Wood Thrush Notes: First Migrants Arrive in TN.

Sale Continues and GBBC

Our February sale continues through this Saturday the 18th on all bird feeding related products. Seed and feed, and all bird feeders and accessories are marked down. Get ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count which takes place Feb. 17-21. Take part in this fun activity where your backyard bird data is used by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Visit www.birdcount.org for more information.

First Neotropical Migrants Arrive in TN

We naturally think of migration happening in “spring” and “fall”, however, spring migration has already begun and just last Saturday some of the earliest songbirds arriving from Central and South America were spotted in a couple of locations in TN by avid birdwatchers. One location, the Duck River Unit of TN National Wildlife Refuge in Waverly, is a very popular and productive birdwatching location.

Neotropical means relating to or denoting a zoogeographical region comprising Central and South America, including the tropical southern part of Mexico and the Caribbean.

Tree swallows were spotted in both Chattanooga and Waverly. Tree swallows are a beautiful bird that we see with regularity using Bluebird boxes statewide. We have had customers report having Tree swallows in Bluebird boxes for many years now. Tree swallows are primarily insect consumers, but unlike other swallows, can eat plant foods which help them survive potential wintery weather of early spring. Tree swallows are often seen in open field areas away from trees but get their name from commonly nesting in tree cavities.

Tree Swallow

The Swallow family in general is among the earliest migrating birds to return to N. Am. every spring. This family consists of Purple Martins, Tree, Cliff, Rough-winged, and Barn swallows.

Spring migration for Ruby-throated hummingbirds, as usual, is closer to April. It is not uncommon for a few hummingbirds to be seen and reported the last week of March, but the vast majority of Ruby-throated hummingbirds will arrive in, or pass through, TN between the first of April and mid-May.

Wood Thrush Notes: Our Big Sale & Mockingbirds

Sale Begins Tomorrow

A reminder that tomorrow, Sat. 11th we are beginning a week long sale on all things bird feeding related. Prices on ALL birdfeeders, iron poles, hooks, and deck mount arms, baffles, weather guards, and seed and suet will be reduced. Get ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count which begins Feb. 17th. Visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website allaboutbirdes.org for more information.

Mockingbirds being Mockingbirds

Every early February we encounter several concerned customers that claim they do not have any birds coming to their feeders. “They’ve disappeared in the last week or so”. We usually ask some standard questions that may give us some clues as to the possible reason. Then it occurs to us that the month of February is typically when our state bird, the Northern Mockingbird, begins expressing its territorial nature with much more exuberance. Mockingbirds begin establishing boundaries relative to an intended nest sight much earlier than most songbirds and if any birdfeeders are in that territory they will swoop in and chase off all intruders. They have no interest in the seed in the feeder but will defend with vigor the area the feeder is in. Mockingbirds, nor any birds, possess the trait of being mean. They just have varying degrees of territorial defense and posturing. The Mockingbirds’ is high and with each day spring gets closer its amplified. The only solution to continue feeding your birds is to spread your feeders out enough that the Mockingbird cannot effectively patrol them. In time this heightened behavior will pass and there will be relative peace in your yard again. Once nesting responsibilities commence they generally do not have time for constant patrolling. You still may see an occasional act of aggression, though. Be patient and understand it’s just a Mockingbird doing what it knows to do.

Northern Mockingbird