Category: Backyard birds

Project Feeder Watch Starts Soon

The 26th season of Project FeederWatch begins November 10, and participants are needed more than ever. By watching your feeders from November through April and submitting what you see, you’re making it possible for scientists to keep track of changing bird populations across the continent. New or returning participants can sign up anytime.

After unusual winter weather in some parts of the country last season, many participants found themselves asking, “Where are the birds?”—but the story might be different this year.

The AccuWeather long-range forecasting service is predicting some big storms in the Northeast this winter, so FeederWatchers in that region may see more birds at their feeders than they did last winter. Forecasts also call for another year of below-normal snowfall for the Midwest, above-normal snowfall and below-normal temperatures for the central and southern Rockies, and a wet winter with above-normal precipitation for the Gulf Coast and Southeast.

“We’ll have to see if those predictions pan out and how they might affect feeder-bird numbers,” says David Bonter, project leader for FeederWatch. “The one number we definitely want to see increase is the number of people taking part in FeederWatch. It’s easy to do, and the information is incredibly valuable in helping us better understand what’s going on in the environment and in the lives of the birds we enjoy so much.”

Other things to look forward to as the season approaches:

  • A new photo gallery featuring some of the many photos FeederWatchers sent in during the 2011-12 season.
  • This year’s Winter Finch Forecast shows it could be a great winter for birds at feeders—so don’t miss it! Red-breasted Nuthatches, Red Crossbills, Evening Grosbeaks, and other birds are likely to be on the move after a relatively poor summer for cone crops. Read the full forecast for more details.
  • Winter Bird Highlights is the annual summary of the previous season’s results. The 2012 issue is being mailed to Canadian FeederWatch participants in their kits and will be mailed to U.S. participants with the fall issue of Living Bird News (late October). You can also get a PDF version online and read it immediately.

To learn more about joining Project FeederWatch and to sign up, visit www.feederwatch.org or call the Cornell Lab toll-free at (866) 989-2473. In return for the $15 fee ($12 for Cornell Lab members), participants receive the FeederWatcher Handbook and Instructions with tips on how to successfully attract birds to your feeders, an identification poster of the most common feeder birds, and a calendar. Participants also receive Winter Bird Highlights, an annual summary of FeederWatch findings, as well as the Cornell Lab’s quarterly newsletter, Living Bird News.

(Project FeederWatch is a joint research and education project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada.

Image: Dick Mansfield

Stock up on Niger Seed, the Siskin Boys (& Girls) are in town

We take in our feeders at night to avoid bear and raccoon problems.  Early yesterday morning, I hung up the bird feeder and thistle feeder and immediately had a dozen Pine Siskins flitting about, waiting for me to leave.  The same thing has happened all week — we have an onslaught of Siskins — as do other parts of New England in reading the eBird reports and list serves.


Pine Siskins are fun to watch but rather drab, after months of American Goldfinch watching.  

Here’s what the Cornell Lab of Ornithology says about them:

This nomadic finch ranges widely and erratically across the continent each winter in response to seed crops. Better suited to clinging to branch tips than to hopping along the ground, these brown-streaked acrobats flash yellow wing markings as they flutter while feeding or as they explode into flight. Flocks are gregarious, and you may hear their insistent wheezy twitters before you see them.

A Canadian ornithologist, Ron Pittaway, each year issues a  Winter Finch Forecast.  He notes that there is a “widespread tree seed crop failure in the Northeast” this year.  We may have a lot of visitors this winter — we’re already seeing a lot of Purple Finches and Dark-eyed Juncos.

This is the first winter in the last four that we are staying in Vermont — might be a good one for winter avian visitors.  My feed store friends are going to love me.  

Enjoying the birds of summer

While activity has dropped off in our woods, I’m starting to get the feeling that birds are getting ready to head on out — and trying to enjoy the ones I see during my daily dog walks in our woods.  Last evening, I watched a Cedar Waxwing for some time as it worked a low berry bush, noting the spectacular coloration and trying to envision the feather patterns that made that happen.  Today, we were inundated with Goldfinches on the feeders — just a whirlwind of yellow and black.

We still have Hermit Thrushes and Ovenbirds although only the thrushes are singing.  The other regular on the low-lying bushes is the Common YellowThroat.  They chip pretty steadily as they feed and respond quite well to pishing, hopping up on a branch to check things out.

It’s been hot and muggy for Vermont — not great weather to lug camera gear around the woods.  A cold front is coming through tonight so I think I’ll try to capture some digiscoped shots of our yard birds before they head south.  The hummers are still hitting the feeder during the cooler parts of the day but all in all, it’s the dog days of August.  Birds and birders don’t like it.

Bird Larders – storing up for winter

I’ve been watching birds cache food this week. The days are shorter, and the birds are preparing for the next season. The nuthatches prefer the hulled sunflower, and they’re choosing the heavier seeds as those are the ones higher in fat content. Their activity begins very early in the day. The titmice are taking one seed at a time and seem to cache higher in the trees than the nuthatches. The chickadees are caching in the middle of the day, and their pantry of seeds is in a knothole in a maple.

This caching behavior has its advantages. They’ll retrieve the larder of seed on days when the weather isn’t suitable for them to for forage. Their warehouses are available when the long winter settles upon them and other sources are no longer abundant, and yes, their memories are sharp!

(written by Sue McGrath of Newburyport Birders)

Not Just Chickadees

The dog wants a walk (what’s new?) and it’s a humid fall Vermont afternoon so why not — perhaps we’ll see some birds in our woods.  So off we go, the Vizsla running here and there as I look and listen for birds.  The trees are still foliage-laden although the soft maples are starting to turn color and drop a leaf now and then.  The falling leaves catch your eye like a moving bird would.

A Yellow-rumped Warbler in today’s poor lighting

A quarter-mile down the trail, I hear a bunch of chickadees calling.  They are almost impossible to see high in the leaves with a grey sky above — but there’s more than Chickadees there — I just saw a flash of yellow — yes, there’s a warbler with yellow on the back — and there he goes.  Not sure what that was.  Another Chickadee, then … hey, that’s a Golden-crowned Kinglet.  More cooperative, it stays around for a good look.  There’s a brownish bird, hard to see other than as a silhouette.  Wait, a flash of yellow — it’s a “butter butt” — a Yellow-rumped Warbler.  But the birds are all moving — high in the trees — and soon the woods are quiet — the whole gang has moved on.  The dog, who’s hung around waiting, gives me one of these, “Can we get moving, Dad?” looks.

I am reminded of a discussion we had on a recent North Branch Nature Center bird walk — where I posed the question about seeing other birds mixed in with Chickadees.  We wondered whether migrants “go to school” on local birds, like the Chickadees, since the residents know the territory food-wise.  It sounded like a decent theory and this little flurry of activity seemed to support it.

We worked our way around our loops in our woods, spotting a couple of Hermit Thrushes and a few other local birds but as we returned to the house, I again heard a bunch of Chickadees, this time high up in the red pines.  It was neck-craning time, with birds directly overhead, moving every which way.  Some were fly-catching: I saw both Yellow-rumps and some sort of flycatcher.  It was tough — terrible light, glasses fogging due to the humidity, birds way up high but it was fun.  It was also 100 yards from home.

Fall migration is not easy — birds are not singing, their color is pretty drab, and the trees still have too much foliage.  Yet, I’m going to continue to listen to my black and white feathered friends because often, it’s not just Chickadees in that tree.

Waiting through Hurricane Irene

Living in a rural area in the path of a hurricane (or tropical storm) with hundreds of miles of power lines and thousands of trees, combined with heavy rain and wind, make losing power almost a certainty.  Our power has already flickered so all the clocks are blinking and showing the wrong time – but we’ll find that manual for setting the oven stove yet.  Once electricity goes, we lose the water pump, the stove and oven, and the refrigerator and lights.  But we have a nice backup plan sitting in the yard, our Airstream travel trailer.


So yesterday, in pre-storm preparation, I added water to the ‘stream for ballast, checked the gas stove, started the gas refrigerator, and checked the battery charge.  The pads are down and it should ride out the storm nicely — and allow us to make coffee in the morning.

When I walked the dog early this morning, the trails were already flooding in places, but the birds were singing in the light steady rain.

They have been stoking up on thistle seed and sunflower chips all morning and in between downpours, a couple of hummers tanked up at their feeder.  We’ve had soggy Chickadees, Song Sparrows, American Goldfinches, and Hairy Woodpeckers and a Downy.  A placid Mourning Dove has sat through squalls in the crabapple tree, watching it all.

Hey I’m wet and molting — ditch that camera!

Wet but hungry Hairy Woodpecker

Momma Hummer tanks up in the rain

Man, it’s wet up here.  How about some room service?

The birding blogs are full of hurricane-related activity, starting with the wonderful story of the radio-equipped Whimbrell who made it through a few days ago.  Birders are looking forward to post-hurricane birding — here’s an article from Connecticut and one from Albany. 

Here’s what Brian Pfeiffer, one of our top birders just wrote:

“Hurricane Irene’s passage through Vermont is an opportunity for rare birds. Increasing winds today may deposit odd birds nearly anywhere in the state. Please use common sense out there; this is a dangerous storm. We need not lose anyone to high water, falling trees or downed power lines. Common sense is a far better thing than a Sooty Tern.


But do take note of what may be flying over or floating in large waterbodies. The Connecticut River will also be worth investigating. So will flooded fields for that matter. Monday morning may also be a fine time to search for the rare stuff. The hurricane of 1938 brought Cory’s Shearwater (Wheelock), Greater Shearwater (Rutland), Leach’s Storm-Petrel (Barre, Norwich, Rutland, St. Johnsbury), White-tailed Tropicbird (North Danville and Woodstock) and other delights to Vermont that particular September. When your neighbors call to report “a strange bird” in the yard, take it seriously. Go investigate if it’s safe to do so…”

 So, today’s a nice day to curl up with a birding book and think about possible new birds in your area.

I plan to check our nearby reservoirs tomorrow to check for wind-blown vagrant birds.  Be safe and tonight, most of us can hum, “Goodnight Irene.”

Waiting through Hurricane Irene

Living in a rural area in the path of a hurricane (or tropical storm) with hundreds of miles of power lines and thousands of trees, combined with heavy rain and wind, make losing power almost a certainty.  Our power has already flickered so all the clocks are blinking and showing the wrong time – but we’ll find that manual for setting the oven stove yet.  Once electricity goes, we lose the water pump, the stove and oven, and the refrigerator and lights.  But we have a nice backup plan sitting in the yard, our Airstream travel trailer.

So yesterday, in pre-storm preparation, I added water to the ‘stream for ballast, checked the gas stove, started the gas refrigerator, and checked the battery charge.  The pads are down and it should ride out the storm nicely — and allow us to make coffee in the morning.

When I walked the dog early this morning, the trails were already flooding in places, but the birds were singing in the light steady rain.

They have been stoking up on thistle seed and sunflower chips all morning and in between downpours, a couple of hummers tanked up at their feeder.  We’ve had soggy Chickadees, Song Sparrows, American Goldfinches, and Hairy Woodpeckers and a Downy.  A placid Mourning Dove has sat through squalls in the crabapple tree, watching it all.

Hey I’m wet and molting — ditch that camera!

Wet but hungry Hairy Woodpecker

Momma Hummer tanks up in the rain

Man, it’s wet up here.  How about some room service?


The birding blogs are full of hurricane-related activity, starting with the wonderful story of the radio-equipped Whimbrell who made it through a few days ago.  Birders are looking forward to post-hurricane birding — here’s an article from Connecticut and one from Albany. 

Here’s what Brian Pfeiffer, one of our top birders just wrote:

“Hurricane Irene’s passage through Vermont is an opportunity for rare birds. Increasing winds today may deposit odd birds nearly anywhere in the state. Please use common sense out there; this is a dangerous storm. We need not lose anyone to high water, falling trees or downed power lines. Common sense is a far better thing than a Sooty Tern.


But do take note of what may be flying over or floating in large waterbodies. The Connecticut River will also be worth investigating. So will flooded fields for that matter. Monday morning may also be a fine time to search for the rare stuff. The hurricane of 1938 brought Cory’s Shearwater (Wheelock), Greater Shearwater (Rutland), Leach’s Storm-Petrel (Barre, Norwich, Rutland, St. Johnsbury), White-tailed Tropicbird (North Danville and Woodstock) and other delights to Vermont that particular September. When your neighbors call to report “a strange bird” in the yard, take it seriously. Go investigate if it’s safe to do so…”

 So, today’s a nice day to curl up with a birding book and think about possible new birds in your area. 

I plan to check our nearby reservoirs tomorrow to check for wind-blown vagrant birds.  Be safe and tonight, most of us can hum, “Goodnight Irene.”

Same Old Singers

Black-throated Blue Warbler

The birds in our woods seem as happy as we are when the showers stop and the sun tries to peek out.  The singing, even at mid-day, is amazing.  The only birds I that seemed not to vocalize were the song sparrows — perhaps they’re courtin’ days are over this spring.

We’ve had a noisy Common Yellowthroat in the bushes/trees near the driveway for days now.  I’m always surprised at how tough he can be to see, even though he’s singing his head off, drowning out most others.  Of course, once you get him, he’s pretty easy to follow with the glasses.

I heard a call today that I knew that I should know (lots of those) and sure enough, tracked down a Black-throated Blue Warbler which bounced around in the nearly-leafed-out trees but then posed for some photos. 

Ovenbirds are everywhere — their singing rings through our wood lot.  Try to find them though — I usually can only see them briefly when they flit off.  Likewise for Wood Thrushes — probably a half dozen were singing away during my noon walk.  I did track one down but it saw me and was pretty jumpy, moving from branch to branch.

The star of the walk was a male White-throated Sparrow which I heard, and called in with the iPhone app.  He popped up next to me for a good photo op.

White-throated Sparrow

Add some Black-headed Juncos, a Chestnut-sided Warbler, and the standard Blue Jays, American Crows, Black-capped Chickadees, and an American Robin on a nest, and in spite of the black flies and mosquitoes, you have a nice walk.  Penny, the Vizsla, is giving me the evil eye for leaving her home but birding without a bird dog seems to go a lot better.  She has, and will have, plenty of chances to “help” me bird our property.