Cary BirdCam Year in Review 2013

Every year with the backyard birds is a good one, but 2013 definitely had its moments for those of us at Cary BirdCam.  I picked up a new species, saw some interesting behavior, and enjoyed the comings and goings of migrants.  As is my annual little tradition, I'll recall the highlights.

The top moments of the year for me were spotting our first Baltimore Oriole on the property, proving that Barred Owls were list birds, and scoring an amazing photo of male and female hummingbirds at the same nectar feeder.  There are bad moments as well, like the battle I fought with two pesky Mallards that seemed to move into my front yard in June, a bad family group of Grackles, and an onslaught of Red Winged Blackbirds in late winter.  Also in the category of "exciting" is a new model BirdCam from the good people at Wingscapes!, as well as a world-class fun time with the Great Backyard Bird Count in February.

Seasonal visitors are always a delight to welcome back, and among the ones I enjoyed were the Hermit Thrush (now in year 4!), White Throated Sparrows, and the wonderful Juncos in the winter, and the Hummingbirds and Gray Catbirds in the summer.  One parting in the spring seemed final -- I did not see the Red Breasted Nuthatches, Ruby Crowned Kinglets or Pine Siskins come back in the fall, and another seemed quite delayed (Hummingbirds, almost to October).  I made a play to attract Rufous Hummingbirds this winter, again, and that continues to come up empty.  "Hermie", by the way, has become an exceedingly talented feeder bird.

Juveniles are also a treat when they first check in at the feeders.  Ones that made a splash were the young Cardinals, Bluebirds, and Red Bellied Woodpeckers.  I may have been oblivious to the junior Mourning Doves, because we ended up with a bumper crop of doves!  In addition, we had a bunch of late (third brood?) arrivals.  Cardinals were also noteworthy in that group.

Juveniles must come from successful nests, and as is our story nest boxes often don't work out here.  The White Breasted Nuthatches used "their" same box to success, but a Chickadee attempt aborted--in a box the bluebirds persist in avoiding.  Weird happenings took place in the ever-jinxed "bird bottle", with fillings-and-emptyings going on into November!  Feeders also kept me busy, and top of the list was the cold winter re-installation of our busy window box and a new peanut feeder--one I expect to be impervious to squirrels.

Ah, most wretched Sciurus carolinensis!  Squirrels continue to cause what trouble they can, but again in 2013 didn't raise total havoc.  I kept a close eye on Chumley and his kin all year and am surprised how little bother they caused.

I try to get out in the field when I can.  And I did see some treats in an otherwise disappointing year.  My winter visit to the coast was derailed, but I got one fine nonbreeding Tern, and otherwise curious exotics abroad in March and some old salt marsh friends in August.  I did better locally, scoring owls at the top of the year and at an underrated city park.  And the office park afforded experiences with a Blue Grosbeak and two peculiar Black Vultures!  And greenways can offer surprises of their own, like friendly Guinea Fowl!

We're been adding native plants to the property in part to support birdlife and 2013 saw all my additions flourish, especially those that attracted hummingbirds.  Growing sunflowers only aided sociopathic squirrels.  I added more plants and species this fall to make 2014 even better!

All in all, a pretty good year with many sensory delights.  Now we can look forward to the fun in 2014.

2012 in Review

Here we are at the end of another calendar year, and for the fourth time I find myself reviewing the bird-viewing moments of the past year.  Here are the highlights from Cary BirdCam in 2012.

Late 2012 has been a splendid year for two periodic irruptive species.  Top on the list are the Red Breasted Nuthatches (shown) but we also enjoyed seeing Pine Siskins -- or, was that lots of siskins!.  And as always we welcomed the arrival of guests for the summer (Ruby Throated Hummingbirds and Gray Catbirds) and for the winter (Yellow Rumped Warblers, White Throated Sparrows, Slate Colored Juncos, and especially the ever-smarter Hermit Thrush).  And, "Hermie" provided the shortest midsummer wait this year of only half a year!

As seems to be the pattern here, my nest box offerings were mostly slighted.  But the White Breasted Nuthatches seemed to make a go of one and the unpleasant House Wrens did hog my bluebird box. But at least we enjoyed the annual parade of juveniles including "Junior" the Red Bellied Woodpecker and the "Blues Brothers" (bluebirds, of course).  Flock/group sizes seemed to be up for the Mourning Doves as well.

Interesting, and even astonishing bird behavior was noted a number of times in 2012.  The wildest came from one crazed male Northern Cardinal who terrorized rear view mirrors in the neighborhood deep into November.  But we also dealt with a "pyscho Titmouse" and a succession of unlikely birds at sunflower seed tubes and suet baskets (Red Bellied Woodpecker, Chipping Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, and Northern Cardinal)  I induced a House Finch "cooldown" in January, but failed in June, no surprise with finches!  And we had visits from surprisingly well mannered bad boys like the Red Winged Blackbirds, Grackles, and Jays.  Not all the bad behavior belonged to birds.  Our squirrels generally stayed in bounds but I discovered one evil Einstein in the bunch who bears watching.

I've made some important changes in the landscaping here thanks to a very productive ten weekend stretch in the fall.  Out are the Leatherleaf Mahonias (which may annoy the catbirds) and an overgrown pair of junipers (which made possible a popular "scratch ground".  An increasing inventory of wildflower species should soon benefit my favorite songbirds.  Highly productive were new Columbines, relocated Helianthus, and our widespread Trumpet Vines.  The bird baths (two in parallel) had great payoffs for heat fatigued birds in June and towards attracting our first Cedar Waxwings in February.  And top of that, I spiffed up the gardens with about a dozen pieces of bird art created by a ceramic artist friend.  Rounding out the home "work" was the conclusion of my experiment measuring seed consumption here.  2011 saw 3 million sunflower seeds put out!

Not all the fun was at home.  We did take time to enjoy bird encounters on the road.  I didn't get the usual dazzling results at a hurricane-ravaged Pea Island in January, but did fine with a two-day "Waterfowl Prowl" at New Years, discovered a wonderful new haunt a few counties over in April and we found some birds of interest on road trips to Connecticut, Old Salem, and Wrightsville Beach among others.   And in April I enjoyed my charge of a bird walk with two fine young scholars at the office.  On top of that I reconnected with Blue Grosbeaks at two locations this summer and a Great Horned Owl just this week. 

What an interesting and entertaining year!  It has been a delight to document the fascinating moments along the way and to have the privilege of your readership.  I can't wait to see what 2013 brings!