Sycamore Grove Farm, Madison County The Pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is the largest woodpecker in North America. We have several on our farm and they are amazing to watch in flight. Their exaggerated swooping and their large body make them easy to identify. But they are not related to pterodactyls – they just give that impression with their size and “jack-hammer” approach to bug hunting. These woodpeckers live in Virginia year-round and, unlike most other birds, they will defend their territory all year as well – not just during breeding season. According to Birds of North America (an amazing publication of The Cornell Lab of Ornithology), Pileateds prefer an oak-hickory forest with mature stands of dense vegetation near the ground. They have a long-extensible, pointed tongue with barbs and sticky saliva. They use their tongues to extract ants from tunnels in rotting wood. A pair of pileated woodpeckers needs a large amount of land – around 150 acres or more – to raise their young. The Pileated, like most woodpeckers, nest in hollow trees or vacated nest cavities. They excavate only the entrance hole to gain access to the hollow interior of a tree. They often have multiple entrances holes, so they have an escape route if a predator enters the roost. We have not seen the Pileated’s nest site on our farm yet but we know it is in a heavily wooded area in a steep ravine at the back of our property. They play a vital role in forests like the one adjacent to the north side of our farm. They excavate large nesting, roosting and foraging cavities that are then used by all sorts of other birds and mammals. That can include wood ducks, bats and flying squirrels. Scientists have noticed that Pileated woodpecker numbers increase in areas with widespread emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle that kills ash trees. That could mean that these woodpeckers could be one of the strongest lines of defense to control non-native forest pests. So leave those dead and dying trees out there for these wonderful woodpeckers. They’ll improve the habitat and attract all sorts of wildlife to your property. Birding tip: You can often tell the difference between a Pileated and other woodpeckers by their drumming, without even seeing it. Most woodpeckers drum at a steady pace. A Pileated drums slowly, accelerating and then trailing off. And as Audubon notes, “their loud, escalating shrieks bring to mind a maniacal laugh. " So true! Happy birding! Charlene Uhl
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Sycamore Grove Farm, Madison County You have probably seen a turkey vulture (or two or three) on the side of the road, eating “road kill," AKA carrion. You might have also seen them soaring in the sky, looking for a meal. These birds and their cousins - the black vulture – play a very important role in the natural world. They truly are nature’s cleanup crew. On my daily bird walk, I don’t always see vultures. I wondered about this and then realized that they conserve energy by soaring. They rarely flap their wings. Since I walk fairly early in the morning, the air is often still. But on those mornings when the wind is up, I can count on seeing turkey vultures, who are taking advantage of the air thermals coming down from the mountains. They have extremely well-developed eyesight. As I researched them a little more, I was fascinated to learn that they first detect freshly rotting meat with their nose: they have been known to smell carrion from over a mile away. I also found out that our farm is the ideal habitat for vultures: they are found in relatively open areas (our hay field) near to woodlands, which are important for both nesting and roosting. But they’re certainly not limited to our farm in their daily search for food. Turkey vultures can travel up to 200 miles in a single day. While a vulture’s feet can’t be used to kill prey, like those of a hawk or eagle, their beaks are strong enough to rip through cowhide. But they like their meat fairly fresh. Apparently by the fourth day they will not feed on carrion because the meat is too rotten. So that’s why we’ll sometimes see a partially eaten carcass of a deer or other large animal alongside of the road. Guess that extraordinary sense of smell has another purpose! The Chattahoochee Nature Center has a fascinating web page on turkey vultures with even more information about their abilities. So when we see the cleanup crew at work, we can be thankful for the great job they are doing! Birding tip: Did you know that the five keys to bird ID are size, shape, color pattern, behavior and habitat. When you’re out birding, try to make it a practice to mentally recognize those five aspects of each bird you see. It very quickly becomes a habit and you’ll be able to identify a lot more birds – and know what birds to expect in the habitat you’re in. Happy birding! Charlene Uhl Sycamore Grove Farm, Madison County Following up on last week’s Bird Blog on blue jays, I wanted to share Atticus Finch’s quote on mockingbirds: “It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird,” Finch tells his daughter Scout. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us.” While this doesn’t totally exonerate Finch for his statement about blue jays, it does capture the special essense of the Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos). Every year since we moved into our house here in Madison County, we have had a pair of mockingbirds that own the immediate land around the house. The male mockingbird begins singing early each morning in the spring. He has several favorite perches, including the weather vane on our barn, the peak over our garage and the two large holly trees on the east side of our house. He will frequently fly straight up from his perch, then back down – all the while singing loudly. He moves from one perch to another to another, singing a lovely medley of songs – and sometimes I think I actually recognize which bird he is mimicking (or not). Mockingbirds also mimic other sounds, including crickets, cats and even sirens! Once our pair of mockingbirds builds a nest, they actively chase other birds away. And they are very territorial overall – scientists and other birders have observed them attacking predatory birds, even bald eagles, when their territory is invaded. Stan Tekiela describes their mating behavior perfectly in Birds of Virginia: “Very animated, male and female perform elaborate mating dances by facing each other, heads and tails erect. They run toward each other, flashing white wing patches, and then retreat to nearby cover.” Birding tip: Mockingbirds eat seeds, insect, bugs and worms – and they will definitely visit your bird feeding area if you put out suet. But unlike woodpeckers, the mockingbird can’t hang upside down on the suet cage so they will perch on top of the feeder to have a snack. Happy birding! Charlene Uhl Sycamore Grove Farm, Madison County To Kill a Mockingbird was one of my favorite books, as well as the movie rendition. All except for that horrifying quote that Atticus Finch said to his son Jem who was just learning to shoot: “I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want - just don’t kill a mockingbird.” Blue jays have been reviled and persecuted by many different groups over the years. In Native American lore, blue jays are portrayed as thieves and tricksters. Their behavior has definitely contributed to their reputation: blue jays are known for marauding other birds’ nests, being bullies at your backyard bird feeder, and generally having an aggressive attitude. I have seen this behavior on our farm. They are frequently grouped with European starlings as “nuisance” birds. But they play an important role in the bird world. Stan Tekiela, author of Birds of Virginia Field Guide, says jays are “known as the alarm of the forest, screaming at any intruders in the woods.” I have seen this behavior, too. Red-shouldered and Cooper’s hawks frequently come to my bird feeding station, attracted to the numerous “meals” they observe. Jays are vociferous and loud when they spot one of these predators. There is a sudden mass exodus from the ground where birds were eating seed into the trees for shelter. So I am glad that the birds I bring seed to each morning have a protector in jays. Joan E. Strassmann tells one of the best stories about blue jays in her Slow Birding book mentioned in an earlier bird blog. She points out oak trees are beholden to jays for spreading their fruit (acorns) far and wide. These trees rely on birds to be the major distribution agent, often carrying the acorns miles away from their parent tree. Scientists studying jay behavior found that these birds collected acorns, stored them in their mouth and throat, flew to a common cache area and buried them tip-first in holes so that each hole held only one acorn. While some were eaten, many acorns grew into trees. “When I hear that the Blue Jays have found a roosting owl or have become alerted for some other reason and fly through the neighborhood with their screeching warning,” Strassman notes, “I like to remember that they have airlifted the oak trees north in tiny acorn packages as the glaciers retreated.” Birding tip: Audubon offers a wonderful online resource: Bird Watching 101: A Guide for Beginners. Even experienced birders will glean some ideas on how to improve their birding techniques. Happy birding! Charlene Uhl Sycamore Grove Farm, Madison County If you’re like me, you are wondering where are all the robins coming from lately? I occasionally observe (or hear) one or two robins on my daily morning bird walk during the winter. But in the last week and a half they are arriving in droves. Two days ago I counted 150 robins within 300 feet of our house. On this morning’s bird walk I counted 75. They fly down into the grassy area and hop around, looking for something to eat. The back story is that most Virginia robins don’t migrate - they spend their entire winter in their breeding range here. The reason we don’t see them is they simply move into the nearest woodlands, finding worms, grubs and insects in spots where the ground remained open and unfrozen. Robins also eat a wide variety of berries remaining on bushes from the fall. The robins we are seeing in big flocks now are the robins that did migrate south. These are probably male robins which are returning to their breeding grounds up north to stake out territory. The migrating female robins arrive a little later – from a few days to around two weeks. Our resident robins will become more visible as the weather warms up a bit, typically around April. Their mating season runs through July. American robins are one of the first birds to begin laying eggs each spring. They normally have two or three broods each season. The average life span of a robin is two years (remember a dark-eyed junco’s longevity averaged 11 years). They have a lot of predators, including other birds (crows, ravens, hawks, owls and eagles); mammals (squirrels, raccoons, foxes, and wild and domestic cats); and reptiles (rat snakes, gopher snakes and snapping turtles). In her book Slow Birding: The Art and Science of Enjoying the Birds in Your Own Backyard, Joan E. Strassmann shares the findings of two Canadian professors on “How Robins Find Worms.” The scientists determined that “the birds were initially locating worms by hearing, then tilting their heads back to focus their foveae [the sharpest, central part of the eye] on the spot where they first heard the worm.” Using this two-step process yielded them catching a worm 90% of the time! While they may have short life spans, they sure are successful as birds who catch the worms!
Birding tip: Make birding a habit. Go birding every day – even if it’s just 5 minutes. Check out How To Train Your Brain To Adapt To A Habit from KWIK Learning, whose motto is “Read faster. Work smarter. Think better.” Happy birding! Charlene Uhl Sycamore Grove Farm, Madison County
There has been some research on whether birds remember people – specifically their faces and their voices. Two studies published in Science Daily attribute this skill as “key to the bird’s ability to survive.” Members of the crow family were the birds most often attributed with this ability. Another study published in Science Illustrated found this behavior was not limited to birds with high cognitive abilities. Even pigeons, which the study described as “not exactly the most ‘highly cognitive’ birds,” were able to differentiate between individual humans. I have observed this ability among a number of species during my morning bird walks. It all began several months ago when I started bringing a small amount of birdseed to scatter at one of my “bird watching” stops. This area abuts a sycamore grove on one side, a barbed wire fence on a second side and an open hayfield on the third side. The flat surface of the fence posts offers a smooth surface for seed. I also scatter a small amount on the ground. I usually wear the same hat and coat – and I confess that I talk to the birds as I walk down the slope from our house to this watching area. There is a large damaged cedar tree that had its top broken off in a storm this winter which I pass to get to my stop. Every morning this tree is filled with cardinals, titmice, chickadees, white-breasted nuthatches, red-bellied woodpeckers and blue jays – and sparrows on the ground. Over the last month or so some of the birds from this tree have flown toward me, turned around and returned to the tree. It was almost like they were letting me know they had been waiting for their morning “snack” and were excited to finally see me coming. This morning was exceptional! Over 15 different birds flew toward me, circled behind me and returned to the tree. It included a beautiful male hairy, several cardinals, a nuthatch, and a red-bellied woodpecker. It was also humbling to see how my small efforts each morning have now become a regular and valued part of their day. I should make a brief mention of the crows who recognized my husband when we lived in Maryland. We often threw out bones for the crows in the morning. The crow family made fast work of them. Several times, however, my husband would then walk out to get the newspaper – and one or more of “our crows” flew over and tried to get his attention by calling and flying around. This was precipitated by the arrival of one or more vultures who were interested in the bones. Clearly these crows were requesting his assistance in getting rid of the competition. So my husband and I can add our experiences to the scientific observations that birds do indeed recognize people! Birding tip of the day: Starting tomorrow The Bird Cast will begin providing information on migratory behavior. This is an amazing tool to alert you when birds who left last fall will be migrating back into our area and beyond. You can personalize the reports generated all the way down to your county. Be sure to check it out. Happy birding! Charlene Sycamore Grove Farm, Madison County Bluebirds are one of my favorite “small birds” (and I have a lot of favorite small birds, including juncos, goldfinches, nuthatches, titmice and chickadees). Its cheerful “chur-lee chur-lee” is immediately recognized by those who know and love these little guys. The bluebirds at Sycamore Grove love to sit on our barn’s weathervane, giving them a good view of the different areas where they may find insects – their main food source. Eastern bluebirds in Virginia usually don’t migrate. A small percentage may move short distances south but most remain on their breeding territories all year round. What we may see soon (late February or early March) is the bluebirds that breed further north, some going all the way up into Canada. Our local bluebirds begin looking for nesting sites as early as late January to early February. Nest-building and breeding begins in March and can run through August. I have been seeing several pairs of bluebirds investigating one of our nest boxes for the last few weeks. We have two bluebird houses on poles in open areas. Last year we had three fledgings of baby bluebirds from one nest. The second nest was commandeered by tree swallows, which are among the other birds that frequently use bluebird nest boxes. If you’re going to put up a nest box (or two or three), be sure to install a noel guard and a snake baffle. For information on how to attract bluebirds and create a bluebird trail on your own property, check out the Virginia Bluebird Society at https://www.virginiabluebirds.org/ and the Sialis Society for https://www.sialis.org/ .
There are many opportunities for ORMN members to see bluebird trails as well as to volunteer to help monitor them. You can see the different trails under “Approved ORMN Volunteer Projects and Activities” on our website. Scroll down to the Virginia Bluebird Society listings where there are 18 trails across seven different counties. Members can also install new bluebird box trails. Birding tip of the day: While I normally bird early in the morning, I sometimes do a second and even a third walk on the same day just to see what different species may be out later in the day. Vultures are much more likely to be up soaring over our farm mid-day when there are thermals that they can use. Later in the day I frequently see large groups of birds such as robins that are banding together and heading toward their overnight nesting site. And at dusk, while you might not see them, you may hear the night birds like owls beginning their evening feeding. Try going out at a different time occasionally, just to see the variety of activity that is happening right in your back yard. Happy Birding! Charlene Uhl Sycamore Grove Farm, Madison County One of the most valuable techniques that I learned from a fellow ORMN birder – Lynne Leaper – is to make regular stops during your bird walk. Stop on a regular basis and just watch and listen. Lynne recommended 5 to 15 minutes and I have found this technique to be an amazingly effective way to see more birds and other animals in nature. On September 4th of last year, I was standing at one of the fence lines on our property. I regularly put a small amount of seed on the top of the fence posts and scatter some on the ground to attract birds. All the seed is usually eaten within 10-15 minutes and I move on. On this morning as I was standing very still and observing the birds, I saw something move to my right. It was a small, immature groundhog which had come out of nearby undergrowth. It may have been drawn to the bird activity. Since they also have a keen sense of smell, it may have smelt the seed. It cautiously walked to the scattered seed and began to eat. My slightest movement, however, sent it scurrying back into the thick brush. After several weeks of this behavior the groundhog became acclimatized to my presence and associated it with a food source. For the next month and a half, it came almost every day. October 17th was the last day I saw it. Since groundhogs have a lot of predators (including hawks, foxes, and coyotes, all of which we have seen on our property), I assumed it had been killed and eaten. Then this morning the groundhog appeared – over three months since I last recorded its presence – and started to eat seed just as it had last fall. It was a little more skittish but not like its first few weeks last fall. Apparently this groundhog had been hibernating and is just now coming out of its burrow. What I found after researching is that groundhogs, while primarily herbivores, are opportunistic eaters and will actually eat small birds. They can also climb trees! I have seen this more than once here on our farm. I look forward to journaling many more interesting observations during my morning bird walk. Birding tip of the day: Keep a written journal so you can look back and find information on birds’ behavior (when and if they migrated into or out of your area) and the behavior of other animals that are a part of the habitat. It will prompt you to use your observations to do research and learn more about your own property. I also record weather (cloud cover, air temperature, chill factor and humidity). I note if there is dew, frost, or snow on the ground and any other unique things (i.e. the date our field is cut, raked, and bailed). I started journaling during Basic Training Class and have found my observations to be an invaluable and specialized source for information on the natural world right here on our farm. Happy birding! Charlene Uhl Sycamore Grove Farm, Madison County Some of my favorite birds to see (and hear) are ravens and their “cousins” the fish and common crow. The morning of 1/29/23, I was treated to a small flock of eleven fish crows flying along our farm’s southern border. Fish crows can be mistaken for the common crow – until you hear their call. It’s a nasal version of the crow call and once you hear it, you will always know which crow you’re seeing. And wait until you see the “big boy” of the group: the Common Raven. It’s a special treat to have this species visit our farm, which it does every several weeks or so. But our crow population is very territorial. If they spot a raven, they tend to hassle their larger “cousin” until it leaves the area. Listen to a fun podcast discussion “Ravens and Crows – Who’s Who?" from BirdNote https://www.birdnote.org/listen/shows/ravens-and-crows-whos-who By Bonnie Beers
Reposted from November 2020 We wanted to create a low-growth meadow in a 3 acre area near our house. Ever hopeful and loath to use chemical sprays, we decided to give this former hayfield a chance to show its stuff. The site had been mowed for hay with little improvements for decades, at least. It was bordered on one side by a small stream and woods border, on a 2nd side by a deeper wood, and on the remaining sides by our driveway and the mowed/planted areas around our house. Along the woods edges, we found natives like sumac, dogwood, redbud, locust, pine and cedar, and hardwoods. We also found a patch of ailanthus, a good bit of autumn olive and some encroaching vines like Japanese honeysuckle and oriental bittersweet. Read On - Click Here
Bird of the Yellow Mask REC Cooperative Living August 2020 The distinctive hooded warbler sings its song through the East and South. Read about it HERE. by Delia O'Hara AAAS Autumn-Lynn Harrison, Program Manager of the Migratory Connectivity Project (MCP) at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center at the National Zoo, learned to love animal migrations as an undergraduate student at Virginia Tech, watching wildebeest pound across the Serengeti in Africa in their annual search for greener grass. Now, Harrison coordinates the MCP's ambitious efforts to discover a fuller picture of the lives of birds: Where do birds like the long-billed curlew or the broad-winged hawk, spend their winters? Where do birds we see in other seasons go to breed? These questions are of an urgent nature as bird populations are facing steady declines around the world. Last fall, an alarming study showed that North America has lost three billion birds since 1970, about one-third of the total bird population. For Harrison, however, the study created new resolve around learning all we can about birds in hopes of saving them. “Without that knowledge of where they go, we can't even begin to figure out where the impacts are” — or how to structure conservation efforts, says Harrison, an ecologist and conservation biologist. The question of why some birds disappear for several months has intrigued humans for millennia. Europeans theorized that birds hibernated in rivers to survive winters, like frogs; or turned into other birds; or flew to the moon. Then, in 1822, a hunter shot a stork in northern Germany and discovered an African arrow embedded in its body. But the mysteries of the 40% of bird species that migrate are only now beginning to be unraveled. Electronic tracking, such as small devices that are attached to birds, and other technologies, have played a large role in this, Harrison says. Early trackers used in the 1990s were so big that only large birds like albatross and eagles could fly with them, she says. Now, tiny GPS devices with solar-powered batteries are being fitted to much smaller birds. The MCP has field projects all over the Americas to track migrating birds, working with graduate students and agency biologists, choosing species that little is known about, or that have markedly declining numbers — the common nighthawk, rusty blackbird and Connecticut warbler, to name a few. Harrison herself leads projects involving oceanic and coastal birds, often in Arctic North America, a natural fit for a biologist with a background in marine animals. One bird Harrison studies, the Arctic tern, travels from the northern tip of the world every year, to the southern tip, and back, which can be an annual journey of more than 44,000 miles, Harrison says. Earlier in her career, Harrison studied the migrations of large oceanic predators like seals, sharks and leatherback turtles as part of the Tagging of Pelagic Predators project. In one study of 14 such species, her team looked at their relationship with the human societies they pass, and the various levels of protection they are afforded as they travel. She presented that study’s findings to participants of the United Nations First Intergovernmental Conference on Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, in hopes of bolstering the chances of a treaty, still under consideration, to make migrating sea animals' journeys safer. Harrison travels extensively for her research, and she will go back to that once the pandemic eases. This summer, though, there is a moratorium on travel. So instead, “We have been able to take a breather, revisit the data we have collected, and tell some of the interesting stories,” she says. One such story includes the first full-year tracking, held through 2019-2020, of the Pomarine Jaeger, a “gnarly” predatory seabird that breeds in the Arctic. “We discovered that three closely related species of Jaegers nesting on the same island in the Arctic dispersed during migration to four different oceans to spend the rest of their year,” she says. “That's amazing to me.” Harrison has also enjoyed returning to live near the Chesapeake Bay to work at the Smithsonian. She grew up on the bay, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where her father's family settled in the 17th century and became “watermen”— solely oystermen until the collapse of the oyster population forced them to diversify into harvesting eels, crabs and other food animals in the bay. Harrison's parents were a math teacher and office manager of an electrical contracting company, but she spent time at her grandmother's house on Tilghman Island, “poking around in the marsh.” She knew early on she would be a biologist, but thought she would be an estuarine researcher, studying Chesapeake Bay. And lately, Harrison has indeed had a chance to study brown pelicans in the bay with Dave Brinker of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, who discovered their first nest found in Maryland, in 1987. Harrison's father came with her as a field volunteer on one trip, and it was “very special to have him involved,” she says. “I respect scientific knowledge so much,” she says. “But I got a different kind of education from people who got up at 4 am to go out to catch crabs. They know the bay, they know the animals, they know these systems. That's knowledge to respect, too.” Below are two articles, one from the Washington Post (submitted by Charlene Uhl) and one from the Audubon Society (submitted by Bonnie Beers) that talk about how we can assist insect populations and feed birds properly. Must reads for backyard naturalists! Welcome bugs into your yard When It's Okay (or Not) to Feed Birds By Diana Madson on Jan 8, 2020 Yale Climate Connections You may enjoy gazing out the window and seeing familiar birds like goldfinches, robins, or warblers flitting between tree branches. But as the climate warms, many bird species will need to leave some of the places they’ve long considered home. “These areas just become no longer suitable, and they’ll have to move to new areas,” says Brooke Bateman, a senior scientist at the National Audubon Society. She says for bird lovers who want to visualize what this means in their own yards, Audubon created an online tool. Users can enter a ZIP code and learn more about local climate threats and the risks they pose to birds. “It really gives you a local snapshot of what’s happening with climate change,” she says. The tool highlights which species will no longer find suitable local habitat by the end of the century. Users can toggle between different levels of future warming. Bateman says this lets people see that without climate action, “Oh, these birds that come to my feeder, or these birds I see in my backyard … they’re not going to be there anymore.” But if carbon pollution is sharply reduced, the risks to many species are, too. The tool shows how climate action can help your favorite birds return to your feeder year after year. Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy/ChavoBart Digital Media. |
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