The Zen Birdfeeder

Wordless Wednesday

Dive bomber

Wild Birds Unlimited Birds of the Month Downy Woodpecker

Fun Facts about the Downy

• Woodpeckers may find their hidden prey by sound and/or smell. 
• As the woodpecker strikes the tree, hollow sounds may echo off of the tunnels (galleries) of wood boring insects (like thumping a watermelon.)
• When feeding on wood, grubs make an audible sound that could be heard by a woodpecker.
• Woodpeckers have a better sense of smell than most birds and may be able to detect the strong odor of the formic acid that ants, bark beetles and termites excrete (smells like Sweet Tarts.)
• During cold winter weather, tree-foraging birds such as woodpeckers do not increase their body fat as much as ground-foraging birds, probably due to the fact that they roost in cavities overnight and that snowfall rarely hampers their ability to find food in trees as compared with birds searching for it on the ground.
• Most species of woodpeckers are born completely naked, unlike many other birds that are completely covered with soft down feathers when they hatch.
• To help distinguish the difference between a Hairy and a Downy Woodpecker visiting your feeders, look for the Hairy’s chisel-like bill which is much longer than the Downy, which often equals the width of the rest of the head. The Downy’s head is twice as wide as its very short bill.
• The smallest North American woodpecker is the Downy Woodpecker at 6" in length.
• The Downy Woodpecker was first formally described by the Swedish biologist, Carolus Linnaeus in 1766.
• In winter, small birds tend to lose heat faster than larger birds due to the ratio of surface area to weight. As a result, Downy Woodpeckers in Alaska are about 12 percent larger than they are in Florida.
• The feather pattern on the back of head of Downy Woodpeckers is unique to every bird and downies may use them to recognize other individual downies.
• Scientific tests have determined that Downy Woodpeckers do actually use the presence or absence of the red patch on the back of other downies head to determine whether they are male of female.
• Male Downy Woodpeckers are dominate over female downies and select the best feeding sites for their own use and defend them against the females.
• Female Downy Woodpeckers have slightly longer tails than do the males. This may be explained by the fact that they spend more time foraging on vertical surfaces, such as tree trunks, and thus use their tail as a brace more often than their male counterparts, which spend most of their time foraging on smaller horizontal branches.

 

Check out Wild Birds Unlimited rightbird Online Field Guide to read more about Downy Woodpeckers.  Hear their call, read about their behavior, view their ranges and more.

Solve the Bird of the Month Puzzle

KIDS LOVE FACTOIDS!
Share these cool fun facts with the children in your life.  Downies are easy to attract to feeders with suet.  This makes it easy for children to observe and enjoy!

Identify It.
Learn About It.
Care About It.

• Woodpeckers may find their hidden prey by sound and/or smell. 
• As the woodpecker strikes the tree, hollow sounds may echo off of the tunnels (galleries) of wood boring insects (like thumping a watermelon.)
• When feeding on wood, grubs make an audible sound that could be heard by a woodpecker.
• Woodpeckers have a better sense of smell than most birds and may be able to detect the strong odor of the formic acid that ants, bark beetles and termites excrete (smells like Sweet Tarts.)
• During cold winter weather, tree-foraging birds such as woodpeckers do not increase their body fat as much as ground-foraging birds, probably due to the fact that they roost in cavities overnight and that snowfall rarely hampers their ability to find food in trees as compared with birds searching for it on the ground.
• Most species of woodpeckers are born completely naked, unlike many other birds that are completely covered with soft down feathers when they hatch.
• To help distinguish the difference between a Hairy and a Downy Woodpecker visiting your feeders, look for the Hairy’s chisel-like bill which is much longer than the Downy, which often equals the width of the rest of the head. The Downy’s head is twice as wide as its very short bill.
• The smallest North American woodpecker is the Downy Woodpecker at 6" in length.
• The Downy Woodpecker was first formally described by the Swedish biologist, Carolus Linnaeus in 1766.
• In winter, small birds tend to lose heat faster than larger birds due to the ratio of surface area to weight. As a result, Downy Woodpeckers in Alaska are about 12 percent larger than they are in Florida.
• The feather pattern on the back of head of Downy Woodpeckers is unique to every bird and downies may use them to recognize other individual downies.
• Scientific tests have determined that Downy Woodpeckers do actually use the presence or absence of the red patch on the back of other downies head to determine whether they are male of female.
• Male Downy Woodpeckers are dominate over female downies and select the best feeding sites for their own use and defend them against the females.
• Female Downy Woodpeckers have slightly longer tails than do the males. This may be explained by the fact that they spend more time foraging on vertical surfaces, such as tree trunks, and thus use their tail as a brace more often than their male counterparts, which spend most of their time foraging on smaller horizontal branches.

TZB featured in "Blogs of Saratoga" Post

Thanks to Dan De Federicis for his nice review of The Zen Birdfeeder in his "The Blogs of Saratoga" post on (Albany) timesunion.com.

Read his review of all Saratoga-related blogs and check 'em all out while you're there.  Dan writes his own blog, Fun in Saratoga, which he describes as "positive and focused from the viewpoint of a resident who loves the track and loves living here."

Wind Turbine vs. Vulture. Guess Who Loses.

We hear about the danger wind turbines present to birds.  Here is a shocking video documenting such dangers.

As an alternative energy source, we have to find a way to make them safer for birds of all sizes, as well as bats.

Wordless Wednesday

Northern Red Oak Leaf

Two Late Migrants Through the Yard

Though both Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Chipping Sparrows breed in our area, neither have been seen in my yard for weeks.  So it was a surprise to have an individual of each of these species pay a visit in mid-October.

First, a single Rose-breasted Grosbeak passed through the yard, glancing against one of the windows and perching on the Adirondack chair to gain his bearings.

I believe this might be a juvenile bird, but correct me if I'm wrong.  Our resident rose-breasteds were gone by September so I knew this guy was running a little late.  Last reported sightings across the state are reported in The Kingbird, the quarterly journal of the New York State Ornithological Association.  Over the past four falls, these were the last reports of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks in my region (#8 - Hudson-Mohawk):

Fall 2005    Vischer Ferry Sep 30
Fall 2006    Town of Florida Sep 21
Fall 2007    Fulton Nov 11
Fall 2008    Jenny Lake, Saratoga County Sep 17

So it looks like an October 12th visit was indeed on the late side.  I made sure to report him to eBird and to the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club birdline.  Here he is just before he took off again on his long journey to his winter home in a tropical forest in central or northern South America.

Then just a day later on October 13th, this little Chipping Sparrow stopped by.

The Kingbird shows reports of Chipping Sparrows as late as November in the Hudson-Mohawk region, but in my yard, most chippies are gone by the end of September.

So even though it's been a slow fall at the feeders, it's been an interesting season in the yard with some new birds (Swainson's Thrush) and these two familiar, though late migrating birds.

A Look Inside a Pine Cone

Activity at birdfeeders in our area has been very slow for over a month so we've been talking to customers alot about the abundance of natural food sources out there for birds.  Birds are amongst the wildlife that have been feasting upon this year's bounty of seeds, nuts, insects, fruits and berries.

We should've known it was coming with this summer's above average rain and mild temperatures.  Early in the season, you could see clusters of cones forming at the tops of the pine trees.  And now the ground is covered by them.  Stand outside for any length of time and you'll hear a steady stream of cones dropping from the tree tops, being chewed off by industrious squirrels.

Pine tree tops full with cones

All this got me curious to do a little hands-on learning about the pine cone.  I step over, around, and on them almost daily, but have never picked one up to really study it.

The cone of course is the fruit of a coniferous tree and its main function is to be the carrying case for the tree's precious seeds.

Rows of tough scales protect the seeds, but as the cone dries and the scales open up exposing the inside of the cone, the seeds that had been nestled away safely near the core of the cone become more accessible to the wildlife.  I brought some cones inside with the scales barely open; 2 days later, the scales had peeled back, exposing the seeds.

The seeds are attached to a wing. As they fall out of the cone, the weight of the seed pulls it toward the ground, while the helicopter-like action of the wing slows its descent, providing a fun whirlygig-like descent.

When you look inside the cone, there are 2 seed heads tucked up close to the inner core of the cone and the wings rest neatly on the top of each cone scale. 

The seeds near the bottom of the cone were more developed than those near the top.  Within an average size Eastern Pine cone like the one I studied, there could be more than 100 seeds encased within, protected by the 50+ scales.

As the cones open, the seeds can either fall out or be picked out by wildlife.  Here's a few images of a Dark-eyed Junco feeding on seeds from the Eastern Pine.

These seeds provide a feast for the birds, along with all the other natural food that is still so abundant and available.  But as days pass, insects will become less available when temperatures drop and the ground freezes.  Uneaten fruits and berries will shrivel and fall, and snow will eventually cover the ground making natural food less accessible.  And as fall turns into winter, like during the closing hours of a buffet, natural food sources will become depleted.  It is then that the familiar feeder birds that have been enjoying nature's smorgasbord will again turn to our feeders for the high energy snacks that make it just a little easier to survive the long, cold winter months.

Native Sparrows Smile for the Birdcam

I had my Wingscapes Birdcam set up to catch the ground-feeding action in my yard today.  I broadcast some WBU Deluxe Blend again (contains white millet) under the bushes.  Then I pointed the Birdcam toward the Rosa Rugosa bush they seem to love.  Here are some of the images captured over 6 hours today.

After an initial flurry of chipmunk photos (DELETE!), the jays visited next.

Blue Jays

Then a steady stream of juncos and native sparrows.

Junco and White-throated Sparrow

Junco and Fox Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow

Immature White-crowned Sparrow

No adult white-crowneds were observed today.

Dark-eyed Junco - darker; possibly a male?

Lots of juncos!

White-throated Sparrow

Camera-shy Fox Sparrow

The Birdcam captured just what I wanted - documenting the busy ground feeders in my yard all day long.  A new Birdcam is coming soon with even more megapixels and a flash.  Can't wait to try it!

(Hard to remain) Wordless Wednesday

GGGGRRRRRR.......

Don't Let the Brown Crown Fool You

White-crowned Sparrows have been regular fall visitors to my yard since 2004, when they were first recorded during their fall migration.  Like they are today, they were flocking with some other native migratory sparrows, the fox and the white-throated.

Fox Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow (white morph)

At first glance, the white-crowned's bright white striped head could be mistaken for a (white morph) White-throated Sparrow, but soon you notice the absence of the white throat patch and lack of yellow lores (the yellow patch near inside corner of eye).  The shape of the White-crowned Sparrow's head is also different, flatter, less-rounded, though sometimes they raise the feathers on their head.

White-crowned Sparrow adult

I'd only seen adult white-crowneds in the yard before, so when a number of immature white-crowneds came through this fall, they threw me for a loop at first. 

White-crowned Sparrow immature

Again, at a quick glance, you could think tan morph White-throated Sparrow.  But again, no throat patch or yellow lores.  I'm just glad there isn't a tan morph white-crowned!

White-throated Sparrow (tan morph)

White-crowned Sparrow immature

Are you still seeing migrating sparrows in your yard?  If so, help them out on their journey by broadcasting a seed blend like WBU Deluxe Blend, which contains the white millet seeds they enjoy.