Nesting Season Continues

I’m seeing plenty of evidence around my yard that many birds continue to nest.  This is the 2nd year an American Robin chose the downspout of the house gutter to build its nest and is currently sitting on 4 eggs.  This is actually the third attempt as the first was likely preyed upon by a rat snake.  The second attempt was successful as 4 babies fledged.  To my surprise Carolina Wrens started a new nest on the covered back porch in a pot of ferns.  I was already aware of at least 3 other Carolina wren nests around the house. 

In my front yard there is a nest of Bluebirds just days from fledging and I recently witnessed a baby Great crested flycatcher leaving a nestbox situated 20 yards away from the Bluebird box.   GCF’s are known to put a snakeskin in their nests so I’m eager to open the box now that they have fledged to see.  Hopefully, there will be a picture to share next week.  Great crested Flycatchers are quite common around wooded areas with adjacent open yards.  They are close in size to a Cardinal and like most flycatchers have a large head and broad shoulders.  Their markings are such that they blend in with surrounding foliage and they are often heard before being seen repeating their clear, rising “reep” calls.  They are reddish brown above with grey heads.  The crest is brownish but not as prominent as you might think for a bird with “crested” in its name. The belly of these birds is lemon yellow.  You must see this bird through binoculars to realize its beauty. 

Great Crested Flycatcher

Great Crested Flycatcher

I will be looking for a 2nd nesting to begin soon and will try to get pictures of eggs and babies.  I will be cautious, however, as the nestbox is 12’ high and GCF’s are reported to be quite aggressive about defending the nest from intruders.  

We hear from many of you Bluebirds are having a lot of success this year.  Let us know what birds you are seeing on the nest. 

Next week let the Hummingbird fun begin.

Bird Bio: Wood Thrush

Despite being a common sound throughout the deciduous forests of eastern North America in spring and early summer, the song of the Wood thrush is still one of our favorite bird songs. While these medium sized members of the thrush family may not be as flashy as their cousin, the Eastern bluebird, or as well-known as their cousin, the American robin, their song is what sets them apart. Thanks to a unique Y shaped voice box, these harmonious songbirds have the ability to harmonize with themselves! Learning to identify their distinctive flute-like “ee oh lay” calls will greatly help in catching a glimpse of these elusive birds.

                Look for these reddish brown pot-bellied birds as they work the leaf litter of the forest floor in search of small insects. Mature deciduous forests are their preferred habitat, and they are a common spring and summer resident in the forests surrounding Radnor Lake or Warner Parks.

                The female Wood thrush constructs the nest by first creating a platform of dry materials such as twigs, grass, or even paper and plastic. Next, she will begin to weave these materials together to form the body of the nest. She then will use her weight and stamp the floor down until she has created a three inch deep cup. Lastly, she will line this with mud and a final covering of small rootlets for the eggs to sit in. This entire process is completed within 3-6 days. Unfortunately, they are prone to nest parasitism by the Brown-headed cowbird to the point that in some parts of the Midwest, it is estimated that virtually every forest-edge habitat nest contains the egg of a cowbird.

Males take an active role in parenting to the extent that they do more feeding of young than the females. This frees her up to start a second brood and after they fledge, the parents will divide the young and feed both groups separately in different parts of their territory. Wood thrush will often raise two broods per season, although this sometimes requires 3-4 attempts.

Bird Bio: Brown Thrasher

Holiday Store Hours

The Wood Thrush Shop will be closed Monday and Tuesday, July 3rd and 4th. We hope you have a fun Independence Day weekend. See you Wednesday the 5th.

Brown Thrashers

Many of you are fortunate to see Brown Thrashers, primarily in the spring and summer months. Brown Thrashers (BT) are a year round species in TN, however, many migrate short distances which explains why you may not see them in winter. These birds are found in areas with hedges and dense undergrowth where they can forage vigorously on the ground in complete cover. They often move around below bird feeding stations picking up bits of seed and suet while looking for insects.

BT’s are a large songbird with long features. They have a long, curved bill, long legs, and a long tail. They are reddish brown above with narrow black and white wing bars, with prominent dark streaky spots on the chest and belly. To top it off this handsome bird has yellow eyes.

Brown Thrasher

Wood Thrush

Quite often customers will see a Thrasher and misidentify as a Wood Thrush. While there are some similarities they really are very different in appearance and behavior, too. Always look at a bird with binoculars before coming to a conclusion. A Wood Thrush spends most of its life in the tree tops while Brown Thrashers spend most of their lives on or near the ground. They’ve even been known to nest directly on the ground. BT’s are mostly insect eaters but have been known to consume seeds, nuts, fruit, and even small snakes and tree frogs if the opportunity presents. Occasionally they are seen at suet feeders.

Another very notable thing about Brown Thrashers is they are impressive vocalizers. Their song is a complex string of many musical phrases (many copied from other birds’ songs, with each phrase typically sung twice before moving on). They also make a distinctive, harsh tsuck note.

I hope you are fortunate enough to see these beautiful and interesting songsters in your yard.

Bird Bio: Summer Tanager

You’re walking in the park when you see a stunning flash of red in the tree canopy above you. You don’t get a good look, so you write it off as another cardinal. But something about it just didn’t seem right to you. Suddenly, you see the flash of red again up ahead, but this time the bird lights on a branch, sidles down, and grabs a large insect before it viciously begins to thrash it into submission. You look through your binoculars and this time get a good enough look to be certain it’s no cardinal, but what could it be?

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Male Summer Tanager. Photos by Eli Haislip.

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The Summer tanager is an eye-catching bird to say the least. These neotropical migrants call our deciduous and pine-oak forests home for the spring and summer months. During fall migration, they leave their summer breeding grounds behind and will travel as far south as the rain forests of Bolivia. When they aren’t traveling between hemispheres, they can usually be found in the tops of trees where they are more easily heard than seen. Listen for their robin like song, or their unique “pi-tuh-took” call. Once you are able to recognize these by ear, you will be amazed by just how common these beautiful birds are. To hear this birds call check out the Summer Tanager profile on allaboutbirds.org

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Juvenile male

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Female

During early spring, the males sing and aggressively chase one another in order to establish territories. Males will take only one mate per season. After the birds pair off, females will weave crude bowls out of dried grasses and other vegetation. Females incubate eggs while the males will busy themselves with important activities such as preening, foraging and getting a little rest. After an incubation period of 11-12 days, both parents will help to raise the young. After a period of as short as 8-12 days, it is time for the fledglings to leave the nest, despite being barely able to fly. During this period, they usually will hide themselves in dense vegetation, only calling on occasion to their parents who will continue to feed them for around 3 weeks.

While visits to feeders are rare, they are not entirely unheard of. They are known to visit suet feeders, and they might not rule out a plump mealworm if the opportunity presented itself. However, they are more likely to spend their time in the treetops where they specialize in eating wasps, bees, as well as other insects, and fruit or berries. Great places to see these birds include Edwin Warner and Bowie Nature Park in Fairview.

Wood Thrush Notes

Tree Swallows and Bluebirds

Over the past ten years more and more people are reporting Tree Swallows using a nest box intended for Bluebirds. Tree Swallows are considered “competition” for the Bluebirds but typically that would be because there is only one box available. Such is the case when only one box present. In mid-TN there may be as many as 7 different songbirds interested in a Bluebird box; Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina, and House Wren, Prothonotary Warbler, and the Tree Swallow. This is why we recommend offering a number of nest-box choices. To not only alleviate competition, but to give several species of birds an opportunity that these days are getting harder to come by because of loss, or disruption, to habitat.

The Tree Swallow is smaller than a Bluebird measuring about 5-6 inches in length. Male and female are a steely blue-green to nearly black above and pure white below. Females tend to be a little duller in color overall. In the sunlight the blue-green plumage is very perceptible. Their forked tail is not as pronounced as a Barn Swallow’s.

Male Tree Swallow

Female Tree Swallow

Like other swallows they are expert flyers acrobatically catching insects on the wing. They appear to enjoy flying.

Their habitat preferences are pretty diverse ranging from wetlands and marshy areas to meadows and woodlands near water. This bird is only here between late February and approximately mid-March as it migrates back to its winter grounds in Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.

I recall reading accounts of Tree Swallows and Bluebirds using nest-boxes placed back to back on the same pole. I’ve never had a chance to test this but recently heard from a naturalist friend of mine experiencing this very thing. So, these two species are compatible enough to tolerate nesting in close proximity. If you have experienced Tree Swallows seemingly taking over one of your Bluebird boxes perhaps this is a chance for you to test this theory.

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Saturday Seed Availability Update

It’s been another trying week coordinating deliveries through freight. As a result of some errors we are out of stock of all sizes of Woodland Blend and Premium Blend until Monday the 28th. We are sorry for the inconvenience and are continually trying to keep your preferred products arriving in a timely way. Thanks for your business and your patience.