​Sycamore Grove Farm, Madison County

The “peter, peter, peter” call of the tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) is often the first bird song I hear when I go out each morning to journal the birds that I see and hear.  We have titmice in the woods across the street, in the woods that line our farm and we also get them on a regular basis at our birdfeeder. Titmice are non-migratory so I may take them for granted during the excitement of the return of the birds that fly south for the winter. But their perky crested head and their comfort in being around people reminds me of how much I value these special birds on our farm.

While you will often see titmice at your bird feeder, they have a broad diet, 2/3rd of which is insects. They have special muscles in their legs that allow them to hang upside down to feed – so they often see insect eggs under leaves where other birds cannot. They are known for storing food in bark crevices and are very good at remembering the location of their different caches.  You will often see them foraging with other small birds, including chickadees, kinglets, brown creepers and nuthatches.  After breeding season titmice will join flocks that include other small birds – a frequent technique used by many birds as a protection from hawks. In addition to birds of prey, titmice are hunted by snakes, raccoons, and opossums. One of their worst enemies are house cats, as titmice are very comfortable around people and are frequent birdfeeder visitors.

Titmice line their nests with fur they have plucked from other animals, including raccoons, opossums, mice, woodchucks, squirrels, rabbits and livestock. While they mate for life, their life span is short, averaging 2.1 years. The oldest titmouse recorded by scientists was 13 years old.

So please keep your cats inside – you may be saving the life of a titmouse and other birds as well!


Update on bluebirds that successfully nested on our farm:
One of our nest boxes had 4 eggs, of which three hatched. These three successfully fledged.  I recently had the opportunity to see the male bluebird teaching one of the fledglings to “hawk” for insects. The male sat close to the fledgling on the top of a fencepost. The male swooped down, snatched a small insect, flew back to the post, and fed the insect to the fledgling. The adult then flew down again, returned and he ate the insect (apparently trying to show the fledgling how it was done). Then the adult flew away, followed by the fledgling. So, I don’t know when the fledgling got the point of the lesson.    

Happy birding!

Charlene

Sycamore Grove Farm, Madison County

It took me a while until I saw my first Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) on our farm. I was hearing them and picking them up on Merlin. But it wasn’t until recently that I actually saw one. They are often hidden in and under thick shrubs, where they sing discrete musical phrases, often repeating them twice. The male Brown Thrasher has the largest documented song repertoire of all North American birds, with over 1,100 song types. Some sources state that each individual has up to 3,000 song phrases, while others stated beyond 3,000.

While not having as diverse a “song book” as the Northern mockingbird, thrashers are also noted for their mimicry. During the breeding season, the male's mimicking ability is at its best display. It can impersonate the calls of Tufted Titmice, Northern Cardinals, Wood Thrushes, and Northern Flickers. So you have to be careful:  if you don’t actually see some of these other birds and their song comes up on Merlin - maybe it’s actually a very talented thrasher!

Thrashers don’t have a long life span: only about 34% live through their first and second year, and about 50% make it through to their third year. The longest known lifespan in the wild is 12 years.

The thrasher’s distinctive curved bill has been noted for its flexibility in catching quick insects. Scientists have determined that this flexibility is due to the amount of vertebrae in its neck, which exceeds giraffes and camels. Thrashers defend themselves by using their bill, which can inflict significant damage to species smaller than them, along with wing-flapping and vocal expressions.

The name “thrasher” is believed to have come from the thrashing sound the bird makes when digging through ground debris. I have frequently seen their feeding behavior where they turn over leaves, small rocks and branches, looking for insects and nuts. Scientists have also found bones of lizards, salamanders, and frogs in the stomach of thrashers. So they have a very eclectic diet.

The thrasher name is also thought to come from the thrashing sound that it makes when it is smashing large insects to kill and eventually eat them. When feeding, the Brown Thrasher can hammer nuts like acorns in order to remove the shell. Scientists have observed thrashers digging a hole about 1.5 cm (0.59 in) deep, place an acorn in it, and hit the acorn until it cracked – almost like a form of tool usage.

So enjoy these talented song birds and the role they play in nature.

Happy birding!
Charlene

Sycamore Grove Farm, Madison County

I clearly recall the first view of a wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) on our farm. We had just moved into the house that we built and were sitting on the back porch when a female turkey rounded the corner and started to walk down toward the woods line at the bottom of the field. She seemed to stagger from side to side, almost like she was drunk. So of course I researched it. Apparently fruit-eating birds including turkeys can over-indulge in berries. While berries are a good source of food, when the fruit starts to rot a bird can get inebriated. According to the Audubon Society, “drunk” birds tend to stagger from side to side, don’t fly as well, and aren’t easily able to avoid obstacles in flight. So maybe that turkey we saw had eaten a few too many very ripe berries. She finally reached the wooded area and that was the last sight of a turkey we had until just recently. We now have 3-5 turkeys that walk out of the woods to the south of our farm, cross the road, and then feed along the margins of our farm. 

The turkey is the largest game bird in Virginia. We have friends who are hunters and they have told us our property is ideal for turkeys (we don’t hunt turkeys but like knowing we have the right habitat for them). Their favorite habitat is a mixed-conifer and hardwood forest. The land across the street from us fits the description of their habitat, as does the farm that abuts the back of our acreage. In addition to berries, we also have several large oak trees – and acorns are a favorite food of turkeys. Wild turkeys sleep in trees at night – so they have a choice of the woods across the street and the woods on our farm.

The wild turkey was hunted nearly to extinction by the early 1900s, when the population reached a low of around 30,000 birds. But restoration programs across North America have brought the numbers up to seven million today. Turkeys can run at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour and fly as fast as 55 miles per hour. The life span of a wild turkey is 3-5 years. 
  
Birding tip: An organization called Birdwatching Bliss! offers lots of free advice, including how to use binoculars, what are the best bird field guides, available bird apps, and more. You can subscribe to receive information in your inbox each day.
    
Happy birding!
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Charlene Uhl
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Sycamore Grove Farm, Madison County 

Nuthatches, affectionately known as the “upside down bird," are common in deciduous forests and wooded urban areas. Our farm offers them an ideal habitat: three sides of our farm are wooded, we have an abundance of nut-producing trees (its favorite food), and the hayfields offer plenty of insect meals (spiders being their favorites), as well. I have seen nuthatches at our birdfeeder, hanging upside down and poking their long beaks into the feeder. They also like to hang on the suet holder and fend off aggressive blue jays while snacking on the rich fat in the suet.

We primarily have white nuthatches (Sitta carolinensis) but occasionally see a red-breasted nuthatch (Sitta canadensis). While watching these birds near the forest edge, I have seen them come for seed, then fly to the nearest tree and hide the seed in crevices – assumedly for later consumption. Sometimes they will gobble one or two seeds – then take one to hide – basically “two for now and one for later.”

Like many small birds, their average life span is somewhat short: from less than one year to 3 ½ years. However nuthatches up to 10 years old have been recorded. The local population of nuthatches fluctuates widely from year to year. Scientists attribute this to the availability of seed during the winter.

Nuthatches are able to walk head first down tree trunks. That is due to the structure of its feet. A nuthatch’s foot has one big toe that faces backwards, while its other three toes face forward. This helps them to see insects and insect eggs that other birds climbing up the trunk might miss. While they are one of the nosiest woodland birds in the early spring, they are relatively silent when breeding. I noticed this specifically this year. The nuthatches were “chortling” throughout the winter months. While I continue to see them every day, I have noticed they are not making any noise. It was like a switch was flipped off!  

According to Birds of Virginia Field Guide, nuthatches are frequently seen in mixed flocks with chickadees and Downy woodpeckers. They are all cavity nesters so maybe they take turns finding the right size cavity for their size.
  
Birding tip: An excellent source of information on birds is Audubon’s Guide to North American Birds. This resource provides information on migration, conservation status, feeding behavior, diet, nesting and eggs, and recorded songs and calls. Check out the nasal "yank-yank” of a nuthatch so you’ll know when you hear it.
    
Happy birding!
Charlene Uhl
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Sycamore Grove Farm, Madison County​

We have a lot of cardinals on our farm. They are regulars at our bird feeders and also out in the field. I will often see 10 or up to 20 cardinals on my morning walk. The male’s bright color is truly eye-catching. Surprisingly comfortable around people, cardinals feed and sing within a few feet of you if you remain still and quiet. That makes them easy to observe up-close and admire the male’s brilliant red plumage and the interaction between the male and female birds.

Besides being the State Bird of Virginia, the Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is also the state bird of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina, and West Virginia. Not to be outdone by that alone, the cardinal is the mascot of two professional teams: the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team and the Arizona Cardinals NFL team. 

Cardinals are known by a lot of common names, including redbird, common cardinal, and red cardinal. An interesting thing about cardinals is that both the male and female sing. While 64% of female birds around the world sing, it’s more common in tropical areas. Cardinals are monogamous and stay together year round. Female cardinals sing as part of their strong instinct to defend their breeding territory. And females have more elaborate songs than males and may sing up to two dozen different tunes.  During egg incubation (11 to 13 days), the male brings food to the female.  Once the eggs hatch, the female varies her song to the male – either signaling the baby birds need food (“come to the nest”) or warning him not to come (she may have spotted a predator). Scientists have been able to isolate specific female songs and identify what she is trying to communicate to her mate.
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Here are some other interesting facts about cardinals:

• Cardinals are usually the first bird to visit feeders in the morning and the last to visit in the evening. Some scientists believe it may be related to lower competition with other birds.
• Cardinals are classified as “grainivorous” animals because they live on a diet of mostly seeds. Their short, stout, cone-shaped beaks are perfectly designed for cracking open hulls and shells.
• The life span of a Northern Cardinal is around three years – but the oldest recorded Northern Cardinal lived to be 15 years and 9 months! This banded female was tracked throughout her life in Pennsylvania. 
• Cardinals molt at least once a year to replenish damaged feathers. Some lose most or all of their feathers for a couple of weeks – which makes them look like they have gone bald.

  
Birding tip: For a list of bird identification books and apps, check out BIRDA (https://birda.org). BIRDA is a birdwatching app and community aimed at people who want to deepen their connection with nature and join a community that can support their interest in birding.     

Happy birding!
Charlene Uhl