Killdeer Mom on Nest

We celebrate Moms this weekend. As you are celebrating or thinking about Mom or that special lady in your life, keep in mind bird moms.

Killdeer moms sit on the eggs when temperatures are cool and stand over them for shade when it’s too hot. Can you find Mom sitting on the eggs in the picture above?

Here is a picture showing how well camouflaged her eggs are in the nest.

Killdeer Nest & Eggs

As you are celebrating or thinking about Mom or that special lady in your life, keep an eye out this weekend for bird moms that are building nests, sitting on eggs or already feeding fledglings.

Stop by your local Wild Birds Unlimited store to share your bird Mom story or learn more about giving bird Moms a helping hand.

Happy Mother’s Day!

From left; John Schaust, Eric Ripma, Rob Ripma, Brian Cunningham and Jim Carpenter

Last year our WBU Big Day Birdathon adventure was; well, we’ll say it was interesting. Don’t get me wrong. We had a fun time; but, we only hit 119 species because we kept running into flooded roads. Read all about last year’s adventure and see a self-explanatory picture clicking here.

But! This year was loads of fun. It also helps when you get really close to your goal because of better preparation and the birds and weather cooperate. All said and done, we wanted 150 species and we ended up with 143.

Here are some of the highlights for me:

? In the field by 3am birding in the dark: Great Horned Owl, Barred Owl, Eastern Screech Owl, Whip-poor-will, Chuck-will’s-widow, Common Nighthawk just to name a few.

? 90 species before 9 am

? 22 warblers in total

? Not one, but two Pacific Loons

? 19 Greater White-fronted Geese

? #120…the bird that took us over the top of last year’s final number … Blue Grosbeak. It was a special moment as we all just stopped and quietly watched the bird for a moment to honor beating last year’s total.

Overall, we were 18 hours in the field, 143 species and five tired guys. I can’t wait to do it again next year!

Click the links to read about more details from our teammates’ Nutty Birder Blog: An April Big Day in Indiana and The Conclusion.

We are still accepting donations so if you would like to donate to our team please click here!

Eastern Bluebird

“Now…if I can just get them to use the nest box down by the creek…”

You may remember this closing line from the blog I posted back on March 15th, Not the Least Bit Blue, in which I shared my joy at finally attracting bluebirds to the feeders in my yard.

Guess what…it really happened! They ARE nesting down by the creek!

The only part of my musing that didn’t come true is that they are using a natural tree cavity instead of the nest box I installed for them.

Needless to say, my family is ecstatic! And I have a cool video to share with you of some nest-side action.

The adults are busy feeding their young and we are having more fun than ever watching them raid the mealworm feeder in our backyard. We put mealworms out every morning and evening and within a few minutes they are gathering mouthfuls at the feeder to take back to the young in the nest.

By my calculations, the youngster should fledge sometime early next week!

Now…if I can just get them to bring all of the youngsters to our feeder in the backyard…

Who’s nesting in your backyard?

Cerulean Warbler Photo by Bill Dyer USFWS

Who in their right mind would be birding in the wee hours of the night?

That is precisely what I am going to do on April 26. I am participating in a Birdathon Big Day with four teammates from the Wild Birds Unlimited Birdathon Team. We’ll jump start our day in the wee hours before sunrise to hopefully find nocturnal birds such as owls, nighthawks and whip-or-wills to add to our day’s tally.

This is the second year Wild Birds Unlimited is fielding a birding team in the local Audubon Society Birdathon. We are competing against 10 other teams on two fronts.

The first is for bragging rights to have found the most bird species possible in a 24-hour period. During last year’s Big Day we hit many road blocks, literally because of localized flooding, finding only 119 bird species. Our goal this year is to top 150 species; which is viable.

The second is the satisfaction that our efforts, through others’ generosity, bring in much-needed funds for bird conservation, research and education projects designated by our local Audubon Society. The projects sponsored by the Amos W. Butler Audubon Society have raised over a half million dollars in the last 25 years. Click here to learn more about the projects.

You can follow our Team’s progress on April 26 by following us on the Wild Birds Unlimited Facebook page at facebook.com/wildbirdsunlimited.

What birds have you heard or tried to find in the dark?

Tis the season for drumming, pounding, beating, tapping and drilling. All words used to describe what active woodpeckers are doing this spring on the sides of houses, antennas, dead tree trunks and limbs. It’s enough noise to beat the band.

Woodpeckers and flickers make these sounds for three main reasons: communicating, foraging or making a home.

The loudest of the woodpecker sounds are when a male is pounding away on something that resonates really well. This is called drumming. It’s all about communication. The male woodpecker is trying to let potential rivals know that this particular area is his territory and he is also trying to attract a mate.

There is a Red-bellied Woodpecker using the top of a dead tree trunk in my yard to drum out his declaration of territory. He pounds a few times for a few seconds on the resonant trunk and then does a few calls. It’s very interesting to watch and listen.

If woodpeckers aren’t drumming, they are foraging. Two years ago a Downy Woodpecker was seemingly foraging on the wood trim of my house. You could hear him lightly tapping. He was leaving small-diameter, shallow holes all over the place. We went about trying to scare him off by hanging iridescent scare tape over the areas and he eventually gave up for less annoying pastures.

If woodpeckers aren’t drumming or foraging they are drilling. Woodpeckers and flickers are primary cavity nesters. They drill entrance holes into trees and excavate a nice one bedroom home. If a woodpecker is doing this on your house, try placing a nesting box directly over the hole. Use the species-appropriate box and fill it with wood shavings. Otherwise you’ll need to use scare tactics or barriers to encourage them to move elsewhere.

Are woodpeckers causing you to exclaim to beat the band this spring? If so, click here to check out our educational woodpecker page at wbu.com or visit your local Wild Birds Unlimited store for tips and products to alleviate the pounding. Find your nearest store here.

This winter’s unusually warm weather is continuing to be a major factor across much of North America this spring and is resulting in an abnormally early migration for many birds. Different bird species are responding to the unusual conditions in diverse ways.

Short- and medium-distance migrants primarily winter in the southern U.S. or Mexico and travel north in short flights that are triggered by good weather and favorable wind directions. Both of these conditions have persisted for the past few weeks and have triggered many of these migrants to head north early.

Short distance migrants like Eastern and Say’s Phoebes, Pine Warblers and American Robins are arriving back on their nesting grounds weeks ahead of their normal schedules.

Mid-distance migrating birds, such as the Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Louisiana Waterthrush are also showing strong signs of some early migration activity.

Long-distance migrants coming from Central America, South America or the Caribbean are not expected to show any early migration movements. These migrants fly in long nonstop flights, and their departure is primarily triggered by increasing periods of sunlight each day. Weather is not a factor and they will migrate on the same schedule as usual.

But, what does this mean for birds that visit our backyards?

Here are some potential impacts:
? Local, winter resident birds such as Slate-colored Juncos, White-crowned, White-throated & America Tree Sparrows are likely to leave for their northern breeding grounds weeks earlier than normal.
? Short- and medium-distant migrants may arrive back earlier than normal. They may include Chipping Sparrows, Hummingbirds, Red-winged Blackbirds, Cowbirds and Grackles.
? Long-distance migrants such as Orioles, Scarlet Tanagers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks & Indigo Buntings should be arriving within the normal range of migration return dates.

What birds are you seeing move earlier than usual?

The nesting season is just getting going with the early nesters like bluebirds and chickadees.

I was recently asked a nesting question about chickadees that I thought would be fun to share and shed some light on a not-well-understood scenario with chickadee nesting.

“A Chickadee built a nest in a box in my yard. The nest was finished 8-9 days ago but no eggs yet. I have read that they can build multiple nests, choose the best site, and usually begin laying in about 2 days. Is this nest not likely to be used or should I leave it alone for a while longer?”

Chickadees shop around for nest sites. They check out lots of potential locations. They have been known to begin excavating and even start building a nest in three to five different locations in a season. Usually before the nests are complete they make a final decision on their favorite spot, complete the nest, wait a few days and then begin to lay eggs.

When chickadees excavate homes in rotten wood, the building process can take some time. Carolina Chickadees take about 20 days to lay the first egg after beginning to build a nest site. Black-capped Chickadees will take 7-14 days to lay an egg after beginning to build a nest site.

So, patience is in order before cleaning out a nest box that is thought to be abandoned by chickadees. If the nest looks finished, give it a week to see if eggs show up. If not, they may have chosen another location to raise their brood.

If you are having trouble getting Black-capped Chickadees interested in your nest box, try filling it with wood shavings for them to excavate. They seem to prefer that; whereas, Carolina Chickadees don’t seem to have a preference either way.

What birds are nesting in your yard? If you need a nest box, click here to find the right one.

You could say I have been blue for almost 20 years!

When I purchased my home in the early 90’s, I did so in large part because of its great bird and wildlife viewing opportunities. My older suburban neighborhood is heavily wooded and features a small lake and numerous creeks. This great mix of habitats has brought me countless wildlife encounters, ranging from Bald Eagles to American Beavers and Spring Peepers to Flying Squirrels!

But my woodland setting has also denied me one of my favorite things in life – bluebirds.

At least, up until this winter!

Yes, the magic of planting a few native deciduous holly bushes (Ilex verticillata) combined with providing mealworms and Jim’s Birdacious® Bark Butter® Bits finally did the trick and brought them into my backyard!

The brilliant red berries of this “Winterberry Holly” seem to be irresistible to bluebirds and they certainly worked to initially attract them to my yard. But it only took a few days for the four bluebirds to pick the bushes clean. What kept them coming back day after day was their discovery of the mealworms and Bark Butter Bits that I had put out for them.

You can bet, as the drab and dreary days of late winter slowly passed, our lives were constantly brightened by these radiant bluebirds coming to the feeders just a few feet outside our family room window!

It would be hard to find anything as dazzling as a bluebird standing on a fence post in the early morning sun. Its brilliant blue plumage might even be said to rival the sky itself.

Too bad it’s just one big illusion!

It’s true! bluebirds aren’t really blue … they just look like they are!

Most bird colorations are due to pigments deposited in their feathers. A Northern Cardinal is red because of the red pigment called carotenoids. Crows are black because their feathers contain a dark pigment called melanin.

In contrast, bluebirds do not have a single molecule of blue pigment in any of their feathers. So where does that brilliant blue color come from?

The answer is that the color is not produced by a pigment, but by the structure of the feather. The top transparent layer of each bluebird feather is filled with miniscule pockets of air. When sunlight strikes these pockets, all of the other visible wavelengths of light are absorbed. Only blue escapes and is scattered in all directions.

So while the bluebird’s blue color may technically be an illusion…it is no longer an illusion to have them in my backyard and I am enjoying every single visit they make to my feeders!

After almost 20 years, their arrival has finally signaled the end to my case of the bluebird “blues!”

Now…if I can just get them to use the nest box down by the creek…

Bird feeding activity across the country has been unusually slow this winter. My yard has been slow, too. The overall mild weather, lack of bitter cold snaps and little snow has made the birds seemingly disappear. Take heart! The end is near.

Spring is on its way bringing with it the hope and promise of renewed bird activity. Birds will be migrating through looking for food at your feeders to help refuel from their journey. Others will use feeders as a supplemental energy source as they establish territories, attract mates and raise families. But until then, there are things you can do now to end the doldrums and enjoy birds sooner.

Cater to the locals – Not all the birds have disappeared! Make sure to cater to the local birds that are still making appearances at your feeders however sporadically. I still have regular visits from woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, titmice, wrens and cardinals.

Don’t let your feeders sit empty – Make sure to keep food fresh for when birds return.

Try new foods – It’s a great time to try new foods to attract new birds. I’ve had great success with sporadic bluebird visits by offering Bark Butter Bits, mealworms, cylinders with fruit and blends with sunflower chips. I’ve heard of some others that have wonderful success with Bark Butter and mealworms.

Goldfinches are hungry – American Goldfinches have begun their spring molt and are very hungry. Be sure Nyjer is available and keep an open water source as they drink often.

Provide water – The sight and sounds of moving water attracts the greatest variety of birds to your yard.

So, take heart! The end of slow bird feeder activity is near and there are steps you can take to make it “end” a bit sooner in your yard.

Tell us about the activity at your feeders.

Juncos are full of shades of gray. Perhaps that is why they are often equated to the gray-leaden skies of winter. But, do all Juncos look the same? Let’s take a closer look.

At first glance the juncos browsing under your feeders or nearby bushes may all look the same. With further inspection, you may start noticing some are paler than others. These are the females. The darker-colored birds are the males.

Notice the difference in the birds pictured above. The darker one is a male Slate-colored Junco. The paler two are females. But what happens when you get a junco that just doesn’t seem to fit what you expect to see? Such as the junco pictured below.

The Dark-eyed Junco is a complex group of birds made up of many subspecies. They are all called dark-eyed; but, each subspecies has its own name and color distinctions to differentiate from the other Dark-eyed Junco subspecies.

The predominant subspecies include Slate-colored, Oregon, Pink-sided, Gray-headed, White-winged and Red-backed. They have varying color patterns that distinguish them from the other subspecies; but, all have some things in common. They are all the same size, about 6 ¼” long; have white outer tail feathers; have a bill and belly that are whitish and all scratch on the ground foraging for seeds.

The real challenge of subspecies identification comes into play when Dark-eyed Juncos hybridize between subspecies. The second-pictured bird seems to be just that, a mix between the Oregon and Slate-colored subspecies. This makes a positive subspecies identification quite the challenge.

For most areas, juncos are starting to move from their wintering grounds to their breeding grounds. No matter the specific subspecies, now is a great time to take a closer look and try to spy the different shades of gray in Dark-eyed Juncos.

What juncos are at your feeders?