Feast or Famine

Chat Trail

The objective of birding is to see birds, but some days you have better luck than others. You can bird an area one day and see birds everywhere and the next, you get skunked. On Saturday, the 6th, I went out to the chat trail in Lake Wichita Park. As a rule, the chat trail is one of the best locations to see a variety of birds in Wichita Falls.  Not on Saturday. Winter is close and as you can see, there are few leaves on the trees. However, I didn't see much when I was there, partly because I went later than usual (11 AM - Noon). In the hour I was walking the trail, I saw: mallard ducks, Canada geese, rock pigeons, a red-tailed hawk, a northern flicker, northern cardinals, a blue jay, a house finch, a Lincoln's sparrow, white-crowned sparrows, and Harris's sparrows. Not the longest list, but I was happy with the exceptionally good look at the Lincoln's sparrow.

Circle Trail in Lucy Park

The next day, I decided to try Lucy Park. This used to be my favorite place to bird before the city tried to control flooding by denuding the park several years ago. I won't say I don't see some good birds on occasion, but it is no comparison to what it used to be. The loss of almost all of the understory and many of the older trees greatly impacted the bird habitat. But it is worth a walk now and again. The best areas now are the 3rd Street entrance to the falls and the fence line between the park and River Bend Nature Center. I turned in the other direction, toward the log cabin. Again, I was there later than my usual time (10:40 - 11:40) and saw just a few birds: a northern cardinal, a couple of blue jays, some Carolina chickadees, robins, dark-eyed juncos, a great-tailed grackle (yes, just one) and a solitary cedar waxwing. Initially, when I saw the waxwing in the cedar tree, I thought it was a titmouse, but once I got my binoculars on it, it was definitely a waxwing. I listened and looked around for more, but didn't see or hear any.

Standing water in the barrow pit

I skipped Monday, as it was raining (hurray!), but walked the chat trail again Tuesday. Work sucked up my morning, so since I didn't get to the park until around 3 PM, I decided just to walk and if I saw any birds, great. Since I decided to try the Conqueror Challenge for 2024 (365 miles), I focused on walking, but did see some incidental birds. And with the decent rain on Monday, there was a pool of water in the barrow pit--I haven't seen any standing water in there for months. Proof is in the picture to the left. A northern harrier was hawking around the pit, looking for a snack. There was a group of northern flickers hanging around also--both yellow-shafted and red-shafted. Besides those birds, there were several Eurasian collared doves, some white-winged doves, some robins and a cardinal. 

All-in-all, this week has been a bird famine, but it's still better than working.

Good birding!
 

ABA's Bird of the Year

By Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren - Golden-winged Warbler, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63976506

The American Birding Association (ABA) names a Bird of the Year every January. This year's bird is the Golden-winged Warbler. A pretty bird, although not one that hangs out in our area. But that's ok. The bird does range through much of the eastern part of the country, to include Sabine Woods, a Texas Ornithological Society sanctuary in east Texas. 

I bring this up to highlight the ABA. I am a member because they do a lot of bird conservation. The magazine is beautiful and interesting, although it tends to be more technical than many other birding magazines. ABA also has an interesting bird podcast. I try not to read the book reviews--I would have to get another job to support my bird book habit. And more shelf space.

Warblers are challenging birds to identify, mostly because they are constantly on the move. I have a hard enough time catching a glimpse of them, let alone identify or take a picture of one. I used to go birding with a lady named Dorothy when I lived in Virginia. She could see a warbler for a second and tell  you what it was, but she had spent decades banding birds and had written a book about warblers, so there was a good reason for that. We were out one day and I asked her the identity of a duck out on the lake. She said, "It's a duck." She said she hadn't spent much time working on her identification skills with ducks, so she had a difficult time identifying them. I can honestly say, I do reasonably well with ducks, but other than a few very distinctive species, warblers stump me much of the time. But I enjoy watching them anyway.

Good birding!

It's Project Feederwatch Time!

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has several citizen science projects. Project Feederwatch is one of them. I have been participating for 26 years. It doesn't cost much to take part, it doesn't require a lot of time, and anyone can take part, regardless of mobility. It's a fun activity to do with kids as well.

Loki's "Time to feed the birds" stare

My dogs, Loki and Sirius, love to feed the birds. I'd say it's their favorite activity outside of breakfast and dinner. I usually go out to feed the birds after breakfast. If I don't, the boys will stare at me. If that doesn't work they will start nudging me or climbing up in my lap to remind me the birds are starving.

They could care less about the birds eating. They love eating the bird seed themselves. Since I ground feed as well as put food in the feeders, they graze on the food on the ground. I try to scatter it all over the yard so they don't eat it all. I don't buy cheap bird food.

The boys grazing on bird food

Last year, I carried a 20-lb bag of black oil sunflower seed out back to put in the bin and discovered I didn't have my scissors to open it, so I set the bag on the deck to go back in the house to get them. Once I got in the kitchen to get my scissors, I got distracted (the story of my life), so it was a good half hour before I remembered I still needed to put the food in the bin. When I went out, one of the dogs (probably Loki) had ripped open the bag and eaten a couple of cups of sunflower seed. Fortunately, sunflower seeds are not bad for dogs (although Loki is part goat and eats anything he can get into his mouth).

Project Feederwatch runs November through April. Although it is underway for this year, it isn't too late to sign up. You still have some months to enjoy the birds in your yard and contribute to our knowledge of birds.

Good birding!

Long Time, No "See"!

Washed out sign

It has been quite a while since I posted to this blog. Longer than I thought when I looked.  I have had people periodically ask when I was going to get back to writing. The answer is, Now!

The good news (for me) is that I am retiring (mostly), and one of the things I plan to spend a lot more time doing is birdwatching. 

I spent some time out today in Lake Wichita Park, primarily along the Chat Trail. A beautiful morning, although the trail was empty. I notice that if the temperature is below 50, there aren't many people out and about.

I didn't see anything spectacular, but it was still a good morning. I did notice the sign about birds was washed out along the bottom from the sun. It's going to happen, but the Parks Department needs to change the sign. I know this isn't the greatest picture, but as luck would have it, the sun was in the wrong place to get a good photo.

The birds this morning along the chat trail:

Canada goose

Double-crested cormorant

Mallard duck

Ring-billed gull

White-winged dove

Northern flicker

Blue jay

Mockingbird

Northern cardinal

Robin

Harris' sparrow

Song sparrow

White-crowned sparrow

Dark-eyed junco

Yellow-rumped warbler

Ruby-crowned kinglet

Red-winged blackbird

American goldfinch

I hope to have many more birding outings to tell you about.

Good birding!

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!