Category Archives: Yard birds

Redpolls — Where Have You Been?

Redpoll2WCommon Redpolls arrived at our feeders in late November and ate us out of house and home for about a week — and vanished until today.  I’ve not seen any Redpolls in the woods or anywhere around central Vermont but suddenly, about a dozen were chowing down on our sunflower and nijer seeds this morning.

It’s great to have them back — they are just great to watch as they chow down.  You might remember, from this post, that they have a “pocket” in the neck area to store food.  I thought of this today as I watched one grab at least a dozen seeds.  I didn’t stick around to see if it could still lift off with that payload.

So, regardless of whether you are a new group passing through, or an old group coming back to where the food is great, welcome Redpolls.  You perk us up on these short, short days.

Birding Once Again

I’ve been laid up after last Thursday’s surgery and while I have enjoyed watching birds coming to our feeders, it was nice to get out in the woods early this frosty morning for my first outdoor outing in nearly a week.  Mary has done a great job with keeping the dog exercised but I was ready to take back that duty — carefully.

There’s not a lot out and about at daybreak aside from the chickadees, nuthatches, blue jays, and crows but they were nice to hear and see as I trudged up the crusty frozen path. I’ve been reading up on birding by ear and looking into recording and analyzing calls so I brought my iPhone along.  Even though we live in the country, the background noises can be loud in the early morning.  We have a noisy rooster a mile or so off and there’s always a dog or two barking in the distance.  The traffic noise, even though the road is a half-mile off, can get loud and of course, I have the Vizsla tromping back and forth “helping” me bird.  I think recording will be a work in progress for a while .. but an interesting aspect of birding to look into.

A Blue Jay eyes our suet package.

Since I had to take it easy and pause periodically, it was fun to remember past sightings as I moved along our trail — the trees where three Brown Creepers were calling to one another as they foraged, the dead snag where a hawk sat until the dog spooked it, the little meadow where a couple of Common Yellowthroats drove me nuts as I tried to get them to settle for a photograph.  We then flushed a partridge and the dog was off and running again.

I find that this “virtual birding” is enjoyable — recalling specific birds you have seen at given points along a patch that you frequently bird.  It’s a diversion on days were there are few birds but it also is a reminder that hey, it won’t be long until we start seeing ______ again.

A group of Common Redpolls made their first visit this morning.

And sure enough, as I returned and thawed my hands out, I noticed a new bird at the feeder.  It was our first Common Redpoll of the season.  We’ve been expecting them and it was great to see them again.

The Supply-side Economics of Bird Feeding

Ever watch a Black-capped Chickadee or White-breasted Nuthatch pick away at the feeder, discarding stuff left and right until a sunflower seed pops up?

Eat the millet — it’s good for you!

I have a deck littered with millet and other rejected seeds as Nuthatches, Chickadees, and finches select the good stuff.  So why did I buy bags of mixed seeds?  It seemed to be an economical way to feed birds but the only folks happy are the chipmunks and red squirrels, and an occasional night-time raccoon who vacuum up the leftovers.

Last week, Mary got sick of sweeping the deck (as did I)  so she bought a bag of black oil sunflower seeds — the feed we have used in years past — and the birds no longer have a choice.  (Well, they still do because I have to integrate the rest of the mix into the feeder — but of course, even camouflaged with sunflowers, it still gets left there.

When I read this article from BirdWatching Magazine, I thought, “Well, I think we did the right thing.”   Here’s an excerpt:

As a result of this year’s drought and high temperatures, agricultural prices are expected to reach record-setting levels. Economizing on bird feeding is a priority. Below are tips that will help you do so while increasing both your enjoyment and your feeding’s value to birds.

Sunflower-seed prices are high, for sure, but switching to cheaper mixes that include a little sunflower seed and more generic “bird seed” is an excellent example of being penny wise but pound foolish. Most birds ignore a lot of the seeds in mixes, especially inexpensive ones, and not only are those filler seeds a waste of money but some attract nuisance wildlife such as rats. Just as bad, seed that doesn’t get eaten rots, exposing your birds to disease-causing bacteria and fungus.

Many of the smaller seeds in mixes are popular with birds that don’t need subsidies from us and cause problems for native birds. Although it’s counterintuitive, in the long run, you’ll spend less by offering sunflower seed alone. You’ll still be providing food for the widest mixture of native birds, including chickadees and nuthatches, finches, small woodpeckers, jays, and doves…

 

We’ll feed sunflower seed, niger seed for the finches, and suet for the woodpeckers.  That should keep our birds, and our farm supply store, happy this winter.

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.

Check that crabapple tree

Yesterday, Ron Payne, a birder in Middlebury, made this post on the Vermont birding listserve:

“A Cape May Warbler has been in a apple tree across the street from my house on Weybridge St. since at least 7:00 AM this morning. If you have any blooming apple trees around, it might be worth while to see if there is anything making squeaking noises inside it.”

Indigo Bunting (f)

Our old crabapple tree is blossoming and full of honeybees (I have several hives) and a variety of goldfinches and purple finches but I never really check it for new birds — until I read the post.  So today, between rain showers and work, I kept an eye on it.  Mourning doves, hummers, finches, woodpeckers, chickadees, and nuthatches … all the usual suspects.

Mid-day, I saw something different working away up in the blossoms — saw some purple or blue, then it popped out and I got a look, and a photo, of my first Indigo Bunting.

I didn’t realize that warblers and other birds like the blossoms but in any case, I’ll keep my binoculars and camera handy for the next few days as the apple blossoms continue.  And hope that Mr. Bunting decides to pay a call.