Watching the Birds

By Beth Sullivan

What a great time of year this is! So many things to look at; So many directions to go in. Those of us who are naturalists by profession or passion can get easily distracted when out in the field at this time of year. There is just too much to pay attention to.

Almost everyone watches birds to some degree or another. I think I have been fascinated by them since my first pet parakeet back when I was a toddler. But there are varying degrees of watching birds, and then there are birders. Sometimes a bird watcher progresses to become a birder, sometimes the line is blurred.

Drinking, bathing, or just splashing, this Yellow-rump warbler was clearly enjoying itself. Photograph by Dennis Main.

I consider myself a watcher more than anything. I love watching the behavior of even the commonest little backyard Chickadee. I am quite content just keeping track of the birds that have become familiar to me in my area. However, when I have the opportunity to vacation in a spot I have never been before, I become a Birder-checking my lists, trying to study what I might encounter, and enjoying ticking off new species. I do not have a personal life list, or at least not one that is up-to-date and comprehensive. And with aging brain cells, I often forget what I may have encountered on a long ago vacation.

Common Mallards are easy to observe, and family groups are a joy to watch.

But watching, understanding, and deciphering birds is something you do not forget. It happens daily; it becomes part of everything I do-Just paying attention and keeping my eyes open.

The simplest behavior, such as lifting a head in song, can be so beautiful to watch.

Observations from this spring

Last spring, with many small Winter Moth caterpillars devouring my ornamental cherry tree and crab apples, I noted tons of birds in those trees. I had gorgeous Indigo Buntings glowing blue against the pink blossoms. There were Goldfinches, Baltimore Orioles, and Scarlet Tanagers all adding to the amazing color. They ate well, but there were few flowers due to the caterpillars. This year there were fewer caterpillars. The trees were beautiful, but there were far fewer birds for me to enjoy out the kitchen window. With caterpillars under control or absent, blossoms were pollinated, and the birds went elsewhere. But I also know that there will be more fruit on these trees for the birds of fall and winter to enjoy.

These Orioles landed by a garden pond and played together for almost an hour.

I admire the adaptability of birds. The Robins, Catbirds and Cardinals that seem to enjoy nesting close to the house. I watched a Robin frantically creating her nest outside a window, at eye level in an open Rhododendron bush. I enjoyed her technique for weaving grasses, and adding her mud. Then she tamped it all down with her feet and nestled her body into the cup to create a perfect fit, and there she sat. I was careful not to make sudden noises or to turn the light on at night. She was very tolerant. Then, one day, she was just gone. She left behind nothing; no eggs. I was so sad. Later that same day, I watched a Crow walk slowly along the gutter line of my roof, then peering down very deliberately into the bushes at the foundation below. I could easily understand how it could have walked right along, spying the mother Robin and dropping down to scare her off and destroy her eggs.

This Robin spent days perfecting her nest, only to be scared off by a Crow.

Now I watch as a Cardinal pair works to make a nest close to the same area, but they have chosen a very dense evergreen and are quite hidden from view. Their courting is lovely to watch as they sit together, sing to each other, and he frequently feeds her gently. I hope they succeed.

Hopefully the dense evergreen cover will protect this Cardinal from the eyes of the Crow.

The Crows, on the other hand, have been really noisy through the earlier part of spring. They declared territory and had gang wars with each other and Bluejays. However, now that they are guarding their nests and may have young, they are far quieter, and far more cautious about advertising their locations. Smart birds. I raised a Crow once; their intelligence and personalities are so amazing. I would have enjoyed watching that crow for years and been happy with nothing more exotic.

Crows are super smart and fun to interact with, but  are awful nest predators.

As the season progresses, take some time to just watch the birds around you. Get to know their habits and personalities. The experience will last longer than a quick spotting and a check on a list.

Photographs by Beth Sullivan unless otherwise indicated.

Spring marches along

By Beth Sullivan

While the Connecticut College projects took over the blog this spring, the season bumped along, and not very smoothly. Anybody who is a “phenologist”( one who watches the chronology of seasonal occurrences) has surely been keeping tabs on things this very irregular spring. Warmer winter, short hard cold spell, intense warm up, then cold again…it wreaked havoc on flower buds, insects and ultimately bird survival. In the short term insectivores have been terribly stressed. In the long term, another year of lost fruit and berries due to spring blossom freeze will extend the stress well into the fall.

At Continental Marsh, the Ospreys have adopted the new platform 

Some interesting observations over the last erratic weeks:

Hummingbirds: The Ruby –throated hummingbirds arrived right on time, even a hair early this year. I had been concerned that the flowers had begun to blossom too soon with that early warm spell, but when these fellows arrived, the Quince was just beginning to open. However the feeders we put out seemed very welcome, especially in the cold chill that followed. It takes a lot of nectar or sugar water to keep those little fires stoked. Remember to plant red flowers and get out those annuals to give them a boost in the coming weeks.

Quince is a favored flower of Hummingbirds, but annual hanging baskets of red flowers will happily be accepted.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds appreciate nectar offerings when blossoms are spars.

Purple Martins: They are back at the Knox preserve. At least five adult males, all glossy violet, had been staking out their favored gourds and awaiting the arrival of the females. Then we had the week of terrible cold and rain. Seed eating birds can survive a spell like that, but the aerial insectivores, those who catch and eat insects on the wing like our Martins and Tree Swallows, had a terrible time. All across CT there were reports coming in from Martin caretakers finding dead and dying Martins in their colonies. It is very difficult to feed these birds. Believe it or not, some people resort to tossing mealworms into the air, to get the birds to fly down to catch them. I checked our colony when the cold spell was over and was thrilled to find no fatalities. It was apparent that the birds had huddled in the gourds for warmth. The day we were there, we saw five adult males and one female flying and perching on their homes. We will be watching and hoping later migrant arrivals will settle in.

We set up the housing, birds returned but were severely stressed by bad weather.

Crows: There are two nests within my view. I watch their nest building, and squabbling, and antics. I watch them strut like pompous old men across my lawn looking for edibles. And YES, they do like Cheetos as a recent Audubon article suggested. They also have a strange practice with earthworms. As they walk and look and maybe listen for worms near the surface, you can just see their concentration. I watched as a crow pulled a very long worm out of the ground, but instead of gobbling it down Robin style, it stepped on it, and pulled off the head ( of course I am guessing which end). It then ate that part and left the remainder behind. This happened a great number of times during those last rainy days. On more than one occasion, I observed a Robin follow up and apparently grab the remainders and seem grateful for the easy find.

Whether you love them or hate them, you have to admit crows are interesting.

A great time of year, no matter what the weather, as the march through spring continues and offers us so much to enjoy.

Photographs by Beth Sullivan.