I took a walk along the trail down to the pond today. It was only about 95°F outside, so I counted it a cool day. Still, I figured I’d see what birds were out, do my weekly count for my Pond Trail Big Year and have a look at what the hailstorm did last week. I forgot to charge my camera battery, so no pictures.
The storm ripped up and beat down most of the undergrowth so walking off the trail was easier, though it was weird with all the leaves that shouldn’t have fallen until autumn on the ground instead of still in the trees. Several trees had fallen across the little creek near the footbridge so it was a lot more open in an area where I’m used to deep shade this time of year.
The reeds near the pond were decimated, and I didn’t see any Red-winged Blackbirds around. That’s where they had been nesting so I wonder if they’ll be back. The herons were away as well so I wonder if their nests got flooded or destroyed in the storm. This was this first time all year that I didn’t see any kind of water bird around the pond.
As to birds, I saw the usual suspects for this time of year: grackles, Blue Jays, mockingbirds, cardinals. In the non-avian category, I saw a rabbit and some kind of a garter snake. Nothing special to add to the bird list, but here’s the updated list for the pond trail, about halfway through 2009:
When you use spider silk to build a nest,
You take an awful risk.
This is what I learned from a hummingbird
Trapped in a spider’s web.
Still alive, the bird fought for his freedom,
The spider watched, waiting,
Shrinking back when I moved to intervene.
I gently pulled the bird
Out of the sticky tangles of the web.
Afraid I might crush him,
My fingers, trembling, pulled the silk away
From tiny, tightbound wings,
Glowing iridescent in the sunlight
When I opened my hand,
He shot into the air, flying swift north,
seeking another web.
—
This is a true story from a few years ago. I’ve written a few other poems about it, but this one is the latest. I’ve been experimenting with writing lines with specific syllable counts and sometimes stumbling into formal meters. Experimenting with rhythm, I guess.
Check out more good stuff at Read Write Poem, where you’ll find a number of folks who wrote a poem a day for the 30 days of April, aka National Poetry Month. I didn’t shoot for that, but I did write more poems this month than usual, many of which are at a gnarled oak or in my journal. And, I revised a lot of older ones.
I finally got to see an American Goldfinch in breeding plumage. They’ve been coming around all winter, but they’ve mostly headed north now, leaving before turning yellow. This little straggler made my day on Saturday when he stopped by the nyger bag for a few seeds in between visits by the always yellow Lesser Goldfinches.
Project FeederWatch ended last weekend. For those just tuning in, PFW is a citizen science project run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The idea is that you commit to keeping a record of all the birds that visit your feeders, birdbaths, birdhouses, and landscape features from November to April. In addition to being a part of something that helps scientists learn about and help birds, participants have the opportunity to learn a surprising amount about what goes on right outside their doors.
This is a summary of some interesting things I learned.
Observations about Specific Birds:
Wrens:
A Bewick's Wren stops by for a snack
We get both Carolina and Bewick’s Wrens at our house. They both like suet and mealworms, but the Carolina Wrens will also take seeds from the cake feeders. Carolina Wrens also seem to be more willing to poke around the ground in the flowerbed, while Bewick’s Wrens prefer scouring the trees and plants for bugs. Carolinas also seems to be much more vocal; every morning, I can expect one singing (surprisingly loud) from the fence.
Hawks:
Accipiter hawk relaxing on the neighbor's fence
On several occasions, on count days and non-count days, I saw unidentifiable accipiter hawks swooping through the yard. On one occasion, I got some pictures of one sitting by the neighbor’s feeder and on another day, I saw one sitting by my feeder. I never got a good enough look to ID any of the ones I saw on count days, but readers of this blog thought the one I photographed was a Sharp-shinned Hawk.
I assume he’s been eating sparrows since those are the only birds whose counts have been lower than I expected them to be. The wrens, titmice, chickadees, and finches all seem to show up in basically the same numbers each week so I suspect they’re avoiding the hawks.
Goldfinches:
Lesser Goldfinch
I was thrilled to see goldfinches show up in my yard at long last. I have my sister to thank. She got me some nyjer bags for Christmas, and the goldfinches arrived withing days of putting them out.
Lesser Goldfinches will only take nyjer seed from the bags, while American Goldfinches who seem to prefer the nyjer bags, will use the tube feeder when the bags are crowded.
American Goldfinch in winter non-gold plumage
I had hoped to see the American Goldfinches in breeding plumage, but they seem to have mostly left, although I did see one this weekend in transitional plumage. I hope he sticks around so I can see him in his full golden glory.
Blue Jays:
Blue Jay
Through most of the winter, the Blue jays came around only for the peanuts. As things warmed up, and nesting season began, they started taking suet again, which they didn’t touch during winter, ceding it instead to the wrens, titmice, kinglets, warblers, and mockingbirds. They also come around more and more for the regular seeds, but the peanuts are still the favorite.
Cardinals:
(no pictures. try back next year)
During the fall and winter, the cardinals only come around in the very early hours before dawn and the dusky hour between sunset and dark. During spring and summer they come around the feeders at all times of the day.
Doves:
One Mourning Dove and two White-winged Doves
White-winged Doves are the most prevalent and obvious birds at our platform feeder during spring and summer, but through fall and winter, there are substantially fewer and the Mourning Doves come around a bit more frequently.
Mockingbirds:
A Northern Mockingbird eyes the suet feeder
The mockingbirds come regularly for suet in the winter, but lose all interest in it when it gets warmer out. There is a pair nesting in the neighbor’s cedar tree, but their only interest in my yard now is the birdbath.
Titmice:
Black-crested Titmouse on the pinecone feeder
The Black-crested Titmice are almost always the first ones to check out a new feeder, and often the first ones to the worms in the morning, thus earning them the nickname Pigmice. They’re still my favorites, though.
Every morning in winter, one or two would burst from the wren box and start scolding me from a nearby tree until I had the worms out. Now that it’s warmer, they’ve left the box for the wrens and are nesting elsewhere, but they’re still first in line at the worm feeder most mornings.
And, now, some lists…
The Visitors:
The numbers are the highest numbers of individuals seen at one time.
White-winged Dove (25)
Chipping Sparrow (24)
House Sparrow (20)
American Goldfinch (8)
Common Grackle (8)
House Finch (5)
Northern Mockingbird (4)
Brown-headed Cowbird (4)
Black-crested Titmouse (3)
Mourning Dove (3)
Carolina Chickadee (3)
European Starling (3)
Blue Jay (3)
Lesser Goldfinch (3)
Bewick’s Wren (2)
Carolina Wren (2)
Northern Cardinal (2)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (2)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (2)
Black-chinned Hummingbird (2)
Orange-crowned Warbler (1)
Ladder-backed Woodpecker (1)
Accipiter sp. (1)
American Robin (1)
Red-winged Blackbird (1)
Song Sparrow (1)
The Permanent Collection:
These are the birds that appeared in all 20 counts.
White-winged Dove
Carolina Chickadee
Black-crested Titmouse
Carolina Wren
Bewick’s Wren
Chipping Sparrow
All of these are permanent residents except the Chipping Sparrows. They will depart for points north in the next week or so, and return in October. If past years are any guide, we will see flocks of 60-70 in the yard for a day or 2 and then they will be gone.
House Sparrow only missed one week (Dec 27), which was incidentally, the first time I saw an accipiter hawk. Smart sparrows.
Passing Through:
Birds that came for a distinct span of time and then left.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1.3.09 – 2.7.09)
American Robin (2.28.09 – 3.14.09)
Orange-crowned Warbler (1.3.09 – 3.14.09)
Red-winged Blackbird (3.7.09 – 3.14.09)
I’ll be curious to see if these species come around these times next year.
Sometimes Birds:
Birds that are here year-round. They don’t come by the yard very often, but were kind enough to stop by on at least one count day.
Accipiter sp (Sharp-shinned or Cooper’s Hawk)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Red-winged Blackbird
European Starling
Spring/Summer Birds:
These are the birds that hang around the yard only during spring and summer along with their arrival dates.
American Robin (2.21)
Common Grackle (3.07)
Black-chinned Hummingbird (3.21)
Biggest Flocks:
These are the largest groups of individuals seen at one time.
White-winged Dove (25 on 3.14.09)
Chipping Sparrow (24 on 1.17.09)
House Sparrow (20 on 12.06.08)
American Goldfinch (8 on 02.21.09)
Common Grackle (8 on 03.07.09 & 03.21.09)
Life Birds:
A Ruby-crowned Kinglet considers the suet feeder
These are the birds I had never seen and saw for the first time as a result of paying closer attention to the feeders.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Orange-crowned Warbler
Brown-headed Cowbird
Lesser Goldfinch
Accipter sp. (probably Sharp-shinned Hawk)
Non-avian Feeder Visitors:
A possum visits the bird feederFox Squirrel
Fox Squirrel
Virginia Opossum
Project FeederWatch was a fun and eye-opening experience. I intend to continue counting birds and uploading my counts to ebird for the rest of 2009, and I will definitely be participating again next year.
Sometimes the most interesting visitors come by night. I usually bring the feeder in after dark, but some nights the possum beats me to it. Phoebe discovered him up there and despite her best efforts throwing herself into the air, she couldn’t get him so no possum stew for the pups.
This was the last week of counting for Project FeederWatch, and the hummingbirds finally showed up. When I looked out the window on Saturday morning a very fluffy looking Black-chinned Hummingbird was huddled on one of the hanging flowerpots near the hummingbird feeder. He occasionally would drink and then go back to perch. When the sun finally came up, he buzzed over to a tree and watched the feeder, diligently chasing away any other hummer that happened to come near.
Here’s my last count for the 2008-2009 FeederWatch Season:
White-winged Dove (12)
Mourning Dove (1)
Black-chinned Hummingbird (2)
Blue Jay (1)
Carolina Chickadee (1)
Black-crested Titmouse (1)
Carolina Wren (1)
Bewick’s Wren (2)
Northern Mockingbird (1)
Chipping Sparrow (5)
Northern Cardinal (1)
Common Grackle (5)
House Finch (4)
Lesser Goldfinch (3)
House Sparrow (4)
Tomorrow, I’ll do a post about what I learned about my backyard from participating in Project FeederWatch.
This was a busy week for the birds. At 19 species, this week had the most diversity and even included a lifer: the Brown-headed Cowbird, my 100th life bird. The cowbirds came in a small mixed flock of icterids that included a few grackles and a Red-winged Blackbird.
The Song Sparrow is also new to both yard and life list. I saw my first ones last Wednesday at the pond down the street. I guess one of them decided to come check out my feeders.
Other than that, it was mostly the usual suspects, though the Orange-crowned Warbler didn’t turn up. Perhaps he has headed north.
Still no hummingbirds. The black chins arrived on the 16th last year and on the 17th in 2007. I suspect the drought and resulting lack of wildflowers has them going elsewhere.
Every tree along the trail to the pond wears its own cardinal, each claiming territory and attracting mates, filling the air with song. Gnatcatchers and kinglets hop through the branches with the chickadees. Blue Jays build a nest by the pond where the ducks had been until yesterday when they got the migration call and departed for points north. With all the birds alive and calling attention to themselves, the deer skeleton was quite a shock.
on a bed of leaves,
a deer skeleton picked clean,
save one furry hoof
Today was an exciting day. I finally got to see the Golden-cheeked Warbler, the only bird that nests only in Texas. Sadly, it is also an endangered species.
I went on one of the Two Hour Tuesday walks sponsored by the Travis County Audubon Society. Our guide, Stan, was great. Not only did he show us these birds, but by the time I left I felt I had learned enough to possibly find one on my own someday.
Walking along Turkey Creek near Emma Long Park, we heard more of them than we saw and for the most part, we only saw quick glimpses until, walking back towards the parking lot, we got some good looks, including the one I photographed, which was right above us on the trail.
I was surprised by how vocal they are, a fact that makes them surprisingly easy to find. Apparently, though, as soon as nesting activities are finished, they become very quiet and secretive and so, March and April are really the only time one might expect to find them.
It’s a bittersweet thing to see such a beautiful and unique creature while knowing that it is also an endangered species. The threats to the Golden-cheeked Warbler’s existence seem to come mainly in the form of habitat loss. It nests only in the mixed oak/juniper forests of the Texas hill country, and according to Texas Parks and Wildlife:
Golden-cheeked warblers are endangered because many tall juniper and oak woodlands have been cleared to build houses, roads, and stores. Some habitat was cleared to grow crops or grass for livestock. Other habitat areas were flooded when large lakes were built.
These little birds only nest here. They winter in Mexico and Central America, but according to All About Birds, their winter habitat is being cut down for timber. It seems they can’t catch a break.
This bird was a rare treat to see and a potent reminder of the importance of conservation and doing all one can to ensure that we leave room for all the wild things with whom we share this planet.
