Birding and Freds

What a few days in terms of temperature. Hot days previously, with cold warnings overnight, hanging plants were brought indoors. I woke at 2 a.m. and it was 10 ℃. By 6 a.m. it was down to 5!

The lilacs are in bloom, see in my header. I walked outdoors and couldn't figure out what beautiful thing was blooming! 

🐦 Birding

It's been a great season for 🐦birding. I haven't gone far. OK, not anywhere else. May is the season to bird during mating season when they are calling. Also, when the leaves aren't out in full. My back deck needs work, but we are so happy overlooking the yard.

Merlin's App certainly helps. I knew I had to look for Great Crested Flycatchers. OK, not great from the back deck! I am not quick enough, and have to switch between looking out to find them and then sliding on my reading glasses for the camera focus! 

Dunno, 'Proof of Life?' You can almost see them. This is me on the back deck, aiming into the forest.

I decided to venture out in the bugs in the early morning. Sure enough, in the back 40, where Barry 🦫 is busy. The results weren't as good as I thought. This is a bad photo of the Black-and-White-Warbler. Maybe it's not worth it?! I can listen to them...

Archive photos of Flycatchers. 

Swainson's thrush

Ovenbird

Goldfinch!!!

Robin

Fred Groundhog

Yesterday I had to document the tree losses. It is Fred's Groundhog's turn for fame. 

MiniFred and Fred had a fight. Momma Fred came over and chased her.

Momma Fred has been clear about MiniFred being around. There have been 2 chases that I've seen.

 

This is why! Caitlin thought of it. There are at least 2 kits. I have evidence...

Fred has been working on my Hosta! We just have to laugh.

Yard birds report

It is a delightful season for us. All the birds and bees are in mating mode. I love the songs. Each day the leaf buds get a little bigger. We'll lose our sunsets, but nature unfurls.

Phoebe is proudly atop the purple pencil. It's a great vantage point. They should hatch in a couple of days.

Here is Momma phoebe. Tucked in the nest in the corner. We had ice on the bird bath Monday morning. 

The lilac tree is budding up, and the rose-breasted grosbeak was bug hunting. Bless their hearts.

You can see why so many bird counts should be done in May. They are breeding, singing in top form, and you can see them between the leaves.

Merlin is giving me some valuable information. 

It helps to know what to look for. This is a pair of Yellow-rumped Warblers. They were off in the distance, in the birch trees out back. Even with a zoom lens, it was tricky. This is the male.

The female was nearby. Hard to see her, but she is in the upper right. of the photo. Trust me! They are well-camouflaged.

I have found a bird new to me. 'Lifer' for someone who volunteers in hospice work just doesn't sound right to me! 

 Cinnamon and I were out front and I heard a bird. Next we had a towhee who visited. Merlin told me what it was. I am always dubious!

 

 It came to the bird feeder, but was shy! 

Also heard: Common Yellowthroat!

This bird eludes me. It looked more like a green heron on my iPhone. I wondered if it was a mistake, but it is a small one. I looked it up!

👂Listen, because there is no way I could spot it! 

Yay, SPRING!

Interactions occurring at feeders

I watch my feeders pretty closely. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there! I blogged a birding list in 2012; this is my May update. With the spring migrations of birds, song birds, and birds moving north to breed, we get waves of bird species that come and go.

Cornell University, Feederwatch.org does good work. They've upped the traditional bird and backyard feeder counts to add three types of behaviour, which I've often thought about!

I have only witnessed behaviour #1, displacement. The sweet chickadees flee quickly when the bigger birds arrive. Then, the changeover in spring, when the song birds and insect-eaters arrive results in more topsy-turvy displacement. Purple finches, pine siskin. The birds wait in the evergreen until it is there turn.


Mr Rose-breasted grosbeak is back. He was perched on the Catalpa tree. At one point he yawned! I don't know if he was looking for competition, predators or the Mrs., but he was fun to watch. He just arrived back this week.


Behaviour #2, mobbing, not so much. The red-wings seem to tolerate the grackles and cowbirds. They all scatter when the blue jays arrive! It settles out, I think, by size.



I don't see these guys mobbing, Behaviour#2. They seem to share pretty well, with much seed scattered by the larger birds who don't fit on the feeders well, and throw it all about!


Behaviour #3, predation, I snapped a photo one harsh winter, when I spotted the Sharp-shinned hawk. He's been chasing birds and with killing them, or having them smash into the window: a blue jay, grouse, both hit the window at great speed. Also, the small saw-whet owl had been taken out.

Hawk chased this Grouse into the window

Read more about this exciting new project, and how you can contribute!

  To learn about what interactions are occurring at feeders, we built a behavioral observation input tool to gather data about three types of interactions:
1) displacement, where one bird causes another to relinquish its position near a food source;
2) mobbing, where one or more birds harass another;
3) predation, where one bird attacks and eats another.

I kept meaning to look into this, but I did not pursue it.

I must admit I spend more time of Angry Birds than actual bird behaviour! Cindy, my nemesis, is a whiz, as is my daughter, Caitlin!