Getting Better All The Time

Our winter guest Hermit Thrush continues to develop remarkable skills at our suet feeder. The Thrush has been a regular for three years and this particular winter started early and is going strong. I see it virtually every day and presume it's more regular than that. BirdCam gives me more proof that the Thrush has progressed on the learning curve and is better able to grab hold of the wirework with its relatively week feet. As far as I can tell it's way ahead of the Northern Mockingbird in this skill. Evidently the suet is terribly tasty elsewise this time- and energy-demanding task would put the bird in a fuel crunch. I'm very glad I have yet another month to enjoy this spectacle. You're definitely worth the watch!

A Little Less Ornery For Now

When there are Northern Mockingbirds around, one must prepare for the possibility that they'll get ornery. Mockingbirds can be aggressive both to humans (usually when nests and young are involved) and more so to other birds (when feeders are involved.) This winter, I definitely have at least one Mocker, but it has so far been behaving, or so it appears. I do see one fairly regularly perched on top of a feeder station. Either one is rotating front and back or there are multiple birds. Who can tell? But other birds are getting to the feeders, so it doesn't look like the Mockers are making much effort to drive them off. That's a good deal. I don't mind these characters around and enjoy watching them attack suet. But I prefer they play well with others. So far...both. Everyone's happy!

Bath Deicer Getting a Workout

This is definitely a winter when I am glad I made the purchase of bird bath deicers. In most winters here, I can expect the bath would ice over anywhere from 30 to 40 times in the entire season, and most of those light ice (at or just below 32 degrees F.) Since the thermometer dropped to 32 in 2010 (that would be November 7th) I've already recorded 56 days when the deicer kicked on...and we're not even 2/3 of the way into the cold months! Last year we racked up only 36 days of needing the deicer at this point in January. I'm fairly certain my bird buddies appreciate the equipment as I've seen lots of traffic to the pedestal all winter. The thing doesn't consume very much electricity and it's making my yard much more attractive. Nonetheless, I'd be pretty happy if I didn't need it in February, but that remains to be seen! It stays plugged in...

Sure Enough, The Rule Holds

As I surmised in yesterday's post, my claim that I was no longer seeing Siskins was promptly refuted by BirdCam evidence. And today, a Purple Finch showed up. What is interesting is that this is a lone female, just as seen a few weeks ago. There is no photo evidence of any other birds of this species. I wonder if she is detached in some way from an irruptive flock and was unable to reestablish contact. The BirdCam photos indicated that she is also not in the company of House Finches. I only see here alone or with other solitaries, such as the Red Winged Blackbird. I definitely need to watch out for this one. How she evades my personal observation I have no clue. And I would like to see if she has any friends. In any case, the Cary BirdCam Rule holds!

The Cary BirdCam Rule

It is fast becoming a rule here at Cary BirdCam that when I make a statement of probability, such as "the Pine Siskins are nowhere to be found", that almost immediately I will be proved wrong. And...why, yes, I complained two days ago that the Siskins were gone and today BirdCam picked up a bird with Siskin field marks. 'Ol David is wrong again. There may nto be a lot of these little seed piggies, but there is certainly one hanging around. I said the same thing about the Purple Finches, so I suppose I'll find evidence of them tomorrow. And what else? that the Goldfinches will stick around? I shudder at the thought of my confident claims going town like Pine trees in a new subdivision. Call it the Cary BirdCam Rule.

Peanut Butter Dominators

At least here in the Piedmont, today is the very bottom of the annual 30-year average temperature cycle. It wasn't as cold as other days this winter, and certainly far from what other parts of this great nation are dealing with. But for us, it was nonetheless cold, damp and nasty. And in my flu-ish haze, I watched today as my backyard buddies attacked the cafe. And I observed the peanut butter feeder with exceeding interest. It's been cleaned off...practically sanitized...this month. And just who's doing the cleanoff? Today's photo data:

Yellow Rumped Warblers - 49%
Brown Headed Nuthatches - 18% (shown)
Pine Warblers - 10%
Northern Mockingbirds - 9%
Carolina Wrens - 9%
Carolina Chickadees - 5%

What's happened since I first put this feeder up in the fall has been a huge increase in Yellow Rumped visitation, and that by itself explains why this feeder is relatively unpopular in the months when, well, the Warblers aren't there. It's got me convinced I mostly feed them. Well, fine. It's fun to watch! Let 'em beat the cold in a tasty way.

Same Old Characters?

Coming home from birding afield can be a let down. Don't they ask how they'll stay on the farm once they've seen Paris? This time, I am all fuss. It didn't help to pick up a case of the flu. Nor that while I was away the BirdCam's batteries failed. And now that I have gone over the photos I do have, even the local birds got a little less interesting. And that is because all of the rarities have been absent. No Pine Siskins. No Purple Finches. Nary a piece of evidence in many days. To be sure my mix is good. I regularly see Bluebirds, and Goldfinches, and the elusive Brown Headed Nuthatch. But without the irruptives, the current winter crowd seems like the same old characters at the bar. Mark it up to a grouchy flu-ridden birdwatcher. I will just have to keep looking out the window and recovering that backyard magic.

A Blustery Day at Pea Island

In yesterday's post I spoke a little of my visit late last week to Lake Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge. My other major objective in the birding adventure was Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge on NC's Outer Banks. Let me tell you, it was a cold, windy day! Just a hundred or so miles north there was a snowstorm raging, and we reaped the Canadian winds. Despite these raw conditions, the birding was acceptable. I counted 24 species, all it seemed, huddling to get out of the wind. Good scores were both Brown and American White Pelicans, Northern Harrier, Bufflehead Ducks, Black Ducks, and Eastern Meadowlark. I also located Tundra Swans, Pintails, Shovelers, and Great Egrets. Another treat: a pod of Porpoises swimming in a line only 20-30 feet from shore. Pea Island always shows treasures in the colder months, and had the wind been lessened, I am sure I would have located many others. But I got my time at bat and it is now time to return and enjoy home's jewels.

Marvels at Mattamuskeet

Hello dear readers, I am back from several days' birdwatching at two of my favorite places in the Old North State. Let me start with the first of these: Lake Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge. Regrettably much of the accessible refuge was sealed off due to bridge construction, and the star of the show--the Tundra Swan (shown)--is scattered across the coast so that I didn't come upon great numbers of them this time. But even a few hundred of these birds can have a soothing effect on the soul. I focused on the causeway across the lake where I found many American Coots, Canvasbacks, Northern Shovelers, more Double Crested Cormorants than I have ever seen before, and a fair number of herons and egrets. A genial gentleman and I also enjoyed the sight of a juvenile Bald Eagle. Even better results were had on the great impoundments near the refuge entrance where I espied Pintails, Shovelers, and their friends in great numbers, and also a Snow Goose and American Bittern. Even at my plodding pace I toted up 34 species. We'll just have to try again, perhaps this November if the schedule allows. Tomorrow: Pea Island.

Back to the Coast

The long wait is over! and your correspondent is packed and ready to head out for several days of birding at two of America's finest wildlife refuges. My schedule dictated this coming weekend, but conditions should be ripe for viewing all kinds of migrant waterfowl including the magnificent Tundra Swans that make Lake Mattamuskeet a major attraction. I'll leave Jennifer behind (in a warm house) and will also not be posting to this page for the same time. But I look forward to sharing photos, stories and highlights. Can't wait!

A Thrilling Discovery Near Home

This past weekend Jennifer and I visited our local North Carolina Museum of Art and came across a spectacular exhibit of I hadn't been aware. The state, through a fortuitous purchase in 1846, possesses no less than four complete sets of John J. Audubon's breathtaking "Double Elephant Folio" with 435 prints of a majority of North American species. Through 2016, visitors can be in the presence of all four. Plates (obviously only four being visible) are changed quarterly, and we thrilled to the images of Carolina Parakeets, White Headed Dove, Hairy Woodpecker (and friends) and the Clapper Rail. The volumes are in an extended process of restoration -- thankfully! as many plates had been separated from their volumes for reasons baffling to me. I believe I read that only 134 of the original 200 volumes exist, and not many can be seen by the public. What a treasure! and only a few miles from my home. In the area? hurry and see!

Bird Box Check 2011

The opportunity at last presented itself for me to mount my trusty stepladder and do the annual winter bird box check. I like to wait until winter to both inspect results from the previous season and to freshen things up for the coming spring. At present, that means looking at ten units scattered across the woody buffer south of the house. Results? I knew we had one success, documented in this blog during the spring. That was a new box occupied by White Breasted Nuthatches. It appears I had a second success--or at least near success (shown) in a box that the previous year had been deemed a turkey. It had a complete nest and some biodisturbance. I'd say it was Wrens, Titmice or Chickadees based on materials used and size of aperture. One other box---one I never held much hope for--had a starting effort of twigs. Everything else: just as I left it the previous winter. So we try again. We have two new boxes (one is to go up soon), another moved, and the rest---we'll leave for one more season. We'll hope for better results in 2011!

A Strange Appearance

I can't decide whether it is stranger to see a single appearance of a bird long absent, or a long absence by a usually common bird. In either case, today I spotted a lone American Robin. And it has been a long run of months since I've seen a single individual here. I'm accustomed to seeing migratory movements: our summer Robins go south and northern Robins come here (I usually find great flocks of them out east) But for me...none. So what was the story with the laggard? No storms existed to blow it off course. No other signs exist of other Robins. I'm fairly certain I've not missed this bird previously. It remains one of those oh-too-tantalizing mysteries for the amateur observer. I'm hoping it sticks around and takes up the suet pursuits in which all the earlier Robins engaged. Much yet to see...

YRW's Behaving at the Peanut Butter Bar

The Peanut Butter has been very busy of late, what with the ludicrously cold weather in the Piedmont (I think I heard it's been the fourth coldest winter since the 1940s.) There are a group of species involved, but the one that's really doing the most damage are the Yellow Rumped Warblers. True to form, once they get established on our property, they pretty much spend their time at this feeder. What we haven't yet established is whether they also take on an aggressive posture and drive out the competition. That was the case last winter, when one male became an intolerable nuisance. But from what I've seen, it looks like the lot of them are behaving and content with their haul. It all bears watching, though.

Window Box Varmints

Some weeks ago I inferred from seed hull evidence that a relocated window box had been compromised by surprisingly athletic squirrels. But recent investigations have proven that...and I am forced to admit...the squirrels are entirely innocent! I'd been used to Titmice and Chickadees flying in, grabbing a seed, and running, leaving no waste behind. Turns out, now that we've studied the box, that House Finches and Pine Siskins are the true varmints. These birds come in and stay, eating and dropping hulls almost squirrel-like. This would not be so bad except that these species are seed piggies and clean the box out in no time at all, where the Titmice would take a week. Have we only replaced one kind of squirrel with another?

Sheer Photo Enjoyment

Once in a while I obtain a BirdCam photo that so enthralls me that I want to post it---and then figure out what to do with it. As has happened today with my friend Catharus guttatus faxoni--the Hermit Thrush. This is the best closeup I've gotten of this restless bird at the suet feeder of its choice. What nice detail is captured! I think the eye is the most mezmerizing detail. At a distance: it's only a black dot. Here, there's the glint of light off the lens. So perhaps I don't have a marvelous story or curious detail to relate. For this one: it's simply enjoyment of the image. Especially knowing it won't be too long before this bird heads north, if it ever returns.

Hidden Delight

While others huddled inside for warmth during a recent winter, um, "episode". I found myself slipping and sliding through our local nature Preserve (Hemlock Bluffs) seeking interesting bird activity. And I got it. At center in this photo (one of dozens I took in a vain effort of effective portraiture!) is a Winter Wren, troglodytes troglodytes, which is a secretive wintertime guest in southeast U.S. woodlands. I believe they summer in Canada and New England. I got lucky and picked up on its chirping as it worked logs and underbrush for insects. But this tiny bird (only 80% as large as the already diminuative Carolina Wren) frustrated me by moving continually and unpredictably. Well, I didn't get the lifetime shot this time. Someday I will. But it was a treat to watch and follow this delightful character. Truly a hidden wonder many people miss.

Ice Storm Brings Out the Birds

Like much of the South we were hit hard by an ice storm last night. That's a recipe for my working from home, and for the birds coming out in droves. All of the feeders were being worked, and we saw the hard-luck cases like the Red Winged Blackbirds and Towhees who were all grateful for broadcast seed and platform feeder opportunities. My midday refill actually more than doubled the usual morning (once-a-day) fill! And we enjoyed scenes of avian mayhem. Jennifer watched a Pine Siskin much of the midday. This bird "owned" a window feeder and very aggressively pushed interlopers out. I'm not too worried for its main victims (House Finches) as they had more than a few seed feeders to mob. The worst is over, weatherwise, but we did see some amazing activity. And that was quite enough for me until next winter, Lord willing!

Time For More Science

It probably comes as a complete shock that I, Mr. Number Cruncher, logbook keeper, and gatherer of data has never actually established records of any kind with respect to birdfood consumption. That all changed on January 1st as I set out to gather at least one year's worth of data on how much I put out, and when. This is real science, folks! The equipment is simple: a basic kitchen scale. Readings are taken of full dispensers (I use an old Nyger sock tube) and then of the same containers after seed and suet is dispensed, and data are logged for sunflower, safflower, suet nuggets, and suet cakes. I'm definitely curious how much more I put out when young are fed than on cold winter days, and so forth. It should answer some critical questions, and help me make decisions about feeders at certain times of years. We'll report findings once I start crunching numbers... perhaps in a few months' time. Fun!

Chickadee Update

Some weeks ago I reported on the dearth of Carolina Chickadee sightings here in 2010 but especially in the summer and fall. One point of concern was that I wasn't regularly seeing the birds. Perhaps the cold has something to do with it, but I am definitely seeing Chickadees more regularly, albeit I can only conclusively attest to two birds (as many as I can see at one time) and they're as feisty as ever. I can hardly take a step outside without one of them scolding me in the most emphatic manner. And they're popping about at many different feeders. This gives me some hope that these durable little Pipids will bounce back in 2011 and grace our feeders as they once did. Scolding or no.

Good Goldfinch Mojo

The covered hanging platform feeder has been a popular gorging spot for many species in the past two weeks. Generally anything with a "finch" in the name is drawn like a moth to flame. Happily for me, one of these are American Goldfinches and these finicky customers seem to be enjoying themselves. I am seeing good numbers of birds regularly through the day, so whatever family group drawn in during the "Megatube" episode this fall are clearly sticking around. It amazes me that they're so easily drawn in with easy sunflower seed pickings...especially having spent too many dollars on crazy nyjer socks and feeders and then losing the birds to some other location. Happy news for us, for them (perhaps) and for a Goldfinch-rich 2011!

Tricky Finches: Must Be Careful

Amy's comment yesterday is well taken: "Tricky Finches" indeed! We all must be careful with our efforts to identify Purple Finches, at least when House Finches are the norm. Our city's nature center receives many calls from residents certain they've seen the Purple Finches (and didn't). And while I am 99% certain I detected them here yesterday -- thanks to distinct female finch field marks. The males are a tougher ID exercise. I am not certain I can prove one is about yet. Two days' of photography hasn't yielded clear enough images. And those that are, like this one on the right, show me a House Finch. Probably the best mark is whether the cap is brown or bright red. I see enough brown to cast doubt this is a Purple Finch. And so it goes, we must be careful and adopt Occam's Razor -- the simplest explanation is best. Stay skeptical, my friends! These guys are tricky!

This is New...and Unexpected

I've laid eyes on nearly 80,000 photographs taken by my BirdCams since 12/2007 and with minor exceptions (always because of poor light) I've identified every bird pictured. Tuesday's photography turned up a bird I really struggled with...at first. I first toyed with the idea of a female Rose Breasted Grosbeak. But she'd have to be a Grosbeak midget -- this bird was barely larger than nearby American Goldfinches. Not to mention that RBG's are not supposed to be within a thousand miles of here in winter.

After some time, I realized that what I just might have is a first for me, in the NC Piedmont: an irruptive female Purple Finch. I haven't seen one in many, many years. Size and color fits. Plumage fits. Feeder behavior fits. Obviously I need to watch the feeders carefully, watching also for any males who may be in the area. Amazing stuff!

BirdJammin'

This past October I acquired an iPod Touch to replace a dying PDA, and the experience has been better than expected---especially with respect to birding apps. I immediately purchased iBird, an app that has been the finest electronic field guide I've yet seen, as well as some less well known apps. But there was one I delayed...until late December. And it is a jewel. That would be BirdJam. BirdJam is, for the uninitated, an app that allows the user to reference birdsongs in the field including dialects, and through associated playlists to learn bird songs easily and convieniently. The app requires a database which in my case was the Stokes Eastern Bird CDs (a Christmas gift!) and the BirdJam Maker software available through the BirdJam web site. The thing loaded very easily and in almost no time I was up! The first test: I played the song of a Northern Mockingbird to one of that species. It listened for a time...until the distinctive NM hissing call showed up. My pesky Mockingbird immediately bolted! hmmm... Well, I'll be more ethical and use the tool to broaden my "musical" knowledge. I'm one happy BirdJammer now!

Clearer Evidence of Siskins

Clearer photography does help! Specifically, today, BirdCam delivered a conclusive photograph of Pine Siskins today visiting a hanging platform feeder (stocked with safflower seed and suet nuggets.) Here are three or possibly four Pine Siskins. The bill and streaking are very positive field marks: much different than the thick cudgel worn by House Finches. It looks like the Siskins are not hanging around with the Finches, but I can't be sure given the poor quality of some pictures. So this will be a Pine Siskin winter. But unlike 2008-09, I am running more feeders, so hopefully the fierce combat between the aggressive Siskins and the regulars may be eased. We shall see!

There Be Siskins Here!

The aching question of winter 2010-11, or at least one of two, has been answered. Reliable observers have reported irruptive Pine Siskins in our area, but through December I didn't see any at our feeders. I was on high alert given that Siskins spent much of the winter here two years ago. So it was always a possibility. In this BirdCam photo, (actually a small corner of the total image) a bird shows the distinctive Pine Siskin field marks -- small rapier bill, yellow wing bars, and prominent streaking. They also appear in several other photos taken Sunday. So they're here, and certainly prepared to go toe to toe with the House Finches for title of "Seed Glutton". Happily I have 60 pounds on hand of sunflower seed! And we are definitely monitoring events.

The Clever Thrush Clocks More Feeder Time

The opportunity presented itself today for a little quality time viewing of the main feeder station, and I was doubly fortunate. First, for a little time. Second, to watch the engaging behavior of our clever Hermit Thrush. The bird has quite a routine: parking itself on a railing, hurling itself at a suet basket if the coast is clear, and more often than not returning with a tasty bit. If the coast isn't clear---that is, if a Downy Woodpecker, say, is in the way, no problem! the Thrush swoops down and collects suet fragments the other bird knocks down. It must pay off for Hermie: the bird seems to be at its post almost everytime I look out there. Not too bad for a bird I was surprised to see two Januarys ago. Should be a fun month!

The Latest Fanbird

Score one for the woodpecker clan! Our very latest peanut butter client is of their lot -- the Red Bellied Woodpecker. Until now this species has stuck strictly to suet (and does a number on suet cakes, let me tell you!) But perhaps something caught its attention. The nuthatches, perhaps, or the Mockingbird. I'm not sure how well they detect odors. And just maybe in the balminess of the weekend that set off a signal. Whatever the cause, we have new competition for this food product. And the squirrelproof cage is no impediment to the RBW getting its licks in! Will there be another suprise guest here?