Happy? Spring?

By Beth Sullivan

We are all painfully aware that some things are just not right. And we also have to be thinking that they may not be right, or normal, for a long time. But just for right now, let’s remind ourselves that this is truly a miraculous time of year, and some things do not change.

Maybe you have had some quiet time in the evenings to notice the chorus of our littlest frogs, the spring peepers as they wax and wane in their calling depending on the temperature. On the cold nights we have had, they hunker down underwater, in the vegetation, and stay silent. But with the rollercoaster of temperatures we have had, the very next lovely mild night, their sounds fill the wooded wetlands.

The birds have been busy and maybe you have had time to notice. Every year a pair of cardinals nests in a holly bush by the house. This year I can see the nest pretty well and hope to get some photos. Take some time to watch your yard birds and see where they go and what they are doing. I seem to have more titmice than ever before, and several of them have discovered little piles of dog fur stuck in my wood decking. They spend a lot of time picking and gathering the fur. I can spend a lot of time watching them.

Just as usual, the osprey have returned to their nest platform at Paffard Marsh. That site is noticed and photographed by so many. The Bluebirds at Knox are taking a stronger stand this year against the house sparrows, and we have several pairs nesting. We also put out the gourds for the purple martins and have had some activity, but the cold wet weather has been lethal for them.

The osprey return every year to the Paffard Marsh nest site. Photograph by Rick Newton.

Bluebirds have claimed several nest boxes at Knox Preserve. Photograph by Rick Newton.

The martins don't have to abide the rule about social distancing. Welcome mats are out.

Take a walk in the woods

A walk in the woods is completely acceptable activity. It should be mandatory. I have noticed that many of our trails are becoming very worn and hardened. Enjoy them gently and with attention. We have had Facebook comments on trailside flowers that were never noticed by people before. Right now there are many yellows: dog tooth violets or trout lilies, marsh marigolds or cowslips. Notice where the most beautiful yellow appears; it is often accompanied by some lovely purple violets. Artists know that these are complementary colors. Mother Nature is the best artist.

While we are considering yellow, have you noticed the goldfinches? People are asking: where did they come from? Where were they all winter? They were right here, often fully visible at our feeders, but only now, in the heart of spring, do the males transition to their brilliant yellow and black. Listen for their chatter in the trees. They will not be nesting for quite a while yet. They wait until mid-summer when there is an abundance of native seeds.

Trout Lily,  fleeting beauty.

Yellow marsh marigolds and purple violets. 

Male goldfinches are like rays of sunshine. Photograph by Rick Newton.

Or take a drive

I like to go out for some longer back country road drives. Looking at the changing scenery now is well worth the price of gas, especially now that it is so cheap. Head inland and uphill to get some overviews of the bigger landscape. You can still see the rocks and walls and ledges that give hard structure, bones, to the land. They are soon to be hidden by foliage, so enjoy them now. In many areas, usually wetlands, the red maples are still showing their red flowers, tinting the woodlands with misty rose color. Elsewhere Norway maples, while not native, are abundant, and their lime green-yellow flowers are truly outstanding when seen across a span. Over the last weeks there have been subtle changes in the succession of flowering trees. There were willows and the maples, now delicate shadbushes , several types of wild cherries or choke cherries. There are fruiting trees like crabapple and pear trees that have escaped cultivation and dot the wild landscape. Of course while driving around, you can enjoy everyone’s home landscaping and flowering shrubs. With the quince in full bloom, the hummingbirds should be arriving any day.

Normalcy is earlier sunrises and later sunsets. That means more daylight hours to get out and enjoy. So many things are not dependent on human presence, or absence, for so much of nature is on its own schedule, slow and steady. Take some time to savor that pace. It’s spring.

Flowering trees dot the landscape.

The hummingbirds are running a little late this year.

Photographs by Beth Sullivan unless otherwise indicated.

Bluebirds

By Beth Sullivan

During late winter, things can get pretty dull and depressing. We all look for a spark of color in our landscape.

Lucky for some of us that the spark we see is the most beautiful blue. During the winter, our local Bluebirds do not migrate, at least not far. Mostly they roam in loose flocks through woodland areas to look for berries remaining, even dried, on shrubs and trees. I see them in places where there are the blue fruits on the evergreen Cedar trees in and around some of our preserves. Fennerswood, Knox Preserve, Preston Nature Preserve, and Knox Family Farm are just a few with the essential field habitat adjacent to cedar groves.

This male Bluebird clings as easily as a Woodpecker to the suet cage.

This  female waits patiently nearby while her mate takes his turn at the suet cage.

During February I think Bluebirds tend to become more desperate and begin to seek out bird-feeding stations and will join the suet lovers. This is my favorite time because it brings them close to my house, right in front of my kitchen window, where I can watch them cling to the suet as if they were woodpeckers. They can become pretty territorial too! I have seen them flaring tempers at Downy Woodpeckers and Nuthatches. But I have also watched some tender sharing moments as a Bluebird couple deliberately and politely, take turns on a suet block while the mate sits on a nearby branch or porch rail waiting.

Tempers flare when they have to share.

Spring house hunting

By late February or early March they have begun moving back to the fields and start searching out nest boxes. If you are a Bluebird landlord, you know it is time to clean the houses, remove old nests if you left them from last year, and get rid of mouse nests and debris that has accumulated. A clean house harbors fewer overwintering pests and parasites.

Cleaning out old nests insures fewer parasites for the new occupants. Photograph by Ethan Frohnapfel. 

Check to make sure your predator guards are intact and that your latches function so you can get in during the season to check on things. Unfortunately the “things” that need to be checked on are invasive House Sparrows. There are very few creatures that I really dislike, and I have tried to give credit for House Sparrow’s adaptability. But for several years running I have witnessed their cold blooded murders of nesting Bluebirds and Tree Swallows, destroying eggs, killing young and adults alike. Once I found an entire, new, Sparrow nest built on top of the bodies of the Tree Swallows that nested there first.

A House Sparrow built its nest on top of the Tree Swallow it killed to take the nest box.

That meant war. They are not protected by the laws that protect our native songbirds, and even the DEEP and USFWS encourage removal by whatever means possible. I will remove nest material, remove or addle eggs, and beyond that you don’t want to know.

Making Bluebird-specific nest boxes

But there are some new and ingenious methods to be found on line, to fix your houses to thwart Sparrows that do not deter Bluebirds or Swallows.

Now is the time that the Bluebird pairs check out available real estate. Photograph by Rick Newton.

One of our volunteers has made skylights in the top of the bird houses and created a plexiglass roof cover . Apparently the Bluebirds like the extra light and the sparrows do not. We have one as a trial at Knox Preserve.

A skylight is welcomed by Bluebirds but unattractive to House Sparrows. Photograph by Ethan Frohnapfel.   

Another volunteer steward has outfitted the boxes there with a special design using fishing line. The line really bothers the sparrows and prevents them from perching, but the bluebirds have no problem with it. Follow this link for more information. 

For more information, here is a link to the DEEP Bluebird Fact sheet. 

The DEEP would like all Bluebird landlords to report their successes, and failures-those are important too. Follow this link to fill out their survey.  

Together we can find the best methods to support these most beautiful of our birds-our spark of blue at the end of winter. Welcome to spring nesters.

Photographs by Beth Sullivan unless otherwise indicated.

A flash of blue

By Beth Sullivan

Somehow blue is just more vibrant against the background of snow.

The bright blue is always more intense against the snow.

Our Eastern Bluebird population ebbs and flows during the winter. They do not truly make a big migration, but may move around in loose flocks. A winter walk in the woods will often be enhanced by their warble song and movements through the trees.

Equal opportunity eaters

During the summer season they are mainly insect eaters, catching crickets, grasshoppers and caterpillars on the ground. Occasionally they will convince themselves they are fly catchers and snatch something on the wing. At this time of year they roam the woods, looking for insect eggs, larva and also berries. Many trees and shrubs have fruits that persist through the winter. Sumac is one of their favorites. A good place to look for wintering Bluebirds is a sunny patch of Sumac in an overgrown field. Knox preserve is a great spot; Fennerswood fields and Preston Nature Preserve are others.

Sumac berries persist well into winter.

During the cold times, Bluebirds will spend the night in a communal roost. Often in a nest box along a field edge, there might be a dozen Bluebirds crammed in for warmth. I have witnessed more than 6 Bluebirds flying out of one box, leaving me to scratch my head, wondering. A nest cam would be a great thing!

They are attracted to suet during these cold months, and in my yard, they seem always to show up in February. They can be feisty, defending a suet cage from other birds at some times, but also willing to share with other Bluebirds.

Bluebirds seem willing to share among themselves.

But unwilling to share with strangers.

House hunting time

At this time of the season, they are paired up already and are beginning to look for suitable nest sites. This past weekend, with snow on the ground, we watched a bright male fly to a house at Knox Preserve. He examined the hole, sat on top and sang, brought up a piece of grass, and sat atop the roof waving it around. Relatively easily we spotted the lovely female sitting high in a cherry tree. She watched, warbled back, and flew down to inspect, in and out several times. Then they flew off across the field together, presumably to check out other real estate offerings.

The male checks out the house first. Photograph by Rick Newton.

The soft-colored female waits nearby before passing judgement on a nest site.

Many years they have chosen a nest box, only to be forced out by House Sparrows. These sparrows are not native and are considered invasive. They are not protected by the same laws that protect our native song birds and therefore it is fair game to remove nest material when a house sparrow has taken over. It is also OK to remove eggs. House sparrow eggs are light and speckled. Bluebird eggs are “Robins egg blue” as are most of the Thrush family.

House Sparrows compete for food in winter and housing in summer.

We will be watching our boxes. If Bluebirds arrive we will make every effort to prevent the sparrows from attacking. But it is impossible to be ever vigilant. If the Bluebirds are persistent, they may be well established with their first brood when the Tree Swallows arrive at the end of March and start looking to share the same housing.

Tree Swallows also enjoy the same housing.

On many of our Avalonia preserves, we have made sure there is room for all.

Photographs by Beth Sullivan, unless otherwise indicated.