Wood Thrush Notes

Brown Creepers and other Winter Migrants

This morning I had the pleasure of spotting one of my favorite birds of winter, the Brown Creeper. It is not a rare bird but is considered an uncommon winter resident statewide from October to April. It is an elusive bird for the backyard birder due to its camouflage plumage and habit of traveling on the trunks of trees. Every fall and winter I catch a few glimpses of a Brown Creeper heading up the trunk of a tree as it searches for insects in the bark. This is the only species we have that only goes up a tree and never down. It has a unique way of foraging for food by creeping up a tree and then fluttering down to the base of another tree climbing up in a spiral or zig zag path. It’s very interesting to watch. Brown Creepers are quite small, about 5” in length, and quite well camouflaged. They are brown above and whitish below, with a slender de-curved (downward curve) bill. Like a Carolina Wren they have a prominent white eye stripe.

Brown Creepers are primarily insect eaters but suet is its preferred food at feeders. As always we suggest watching your suet feeder a little more closely this time of year as many more unusual birds are seen at suet feeders. Birds seen at local suet feeders the last few winters include; Orange-crowned, Pine, and Yellow-rumped Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, and Western Tanager

Great Backyard Bird Count & Recent Bird Sightings

Coming Soon. The Great Backyard Bird Count.

Once again the Great Backyard Bird Count is just a few weeks away, February 18th thru 21st. The GBBC is a worldwide online citizen-science project, the first of its kind, to collect data on wild birds and display results in near real time. It was launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.

Our observations and data help scientists better understand global bird populations before one of their annual migrations.

Visit www.birdcount.org/about/ for more info on the count!

It’s fun and easy to participate and all you need is a birdfeeder or two. Information and instructions are available through the link provided. The 3 steps to participating are as follows:

Step 1 – Decide where you will watch birds. Easy enough. Your backyard works just fine.

Step 2 – Watch birds for 15 minutes or more, at least once over the four days, February 18-21, 2022.

Step 3 – Count all the birds you see or hear within your planned time/location and use the best tool for sharing your bird sightings:

If you are a beginning bird admirer and new to the count, try using the Merlin Bird ID app.

If you have participated in the count before, try eBird Mobile app or enter your bird list on the eBird website www.ebird.org (desktop/laptop).

If you are participating as a group, see instructions for Group Counting.

We hope you will participate and present your data for a very worthy study.

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Recent Bird Sightings of Interest

Locally, a number of customers have seen Pine Warbler at suet feeders during the recent snow falls. They are one of the few warblers to be seen here in winter. Others sometimes seen at feeders include Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped warblers.

Pine Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Elsewhere in the state, bird sightings of particular interest include a Painted Bunting being seen consistently in Knoxville. Painted bunting, like Indigo bunting, usually migrate back to Central and South America in the fall and return in the spring.

Great Horned owls on Nest

You may not know that Great horned owls begin nesting as early as mid-January and February in southern parts of the U.S. Clutch size of GH owls is between 1 and 4 eggs and it takes 30-37 days to incubate. The fledgling period takes roughly 42 days. Pine trees are often a favorite choice of nesting location as are cavities in live trees, dead snags, deserted buildings, cliff ledges, and man-made platforms. I once witnessed a GH owl nest on a cliff-ledge along the Harpeth River.

The video below is taken from a live stream of a GH owl in Savannah Georgia. Click here to link to the live stream.

Snow Brings Out Many Different Birds

I know many of you are not fond of the cold and snow, but you have to love the extra bird activity at your feeders. We have heard from many customers seeing Bluebirds for the first time at feeders. Is it because there are more Bluebirds here now, or has the inclement weather forced them to seek out “alternative” food sources more often? Perhaps it’s both reasons. We know that harsh winter conditions north of us can and does “push” many types of birds, including Bluebirds, toward us in the southern region. Many of you have discovered Bluebirds will eat seed if it is out of the shell. Sunflower hearts and chips, shelled peanuts, and suet become important to their survival when snow and ice eliminate insects totally from their diet for a period of time. Even those of you accustomed to feeding Bluebirds live mealworms have discovered they will eat dried worms, too, when conditions dictate.

Other birds being seen for the first time for many of you include Yellow-rumped and Orange-crowned warbler, Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglet, Red-winged Blackbird, and one of my favorites that largely goes unnoticed, the Fox Sparrow.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Orange-crowned Warbler

Red-winged Blackbirds

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Fox Sparrow

I never see this bird in my yard unless there is a significant snowfall. They seem to appear only when snow accumulates. They, like most Sparrows, are ground feeders, searching and scratching the leaf litter on the forest floor for seeds, berries, and insects. One of my simple but effective feeding strategies with accumulated snow is to place a few pieces of plywood on the ground and sprinkle several kinds of seeds liberally on the dry surface. It only takes moments for Junco’s, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows, Cardinals, and Towhees to find the offering.

Click here to read more on the Fox Sparrow!

The Fox Sparrow have been described as the best in their family at “scratching”. They are larger than most sparrows and have large feet and unusually long toes and claws that enable them to dig deeper and more aggressively into the leaves and soil for food. The scratching action is very similar to the Towhee’s.

Fox Sparrows are about 7” in length. Most have a reddish colored rump and tail, and reddish wings with subtle white wing bars. The breast is heavily streaked with rusty, triangular shaped markings. Gray is apparent about the neck and shoulders and combined with the rusty red gives this bird a “foxy” appearance. So the next time you see several sparrow-like birds on the ground get your binoculars and take a closer look. It’s a real treat to see this bird.

Bird Bio: Orange Crowned Warbler

In the recent wintery weather did you see anything “different” at your feeders?  Just yesterday, Jan. 17, I noticed something different at a tube feeder with a variety of Wood Thrush Shop blends.  What caught my eye was a bird smaller than a Goldfinch that moved differently than the other birds.  It was quicker as it moved among the branches to the feeder, and it was by itself.  I then keyed in on the color which was more greenish-yellow than Goldfinches.  Looking through my binoculars that I keep by the window where I watch birds it became clear I had an Orange-crowned Warbler.  And it was the first recorded in my yard.  I got a little video to share with you although the quality isn’t great. 

The Orange-crowned warbler measures about 4 ½” in length and has no wing bars or distinctive marks.  It’s olive-green to gray above, and yellow-green below.  Looking through binoculars you may notice faint streaks on the breast.  The orange on the crown is barely visible and seldom seen.  They are primarily insect eaters but in this kind of weather they can adapt to small bits of seed and fruit. 

Other birds of note during the snowy weather are the Yellow-bellied sapsucker, Fox sparrow, Hermit Thrush, Eastern Bluebird (eating suet and mealworms), and Red-winged blackbirds.

Always be extra vigilante during winter weather for the more unusual birds.  They notice the additional bird traffic at feeders and follow in to investigate.