Backyard Birds, Part Deux

Last fall I posted a blog about the most common birds that I had been seeing at my feeder. But after a full year of living at this house, I've discovered a few more visitors that I thought it would be fun to add to the list. My first list included the titmouse, chickadee, goldfinch, cardinal, white-breasted nuthatch, hairy and downy woodpeckers, flicker, pileated woodpecker, mourning dove, blue jay, ruby-throated hummingbird, Carolina wren, Baltimore oriole, bluebird, mockingbird, catbird, phoebe, and red-tailed hawk. This one will cover the robin, junco, red-breasted nuthatch, cowbird, chipping sparrow, red-bellied woodpecker, song sparrow, Cooper's hawk, turkey vulture, and house finch. 

American Robin

Robins are harbingers of spring in my New England yard, although we sometimes have a few that hang around for most of the winter. This year for most of the winter I had flocks stopping to feast on the berries of my holly bushes on their way south. Robins have a distinctive bright red chest. They prefer worms and berries, so are often seen hopping along the ground. They often fly close to the ground as well. Their most distinctive calls are a loud repeated scold and a happy "cheer up! cheerily!" sounding call. They often build nests near houses, including in bushes and even in wreaths on doors.  Robins are quite territorial and will occasionally "fight" with the rearview mirrors on cars, thinking it's another bird. 

Dark-Eyed Junco

Although I tend to think of juncos as winter birds, they are around all year. Although similar in size to titmice and finches, they're easy to identify based on their white bellies which don't extend up to their chests and contrast nicely with their dark gray bodies. They also have yellow beaks. Juncos will come to a hanging feeder but more often forage on the ground. They don't make a lot of noise, but will occasionally let out a long chirring call or a repeated "chip chip" that reminds me of pinging a high tension wire. 

Red-breasted Nuthatch

I had never seen these fascinating little birds until living where I do now! They share a streamlined body shape with their larger cousins, the white-breasted nuthatches, and they also occasionally hang upside down on trees or feeders like them. They have a rusty-red belly and chest and a well-defined black-and-white eye stripe, and are about the size of a chickadee. They are somewhat aggressive with each other and with other birds and will often squawk and flap their wings to drive others away from the feeder. They have funny little squeaky, nasal voices that are easy to recognize once you've heard them. 

Brown-Headed Cowbird

Male cowbirds are very easy to identify, as their bodies are glossy black and their heads are brown. Females are more non-descript and are easy to confuse with the many mottled gray types of finches and sparrows, although both genders are noticeably larger. I try not to encourage the cowbirds, as not only are they fairly aggressive and drive other species away, but they lay their eggs in other birds' nests and leave them to care for their eggs! They have a wide variety of calls and frequently chitter at each other or even sing to themselves while they're at the feeder. 

Chipping Sparrow

There are a lot of finches and sparrows that I struggle to differentiate between, but the chipping sparrow is relatively easy to identify, based on its small size, rusty red cap, and black eye stripe. The pattern and color on its wings is similar to a house sparrow, but it is much smaller and the rusty patch on the male house sparrow's head does not cover the top of the head. In addition to a long, sharp trill, it makes a repeated "chip chip chip" from which it gets its name.

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

This woodpecker looks a lot like a flicker at first glance, but although they are the same size, the red on its head goes all the way over the top, and the black-and-white mottling is only on its wings and back, leaving its belly pure white, unlike the flicker's gray polka-dotted belly. They have a short, rasping squawk which is hard to describe but easy to recognize. I heard them in the trees many times before I finally saw one at the feeder. 

Song Sparrow

Another small finch/sparrow-type bird that can be hard to distinguish, the dark streaks on the song sparrow's belly help to identify it, as well as its brown eye stripes. Not surprisingly, the best way to identify it is through its long, melodic, trill-laden song, which you are most likely to hear early in the morning. Like many other sparrows, it also has a loud "chip! chip!" alarm call.

Cooper's Hawk

Along with red-tailed hawks, we frequently see Cooper's hawks loitering in the trees near the feeder, hoping to catch a plump mourning dove unawares. The easiest way to tell the two types of hawk apart is to look at the tail in flight. The red-tailed hawk's tail is not only distinctly reddish (usually although not always), it is also short and fan-shaped, while the Cooper's hawk has a much longer, narrower tail. 

Turkey Vulture

Another raptor we see regularly is the turkey vulture. Since the bright red head is often difficult to see while the birds are flying high overhead, the easiest way to distinguish them from the hawks we frequently see is their flight pattern. The vultures have a noticeable "bobble" when they soar, and they tend to hold their wings in more of a "V" position when seen head-on, as opposed to the flatter profile of most hawks. They are also larger than red-tailed hawks, but size can be hard to distinguish in flight. Although hawks will frequently roost in trees near the bird feeders watching for potential prey, the vultures have no interest in the songbirds that frequent backyard feeders. 

House Finch

Let's start with a disclaimer: I cannot tell the difference between a male house finch and a purple finch. Even when I look at photographs comparing and contrasting the two, I can't see the differences described. So I'm grouping them together as house finches, merely because it sounds like house finches are more common. Another example of big differences in coloring between the sexes, the males have a bright to dark red faces and breasts, while the females are mottled brown all over. (Note: I learned while researching for this blog that finches are more likely to have sexual dimorphism than sparrows, so when trying to determine between the two, that's a good starting place!) The female finches closely resemble song sparrows, but lack the sparrow's head stripes, and the streaks on their bellies go all the way to their feet, as opposed to the sparrow's which fades out at the chest.

Now get out there and enjoy watching those birds!

What I Have Learned About Birds

In the past month in my new home, I have probably done more bird-watching than I had in the prior 50 years combined. I have a large arched picture window outside my family room, with three feeders on hooks just outside the window: a hummingbird feeder, a suet feeder, and a seed feeder. I have spent countless hours watching the birds, trying to identify the less familiar ones, and even working on matching the songs and birdcalls I hear in the trees to the actual birds landing on the fence and the feeder. It has been quite an education. Here is what I've learned about the birds that have visited:

1. Titmice like to holler. They hardly ever land at the feeder without screeching their presence. They are not stealthy birds.
2. Ditto for bluejays. They crash-land on the hook then yell for a while before they think about eating.
3. Baby bluejays have super whiny voices.
4. Titmice travel in packs. It's incredibly rare to have a single titmouse visit the feeder without another arriving either with it or immediately afterwards, and often 3 or more.
5. Finches and titmice are good sharers. They are happy to eat at the feeder with other birds there, of the same or different species.
6. Woodpeckers are shy, and will wait until all the other birds are gone before coming to the feeder. They also usually sit on either the hook or the feeder for several minutes, looking nervous, until they get up the courage to eat. This occasionally includes sliding down the pole, ever-so-slowly, pretending they meant to do that.
7. Robins HATE bluejays. Like, HAAAAAAAAATE them. The robin will chase the bluejays out of the yard if they dare to approach the feeder while the robin (which, by the way, does not eat from any of the feeders) is in the yard. Even when it's one robin to three bluejays.
8. Bluejays are giant cowards.
9. Hummingbirds are tiny little bullies. They will take on any other bird that's nearby, from another hummingbird to multiple bluejays. They are not good sharers.
10. It's difficult to distinguish individual birds of most species; however, occasionally one individual will exhibit a distinctive behavior. Although some hummingbirds eat while hovering and some land on the rail and stand while they eat, we have one male who sits on top of the hook for a few minutes before and/or after he eats, as if establishing his sovereignty. He will not only chase away other birds, he will follow other hummingbirds around the yard, hollering at them in his squeaky little hummingbird voice. I have dubbed him "Cap," which is short for Captain Hook. It suits him.
11. Hummingbirds SQUEAK?!?? Yes, they do. Usually while flying, and nearly always when chasing another hummingbird.
12. Carolina wrens like to hang around near the feeder and sing, but rarely come to eat.
13. Goldfinches will sit at the feeder for 5-10 minutes at a time while they eat, never leaving their perch.
14. Titmice grab a single seed, fly to the top of the hook, hold the seed with their feet, peck it open and eat it, then FLING the seed hulls into the air before returning for another seed. They will do this for several minutes at a time.
15. Cardinals only graze on the ground, never on the feeder. They rely on the messy birds to knock seed onto the ground for them. Fortunately, there are plenty of messy birds.
16. Bluejays attempt to eat from the suet feeder, but they are so large and clumsy that they set the feeder to swinging and have to wait for the movement to stop so they can eat. After several attempts, they usually give up and eat the bits that have fallen into the rhododendron bush below, which provides much firmer footing (as well as some degree of concealment from the attack robin).
17. Hummingbirds only eat from the hummingbird feeder.
18. Bluejays only eat from the suet feeder.
19. Titmice prefer the seed, but will also eat the suet.
20. Woodpeckers prefer the suet, but will also eat the seed.
21. Hummingbirds like to hover in front of the window and peer inside, either before or after they eat. If you are outside, they will occasionally do the same to your face.
22. Everybody hides when the shadow of the turkey vulture passes overhead.
23. Chickadees are heard much more often than they are seen. Ditto for cardinals.
24. Hummingbirds can be very small. Dragonflies can be very large. They are easily confused, until they move. Hummingbirds occasionally drive away dragonflies. Not sure if they are also confused and think the dragonfly is another hummingbird, or maybe they're just jerks. I'm leaning toward the latter.
25. Much like children, birds often hang around and pose adorably right until you get your camera handy, at which point they either leave or present you with their least flattering side.

Oh - and one more thing to know about birds: Watching them is good for the soul.