Early Visitors

With all of the snow, the birds have been hot and heavy at the feeders. I have an occasional red-winged blackbird visit the feeders, but we're talking once or twice a winter, not on a regular basis, probably because there is usually plenty of natural food available. Yesterday, I  had dozens of them because the natural food was covered in a foot of snow and it was darned cold. 

This morning I got up and had at least 200 red-winged blackbirds converged on the area where I ground feed. Mingled in among them were two yellow-headed blackbirds. I caught a quick picture with my cell phone through the blinds (and a dirty window). If you look between the slats on the deck, right in the center, you can see two yellow heads. I didn't see any females, but there were so many blackbirds for such a short period of time, I didn't have the chance to look for them. We have a pair of Cooper's hawks in the neighborhood, so the birds are constantly startling.

Usually, I don't see yellow-headed blackbirds until around April. I couldn't recall ever seeing any this early in the year, so I checked eBird. According to eBird, there is not a record of one in Wichita County before 15 March. Good thing I got a photo, poor quality though it might be.

Just goes to show, birds don't read the field guides. Keep an eye on your feeders for unusual birds. You never know what you might see.

Good birding!

Winter Lockdown

Photo by Amanda Frank on Unsplash

It has been cold, really cold, here in Wichita Falls, and in much of the country. We are not expected to see temperatures above freezing for a week. We are also expecting a lot of snow, although there has been only a smattering of that so far. I am planning on staying in the house for the duration. Fortunately, I have an office at the house, so I can do that.

The picture to the left is not Wichita Falls and is not our Carolina Chickadee (it's a black-capped chickadee), but looks a little like our environment right now. How can such a tiny little bird, weighing only a few ounces, survive these cold temperatures?

I saw a post yesterday on Facebook where someone was asking what they could do to provide a way for the birds to keep warm. Birds are phenomenally well adapted to surviving in the cold. But there are things we can do to help. 

First, shelter. It isn't necessary to put up houses. Instead, think habitat. Trees, shrubs, vines, and grasses. These provide a windbreak and when covered with snow, can be relatively snug. Brush piles are also well-loved by small birds. With the exception of the brush piles, if you haven't already put the plants in place, you can't do much about habitat now, but you can put in some plants when we thaw out.

Extra food, especially food high in fat, is important for birds to be able to keep their body temperatures up. It takes a lot of energy to produce heat. I am going out multiple times a day to ensure there is plenty of food for all. 

Water is also important and hard for birds to find when water is frozen. Either add fresh water to the birdbath every little bit when it freezes or invest in a bubbler or heater for your birdbath.

Birds don't really need our help in the winter, but it does make us feel better to do something. Birds have some very interesting adaptations to help them survive the cold. Like what?

In the cold, birds look bigger. They fluff up their feathers. This traps air between the feathers to provide insulation between the surrounding air and their bodies. Some birds add additional feathers in their fall molt to add even more insulation. And birds add oil to their feathers as they preen.

The scales on bird legs are an adaptation that helps minimize heat loss. Birds can also control the amount of blood circulating in their legs and feet, reducing heat loss that way.

Some birds also have the ability to reduce their body temperatures in order to need less fuel. Hummingbirds do this. They have an extraordinary energy requirement, even compared to other birds. They can drop their body temperature from a normal 104 degrees F to as low as 38 degrees. Swifts and poorwills also do this.

Birds also share body heat by roosting together. Smaller birds will sometimes form piles in sheltered areas. I can remember seeing a small flock of Inca doves huddled up together in a small sheltered spot a few winters ago when we had a snowstorm.

Birds can lay down a lot of body fat in a short period of time and they will eat as much as they can in order to do so. Birds do this in the fall before migration and before winter because both require a lot of energy.

For now, keep the food out and water in the birdbath. Create a brush pile or some sort of windbreak. Plant native plants (bonus points if they provide food as well) before next winter comes.

Our birds have what it takes to survive the cold without us, but all of us can use help now and again. 

Good birding!

Scouts on the Way!

 

Purple Martin scouts are on the way. Generally, they arrive in mid-February in our area, searching for suitable nesting sites. Historically, purple martins nested in tree cavities, as do many birds. However, now they rely upon purple martin houses. If you have a martin house or plan to put up a martin house, now is the time to get serious about preparing for the incoming house hunters, as we tend to get scouts around Valentine's Day. I would think they would stay south another week, considering the cold front heading our way, but that's not always how it works out. You can track scout reports at the Purple Martin Conservation Association Scout Arrival Study page. You can see scouts have been reported very close to us already. The closest I see is Clyde, TX on 2 February.

If you have a martin house, it is time to clean it out to eliminate last year's parasites. A good scrub with soap and water is fine. Please do not spray insecticides in the nesting compartments. Then keep the house sparrows and the starlings out of the houses. You'll have to just pull out nesting materials as the birds attempt to build nests. Once the purple martins move in, a few sparrows or starlings are not as big a deal. But if the starlings and sparrows use up all the space, then no martins.

If you put up a new house, again, keep it cleaned out of unwanted neighbors until the martins find the house. You may or may not get martin guests the first year. Be sure the area has some open space for the birds to hunt insects.

Purple martins have a reputation for eating mosquitoes. This is largely a myth. If you want a good mosquito control, put up a bat house. Purple Martins catch some mosquitoes, but if you think about when and how purple martins hunt compared to mosquito activity, you can see why mosquitoes don't make up a large percentage of their diet. They eat many more dragonflies and spiders, although any flying insect works.

Purple martins are not quiet birds. They have a odd, robotic type chatter as they fly around, scooping up insects.

Obviously, if  you are going to try to attract martins, you need to be sure NOT to spray a bunch of insecticides in your yard. Low numbers of insects spell starvation for the young (and possibly the parents as well) and poisoned insects lead to poisoned birds.

With just a little bit of work, you too can enjoy these beautiful, active birds on your property.

Good birding!

Great Backyard Bird Count

 The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is 12 - 15 February 2021. The count is an annual event, sponsored by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Audubon Society, and Birds Canada. I have taken part for several years. The GBBC was launched in 1998 as a citizen science project to capture a snapshot of bird populations.

I block the mornings of these days out well in advance. I usually spend about two hours each of the mornings birding in the local parks and then some time later updating eBird with my findings. However, you can use any period of 15 minutes or more and your yard is fine, so anyone can participate. Last year, over a quarter million people around the world took part, documenting just over 6,900 species of birds.

This is a great activity to do with the kids. Since you're not required to devote a lot of time, if the kids (or your non-birding significant other) get bored, you have still contributed to our knowledge of birds.

The next Lake Arrowhead State Park bird walk occurs during the GBBC, so if you want to go with a group, plan to attend the bird walk on that date. February 13, 8:00 AM. COVID-19 safety requirements will still be in place. Currently, the requirements include no group larger than 10, social distancing, masks, and no sharing of binoculars or field guides. Those requirements may change, so check with the park the day before.

I usually publish the dates I plan to go to the various parks in case someone wants to go with me, but due to COVID-19, I am not doing that this year. However, if you would like to go, you can email me at txbirds@gmail.com--all of the COVID-19 safety requirements will be in effect, however. I plan to bird 8:00 - 10:00 each day, longer on the days I do the Wichita Bluff Nature Park segment and a portion of the Wichita Valley Rail Trail, due to the length of the trail. If I'm having a good day, I sometimes add short stops (15 - 30 minutes) at some local hot spots.

Plan to take part. If you are not already signed up with eBird, you will need to set up an account and become familiar with at least the basics to update your count information.

Good birding!

My Best Birding Buddy

This is Amelia, my granddaughter, and my best birding buddy.  We went to Lake Arrowhead State Park for the monthly bird walk on Saturday, January 9. As you can see, it was a chilly morning, which meant she and I were the only participants that morning. I don't know what it is about Texans, but if the temperature is in the 30's or less, it is very unusual for anyone else to show. The same if it rains. This was unfortunate that Saturday as it was a bright, sunshiny morning with no wind. There was a heavy frost. 

Amelia loves going birdwatching with me, although she is interested in a lot more than birds. She was fascinated with the frost patterns on everything (she is holding some dead leaves she was showing me the lacy frost on) and had a lot of fun breaking off small sheets of ice along the edge of the lake.

We spent about an hour and a half at the park and found 31 species--a good morning. As we were leaving, I stopped at the park headquarters to renew my park pass. The ranger asked Amelia what bird she saw that morning was her favorite. I expected her to say the American Coot because she talked about them a lot while we were walking. But she said the Great Blue Heron. We only saw it for a few seconds before it flew off. But it is an impressive bird. Personally, my best bird of the morning was a Golden-fronted Woodpecker.

Here is a list of the birds seen that morning:

Canada goose, American coot, Green-winged teal, Gadwall, Pied-billed grebe, White pelican, Great blue heron, Greater yellowlegs, Killdeer, Wilson's snipe, Ring-billed gull, Red-tailed hawk, Northern harrier,  Great horned owl, Morning dove, Eurasian collared dove, Golden-fronted woodpecker, Ladder-backed woodpecker, Northern cardinal, Northern mockingbird, Carolina chickadee, Carolina wren, Fox sparrow, White-crowned sparrow, Harris's sparrow, American pipit, American goldfinch, European starling, Meadowlark, Dark-eyed junco, and Red-winged blackbird. We also saw several peeps, but I wasn't able to get a good enough look to identify whether they were western or semipalmated.

Overall, a very good morning. The next bird walk is Saturday, February 13, 2021. This happens to be one of the days for the Great Backyard Bird Count (see an upcoming post). We meet at 8:00 AM at the dump station. The route is a very easy walk of about 1 mile total. There are several COVID-19 safety requirements (which could change, depending upon the circumstances at the time). Group size must be less than 10 (that's not generally a problem). Masks and social distancing are required. Field guides and binoculars cannot be shared. Come on out! 

Good birding!

Starting the New Year Right!

I don't know about you, but I allowed COVID to disrupt my life way too much last year. In some ways, life went on as normal. I am not the most social person in the first place, so staying home more wasn't that difficult. However, I allowed the pandemic to interfere with birding and with sharing the joy of birds with others. And that's a shame. So, I've decided that this year, in 2021, I am going to get back to birdwatching and sharing that with those of you who may still be catching this blog. On the other hand, I have talked to a few people who were not into watching birds who called me at some point during the year to tell me they were very much enjoying watching the birds in their yard during increased time at home. So, perhaps we have some new converts.

Happy New Year! We had some snow last night. As you can see in the pictures, it wasn't a lot and it will all melt today, as our temperatures are supposed to get into the 40's. It's pretty though so I am enjoying it. The other good thing about cold weather and snow is that it brings more birds to the feeders.

I have been working gradually on improving my small yard for birds and pollinators. My neighbors aren't helpful--they all have pretty barren yards. However, my efforts have started paying off. A couple of months ago, I had my very first Carolina Chickadee in my yard. This morning, I started the new year off with a bang--I saw a Spotted Towhee in my yard for the first time, searching in the leaves that my neighbors hate that I refuse to rake. I wasn't able to get a picture before she left, but it was a nice start to the day. Neither of these birds is uncommon in our area, but they haven't visited my yard in the 9 years I have lived here. Progress!

This is a great time of year to plant some perennials in your yard to attract and feed the birds and pollinators in 2021 and for years after.

Good birding!