Feeding birds and other creatures

On Friday and Saturday our region was hammered with more than 21" of snow. My husband had filled the bird feeder before the yard became unpassable, but the ground feeding birds were out of luck. However, our resident fox sparrow managed to dig a hole in the snow--something we had never seen before. After the snow fall ended my husband stalked through knee-deep snow to put out a platform feeder filled with corn and seeds for the ground eaters on top of the mass of snow. Needless to say, our yard is very busy.
Birds are not the only creatures taking advantage of our outdoor cafe. Last evening we saw a doe at the platform feeder. And today I observed a turkey for several hours eating happily away. In this weather no one wants to expand energy looking for food. I managed to take a couple of photos through our window glass, but when I ventured outside to take a sneak shot it must have heard me coming and flew away.
Hanging a bird feeder is a bit tricky. Put it too far away from the house and you have to trudge through snow and ice to fill it. Put it too close to the house and the birds might crash into your windows and perish. It is absolutely essential to provide the birds with shelter near the feeders (no more than 8-10 feet away) so they can escape if a predator lurks nearby. Lately, we have observed a hawk that often dive bombs through our driveway to make a surprise attack. Hawks have to eat too, but I would like the playing field to be level. Of course, if it was up to me they could eat all the starlings they like...

The Great Backyard Bird Count

The Great Backyard Bird Count is now just one week away. It will take place from February 12-15, 2010. Where, you ask? Wherever you feel like watching birds. That could be at your feeder, your school, a local park or a wildlife refuge. As long as you write down the times you watched the birds and tally your count it doesn't matter where you view them.
Sometimes the best place is right at home. This afternoon I looked out the window and saw a female turkey under our bird feeder. Too bad it was a week early for the count...
In order to whet your appetite for the bird count I am enclosing a list of all the bird species we have seen in and around our yard over the years:
• American Goldfinch
• American Robin
• Baltimore Oriole
• Black-capped Chickadee
• Blue Jay
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Carolina Wren
• Chipping Sparrow
• Common Grackle
• Cooper's Hawk
• Crow
• Dark-eyed Junco
• Downy Woodpecker
• European Starling
• Eastern Towhee
• Great-horned Owl (heard only)
• Hairy Woodpecker
• House Finch
• House Sparrow
• Mourning Dove
• Northern Cardinal
• Northern Flicker
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Rose-breasted Grosbeak
• Ruby-throated Hummingbird
• Song Sparrow
• Tufted Titmouse
• Turkey
• Turkey Vulture
• White-breasted Nuthatch
• White-crowned Sparrow
• White-throated Sparrow

Winter Notes

It is bitterly cold today and the birds were already at our feeder before daylight broke. Three crows descended on our yard, probably remembering that my husband throws out some peanuts every morning. They've been stopping by more and more often. Perhaps they figure that the best food is the food that takes the least effort to find.
How do our backyard birds survive the frigid nights, other than fluffing out their feathers? They roost, I'm told. They huddle together to give each other warmth or hide in tree cavities or vacant bird houses. Brush piles and evergreen bushes also provide habitat for birds. We had to cut down a shrub last fall and threw it at the edge of our hill side. That brush pile is now teeming with sparrows, juncos, and wrens. Shelter is also important for birds to hide in when our resident hawk lurks around.
In the morning birds have to replenish the energy they expended throughout the night. That's why our feeders are busiest in the early morning hours. Late afternoon is another busy period. While birds cannot afford to totally rely on a particular feeder (they would be doomed if you moved away or went out of town) it is important to keep up the feeding throughout winter once you started feeding birds.

Watch Out, Cardinals!

I often say that watching birds is much more entertaining than television. Today is no exception. This morning I spotted a bird on the ground and grabbed my binoculars. It was a Cooper's Hawk! I had never seen one on the ground before. It flew on the trunk of a felled shrub nearby and looked around. Then it flew into a pear tree that edges our yard. Against my better judgement I grabbed my camera and stepped outside the front door. I knew they are pretty shy, but thought that I could approach our side porch to take a shot. When it spotted me, however, it flew off--much to the relief of the cardinal that was perched on the other side of the tree. The other day the hawk had better luck, since we found a large pile of feathers on the ground. Apparently, the hawk had snatched a mourning dove, which happens quite often. Hawks need to eat, too, but I would be sad if it caught a pretty singer such as a cardinal.
According to a book I bought recently, Cooper's hawks feed mostly on birds and small mammals, hunting by stealth. They usually move from perch to perch in dense cover, then using a burst of speed to overtake prey. Their habitat are mature forests, open woodlands, and wood edges. Since there is a wooded ravine behind our house there is plenty of habitat to choose from.
Years ago I was more successful with my camera when I photographed an immature Cooper's hawk at our bird bath. Yes, it really was just taking a drink. Back then, our garage door was already open and I used it as a cover. Many photographers also shoot from their cars, but I have never tried that. Perhaps I should, once the weather gets a bit warmer. The best advice, though, is to be ready all the time because you never know what unexpected visitors will pass through your yard.

The Great Backyard Bird Count

I'm gearing up for the Great Backyard Bird Count, which takes place on February 12-15, 2010. I am an ambassador this year and will give a presentation about the GBBC at the Moon Township library on February 6.
If you would like to participate please visit www.birdcount.org to learn more about it, how to count the birds, and how to submit checklists. It is important that you submit the highest number of birds seen at any given time; e.g. if you see seven cardinals at a time and an hour later you see five, put seven in your checklist, not 12. It is quite possible that you are counting the same birds twice.
Most importantly, have fun! The GBBC is a great way to get acquainted with birds. Perhaps you will find a new interest. I did.

Adventures of Bird Feeding

Our backyard has been covered with snow the entire year now. That means that the birds are busy visiting our feeders. Nature being what it is, occasionally songbirds look like a tasty meal themselves. My husband spotted a hawk in our yard and the cardinals disappeared; all but one, who was sitting in the neighbor's pear tree unaware of the danger. When he noticed the hawk he took off between our house and the neighbor's with the hawk in pursuit. We don't know what happened to the poor cardinal but haven't seen any feathers around. I guess hawks need to eat too, and with the snowcovered ground they can't find any rodents to eat.
When I stepped into our garage today I saw a creature fluttering around. It was a bird who must have flown into the garage and then the door was closed. I let the poor guy out because he must have been hungry. That happens when birds become too curious!

A Stranger at the Feeder

The frigid weather - and the fact that the ground is covered with snow - brings lots of birds to our feeders. Unfortunately, many of them are starlings. The other day, however, I noticed a red-brown speckled bird on the ground I did not immediately recognize. I consulted my new book, "Lives of North American Birds" by Kenn Kaufman, and feel pretty confident that the new guy is a fox sparrow. The book says that it makes forward jumps and then scratches back with both feet at once. That's exactly what struck me as odd about this sparrow. We have never seen a fox sparrow before, but since we are just north of its usual winter grounds it's entirely possible that a fox sparrow is visiting our yard.
I would love to get a photo of this stranger, but my fingers are already ice cold inside the house. I therefore need to find a good pair of gloves/mitts with removable finger tips to operate camera controls. Don't worry, I would not expose my bare fingers but instead wear liners underneath the gloves. Liners give me the necessary dexterity to turn buttons and focus the lens. It will be a while, though, until the weather is decent enough for me venture outside for more than filling our feeders. Until then, I keep watching the birds from our kitchen window--and try to figure out how to get rid of starlings.