Oct 27

Foraging Guild Unite

By Brian Cunningham Birds, Chickadee, creepers, Downy Woodpecker, kinglets, Nuthatches, Titmice, Woodpeckers Leave a Comment »

Ever wonder why, starting in the fall, it seems there is a group of different bird species that show up together at feeders and then leave together on a regular basis? Well, it’s that time of year again. Your local foraging guild is reconvening for maximum winter survivability.

The foraging guild is a group of different bird species that band together in winter for foraging and protection. Depending on the region and habitat, foraging guilds can include chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, woodpeckers, creepers and kinglets.

The birds in the guild work cooperatively to maximize their food-finding efforts. In general, each of these birds forages for food in different ways. However, they all learn a bit about how the others feed and it helps with everyone’s survivability.

The chickadees look on the under-side of small and large branches, while the titmice look on the top-side of bigger branches and kinglets look on the top-side of smaller branches. Nuthatches walk down tree trunks looking into crevices while creepers walk up tree trunks. Woodpeckers, well, they usually drill down into the bark for their food; but, they will look on trunks as well as branches.

In the guild, birds are safer than on their own. With all those eyes watching for predators, they create a kind of “neighborhood watch.” They learn each other’s alarm calls so when danger is spotted, one just has to call out to warn the others.

So, it is not a random scenario when multiple species show up at your feeders this season. Like a wave, they move in together, eat a bit, and then move on.

The guild members using my feeders right now are Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpeckers and White-breasted Nuthatches.

Do you have a guild of birds visiting your feeders?

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Oct 19

Cashing in on Caching

By Brian Cunningham Birds, Chickadee, Jays, Nuthatches, Titmice Leave a Comment »


If your feeders are anything like mine right now, there are extended quiet times. It’s like the birds are waiting for someone to turn on the neon “Open” sign so they can visit with a frenzied purpose and then be gone again.

No need to be concerned. It’s caching season and many birds are cashing in on the abundance of natural foods. There are loads of seeds, nuts, berries, fruits and insects to harvest and hide for a better chance at surviving the coming harsh weather. And they can remember, very accurately, where they stash each morsel.

The birds are also taking advantage of foods in backyard feeders for caching.

Chickadees prefer to cache black oil sunflower seeds; often eating a small portion before hiding it in and under bark, dead leaves, knotholes, clusters of pine needles, gutters, shingles and in the ground. Chickadees cache more in the middle of the day when visiting feeders.

Titmice are rather particular. They choose the largest sunflower seeds available to eat and cache. Titmice and chickadees like to cache seeds within 130 feet of bird feeders; your yard or a neighbor’s yard. I find seeds tucked into the bark and crevices of my wood pile. A coworker finds seeds cached under mulch in her garden.

Nuthatches prefer heavier sunflower seeds over the lighter ones. Be sure to have some sunflower chips in your blend as they like these 25% more than one in the shell. They cache more in the morning and prefer to hide foods on deeply furrowed tree trunks and the underside of branches. Nuthatches are also known to hide seeds under a shingle or behind wooden siding, like a friend of mine has been observing on their house this fall.

Jays love to cache peanuts and acorns. They are especially fond of peanuts in the shell. They bury them in the ground and are known to cache about 100 in a day; emptying my feeder in no time. Watch for them make repeated trips to your feeders (or an oak tree) and fly off. They can travel up to six miles to bury their nutritious treasure.

What birds are cashing in on caching foods from your feeders?

Aug 15

August Almanac

By John Schaust American Goldfinches, Birds, Chickadee, Hummingbirds, Nighthawk, Titmice Leave a Comment »

Man, does time fly by or what?!

It’s almost mid-August and summer is waning all around me. It seems like spring migration was in full swing just yesterday.

Now the sights and sounds of late summer are all around. Hummingbirds are thick at feeders and adult goldfinches are being relentlessly harassed by their hungry juveniles. The serenading cicadas and katydids are trading their day and night shifts in earnest and Snowy Tree Crickets are keeping impeccable timing with their buzzing calls. Monarch Butterflies occasionally float by in a southerly direction and shorebirds are again being marked on local birders’ checklists.

While I hate to see summer fading, this is one of the most exciting times to be out in nature, especially since this year’s record hot temperatures have finally subsided to a more bearable level.

Bird populations are at an all-year high. Trees and other plants are laden with fruit, seeds and nuts. Interesting insects and spiders are everywhere. Fields will soon be ablaze with goldenrods and asters.

Migration is just beginning with shorebirds and a few hawks leading the way south. Chimney Swifts are gathering in large communal roosts and Common Nighthawks are joining forces as they prepare to head for South America. Chickadees, titmice and nuthatches are becoming more active at feeders as they start to hide seeds away in preparation for the cold weather to come.

The changes happen quickly and hopefully I have learned my lesson from this past summer. Time does fly by and Mother Nature waits for no one, so I better get outside to enjoy it now before winter sneaks up on me, too.

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Nov 08

Day Hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains

By Brian Cunningham Birds, Chickadee, Juncos, Nuthatches, Titmice, Uncategorized Leave a Comment »

Fall is one of my favorite times of year to head into the wilderness. The earthy smells, the crisp air, the crunch of leaves, squirrels squeakily chewing on tree nuts and cones, birds flitting around foraging for insects and seeds quietly talking to each other with single-note calls.

Now, we do our fair share of camping. But, we haven’t done much wilderness camping. So, I figured it was time to introduce my kids to this favorite pastime through backpacking. But first, they needed to be introduced to the mountains and what to expect.

What better way and time to do it then in the Great Smoky Mountains with the autumn leaf show. So, we packed up the van and headed out to day-hike part of the Appalachian Trail (AT) in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park.

The whole scene was gorgeous with mountain streams and waterfalls, bears preparing for winter, listening to and watching Dark-eyed Juncos, Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, White-breasted Nuthatches, Downy Woodpeckers, Brown Creepers, Pileated Woodpeckers and more.

We visited an AT shelter. This was one of the nicest shelters I have ever seen. It even had a privy; what luxury for a backpacker! There was a watering hole just down the trail and they didn’t balk at it.

Some very memorable highlights included flushing a Roughed Grouse, my son hearing a Barred Owl so far away, even I missed it at first, and a Northern Waterthrush serenading us as we departed the mountains following a stream on the last day.

I think they are ready for our big mountain wilderness backpacking trip for next Spring. Time to start planning.

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