2018 - Year of the Bird: Our amazing sightings, Part I

Between the winter storms, there were many wonderful beautiful bird sightings.

To end 2017 on a very cold December 31, at the feeder there were northern cardinals, a Hairy woodpecker, juncos, house finch, titmice and on the spruce by the window, a white throated sparrow:

Also, that afternoon, a large flock of Cedar waxwings descended on our Winterberry bushes.

On January 4th, during one of our icy snow storms, the Serviceberry tree was adorned with brillant male Northern cardinals with a couple of females in tow as well as some Tufted titmice and Blue jays.

Late in the morning on a clear 50 degree January 20th, a small group of Sandhill Cranes flew in and milled about the meadow looking for food for a few hours. It was a rare sighting and they lingered in the area for weeks. We were fortunate to see them up close and personal.

March brought 3 major winter storms and weeks in between of very cold and dreary weather. During that time, a pair of bluebirds regularly used the bird feeder, often with the male holding watch, as the female ate. A White breasted nuthatch also can be seen here on March 28th!

A small deer carcass lay in the side meadow and was found quickly by our local vultures, who fed on it for days as well as by the resident fox on April 3rd.

After the Northeasters, spring winds brought our first ever seen here Eastern phoebes on April 7 in the late afternoon. They caught my attention, as they were flying actively around the deer in the lower meadow, who were kicking up some flying insects. They were diving in and around the deer, who were also curious about them, approaching them to smell them. 

A couple of days later, a pileated woodpecker was seen on a fallen willow tree stump down by the stream.

With warmer temperatures in May, trees are finally bursting with leaves, flowers are blooming, insects are emerging and migratory birds are moving north. Returning back after a long walk, Lilli caught sight of a squirrel which gave me pause to notice a very red bird flying back and forth above me next to the vernal pond. At first glance, I thought it was a Northern cardinal, but then quickly noticed that it had black wings - a Scarlet tanager! I thought he was just hoping back and forth, curious about me, but more likely he was trying to get the attention of a nearby female.

I have binoculars ready and looking forward to seeing more exciting birds, 

this Year of the Bird!

Beware of Aggressive House Sparrows!

The Tree Swallows have been hunting insects in the meadow, swirling overhead and then off into the nesting box. Great news! They must have a nest!

But, wait, a House Sparrow followed it into the nesting box?

Did I see this correctly? What was going on? I dashed inside and did a quick search of Tree Swallows versus House Sparrow and this is what I found out:

House Sparrows are over 80,000,000 strong here in the U.S. and counting. Also known as English Sparrows, they were introduced from Great Britain 150 years ago and they are NOT a native bird. They are extremely aggressive and will corner Tree Swallows, Blue Birds, and other native birds, who they are competing with, following them into a nesting box and pecking them to death. Yikes!

This is the picture shown on the site listed below:

http://www.treeswallowprojects.com/spardam.html

Shocked and disturbed, I raced to the nesting box to investigate. I found 5 baby House Sparrow inside, which I left in place and they are thriving. I was relieved not to find a dead Tree Swallow.

What was going on in the rest of the nesting boxes? These are nesting boxes that had been erected specifically to help the Blue Bird population in the area!

The nesting box by the fence, historically, always a Blue Bird nesting box, had House Sparrows and 4 eggs. Out that nest came! The Blue Birds had been over wintering in this box all winter and had clearly been chased off.

In the upper meadow, 2 of the nesting boxes housed House Sparrow nests. Out they came. The middle nesting box have a Blue Bird family nesting and they were already being harassed by House Sparrows.

What to do? The site above offers some great suggestions, which I will pursue, including a Sparrow Spooker and Hironbec Pendulum.

Here is the site to access this information: http://www.hironbec.com/ENbicolorefiche.htm

Another outstanding site offers further suggestions on how to deal with this serious problem:
http://www.sialis.org/hosp.htm

Before acting, be sure to make a correct ID:

http://www.swartzentrover.com/cotor/Photos/Hiking/Birds/BirdPages/HouseSparrow.jpg

Egg comparisons for making correct ID:

I will continue to monitor these nesting boxes and remove House Sparrow nests every 10-12 days, as recommended.

Winter Buffet

During the winter, birds struggle to find food, shelter and water. You can help by planting a variety of plants, shrubs, vines, grasses and trees that provide berries, seeds and nuts for them throughout the winter. These plants provide not only food rich in calories, nutrients and antioxidants for the birds, but also, beauty, texture and interest for you, as well.

Here are some to consider:

Shrubs:

1. Viburnums such as Cranberry Viburnum (Viburnum trilobum)

2. Staghorn sumac (Rhea typhina)

3. Northern Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica)

4. Native roses

5. Winterberry (Ilex verticilatta)

Vines:

1. Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)

Trees:

1. Oaks (Quercus)

2. Walnut (Juglans)

3. Hickory (Carya)

4. Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana)

5. Spruces (Picea)

6. Juniper (Juniperus)

7. Dogwood (Cornus)

8. Holly (Ilex)

9. Hawthorn (Crataegus)

The Green Hawthorn, Winter King,  is a beautiful, pyramid shaped, small tree with small thorns, which has beautiful white flowers in the spring, brilliant red purplish leaves in the autumn and scarlet berries in the winter. 

I have a Green Hawthorn right outside my window, which makes for easy viewing and photographing. In the course of just a couple of hours, I captured 6 different bird species feeding. 

In order for the berries to become soft and edible, they need to go through a few freeze-thaw cycles. 

Here is a robin gobbling down a berry:

A female northern cardinal is finding an abundance of berries on the ground: 

A dark-eyed junco rests and takes shelter after a satisfying meal:

 This cedar waxwing flew in briefly. I hope he tells his friends.

On a neighboring pear tree, a red-bellied woodpecker peeks at all the activity:

The resident blue birds are seen daily on this tree,

including these 2 juvenile blue birds, who stopped by to check out all the commotion:

Another blue bird dives in to partake:

A large flock of robins have lingered for over a week, enjoying the feast daily:

To check which plants are best suited for your area, this website can provide the answers
you need, organized by plant or by state:
http://plants.usda.gov/checklist.html. 

Birdhouse Upkeep!

It's time to clean out birdhouses before new nesting begins and replace old worn out homes. It is important to remove old nesting material to reduce disease and parasite infestation.

The 8 year old birdhouse's roof had rotted through and is being replaced here above with a copper roofed home, which last longer. This home had been used by swallows all last summer.

I traveled around to the different homes to see if I could find clues of who had been nesting this past year and what kind of materials were being used to build the nests.

Up at the top of driveway, at the crest of the hill, is birdhouse #1, which is usually used by bluebirds. When I went to open it, a bluebird can flying out. I left the nest in place, as we have many cold days ahead. It is common for bluebirds to pile up and roost in birdhouses to stay warm, as pictured here:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyChm1V_nsmuPiWzKQkwM1y1BTpHE98TPNGdJ9tmcZrn_H0s-PXl9nF7_4AasdpAGgTMifn4r61LodVCYaOu8Gs4ybAU7muDFLVBelFAqfyNIitmU14A3b4w6C3fPrJTlpyXkHvl45roT7/s1600/bird1.jpg

I was surprised to see a mockingbird feather in here, too. The hole has been made larger and is a well used nesting box. I'll go back in a few weeks and remove the nest then.

On the east side of the upper meadow is birdhouse # 2, where there are several layers of nesting material. On the top of the pile was a male northern cardinal feather, perhaps used for decoration, as I have never see cardinals use this box. There were, also, numerous white, grey and brown feathers. I have seen many sparrows nesting here.

On the southeastern side of upper meadow, shaded by evergreens, which explain the moss growing on top, is birdhouse #3.

 The nest includes plastic material, a few feathers, and soft plant material. There were bluejay feathers present.

The last nesting box, #4,  is on the eastern corner of the fence and was replaced at the end of summer but is still not in use. The old birdhouse had fallen apart and was a 

favorite nesting spot for bluebirds. 

We hope they return. 

We look forward to the coming spring, filled with many new bird families!

Mockingbirds to Bluebirds to Native Plants

(Photo from: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEeXgVccZsbzEWtSDa5eg4AAzvQweHGNAlbp7CIDyFpzo9iPnjvFGOgxG31iHhaE1hQXEO4XhrmSWw0qVcwy0FubzSVIpnQI2gBbbqp2G86waprD7KoER-LPq4sdnOwg2D07mXckFH58g/s1600/IMG_0471.jpg)

There was a flock of bluebirds this morning trying to feed on the berries on the Winterberry bushes. They were quickly chased away by a very territorial Mockingbird.

I was curious if this was a common problem and found that indeed it is, as described on the site:
Beautiful Wildlife Garden. 

The article is titled, "Mockingbird: Melodious but Mean": 

http://www.beautifulwildlifegarden.com/mockingbird-melodious-but-mean.html

The searching unexpectedly led me to this 

amazing helpful and informative site connected to the above mentioned website about native plants:

 http://findnativeplants.com/. 

It includes listings of nurseries that carry native plants, recommended books, where one can view native plants locally, and even native plant organizations.

I was surprised to learn that some nurseries in PA, that specialize in native plants, are actually right in my area, including:

Gino's Nursery in Wrightstown (http://www.ginosnursery.com/) 

and

Collins Nursery located in Glenside (http://collinsnursery.com/)

Moments to Cherish!

I was reflecting on those moments in life that are rare and special. Moments that unlikely will be duplicated again. Moments that bring joy and wonderment. Moments or sightings that I might take for granted and presume will happen again next year or next season, but often don't. 

Such as . . .

 the bluebird at the window in the middle of a snowstorm taking shelter, 

the bunny teasing Sigi at the porch door,

the deer twins edging closer and closer, curious to know more,

a beautiful painted turtle crossing our path as Sigi and I took a fall walk,

the group of goldfinch in the spring eating the seed pods from the catmint at my window,

discovering a young fawn in the meadow, lost and confused and later united with her mother the following day,

finding a baby bunny hiding INSIDE my garden fence,

the fox in the upper meadow just hanging out,

walking out the front door and discovering the tiniest baby turtle right on the sidewalk,

finding baby bunnies huddled innocently in a mulch pile,

capturing the most beautiful afternoon rays of light shining through the petals of 

these Richard Ahren's anemones,

and watching one of our bee girls in the spring collecting nectar. 

(Our last hive died last week in the extreme cold).

Here are some quotes that I find fitting for these reflections: 

"The only constant in life is change." 

(Heraclitus)

"Learn to flow with life like a stream. 

Change is the constant in our world, 

everything and everyone is always 

in a constant state of change. 

Learn to flow with life, 

relax and 

enjoy the ride." 

(Kemmy Nola)