Wordless Wednesday: Spring's harbinger

The blackbirds cometh!

Here at the end of February, flocks of blackbirds are beginning to show up in the yard for the first time this winter. Mostly Brown-headed Cowbirds and Red-winged Blackbirds. I haven't seen a single grackle so far.

That's odd, really. A few years ago, one of the things that we could count on in winter was that huge flocks of Common Grackles would invade our street in mid to late winter. It was not unusual to see flocks of several thousand covering three or four front yards at a time as they made their way down the street. But for the last couple of years, the grackles have been mostly absent and this winter there have been none so far.

There are plenty of Brown-headed Cowbirds around though and that's not necessarily good news for the birds whose nests they parasitize, chiefly warblers. They are handsome birds, but it is hard to enjoy them when one realizes the misery they can cause.

Cowbirds and Red-winged Blackbirds often travel in mixed flocks in winter. Here, there are three male cowbirds in back with one lighter-colored female. In front are four female Red-wings. The female Red-wings look like big sparrows with their striped appearance. I quite like them. I think they are very attractive birds, as pretty in their own way as their more dramatically colored mates.

A group of female Red-wings feed peaceably with a female Northern Cardinal.

While the females like feeding in a group on the ground, the male Red-wings often visit the feeders, especially the one containing sunflower hearts.

It won't be long now before the blackbirds and the other birds in the yard will begin pairing up and settling down for the nesting season.

Many people disparage and dislike blackbirds, but I find them very interesting birds. Although you could never tell it from their voices, they are first cousins to orioles. You can see that in their body shape and posture and in the shape of their beaks. But in the extended family, the orioles got almost all the musical talent. I do like the conk-a-ree song of the Red-winged Blackbird though. It's a very pleasant background music for a late spring afternoon.

This week in birds - #10

Overwintering female Rufous Hummingbird at one of my feeders this week.

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The little American Kestrel, smallest and prettiest of all our native hawks, is declining in numbers in some parts of its range. One reason may be an increase in Cooper's Hawk populations. The Cooper's preys on the kestrel.

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This is Leap Year and so we have an extra day coming up next week. Amphibian Ark suggests that we spend that extra Leap Day celebrating frogs. Seems appropriate, doesn't it? 

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The American Bird Conservancy is advocating the use of a newly-developed translucent adhesive tape on large windows to warn birds away from them. It is believed that this could significantly reduce bird deaths from crashing into those windows.

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A recent study shows that tree cover has declined in 17 of 20 urban centers surveyed in the United States. The three urban areas with the most decline, according to the study, were Houston, New Orleans, and Albuquerque. Cities with the greatest annual increase in "impervious covering" - AKA concrete - were Los Angeles, Albuquerque, and Houston. Thus, Houston made its way onto two negative lists.

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The state of New Jersey has recently updated its endangered and threatened lists. This has resulted in the addition of three birds to the endangered list: Black Rail, Golden-winged Warbler, and Red Knot. 

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Swallows usually fly south for the winter, but in recent years, a flock of Northern Rough-winged Swallows has been wintering at a sewage plant in Philadelphia and they have become a magnet for birders. The draw for the birds seems to be that there are plenty of flying insects in the area on which they can feed.

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A new species of blind wingless insect, discovered living in complete darkness in a deep cave near the Black Sea in the Caucasus, may be the deepest dwelling animal on the planet. 

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Increasing temperatures due to climate change are causing migratory birds in eastern North America to migrate earlier and earlier. This is confirmed by analysis of data from eBird. I can offer some anecdotal evidence in support of that, since American Goldfinches have left my yard en masse earlier than ever before this winter.

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The increase in Red-tailed Hawks may be pushing Rough-legged Hawks out of some areas where they were previously found. David Sibley ponders in his blog whether the two species coexist in any areas.

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The UK Ministry of Defense will declassify some of its data gathered by submarines so that it can be utilized by scientists doing research on the climate.  

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Here is a photo gallery of extinct birds with information about the reasons for their extinction.

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Around the backyard: We've had small flocks of Cedar Waxwings in the yard all winter but this week the numbers have gone up dramatically. Yesterday, I saw a big flock of more than 200 in my trees. I think they may be "staging," getting ready to head north, although waxwings usually stick around until pretty late in the spring. Maybe they are one of those species that are migrating earlier because of global warming.

Such pretty and entertaining birds. I will be sorry to see them go.

Summing up this year's GBBC

So the big weekend of counting birds is over. My final species total for my yard was thirty-two, not the best year that I've had but not bad, particularly considering that the weather was not that cooperative. These are the birds that showed up for the count:

1. Black Vulture
2. Turkey Vulture
3. Red-tailed Hawk
4. Red-shouldered Hawk
5. Killdeer
6. Eurasian Collared-dove
7. White-winged Dove
8. Mourning Dove
9. Rufous Hummingbird
10. Red-bellied Woodpecker
11. Downy Woodpecker
12. Eastern Phoebe
13. Blue Jay
14. American Crow
15. Carolina Chickadee
16. Tufted Titmouse
17. Carolina Wren
18. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
19. Eastern Bluebird
20. American Robin
21. European Starling
22. Cedar Waxwing
23. Pine Warbler
24. Yellow-rumped Warbler
25. Chipping Sparrow
26. White-throated Sparrow
27. Northern Cardinal
28. Red-winged Blackbird
29. Brown-headed Cowbird
30. House Finch
31. American Goldfinch
32. House Sparrow 

My most surprising visitor of the weekend was the White-throated Sparrow. I really hadn't expected that. 

White-throated Sparrow, February 20, 2012.

Of the ten or so species that I know are here but that didn't turn up for the count, perhaps the most disappointing was the Northern Mockingbird. Four whole days of intensive birding and not one single mockingbird showed up in my yard!

Late this afternoon I walked out to my backyard to put my gardening tools away. When I opened the back door, the first thing I heard was a mockingbird singing. I walked outside and there he was at my back fence, singing his heart out, mocking me! He might have been saying, "Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah! Can't count me!"

Darned mockingbird! 

GBBC - Day 4

The final day of this year's Great Backyard Bird Count was gray, overcast, and chilly, not really the most pleasant day to be outside counting birds. As it turned out, we only had one pleasant day in this year's count and that was yesterday. Still, today actually had plenty of birds to offer. I ended the day with twenty-six species, only one less than yesterday, and I had three previously uncounted birds today. That brought my overall total for the weekend to thirty-two.

Today's new species were:

1. Red-shouldered Hawk
2. Eastern Bluebird
3. White-throated Sparrow

Here are a few pictures of birds from today's count.

A pair of House Finches enjoys a late afternoon snack at the front yard feeder.

The male Northern Cardinals are obviously ready for spring. Their bright new feathers almost glowed on this gloomy day.

The smallest and cutest of the sparrow family, the Chipping Sparrow has been an infrequent visitor to my feeders this winter. Yesterday, I was happy to see a flock of a dozen at my front yard feeder. That was the biggest group I had seen here this winter. Today, I only saw two.

I was surprised to see a single White-throated Sparrow in the backyard this afternoon. These pretty little sparrows are not often seen in my yard.

A pair of cute little Downy Woodpeckers flirted around my backyard today. I tried to get a picture of them together but I could only succeed in getting the female to pose. 

It's been a fun and exciting four days in spite of some dreary weather. Tomorrow, I will sum up the weekend and give you the final total species list for my yard for this GBBC.

GBBC - Day 3

The yard was filled with sunshine and with birds on this third day of the Great Backyard Bird Count. I spent much of the day outside, working in my garden and counting birds, and I ended the day with twenty-seven species on my list!

The birds that turned up for the first time today were:

1. Red-tailed Hawk  
2. Eurasian Collared-dove
3. Mourning Dove
4. Downy Woodpecker
5. European Starling
6. Cedar Waxwing
7. Chipping Sparrow
8. Brown-headed Cowbird
9. House Finch

This brings my total for the weekend to twenty-nine species, but there are several that are still among the missing: Brown-headed Nuthatch, Eastern Bluebird, Orange-crowned Warbler, Purple Martin, and Northern Mockingbird just to name five. One more day - maybe some of them will show up tomorrow.

One of the two Rufous Hummingbirds wintering in my yard enjoyed the sun today.

The male Red-winged Blackbird from yesterday showed up again today and brought along his mate and several of his friends. 

The Red-bellied Woodpecker didn't make an appearance yesterday but he was back today.

Best of all, the dapper little Cedar Waxwings came to visit.

I love watching these beautiful birds. They never fail to entertain me.

I wonder who will turn up to be counted tomorrow?

GBBC - Day 2

Heavy rains this morning made this an even poorer day for viewing and counting birds than the first day of the Great Backyard Bird Count. We had 1.6 inches of rain in my yard today and have had almost four inches this week, so conditions are not optimal. Even so, any day of watching birds, even under less than ideal conditions, is a good day.

My species count for the day was a paltry 14, even less than yesterday, but I did manage to add one species to my overall total for the weekend.

A male Red-winged Blackbird hung around the backyard feeders all day today. Every time I looked, he was somewhere in the area.

He spent much of his time exploring the vines and shrubs along the back fence. He seldom showed his epaulets except when flying. Here you can see just a bit of the yellow on the wing but none of the red.

Most of my watching and counting today was done through my study window which looks out on the front yard bird feeder.

The Northern Cardinals like this feeder a lot and can be seen there throughout the day.

Here, a pair of them share a mid-afternoon snack.

The cardinals also share the feeder with the Carolina Chickadees.

Meanwhile, in the backyard...

 A female cardinal shares the platform feeder with a White-winged Dove.

This is the only American Goldfinch I saw in the yard all day. Most of them really are gone!

I also saw this pair of UFOs (Unidentified Furry Objects) in my front yard today. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a place for them on my day's checklist.

With the addition of the Red-winged Blackbird, my species count for the weekend now stands at twenty. There are at least a dozen more species that visit my yard. I hope to see some of them tomorrow when the weather promises to be more friendly to bird-counters. (Fingers crossed!)