Dawn Chorus: Adventures in Bird Feeding

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Sunday January 29, 2017 · 6:00 AM PST

2017/01/29 · 06:00

When I was a kid, “bird watching” meant looking out a window to see what might be happening at the bird feeder in the back yard. Everyone I knew who had a yard also had a bird feeder, usually a homemade wood and glass hopper with trays and perching ledges on two sides. I remember that squirrels were the most common complication to backyard bird feeding then. Among my family and friends, sharing stories about squirrels at our feeders went along with sharing stories about birds.

In the years since then I’ve experimented with a few feeders at the couple of houses where I’ve lived. Squirrels have not been a problem. “Squirrel proof” features seem to work pretty well. I’ve learned the hard way, however, that squirrel proof does not mean deer proof. Moreover, squirrel proof does not mean raccoon proof.

P. Lotor is my bird feeding nemesis.

At my previous house I had a large, rather expensive tube feeder hanging about three feet below the lowest branch of a large tree right behind my house. The lowest branch was at least 12 feet up. This required a ladder to fill, but it hung in perfect view of the biggest windows in the house.

That worked great for years. Then one day I found the feeder on the ground. I didn’t think much of it. Perhaps a wind gust had unhooked it. The feeder was in good condition and functional so I put it back up. The next night I woke to a loud crash outside. I looked out with a flashlight and saw the feeder on the ground, with a very large raccoon devouring the seed spilling from it. The expensive feeder was ruined. I gave up for a while, first out of frustration, then because it became time to move to another town anyway.

Ancient religious symbol? Nope. Bird feeder.

My current house has lots of good natural habitat. There are lots of mature trees and some small lakes nearby. It’s good habitat for birds. And for deer. And for raccoons. I didn’t put up a feeder for several years because it didn’t seem necessary. When I received a suet cake feeder as a gift, I figured I might as well give it a try. That seemed to work, at least for the few weeks it took the woodpeckers to finish the suet cake.

Later I became interested in bird photography, and I realized that attracting birds to a feeder could provide easier photo opportunities. Last year I experimented with a few small feeders, tube feeders and suet cakes, placed in various locations in my yard.

A local bird store started selling a variation on suet cakes: basically birdseed granola bars shaped like doughnuts. The feeder for them has a vertical spindle so the granola bar doughnuts can be threaded onto them. Seemed like a nifty idea. Lasted about 18 hours. The morning after I put that up, I found the feeder on the ground, with about three crumbs of bird granola next to it.

Tall pole hanger compared to short lamp post

So I gave up again for a few months. One day I noticed that the lamp post by my driveway had a small cross-arm sticking out, and on a whim I hung a tube feeder from it. I thought it was high enough to be out of reach of raccoons, but I was wrong. First I noticed that large amounts of seed seemed to disappear from the tube overnight. Then I noticed the feeder perches seemed to loosen up and move around mysteriously. Finally, this past Wednesday morning, I looked out at at sunrise and saw P. Lotor standing on tip-toe, batting at the feeder like a pinata.

Rather than give up again, I decided to just buy some taller poles to try to put a feeder out of reach. The lady at the bird seed store warned that raccoons have attempted to climb this pole system and pointed out the “raccoon proof” baffle which can be added to the pole — and which nearly doubles the cost of the rig.

I declined the extra cost, so I’m still taking a chance that P. Lotor will send me to the store yet again.

Four deer came to visit at early Friday. I watched two of them sniffing intently in the direction of the feeders. I cringed a bit as I waited for them to rear up and knock something down, but they resumed nibbling at the ground.

So far, then, so good. Well, as of Saturday evening. Stay tuned.

How about you? Please share your bird stories and photos from this week in comments below. Welcome to Dawn Chorus! Cheers

Dawn Chorus: A Thicket of Kinglets

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Sunday November 06, 2016 · 6:00 AM PST

2016/11/06 · 06:00

Good morning, birdwatchers, nature lovers, and readers who seek respite from election news,

This is Dawn Chorus, a Sunday morning conversation about birds and birdwatching.

A few days ago I visited a local lake, hoping to see some interesting migrant water birds. In that I was disappointed. A few tame ducks begged for treats near the parking lot as one resident great blue heron fished nearby.

A hundred yards down the walking path, however, I came upon a dense thicket of vines that was swarming with tiny flies and tiny fly-catching birds.

I spent an hour hanging around, peering through binoculars, snapping photos, and trying to figure out what they might be. My phone’s bird app suggested least flycatchers, but later I learned the flycatchers have all left for warmer climes.

I consulted the local Audubon experts who quickly identified them as kinglets. The one above is a ruby crowned kinglet, despite the lack of visible ruby crown. Although I’ve seen and identified a ruby-crowned kinglet in the past, it was a transient, solitary male whose red head was clearly visible. I had no idea where to find them or what they looked like in other circumstances.

After inspecting my photos more carefully the next day I noticed I had just one rather dark photo that does show the ruby red patch on one male’s head.

This group of kinglets were very busy little birds, fluttering about to catch flying insects and perching only briefly, usually obscured by foliage. Now that I recognize the wing markings, I think the flock in the thicket were mostly ruby-crowned kinglets, but I have a few photos of golden-crowned kinglets foraging with them.

That’s one thing I enjoy about birding: that Aha! moment of learning something unexpected about a species and figuring out how to identify them again later.

Well, I think it’s time to fly away for another cup of coffee.

How about you? What birds have you seen or learned about this week?

Dawn Chorus: Late Migration Open Thread

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Sunday October 23, 2016 · 6:23 AM PDT

2016/10/23 · 06:23

What interesting birds have you seen this week?

Good morning, birders, birdwatchers, people who notice birds, and people who click on Sunday morning articles,

I don’t see a scheduled Dawn Chorus in the queue this morning, so I’ll put this up as a starter.

It’s migration time for birds — probably late in the migration season for many parts of the U.S.

What interesting birds have you seen in your neighborhood, or visiting your bird feeder?

A Swainson’s thrush has been breakfasting on the last of the dogwood berries at my house this week.

I think I saw a winter wren, as well. At least, it didn’t appear to be the usual year-round resident Carolina wren, and winter wren is the next best match.

So, how about you? Got any pictures to share?

Dawn Chorus: Conversation about Birds and Birdwatching

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Sunday August 07, 2016 · 6:01 AM PDT

2016/08/07 · 06:01

Good morning, all. This is Dawn Chorus, where we talk about birds and birdwatching in general, and compare our observations from the past week in particular.

I had hoped to have more to offer to start things out, but my household Internet service went down after a storm Friday night. I'm using backup cell-phone Internet now, so I may not be able to comment as much as I had hoped. We'll see how this goes.

Chimney swift update

My chimney swifts have gone. Flown the proverbial ~~coop~~, er, chimney. At least I hope they left voluntarily, under their own power. I was out of town for a couple of days last week. The chimney was noisy with chatter when I left. When I came home, all was silent. Although that's the default state of chimneys, in my experience, I had become used to hearing them in there.

From what I had read about chimney swift migration, it seems a bit early for them to depart the area. There's an unfortunate history of bird-eating snakes around my house, so I hope that wasn't the reason for the sudden silence.

For the most part I get along okay with snakes. I’m not sure I like the idea of snakes in my chimney, though. I mean, what's next? Samuel L. Jackson’s voice emanating from my fireplace, cursing the snakes in the #$@%*! chimney?

Other sightings of note

640px-Great_egret_%28Ardea_alba%29_Tobago.jpg — Photo from Wikipedia, by Charlesjsharp

I saw two great egrets in a wetland next to a road that I travel daily. I and other ebird.org users have reported occasional sightings of one egret. This is the first time I can recall two being there together. I live well inland, where the typical long-legged fishing birds are herons. Occasional egret sightings in this area tend to be in the spring or later in the fall. So that was cool.

Then one rainy afternoon this week I saw a group of six immature wild turkeys down the road from my house. I didn't see any adult chaperones, but they seemed well behaved despite the lack of supervision.

That's all I've got for now.

What have you seen this week?

Dawn Chorus: Chim Chiminey ... Chimney Swift

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Sunday July 03, 2016 · 6:01 AM PDT

2016/07/03 · 06:01

So … my chimney: it has swifts in it.

At least I think they’re the source of the twittering and chittering and fluttering sounds that emanate from my fireplace at all hours of the day and night.

It began about a month ago. One evening I heard some strange noises coming from the living room fireplace. The cats heard it, too. We were all puzzled and fascinated.

At first I thought the sound might be bats. They live around here as well, and they sometimes roost during the day on the exterior of the house attic vents. I don’t mind bats, per se, but I began to wonder whether an accumulation of guano on my fireplace damper could become an unpleasant problem. Then I began to hear the sounds during the day, along with the fluttering of wings.

I did some more research, and I came to this conclusion: I have chimney swifts.

I’m not very familiar with chimney swifts. I’ve never encountered them before. I don’t have any pictures of my own. They’re elusive, and when they fly around in pursuit of insects, they’re …. well, swift.

I don’t know if they’re nesting in there or just using my chimney as a home base. What I do know is that they’ve been getting chatty lately. During this past week their twittering and chirping has become more frequent and louder. They now provide part of the soundtrack of TV shows and exotic polyrhythms when I listen to the radio. I don’t know what they’re up to in there, but for little birds, they seem to be surprisingly loud about it.

I don’t really know how common they are in my area, but I’ve seen some reports on ebird.org and the local newspaper had a Q&A about them. Someone wrote to the newspaper to ask how to get rid of chimney swifts. Fortunately the newspaper has an Audubon expert who writes a column and who answered: just leave them be.

Like many other birds and non-flying species, chimney swifts are coping with the loss of habitat.

Unlike most other species, chimney swifts actually benefited from human activity, at least for a while. Before they lived in chimneys, these birds lived in hollow trees, which weren’t always plentiful. The construction of buildings with brick chimneys, however, provided them with new habitat. They flourished among human settlements that provided them with their namesake living quarters. Recently, however, building construction methods have changed again, and brick chimneys are on the way out. Alas, so too are the birds who like to live in those chimneys.

Photo from Wikipeda. Attribution: Jim McCulloch.

Now that I know that, I’m happy to offer them a place to live for the summer. Chimney swifts only live in North American during their summer breeding season. In September or October they will fly back to their winter residences in South America.

Until then, I guess I’ll just put up with the strange noises coming from the living room fireplace. Surprisingly, the household cats have already tuned them out. It amazes me sometimes that the cats just ignore the bird sounds in the fireplace. Apparently their sound is just part of the background routine, nowhere near as interesting as moths, spiders, crickets, or the incredibly fascinating junebugs that can hold the feline members of the household spellbound.

Well, that’s what’s going on around here.

How about you?

Dawn Chorus: (Belated) Family Time

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Sunday June 26, 2016 · 6:53 AM PDT

2016/06/26 · 06:53

I don’t see a Dawn Chorus in the queue or already published, so here’s a belated starter for this week’s bird-watching open thread.

I’ve got chimney swifts nesting in my chimney, I think.

A family of wrens has been hanging around my backyard for several days after the youngsters fledged, and another wren has already begun building a new nest near them, which could generate a bit of territorial squabbling, I suspect.

Finally, a group of wild turkeys has been eating breakfast next to my driveway this week. The male is a big guy who holds court with his tail fanned out while the rest forage. There are six in the group (flock? herd? breakfast club?) I suspect the group is the male, an adult female, and four juveniles.

What about your neck of the woods?

Dawn Chorus: Testing New Camera Gear

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Sunday April 10, 2016 · 6:01 AM PDT

2016/04/10 · 06:01

Red-shouldered hawk. Young adult male, I suspect.

As sometimes happens, this photo essay has changed substantially since I began it. When I volunteered to host today’s Dawn Chorus, I did so because it fit my calendar and schedule, not because I had anything particular in mind. Then last weekend the osprey shown above visited my backyard, spending almost two hours enjoying a leisurely breakfast in a tree. I thought, “Excellent! This can be my topic for Dawn Chorus.”

Then, later this past week, I acquired a new camera lens. Just when I was ready to try it out, the guy at the right flew past my window and landed nearby.

This red-shouldered hawk obligingly posed for about a hundred photos over the next half hour while it hunted in the trees surrounding my house.

My newly upgraded camera now weighs about six pounds. I was getting a wee bit tired and my left arm was starting to cramp when it finally flew around the back of my house and out of sight.

This picture is not well focused, but I like the way it shows those red shoulders.

I didn’t have much time to rest, however, because another dramatic character arrived.

I suspect this is the same young woodpecker that spent the winter here. I first saw it back in November, when it’s head was pale purple rather than red. Over the course of the season it’s become nicely crimson. I’ve been expecting it to leave and migrate elsewhere, but recently I’ve noticed another red-headed woodpecker joining it at times, and possibly inspecting nest options. I don’t really expect them to nest here, but it would be great if they did. There are several other species of woodpeckers who reside in my neighborhood, but this is the first year I’ve seen red heads.

Although my arm was tired from hoisting the heavier-than-before camera gear, the current weather and forecast weather indicated I should take more pictures while circumstances allowed. So I went over to the other shore of the neighborhood lake to look for other photo subjects.

Alas, there were no ospreys over there. I’ve had two sighting this spring already, though, which is more than my quota for two or three years, so I shouldn’t complain. I did see one of these fly over. It gave me a chance to try getting a clear photo of something in flight. This one doesn’t appear in any of my bird guides, however. Maybe it’s migrating…

Along with the usual flotilla of Canada geese, I saw a kingfisher, but I couldn’t get a clear photo of it.

Further down the shore I accidentally startled a heron. It flew across a cove to resume hunting. Here it is, sticking its nose where it may or may not belong.

The osprey who first inspired this piece deserves a bit more elaboration. I live pretty far inland, so ospreys are not regular residents. In the fall they can be seen migrating south along with lots of other raptors, but they seem less inclined to stop here. In the spring they seem more likely to drop in for overnight rest stops. Even so, during the years I’ve lived near this little ~~pond~~ lake, I’ve averaged one osprey sighting every other year. Having one spend two hours dining in my backyard was really pretty special.

When I planned to devote this whole piece to the osprey visit, I thought about having a contest to identify the fish it was eating. I figured identifying the bird would be too easy. When I tried to crop the photo to just the fish, however, it seemed just a bit too bloody and R-rated for a Sunday morning. In the spirit of identifying a mystery species, though, here’s an avian specimen to consider. I figured this one out with a little help. Do you recognize it?

If a hint is useful, would it help if I mention that it likes to hang out with these two?

Well, that’s what I’ve got for Dawn Chorus this week. Now I should try to finish my taxes so I can spend some time figuring out how to carry my large and heavy camera with me when I do some cross-country travel next week.

Thanks for joining us for Dawn Chorus. As always, please let us know what birds you’ve seen this week.
Thanks!

Dawn Chorus: Raptor rehab photo op

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Sunday August 30, 2015 · 6:00 AM PDT

2015/08/30 · 06:00

Kestrel's excellent Dawn Chorus diary about raptors two weeks ago reminded me of an enjoyable and educational visit to a raptor rehabilitation facility last spring, and inspired me to offer this week's diary with pictures from my visit. Read More

Dawn Chorus: Barred Owls

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Sunday June 28, 2015 · 6:00 AM PDT

2015/06/28 · 06:00

I'm fascinated by owls.

I'm especially fascinated by barred owls, because I've had the good fortune to have them as neighbors for several years. I can't quite say that I've watched their kids grow up, because their territory is big, the trees are tall, and they're elusive lurkers. I can say, however, that I've seen their kids (owlets) occasionally, first in 2009, then in 2012, and most recently, just last week.

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Sunday January 06, 2013 · 6:00 AM PST

2013/01/06 · 06:00

In October I had the opportunity to spend a week in South America. My spouse and I combined travel to a work-related conference in Brasilia with a short, but fun, visit to Ecuador.

Although it was autumn and the year was winding down in the US, it was springtime in Brazil, with newly constructed nests and juvenile birds learning to get around. I purchased a new camera for the trip, and I took about 2,100 photos in seven days. Here a few of them to provide some tropical warmth to begin our new year.

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Friday April 22, 2011 · 6:16 AM PDT

2011/04/22 · 06:16

It seems our diary planned for this morning won't be ready after all, so I thought I would offer a topic to initiate our Friday morning conversation.

It occurs to me that sometimes it's not just a single book that inspires us, but a writer's entire philosophy or body of knowledge brought to us through his or her collected writings. Although I could name some particular books by writers who have influenced me (and I plan to, in a later diary), each of those books really serves as a doorway, an entry point to a way of seeing and a way of thinking that's expressed in several books.

Three authors who have influenced me greatly include Daniel Quinn, Peter Senge, and George Lakoff.

How about you? Have you been influenced by an author because of several books, more than one particular book?

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Have you been influenced by an author, beyond one particular book?

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Have you been influenced by an author, beyond one particular book?

Yes. (Do tell us more in comments.)

12 votes

0 votes

Pie, obligatory.

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What am I doing here? (Thinking about our intentions in online conversation)

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Wednesday March 30, 2011 · 2:10 PM PDT

2011/03/30 · 14:10

Sometimes when I stare at the Daily Kos comment preview screen, after trying to remember why I even began writing a comment, I ask myself three questions:

What outcome do I want most?

What other outcomes will I accept?

What outcomes do I intend to prevent?

If I can answer those three questions about my own intent when I write, then I might have a shot at answering this question:

What can I say, here, now, in this particular conversation, that might satisfy all three of those criteria?

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Dawn Chorus: Adventures in Bird Feeding

Dawn Chorus: A Thicket of Kinglets

Dawn Chorus: Late Migration Open Thread

Dawn Chorus: Conversation about Birds and Birdwatching

Dawn Chorus: Chim Chiminey ... Chimney Swift

Dawn Chorus: (Belated) Family Time

Dawn Chorus: Testing New Camera Gear

Dawn Chorus: Raptor rehab photo op

Dawn Chorus: Barred Owls

Dawn Chorus: Tropical New Year

Books That Changed My Life: Authors, more than particular books

What am I doing here? (Thinking about our intentions in online conversation)