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Good Morning. The sun is shining and a great day is predicted….in the 70’s. Boy have we been waiting for that!! And judging by the birds singing so have they. Do you have your bird houses and bird feeders ready and waiting for them. The birds will be searching for a nice place to nest so they can prepare for their new families.
It is so much fun watching the progress of the birds, building their nests (whether they are in a house, bush or tree) then watching the eggs, waiting in anticipation for them to hatch, then watching the hatchlings to an adult bird. And what an education for your young children or grandchildren.
The Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus) lives in all states east of the Rockies and is common in open deciduous forests and orchards. It is a dark olive gray on the back, with a yellow underside and light gray throat. Its distinctive crest gives it its name, and it has a large bill. It is nearly 9″ long and is the only eastern flycatcher to nest in cavities. In fact, it will nest in nearly any kind of cavity. It is a fiercely territorial bird.
In spite of its long bill, the flycatcher does not make its own cavity, depending on rotting trees or posts, or on holes made by woodpeckers or those provided by bird-loving humans. Flycatchers feed in the tops of trees, primarily on insects, and emit a loud “wheeeeep.” They frustrate bird watchers, as they are more often heard than seen.
They are aptly named, as they may sit on a perch watching for insects, and then dart out and catch even a dragonfly in mid-air. They also eat beetles, bees and wasps, but do not eat many mosquitoes or gnats.
Flycatchers are known for using the skins shed by snakes in making their nests.
There are many ways in which to add decor to your backyard. Hanging birdhouses not only help give our feathered friends a place to rest but actually add interest to your backyard. You too will benefit from this. Not only will you begin recongnizing a particular bird, but you will also recognize its call, song and habits. You may even catch a glimpse of its nesting habits…see eggs and be able to watch them hatch.
Well it is finally Spring, and you will see more and more birds. Wouldn’t it be nice if they were in your backyard? It is possibe. All you need to do is put up a few birdfeeders and birdhouses to attract them. It also helps if your backyard is bird friendly. Trees and bushes will help them to feel safe as they move about. Water features such as ponds, streams and /or birdbaths will also help.
It’s Easter and it is soooo tempting to purchase live chicks and bunnies for your children and grandchildren. But, please reconsider. They really are not good pets for young children! Children want to play and handling these young animals and birds so much it is not good. In fact too much handling can cause stress for them and the baby chicks could die, and this in turn causes stress for the child and you. It’s a vicious circle.
Why not take them to a farm or the petting zoo?
Did you ever wonder how baby birds seem to stay in their nests without falling? Baby birds spend about 14 days in their nest, so what is it that keeps them from falling? Well they are born naked, featherless and are very squirmy. Fledglings will have stubby wing feathers and their tail feathers will be about half grown. As they change from a hatchling to a fledgling they have a very heavy bottom. This serves a purpose to keep them securely weighted in their nest.
The Prothonotary Warbler (Prothonotaria citrea) is one of only two warbler species in North America that nests in cavities. The other is Lucy’s Warbler of the Southwest, and it is not known to live in artificial habitats. The Prothonotary Warbler is a user of birdhouses, and a pair will even use one to raise more than one brood in a year. Different pairs will also use the same house to raise their broods in a given season.
This bright yellow beauty with blue-gray wings and tail is about 5-1/2″ long. Its song is a ringing “sweet-weet-weet-weet-weet”. It lives in wooded swamplands, flooded bottomland forests, and along streams with dead trees near them. Sometimes they live in trees actually in the water. The borders of creeks and rivers seem to be their favorite nesting places, but nesting over still water is not uncommon. Their nests are close to the ground.
The Prothonotary Warbler’s range covers most of the southeastern states, north to Minnesota, Michigan and New York. It appears occasionally in New England in the spring and during migration periods may appear anyplace coast to coast.
The Mountain Chickadee or Poecile gambeli has a white eyebrow through its black cap and lives in and west of the Rocky Mountains, where he calls chick-adee-adee-adee. The Chestnut-backed Chickadee has a chestnut-brown back and a brown cap and lives in the northwest and along the California coast. His call is more of a tseek-a-dee-dee.
The Black-capped and Carolina Chickadees like mixed forests, open woodlands and suburban areas, while their western cousins prefer coniferous forests.
Chickadee belong to the titmouse family. They are largely an insect eaters, but in winter they may depend greatly on seeds and berries. They are adept at foraging for insect eggs and larvae from twigs and bark, and this accounts for their active hopping and climbing around on trees to spot their food from all angles! Their favorite foods at feeders are sunflower seeds, peanut kernels, other nutmeats, peanut butter, and suet.
In the non-breeding season chickadees tend to flock together, and sometimes the flock may even include titmice, kinglets, nuthatches, and other birds. During breeding season, the males will drive others out of their territories, so you may have only one pair of chickadees in your yard, where you may have had a flock all winter.
From the beginning of courtship through the period of egg incubation, the male chickadee feeds the female. They typically raise one or two broods a year of 6 to 8 young and are year-round residents.
Since chickadees’ natural means of nesting is to excavate a hole in a rotting tree, you may make your nest box more attractive to them by putting a little sawdust or wood chips inside it for them. They will not use it for nesting, but since they usually work in pairs to carry a little sawdust away from the hole they are making in a tree, they will perceive that this hole in a tree is appropriate for them, and they will carry the sawdust away before nesting there.
Chickadees move to denser woods for breeding and nesting, but the rest of the year they like open areas and forest edges.
Are you a true bird lover? What do you think about this feeder? I think this is a wonderful idea! It is fun to be outdoors and watch the birds, but this is the ultimate. You can be sitting in your living room and the birds will come in to your room. Well almost. This way you can see them up close.
The little bird that speaks his name and does acrobatic stunts on tree branches delights all bird watchers. This plump little fellow with the black cap is friendly, and chances are he’s been at your feeder in the winter.
Chickadees look for tree holes, either natural or made by woodpeckers, for their nests. But if a tree is sufficiently soft or rotten, they may make their own holes. A dead birch tree, which is rotten in the center, is an ideal place for a chickadee nest.
Four species of chickadee may be found in nesting boxes. The Black-capped Chickadee or Poecile atricapilla lives in all northern and most middle states as well as in most of Canada. Its black cap and bib, and white cheeks identify it, as does its chick-a-dee-dee-dee call. The Carolina Chickadee or Poecile carolinensis, which looks almost the same, lives in the southeast quarter of the US and has a slightly higher, faster version of the call.