This robin came knocking, not rocking

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 26 April 2012 12:18

Photos show the robin, doing its duty, and how Jamie Odone has tried to discourage such duty-doing.Jamie Odone, who writes and illustrates children’s books about honey badgers, moles, and other wild creatures, was getting a bit wild over a creature that was visiting his pickup truck recently.

A robin was accosting his truck’s mirrors and windows, and leaving lots of calling cards in the process.

This may be another example of that common spring phenomenon in which a bird sees a phantom invader within the nesting territory it is protecting. It other words, it sees itself, but doesn’t know it’s itself.

The attacks most often happen with house windows that happen to be near where a bird couple, often cardinals, robins or sparrows, is nesting. However, a car mirror is even more of a problem to a protective bird because it reflects a very clear image of the robin. Car and house windows may be not so clear, or they may depend on time of day to produce the right reflections.

Feathered homebuilders are busy

Written by Jack Sanders
Friday, 13 April 2012 10:03

A male osprey bringing in nesting material. Osprey have among the biggest nests in the bird world. —Kevin Doyle photoIt’s the season of nest building.

Rearing children is the most dangerous time for a parent bird, not to mention its offspring. Many creatures, from birds and snakes to squirrels and pet cats, would love nothing better than eggs, chicks or even the parents for dinner. Thus a nest has to be well hidden or well positioned to protect the contents and caretakers from predators — which is why we don’t spot most of the nests that are being built in our neighborhoods.

Birds hide their nests in two ways: They locate them in out-of-the-way places and they often camouflage them so that they are hard to notice, even when out in the open. Most nest-sitting birds are themselves colored or otherwise marked to blend in with their surroundings when they are nesting. That’s probably why many female birds are much less colorful than the males of the species.

Millions of winter birds, plus quest for wacky nests

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 05 April 2012 14:55

Jennifer Knapp of Wilton shot this picture of a Pileated Woodpecker, possibly digging out potential nesting cavities. Two of the top 10 birds reported in Connecticut were woodpeckers, but not the pileated.This year’s Great Backyard Bird Count “recorded the most unusual winter for birds in the count’s 15-year history,” the Cornell Lab of Ornithology reported a couple weeks ago.

The 17.4 million bird observations in 104,000 checklists were the most detailed four-day snapshot ever recorded for birdlife in the U.S. and Canada, Cornell said.

Participants reported 623 species Feb. 17 to 20, including an influx of Snowy Owls from the arctic into some parts of the country, early-migrating Sandhill Cranes, and Belted Kingfishers in northern areas that might normally be frozen over.

“The maps on the GBBC website this year are absolutely stunning,” said John Fitzpatrick, executive director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. They show many species in larger numbers farther north than usual, “no doubt because of this winter’s record-breaking mild conditions.”

Spring training for grackles and spring feeding for hawks

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 29 March 2012 14:36

Frank McBrearity has the New Canaan Grackles in spring training in his back yard. Perhaps he’d like to order one of these jerseys — only $26 from Birdorable.com! While it’s baseball-style, we’re certain Frank can coach his team into playing America’s pastime instead of that autumnal game.Spring brings back many familiar faces on the bird front, but for Frank McBrearity of New Canaan, some birds are more noticeable than others — and more athletic.

“The New Canaan Grackles arrived this week for spring tryouts in my backyard,” Frank writes. “A full team of 11, plus several rookie substitutes, were on hand to commence training on my feeders.

“As always the New Canaan Grackles are a very determined, experienced team; quick shifts in the backfield, clever handoffs, and determined blocking at all levels.  And if there is a fumble, they descend quickly to bring the kernel under control.

“It is on defense, however, that the Grackles are a powerful force.  No team gets through the Grackles’ defensive line: not the big Blue Jays, or crafty Cardinals, or pesky Woodpeckers, or clever Chickadees.  

“Only the well-disguised play of the Red-winged Blackbirds breaks through the Grackles’ defense for a score.  The well-populated Finch team is relegated to the tree lines.  

“The New Canaan Grackles dominate the feeder playing field this season, as it has for many a spring season over the past few years.  I am beginning to hear a chorus at the roof top now — ‘Break up the Grackles, Break up the Grackles.’ “

Most birds are monogamous, but many have ‘flings’

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 22 March 2012 12:33

Carol and Paul O’Connell found this handsome Barred Owl perched inside the screened-in porch at their Ridgefield home. “Apparently, the screen door ... was left open and during the night he decided to pay a visit,” they said. “When we woke up in the morning and went to make coffee, the photo is what we saw through our glass sliding door! A real beauty!” The owl managed to get out. “We propped open the door for him. He eventually found his way out, but not before putting a two-foot gash in our screen. A small price to pay for such a great visit.”Many mating birds form lifetime partnerships — though they may have quick “flings” on the side — while others mate for only short periods or have multiple mates. 

Ornithologists describe three kinds of mating arrangements: monogamous, polygamous and promiscuous. In monogamous pair bonds, the birds mate for at least the breeding season, raising their young together. Ornithologist David Lack estimated that at least 90% of nest-raised birds come from monogamous pairs. So do 80% of precocial birds — those able to walk about and feed themselves shortly after birth, such as ducks. 

In many, perhaps most cases, monogamous pairs remain mated until one of them dies. Canada Geese are among the most faithful birds, mating for as long as 20 years. Most gulls also pair for life. This system is the most efficient and effective, providing the best protection and service for the brood of nestlings. 

How can they tell the boys from the girls?

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 15 March 2012 10:50

Philip Tulimieri of Darien recently photographed this Red-bellied Woodpecker on a feeder. Like their cousins, the Pileateds, Red-bellies may be seen “frozen” to the sides of trees, reader Nora Gordon reports in this week’s column.In many species of birds, the difference between male and female is obvious: The sexes are marked and/or colored differently. But in many others, likes crows, titmice and chickadees, both sexes seem identical, making it almost impossible for us to tell them apart.

Markings can, indeed, make a difference to the birds themselves, as was shown by experiments with Northern Flickers. The male and female flickers of the yellow-shafted “morph” are quite similar, except that the male has a black line near the base of the beak, and the female has no black line. Biologists captured the female of a mated pair, and painted a black mark near the beak, making it look like a male. The female was released and went to its nest. When the male returned to the nest, it immediately tried to chase the female away. However, it soon realized from the behavior of the mate that it was, in fact, its female companion.

’Tis the season of birdland wooing

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 08 March 2012 11:56

Mark Pritchard enjoyed last week’s column on the Pileated Woodpecker, and sends along a shot from his own West Redding yard where the bird was working on a rotten log — a fine illustration of why the Pileated is also known as a “logcock.”Spring is more than in the air — it is here. The calendar may not agree, but just about everything else does — Snowdrops in mid-February, crocuses in late February, and we saw daffodils blooming in Central Park Sunday and pansies on Park Avenue.

The birds agree, too, and most have been singing “spring” songs for weeks. The cardinals have been cheer-cheering, the titmice petering, and the Red-winged Blackbirds are filling the swamps with their tur-a-leeing — all songs designed to set up territories and attract mates.

The magic that makes two birds get together as mates is nearly as mysterious as the magic that makes two humans fall in love. However, in the case of birds, the attraction is instinctive and lacks the romance of a human relationship.

When Woody was frozen on the side of a tree

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 01 March 2012 11:43

A pair of Pileated Woodpeckers photographed by John Bengston of Ridgefield a year ago, may not seem camouflaged on this ash, but flattened up against the bark and motionless, they may be a “bump on a log” to a hawk’s eye.  “A funny thing happened this afternoon in my backyard,” Heather Burford of Ridgefield wrote recently. 

“For about two hours a huge, red-headed woodpecker worked away at an old tree at the back of my lot. After watching him for some time, I noticed he became very still on the tree so I took a walk out towards him. 

“With every step I expected him to see me and fly away. No such happening.

“I stood within four feet of him and still nothing. I made a noise and finally he saw me. At that point his head feathers came up, he screeched at me and reluctantly flew away. 

“I’m convinced he had fallen asleep on the side of the tree. That or he was suffering from a head injury after two hours of banging his noggin on my tree.

“Do woodpeckers sleep in the ‘ready’ position?  Very funny.  He was very large and very beautiful, especially up close.”

A hawk in hand is better than in the garage

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 23 February 2012 14:02

Michael Drobney had better luck than the Library of Congress at rescuing a trapped bird hawk.Garages usually hold cars and assorted gear. They can also hold surprises, as Michael Drobney of Ridgefield discovered recently.

Michael caught a Sharp-shinned Hawk in his garage, as the amazing photograph accompanying this column demonstrates.

“I was working on my garage door openers — had one door open and the other closed,” Michael said. “He flew in from behind me, probably thinking he could fly straight through, but noticed the closed side window just in time to land on it.”

“Since I was between him and daylight, he flapped at the window for a few seconds then settled down.

Why some birds seem to ‘hang out their laundry’

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 16 February 2012 16:05

Like a scene from a horror movie, a tree on a cold but sunny morning may be full of Turkey Vultures, “hanging out the laundry,” as this vulture photographed by Ken Brown seems to be doing.Ken Brown sent along the accompanying photo of a Turkey Vulture in a backyard tree and added, “I think she — or he — is drying the laundry.”

There are several reasons why some large birds may extend their wings as if hanging out their laundry to dry.  

Both Turkey and Black Vultures can often be seen on cold or cool mornings in what is called the “spread-wing posture.” This is a form of “sunning,” in which the birds angle their open wings to get maximum exposure to the sun.

Warming up after a cold or cool night may be the main reason for doing this. Vultures spend the night in roosts with lots of other vultures. They are big birds and, although they roost in evergreens, aren’t very protected from exposure to the elements.