When the wrong name is the right name

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 09 February 2012 12:07

Ben Oko took this shot of Ring-necked Ducks on the Titicus Reservoir, and wondered why they aren’t Ring-billed Ducks.Ben Oko of Ridgefield recently went on a winter duck tour to the Titicus Reservoir and bays surrounding it in northern Westchester County.

“The usual suspects were there, bufflehead, ring-necked, common merganser, coots, mallards, but in relatively small numbers. I considered this a disappointing consequence of the warm weather and the resulting absence of ice, leading to the ducks being dispersed.

“The next day this same lack of ice proved positive as, glancing at ice-free Pierrepont Lake across from my house, I found, on a rough count, some 200 Ring-necked Ducks cruising happily about.”

Pain in the glass and raptor over grass

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 02 February 2012 12:03

“Sometimes Weston seems desolate up here on the hill (Good Hill) but this clearly proves there is actually plenty of company!” writes Elisa Schroder, who sent this picture of a peacock that has been hanging out with a flock of Wild Turkeys in the neighborhood. (Unfortunately, the picture was taken at a distance, and is not too crisp.)Frank McBrearity of New Canaan had written last fall about a pesky cardinal attacking a window at his New Canaan home. 

“I believe we have found a solution to the nettlesome cardinal problem,” Frank wrote a couple weeks ago. “It is an extraordinary remedy — put up a Christmas tree full of bright lights and colorful ornaments.

“We had a joyful family Christmas holiday without any annoying distractions from our backyard friend. We celebrated. We toasted. We enjoyed our backyard scene. But as the holiday drew to a close, we had to make a decision. Do we leave the decorated tree up in the family room year-round? Some voted for that proposal, but others prevailed. We removed the lights and ornaments, and discarded the tree last week.

“She has returned now with a vengeance. Without a sure-fire solution in sight, she has indeed become a real pain in the glass.”

What birds eat in the middle of winter

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 26 January 2012 14:09

We’ve recently discussed woodpeckers attacking houses. Leave it to the high-tech world to come up with another solution: The BirdXPeller is line of devices that loudly broadcast the calls of predators or the distress calls of potential victims, and can deal with not just woodpecker attacks, but pests like pigeons, starlings and gulls. One version specifically handles all kinds of woodpeckers. It isn’t cheap, though: $175 on Amazon.com. Check out the customer reviews there.Mike Tschebull of Darien has always been fascinated by how juncos and sparrows, among others, find enough food in winter. 

“I know about birds that cache food for the winter,” he wrote recently. “I watch the seed showers from trees at this time of year and am now witnessing spruce and what are probably white pine seeds on our car port. Also, I’m seeing small round tan seeds that may be from birches, and there are ash seeds lying around. Which, if any bird, eats the seeds from solidago, eupatorium and asters? We have several winterberrys that get cleaned out by the robins before the end of October, but I see others nearby that still have all their fruit. Why the difference?”

State eyeballs waterfowl and finds declining numbers

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 19 January 2012 12:11

Both Greater (shown here) and Lesser Scaup are on the decline in our waters, the Connecticut environmental protection agency reports.Connecticut’s annual Midwinter Waterfowl Survey the week of Jan. 2 had disappointing results — both because of the weather and because some species are declining in number.

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP — the new version of the old DEP) is one of the agencies throughout the Atlantic Flyway that do annual winter waterfowl surveys — mostly because it is the agency that oversees hunting and hunters of these birds. Our interest here, of course, is observing and appreciating, not hunting.

Winter is the time to see eagles

Written by Jack Sanders
Friday, 13 January 2012 10:48

Michael and Sandra Juliano of Ridgefield photographed this Bald Eagle outside their home.Michael and Sandra Juliano have had an exciting fall and early winter, with at least four sightings of a Bald Eagle near their home on Lake Mamanasco in Ridgefield.

“Our feathered friend came back to visit us today,” they wrote on Jan. 2. “He likes the tree directly in front of our house on Mamanasco Road.

“We are simply amazed each time we see him (her?). This is the fourth time we have seen him this season.

“Do you think he/she is nesting here or simply passing through?”

The attack on the torby cat

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 05 January 2012 13:55

As Bob Padlowski was watching hawk action in his Ridgefield yard Christmas day, Matt Dalen was less than a mile away at his parents’ home when he caught this shot of a hawk, probably a juvenile Red-tail, with dinner.

“We have a young torby cat, a petite rescued stray, who enjoys prowling the woods around our Ridgefield house on Fulling Mill Lane,” Bob writes. “Although small for her age, she’s an avid mouser and a tree-climber, often climbing to heights of 50 feet or more.  

Not the Raven, quoth the reader

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 29 December 2011 14:13

Eliot Riskin of Riverside enjoyed last week’s BirdNotes about woodpeckers.  “My house, too, proudly bears the ravages of a hungry friend, which got me around to the following rip-off of Poe’s ‘The Raven’ — thought you — or your readers — might enjoy it.”

When Woody comes knock, knock, knocking at your house

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 22 December 2011 11:34

“Help!’ writes a Ridgefield reader. “Since Thanksgiving I’ve had a Downy Woodpecker drilling holes in the side of my house (it faces south). He stopped drilling a week or so ago and I had a carpenter replace the cedar siding and fill other holes (there were over 16).

“All was well until yesterday when the little expletive came back and has started over again. I Googled woodpecker damage and got a very extensive report from Colorado State University. Their suggestions were using visual repellents, loud noises (which don’t work,) etc. and as a last resort, killing.

“Years ago I had one in another place and I used hornet spray and then put caulking in the hole. Do you have any other suggestions?”

The comings and goings of backyard birds

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 15 December 2011 11:26

Frank McBrearity of New Canaan, who describes himself as “an amateur birdwatcher who has maintained easily watched birdfeeders in the rear yard for more than 20 years,” has been puzzled by observations since September.

“The deviations from the norm began in late September when the swarm of birds hovering around and near our feeders almost completely disappeared,” Frank said. “Some of the departures were expected, of course. The hummingbird family left for warmer climes during the week of Sept. 18. At about the same time, other summer birds departed. The flock of goldfinches left along with some annoying grackles. So did the ground feeders: robins, Gray Catbirds, doves, and the occasional flickers.

“But to our surprise, all the other birds left as well. All the regulars departed in late September: The clusters of chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches that would congregate in the nearby bushes awaiting an opening — all gone. The ever-present Blue Jays and cardinals, gone as well. The Carolina and House Wrens, which always seemed near the house, were suddenly absent — no cheerful songs to start the day. The woodpeckers that regularly fed at the feeders were suddenly absent as well.

Chapman’s counters: Still going strong 112 years later

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 08 December 2011 14:57

The Christmas Bird Count is one of citizen science’s longest-lived and most significant efforts. The census of the bird populations is a way that you and I can help scientists ascertain the health, ranges and numbers of birds.

“From Dec. 14 through Jan. 5, tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas take part in an adventure that has become a family tradition among generations,” the Cornell Lab of Ornithology says.

“Families and students, birders and scientists, armed with binoculars, bird guides and checklists go out on an annual mission — often before dawn. For over 100 years, the desire to both make a difference and to experience the beauty of nature has driven dedicated people to leave the comfort of a warm house during the holiday season.”