If you have ever watched eastern meadowlarks or grasshopper sparrows singing from atop a fencepost, their bills will be wide open. However, if you take the time to watch a male eastern bluebird singing from a branch in your backyard, its beak will seem to be completely closed. The truth the matter is, if you are able to view the bird through a pair of binoculars or spotting scope you will learn that its bill is actually barely open. I think that is truly an amazing feat!
Some ten percent of all species of birds hybridize. Two of the birds that hybridize with one another are the white-throated sparrow and dark-eyed junco.
Among the places where white-throated sparrow/dark-eyed juncos hybrids are known to occur are Canada, New York, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Arkansas, and Georgia.
Since both species are routinely seen throughout most Georgia during the winter, it is possible that one or more of these rare birds has visited your yard.
As you might expect, hybrids will display traits of both species. Although, the plumage of these birds is highly variable, many have pink bills, brown wings, and gray coloration on their breasts and heads. Their songs are known to exhibit bits and pieces of the songs sung by each species.
Antidotal evidence suggests these unlikely hybrids are more often seen in the company of sparrows than juncos.
If you pay close attention to the sparrows visiting your feeders this year, you just might spot one of these unusual birds. If you do observe a sparrow that you feel might be a hybrid, take a picture of it, and let me know. Who knows? There may be more of these odd birds flying about than we realize.
Recently I wrote about the how birds are attracted to American beautyberry. In response to this blog, one of our fellow bloggers, Elizabeth Neace, was kind enough let us know this beautiful native shrub can easily be rooted using cuttings. This is great news for anyone wanting to incorporate this native into his or her landscape.
I want to thank Elizabeth for sharing her backyard secret with us. I am sure many folks will benefit from this valuable tip.
Pokeberries are widely recognized as being a super food plant for birds. Scores of birds including the likes of bluebirds, cardinals, tanagers, brown thrashers, hermit thrushes, quail, catbirds, and scores of others consume the plant’s large, juicy, purplish-black berries. However, it is not common knowledge that birds can become intoxicated from eating the berries.
This situation is most common late in the year when they eat pokeberries that have become fermented. While fermented pokeberry juice will not kill them, it can definitely leave them addled enough to become susceptible to predators such as hawks and the family cat.
I must admit that, although each year the pokeberries growing in my yards are laden with berries, I have never seen a bird get drunk eating them. Perhaps the reason for this is my wildlife neighbors gobble them up long before they have a chance to become fermented.
The chimney swift eats a large variety of insects and other invertebrates. Its diet includes the likes of ants, caddisflies, bees, wasps, and beetles. Some of the more unusual critters regularly consumed by what some folks call “flying cigars” are fleas, airborne spiders, termites, and even fire ants.
It has been estimated that a pair of chimney swifts feeding three nestlings captures the equivalent of 5000 to 6000 fly-sized invertebrates per day.
Purple martins are known to eat at least 79 species of insects including dragonflies, flies, bees, moths, and butterflies. However, I would be willing to guess you did not know they also dine on fire ants.
It seems purple martins target mating male and queen fire ants. One group of researchers studying the feeding habits of purple martins found fire ants were captured during 32 percent of the birds foraging trips. The ants accounted for 31 percent of the insects taken. In addition, fire ants comprised 27 percent of the biomass consumed by the birds and their young.
Based on these data, the scientists estimated purple martins consume some 1.7 billion fire ants annually across the United States.
The barn swallow nests throughout the entire state. More often than not their mud nests are attached to some manmade structure such as a bridge, barn, or even on the side of a house. Aside from the fact that some folks don’t like the mess nesting barmy swallows leave behind after they have nested on the underside of a front porch, they are considered welcomed neighbors. In fact, some consider it good luck to have a barn swallow nest on the side of their house or barn.
BARN SWALLOW NEST
When you delve into the nesting behavior of this popular bird a dark secret emerges. It seems that, from time to time, unmated male barn swallows will actually kill the young of a nesting pair. Right about now you might be wondering why such an act occurs. The answer is biologists believe unmated males commit this deed in an effort to mate with the mother of the young whose lives he has taken.
Who would have ever imagined such a thing might take place in their backyard?
The whip-poor-will’s ability to snatch large flying insects such as moths and beetles from the air with its extremely large mouth is legendary. However, it is a lesser-known fact that this accomplished aerial predator will also dine on food captured on the ground. Among the delicacies eaten by the birds while standing on the ground are worms, ants and a variety of other invertebrates.
Experts estimate the breeding population of the ruby-throated hummingbird is roughly 20 million birds. It is interesting to note that at least 16.8 million of these birds spend a portion of the year in the United States. The population of rubythroats that nest in the Southeast increased one percent per year from 1966-2005. Currently the ruby-throated hummingbird population in Georgia is considered to be stable. This is great news for the millions of folks that enjoy watching these amazing birds.
I recently stumbled across a sobering statistic. It seems that, if we are a typical homeowner living in the eastern United States, 90 percent of the landscape around our home is lawn.
Most wildlife enthusiasts would find this figure depressing. However, if you view this green carpet as a giant pallet, think of all of the ways you can transform this sea of grass into a wildlife haven, you cannot help but be excited about all of the possibilities it provides.
There is no better time to begin the transformation than right now!
