Fall Migration and Birdcast

Fall Migration is underway and while your seed and suet feeders will typically slow down now through October birdwatching in the area will be significantly more interesting because migration is in full swing.  Keep those hummingbird feeders fresh and filled because we still have several weeks of busy hummingbird feeding remaining. 

When spending time outdoors have your binoculars with you and ready because Warblers, Tanagers, Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and Flycatchers are pouring through middle Tennessee stopping to feed in the mornings on insects and berries.  Pay special attention to birdbaths and fountains as many of these birds seek out good water sources to take advantage of.

American Redstart

Tennessee Warbler

Mornings are the best time to see lots of different species because most of the mentioned migrants are traveling at night. They settle down to rest and feed in the morning.

Look for large if not massive flocks of Chimney Swifts and Common Nighthawk in the evenings commonly seen in areas near downtown or where there is ample night lighting like high school football games.

Chimney Swift

Common Nighthawk

Did you know that radar used to track weather systems is also used to track bird movements? I suggest you check out BirdCast. BirdCast is a project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Colorado State University, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. BirdCast applies weather surveillance radar to gather information on the numbers, flight directions, speeds and altitudes of birds aloft in order to expand the understanding of migratory bird movement. Just last night, Sept. 8, an estimated 995,300 birds flew over Davidson Co. And that number will increase as we approach the usual strongest time of migration in the month of October. BirdCast has live migration alerts in real time. Their findings have been eye-opening and very interesting to say the least. To summarize all the interesting information provided by BirdCast would be impossible. I urge you to check out this site. Wonderful! Visit Birdcast at www.birdcast.info

Make time to visit one of the many great local birdwatching areas this fall to see some birds you may not have seen before. The usual local hot spots include:

Radnor Lake   Warner Parks    Bells Bend    Harpeth River Greenway    Shelby Bottoms        

Hidden Lakes State Park     Gossett Tract State Park    

Bowie Nature Park and Montgomery Bell State Park

Hummingbird Activity is Peaking

For the next 4 weeks we will be experiencing peak hummingbird activity at our feeders.  Now it is crucial that your nectar is fresh and your feeders are clean for best results and for the safety of the hummingbirds.  Our summer resident hummers are likely done nesting and youngsters are now coming to and beginning to understand feeders. 

Already we are probably seeing some hummingbirds that have been north of us this summer beginning to move through TN visiting feeders as well.

If you have given up on hummingbirds because you did not see any activity earlier in the summer it’s time to give your feeder a good cleaning and make some fresh nectar.  Please remember the nectar formula is one part sugar to 4 parts water and is only good in the feeder for up to 3 days.  This is the time that hummingbirds are most interested in your feeders and are packing on as much weight as possible before making their long journey back to Central and South America.

Obviously, we hear lots of customer feedback about hummingbirds.  It’s interesting to note that every year many of you will report either more or less hummingbirds.  Why the discrepancy from year to year?  It could be for several reasons.  More hummingbirds could be the result of a few successful breeding years in a row in your area.  Less could be from a few down years of nesting, or birds that would have been around your yard did not successfully make the long migration.  A lot can happen to birds, especially tiny hummers, in a journey that long which punctuates the miracle of migration and the fact that so many are successful. 

I am seeing fewer hummingbirds than usual for August and have recently realized why.   Where I have traditionally offered most of my feeders there are as many as four adult males guarding and fighting.  Typically, I would be seeing lots of juveniles and females feeding together but the males won’t allow.  Just this morning I witnessed one of these males relentlessly chasing a Titmouse that had landed to close to its favorite lookout spot.  Adult males usually migrate earlier than the others so I’m hoping a few of these feisty, selfish guys will depart allowing for more hummers to visit.

To learn more about Ruby-throated Hummingbirds visit the Warner Park Nature Center next Saturday the 27th for their annual Hummingbird Celebration.  There will be activities for kids with opportunities to learn more about these fascinating diminutive dynamos.   Warner Park staff will also be trapping and banding hummingbirds while explaining the valuable data they are collecting for research.  See hummingbirds up close.  Click here for more info on the event!

American Goldfinches in August and September

If you saw a sudden departure of Goldfinches last month it was probably because July is when they go to nest. It’s normal for some of you to experience this while some of you will see an influx of Goldfinches, perhaps because you are near prime nesting habitat that attracts many nesting pairs. That habitat tends to be more open and adjacent to weedy fields and meadows where there is a lot of nesting material and ample food. Goldfinches will build their nest high in shrubs or small tress overlooking open space as opposed to forest interior. It is a nest comprised of plant fiber and down, lashed together with spider silk, sometimes woven so tight the nest will hold water. It will measure about 3” across. This tight little nest can sometimes backfire should a heavy rain fall on newly hatched chicks.

Goldfinches will have 1-2 broods with 2-7 eggs per. The number of eggs is likely determined by the availability of food sources present. Because Goldfinches are exclusively seed eaters explains why they nest much later than other birds. Plants are going to seed when they begin nesting.

Juvenile American Goldfinch

Recently, I have been seeing young Goldfinches around my yard but not so much at my feeders. Pulling in my driveway at the end of the day where there is a big patch of Black-eyed Susan 10 to 20 Goldfinches will take flight. When plants like Black-eyed Susan, Coneflower, sunflower, and zinnias are available Goldfinches will show a preference for these more natural food sources. It is just in their DNA to gravitate to the “natural”.

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

It’s mid-April, and you are outside soaking in one of the nicest days of the young year. You bend over to pick up a stick that was blown down in the previous night's thunderstorm, and as you stand back up there it is. The whirring buzz, the flash of iridescence, and the unmistakable chattering call that signifies the first hummingbird of the year. You race inside, mix up a gallon or two of nectar, put out all your feeders, and sit back and watch. And wait. And wait…

During May, June, and the first half of July the only thing we hear as often as “they are eating me out of house and home!” is “where are the hummingbirds?”. They are already here, however, they did not travel thousands of miles just to sip sugar water. The hummingbirds come all this way to breed and raise their young. While you may see a few birds hitting your feeder early on, these birds do not rely on our feeders, and may continue on as far north as Canada!

However, now is the time to start getting your feeders ready as we enter the middle of July. Make sure your nectar is fresh and your feeders are clean, and remember, in this heat the nectar will spoil in as few as two to three days. Aside from being unsanitary, the hummingbirds will not stop at a feeder if the nectar has gone rancid. August and September are invariably the busiest months of the year for hummingbird feeding due to northern birds migrating south, and the birds that nested here fattening up for their long migration back to Central America. So, if you have been wondering where your hummingbirds are, you aren’t alone, but fear not. You haven’t missed out. The best feeder activity is yet to come!

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If you have driven down Belle Meade Blvd. this year, you may have noticed a number of bluebird boxes in the median area. The city of Belle Meade approached us about the possibility of installing the boxes to help bluebirds nest, and they have been a resounding success. To date, close to 40 juvenile bluebirds have left our boxes. This is an excellent case in point that the eastern bluebird is very adaptive and not necessarily up to date with the current literature about what they “require”. In addition to the Blvd. Boxes, we set up a box in the service alley behind the store and within a couple weeks, a nest with three eggs was inside. So far, in spite of the heat and the lackluster location, the juvenile birds are healthy and just a few days away from fledging. Though it is getting late in the season, there is still time to attract bluebirds as they will nest up to three times in a season, so make sure that your boxes are clean and ready to become a home!

While many of our most familiar backyard birds are near the end, or have already concluded, their breeding season, the American Goldfinch is just beginning. Many of you have already seen a reduction in goldfinch numbers at your feeders as they begin to move away from feeders toward nesting areas. Goldfinches typically nest in June and July when certain nest materials, and more of their food sources, become available.

The goldfinch’s main natural habitats are weedy fields and floodplains, where plants such as thistles and asters are common. So, if you live close to one of these types of areas you may continue to see good numbers of goldfinches at your feeders. If you live in a more forested area you will likely see far less goldfinches until they finish nesting. So, don’t be concerned that something has happened to “your” goldfinches or you’ve done something wrong. They are simply transitioning into their nesting phase and will return to feeders in due time.

Female Goldfinch gathering nest material

The male and female locate a suitable nest site together. Nests are often near water. At Hidden Lakes Park on McCrory Ln, which borders the Harpeth River, goldfinch nests are common to see.

The male may bring nest materials but the female builds the nest, usually in a shrub or sapling in a fairly open setting rather than in forest interior. The nest is often built high in a shrub, where two or three vertical branches join; usually shaded by clusters of leaves from above, but often open and visible from below.

The nest is an open cup of rootlets and plant fibers lined with plant down, woven so tightly that it can hold water. The female bonds the foundation to supporting branches using spider silk, and makes a downy lining often using the fluffy “pappus” material taken from the same types of seedheads that goldfinches feed on. It takes the female about 6 days to build the nest. The finished nest is about 3 inches across on the outside and 2-4.5 inches high.

The female incubates about 95% of the time and takes 10-12 days. The male brings food to the female while she incubates. The young leave the nest after 11-17 days. Both sexes tend to the young and are fed a regurgitated milky seed pulp. Insects are rarely part of their diet.

Goldfinches are monogamous per year but commonly change mates between years.

Wood Thrush Notes

By all accounts, the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have been plentiful and hungry this year.  As of this morning, I was still seeing over a dozen at a time at my feeders.  We will only see them for another week or so as the majority of them will move northward by mid-May. 

If you’ve been having difficulty seeing a bird but hear it singing you should try using the Merlin app by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It’s a very useful and easy to use app for bird identification including the songs and calls ID feature. I really put it to the test at Montgomery Bell State Park recently and it was fast and accurate. Just hit the “sound ID” button then touch the microphone icon. Your device will listen and, if it is hearing the bird song, will identify it in seconds. What a nice use for technology.

Nashville-Tennessee Warblers

It seems appropriate to share information with you about two warblers that I’ve seen recently and are seen regularly in TN during spring migration, the Nashville Warbler, and the Tennessee Warbler. 

The Nashville Warbler is described as a “boisterous yellow songster”.  Smaller than a Goldfinch, males have mostly yellow underparts including the throat, with an olive green back, and a gray hood.  The white eye rings are prominent. If it stops moving long enough you may detect the chestnut patch on the crown of the head.  The bird got its name from Alexander Wilson in 1811 as he saw this bird while in Nashville and promptly named it after the city.  This bird only passes through Nashville, however, and will end up in its breeding grounds well north of us and into Canada. 

Nashville Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

The Tennessee Warbler can be described as plain. They are still quite handsome but lacking the flash of other warblers. In the males look for the white eyebrow stripe against the grayish head which contrasts with the green back. Male underparts are a dull white. Females are similar but the head is less gray and its underparts are more yellow. This warbler will also just pass through Nashville on its way to the uppermost parts of the U.S. and into primarily Canada to its breeding grounds. The TN warbler is also known to appreciate nectar in its wintering grounds in tropical forests. Rather than get nectar from flowers from the front, like hummingbirds, they will pierce the flower at the base and lap up the nectar as it comes out. This bird was also named by Mr. Wilson.