The Right Feeder

 

 

Confused when they begin to feed themselves, juvenile birds are fun to watch.  They fly all over the deck, pecking at everything.  Eventually they seem to find the right feeder. 

 

 

Sunflower seeds for the little cardinal

 

 

 

He decides to try out a different feeder.

He still has a sunflower seed in his mouth.

 

 

 

He sits there not knowing exactly what to do.

Finally he determines that his beak is not going to work with this feeder.  So he goes back to the sunflower seeds.  This little bird tends to take a seed and fly to the deck railing to crack it.  Perhaps because that's where the parents fed him for a while.  And then, despite his long and noisy protests, the parents ignored him.  And so he learns.  Just like other little ones.

They Are Turning Yellow Already

I mentioned in a previous post that one of my favorite songbirds is the American Goldfinch; this for no other reason that that the goldfinches molt and turn yellow so early in the year.  We know that spring is here when the goldfinches turn.

Not all of them change at the same time and it's always a treat to see the variations in yellow among the males.

We have to rely on the calendar and the goldfinches to confirm that spring is here.  Like most of the rest of the country, we are having temperatures far below normal for the year.  High winds and blizzard conditions have hit the Midwest again.  We won't get out of the 30s here today although our normal high for the day is in the 60s.  The skies are gray and we are having little flurries of snow intermittently.

Nonetheless, the trees are budding and the goldfinches are turning yellow.  And so we know it is spring.

The American Goldfinch is the State Bird of several states, including New Jersey, Iowa, and Washington.  It is found in most states either as a summer resident or all-year resident.  Here in NC, they stay with us all year.

Interestingly enough, the birds put on their summer plumage quite early, but they do not start nesting until June or July.  The reason is because they are truly vegetarian and must rely on the thistle, milkweed and other plants to produce the seeds they need to feed their young.  So despite the early molting, they are among the latest nesters.  Some songbirds are ready for a second brood by then.

This one seems a bit brighter than the others.

The goldfinch is one bird that does not raise the young of the Cowbirds.  A Cowbird may leave an egg in the goldfinch nest and the egg may hatch.  The goldfinches will feed the large intruder, but the Cowbird chick cannot survive on the all-seed diet of the goldfinch and will not live.

Pesky Pine Siskins tend to flock with American Goldfinches during an irruption.  And this has been a significant irruptive year for them.  We have taken in all feeders except the suet on several occasions but those pesky siskins keep coming back.  Perhaps they will move on soon.  We hope so, because we definitely want our goldfinches around without them.

One of a Kind Brooch

I have three favorite songbirds, the chickadee, the wren, and the goldfinch.  I love the chickadees because they are such friendly little birds, always the first to try out a new bird feeder or birdbath.  I love the wren because it likes to nest nearby and hops from chair to deck to railing, providing a lot of entertainment.  And I love the American Goldfinch because it puts on its summer coat ever so much earlier than the other birds.  Even though they are among the latest nesters in our area.  The gradual increase in yellow is a definite sign of spring.

Imagine my surprise when my daughter gave me a pin showing a goldfinch on the glass.  Then she surprised me even more when she told me it was made with one of my own photographs.  She had taken one of them and sent it to a woman who makes all sorts of interesting jewelry and other items.

My pin with my own photograph.

The pin was made by Elaina Louise Studios, an Esty shop.  I checked the address and found that she has temporarily closed her shop due to her son's hospitalization.  But she will return soon and you can find her here.  Meanwhile, let's all give a special thought to her son.

If you are interested in a special gift you are certain to find something there.

Very Unusual Bird Activity

Many nesting boxes hang in the trees in our backyard.  Almost all of them are used by the nuthatches, chickadees, titmice.  The White-breasted Nuthatches typically occupy this particular house since they are among our earliest nesters.

Imagine my surprise when I saw an American Goldfinch flying back and forth to the house.

You can see the bird just to the left of the box.  You may want to click on it to enlarge.

The bird flew back and forth to the nesting box carrying materials.

 A first for me!  I have never seen a goldfinch enter a birdhouse.

 Yet enter the finch did.

So what's so unusual about this bird activity?  Plenty.  In the first place goldfinches are not cavity nesters.  I have looked for information and found nothing to indicate they are.

Secondly, it is far too early here for the goldfinches to nest.  They are among our latest nesters despite their early color changes.

What prompted this unusual behavior?  I haven't a clue.  My husband thinks this bird may have survived a window strike with traumatic brain injury.

I last saw the bird flying back and forth to and from the house on Saturday.  I did not see it yesterday or today.  Perhaps one of the wiser goldfinches taught this one about the birds and bees.

I'll be sure to let you know who ultimately nests in this box.  I would wager a huge amount that it will not be a goldfinch.

The Birds are Tricked as Well

Our unseasonably warm weather appears to have tricked even the birds.  We have already seen the White-breasted Nuthatches checking out the bird boxes.  They are among our earliest nesters, but this is a bit early even for them.  Mornings are filled with the sounds of the singing in the trees.  It seems the birds are seeking mates already.  One member of our local birding group has documented a Red-shouldered Hawk couple mating.

We are seeing lots of goldfinches in varying shades of yellow.  I never understood why they change so early when their nesting season is relatively late.

I hope the birds are not fooled into early nesting.  But I must admit, I do love the increased activity and the melody pure and true.  Here are my "Three Little Birds."  (Hear Bob Marley's happy little song here.)

A goldfinch showing a little bit of yellow.

Another has a little bit more.

And this one has really begun to put on spring colors.

My Nemesis!  It's fine for you to get a drink of water, but stay away from the feeders, you hear?

Severe weather patterns have led to destruction in our state as well as death and destruction in many others.  Our county has been spared although we have had some big thunderstorms and high winds.  We are grateful for that even as we think of those less fortunate.

Get the Water Where You Can, I Suppose

We have a birdbath mounted on our deck railing.  The birds need water, and we are delighted to see all the different birds coming there to drink, winter and summer.  We change the water several times a day in this hot weather so the water is always fresh.

A goldfinch at the water.

The other day, I saw a little chickadee getting water from the ant trap of the hummingbird feeder.  It had rained and the ant trap was full of water.  I have no idea why the chickadee chose the feeder rather than the birdbath.

 I think this is a juvenile who is just learning how to make it on its own.

Much to my surprise, a little titmouse did the very same thing just minutes later.

Sweet little titmouse.

I looked up from my book and saw a little goldfinch getting water from the same hummingbird feeder.  I was able to pick up my camera and get a few shots.



Upside down goldfinch. 

Amazing!

There was one great moment that I missed with the camera.  A hummingbird dive-bombed the goldfinch.  The goldfinch gave in immediately and I didn't get a photograph.  But I laughed out loud at the little fighter.  The hummingbird did not go to the feeder, but he wasn't about to allow the bigger birds to take it over.  I have no idea why three different birds would choose the water in the ant trap over the fresh water in the birdbath not three feet away.  I got up and checked to see if there were any seeds or insects in the trap.  Nope, there was nothing but water.  You figure.

Different March

We awakened March 1, 2010 to yet another deep snow!  I wanted to stay in bed all day, but dragged myself from under the covers and put out the feeders and water for the birds.  Oh, and then I shoveled and shoveled and shoveled.  The shoveling didn't break my back, but it almost broke my spirit.  Afterwards, I relaxed and watched the birds.

I don't think this cardinal liked the snow any more than I did.

The goldfinch has a mouthful of snow along with the sunflower seed.

The snow was heavy on the branches.

How much more of this stuff were we going to see?

Fast forward to yesterday...March 1, 2011.  Now this is the weather we moved here to enjoy.  Sunny and mild with temperatures in the mid-fifties!

A very different kind of bird soaking up the sunshine.

What a gorgeous day!

We will no doubt have some cold days ahead of us, perhaps even more snow.  But this March weather is more typical and we can expect more and more of these days.  We look outside at 6:00 pm and there is still daylight.  Oh, how I love it.

That's Not What I Wanted

When I was a child, my mother taught me to receive gifts gracefully.  "Never let anyone know it's not what you wanted," she reminded me.  On many Christmas mornings, I have been glad the giver of some of the gifts was absent.  While I would never say, "That's not what I wanted," I must admit to having thought, "What on earth were they thinking?"

This Christmas brought a gift to our county.  Many of our friends and neighbors were delighted.  The snow began to fall Christmas morning and kept falling all day.  While others marveled at a white Christmas, I was screaming all day, "THAT'S NOT WHAT I WANTED!!!"  The snow continued to fall.  I cringed whenever anyone said, "Isn't it lovely?"

Our daughter was at the Chicago airport getting ready to board the plane.  Realizing we would not be able to get to out to pick her up, we made reservations for her at a hotel near the Asheville airport.  Just as her flight began to board, the Asheville airport closed and her flight was canceled.  At the end of the day, she returned to Milwaukee and made reservations to come down three days later.

Our son and his wife had wanted to return to their home the day after Christmas but the snow kept them here for a while longer.  So...the one who wanted to come could not get here and the ones already here could not get out.

The snowfall was widespread and EVERY SINGLE county in North Carolina (all one hundred of them) received at least some snow during the storm.

I'm happy to report that our son made it home and our daughter made it here and we did have some wonderful times with them, even if they did not make it the same time.

The birds appreciated the feeders and were active all day.

A cardinal sits in a nearby tree.

A Downy Woodpecker waits for the suet feeder.

A wren and a titmouse share the sunflower seeds.

I must admit, I did not enjoy the snow at all.  We moved here to get away from the snow.  We had one of the coldest Decembers on record capped with the heavy snow at the end of the month.  I do hope it's not a sign of things to come.  That's definitely not what I wanted.

I hope all of you had a good holiday and got exactly what you wanted.  Somehow, I don't think this little goldfinch wanted this much snow either.

Still Another Unusual Deck Visitor

You're not going to believe this. I hardly believe it myself. Strange as it may seem, we had another relatively rare warbler visit us. We are the very fringe of its range and it is rarely seen around here.

I was out on the deck and I saw him land on the birdfeeder pole. "Is that what I think it is? Oh, please turn around so I can be sure."

The bird turned and almost glared at me. No doubt about it. He is a Black-throated Blue Warbler. Right there in front of me. And staring right at me.

He hopped onto the deck railing, revealing his beautiful markings. The Black-throated Blues that live in the Appalachians are darker than those who reside in the New England states and Canada.

I sat there enthralled as I watched him flitter from place to place.

I willed my camera to click more silently. He was clearly aware of my presence and looked up every time I took a photograph. I was so afraid he was going to take off at any moment.

One of his prominent markings is the white patch at the base of his wing. Some refer to this as a "pocket hankerchief" and I wouldn't disagree.

This little goldfinch seems to be wondering what kind of strange bird this might be and what he's doing at the feeder.

The Black-throated Blue does eat seeds, but they rarely come to birdfeeders. He can't seem to figure out exactly how to get the seed.

Finally, he decided he'd be better off looking for insects in the woods and he flew away. But not before he captured my heart. Imagine my good fortune at having seen four (count them) FOUR unusual warblers visiting our deck...the Blue-winged, the Black and White, the Worm-eating, and now a Black-throated Blue. What a treat.

Sometimes We Do Share

We live in the woods. Squirrels live in the woods. We feed the birds. Squirrels like the same food. So it's a constant struggle trying to outwit the squirrels, who by the way, have plenty of nuts and berries around.

We have a variety of birdfeeders offering different kinds of seeds and suet. The squirrels have shown little interest in trying to get at the feeder with cracked sunflower seeds so we have not used a baffle to protect it. At any given time, there are several different types of birds at the stations. We almost always see nuthatches, chickadees, titmice and goldfinches when we look out at this feeder. They seem to have no problem sharing.


In fact, we have had some rather unusual visitors to this particular feeder. Here a female Pileated Woodpecker and a female Eastern Towhee are feeding. A bit strange for the woodpecker to go for the seeds at a feeder clearly not well-designed for woodpeckers. And the towhee is usually a ground feeder. But they shared nonetheless.

I mentioned that squirrels have not been particularly interested in this feeder. Well, that was true until this week. And, wouldn't you know? One of the beady-eyed monsters was determined to try some of this seed.

Well, we can put a stop to that. One of my husband's PVC pipe and duct tape baffles now surrounds the pole. When the squirrel tries to climb, the pipe swivels. Not especially pretty, but quite effective. (This is the second generation homemade baffle, by the way. There's always a method for a man to improve any invention using PVC pipe and duct tape.) Since the birdfeeders hang from the upper deck at the back of the house looks aren't terribly important.

In all our years of feeding birds, this is the only truly squirrel-proof feeder we have found. It has a spring tension that shuts off the food at a given weight. We have had others with springs that shut down with the weight of large birds (doves) and squirrels. But in each of those, the squirrel would eventually learn to hang from his hind leg and scoop the seeds without tripping the spring. The current feeder is longer than the squirrel so he can't do that little trick. Well, unless we have a basketball playing squirrel who towers above all the others. So far we have had only normal-sized rascals. This particular feeder is made by Wild Birds Unlimited and is called the WBU Eliminator. (Oh, if it REALLY eliminated the squirrels I would pay a fortune for it.) But it does eliminate the squirrel feeding.

It is almost blasphemous to hate squirrels in Transylvania County. We have white squirrels here and Brevard promotes them as big tourist draws. (Guess the scenery, waterfalls, and national forests aren't enough.) You name any type of tacky souvenir you can imagine. Yep, we've got that with a white squirrel on it.

We occasionally see them in our forest and I don't like them any better than the gray ones. I just call them the beady-eyed white devils.

Since Fifth Grade

Our family moved to Boone, NC when I was 10. One of the first friends I made in fifth grade is still one of my dearest friends. And she is coming for a visit. So, yes...I'm taking another break this week.

We've been through a lot together, my friend and I. We don't see each other as often as we'd like, but I know that if she called me in the middle of the night and said she needed me; I would get dressed and go without asking for any details. And she would do the same for me.

Our lives have been different, but in many ways we are alike. We can talk forever without running out of things to say. And we can sit in silence as well. It's rare indeed to have a friend who knows almost every detail about your life over so many decades and yet when you get together, it's as if you are both 10 again. We'll talk and giggle and have a great time. Even better now that we are old enough to drink wine.



What? You're taking another break? But you'll still be around to fill the feeders and give me fresh water, won't you?
So I'll follow your blogs, but I won't have time to post. See you next week.

Looking Back at Last Tuesday

Impossible as it seemed this weekend, we had 10 inches of snow the previous Tuesday. It started early in the morning and snowed like crazy all day long.

This Cardinal was clearly as unhappy as I was to see all the snow falling. She glared at me as if I were to blame. Don't blame me, Ms. Cardinal. I'm the one who filled the birdfeeders for you this morning.




She sat on the deck rail for quite a while. She was waiting for the male to leave the sunflower feeder so she could have a turn.

Compare the size of the goldfinch to the snow he is sitting atop and you can appreciate the depth of the snow early in the day. More snow fell throughout the day.

The goldfinch gets a mouthful of snow along with the seed.

There was plenty of snow the following day. Looking back upon the scene, it was rather pretty. That's one good thing about looking back. It certainly wasn't very pretty when the snow was still falling with the wind blowing it in my face while I shoveled the driveway.

The yard birds stood looking very cold indeed.

This weekend was sunny and warmer than usual. I sat on the deck reading and soaking up the warm sun. I didn't need a jacket when I took the dogs for a walk. It was hard to imagine that I had been shoveling snow only a few days before. The sun does a body good after a freaky late snowfall. BTW: this season almost made records for snowfall, coming in a close second. Let's not try to break the record.