Neighbors

FranzFranz,
CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>,
 via Wikimedia Commons

I was disappointed when we moved across town and discovered I had far fewer birds in my yard. None of my neighbors feed birds and all of them have the typical lawns with a tree in the front yard and maybe one in the back. However, in the last couple of years, things have improved. Until now.

My neighbor decided to cut down his two large, beautiful trees. One was a live oak and the other an elm tree. Why? Because they were messy and shaded his lawn grass, making patches. Also, he was concerned if there was a storm one of them could fall on his house or cars. Since he cut them down, I haven't seen any woodpeckers. I also haven't seen the chickadees or orange-crowned warblers I usually have at my feeders. My counts for Project Feederwatch are way down. Just white-winged doves and house sparrows. I hope Santa puts coal in his stocking.

I know he would love for us to cut down our trees, especially the pecans, because they are messy. Not happening. In the meantime, I'm depressed.

Good birding!

You Never Know

Photo (c)2007 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man),
via Wikimedia Commons

You never know what you are going to see. I was driving on Fairway, between Johnson Rd and Midwestern Parkway and saw a large hawk diving toward the road. I slowed down when the bird landed in the road, trying to block the bird from getting hit.

Apparently, the red-tailed hawk successfully grabbed a squirrel out of a tree next to the road and landed in the street to readjust his hold before lifting off to find a spot for his snack.

Good birding!

Lifer!!

Black phoebe at Lake Wichita spillway

Getting adjusted to retirement is harder than I thought. I have a dozen posts in my head, but haven't managed to get them up. But a lifer can break through the logjam.

I got a text yesterday from a birding friend, Debra, that there was a black phoebe at the Lake Wichita spillway. She texted me later that she took her mother out later, and it was still there. Since it was Thanksgiving day, I wasn't able to get out there.

I decided to go out this morning, in hopes the bird was still there and I could score a lifer (for those who may not be birders, a lifer is the first time you see/identify a new bird). It took a little bit, but it made an appearance. A very pretty bird. It reminds me of a slate-colored junco, only with a longer tail and the typical flycatcher behavior.  I didn't get the greatest picture with my cell phone, but I did get one.

In addition to the black phoebe, there were a couple of rock wrens just below, in the rocks.

Other birds seen at the spillway were Eurasian collared dove, mallard duck, ruddy duck, American coot, double-crested cormorant, northern shoveler, Canada goose, killdeer, ring-billed gull, northern mockingbird, American robin, blue jay, and eastern phoebe.

I decided to go around to Lake Wichita park, near the veterans' memorial and walk the trail west behind the American Legion post 169. A good choice. Birds seen included mallard, northern shoveler, American wigeon, ruddy duck, American coot, pied-billed grebe, double-crested cormorant, white pelican, great blue heron, northern mockingbird, American robin, Bewick's wren, common yellow throat, orange-crowned warbler, ruby-crowned kinglet, American goldfinch, European starling, northern cardinal, blue jay, belted kingfisher, and song sparrow.

Good birding!

Where Did My Squirrels Go?

 In April, I was complaining in this blog about one of the squirrels eating my spider plant. My husband came in the other day and asked me, "Have you seen our squirrels lately? I don't think I have seen them in a few days."

Thinking about it, I know it has been almost a week since I have seen any. We have three that regularly hang out in our yard, eating sunflower seeds from our feeder. I can see that one might get picked off by a predator, but three at once? Unlikely. The dogs still charge out the back door and look up in the tree where the squirrels hang out, but have been regularly disappointed. I miss watching the antics of the squirrels and the dogs.

I am hoping one of the neighbors didn't decide to poison the squirrels, since poisoned animals often end up prey of birds of prey, killing them as well. 

Of course, if the neighbors did kill the squirrels, others will move in at some point. In the meantime, the sunflower seed is lasting longer.

Good birding!

Project Feederwatch Starting Soon

 

Feederwatch Crowd

One of my favorite thing to do in the winter is participating in Project Feederwatch. This is a study of bird populations sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada. According to the Project Feederwatch website, this will be my 27th season.

My primary reason for taking part is that I like to watch the birds. I feed them regardless, so why not provide information that can help up learn more about them? The picture at the left is one from my backyard a couple of years ago during a particularly harsh bit of weather. The interesting thing, although you can't see it without enlarging the picture, is that there are some yellow-headed blackbirds in this photo. I had never seen yellow-headed blackbirds in the winter here--I thought they were a migrant that passed through in spring and fall. Apparently, a few do hang around (or at least, did that winter).

Last winter was particularly disappointing. I didn't have many birds at all-neither in numbers of species or in numbers of individuals. Some of the other local people who participate mentioned they were having a disappointing season as well. I chalked it up to a relatively mild winter. However, recently I received the newsletter for the project summarizing some of the data from last year, and we were not alone. Last year was a bad year for every one--in fact the numbers of individual birds seen was down significantly everywhere.

Chart from Sep 12 Feederwatch blog

You might find the possible reasons for these low numbers interesting. Check out the blog post. However, bird populations are declining everywhere. The link takes you to the Cornell Lab's page highlighting a study showing that nearly 3B birds have disappeared since 1970. This is not good news for us. Another reason to do what you can to provide habitat for all species, not just birds.

The Project Feederwatch starts November 1 and runs through April 30. If you want to take part, there is a small charge. If you are a member of the Lab, the cost is $18. It is a few dollars more for those who are not. If you are new to the project or don't know your birds very well, Cornell will send you a poster of common birds.  It's also a good idea to have access to a field guide. Here's the link to sign up.

I hope you'll take part. This is a good project to do with kids as well. They learn more about birds and about the scientific method.

Good Birding!

Three Mornings in Lake Wichita Park

 

White-faced ibis at Lake Wichita Park

Fall migration is definitely underway. It started several weeks ago with the departure of purple martins, but many birds are moving, or preparing to, now.

I spent a coupe of hours in Lake Wichita Park three mornings this week. I tend to go to Lake Wichita Park more often than other locations because it is close to my house.

The barrow pit is now a mudflat, which does attract shore birds, like the white-faced ibis in the picture to the left. Right now, this nearly dry pond is hosting several species of herons/egrets, as they prepare to move south or pass through on their way. There are several individuals of various species there, forming the groups that will one day, leave together. (Great egrets, snowy egrets, little blue herons, yellow-crowned night herons, black-necked stilts, killdeer). 

I also saw several warblers passing through. I am not the greatest at warbler identification. The birds are tiny and they are usually moving constantly. But I am confident of a yellow warbler and a mourning warbler, but I saw one or two others that I couldn't be sure of in the extremely short time I was able to see them.

I saw some individual Mississippi kites earlier this week, but not this morning. One of my friends said she saw a group of about 15 circling over her house, so they should be gone soon. Usually, these birds head out the end of August/early September.

Between Thursday and today, I saw the following birds: mallard duck, great egret, snowy egret, yellow-crowned night heron, little blue heron, great blue heron. white-faced ibis, black-necked stilt, killdeer, Mississippi kite, turkey vulture, Eurasian collared dove, white-winged dove, mourning doves, downy woodpecker, barn swallow, Northern cardinal, blue jay, Carolina chickadee, northern mockingbird, Carolina wren, yellow warbler, mourning warbler, Baltimore oriole, American pipit, American robin, red-winged blackbird, great-tailed grackle, European starling, house sparrow. In addition, I did see some small peeps fly over that I couldn't identify and a couple of other warblers that stumped me.

A runner went by me today and asked what my best bird seen was this morning. For me, it was the little blue heron, although it is tough to beat the black-necked stilt, but I had to make a quick decision, since he was running off.

Many of our summer birds are gone (or I just haven't seen them in the last week or so). I haven't yet seen any of the birds that come in here to stay for the winter, but I am sure they are coming. It does seem like there are more robins than are here in the summer, but it could just be they are starting to form up their winter flocks (more on that behavior in another post soon).

Fall migration is more drawn out than the spring migration, when the birds are rushing to get to their breeding grounds and get the best spots. We should have a few more weeks of prime birding coming up, so get outside.

Good birding!

How Do Birds Stand the Heat?

 

Patrick_K59, CC BY 2.0
<https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>,
 via Wikimedia Commons

I don't know about you, but it is way to hot for me. How do the birds stand it?

First of all, birds already maintain high body temperatures, so the ambient heat in this 100 degree weather isn't all that far from the temperature they usually maintain (106 -109F). So when it gets hot outside, they reduce their metabolic rate, since they don't need the energy to keep themselves warm. 

But sometimes they do get too hot. Since birds can't sweat, they have other adaptations to keep from overheating. You have probably seen pictures of birds "panting"  as seen in this photo (not one of our birds). This allows for some evaporative cooling. 

You will notice birds usually don't have feathers on their legs. Obviously, some birds wade or spend time swimming in the water. Bird baths are also helpful, so be sure to keep your bird baths full for a cool drink and a nice bath. Even a warm bath will cool down the bird as the water evaporates.

Evaporative cooling can also be achieved in some other ways. Some birds will defecate on their legs. The water in their waste cools their legs when it evaporates. Not very appealing to us, certainly, but it works.

Birds are generally more active in the morning and evening, all year around. This is especially true in the hot summers, when they stay in the shade and move as little as possible. People are not the only ones who take a siesta!

Good birding!