SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - WHAT'S THIS?

 

The birds are in a bit of a quandary.

Word of the day!

“Quandary”

Meaning, unsure or confused. 

“The backyard birds are a little worried about what’s coming next. They are in a quandary.”

As for Camera Lady, she wants to plant lots of trees, just like Johnny Appleseed did with all his appleseeds.

 

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - WISDOM IN KINDNESS

 

Mr. Woodpecker has a chance to think whether he wants to lose his birdmanity, and finally...

“What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?” 

~Jean-Jacques Rousseau~

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of The Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of The French Revolution and the development of modern political, economic, and educational thought.

Earth Day!

Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection.  First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by earthday.org (formerly Earth Day Network), including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries. The official theme for 2023 is Invest In Our Planet.

MORE OF THE BIRDS OUT BACK

A male House Finch.  He is in the tree that we had to cut down (these are from a while back).  You can  read very interesting facts about House Finches at this website.  One of facts I read was: 

"Once limited to the Western United States and Mexico, House Finches are now found from coast to coast, and as far north as southern Canada. In 1939 a few of the birds, originally captured in Santa Barbara, California, were set free on New York’s Long Island by a pet store owner. By the early 1940s wild nests were beginning to show up in Long Island, and from there the spread continued.

 "They’ve also been introduced and become widespread in Hawaii. In some places, House Finches are considered an invasive species. They act as a vector for disease and compete for food and territory against native birds like Purple Finches - a species they are sometimes confused with since males share reddish plumage."  This website shows how to tell them apart.  

It's a sad state of affairs to take animals and birds out of their own natural habitat, and placed in areas where they should not be, for them and for the native species that are devastated, and in many cases made extinct by the introduced non-native species.

Case in point, here and you will read how the pythons became prolific in the Everglades (Florida). 

One of my favorite birds around here is the Tufted Titmouse.  I love their sweet song.   I have a pair that visit every day.  They flit around so much that it's hard to get them in the same picture, but my reflexes must have been faster than usual this day.  They fly down, grab a seed and immediately take it back to a tree branch to eat.  They are one of just a few perching birds that can use their feet to hold seeds while breaking them open.  

I think our next feathered friend is a female Cowbird.  They don't build their own nests or tend to their young.  Instead, they lay their eggs in the nest of other birds, such as the chipping sparrow, destroying the eggs that were there before.  These adoptive birds hatch the cowbird eggs and also feed them until they can take care of themselves, and the parents don't realize that they are feeding a tiny cowbird.  As much as I would like to think so, it's not all rosy in nature.

Next is a female Red-bellied Woodpecker.  This website has photos of male and female.  Females don't have quite as much red on their heads as a male, but you will see the difference by the photos at the link I have added above. These woodpeckers often create "caches" of food by drumming rows of small holes and wedging a single nut or seed into each one.  We had a tree in our yard with a thousand such holes on its trunk, and often watched the woodpeckers hard at work creating these holes.  How does it not get a headache or concuss itself?  I found another website that tells us.  It says, "The secret lies in the construction of the woodpecker's head and neck. A pad of soft tissue located between the bird's beak and skull absorbs most of the shock of each blow. The woodpecker's brain almost fills the skull cavity, which minimizes jostling. The brain is further stabilized by a strong muscle that runs down the sides of the neck and up the back of the skull."  Fascinating!

The Northern Cardinals I have shared many times before and they are in the garden all year round. Did you know that Cardinals get their red feathers from food?  While female cardinals are light brown, the red pigment in the male cardinal's feathers come from carotenoids in their food.  If these pigment-triggering foods are in short supply, their feathers may fade to a more brownish tone.  I read my facts here, and there is more information which is interesting.

The American Goldfinches have started visiting again. This one seems to have gone through its molting process, as the others looked a bit bedraggled and patchy.  The American Goldfinch is the only finch species that molt twice a year. The first time is in the spring when the males get their bright yellow feathers, and the second is at the end of summer when the darker feathers grow in.   Compared to other native North American birds, Goldfinches are late breeders. The birds wait to start building nests until late June and early July when the thistle and milkweeds are going to seed. The small birds like to use the seeds in their nests, and also as a nearby food source for their young.  While some other bird species are omnivores, Goldfinches are avid vegetarians. The only time the birds stray from their vegetarian diet is when they accidentally swallow a small insect. 

We get many birds visiting us in our area, various Sparrows and Robins, Downy Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpecker, one time a Pileated Woodpecker, Wrens, the Cardinals, Black-capped Chickadees, the Tufted Titmouse, Blue Jays, Mourning Doves, Grackles, Starlings, Crows and the occasional Red-wing Blackbird, and Hawk. Apart from the Hawk landing on our deck rail a few weeks ago, I remember others in past years and once a pair, parent and child, could be seen at the top of the tallest tree.  I love seeing them but have to admit, I am ambivalent.  I wanted them to hang around to observe and yet wanted them to move on also.  The smaller birds seem to know they are there as they disappear for a while, and I have never seen anything distressing.  I also don't replenish the seed until I know the hawks have moved on.   

When the Starlings arrive, there are usually over a dozen at a time.  They fight for their place at the feeders and gobble up all the birdseed.   

In the winter we get a lot of Grey-slated Junco's but when the warmer weather arrives they migrate north.  That seems to happen at the end of March, beginning of April.  They have done this every year since we have lived in our home.  

It has been 33 years since we moved from California.  We rented for 12 months in the next town.  It gave us the opportunity to look for areas in which we would like to settle, paying particular attention to schools.  Our son was ten years’ old at the time.  It also took us about a year to sell our home in California, which was located on the outskirts of San Diego.

Getting back to our birds, I enjoy the activity in the garden and am always looking for a new feathered friend to land here, one that I haven't seen before.  I spotted a Northern Flicker last week but sadly it was a one stop.  Maybe it will be back.  Of course, there are the Squirrels and a now rare sighting of a Chipmunk, and the occasional Raccoon.  I haven't seen one of those for a couple of months or more.  I don't encourage them and have mentioned this before.  We have a lot of young children in our neighborhood and though raccoons usually come out at night, you just never know.  We also have a lot of pets in the area.  

There are fox sightings each year and we used to get a few deer wondering through the neighborhood, but not for a long time.   

No bears yet. I have never seen one myself but when one wanders through the neighborhood, I can read about it on our neighborhood app, with the occasional photo at a bird feeder.  They are still hibernating.  However, I only learned recently that they occasionally come out of their dens in the wintertime.  I did not know that.

So, some happy and sad things about nature in my post today.  I hope you have found it interesting.  I know I tend to ramble on about things that interest me, hence the name of my blog!  I also tend to reread my posts for refreshers on topics learned which I may forget.

Okay, I think I have rambled on long enough.

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER

 

She is exaggerating, but there's enough to go around.

Exaggerating a little again.

No exaggeration this time!

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER

 

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER

 

HUNTLEY MEADOWS - WEDNESDAY - 4-25-22 - THE PILEATED WOODPECKER

Standing with an equally interested and interesting group of people, I had been shown where to find the Pileated Woodpecker.  A pair had been observed, male and female, one flying away and the other staying and guarding their chicks.  One would return and the other would leave.  I saw a flash of wings when I first arrived and knew I had spotted something special.  I was very thankful to those who shared what it was.   

These birds are most commonly found in the eastern and southern portions of the United States, and are considered one of the largest woodpeckers in North America.  They measure from 15.8 to 19.3 inches (40-49 cm) in length.  There was once an Ivory-billed Woodpecker which was recognized as the largest in North America, but sadly it was announced extinct as recently as 2021.  The Pileated took its place and is now considered to be the largest here.  Added note on  5-11-22 at 6:58 a.m: you can read an interesting article at this link.  It is written by Kenn Kaufmann, a birding expert and Audubon Field Editor, who talks about the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.  A quote from him on its extinction: "My head says that the species is extinct, but my heart won't accept that..."  One thing I noticed when looking at my photos later on the laptop screen, was the entrance to their nest.  It was a large rectangular hole.  This is a sign that Pileated Woodpeckers are in residence.  They use dead or old trees to carve out a cavity. When it is used for a nest it is more oblong.

Once they find a partner, Pileated Woodpeckers will mate for life. Like other birds, they perform interesting displays of courtship.  This is how the males attract females, such as flight displays, head swinging, raising of the crest feathers, and spreading their wings to reveal white patches.  The oldest known Pileated Woodpecker was a male, and at least 12 years, 11 months old when he was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Maryland.  When I first arrived and when asked by a photographer what I had seen, I had mentioned the white patches on the wings.  He had told me that it sounded like the male.

Both mom and dad Pileated Woodpeckers are hands on in tending to their young and will have 3 to 5 eggs which are white.  They feed their babies a variety of regurgitated insects, fruit and nuts.  During nesting season they will defend their territory from predators and other bird species, and will make loud drumming sounds and calls to deter any threat.

Unlike other male and female bird species that typically differ in color, male and female Pileated Woodpeckers are very similar and both have the red top-knot on their heads.  However, males can be easily identified by the bright red stripe on the sides of their face.  

And so, I am guessing the bird in my photo is the female as they have a black stripe on their cheeks, rather than the red.

I would like to thank the Bird Feeder Hub (link here).  You can read much more if you go to their website.

Thanks for looking and I wish you all a very happy day.

OUR WALK AT OCCOQUAN BAY NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

 We are happy to enlarge our walking areas, each within a not-so-long car ride from home. Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge is one we discovered last year, and we were happy to add it to our favorites list, where we go for exercise in their beautiful surroundings.  Marvelous places in any season, always changing and always something new that keeps feeding our love of nature.

The weather was starting to warm up.  The sky had lots of clouds and we were glad we went early, as rain was forecast.Our intention was to walk to the pond.Our short cut was still a bit of a trek.  When we arrived two other gentlemen, both with tripod and camera, were the only other people around.  One had been sitting on the steps leading to a small dock. 

The other was in long grass in a field, looking toward the trees and pointing his camera in the direction of the many bird calls.  I am not sure if he got any photos, and we didn't want to disturb either of them, they were so focused.  

Gregg left to take photos in another direction.  I took a seat under a sheltered picnic area, and watched them from the shadows. The two men seemed to know each other but left separately.  A short while later Gregg joined me. He took a photo of the windmill right next to the picnic tables. I thought to take a shot of it but the moment passed and I was glad Gregg took this one.The photo (above) with the beautiful reflection of the clouds that day, was also taken by Gregg.  You can just about make out a round circle resting on top of the water, not too far from shore.  Here is a closer look.  We think it is some kind of filter system where several turtles like to rest.  There weren't as many as the last time we were here.  The photos with the inserts are what he took, and I put the close-up circles into the photo, because I had time to play with my Paint Shop Pro for an hour.On the other side we saw a duck and we stared, and we stared and we stared, ever hopeful that he was going to be joined by his companions.  It took us a few minutes to realize it was a decoy.  There were no other birds on the lake.

There were Turkey Vultures flying overhead. If you click here you can read interesting facts about them.  They are not everyone's cup of tea but they do look magnificent in flight.  Their scientific name is Cathartes Aura, which means in Latin "cleansing breeze".  Researchers have determined that they can travel up to 200 miles in a day.  Also, their average height is 2-1/2 feet tall with a 6 foot wingspan and yet as big as they are, they only weigh about 3 pounds.  Here you will also read how they are considered nature's clean-up crew. This last site is the Wildlife Rescue League.

American Robins always seem to be present.  Normally I see them hopping around on the ground, but Gregg found this one high in a tree.  I have mentioned this before but they are unrelated to the European Robin, and ours are actually part of the thrush family.  Early colonial settlers named them American Robin because of its resemblance to the smaller European Robin they were familiar with.  You can read a lot more at the above website.

Later I spotted a Downy Woodpecker.  It was nice to see one other than at my feeders out back.  I couldn't get a closer shot as Gregg had the camera with the zoom, but I wanted to practice with the zoom on my phone.  It worked pretty well considering.  

Just in case I haven't mentioned it before, Downy Woodpeckers are our smallest and most commonly seen woodpecker, up to 7 inches long.  They aren't as skittish around people and can be seen in people's backyards at bird feeders, especially if peanut butter is part of their meal.  An old blogging friend told me once though, to be careful feeding peanut butter to birds, as it could be a choking hazzard.  Have you heard this?  She mentioned about mixing it really well with other ingredients, like seeds and nuts.  I have never made my own suet cakes and have had it in my head to do just that.  But I will have to look around and find a really healthy one.

You can just about see the little splash of red on the back of his head, (enlarging the photos help) which tells me that he is a male.  There is a lot of interesting information at this website, where I found the following.  

"Legend has it the red patch of the male bird inspired legends with many Native American Tribes across the United States, from being a fire detective to bearer of a warrior's badge of courage.  This bird has been a symbol of bravery and hard work.

Special feathers around their nostrils keep them from breathing in wood chips.

Their brain is protected from shock by a pad of spongy elastic material between their bill and their skull.

Woodpeckers may hammer on a tree as much as 10 times in a minute.

Downy woodpeckers create nest hole openings that are hidden by fungus or lichens, which resembles green spongy moss."

A lot more interesting information can be read at the link above.

Searching online, the closest I came to identifying the flower below was the Common serviceberry (botanical name Amelanchier arborea), and are native to Eastern North America, according to The Spruce website, found here.  There is a very nice illustration of the different types.  

Below is photo from a different tree on the same trail but is also a Common serviceberry.  My plant app (PictureThis) came up with the name, and then I did an online search to compare.  Their berries are an important food source to birds, when other types of fruit are not yet ripe.

My next picture you may have seen in yesterday's post.  The bud is still opening and soon it will be more easily identifiable as the Flowering Dogwood.  There is a good website at this link giving more information.  Its botanical name is Cornus florida, and common names are American boxwood, Flowering cornel and Virginian dogwood.  It may grow from 15 to 25 feet tall, and is native from southeastern Canada to eastern North America to eastern Mexico. The genus name comes from the Latin word for horn, cornu, most likely in reference to the tree’s hard, dense wood. 

We are coming to the end of our walk and the skies have been the most beautiful blue with lots of puffy clouds, but we knew that rain was on the way.  When we were driving home it started to sprinkle but it was a gentle rain and didn't last that long.  By the time we got home it had stopped.

We have seen many Ukrainian flags hanging outside people's homes, in our neighborhood, in other neighborhoods as we drove to Occoquan.  They were everywhere, and we saw them along country roads on our way home.

Still praying that peace comes to them very soon.  

Thank you for visiting, and I hope your day is a happy one.