You are currently browsing the monthly archive for March 2007.
Weather and Effort: March 15 and 16, 2007
When did you watch your feeders?
Day 1: morning afternoon
Day 2: morning afternoon
Estimated cumulative time: 1 to 4 hours
Daylight temperature: 11 to 20° C (51 to 68° F) low
Over 20° C (over 68° F) high
Daylight precipitation: None
Total depth of ice/snow cover: None
Checklist for FeederWatch California Region Birds
Wild Turkey 3
Mourning Dove 6
Anna’s Hummingbird 1
Steller’s Jay 2
Western Scrub-Jay 7
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1
Oak Titmouse 1
Spotted Towhee 1
California Towhee 2
White-crowned Sparrow 3
Golden-crowned Sparrow 5
Dark-eyed Junco 7
Red-winged Blackbird 1
House Finch 6 (0 with eye disease)
by Bill Thompson, III
Q: How long does a bird live?
A: In very general terms, the larger a bird is, the longer its life expectancy. For small birds, such as migratory songbirds (warblers, vireos, etc.) the average life expectancy may be as little as two years. This short life expectancy is due to the many hazards birds face from birth: predators, disease, accidents, migration, starvation, habitat loss, and hunting, among others. Some individual birds have survived a surprisingly long time, including a cardinal (13.5 years), a black-capped chickadee (10 years), and an American goldfinch (7 years). One red-bellied woodpecker survived in the wild for 20.5 years! Captive birds, protected from the hazards of nature, have much longer life spans. Many waterfowl have survived in the wild for as long as 30 years, and seabirds, such as gulls and albatrosses, have longevity records that cover 30 to 40 years.
Q: What spring bird persistently sings, day and night?
A: Your bird is most likely to be a northern mockingbird. Don’t worry, male mockingbirds only perform this nocturnal singing in the spring and summer during the time of the full moon. Try running an electric fan (to create a buffer of sound) and using your earplugs on those nights when the male mockingbird is singing. Having a mocker around is a good thing-you might even consider yourself lucky!
Q: Do all birds mate for life?
A: No. Some species have unusually strong pair bonds between mated birds. These species include some eagles, cranes, swans, geese, and ravens. Being mated “for life” means, really, for as long as both birds are alive. When one of the pair dies, the other will take a new mate. Most North American bird species pair up primarily to reproduce, and go their separate ways soon after they have nested.
Top 10 Frequently Asked Backyard Questions
by Bill Thompson, III
How can I keep squirrels from cleaning out my bird feeders? The best solution is to prevent these clever critters from getting to your feeders in the first place. A quality pole-mounted baffle, suspended below your feeder, should prevent invasion from the ground. A smooth metal or plastic baffle placed above the feeder should prevent assault from the air, but you must make sure that your feeders are placed far from any object from which the squirrels can launch themselves. A squirrel leaping from a tree to your feeder will put the Flying Wallendas to shame. Last resort? Offer whole ears of feed corn or whole kernels in a squirrel-friendly feeder far from your bird feeders. You may lure them away with this, their favorite food.
Why aren’t there any birds at my feeder?
Birds are seasonal creatures of habit. Some species that eat seed at your feeder all winter switch to insects or fruit during spring and summer. And most birds take the bulk of their diet from natural sources of food, rather than at our feeders. So the goldfinches that stayed around until May may be off eating weed and flower seeds in nearby meadows. A healthy natural crop of seeds, berries, fruits, and insects is most likely the answer. Be patient, and the birds will return to your feeders once the natural food stores begin to dwindle. One final possibility: A predator may be stalking around your feeder, forcing the birds into hiding. Look for a cat or hawk in your yard if your birds disappear all of a sudden.
If you would like to attract birds to your backyard mix up this homemade treat, perfect for any season of the year.
Homemade Bird Treat
Mix together:
1 part peanut butter
1 part vegetable shortening
1 part white or whole wheat flour (or a mixture)
1 part mixed bird seed
1 part oatmeal
1 part yellow cornmeal
Shelled chopped peanuts
I use one cup of each ingredient. I also add any jam, jelly, or preserves that have been in the fridge for a long time and any stale cereal in the cupboard. Mix all ingredients and form in patties, wrap in plastic wrap or sandwich bags and freeze until ready to feed to birds. You can also smear mixture on a tree trunk, stuff into pine cones, or put mix in a mesh onion sack.
Jays, titmice, juncos, nuthatches, chickadees and other feathered friends will appear like magic.
If you would like to join other birdwatchers throughout the US and Canada to provide data about your backyard birds learn about Project FeederWatch
Project FeederWatch (www.birds.cornell/edu/pfw)
Baby Bald Eagles
In the 1960s, there were fewer than 500 breeding pairs of bald eagles in the lower 48 states. That’s why this symbolic bird was placed under the protection of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1978. Today, eagle numbers are estimated at 7,066 pairs. What a comeback! In fact, this is one of the greatest wildlife success stories of the last 25 years! It means the Act is working the way it was intended.
Because of these encouraging results, the Department of the Interior (DOI) is expected to remove the bald eagle from the endangered species list this June. National Wildlife Federation supports the delisting of the bald eagle…
…but we have one major concern.
The Act requires that before the bald eagle is de-listed, the DOI must ensure a plan is in place to prevent the bald eagle population from backsliding. But incredibly, just the reverse is true. Biologists say the government’s plans for protecting more than 14,000 bald eagles after they leave the list are inadequate (click here for more information).
After years of successful work by so many dedicated scientists and volunteers to save the bald eagle, critical safeguards would now be forgotten and trashed. And developers would ride rough-shod over the bald eagles’ essential nesting sites…and the downward trend would start all over again. What a tragedy this would be!
| Weather and Effort: March 1 and 2, 2007 | |
|---|---|
| When did you watch your feeders? | Day 1: morning afternoon Day 2: morning afternoon |
| Estimated cumulative time: | 1 to 4 hours |
| Daylight temperature: | 1 to 10° C (33 to 50° F) low 11 to 20° C (51 to 68° F) high |
| Daylight precipitation: | Rain 1 to 3 hours |
| Total depth of ice/snow cover: | None |
Checklist for FeederWatch California Region Birds
Wild Turkey 5 Confirmed
Band-tailed Pigeon 1
Mourning Dove 5
Anna’s Hummingbird 1
Steller’s Jay 5
Western Scrub-Jay 10
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 3
Oak Titmouse 2
Spotted Towhee 1
California Towhee 2
Fox Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 2
Golden-crowned Sparrow 9
Dark-eyed Junco 12
House Finch 18 (0 with eye disease)
American Goldfinch 1 (0 with eye disease)
| Weather and Effort: February 22 and 23, 2007 | |
|---|---|
| When did you watch your feeders? | Day 1: morning afternoon Day 2: morning afternoon |
| Estimated cumulative time: | 1 to 4 hours |
| Daylight temperature: | 1 to 10° C (33 to 50° F) low 11 to 20° C (51 to 68° F) high |
| Daylight precipitation: | Rain 3 to 6 hours |
| Total depth of ice/snow cover: | None |
Checklist for FeederWatch California Region Birds
Wild Turkey 2 Confirmed
Mourning Dove 4
Anna’s Hummingbird 1
Steller’s Jay 2
Western Scrub-Jay 6
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2
Oak Titmouse 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Spotted Towhee 1
California Towhee 2
Fox Sparrow 2
Golden-crowned Sparrow 8
Dark-eyed Junco 14
Red-winged Blackbird 1
Brewer’s Blackbird 1
House Finch 6 (0 with eye disease)
This is a very informative site to help you identify your backyard birds. Not sure what call belongs to what bird? This site gives audible bird calls of each bird.
Let’s Play “Name That Bird.” Wild Birds Unlimited now has a way to identify those feathered strangers you see from time to time. It’s new! It’s the online field guide that makes identifying unfamiliar birds easy. It’s rightbird.com!
You provide information about the unfamiliar bird you’ve seen by selecting from a menu of attributes such as color, wing shape and size; rightbird will do the rest. You will instantly see illustrations of birds that match the attributes you’ve selected. The more characteristics you know, the narrower the search is for the “right bird.” And with rightbird’s audible bird call samples, you can also hear the sounds made by your stranger. At Wild Birds Unlimited, we’re happy to take the mystery out of birdwatching. Visit rightbird.com today
Stellar’s Jays like peanuts in the shell. If I put peanuts in the feeders I’m sure to attract Stellar’s Jays!
