should you decide to transplant this valuable native plant in your yard, set out a couple.  This ensures cross-pollination will occur.

      Also, be aware that Chickasaw plum produces suckers.  This is great if you want to create a thicket.  However, if you prefer to grow the plant as a single tree, simply cut down the suckers.

 

      

TAKE PART IN THE GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT

Feb9

       If you are seeking a wonderful birding event that can involve the entire family, the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) may be just the event that fits the bill.

       This year it will run from Friday, February 17 through Monday, February 21.  During these four days, hundreds of thousands and conservation-minded citizens living in more than 250 counts scattered across the globe will make an effort to count as many birds as they can.

       If you were wondering why so many people would want to engage in such an activity, the answer is simple—it is providing a unique opportunity to have fun birding with a conservation purpose in mind. The enormous volume of data collected by these thousands of participants will assist biologists and leaders throughout the world gain a better understanding to the state of the world’s bird populations.

       Believe me, this is one of the easiest ways to become involved in a conservation project.  On top of that, it is free!  All you have to do is first select a location you want to survey.  A survey area can be as small as your yard or as large as a city park, state park or wildlife refuge, you name it.

       You simply record all of the birds you can identify in as little as fifteen minutes at that locale.  You can even survey the same area each day during the count period. In addition, can you tally birds in as many different sites as your like.

       Once you have collected data at your location(s), submit your findings online at birdcount.org.  It is as simple as that.

       If you so desire, you can go to the map feature as watch as you survey area is added to growing number of other places survey during the count.

       If you have not yet installed the free Merlin Bird ID app, this would be a great time to do so.  The app will help you locate and identify birds that you might not have realized are present.

The app will identify their call display a photo of each bird heard.

       If you think you might be interested in taking part in this enjoyable event, go to the Great Backyard Bird Count website.  The site will provide all of the information need to get started, including a checklist of the birds you are most likely to see in your area.

       Does all seem too good to be true? It almost is.

BACKYARD SECRET – REDWINGS DO THE DOUBLE-SCRATCH

Feb5

       This past week a couple of small flocks of red-winged blackbirds made an appearance at my bird feeding area for the first time this winter.  The birds ignored my seed and suet feeders and fed on the ground.  This provided me with an excellent opportunity to witness them perform the double-scratch.

       This is not a dance step; far from it, it is instead a fascinating foraging behavior. Ornithologists tell us that redwings, sparrows and some other birds use this maneuver to uncover hidden food.

FEMALE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD

  As I watched the birds from my office window, I saw several of the redwings rapidly hop forward and back…twice.  Ornithologists say that birds exhibiting this behavior use their toes to latch onto plant litter and pull it aside to expose any hidden insects or seeds. 

       If you are lucky enough to see birds demonstrating the double-scratch in your backyard, you will know that they are not dancing but simply trying to locate food.

BACKYARD SECRET – HOW TO GET CLOSE TO A BROWN CREEPER

Feb1

        For most of us, seeing a brown creeper is big deal.  In more cases than not, whenever one of these odd, curved-billed birds makes an appearance, we don’t have a camera or pair of binoculars handy and it is far enough away that we cannot tell much about it. Invariably, when this happens before you can get close enough to study it the bird flies away. 

       Here is strategy you might want to employ the next time see a brown creeper hunting for food on one of the trees growing in your backyard.  I will not guarantee it will work every time. However, if it works even once, it will be worth it.

       Once you have spotted the elusive bird, move slowly and position yourself directly behind it.  Once you feel you are in the right position, slowly move toward the bird. As you make your approach, do not to make any sounds or rapid arm or let movements.is because the brown creeper’s eyes are located very close to one another.  While this helps the bird locate food located in front of its head, it greatly reduces its peripheral vision.  However, it reduces the bird’s ability to see anything approaching from behind.

       Meanwhile, while you are waiting for the opportunity to try this technique, keep a feeder stocked with suet.  Occasionally this insectivorous bird will dine on suet offered in feeders.

      

TENNESSEE WARBLER VISITS FEEDER

Jan29

        Some birds rarely, if ever, visit our bird feeders. Years can pass by between sightings of such a bird at a Georgia feeder.  However, recently a prothonotary warbler began feeding at a Sumter County feeder. If that is not enough, a Tennessee warbler is now dining at a feeder in Middle Georgia.

       The Tennessee warbler nests throughout Canada’s boreal forests. It then spends the winter from southern Mexico south through Central America to northern South America.  Typically, we only see Tennessee warblers when they migrate south (August –November) and when they fly back to their breeding grounds (April-May).  On a few occasions, the birds have been seen Georgia until the middle of February.

       The habitats occupied by the birds in winter are open woodlands and coffee plantations.  In fact, they are often the birds most commonly seen in coffee plantations.  For this reason, some refer to the Tennessee warbler as the coffee warbler.

       Tennessee warblers feed primarily on critters such as caterpillars, beetles, aphids, spiders and beetles.   However, on migration and during the winter, the birds will eat nectar and fruit.

       During the winter Tennessee warblers often visit platform feeders stocked with plantains and bananas.  However, it is almost unheard of to hear of one visiting a feeder outside of their winter home.

       If you have seen a Tennessee warbler in your backyard, you probably saw it foraging for insects or visiting a birdbath.

       The Middle Georgia bird is regularly feasting on a peanut butter/oatmeal mixture.  It will be interesting to see how long the bird continues to reside in its unusual winter home and whether it will vary its diet.

       In the meantime, we all need to keep our eyes peeled for the appearance of a rare winter visitor making an appearance where it is least expected.  If it does, it may be in your backyard.

      

      

BACKYARD SECRET – YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS LOTS OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF SAP

Jan25

       One of the most common trees found in Georgia backyards is the pecan.  We Georgians do indeed love our pecans.  If you have a pecan tree growing in your yard, it is likely that its bark is tattooed with rows of sapsucker holes. Consequently, it is easy to believe that yellow-bellied sapsuckers dig sap wells primarily in pecan trees.  However, that is not the case. 

       The truth of the matter is that yellow-bellied sapsuckers feed on the sugary sap that collects in sap wells chiseled in more than 1,000 trees and woody vines.  This list includes the likes of hickories, birches, maples, fruit trees, conifers, and many, many others.

 

PROTHONOTARY WARBLER AT A FEEDER

Jan22

       I know that you have heard the old adage, expect the Unexpected.  I long time ago I realized that this is especially true when it comes to birds.  Recently a birder residing in Americus (Sumter County) also learned this statement is true.  One morning this winter when he looked out his window, he was amazed to see a prothonotary warbler feeding at one of his feeders.  I am sure he could not believe his eyes!

       The prothonotary warbler breeds throughout the state, with the exception of northeast Georgia, however, most nest in the Coastal Plain.  Within this breeding range, it prefers to live close to water.  As such, it nests in swamps, and along the shorelines of rivers and lakes.

       It is Georgia’s only warbler that nests in cavities.  Incidentally, it sometimes builds its nest in nesting boxes erected in backyards located near water. 

       Typically, prothonotary warblers arrive in March and April and leave the Peach State in late summer to winter in the mangrove swamps of found from Central America southward on northern Brazil.

       During the nesting season, prothonotary warblers dine mainly on insects, spiders and the like.  We know comparatively little about the bird’s winter diet.  However, some biologists suggest that this fantastically beautiful warbler possibly supplements its diet with nectar, seeds, and fruit.

       The bird that miraculously appeared at a Sumter County feeder eats safflower seeds offered in a platform feeder.  The bird’s host believes that the fact that his yard is located close to a swamp may have something to do with it selecting to feed in his yard.

       This is an extremely rare occurrence.  I have searched the many volumes in my library that deal with birds, as well as the Internet and found no mention of a prothonotary warbler dining on seeds at a feeder during the winter.  However, I am certain it must have occurred before.

       One of the takeaways from this experience is, because this rare sighting was reported, we now know a little more about this amazing migrant.  Please keep that in mind when you see a rare bird, or observe a bird’s behavior you have never witnessed, report it.  There is always a possibility that you too will add to our understanding of the wild creatures with whom we share the world.  If you do not, as far as the scientific world is concerned, it never happened.

BACKYARD SECRET – THE BLACK WALNUT TREE IS VALUABLE TO WILDLIFE

Jan18

       I suspect that most of the folks that have a black walnut tree growing in their yards enjoy the tasty nuts the trees bears, its yellow fall foliage, and attractive shape. However, whenever I tell folks that their black walnut tree is also valuable to wildlife, they are pleasantly surprised.

       The tree serves as a host the banded hairstreak butterfly and more than 100 moths including the luna, royal and imperial.

       A number of small mammals eat the nuts including the eastern chipmunk and both gray and fox squirrels.  In fact, black walnuts can comprise up to 10 percent of the fox squirrel’s diet.

       Whenever black walnuts are cracked open by mammals, or crushed by vehicles in driveways or highways, many birds eat the highly nutritious meat.  In fact, black walnut meat is ranked as a choice food for the eastern towhee, cardinal, white-throated sparrow, brown-headed nuthatch, Carolina chickadee, tufted titmouse, blue jay, and woodpeckers (hairy, red-bellied and downy).

COLUMBINE IS A GREAT ADDITION TO YOUR HUMMINGBIRD GARDEN

Jan15

       Although spring is still weeks away, it is not too early to begin thinking about what you are going to plant in your hummingbird gardens.  My wife and I are already making decisions as to what we are going to be adding to our gardens. If you are doing the same, I would like to suggest you consider planting eastern columbine (Aquilegia Canadensis). 

       It is a native woodland plant here in the Peach State that also grows in full sun.  There are a number of species of columbines that grow in the western United States; however, the eastern columbine is the only one native to Georgia. 

       One thing that I like about this plant is its blossoms.  As you can readily see from the accompanying photo, the red and yellow blooms are unlike any of our other wildflowers.

       While both sweat bees and bumblebees visit the flowers, the plant’s main pollinator is the ruby-throated hummingbird.

       Interestingly the blossoms of this red columbine contain almost twice and much nectar as columbines sporting blossoms with other colors.

       If you are looking for a native hummingbird nectar plant that is beautiful, unique, and a great source of food for one of your favorite birds, plant a patch of eastern columbines.

RESPONSES TO SAPSUCKERS EATING SEEDS BLOG

Jan11

        Bloggers have responded to the blog regarding a yellow-bellied sapsucker eating sunflower seeds.  It seems some folks are enjoying success attracting yellow-bellied sapsuckers to their feeders.  With that in mind, I thought that you would like to know what they have to say.

       Nudicale says, “They regularly see yellow bellies feed on manufactured suet. We also have seen them feed on scrub oak logs in which they feed on a peanut butter and oatmeal mixture placed in holes drilled into the logs.”

       Pat Kinser wrote to say that she and her husband watched a male yellow-bellied sapsucker dine on a Brome Nut Feeder eating Clinger’s Charms, a great no waste nut mixture.

       Igrid Sanders responded to the blog by saying, “A yellow-bellied sapsucker has been visiting one of our feeders for the past few days.  This is the first time I’ve seen a sapsucker visiting.  It comes often, stays for several minutes at a time, and appears to be eating black sunflower seeds, though I have seen it well enough to be sure.  It feeds on a woodpecker block of mixed seeds that are largely black sunflower seeds, but there are others and maybe fruits.”

       An unnamed blogger added the only thing that he/she has seen eat around their home is grape jelly.

       I hope you will benefit from these reports; I know that I have.