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AN EASY WAY TO PROVIDE BIRDS WITH NESTING MATERIAL
Some backyard birds incorporate hair in their nests. In fact, my wife and daughter watched a tufted titmouse pluck hair from one of our sleeping bird dogs. This is a form of kleptotrichy.
If you want to do something to help your feathered neighbors other than provide them with food, water and cover, try offering them nesting material.
Recently my wife and I packed hair my wife trimmed from out little housedog into a wire suet feeder. They next day after we hung the wire feeder up in your backyard, the hair began disappearing. Since we have not caught any bird in the act of plucking hair from the feeder, we have are not sure what birds are using it. Perhaps it is a tufted titmouse, who knows?
If you do try offering your backyard birds hair trimmed from your family dog, make sure that it is free of flea and tick control chemicals and shampoos.
BACKYARD SECRET – FEMALE RUBYTHROATS ARE NOW IN GEORGIA
My wife and I live in Monroe County just north of the Fall Line. Each year we anxiously await the arrival of hummingbirds that have spent the winter south of the border. This year the first male was seen in Monroe County March 7, however, most folks did not see one until March 16-19.
Female rubythroats are always seen days after the males arrive. This past week the first females were reported here. My wife and I, however, have not seen one yet.
With that in mind, both males and females are obviously flying about the southern half of the state. Chances are, if you live north of Monroe County, there is a good chance you have already seen a male ruby-throated hummingbird at your feeder, although those of you that live in the northern portion of the state may not have seen a hummingbird yet.
If you have already seed a male, be on the lookout for your first female hummer. Since I have no knowledge of the arrival dates for those of you that live in North Georgia, I would appreciate it if you let me know what the arrival dates of both males and females in your neck of the woods.
SINGING BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER ADD TO THE PLEASURE OF MORNING WALKS
I try to walk around my large backyard every morning. The walks provide me with a chance to get some exercise while keeping abreast of the plants and animals that inhabit my backyard. For the past few weeks, the singing of up to three black-and-white warblers gave made these treks extra special.
The black-and-white warbler’s distinctive black and white striped plumage make it easy to identify. Most folks, however, are not familiar with its song. Some say the high-pitched call sounds much like a squeaky wheel—it goes something like this weesy-weesy-weesy-weesy.
If you cannot identify this song, all you have to do to familiarize yourself with it is pull up the Merlin bird identification app on your cellphone. There you find more than half a dozen examples of this unusual call. Then the next time you hear it you will know the name of the feathered songster singing it.
Lately I have heard up to three calling in my backyard at the same time. When I hear them accompanied by song calls of ruby-crowned kinglets, white-throated and chipping sparrows, pileated woodpeckers, Carolina wrens, tufted titmice, Carolina chickadees and others, I am reluctant to go back inside for a cup of coffee.
Many of us o
nly hear or see black-and-white warblers on migration during their spring and fall migrations, some actually nest in Georgia. Most of these birds breed in the northern half of the state, however, from time to time, some nest below the Fall Line.
The vast majority of these migrants spend the winter far south of Georgia. It is interesting to note that some winter in the Peach State. One place where I often see black-and-white warblers in winter is Georgia is Veterans State Park near Cordele.
I am hoping that birds I have been listening to decide to spend the summer in my backyard. Probably this will not happen. In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy there serenades as long as I can,
Perhaps black-and-white warblers are singing in your backyard right now. All it takes to see if that is the case, step outside your backdoor and listen. You may be pleasantly surprised.
BACKYARD SECRET – BUTTERFLIES ARE SOMETIMES SMALLER IN THE SPRING
Recently my wife and I were walking about our backyard on a recent March after noon we noticed that one of our native azaleas was in full bloom. When we stopped to admire the beautiful blossoms displayed by the large native azalea, an eastern tiger swallowtail flew in and began nectaring at the shrub’s stunning blooms. As we watched the butterfly feed, we both noticed that it was much smaller than the tigers we normally encounter. This begged the question, “Why is this individual so small?”
One possible reason for this is eastern tiger swallowtails overwinter as pupae in a chrysalis. If a butterfly emerges earlier than normal due to unseasonably warm weather, it may be smaller because it pupated before reaching its normal size.
BACKYARD SECRET – BLUE-GRAY GNATCATERS ARE NOT FEEDER BIRDS
Regardless how hard we try, we cannot entice all of the birds that visit our yards to dine at our bird feeders. One such bird is the blue-gray gnatcatcher.
This past week my wife spotted a blue-gray gnatcatcher feeding among the green leaves of a coral honeysuckle that grows beside our driveway. Today, while walking to the mailbox I spotted a blue-gray gnatcatcher in the same place. The bird did not flush until I was about 10 feet away.
BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER
This provided with a great view of the bird’s clean blue-gray plumage that almost seemed to shine in the morning sunlight as it flew to the bare branches of a nearby tree. Once there, it did not remain motionless for long before it began flitting about in search in spiders and small insects.
Since these birds do not visit feeders, if you want to attract them to your yard, you must offer the feathered sprites native trees and shrubs where they will be able to forage on caterpillars, spider and tiny insects.
CAN COLD WEATHER HARM BLUEBIRD NESTLINGS?
Recently a bluebird landlord told me that when he recently checked his bluebird nesting boxes, he found three dead bluebird hatchlings. Since there were no apparent clues that revealed the cause of their deaths, he wanted to know that since the birds he found the young birds during a stretch of unseasonable cold weather, could the frigid temperatures inside the box could be responsible for the birds’ untimely deaths. He also wanted to know if plugging the ventilation holes found on each box would help preventing this from happening again.
The answer to both questions is yes; extremely cold weather can cause the death of bluebird hatchlings. In Georgia, bluebirds typically begin nesting in late February and early March. This means that bluebirds are nesting in the latter stages of winter. As such, there is a good chance that we will experience cold weather before spring arrives on March 20. For example, just two nights ago, after a weekend when temperatures soared to 80ºF, the temperature dropped to 22ºF.
The North American Bluebird Society recommends that temporarily plugging ventilation holes during both cold and wet weather can benefit the hatchlings.
Keep in mind, that the ventilation holes are designed to prevent overheating. As such, once there is little chance that exceptionally cold weather will return, uncover the ventilation holes.
THE 5-7-9 RULE DOESN’T WORK FOR BLOGGER
In my last blog for 2025, I wrote about the 5-7-9 rule. These recommendations relate to the ideal location for a bird feeder. The rule simply states that feeders should placed 5 feet off the ground, 7 feet away from structures such as fences, shrubs and trees, and in a spot 9 feet below an overhanging limb. In the posting, I asked for feedback from anyone that has erected a feeder following these parameters.
To date, only one individual has been kind enough to share his experiences. Here is what John Kelly says about what happened when he place a feeder in his yard following the rule, “I have a feeder that met all of those criteria, but squirrels didn’t have any problem dropping 10 feet from an overhanging limb and landing on the feeder. They could easily grab onto the rough wood top. So, I covered the top with smooth metal, painted it with slippery paint, and waxed it. It was hilarious to watch them hit the top and slide right off.”
I want to thank John for sharing his experiences with us. If you have experimented with placing feeder in your yard using the 5-7-9 rule, please share your findings with us.
BACKYARD SECRET – GLYCERIN SHOULD NOT BE ADDED TO BIRDBATH WATER TO KEEP IT FROM FREEEZING
Over the years, people have tried a number of ways to keep the water in birdbaths from freezing. One the such technique is to use glycerin as an antifreeze; this practice should be avoided. If a bird drinks water treated with glycerin, the chemical can raise the amount of blood sugar in its body to dangerous levels. In addition, glycerin can mat the birds’ feathers together. This can be harmful as the matting can adversely reduce a bird’s feathers ability to insulate its body against the cold.
NORTHERN FLICKER ROOSTING SITES
It is very difficult to attract northern flickers to Georgia backyards; however, it can be done. One of the best ways is provide roost sites for these large birds. For example, leave dead trees in which large holes have been excavated or enlarged by squirrels and cavity nesting birds.
Flickers also roost in barred owl nest boxes. If you see a flicker enter an owl-nesting box, do not be discouraged if it 
does not return the next evening. It seems that male northern flickers tend to roost in different location each night. These roosting sites are usually located within a half-mile square area. If roosting cavities are scarce in your neighborhood, the bird may return sooner than later.
Friends of mine find flickers roosting in wood duck boxes during the winter. They have noted that flickers tend to enter the boxes earlier in the afternoon than do the other birds that also roost in boxes. The flickers that show up at their wood duck boxes often arrive well before the sun drops below the horizon.
Northern flickers will also roost in variety of odd locations such as under bridges. They will also use our homes as roosting sites. For example, they will sometimes roost on the sides and eaves of buildings, and even inside chimneys.
If you have seen northern flickers in your, I would love to hear about it.