I'm sitting by the back door just watching the flurry of activities. I am amazed by the diversity of little birds! Okay, not so much the actual number of species I can count (five), but as I watch a squirrel carefully but quickly gather sticks and leaves and hustle them up to his nest in the maple tree, I am amazed. How do squirrels know how to make their nests? How do they know that a swallow-style nest or a rabit-style burrow doesn't suit them? For that matter, how do birds know how to place grasses and twigs to form a cozy home?

Humans have learned to build and repair structures over thousands of years of trial and error, so why am I surprised that animals can build homes? Because: every single one of them can! Consider again the human: only a few are builders, but every bird and squirrel is a builder (at least in my yard). I have read that the cuckoo bird leaves its eggs in a stranger's nest, to be hatched and raised by surrogate parents. How does the cuckoo chick know to carry on this peculiar habit? Who teaches this behavior to the bird? Does it find older cuckoos in the wild that orally pass on the traditions of their kind? I digress....

In some human cultures, it is customary for the whole village to help build a home for a newly wedded couple. Can you imagine if sparrows or cardinals flocked to build nests for the newly mated yearlings? No! Each adult bird is capable of selecting a suitable site and building a nest for himself! I am oversimplifying things, of course. Birds are generally regarded as having identical properties within a species, such as the common house sparrow (Passer domesticus). They each can identify safe food sources, have very similar eyesight and hearing (do they?), and can all fly with equal ability (altitude, velocity, distance, etc). Or do they?

Humans show much variation in skills: some are eloquent speakers or writers, while others are clumsy with words. Some humans have developed fine motor skills and can perform the most delicate tasks with ease, while others are "all thumbs." Some can run faster, jump higher, or lift heavier objects than others of the same age. Homo sapiens shows much diversity in height, weight, fat distribution, lean muscle mass, foot length, hand size, finger length... Do birds also show this variation? Can some Northern Cardinals fly higher than others? Do they train themselves to be able to do so? Do birds brag about the cat they chased away last week or how they barely missed being struck by a vehicle? Do they share information about a new food source, or does each bird have to find it for himself?

I am just amazed at Earth's biodiversity and how it all works together, when we let it. Humans seem to be the anomaly... we do more to disrupt and destroy the natural balance of the Earth than we do to restore it... but, again, I digress.... Watching the cardinals, doves, finches, jays and sparrows flock around the feeder together with two squirrels busily rummaging around for nest materials... I just smile with wonderment!

This is my precious walking buddy... She is enviously watching me take pictures of various birds and roosts on the property. Taking pictures is difficult when I let her outside with me. There is the obvious, that she might chase the birds, but most importantly, she will jump the fence! I have to keep her on a leash, and can't aim the camera with her tugging on my arm! So, she watches from the door.

I let the feeder run empty yesterday, which caused quite a stir this morning! I am sharing some of the reactions I captured from the visitors:

"Can you believe it? She let us run out of food!"

"Hey! How about a little service here!"

"Aw! Look at this! Not even the big red seeds left in here!"

"I see her in there! YOO_HOO!! ... I don't think she can
hear me?"

  You'll notice that big cardinal was staying close in case a secret trove was uncovered!

A nuthatch came by to check out the
disturbance and see if there were any
tasty critters in the wooden feeder.

On a different note, I thought you might be interested in seeing the Honeysuckle Downs nesting site: 

"Honeysuckle Downs"... where the White Throated Sparrows live
(or at least hang out a lot!)

I saw my first American Goldfinch this morning at the feeder! I tossed around a few roasted peanuts (in the shell, but cracked) and quartered an orange on the patio table. I also tossed a couple of lemon-poppy seed muffins around the feed station. Hopefully, I will attract a few more new types of birds before the Great Backyard Bird Count starts in a couple of weeks!

Gossip travels fast!

Ha ha! You've heard "a little bird told me?" Apparently, gossip travels at lightning speeds even in the avian world! Yesterday's post included a fictitious script about a chickadee who will have to rebuild his nest or move to a new location, "Honeysuckle Downs," which is based on an actual rosebush and honeysuckle bramble in my backyard. (yesterday's post here: http://ankhirasfirstblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/bird-gossip.html)

Today, as I escorted my dog around the backyard, "Honeysuckle Downs" was all a flutter with activity! More than two dozen sparrows were crowded into the brush, and immediately began chirping and tweeting upon my arrival! So, I acknowledged them (because I talk to animals), and their tweeting became even MORE animated and they were all chirping at once!

I have no idea what they were saying! I said I talk to them, I did not claim I to understand them. I can only surmise the sparrows were upset about the rumor that a chickadee was planning to build his nest among theirs. What else could it be? I filled the feeder this morning and the flat pans, and even put a few peanuts on the table.   Nothing out of the ordinary... so, what else got the sparrows all stirred up?

In other news, I need to buy more peanuts and black sunflower seeds. I read that I can entice even more species with pieces of fruit. My friend gave me larger pine cones to make feeders.  That's my weekend project for this week...the weather here is scheduled as rainy and nasty all weekend.

Bird Gossip?

Do birds gossip? I'll bet they do! Here are just a few pics I took this week at the feed station. I like to think of it as the avian counterpart to the human watercooler.
Sparrow  (to Chickadee): "Hey, Charlie! How's it going?"


Chickadee (Charlie): " Not too bad. Wife's having a tough time. The wind blew the nest down again yesterday."

Sparrow: "Oh, that's too bad. Y'all should come live in our neighborhood."

Chickadee: "Honeysuckle Downs? Gee, I don't know...."

Sparrow: "It's a great place. Those big cats hardly come around anymore! Besides, it's low-lying and good cover against hawk attacks."

Chickadee: "I'll think about it. I gotta go. Good seeing you."   
                                                     Sparrow: "Okay, Charlie! See you around! Tell the Misses I said 'hello'!"

Tufted Titmouse: "Honeysuckle Downs, eh? Hmph! It's right next to that dump pile!"
That's true. My compost pile is less than ten feet (3 meters) from the honeysuckle mess.

Cardinal (to White-throated Sparrow): "Did you hear, Willie? Charlie is moving to Honeysuckle Downs!"

Willie: "Are you kidding me? There's been no one but sparrows in that neighborhood for years! That's really gonna shake up some folks!"

Cardinal: "Yep. Yep. It's true! A little bird told me!"

"...Hey, don't worry about it! Every couple has some rough times. Especially during the winter when you're at the nest more often! When Spring comes, she'll be singing your tune again! Just wait and see!"

"... What does he know?... Nah, maybe he's right. I just need to loosen up and not take everything so personally. She needs to get out more and stretch her wings... maybe we can go look at a new nest site. Charlie's moving to Honeysuckle Downs..."

How to attract birds to your birdfeeder...

I found out how to attract birds to my feeder.... I have to sit outside about 50 feet away with a camera. Most birds are shy and will stay hidden in the brush or visit a different feeder area. After half an hour (or when I get cold), I should go back indoors and look out the window. Dozens of birds who were patiently waiting for me to abandon my stalking will be flocking to the feeder! Many photos today were taken through the window screen or storm door. My apologies if they don't do the birds justice.

Carolina Wren keeps a watchful eye on me while he inspects the buffet table!

I did have a little house sparrow come to inquire why I was up in the treehouse, and posed for a photo-shoot. The treehouse turned out to be a disappointing viewing platform due to the wiry limbs blocking clear views. Here are a few pics I did get from the treehouse yesterday:

A mourning dove pretends she is camouflaged ... keep believing, little bird!

Uh-oh! I think I've been spotted! Blue Jays aren't as common in my yard as I expected them to be.

I believe this little bird is hoping to be "discovered!" Perhaps my photos will end up on the cover of a birding magazine! LOL

 Hello, little Sparrow! Nice to see you! May I take some photos of you? Nice smile! Wonderful! ........................ How about a right profile?....  great!




And now the left profile?... can you show me a sideview? Awesome! And one more before you move on, how about a nice shot of your wing markings? Terrific! Thank you so much! We're done here!  

Cold and Blustery Day at the Birdfeeder!

"What? No more sunflower seeds?"

Hello, all! I hope you are enjoying my happy chatter about my birdfeeder. It ain't much to look at, but the birds seem to be happy. My father has taken a slight interest in our daily visitors, and he has loaned me a better camera for stalking them. It's a Canon Rebel XT (EOS) with a six-inch zoom lens. A little different than my Canon Powershot A720 IS, but I think I can figure it out.

Last night we had a lot of wind come through. I had to reset the pan under the pine tree! Good thing the hanging feeder didn't blow down! The cold wind persisted through the day today, but I did sneak a few pictures this afternoon. Northern cardinal, Carolina chickadee, and an American robin. I hope to meet the "Breakfast Club" in the morning. :)

American Robin

Cardinal watches a little bird rummage under a seed-filled log 

It wasn't a chickadee!

Aha! That little bird I saw head-on yesterday with the black and gray throat and chest was not a chickadee! It was a common House Sparrow! The little fat chick that studied me on the porch was the female of the pair. So, How about that?!

I had an early class this morning so I didn't get to see the "Breakfast Club" at the feeder today. However, an Eastern Towhee came by this afternoon for an early dinner and hung out with the cardinals. Lots of Carolina Chickadees and Northern Cardinals around today! Didn't see the little Tufted Titmouse that's been coming up, but maybe it's a morning bird. The Carolina Wren came by for a few minutes but didn't stay long.

It appears that some sparrows are trying to restore an old dilapidated nest in the honeysuckle-rosebush bramble. The day I brought the feeder in to clean it and refill it (right before my bird blogs start) we had a blustery day. I found a bird's nest in the yard downwind of the rose/honeysuckle mess. I wonder if it is the main part of the one the sparrows are working on? I made some notes on that dilapidated one for NestWatch, but I don't remember it being partially intact? There is (was?) another nest in a sapling just behind the one in question. The part that blew down into the yard could be from that nesting spot.

Tomorrow I will have a little leisure time to watch the "Breakfast Club." Perhaps there will be another purple finch I can get a picture of!

Tufted Titmouse

House Sparrow (male, winter)

Here are a couple of frequent visitors. The purple finch comes by before 9am, so I have to be ready with the camera....