Not a great picture, but the best one so far of the golden-fronted woodpecker, a relative newcomer to the yard.
by James Brush
Tag: backyard wildlife
The wildlife that visits my backyard in Austin, TX.
Now that I no longer live in south Austin or around campus among the famous grackle trees, I’ve come to appreciate these rather striking iridescent birds.
There are a few that have been nesting in the trees around the house and so every few weeks I get to see the fledglings learn how to be birds as they follow their parents from feeder to tree to birdbath.
Here’s one of the juveniles with his short tail and fuzzy, discombobulated look.
He hops, beak open and wings flapping, over to one of the adults who has clearly just scored a nice juicy peanut.
Fortunately for junior, the adult bird is feeling generous.
“More!”
A Bewick’s wren hunts in my tomato plants for a bug to bring back to the nest box on the fence post.
Last week, I got to watch the young wrens living out back leave their nest. It takes about 2 weeks for the eggs to hatch and another 2 or so for the nestlings to fledge so I had been keeping track so I wouldn’t miss the show, which came last Monday afternoon.
Each day leading up to flight day, the cheeping in the box grew louder and louder whenever one of the adults showed up with a worm or bug. Last Monday, I noticed that the adults were up in the trees singing and calling louder than usual. Then, I noticed one of the young birds kept poking his head out.
He would sit in the hole and look around at the world, studying it and listening for his parents, sometimes responding, sometimes ducking back into the dark safety of the nest.
Occasionally, he’d get his little feet up onto the lip of the hole and look ready to jump only to back into the nest again. Eventually, he jumped and flew to a nearby tree.
He hopped around in the branches and then flew up to the roof of the neighbor’s house where one of his parents met him, and then they flew off from there. A few minutes later, a second wren poked his head out of the nest and went through the same process.
At one point, one of the adults brought a worm to the nest, went in and then left again with the worm, as if to say, “You want this? Come out and get it.”
By the end of the day, the first 3 (maybe 4, I’m not sure how many there were – 5 at least) had flown and only 2 remained. They flew away early the next morning.
When I cleaned out the nest box, I inspected their nest as I broke it up and scattered it on the ground for other birds to use and was surprised by the amount of dog and cat fur in there. I guess regular brushings of all the beasts is good for the birds too.
For Day 2 of The Great Backyard Bird Count, I actually did count birds in my backyard, plus a few in the front.
It was one of those cold gray drizzly days that become a perfect reason for not going anywhere and instead staying in making French onion soup. Over the course of the day from about 7:30 to 4:00, I watched for birds. Here’s what I saw and reported:
- 2 Bewick’s wrens
- 2 Mourning doves
- 6 White-winged doves
- 1 Ladder-backed woodpecker
- 13 House sparrows
- 12 Chipping sparrows
- 1 Carolina chickadee
That’s most of the usual suspects for this time of year, except for the black-crested titmouse who must have had better things to do than eat soggy seed in the rain.
I actually saw more birds, but you’re only supposed to count the greatest number of individuals seen together at one time. If I kept count of every time I saw a house sparrow or a white-winged dove sitting around by himself, the counts would be much higher. And I’d be watching for Hitchcock to show up.
Sunday was a nice day for backyard birding. The Carolina chickadees (above) came back with a vengeance. I hadn’t seen any since March, but since Sunday, they’ve been everywhere. I assume a bunch of babies must have just fledged nearby.
In addition to the chickadees, blue jays and grackles took turns on the hanging seed block. A house finch seemed to enjoy the safflower block that the squirrels find distasteful, and house sparrows dotted the ground looking for the small seeds that fall off the feeders.
Of course, we also had the usual flock of white-winged doves as well as one mourning dove that hangs with his white-winged allies.
Ignoring the food, a Carolina wren brought bits of fluff, twigs and even some Phoebe fur up to the nest box on the porch. The previous couple moved out after their babies left the nest so it’s nice to see someone moving in. As of today, there are two eggs in the nest.
Earlier in the day, I spotted a tufted titmouse, which was exciting because prior to him, I had only ever seen black-crested titmice in the yard. Incidentally, I hadn’t seen any titmice of any kind since March. I suppose they’re in cahoots with the chickadees.
And finally, just before we went in, a cardinal came by. I rarely see them in the yard, and when they do come around they always fly away just as I notice them. This guy actually stood still long enough for me to take his picture.
Each day around feeding time, the trees fill up with white-winged doves.
They’re harmless, of course, and easily frightened, but there’s still something eerie about being watched by wild animals…
Along with White-winged Doves and Blue Jays, House Sparrows are the most common birds in our back yard.
I’ve been trying to get a good shot of one for a few weeks and so far this is the best one. The trick was moving the cake feeder that they like closer to the porch.
Some interesting facts about the House Sparrow via Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds site:
- The House Sparrow was introduced into Brooklyn, New York, in 1851. By 1900 it had spread to the Rocky Mountains. Its spread throughout the West was aided by additional introductions in San Francisco, California, and Salt Lake City, Utah.
- The House Sparrow has been present in North America long enough for evolution to have influenced their morphology. Populations in the north are larger than those in the south, as is generally true for native species (a relationship known as Bergman’s Rule).
- Although not a water bird, the House Sparrow can swim if it needs to, such as to escape a predator. Sparrows caught in a trap over a water dish tried to escape by diving into the water and swimming underwater from one part of the trap to another.
- The House Sparrow is a frequent dust bather. It throws soil and dust over its body feathers, just as if it were bathing with water.
They have a rep for being a nuisance bird, taking over the nests of other birds, especially the Eastern Bluebird, which may be why nobody has moved into my bluebird box, although the sparrows don’t seem interested in it either.
This bird has flown along with its six offspring. I checked the box on Monday evening and saw a pile of small wrens looking up at me. When I got home on Tuesday, they had all left. I dumped out the nest and saw no dead ones and there weren’t any struggling in the yard, so I assume they all made it into the air.
I’m sorry I missed the flight lessons, but it’s good enough to know that the world is six wrens better today.
Hopefully, I wasn’t too late in cleaning out the box; I’d love it if they came back for a second round this year.
Be sure to check out I and the Bird #47 at Bell Tower Birding. My Three Bird Lunch post, which has a fairly decent shot of a scissor-tailed flycatcher is included in the carnival. It’s funny that the one time I had my camera at work is the only time I’ve seen one there.
Here’s a better shot of one of the Carolina Bewick’s Wrens who is nesting in the box on our porch. He actually came up while I was outside with my camera. Probably to demand mealworms. I checked the box and saw that the eggs hatched today. Hopefully, I’ll be home when flying lessons start.
Last weekend, we decided to see what other birds we could attract. I put up a woodpecker feeder since my wife saw one in the yard the other day. I’ve never seen one before, but the seed block had been pretty heavily pecked by the time I got home.
The only finches I’ve seen in the yard are house finches, but I put up a finch feeder in the hopes that we’ll attract some goldfinches. I think it may be the wrong time of year for them to be here, but perhaps if I plant a garden of lettuce, they’ll come as they seem to have for Amy at Esau.
So far, though, it’s mostly white-winged doves, house sparrows, and Carolina chickadees around here, although this afternoon I did hear a song I hadn’t heard before. The woodpecker, perhaps? I’m hoping to add him to my list.
And, of course, our wrens, one seen here singing “Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons.”
This is one of the Carolina Bewick’s Wrens that lives in the wren box on our porch. He comes out for meal worms each morning.
They started laying eggs two weeks ago so they should be hatching soon.