Birding on Vacation

I always recommend bringing binoculars on a vacation.  Maybe birdwatching isn’t your “main” activity but it sure is fun to see birds not seen in your own backyard.  It just adds another element of fun and discovery that can round out your vacation activities. 

I recently vacationed in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands and snorkeling in the beautiful clear blue waters was the dominant activity, and it was fascinating.  There are so many beautiful fish and other aquatic life to see.  Snorkeling and exploring the underwater world and identifying the aquatic life could easily become a new obsession, but living in TN will prohibit me from “diving” into a new hobby.

I did want to share some of the bird life encountered, though, and interestingly enough there was not a lot seen while on land.We only saw one species of hummingbird, the Green-throated Carib. Of the 5 types of hummingbirds seen on the island only two are considered common while 3 of them are considered rare or accidental. I did not actually get to go out with the intention of “birding” as I was with a group and a lot was planned.While on a catamaran excursion, though, my binos came in quite handy.

So, mostly we were treated to sightings of ocean birds. Highlights include the Magnificent Frigatebird, a bird generally seen along coasts and over open water. These large, dark seabirds have the longest wingspan, in proportion to weight, of all birds. Seafarers named these aerial predators for a swift warship. Frigatebirds skim the sea snatching surfacing fish, but have also been known to harass other birds in flight forcing them to drop their catch then promptly swooping to catch the falling meal. The male is glossy black and known for the orange throat pouch that becomes bright red when inflated in a courtship display. They measure around 40” in length and have a wingspan of 90”, or roughly 7.5 feet.

Also seen were Brown Booby, Elegant and Royal Tern, Brown Pelican, and Laughing Gull. All of these birds were regularly seen hunting the water for schools of fish near the surface.

The Elegant Terns would hunt in small flocks, hovering and suddenly folding their sharp wings diving with great speed into the water emerging effortlessly with their prey. The Elegant Tern is named appropriately.  They are a very elegant bird in appearance.  They have a white and gray body with a black crest and bright orange beak.

The Brown Pelicans are always fun to watch as they skim the surface of the water together.  Pelicans are such a large awkward looking bird but in flight they are a wonder.  As Pelicans would dive into the water for a meal the Laughing Gulls would hover just over them and actually land on their heads hoping to steal the catch away. It was very entertaining. 

Where are the Goldfinches?

We field this question a lot this time of year. Goldfinches are quite different than many of our other feeder birds in that they are frequently on the move. Goldfinches you see for a few days or a week may be miles away tomorrow only to be replaced by a new group shortly thereafter. These movements are even more prominent in the spring. We tend to see more Goldfinches concentrated at feeders in winter as northern populations move south. With migration all but over here in mid-TN we should begin to see good numbers of Goldfinches settling back in to bird feeding stations. So, don’t think that you’ve done something wrong, or think the seed in your feeder is bad, it is normal for Goldfinches to be on the move. Here are a few tips to improve your success with Goldfinches.

Ø Keep your feeders full. Goldfinches prefer to feed as a group and will not find a feeder attractive if it only has one feeder port available to feed from. Top them off regularly.

Ø Check your seed for dampness particularly after rain showers. Simply shake your feeder up and down to see if the seed is dry and loose, or gotten wet and clumped together. Remove only the wet seed. The Aspects brand Quick Clean feeders are a great choice of finch feeders for easy maintenance and cleaning.

Ø Keep feeders clean. Mold is a bad thing to have on your feeders and seed. Really dirty feeders can be detrimental to the birds and be a source for spreading disease. Not to mention making them less desirable. Keep in mind Goldfinches are totally vegetarian. They do not eat insects. So with lots of seed choices available in nature the seed at your feeder better be in tip top condition to compete.

Ø If you have multiple finch feeders we recommend grouping them. Again, they prefer to feed as a group, so it pays to give them that opportunity. The more the merrier.

Goldfinches love sunflower whether in shell or out. Check out our Finch Blend which is Nyjer seed and Fine Sunflower Chips, and the Fine Sunflower Chips which can be used in any finch feeder.Be advised, if using the Finch Blend or Fine Sunflower it is recommended you present the feeder in a squirrel proof manner, like a baffled pole system, for example.

Ornithology Vocabulary Lesson.

Since we are in the breeding season for birds here are a couple of ornithology words to expand your knowledge. They may even help you with the next NY Times Crossword.

Altricial and Precocial

Almost all of us have seen baby songbirds in a nest.We know they are completely dependent on the adults to keep them warm as they are featherless for the first few days and to bring them food while in the nest developing.They are completely helpless and mostly immobile.The adults continue to feed them for weeks even after they have fledged. This is referred to as altricial. Altricial birds include herons, hawks, owls, and most songbirds.

Eastern Blue bird babies just hatched. No feathers and eyes still closed.

Day 12 birds are fully feathered and still being fed. They will leave the nest any day.

Precocial means young are capable of a high degree of independent activity immediately after hatching. Precocial young typically can move about, have their eyes open and will be covered in down at hatching. They are generally able to walk away from the nest as soon as they have dried off. They will also begin searching for their own food. Examples of precocial birds include most duck species, Wild Turkey, Quail, and Killdeer.

Spring and Summer Bird feeding Challenges

It’s most definitely upon us. The time of year when many of you are faced with challenges certain backyard visitors present. They can really test ones patience. I’m talking about Grackles and Starlings, Raccoons, Chipmunks, and Ring-tailed Lemurs. Well, maybe not Ring-tailed Lemurs.

Your bird feeders are of great interest to all these birds and animals largely due to the breeding season. I did not mention squirrels because we deal with them every day. The others are more of a seasonal issue. One thing worth mentioning about squirrels is they are more likely to eat safflower during this time. We’ve already heard from a few of you that squirrels have decided to start eating safflower when previously they did not. Usually it’s the young squirrels that eat safflower. This too shall pass.

When Grackles and Starlings are on the nest they seek quick, easy food sources and will visit in droves, eventually bringing their babies, too. We recommend a variety of strategies to lessen their impact:

· Offer nothing but Safflower seed rather than sunflower or blends with shelled seeds, shelled peanuts, and fruit. Safflower is smaller than sunflower and has a different shape, and a hard shell that Grackles and Starlings cannot crack open.

· Limit opportunities, and opportunities available should be difficult for a large bird like a grackle to use. For instance, small bird only or caged type feeders. Yes, this will also limit Cardinals but they would be happy to feed on whatever falls to the ground. If you have a tube type feeder with straight perches consider cutting them in half. They are usually made of aluminum and easy to cut. Half a perch will present great difficulties for a Grackle and Starling but small birds will use them easily.

· We also suggest shutting down feeders for a while, perhaps a week or two. This can cause these sudden intruders to move along to find a reliable food source. Usually the Grackle/Starling pressure recedes by mid to late June when breeding is concluding. Birds you like to see will typically return to feeders in little time.

· Suet is a favorite food source during this time because it’s soft and easy to take large chunks. Again, removing the food source for a week may cause the problems to move along. Another thing to try is take note of the timing of their visits. You can offer smaller amounts of food, like a third of a suet cake at a time, so your desired visitors have a consistent food source for part of the day. When the problem visitors show up there is little food remaining.

· Squirrel proof suet feeders are very effective at keeping squirrels out but not always the Grackles. Only the largest Squirrel proof suet feeders provide enough distance between the food source and the outer cage to stop Grackles and Starlings.

Next to Grackles and Starlings there’s a tie for most complaints between Raccoons and Chipmunks. Raccoons are expert climbers, they have great dexterity in their paws, which are really like hands, they can grow to be quite large, and their strength and brain power far exceeds that of a squirrel. Many of you find your feeders on the ground in the mornings damaged with squirrels gathered round feasting on the exposed seed. This is a sure sign that a raccoon has been “working the night shift” as they are mostly nocturnal. They will take feeders off hooks and hangers with ease, take the lids off and eat until they are satisfied, and leave the scraps for the squirrels. Here are some suggestions for reducing raccoon problems:

· Bring feeders in at night that are accessible to raccoons. It may take a few weeks to condition the raccoon to not to show up. After a few weeks try leaving a feeder out one night to see if they have gotten the idea that no food would be available. Continue taking the feeder in if you see evidence they’ve been there.

· The “limited amount” strategy works well here, too. If it’s suet they are getting put only a third or half a cake in the feeder. By nightfall when the raccoon shows up there would be little if anything left.

· Raccoon baffles for pole systems, which are much larger than squirrel baffles, are very effective. Follow directions and you will have success. A squirrel baffle will not likely stop a motivated raccoon.

· This is not my favorite strategy but some people will make food available in places away from feeders. They might offer table scraps, corn, or cat food to satisfy the raccoons. I see evidence of raccoons getting in my compost pile where I put everything from coffee grounds to old fruit and vegetable scraps. In my opinion this strategy just encourages their desire to visit.

Chipmunks are challenging in that they can squeeze through caged squirrel proof feeders and they are not heavy enough to activate most weight activated feeders. And they like safflower. However, any squirrel baffle used properly will stop them cold.

Be patient. We need to try and be tolerant of all wildlife even when they are pesky.

Spring Hummingbird Expectations

Male Ruby-throat.

Male Ruby-throat.

Every year at this time we regularly answer the question “when will the hummingbirds arrive”?

Ruby-throated hummingbirds do begin migrating into and through TN as early as the latter part of March, with the bulk of them arriving or passing through between mid-April and mid-May. Those that stay in mid-TN then begin the task of courting and nesting. Their interest in feeders is minimal at this time. Why? Unless a hard freeze kills blooms and no flowers are available nature provides hummingbirds with everything they could possibly need, which is nectar from plants, and insects for protein.

Remember, Ruby-throated hummingbirds have been making the journey to North America from central and South America to breed for roughly ten thousand years. They would come here whether we had feeders full of sugar water or not. They will come to feeders when they are ready and that typically occurs near the end of their breeding season, usually starting around June to mid-July. People living in rural areas tend to see hummingbirds earlier and more often than people in more urban areas. Why? The simple answer is rural areas provide more nesting habitat for hummingbirds.

So, if you are wondering when to put up a hummingbird feeder you may do so now. However, do not expect to see a lot of activity. It is certainly possible you may see a bird or two take advantage of the feeder before moving on to its final destination.

The Best Solution for Hummingbird Nectar

The best nectar you can offer hummingbirds is a simple 1 part sugar to 4 parts water solution. It is not necessary for the water to be brought to a boil before adding sugar. The nectar is ready after the sugar has been stirred in and fully dissolved. Do not add color in the form of food dye. Color is absolutely unnecessary and potentially harmful. Also it is not good to use natural raw sugar, the kind that is slightly brown in color. Regular white table sugar is recommended.

Are birds fighting your windows? It’s called image fighting.

Every spring we are inundated with the question “why is a Cardinal trying to get through my window?” Cardinals are the most common bird to image fight, but it can be any number of species including Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Eastern Towhee, and Mockingbirds. Cardinals are probably the most common because they often nest in shrubs close to a house.

Image fighting refers to the sometimes constant presence of a bird fluttering at and making contact with a window, or many different windows of a home. Sometimes it will be the side view mirror of a vehicle. During the breeding season a bird’s sense of territoriality is heightened. A bird will pass a window and detect the movement of a bird that appears to be the same species. It will fly up to the window see its reflection and begin trying to drive away the competitor. It’s the result of a basic instinct that has not been able to adapt to a man-made object. This activity can go on for months, and beyond the breeding season if unaddressed. The bird rarely injures itself seriously. Mostly it just creates a mess on the window and sill.

We recommend stopping this pattern of behavior as soon as possible so the bird can resume normal activities and not annoy you. The best way to stop this activity is to block the source of the reflection for a period of no less than a week to start. This can be achieved by putting up any opaque material: a sheet or towel, cardboard cut to the size of the pane of glass, it really doesn’t matter as long as the bird cannot see itself. Closing the drapes or shade on the inside doesn’t usually help. Putting it on the interior can actually make the reflection more pronounced. A couple of inflated balloons on a piece of string taped to the glass works very well, too. The balloons move around with the slightest breeze which keeps the bird from wanting to approach. Again, try this for no less than a week. Repeated applications may be necessary. Usually the behavior lessens or stops after the birds have fully delved into its first nesting, or after breeding season concludes. Try one of these methods to help your birds get back to the business of raising young.

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House Wren Competition

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After our blog about “dealing with predators and problems” appeared last week we received a couple of comments about House Wrens (HW). One comment referred to the HW as a predator. Technically the HW is not a predator but a competitor, and has been known to pierce eggs and even kill baby birds in the nest box. They also have the unique behavior of filling up several available boxes with their nest material with no intention of using those nests. These are known as “dummy nests”. This is an interesting dilemma because the HW is a native songbird and must be treated as such.

The House Wren is not a year round species, like the Carolina Wren, and tends to first appear in this area around mid-April. They are fairly common but many of you will never see one in your yard. In 28 years at my home I have never included the House Wren on my “yard bird” list.

HW’s use almost exclusively sticks for nest building so when monitoring your nest boxes this is an easily identified nest. Any advice we can offer to help keep HW’s from doing what they do may “backfire”. Offering more choices of nest boxes can alleviate “pressure” on the one or two already present but may encourage more HW activity. Spending a little time monitoring your boxes can help. For instance, if you find sticks in a nest box where Bluebirds have been building a nest you may remove the sticks. Don’t just drop them on the ground because HW’s will just retrieve them and put them back. Or as we suggest with House Sparrows plug the entrance hole to a box for a while if you see HW activity.

An interesting strategy to try if you have experienced HW issues is the wren guard. The wren guard disguises the entrance hole. (Click here for a more in depth look at the wren guard). The wren guard is best used after a Chickadee or Bluebird, for example, have already fully committed to a nest by laying eggs.

It’s good to remember competition among birds for nest sites can reveal some difficult things about nature.

We hope this helps some of you and next week we will spend a little more time on monitoring Bluebird boxes. Please keep the questions coming. We enjoy being able to address things you want to learn about backyard birds.