Archive for the ‘Blue Bird Houses’ Category
Very Very Strange
Some things never cease to amaze me. Yesterday when I was doing my blog and looking for a picture of the brown-headed cowbird I discovered that this small member of the blackbird has some very strange nesting habits. They have a larger head than some of the other blackbirds and a shorter tail.
These rather distinctive looking birds have always fascinated me. They are always around, bobbing around on the ground at the foot of the feeder poles. They enjoy eating the seeds of grasses and weeds, as well as insects. They are enthralled with the free meals at the feeders too. The one I spotted staring at me from inside the platform feeder, flew over and sat on top of the blue bird house for quite some time before taking up residence on a high prominent tree branch.
When it comes to breeding time the female puts every bit of her energy into producing eggs. These are sometimes in excess of three dozen a summer. She doesn’t bother building a nest though. Rather she deposits her eggs in the nests of other bird species. A study once showed that the cowbird’s eggs have been found in over 220 other specie’s nests. They abandon their young to be fostered by the others, and usually at the expense of at least some of the other’s chicks.
Needless to say, the female is in need of lots of additional calcium due to laying so many eggs. So they eat snail shells and often even the eggs of some of the other nests they visit.
Pondering
This winter will definitley go down in the record books. I heard the other day that every state in the country has had snow except Hawaii. We’ve have had our share here, but some that are not used to it are really having a rough time dealing - like Texas, Florida and Alabama to name a few. They just aren’t equipped to handle it.
Well, at the risk of repeating myself, neither are our winter birds. Their natural sources of food are buried under mounders of snow. The ground is frozen solid, so even when they can find solid ground. They are relying on bird feeders for food, and bird houses for places to keep warm. My blue bird house is never empty at night because it has become a winter haven for roosting and warmth.
Bird watching takes a back seat for me only to God and family. It has become a connection to God and spirituality. The beauty of nature and the beautiful birds God created are essential to my joy and gratitude for everything.
It’s My House - No, It’s Mine
If I had a nickel for each time I have seen or do see this, I would be rich, beyond my wildest dreams. Some of those feathers I was talking about yesterday, are a result of some the bickering and bantering between the finches and the tufted titmouse over the blue bird house. I can be quite entertaining.
As far as I can deduct the finches win most of the time, but I am not always fortunate enough to see the winners every day. The tufted titmouse appears to be large in comparison to the other birds that visit the bird feeders, mainly because of their large had and heavy neck. Apparently they are not too big to get into the blue bird house. They can also be quite aggressive. So I might just be wrong. And that is fine.
Enough Of Home Tweet Home
Get me out of here!! Finally. Yesterday I went back to work after several days at home while I recuperated from my surgery. I really didn’t feel up to doing a whole lot while I was there. But 5 whole days confined to home with restrictions on what I can do is all I could take. I am usually on the go non-stop, so I was starting to go a bit mad.
I learned a lot about my backyard visitors in the five days. You’ve seen the cats at the window - it’s their fountain of youth. The black-capped chickadees are winning the war for the blue bird house that has become their roosting box for the winter. The eastern bluebirds have finally decided that the newly relocated mealworms are just as good as when they were in the previous spot, and the days are getting longer, so there is more time each day to watch and absorb my wonderful feathered friends.
Double Duty
Wow is it COLD! Yes, I know it is colder in other places. It’s just the wind chills and dampness in the air from the snow on the gound and the chill just runs right through your entire core.
One of the most used items in my yard right now are the bird houses. They are doing double duty by providing shelter to the birds from the cold. The other day I watched at least 6 finches come out of the blue bird house, and though I do not always get up at dawn to see whose been sleeping where, I have been told that they just keep piling into the bird houses until they can’t get another in safely and keep each other warm and just roost in there until daybreak. The other day there several roosting in the decorative bird house. I have to admit, they look pretty funny all stumbling out of there one right after the other.
"…"For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder, and He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace"
(Isaiah 9:6)
Black Friday
Since retail is where I hang out these days, I get excited over days like today. Memorial Day, Bag Sale Day, and the biggest of all them is Black Friday. I enjoy helping people find what they came for, and nothing excites me more than guiding them around the store to find the pieces they need to complete a project. At the end of every day like today, I have at least 50 stories to tell. Today was no different.
Black Friday sales always include as many goods as possible to bring in the buyers. They include electronics, tools, power tools, and anything you can imagine at low-low prices. There wasn’t much other than suet on sale in the bird section, so I hadn’t spent a lot of time there until I was approached by a gentleman who wanted some assistance. He was looking for a blue bird house for his wife for Christmas. I took much delight in helping him find the right bluebird house, and the perfect mounting post and hardware to go with it. He was so happy and thanked me over and over again for my help and I really had done so little. he was so tickeld with his selections, he grabbed a wren house off the shelf and said, “I think I have to have one of these too.” I just giggled as I moved on to my next customer.
Hope your Black Friday was a fun and satisfying as mine was.
A Bit About the Starling
I did not know until today that the Starling - the “European Starling” - is not really an American native. In the 1890’s the first of these birds were released in New York City in Cental Park. From those 100 they are now a population of over 200 million, and poplulate the vast majority of the Northeastern US . They are always under the bird feeders in my yard and are really much more prevalent than I would like them to be. In flight, they have a great triangular appearance.
They are black and shiny, almost iridescent, and they are chunky with tails that are quite short and stubby. They are quite adaptable, and live on farmland, in the cities and woods edges. You will not find them in great numbers in marshes and forests. They are quite prevalent in my backyard as well.
The European Starlings dine mainly on equal portions of animal and plant food. Their favorites include beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, earthworms, ants, flies, grains, cherries and mulberries.
Starlings will inhabit bird houses in the spring, and will often choose a blue bird house, as well as cavities, and woodpecker holes. The female Starlings build the nests in these areas with grasses, stems, cloth, leaves, and line it with soft fine grass and bird feathers, while the males defend the territory. Both male and female incubate the eggs and feed the nestlings. They will then go off to find a new place to raise their second brood. They often drive other native birds from their nests. They are harassing and can be considered a menace, to the degree that they have recently been accused of the decline in the red-headed woodpecker and northern flicker population.
I Had to Take A Second Look
One thing for sure, there is never a shortage of Eastern Blue birds here, even in the winter. As an avid bird watcher, I find this to be quite a blessing. I leave the blue bird feeder and the blue bird house out all year. It has paid off year after year.
Before moving here, I had never seen a blue bird. The first time I saw one, I remember the gasp that came out of my mouth scaring them away. The first spring we were here, our next door neighbor mounted 3 blue bird houses in his yard. Only one of the three was occupied with a blue bird family, but what an experience. The next spring I added a blue bird house and the families just keep on coming.
This morning I had to look twice. I was no where near my binoculars or my camera which has been on the fritz for a while, but I peered out the upstairs back window and saw two pretty little blue birds sitting side by side on the blue bird house. No matter how often I see them, just perching, foraging on the ground, playing in the shrubs or in their very distinctive flight, I feel the same way! And, no matter how hard I try no to do it, I still gasp with delight every single time.
I hope you had a delightful weekend, finding a moment or two just for you. A quiet moment, a time to reflect, relax and be grateful!
Birdwatcher’s Sights To Behold
Ancient Roman birdwatchers formed a society of priests and told the future from various signs such as the flight and appearance of certain birds. Today, however, we birdwatchers simply enjoy the beauty, song, grace and charm of the birds. The following is about a couple of common NorthAmerican birds for the bird watching enthusiasts of today.
Between the size of a Sparrow and a Robin, the brown Cedar Waxwing can be identified by the yellow band on its tail and its crest. Often the only means of detecting its presence is the high pitched “zeee” of its song. Adult Waxwings store food for their young in their crop, a pouch located in their throat. and may regurgitate as many as thiry choke berries at one time into the gaping mouths of the young.
Perhaps you have spotted a Yellow-Breasted Chat when hiking along a secluded stream or in a dens thicket. This large bird with white “spectacles” prefers bushy tangles and is relatively shy; therefore, it is more often heard than seen. Its song is a disjointed series of loud clucks, rattles and repeated whistles, sung day and night. At times, it performs a display-glight, flopping awkwardly up and down with legs dangling while singing. It is quite a sight to see.
Then there is the familiar Bluebird. This beautiful bird is a favorite of many people and is eagerly awaited in the spring after a long, cold winter, as it is the first bird to return to the north. Many people mount bluebird houses in their back yards and in open fields in the hopes that the Bluebirds will take up residence and they can watch the amaazing process of them having and then raising their families. A suet feeder with seed cakes will often attract them. For a long time over the course of the last 3 or 4 decades, Bluebirds became scarce in the East for reasons not altogether clear. Perhaps competition with the Starlings for nesting sites may have been a factor, and I for one, am quite pleased that the trend has reversed and they are once again a common visitor.
Finally, but far from least, we see the tiny Hummingbirds. Gems of beauty and marvels in flight, these nectar drinking birds take their name from the noise made by their rapid wingbeats. The small Hummingbirds beat their wings nearly seventy times each SECOND! Hovering motionless, the Hummingbird takes nectar from blossoms or from Hummingbird feeders and then then flies backwards to withdraw his bill from the flower or the feeder. Many bird enthuiasts will go to great lengths to attract this little treasure to their back yard feeders.
Into The Wild Blue Yonder
What a thrill it is every year to watch the whole process of the birds coming to the bird feeders and building their nests. They are all quite amazing, but my favorite is the Bluebird. I have been very blessed. My next door neighbor has three bluebird houses. Last year, only one of them was occupied by Bluebirds. This year, all three of the bluebird houses provided housing for bluebirds, and all three pairs had three broods.
After the eggs hatched, I got to watch the nestlings as they grew and was amazed at how quickly their housing quarters became quite crowded. I had the thrill of a lifetime when one evening I got to watch a brood of the nestlings learn to fly. What an experience.
Mom and Dad were on the ground chirping out instructions as the first little nestling eased out of the box. I was very close, the Audubon binoculars at my side, but I dared not move a muscle for fear of interrupting the process. I thought Mom and Dad would cave in to exhaustion, as it took a lifetime for the first nestling to make its first leap from the bluebird house. I nearly laughed aloud when it tumbled only a few feet away from where he had started. Then it made a second attempt and land but a few feet away from me on top of a sundial in the middle of my garden next to my hummingbird feeders. I had to remain frozen. It was chirping, calling out for his parents, when they started dive-bombing in panic as they spotted me. Finally, the little guy took off and landed on the other side of patio when it spotted his parents.
By this time the rest of brood was out of the nest and making their efforts. Then day by day after that amazing evening I watched as they continued to get stronger and fly longer and learn to fend for themselves, though they never stopped begging for Mom and Dad to give them an occasional treat. I have been through a lot of mealworms this year, and everyone of them was worth it when I remember the experience of watching the little birds fly into the wild blue yonder for the very first time.
They are still hanging out in the yard. Needless to say, I keep the mealworm feeder full, and now cannot tell the Mom and Dad from the young.
I am so looking forward to next spring when the whole process will start again, and in the meantime, what a great memory!