A box of bluebirds

Nearly 15 years ago, the spirit moved me to build a bluebird box. Bluebirds were rarely seen in my wooded yard, but I was struck with hope that a nicely built box would attract a nesting pair.

Year after year, the box went unused.

Some years, we spotted bluebirds inspecting the box. Once or twice, they seemed to actually start a nest, but then would vanish.

Until this year.

A parent feeds the chicks.

A bluebird pair not only built a nest, but laid eggs and is now in the midst of feeding chicks that are about to fledge.

What happened? Here’s my theory.

Last year, another spirit moved me to clean up the back edge of the yard, a 10-foot-wide strip along a stone wall that was filled with fallen trees, rambling wild shrubs, tall wildflowers that others might call “weeds,” and piles of brush from years of cleaning up after hurricanes and winter storms, seasoned with discarded Christmas trees and wreaths. The area had been allowed to run wild and the brush piles to grow for decades.  The nesting box was on a post at the edge of this strip.

My excuse for allowing this mess to exist was to consider it a sort of backyard wildlife refuge. Indeed, many birds, reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals could be spotted there — not to mention neighborhood cats in search of rodents. (Other hunters included Cooper’s and Red-tailed Hawks, and nice, long garter snakes.)

However, the wildlife also included House Wrens, mortal enemies of bluebirds. 
The wrens could often be seen hunting insects in and about the brush piles. They may have nested there, too.

House Wrens do not like to share their territories with other birds, and often chase away potential neighbors. Being cavity nesters like the bluebirds, they also might grab the nesting box for themselves. At the very least, they would chase the bluebirds away.

Sometimes, as they are wont to do, the House Wrens would fill up the inside of the box with sticks, making it unusable for nesting. Many was the autumn that I would clean out a box crammed top to bottom with twigs.

I believe that clearing the mess not only made the area less attractive to wrens, it also opened up the yard, making it more attractive to bluebirds. They like open fields for bug hunting — and, probably, for keeping an eye out for predators.

My backyard “wildlife refuge” may be gone, but I don’t feel bad. On the other side of the stone wall is an acre of woods and wetlands, full of wild things.

And my yard now has bluebirds.

The stinky tree

The Bradford pear is a “street tree” that’s blessed with benefits and cursed with shortcomings.

A cultivar of an Asian tree, the Bradford is actually a Callery Pear (Pyrus calleryana). Joseph Callery, a French missionary, “discovered” the species in China and sent it to Europe to be classified – and enjoyed. Today, it’s found along countless miles of American town and city streets. It laughs at pollutants like auto exhaust or road salt and needs barely a square foot or two of exposed earth as it rises from a cement sidewalk next to an asphalt highway.

In early spring, the Bradford produces thousands of showy, white flowers. Unfortunately, the blossoms reek – the smell has been likened to long-unwashed sweat socks. It’s a scent, nonetheless, that attracts scores of pollinating insects.

The tree has another disadvantage: It’s weak and it breaks. Sometimes, Bradfords split down the middle.

However, a rarely mentioned benefit of the Bradford pear is its tiny, marble-sized fruits. Birds love them, especially in the middle of winter when food is sparse. Even in January, it’s not unusual to see robins, cardinals, Blue Jays, even flocks of Cedar Waxwings, wandering its branches, snacking on the fruit, right in the middle of a town or city.

For that alone, we’ll deal with the spring stench and the risk of being beaned by a branch.

Size and color vs. cold and hot

Do birds of the same species look alike throughout their ranges?
 
You might think that a species, by definition, would look the same wherever it was, but in fact most non-migratory birds differ within their ranges. 

Hairy Woodpeckers are bigger
in the northern part of their
range than they are in
the southern part.

Birds of a wide-range species that live in the cold end of the range tend to be bigger than birds that live in the warm end. A Hairy Woodpecker from Central America is noticeably smaller than a Hairy Woodpecker from Canada. 

Larger birds tend to be able to conserve heat better than smaller ones. Over many generations smaller birds born in cold regions have been more likely to die from mid-winter cold, leaving the larger siblings to carry on the species.
 
The process of size variation doesn’t take all that long, either. The House Finches, introduced into North America in the mid-1800s, have already developed smaller versions in the southern United States than are found in northern states and Canada.
 
The tendency of a species in cold climates to be larger than its fellow members in warm climates applies not only to birds, but all warm-blooded animals. In fact, it is a scientific principle is called Bergmann’s Rule, named for 19th Century German biologist Carl Bergmann, who developed it.
 
A similar principle is called Allen’s Rule, which says that cold-region birds have shorter wings, beaks and legs than those in the warm regions – all techniques, again to conserve heat.
 
Gloger’s Rule is not about size, but color. In 1833, Wilhelm Gloger, a German naturalist, postulated that, due to the intensity of the sun, warm-blooded members of the same species living in warmer climates tend to be darker than those in colder climates. It works for humans and other animals including birds. Birds of a single species that ranges from cold to hot will have deeper feather colors in the south than in the north.

Murmurations of starlings

Starlings are weed birds, right?

Well, certainly they are not natives, they are not colorful, and they are usually not much noticed.

But starlings perform one of the most amazing shows in nature.

It’s called a “murmuration.”

Rather than spend a lot of words explaining this astonishing phenomenon, I recommend this video.

Keep in mind that while, in our own murmurations, we may not have as many birds as are depicted in the video, smaller shows like this can be seen wherever there are starlings gathered before and after breeding season.  And that’s pretty much anywhere in North America during most of the year.

Ranges big and small

The dwelling ranges of birds can vary from tiny to global.

The 50 small Galapagos Islands about 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador are home to two-dozen species of birds found nowhere else on Earth.

In the United States, the Everglades Kite is found only in certain parts of southwestern Florida. The summer range of the Kirtland’s Warbler is limited to young Jack Pine forests of Michigan, found in an area only about 60 by 100 miles at the top of the Lower Peninsula. This warbler winters in the Bahamas.

The Osprey can be found
on every continent.

Both birds are classified as endangered species, which is not surprising, given the limited ranges in which they live.

Some species span the globe.

Many like the Herring Gull are circumpolar, a term that means a bird can be found around the world on one side of the equator or the other. A few species, such as the Osprey and Short-eared Owl, can be found on every continent.

Among migrating species, the summer and winter ranges can be astonishingly far apart. The American Golden-Plover spends its summer on the north shores of Alaska and Canada and its winters in Argentina and Paraguay.

What is the 'range' of a bird?

What does “range” mean when talking about a species of bird?

The range of a bird species is the territory in which one would expect to find it living at one time of the year or another. Ranges vary from small areas of less than the size of Rhode Island to nearly the entire world.

Several factors determine a species’ range, chief among them the climate and the kind of soil. Climate and soil affect the kind of vegetation that grows, and vegetation is the source of food, nesting sites and materials, and protection for most birds. Few birds can survive in the desert, where vegetation is spare, but some have adapted to it. Other birds require the sea, or at least lakes or rivers, for their survival.

Various factors also limit range. Oceans are the most obvious; few birds are capable of crossing an ocean under normal conditions. Temperature limits range; few birds can survive an Arctic or Antarctic winter, for instance. High mountains define some range boundaries -- many species are found either east or west of the Rockies.

The Red Knot can be seen in 
Connecticut, but Connecticut is not 
part of the Red Knot's range.

Many birds migrate and their territory includes a “summer” or “breeding” range and a winter range. Often the summer and winter ranges overlap so that a species might live year round in some states or provinces while in other regions, the birds appear only in summer or winter. In the case of such species as the Tundra Swan and the Snow Goose, summer and winter ranges are widely separated.

Although during migration these birds fly over a lot of land and may stop for a bite to eat on the way to and from ranges, the territory in between the winter and summer grounds is not considered part of its range.  For example, the Red Knot has a winter range at the southern tip of South America and a summer range in the northern Arctic. While it can be seen on Connecticut shores in March, Connecticut is just a brief stopover on its long way north and not part of its range.

Woodcock woes

Each March, nature centers and Audubon groups sponsor “woodcock walks,” as much a part of the tradition of spring as spotting robins in the yard or Red-wing Blackbirds in the swamps.

The American Woodcock is famous for its mating maneuvers. In his Essential Field Guide Companion, Peter Dunne describes it concisely: “Aerial courtship display is arresting and easily observed at dawn and dusk. Birds spiral aloft, calling as they climb, then descend rapidly to earth like broken kites. After an interval, the display is repeated.”

Late snow can be deadly for 'timberdoodles'

What also makes woodcock fascinating is that they are actually shorebirds – members of the Sandpiper family – that eons ago moved inland and inhabit forests and fields instead of beaches and dunes. Their main food is earthworms.

It is a pudgy bird whose neckless head appears to be what Dunne calls “a bump on the body.” He says that the overall effect of the bird is like viewing a “meatloaf on a stick.”

They have endeared themselves to countless generations of farmers and nature-lovers, who often call them “timberdoodles.”

The American Woodcock has been somewhat in decline in Connecticut, probably because of habitat loss. But in March, late winter storms can also take their toll.  In 2007, there was a big St. Patrick’s Day storm, and many reports of dying woodcock. 

For instance, George Rieger of Greenwich told us, “The morning after the recent ice/snow storm we found a woodcock outside of our front door near Bruce Park in Greenwich. The bird appeared healthy but was weak and unable to fly.

“We put it in a box with torn up newspaper and some water. We tried to keep the bird warm but not too warm. After 24 hours the bird was strong enough to escape the box and flutter about.”

He took them to a nearby sanctuary.

“Three birders were at the sanctuary. They suggested that we let the bird try to make it. I was skeptical. Two of the men took the bird to a tree and released it. I said to my wife and the third man that the woodcock was bait for predators.

“No sooner had I spoken than I saw a black shape flying toward the woodcock. I yelled ‘crow.’ The youngest of the two men sprinted toward the woodcock and arrived just in time to dislodge it from the crow's beak.

“We left the beautiful woodcock with the birders whom I am certain did the best that they could for the bird.”

They may have taken it to Meredith Sampson, director of Wild Winds Inc., and a wildlife rehabilitator in Old Greenwich. She had gotten many woodcocks that season.

Meredith reported on the Connecticut Birds internet discussion group, “Received the eighth woodcock for rehab. Sad to report the bird expired about a half hour later. It was extremely emaciated at 101 grams and apparently crashed into something which resulted in a misaligned beak and severe eye injury. Found in downtown Stamford.

“Out of the eight woodcocks in rehab, two have survived and were released three evenings ago. All came in severely emaciated, weights averaging around 90-100 grams.

“It's rare that I get in this species – I don't even get one a year! It’s heartbreaking to see this happening.”

What was happening? Milan Bull of Connecticut Audubon offered an answer on Connecticut Birds.

“Woodcock are apparently dying in considerable numbers across the Northeast this spring due to a crusted snow pack isolating these early migrants from the soil and earthworms below. We have had calls throughout Connecticut from members and wildlife rehabilitators reporting dead and emaciated woodcock in numbers I haven't seen in similar past events, and those are only the ones that are discovered!

“This is not a good sign, considering woodcock are on a long-term decline as it is.”

Fortunately, soon after, warm weather arrived and melted the hard-topped snow, giving the surviving woodcock access to their worms. 

And fortunately, our hard and thick pack this year has been steadily melting and in many places, has disappeared.

Wings and water

Early March is when many water-loving birds return to the Northeast: Red-winged Blackbirds, Kingfishers, and several kinds of ducks, for instance. Swamps, streams, shorelines and ponds are a draw for the first migrants because they offer food from the earliest bits of new life as well as from some leftovers of old life.

As soon as the ice and snow begin to thaw, insects such as carrion-eating flies start to appear in the air and others emerge in the water. Fish, once protected by ice, become exposed, and amphibians like salamanders and spring peepers crawl out of their winter beds. Plants that like wet feet become accessible in the water and begin to grow in the swamps.

Wetlands also offer treats left from last season in the form of berries and seeds still held by plants like buttonbush. The bush’s aged but still tasty fruits are designed to attract the hungry migrants. The birds eat and soon “plant” the seeds, complete with fertilizer, far from the mother bush and just in time for a new growing season.

Bundling bluebirds

A correspondent told me a few years ago about a remarkable example of birds’ dealing with the cold.
“Recently, on a day when outside looked very white as snow was falling and already covering the ground, my husband and I witnessed a burst of color. Late in the afternoon, we saw about eight bluebirds sitting in the tree near our birdfeeders. Much to our surprise, some of them visited our feeders. This was our first experience at seeing bluebirds do this so we knew they must be very hungry.
“Most interesting, however, was what happened as the sun set. We witnessed a well-organized entry into a bluebird house at the edge of our yard. At least five of the birds seemed to squeeze themselves into the little house. Since that evening, we have observed this behavior several more times. We are delighted to provide shelter for our little friends.”
A number of species practice communal “bundling,” as the old New Englanders called snuggling on a cold winter’s night, but this was the first time I’ve heard of bluebirds doing it.
A check of Arthur C. Bent’s venerable and huge (21 volume) series, Life Histories of Familiar North American Birds, provides some interesting accounts of bluebirds in similar situations.
Bent quotes an item in a 1937 Springfield, Mass., newspaper, "Mr. Cross of Huntington has a photograph of 22 bluebirds together which, caught in a heavy spring snowstorm, lived upon sumac berries and, between feedings, snuggled together, all fluffed up, on a small dead branch in the shelter of a building."
Bent quotes Edward H. Forbush reporting in 1929, "In western Massachusetts and in Vermont during the late spring storms, many bluebirds have died huddled together in hollow trees, where they sought refuge from fury of the gale. During a storm, a lady in Stowe, Vt., heard a bluebird calling in her living room and found two in the stove. They had sought shelter in the chimney and had come down the stovepipe."
But perhaps the most amazing story – if it can be believed – came from that 1937 Springfield newspaper: "On March 28, a pair of bluebirds came to the feeding station of Charles J. Anderson, 24 Eddywood Ave., Springfield, and after eating began to flutter and peck at the window. It was cold outside, so after talking to them through the glass, Mrs. Anderson let them in. The male was hardy, but the female manifestly required warmth. She was given warm milk to drink, and warbled her thanks. For three days, while the cold spell lasted, she returned periodically to get warm inside the room."

Survival of a bright red beacon

A male cardinal is the most common, North American “animal” of size that is virtually all red, a color used by few wildlife species hereabouts. We have a few small red beetles and salamanders plus several birds, like tanagers, that mix bright red with other others, but what else is almost all-red?

Cardinals don't seem to need camouflage.

Ornithologists say male cardinals have probably evolved their bright, distinctive color to attract female cardinals. However, how do they survive so well in the wild with such a rare, flashy outfit that, even among the fully leaved trees of summer, seems to stand out like a sore thumb?

Hawks see red. Why, then, don’t they decimate the population of male cardinals, which seem to do little to hide themselves, especially in winter when the deciduous trees have no leaves for cover.

The answer probably lies in our own perception of color vs. a bird’s perception.
“Birds see very differently from the way that we do,” says Chris Elphick, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut.

“They see into the ultraviolet ranges and have different types of receptor cells in their eyes, so a bird that seems the brightest to us is not necessarily the brightest to another bird — such as a hawk.

“How a hawk sees a cardinal — or anything else — is thus hard for us to conceive,” he adds.

An evolutionary biologist named John Endler found that how a color looks can depend on surrounding colors because of the wavelengths of light that are absorbed by the environment. Thus, in the forest full of green, red light tends to be absorbed, so red objects would not stand out the way they would against, for instance, a snowy background. “This phenomenon helps explain why scarlet tanagers — or any number of warblers — can be so hard to pick out even when there are not leaves obscuring them,” Professor Elphick observes.

He adds: “It’s important to remember that evolution always involves a balance between benefits and costs. Being conspicuous has potential costs — e.g., increased predation risk — but if those risks are balanced by greater benefits — e.g., more/better reproductive opportunities — then maybe that’s OK, evolutionarily speaking.

“Also, hawks are rare relative to cardinals, so even though a cardinal may be vulnerable when it encounters a hawk, there may be enough cardinals that do not have such encounters that the selection pressure to be less conspicuous is not as great as it might seem. And, of course, just because a cardinal is seen by a hawk doesn’t mean it will get caught.”

Laura Erickson, science editor at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, reports that hawks can definitely see red. “But they can see a whole spectrum of colors, and much of their favored prey is more muted in color, so there is no good reason for hawks to focus on cardinals.

“Cardinals, like Scarlet Tanagers, spend much of their time hidden in foliage, and it’s very difficult for even accipiters [bird hawks] to grasp prey from the branches that cardinals favor.

“Goldfinch or Prothonotary Warbler yellow, Blue Jay blue, and oriole orange are almost certainly at least as vivid to a hawk’s eyes.

“The brilliant colors of many birds, especially when found on males only, tend to be territorial and sex signals. Of course, birds do tend to be safer when not noticeable to anything, so many of the most brilliant birds do molt out of those bright colors during the non-breeding season. New feathers on male Northern Cardinals are edged with brown, and the tips wear away to reveal the brightest red at the end of winter/early spring. But Baltimore Orioles and Blue Jays stay in their bright feathers year round.”

Laura adds, no doubt with a smile, “You know what color is even rarer than red in the bird world? Pink. Apparently, birds shun Mary Kay cosmetics, too.” 

Multi-brood birds

“Do phoebes raise more than one brood a season? asks Flo Vannoni of Redding.

“A pair of phoebes nested over our sliding door and succeeded in fledging three babies,” she writes. “The babies left the nest about one week ago and since then, we had not seen parents or babies. Today one of the parents returned to where the nest had been – I had removed it. Is it possible they would start another nest?”

Many species have more than one brood in a season, as Mary Walsh of Ridgefield – who sent the accompanying shot of a second-brood bluebird chick – can attest.

“The baby bluebirds fledged last week from a nesting box on my property,” Mary wrote July 14. “It is the second brood this summer.

“I found one baby hiding out on the running board of my Sequoia. As I tiptoed within a few feet, the baby bluebird hopped away. It appeared to be struggling to fly… Mom and Dad were in the trees chirping away. I had to leave and he was gone when I returned home. I hope he took flight.”

Flo wondered whether her phoebes would start another nest. They probably would, and perhaps in the same location since they would likely have used the old nest a second time.

Eastern Phoebes are very loyal to nesting location. They not only use the same nest for their two broods in a season, but also tend to re-use it for several years. That is relatively unusual among songbirds, most of whom build new nests every year. Phoebes simply make repairs and spruce up the previous year’s nest – “waste not, want not” is apparently the motto of this avian recycler.

For many songbirds, whose offspring hatch relatively quickly and don’t take long to fledge, having two broods in a season in this part of the country is normal. There is plenty of time to raise two families, and then fatten up for the migration south or, for many year-round species, to stock up on food for the winter.

Studies have found that northern birds of a given species tend to have fewer broods than southern birds, yet all produce around the same number of young per season.

In the North, for instance, Eastern Bluebirds typically have two broods. In the South, because the warm, insect-filled season is longer, bluebirds often have three broods.

Nevertheless, both northern and southern bluebirds produce about the same number of offspring per season because bluebirds in the North lay more eggs per brood than bluebirds in the South. A pair of Connecticut bluebirds might have two nestings, each with five babies, while a North Carolina bluebird couple might have three nestings with three eggs each. The result is about the same.

Did the southern birds work harder? They had more nestings, but fewer mouths to feed at each. Moreover, they probably did not migrate as far, if at all, to set up home.

(Photo of bluebird parent arriving with food for babies is by Kevin M. Doyle.)

Funky nests

You can find them in hanging flower baskets, an old boot, a garage shelf, or under a bridge -- birds build nests in the strangest places, note the folks at Cornell Lab of Ornithology. As part of their Celebrate Urban Birds project, the Lab is sponsoring “Funky Nests in Funky Places!” competition.

Celebrate Urban Birds is a free, year-round citizen-science project, focused on birds in neighborhood settings. While we are much more “suburban” than “urban,” Cornell points out, “We will gladly accept data from all locations, including suburbs, small towns, small cities, as well as large cities. It is exciting for us to receive data from a large variety of ‘Green Spaces.’”

For the Funky Nests in Funky Places challenge, the lab wants you to take photos, do a painting, write a story, or shoot a video showing a bird’s nest built in some out-of-the-way or out-of-this-world place. “When observing nests please be sure to avoid touching them or disturbing the birds,” Cornell adds.

There are prizes for the best shots, including a Leica C-Lux 3 compact camera, bird feeders, shrubs for planting, and more.

To enter, email your entry to urbanbirds@cornell.edu. Links are acceptable for videos. Write “Funky Nests” in the subject line. Include your name and mailing address. Explain why you submitted your entry -- what's the story behind it?

Deadline for entries is July 31.

Visit the Celebrate Urban Birds website, birds.cornell.edu/celebration/ for more information.

Where did all my birds go?

Readers over the years have reported sudden changes in the numbers of the usually common birds they’ve had at their feeders or in their yards, including Black-capped Chickadees, American Goldfinches, Blue Jays, Purple Finches, and even crows.
Among the factors that can change what shows up in your yard are:

• The neighborhood food supply. Feeders are only a fraction of the food source for birds. A change in the natural food supply can make a lot of difference in their local bird populations. For instance, last season’s acorn crop was apparently not a large one hereabouts. The mast, the annual production of tree nuts in a region, can vary from year to year, and a low mast year can drastically affect populations of Blue Jays as well as mammals, such as squirrels and chipmunks. Blue Jays are major consumers of acorns (and may plant more oak trees than do squirrels, which get all the credit). Wild Turkeys are also big acorn-eaters; wonder how they are doing.
• Neighborhood habitat. Changes in the places where birds nest, roost and feed can vary the population. For example, some birds like evergreens for roosting and nesting. If someone cut down, or disease killed, a noticeable number of evergreens in the area, certain species might become less common.
• Predator changes. A hawk or perhaps even an owl deciding to nest in the middle of an area popular with song birds would discourage the songbirds from hanging around. Even something as seemingly innocuous as a family cat – and worse, feral cats – can affect the bird population in a small area. (The number of birds killed by pet cats each year would astound most people.)
• Man-made environmental changes. Obviously, major sources of noise, light, or air pollution can affect local bird populations. Set up a rock crusher next to a stand of trees that have sheltered birds for years, and you will undoubtedly chase them all away. But less obvious changes can occur. For example, spraying trees for caterpillars may kill many of the insects the birds feed on, forcing them to look elsewhere.
• Disease. Of course, disease can affect local and regional populations of birds. We saw just recently many reports of Pine Siskins dying, probably from Salmonellosis. West Nile virus, to which corvids seem more susceptible to than many other species, may be lowering the jay population.

Bird populations fluctuate naturally, mostly due to changes in food supplies. However, any change is of interest to ornithologists, and that’s why the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has set up programs like Project Feeder Watch, in which “citizen scientists” – you and I – regularly report what we see out our windows each cold-weather season to the professional scientists in Ithaca. To find out more about Project Feeder Watch, visit birds.cornell.edu/pfw/

The mob

When an enemy approaches, many birds react with a technique called “mobbing.” Crows are famous and vociferous mobbers, ganging up and screaming at hawks or owls.

For years, scientists considered this mostly a method of chasing away predators.

But Eberhard Curio, a German scientist, wondered. He set up a special cage with two blackbirds, a stuffed owl, and a soda bottle. Only Blackbird A could see the owl while Blackbird B could see Blackbird A and the soda bottle. Blackbird A angrily yelled at the owl, while Blackbird B saw only the yelling bird and the bottle, and figured Blackbird A was yelling at the bottle. Blackbird B later taught Blackbird C to fear the bottle, and Blackbird C then taught Blackbird D, and so on.

The curious Curio concluded that mobbing blackbirds were acting as tutors, teaching birds to “know thine enemy.” So the next time you see a dozen crows mobbing a hawk, you may actually be witnessing a big outdoor seminar.

To feed or not to feed

Each spring, many people take down their feeders for the season. There is plenty of natural food around, they figure, so why spend money on seeds?

Actually, plenty of food is almost always. Except in the direst conditions, such as a blizzard with deep snow and subzero temperatures, year-round birds can find enough food to survive our winters; otherwise, they wouldn’t be here in cold season.

For the birds, our feeders are added conveniences, be it summer, fall, winter or spring. For us, they are entertainment, as well as a source of knowledge about the wildlife around us.

The truth is, we feed the birds because it’s fun, not because they need our food.

However, there are arguments for not feeding in the early spring through late autumn. One arrived last week in the form of a warning from the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection: it’s Black Bear season.

Bears have emerged from their winter dens and are wandering the countryside, looking for food and mates. Bird seed at feeders (along with garbage cans and outdoor grills) attract them.

“Homeowners can often prevent bear problems by making unavailable or simply removing food attractants that draw bears,” DEP said.

Most inland towns in Fairfield County, Connecticut, and Westchester County, New York, have annual bear sightings nowadays – Ridgefield had 11 last year, Wilton, 7, Redding, 3, Weston, 1, and New Canaan, 1, DEP records say. A Ridgefielder had two feeders torn down last fall by what was probably a bear (see photo).

Black Bears are shy and rarely get involved with humans. Some people would consider a bear in the yard exciting, but others would rather see these critters, weighing hundreds of pounds, only in a zoo. If that’s you, take down your feeder now.

Another problem with year-round feeding is disease. Warm weather can exacerbate the transmission of diseases, especially those involving bacteria like salmonella. Disease can come from seeds on the ground that develop molds and/or that have been tainted with feces.

Safe, warm-weather feeding requires maintenance: regular cleaning of the feeders as well as of the ground beneath them, especially if you use seeds with shells.

Some people don’t put out feed in the summer and fall because they think it will delay the departure of migratory songbirds, which may then perish in cold weather. However, scientists believe the changing length of the day – more light in spring, less in fall – triggers migration, no matter how much food is available locally.

Yard aficionados who like their lawns to look like putting greens eschew warm weather feeding, especially with sunflower seeds, because of the mess it can make. The husks of whole sunflower seeds, for instance, contain a poison that kills grass.

On the plus side, attracting birds to the yard in summer helps control many kinds of pest insects.

Bird-feeding in warm weather pretty much boils down to whether you want to do it, can afford to do it, and are willing to do it safely. If you are neat, clean and aren’t afraid of bears, feed on!

Sick siskins

We've gotten many reports of Pine Siskins this winter and early spring. The incredible irruption of these northern birds into southern territories is like none in recent years, and siskins are still here as of April 7.

But this big crowd of birds has brought with it a problem – aside from breaking our birdseed budgets with their gluttonous consumption. Siskins may be prone to disease.

Kathy Cory of South Salem, N.Y. tells us, “I noticed a lethargic siskin in the yard this morning, which perished soon after. That's the second dead one in the yard this week, and I remembered seeing another sickly one a few weeks ago.

“I have learned that they are very susceptible to salmonella, possibly from dirty bird feeders. Since all of us have had very busy bird feeders this winter, perhaps we need to be more diligent than usual about cleaning them. Could it be the feeders or is there another force at work out there?”

On the Connecticut bird hotline, sick siskins have been a hot topic.

Julie Keefer of Lyme said there were “a lot of reports of siskins dying in North Carolina this winter and I think it was pretty much a mystery as to why.” She wonders whether the ones succumbing here caught their fatal disease in the South – the ones we are seeing now may be migrating north and are not necessarily the same birds that were at our feeders in winter.

Paul Carrier, a Harwinton naturalist and wildlife artist who found dead siskins in his yard recently, said, “As we feed the birds from the same feeders continually in one spot all winter, it is not natural. The accumulation of husks and spillage under the feeders will eventually become a breeding ground for molds and disease, especially as it gets warmer. We all must clean up under the feeders as much as we can now that it’s warmer out.”

Paul added, “thistle is a very fast decomposing seed (husks), especially when wet. These I believe are the culprit to the sickness in these siskins, especially when they eat them from the ground. When it is cold, the seeds don't grow molds and such. But when wet and warm, they become instant breeding grounds for disaster!”

Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Project Feeder Watch has been getting many similar reports. “As often happens in birds that feed and roost in tight flocks, there have been outbreaks of salmonella reported in some Pine Siskin flocks,” Cornell said. “Salmonellosis is caused by a bacteria... It is a common cause of mortality in feeder birds, but the symptoms are not always obvious. Sick birds may appear thin, fluffed up, and may have swollen eyelids. They are often lethargic and easy to approach. Some infected birds may show no outward symptoms but are carriers of the disease and can spread the infection to other birds.”

Salmonellosis is mainly transmitted by fecal contamination of food and water by sick birds, though it can also be transmitted by bird-to-bird contact, Cornell says. Occasionally, outbreaks cause “significant mortality.”

Cornell says, “Clean your feeders about once every two weeks, more often during times of heavy use. For best results wash your feeder thoroughly in soapy water, then soak or rinse it in a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water. Dry the feeder thoroughly before refilling.”

It adds, “Remember to rake the ground below your feeder to prevent accumulation of waste. Moldy or spoiled food is unhealthy, not only for birds but for your outside pets. Bird food scattered on the ground also can attract rodents. Consider moving your feeders periodically to limit the accumulation of waste.”

One hotline participant said sunflower chips, which siskins love, have the advantage of not having hulls to get moldy and diseased on the ground.

Wooing Mrs. Nuthatch

Bird watching can be a lot more than just identifying what shows up in the yard. A good bird watcher also notices what the birds are doing.

Nine-year-old Blythe Filaski of Ridgefield is a good bird watcher. “Recently, I spotted two nuthatches on my pear tree,” Blythe writes. “The nuthatches must have been mates, because their bills were together, almost as if they were kissing. I think they were sharing seed.”

Blythe was lucky enough to observe an interesting courtship behavior of the White-breasted Nuthatch. Here is how Arthur C. Bent described a pair of nuthatches 60 years ago:

“All through the winter the pair has lived not far apart, feeding within hearing of each other, but the male has paid little attention to his mate; in fact, on the food shelf, he has shown dominance over her; but now in the lengthening, warmer days of spring, he becomes actively engaged over her comfort.

“A real courtship begins: He carries food to her and places it in her bill, he stores bits of nut in crevices of bark for her convenience, and he often addresses his singing directly to her. Standing back to her, he bows slowly downward as he sings, then in the interval before another song he straightens up, then bows as he sings again. The songs come with perfect regularity over and over again and can thus be recognized even in the distance as the courtship song.”

Ornithologists have been fascinated by this behavior in many species, including cardinals and hawks. Of course, on the simplest level, it can be taken as a way of wooing a mate by making her happy – just as men often take women out to dinner on dates.

However, scientists see more in the behavior. The food exchange not only develops pair bonding, but may also help convince the female that her mate will be a good provider during the forthcoming nesting period.

“Increasing evidence suggests that females who receive more food from their mates lay larger clutches” of eggs, wrote David W. Winkler, in Handbook of Bird Biology (Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 2004). “Mate feeding probably makes it possible for a female to raise more young, by keeping her in good condition and allowing her to put more energy into feeding the young.”

In other words, a nice dinner now may mean more and healthier kids later.
So, for the nuthatch and many other species, “the way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach.”

Birds hitting windows

Birds hitting windows is a common problem. Depending on the lighting, a window – even a relatively small one – can behave like a mirror. A bird in a hurry, such as one threatened, can mistake the window for open spaces.

With most household windows and doors, a crash happens only rarely, if ever. However, if you have windows – particularly picture windows – that birds regularly collide with, consider a product like Window Alert. These are plastic decals that are virtually invisible to humans on the inside of the house, but are very visible to birds on the outside.

According to the manufacturer, “The decal contains a component which brilliantly reflects ultraviolet sunlight. This ultraviolet light is invisible to humans, but glows like a stoplight for birds.”

The product functions sort of like those advertising coatings that you see on commercial vans and city buses that cover not only the metal surfaces of the vehicle but also the windows. People inside can see out perfectly well, though from the outside the window looks like part of a sign.

The decals, which come in various shapes including leaves and snowflakes, are sold in many stores that serve bird watchers and feeders. For more information, see windowalert.com.

The hungry hawks

The striking Rich Josephs photograph of this of a Red-tailed Hawk consuming a crow is a dramatic example of why hawks and other raptors were once hated and hunted. Hawks, owls and eagles feed on a variety of birds and smaller mammals. For hawks and owls, at least, mammals and birds are their primary source of food.

Catching squirrels, rabbits, mice, and birds in the wild is often not easy, and requires skill, stealth and timing. More often than not, the raptor is unsuccessful and the prey escapes.

When farmers took over much of the landscape in the 18^th and 19^th Centuries, they eliminated some raptor prey, but also introduced others. What’s more, some of the new fare were easy pickings.

Chickens were so popular with some hawk species that any hawk that attacked domesticated fowl was called a “chicken hawk.” However, the Red-tailed Hawk was probably what farmers saw most, and was the most feared “chicken hawk.”

In a way, this is unusual. Red-tails are not true “bird hawks.” Many Accipiters like the Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks feed primarily on birds and are designed to catch them on the wing – they are smaller, sleeker and have long tails that allow them to maneuver quickly. By comparison, the bigger Red-tailed Hawk is not as agile. It can catch an occasional crow or waterfowl, but it’s unlikely a Red-tail could nail the chickadee or titmouse that a Sharpie can catch.
When the European farmers arrived, they provided virtually flightless fowl to the native raptors. Domesticated chickens were slow, fat and tasty. It was Red-tail heaven – until the farmers got good guns. Hawks were treated as vermin, bounties were paid for their bodies, and countless numbers of them were killed.

Even in modern-day Ridgefield, “chicken hawks” are at work. Last fall, we got a call from Wendy Llewellyn who had recently returned to maintaining full-sized, egg-laying chickens at her home. One day, “they were making strange noises,” she said. She looked outside and “there was what I assume was a hawk, trying to take off with one of them,” Wendy said. “I ran out and the hawk dropped the chicken.”

A week earlier, her cat had been limping. “When I brought her to the vet, he said she looked like she had been in a fight and was covered with lacerations,” Wendy said, wondering whether it was a tom cat – or the hungry hawk.

Small mammals are the main fare of the Red-tail, our most common hawk, and if the opportunity arises, the Red-tail may attack small dogs and cats.

“Large raptors, such as Red-tailed Hawks and Great Horned Owls, can indeed kill a small pet,” says Hawks Aloft, a raptor conservation organization. “We have received dozens of inquiries about six-pound dogs, ten-pound dogs, etc., all the way up to a 60-pound dog. There is no specific cut-off weight at which your pet’s safety is guaranteed. If the size of your dog or cat is similar to or not much larger than naturally occurring raptor prey, there is a risk.”

Early one morning a couple years ago, I was walking our nine-pound Chihuahua, Charley, down the road when suddenly I saw a Red-tail flying straight at us, only about eight feet off the ground. I am sure he was eying Charley, who was about 10 feet ahead of me on a leash. However, as soon as the hawk noticed me, he veered upward and headed off into the woods.

We never leave Charley alone in the yard. He and any other small dog or cat could be lunch for not only large raptors, but coyotes, the recently reintroduced Fishers (large, mammal-eating weasels), perhaps foxes, and maybe even cougars (reliably sighted in Ridgefield last year).

So keep Fido and Kitty indoors or under surveillance.

Saving money on feeding birds

With everyone economizing in these tight times, feeding the birds may seem a luxury that should be shelved until “prosperity” returns.

Certainly, the birds don’t need our food to survive winter, except perhaps in unusually severe conditions. Most of their food is obtained from the wild, not feeders.

Nonetheless, bird feeding is one of North America’s most popular pastimes, with an estimated 55 million people owning feeders. The reason most people feed the birds is the close-up connection with nature that it offers. Feeding birds are simply fun to watch. And in these times, we could use some fun!

So let’s feed with efficiency as well as economy. With that in mind, here are some suggestions.

• Perhaps the most important consideration in having an efficient feeding station is squirrels. These wily rodents can quickly consume large amounts of expensive seed. Make sure your feeder is absolutely squirrel proof — which is not impossible. The best setup I’ve found is mounting on a six-foot pole, away from nearby trees (from which the squirrels can leap), and using a cone to prevent their climbing up the pole (see photo). There hasn’t been a squirrel on our feeder in years.
  

• Use a feeder that distributes the seeds efficiently and does not allow them to spill onto the ground. Some tube feeders tend to be wasteful. I like a feeder that provides a platform for the birds to land on and carefully pick a seed, without spilling or tossing others on the ground.
  

• Some people don’t like large birds like Mourning Doves or Blue Jays hogging the food. You can buy feeders aimed at only small birds. This will, of course, reduce overall seed consumption, but also reduces the variety of birds you’ll see.
  

• To minimize waste, buy seeds that your birds like. The best all-around food is hulled (shelled) sunflower seeds, but these may be beyond your budget. Whole black oil sunflower seeds are cheaper than hulled, but more expensive than mixes. However, cheap mixes may contain many “filler” seeds that are thrown away by popular feeder birds. They wind up as food for squirrels, chipmunks and maybe even mice on the ground.

• Shop around, of course. I can’t recommend a best source, but I always buy locally instead of on the Internet (who wants to pay shipping on 50 pounds of seed?). Look for fall sales at feed and hardware stores (though bargains are becoming less common as prices rise).
  

• You get the best prices buying in quantity, but make sure you have a cool, dry place in which to store the seeds; otherwise, the seeds can mildew or go rancid, and you wind up wasting money on spoiled seeds that birds won’t eat or, worse, may get sick eating. Put the seeds in a strong sealed container like a big garbage can, so that they won’t attract mice or squirrels (even in your cellar or garage).
  

• Many birds love suet. I’ve found that the “suet cakes” sold commercially do not last long — often, they have crumbled within a few days under hard whacks of visiting woodpeckers. I use real suet, the stuff butchers cut off beef. It lasts much longer and is enjoyed by a half dozen varieties of birds. Not many years ago, suet was something that butchers mostly considered waste. Some was packaged at 10 or 25 cents a pound and sold to savvy bird feeding customers. Today, meat arrives at most markets already “de-fatted,” and the butchers actually have to buy the suet from wholesalers! Thus, you will see suet prices that would have amazed an old-time butcher — a couple of dollars a pound for something they used to throw away or send to rendering plants. Nonetheless, in the long run, real suet may still be less expensive and more efficient than cake suet.
  

• Don’t waste money on a suet feeder. Use a mesh bag that produce, such as onions, garlic and avocados, is packaged in. Dispose of it after it’s been used for a while. When you buy suet, get the butcher to cut up the chunks into one-inch cubes, which are easier to fit into small mesh bags.