Wood Thrush Notes

The Bufflehead

On a recent outing to Centerhill Lake we were treated to sightings of small flocks of Bufflehead.  The Bufflehead is a small duck measuring about 15 inches in length.  Males are mostly white with a black back. Males possess a purple-green iridescence that can be hard to see.  Females are dark with a white cheek spot and a white wing patch.  If you’re able to catch a glimpse of these birds descending onto a lake you will see that males have strikingly red feet.  Buffleheads are common winter residents seen on area ponds and lakes November through April and will go as far as Mexico.  In spring they migrate north to eventually reach their breeding grounds in mid to western Canada.  Locally, Radnor lake is a potential place to see Bufflehead

Male Bufflehead

Female Bufflehead

Buffleheads are mostly monogamous and are cavity nesters and will actually use nestboxes.

Fossils of these ducks from the late Pleistocene (about 500,000 years ago) have been found in Alaska, California, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Texas, and Washington.

If you’re going for walks near water this winter look for these busy diving ducks as they forage for their primary food source aquatic invertebrates, crustaceans, and mollusks.

Rare Visitor and State Record in Chattanooga

Birders have been rushing to Chattanooga to see the first state record of an Ancient Murrelet, which has been found at Chickamauga Dam. This is a very small Pacific seabird that is really far out of its range which is typically the California coast north to the Alaskan coastline, and breeds in colonies along the shorelines of the North Pacific islands. Ancient Murrelet’s are divers as well and flaps its wings underwater for propulsion where they forage for a variety of fish. This bird is a burrow nester but will adapt to nest boxes, too. The lone bird was still there as of yesterday.

Holiday Shopping at The Wood Thrush!

The Wood Thrush Shop is stocked and ready for your holiday shopping needs. There are lots of gifts under $20, and of course, Squirrel Buster bird feeders, birdbaths, bluebird boxes, and hummingbird feeders. Get the bird lover in your life a new feeder so they can retire that old pitiful looking one.

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Other gift ideas include:

Birdseed ornaments, Binoculars, Solar Accent lights, Owl statuary, Bat houses,

Windchimes, Christmas tree ornaments, Gift Certificates, Yard art.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to receive info about current and upcoming holiday specials we’ll be running.

Wood Thrush Notes

Update on Mysterious Bird Deaths

By now I’m sure many of you have heard the reports of birds inexplicably dying over the last several weeks in areas north of us including, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Specimens of Blue Jays, Grackles, Starlings, and Robins (the most prevalently affected species) tested have turned up no clues as to what is killing them. Several illnesses have been ruled out including, Salmonella, several varieties of viruses, and Trichomonas parasites. Scientists are still scratching their heads trying to figure out the cause or causes. It has been recommended that people in the mentioned states take down feeders and birdbaths, or eliminate anything that contributes to birds congregating. There has been no known connection, however, to bird feeders and baths.

Because this issue has been widely reported on, sometimes irresponsibly, we wanted to offer some information to help make you aware and to be vigilant. If you encounter a sick or dead bird please contact us, or Ellington Agricultural Center. In the past week reports of dying birds have slowed and whatever has been affecting birds may be concluding. There have been no reports of dead birds with the specific symptoms of eyes crusted over and possible neurological issues in Tennessee. As always we recommend cleaning your feeders regularly. Make sure your backyard birds are being offered the best environment possible.

Here is a link to an article from Science Magazine that we found to be helpful on the subject.

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Rare Bird Sighting

In Trousdale Co. this week a Roseate Spoonbill was reported and confirmed. The bird was seen in the company of Egrets. The Roseate Spoonbill is a pink bodied bird with red highlights, a long spatulate bill, and a grayish to green colored featherless head. Spoonbills feed in shallow water sweeping their bills from side to side. This bird is fairly common along the Gulf coast.

Wood Thrush Notes

Another Rare Bird Sighting in Nashville

In the past year, TN has seen quite a few rare birds pop up all around the state.

By now some of you have heard about the Green-tailed Towhee recently discovered in East Nashville. It’s not the first time this species has been seen here, however, nearly 60 years have passed since the last sighting.

This bird is typically a summer-breeding resident of New Mexico north to Montana, and west to the Sierras of California. Its non-breeding, winter range is from mid Texas down into Central America. The other interesting thing about where this bird has been seen is its habitat preference tends to be in areas of dense brush on mountainsides and high plateaus. Not exactly East Nashville habitat.

Keep the binoculars handy because clearly any one of us may have a rare visitor at any time.

Green-tailed Towhee

Spring and Early Summer Hummingbirds

All of our summer resident Ruby-throated hummingbirds are here now and beginning, or well into, their first nesting of the season. Like Bluebirds they all don’t start nesting at the same time. There could be as much as a month difference in the first nesting phase of the earliest arrivals in March and April and the later arrivals as late as mid-May.

There have been a lot of concerns voiced by customers regarding hummingbirds this spring, more so than usual. “I usually have them by tax day”, or “I’ve only seen one weeks ago and none since”. The nesting phase is one of the reasons people usually see far fewer hummingbirds now as opposed to July through September. Hummingbird feeders are not in high demand at this time and will serve only for quick visits and a brief drink.

I’ll admit sightings of hummingbirds have been fewer based on personal experience and customer feedback; however, there can be a number of factors that would contribute to either seeing more or less hummingbirds during spring. Seeing fewer hummingbirds now can be viewed as a potentially good thing. It has been a cool spring with good amounts of rain meaning nectar producing plants are doing very well and hummingbirds do not see the feeders as necessary. In years past when we experienced early hot and dry conditions there was more early activity at feeders. Let’s see what happens when temperatures get into the 90’s next week with little rainfall. That may inspire a little more action at the feeders.

Perhaps the heavy rains and high winds we experienced in May and June last year resulted in a fair amount of washed out nests meaning numbers of offspring were affected. The fact is we just don’t know at this point if there are fewer hummingbirds this year compared to last.

When nesting is near conclusion in mid to latter July hummers begin visiting feeders with frequency and intensity to fatten up for the long migration back to Central and South America.

With that in mind keep fresh nectar in the feeder but do not fill to capacity. Small amounts are recommended now to decrease waste and major cleaning of feeders. In warmer weather nectar is only good for about 3 days. The hotter the environment the shorter the life span of the nectar.

Bird Bio: Western Tanager

Just when I started to write off this winter as an uninteresting bird feeding season due to warm and wet conditions, our own Eli Haislip witnessed and photographed a Western Tanager at a feeding station. There have only been a handful of reported sightings in TN going all the way back to 1960 and this is the first ever reported in Davidson County! The bird appeared at a feeding station probably interested by the other bird activity. Like Bluebirds, Western Tanagers are primarily insect and fruit eaters but during winter may take advantage of “alternative” food sources like seeds out of the shell, suet, mealworms, or dried fruit.

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Female Western Tanager

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Western Tanager range map

This Western Tanager is truly out of its normal range which is well west of the Mississippi during the breeding season. See range map. During the non-breeding season these birds normally migrate to Central and South America, like our Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. In the past ten or twenty years, however, it has become commonplace to see some western hummingbirds, like Rufous, Anna’s, Caliope, and Black-chinned migrate to this part of the country for the winter rather than to Central and South America. Why? There’s no absolute answer but it is interesting and gives one cause to pay closer attention. This is why bird researchers and banders encourage people to leave a hummingbird feeder up during winter months.

Adult male Western Tanagers are strikingly beautiful in breeding plumage sporting a red face and throat with yellow underparts and nape, which contrasts sharply with the black back, wings, and tail. As is the case with many bird species females are much less colorful. Female W. Tanagers have a yellow head and underparts while the back is olive-gray and wings are gray with white wing bars.

Keep an eye on your feeding stations. Winter is always a time when something “different” may appear. If anything looks a little different to you stop and take a closer look with binoculars. Let us know what you see.

Next week get ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count.