This week in birds - #15

Long-billed Curlew on a beach on Bolivar Peninsula.

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I've written here several times about the two Rufous Hummingbirds that spent the winter and part of the spring in my yard, but would you believe that one of the birds also spent the winter at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan? It was indeed a mild winter in North America.

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The American Bird Conservancy is trying to stop the expansion of the airport in Lake Apopka, Florida, because they fear it would be devastating to migrating birds.

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Reports by the World Wildlife Fund and others who are tracking them indicate that the population of Monarch butterflies continues to decline because of adverse weather and the loss of stands of milkweed across the country because of the use of herbicides. Experts estimate the population is down by 30% this year.  

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The Big Garden Birdwatch began in the U.K. in 1979. Since then, records for the yearly survey (which is similar to our Great Backyard Bird Count) reveal that the population of House Sparrows has fallen by 55% in British gardens and European Starling numbers have fallen by 79% . I don't really have a problem with starlings in my yard, but I would surely like to see the sparrow population fall, preferably by 100%!

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Environmentalists believe that as many as 20 million birds may die needlessly in this country each year after consuming lead shot left in the field by hunters. They are pressuring the EPA to try to get lead banned from the production of shot. There are other alternatives for the shot which would not be toxic to a bird that accidentally consumed it. 

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It isn't only Monarch butterflies that are declining. In Europe, at least seventeen species of butterflies have declined by as much as 70% in the last 15 years. Scientists believe that part of the answer to their survival may be the protection of habitats - or even the construction of habitats - that contain more open, meadow-like areas.

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The beautiful Golden-winged Warbler is one of the most rapidly declining species of birds in the country. It's all because of development and habitat loss. The key to saving the bird, scientists say, is the protection of appropriate habitat areas. That could be said of so many endangered and threatened species.

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The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation has issued a report which implicates a particular type of pesticide - neonicotinoids - in the die-offs of bees. Such pesticides are absorbed into plant tissue and may then be present in pollen and nectar which could be toxic to pollinators.

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Studies in Australia reveal that birds flee from areas where mining occurs and they do not necessarily return to the areas even if they are later replanted and rehabilitated.

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It's a familiar story here and in many parts of the world but now it is happening in Turkey. A development boom there is posing a serious threat to the biodiversity of the country. The challenge, as always, is to balance development with the protection of the environment.

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Around the backyard:  Last week I told you about the ongoing battle in my yard between the Carolina Chickadees and the Eastern Bluebirds over one particular nesting box. I watched every day as the drama played out, but by the middle of the week, it appeared to me that both sets of birds had abandoned the box. Finally, on Thursday, I decided to check it. There was the chickadee nest of moss with a bluebird pine straw nest on top and in the pine straw were two speckled eggs! Well, bluebird eggs are blue, so they definitely were not bluebird. Chickadee eggs are speckled but I thought these looked too big for a chickadee and I worried that they might be House Sparrow eggs. Today, though, I saw a chickadee flying into the box, so maybe they have won the dispute after all. I believe the bluebirds have moved on to occupy a box in my next door neighbor's yard.

Meantime, on the other side of my backyard, another pair of Eastern Bluebirds is checking out the old nesting box where bluebirds have raised families in each of the last two years. I don't know, of course, if this is the same pair that has nested there before, but maybe.

I checked the box this afternoon and it was still clean. They haven't started building a nest yet but I am hopeful that they will.

It is really gratifying to see the increase that has occurred in the bluebird population in our neighborhood in the past few years. Even five years ago, they were almost never seen in my yard. Now, not a day goes by that I don't see them and hear their voices. Happiness is a warbling bluebird!   

Wordless Wednesday: Greater Yellowlegs

Swiftly they fly

The Chimney Swifts are back in town. As I was working in my front yard this afternoon, I heard their distinctive twittering and looked up to see two of the small black cigar-shaped birds barreling around the sky over my yard.

I had been expecting them and was on the lookout for them. They normally arrive in my yard about the same time as the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, around the first week in April. This year, of course, the hummingbirds were early, arriving a couple of weeks ago. It stood to reason that the swifts might be early, too, and indeed they are, at least by about a week.

The swifts truly are one of my favorite summer visitors. I love their voices. I love their hyperactivity, the way they are always on the move and they have only one speed - fast!

They usually nest in the chimney of my living room fireplace and I expect they will do so again this year.

I went to the website Chimney Swifts.org to report my first sighting. I hope you will, too, when you see swifts in your area.

This week in birds - #14

I thought all the American Goldfinches were long gone from my area, but this week a least one of the little birds, apparently a female, has been hanging around and visiting the thistle feeders. I had been intending to take them down. Now I'm glad I waited.

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The American Bird Conservancy's "Bird of the Week" is the beautiful Bahama Oriole, recently given full species status. The bird is critically endangered.

I think you'll agree that this beauty is a bird worth saving.

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Birdchick's fabulous birding blog has a post about the early migration of birds this year - especially that of hummingbirds.

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The dolphins in Barataria Bay off Louisiana's coast are seriously ill and their ailments are believed to be related to their exposure to the BP oil spill in 2010. That area was one of the hardest hit by the toxic oil.

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The sex lives of penguins in the Antarctic are being affected by the warming global climate. The Adelie and Chinstrap Penguins are being adversely affected and their populations are dwindling, but the Gentoo Penguins have been able to adapt their breeding cycles to the warmer conditions and they are thriving.

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Last Monday was Swallows' Day in San Juan Capistrano, California, the day that the Cliff Swallows of legend traditionally return to their homes at the mission there. This weekend there is a big festival in the area to celebrate the event.

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Queens in a honeybee hive are notoriously promiscuous, but it seems that there are benefits to this behavior.

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There is plenty of research to establish that noise pollution has a deleterious effect on birds, but studies now show that those effects extend to plants as well, because birds play such an important role in their reproduction.

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The survival of the endangered shorebird, the Red Knot, is closely tied to the population of horseshoe crabs on whose eggs they feed after their long flight from their wintering ground. Conservation organizations are lobbying states along the East Coast to do more to protect the crabs and thereby to protect the birds.

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The uber-adaptable coyote is colonizing the streets of New York City and its presence there may be having the effect of reducing the overpopulation of rats and raccoons in the city. The coyotes prey on these animals, but also they are competitors for food with the omnivores and they reduce the food that is available for them.

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Hoverflies cannot sting but they put on a great acting job to convince would-be predators that they can. They mimic wasps and bees in order to deter critters that might eat them.

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Male Nightingales sing their territorial songs more aggressively when they are responding to another male that is at an equal height to theirs.

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Most of the Monarch butterflies that migrate north from Mexico in the spring are hatched and mature along the way, but at least 10% of the migrants fly all the way from Mexico to their final destination.

A female Monarch visiting the milkweed in my yard this week. She left several eggs that will, with any luck, become the next generation of migrants.

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Around the backyard: The White-eyed Vireos started arriving this week. I heard their distinctive song in trees all around the yard all week.

And yes, at least one of my wintering Rufous Hummingbirds is still here. I saw her at the feeder today. There was also a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird there. I don't believe this is the same one that I'm seeing over several days in the yard. I think they move on rather quickly, but there always seems to be another to take the place of the one who's just left.

The territorial dispute between the Eastern Bluebirds and the Carolina Chickadees continues. There are two other perfectly good nesting boxes that are empty that either of the two could easily claim, but noooo! It has to be this one particular box. Sigh.

What would you do?

There is a battle going on between birds in my garden and for once it doesn't involve House Sparrows. No, this time, it's two of the good guys who are going at each other.

Early on the Carolina Chickadees claimed this nesting box and started building their nest in it. They worked hard and filled the box about two-thirds full with moss to be their nest where they would raise their young. But the Eastern Bluebirds decided this week that they want that box and they've been jousting with the pair of chickadees over it. Finally, they just decided to go ahead and build their nest on top of what the chickadees had done. They worked steadily at it today and have almost completed their pine straw nest. It seems, perhaps, that they have won the battle, but now I'm wondering if I should remove what the chickadees have constructed, so that the bluebird nest can rest on the bottom of the box where it should be. As it is, it will be too close to the entry hole and it is possible that very young chicks might accidentally fall out. Under ordinary circumstances, I would never dream of interfering between these two much-loved birds, but I am in a quandary. What should I do?

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I didn't have a chance to do my research for my "This week in birds" post today. Check back tomorrow when I hope to have it completed.

It was a record-breaker!

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has published its report of the highlights of this year's Great Backyard Bird Count. The biggest highlight of all is that it was a record-breaking weekend!

First of all, participants submitted an amazing 104,151 checklists with 17.4 million individual bird observations. New records for the number of checklists were set in 22 states and in 6 Canadian provinces. Throughout the North American continent and in Hawaii, participants identified 623 species of birds. It truly is wonderful what citizen science can accomplish.

The bird that was reported on more checklists than any other was our old friend, the Northern Cardinal.

This is the eighth consecutive year that the cardinal has appeared on the most checklists.

Following closely in second place was that loveliest of doves, the Mourning Dove.

The most numerous bird reported during this year's count, though, was the Snow Goose.

These two geese were not photographed during GBBC but were at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge earlier this year.

One of the most astonishing counts was the one for Tree Swallows. They had never before appeared in the top-10 of the most numerous birds reported, but this year, they were number two, right behind the Snow Goose. This was due to a massive flock of the swallows, estimated at some two million birds, that were roosting in Ruskin, Florida.

Another highlight of this year's count, of course, was the irruption of Snowy Owls. They were reported throughout the Great Plains and south to Kansas. The owl's main prey in their Arctic home is lemmings, and in years when the lemming population crashes, the birds are forced to move farther south in search of prey. That is apparently what happened this winter.

Likewise, a crash in the production of seeds favored by redpolls brought the Common Redpoll and Hoary Redpoll farther south than they are normally seen. Some Common Redpolls were reported as far south as California. Moreover, the numbers of both Common and Hoary Redpolls that were reported in Canada were down significantly this year because the birds had moved farther south.

You can read all about these stories and others in the highlights report itself. And if you participated in the big count, give yourself a pat on the back. You were a record-breaker!

This week in birds - #13

They're back! The male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are now passing through our area.

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New York City is giving away trees. Some 5,000 trees will be given out this spring, including such varieties as Japanese maple, Eastern redbud, flowering cherry, Carolina silverbell, blackgum and fruit trees — cherries, plums, apples, pears, peach, fig and persimmon. The trees’ retail value is said to run from $50 to $100 each. It's all part of the city's effort to offset the effects of human-released greenhouse gases by planting a million trees in the city by 2017.

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What's up with that "dawn chorus" anyway? Why do birds wake up singing every day? The Safari Ecology blog speculates on the answers to those questions. 

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Poisoning of birds of prey in Scotland has been a continuing problem of concern to conservationists and all who love birds. The government and conservation agencies have been trying to educate people about the importance of these birds and it may be having an effect. The good news is that the number of birds killed was reduced by more than 50% in 2011. 

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The Wisconsin Assembly has approved a bill that would allow the hunting of wolves in the state. The bill, which is opposed by most conservationists who say it is "anti-science", is on its way to the desk of Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who is almost certain to sign it.

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Wind turbines continue to pose a danger to many birds but particularly so, it turns out, for vultures. This appears to be true because of unique blind spots in those birds' field of vision. 

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Did you read about the discovery of a previously unknown species of frog? It was found in New York City, of all places! The still-unnamed species looks a bit like a leopard frog and apparently had gone unnoticed because people thought that is what it was. Turns out it is a whole 'nother kind of leaper.

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According to new research, about 3.7 million Americans live within a few feet of high tide and risk being hit by more frequent coastal flooding in coming decades because of the sea level rise caused by global warming. The most vulnerable state is Florida, but also in danger are Louisiana, California, New Jersey, and New York.

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Recent research has shown that fully 47% of the world's seabird populations are declining.  Furthermore, at least 28% of the species are endangered.

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Producing oil from tar sands in Canada has been shown to be particularly destructive to the environment. But now research indicates that it is even more destructive than previously thought, when the ancillary destruction of peatlands is taken into account.

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BirdLife International's report on "The State of the World's Birds" has been published online. It makes for interesting, if often depressing, reading.

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Scientists are trying to understand the history and causes of drought by interpreting tree rings. Most people learn in grade school that concentric rings in the stump can tell a tree’s age and that wider rings can indicate times of vigorous growth and that narrow rings  indicate slower growth and possibly times of difficulty in the tree's life. This branch of science is called dendrochronology, and it’s focused on reconstructing the history of environmental and climatic change. By understanding the past, scientists hope to be able to find ways of dealing with the present and planning for the future. 

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Around the backyard:  Most of the permanent resident birds are now busily building their nests or looking for places to build their nests.

This Northern Mockingbird and his mate have been inspecting various shrubs around the yard.

The Eastern Bluebirds are looking at potential homes, as well. Unfortunately, they have to battle with the dratted House Sparrows in order to stake their claim. I'm not sure how this will turn out but I'm doing all I can to discourage the sparrows. 

The Carolina Chickadees appear to have settled in a box they have used in the last two years.

The wrens and the cardinals and the Mourning Doves, too, have been house-building this week as well. The doves almost always nest in the big pine tree just on the other side of the fence in my neighbor's yard. I look forward to the return of these birds, iconic emblems from my childhood, in the spring. I love to sit in the backyard in the late afternoon and listen to their sweet voice. Funny how just that sound can bring back so many memories.