Wood Thrush Notes

Bird feeding Slowly Picking Up

A couple of weeks ago I incorrectly proclaimed the end of summer with the impending cold front predicted and its arrival. Then temperatures returned to the 80’s this week. The warm temperatures are doing very little to inspire birds to return to our feeding stations. We continue to get phone calls from concerned people wondering why their feeders are so inactive. Again, the abundance of natural food sources available is too good to pass up at this time.

At my home this past weekend I did see some encouraging signs such as a small group of American Goldfinches consistently at the finch feeder. Remember, Goldfinches have now lost their bright yellow breeding plumage and have reverted to their dull winter appearance. Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches were quite busy making repeated trips from feeders to hiding places they have chosen to stash food. A few Red-bellied and Downy woodpeckers decided to partake of suet, and I saw a first of this fall Yellow-bellied sapsucker.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

American Goldfinch. Winter Plumage.

Cold Front Brings Some Interesting Visitors

The cold front did bring some interesting visitors to TN. Birdwatchers know to look at bodies of water more carefully after a cold front has passed as this often pushes shorebirds, wading birds, ducks and geese, and cranes into the area. Recently seen birds of interest include Limpkin, Red-necked Grebe, Common Loon, White-winged Scoter, and Surf Scoter. Straddling the border between Tennessee and Kentucky is Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. This 6-8 mile wide strip of land separates Kentucky Lake to the west and Lake Barkley to the east and forms the largest inland peninsula in the United States. From October through May, the entire area is an excellent hotspot for birdwatching. A noteworthy visitor to look for during this time is the American White Pelican. These birds are hard to miss, as they stand up to four feet tall and have wingspans up to nine feet. They are a communal bird and during the spring can be seen flying in flocks of several hundred individuals. According to L.B.L.’s lead naturalist, John Pollpeter, in recent years satellite images have shown upwards of 5,000 individuals. Bald eagles, Osprey, Double-crested cormorants, and Common loons are also common.

We would like to thank all those who have served our country this Veterans Day.

Wood Thrush Notes

Winter Migrants Arriving

Hard to believe that many of our “winter birds” are arriving and are being seen and heard in middle TN when you consider the summer like conditions we are experiencing.  We are going to see an end to summer for sure this Sunday and Monday.  This cold front will likely push out of TN any remaining Ruby-throated hummers and other tropical migrants and push in a lot of our northern migrants.  A birdwatcher from Sevier County, TN reported a RTH hovering around some Pineapple sage blossoms and a White-throated sparrow Tuesday the 24th.  Just this morning I heard a White-throated sparrow behind The Wood Thrush Shop as I pulled into my parking spot. 

As feeding stations get busy again in the next few weeks and during winter look for the following list of birds to appear in your backyard: 

Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglet, Brown headed and Red breasted nuthatch if you have a lot of pine trees, Brown Creeper, Winter wren, Fox and White-crowned sparrow, Junco, and a handful of Warblers like Yellow-rumped, Orange-crowned, and Pine.  See how many of these birds you can locate this autumn and winter. A few winters ago I had the pleasure of seeing this Western Tanager visit a suet feeder for most of the winter.

Pine warbler

White-throated sparrow

Western tanager

Most of these birds are likely to visit suet feeders, with the exception of the sparrows which would be seen foraging on the ground for seed.   

As you go outdoors for fall and winter activities in the countryside and near lakes and rivers look for Loons, common and Red-throated, American White Pelican, Northern Harrier and Merlin.  

Common loon (nonbreeding)

White pelican

Northern harrier

Merlin

You can always sign up to receive E-Bird alerts as to what birds are being seen and where in TN.

Remember, if you continue to offer a hummingbird feeder you may be one of a few people who get to see a wintering hummer, which most often is a western species known as the Rufous hummingbird.  I have continued to offer a feeder well into fall for many years but have not been successful thus far.  Maybe this will be my year. 

Rufous hummingbird

Wood Thrush Notes

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.

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, and at birdbaths. Pay particular attention to birdbaths and fountains as many of these birds seek out good water sources to take advantage of.

Mornings are best to see lots of different species because most 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

BIRDCAST

Did you know that radar used to track weather systems is also used to track bird movements? I suggest you check out BirdCast at birdcast.info. 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. 28, an estimated 956,000 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 and even projects what species are most likely flying over us on a given night. 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!

Wood Thrush Notes

End of Summer-Early Fall Notes

We have received more than a few calls recently regarding the very noticeable slowdown at feeders in recent weeks. The degree of slowdown may vary each year but without a doubt September and October are the two slowest bird feeding months of the year. My 28 years of tracking sales data backs this statement up. We always sell far less seed and suet during these two months. So why does it slow down?

There are two reasons why feeder activity slows down at this time. Feeder activity is at peak level during the breeding-nesting season, between the months of March and July. We get used to the abundance of birds visiting our feeders and many of us are filling feeders frequently, every other day if not more. While nesting and raising young birds take full advantage, but do not rely on our feeders. Raising young takes a tremendous amount of energy and rather than having to forage for food at greater distances they will increase their visits to feeders exponentially, thereby staying closer to the nest and their valuable offspring. And many of our feeder birds will nest twice per breeding season. So, the first reason for the slowdown is the breeding season for our year round and summer resident birds has long been over, for at least a month and a half. The need for “extra” food has passed.

The second reason is by the end of summer and beginning of fall plants are producing seeds, nuts, and fruit. Beneficial insects chocked with protein are still very much available. Instinctually, birds cannot pass up the abundance of natural foods and variety now available. Therefore, the feeders that were important to them in the spring and summer become less important now. With no young to attend to they have little to do but feed on what nature is offering and to cache food for later use. Sure, you will still get birds visiting your feeders but not like during the breeding season. This would also explain why we rarely see Rose-breasted Grosbeaks at our feeders in the fall on their return trip to the tropics, when they are such prominent feeder birds in spring. Natural food is everywhere and unless something occurs to prevent food production, like a drought, birds will gravitate to it before going to feeders.

As much as the business owner side of me hates to see the slowdown I also appreciate the opportunity to point out birds do not rely on or survive on our feeders, as many people mistakenly believe.

Experience says by mid-November, or earlier if there are a couple of good frosts, you will see a return to busy feeders. So, don’t think something has happened to our birds. It really is just birds being wild animals acting on thousands of years of instinct. They will return to your feeders. By the way, this slowdown is a great opportunity to give your feeders a thorough cleaning.

Molting

Have you been finding feathers around your yard, or maybe seen some really funky looking Cardinals or Bluejays recently? Seeing Cardinals or Jays with an alarming lack of feathers on their heads is quite common after the breeding season.

Molting is the process by which birds lose damaged or worn out feathers with new ones providing them not only with healthy new feathers but often a new look to their plumage in the form of new colors or patterns that may indicate a bird’s age, sex, or season of the year.  Feathers are comparable to our hair or nails made from the same basic ingredient, keratin.  

Molt is not a “one size fits all” occurrence.  There is great variation by species and even by individual from year to year.  While molt is associated with this time of year any time a bird loses a feather a new one will immediately begin to grow in its place. 

Occasionally, Cardinals and Bluejays will lose all their head feathers in a short amount of time and while it takes a while for the new ones to grow in the result will be a bald bird.  I’ve seen a number of male Cardinals recently that were in between bald and the emergence of new feathers.  They look rather odd as their heads under the feathers are dark gray to black.

Molting Cardinal

Hummingbirds Getting Plump

I’ve seen some chubby hummers at the feeders lately as they continue to feed heavily and store fat for their long journey.  There’s plenty of time remaining to enjoy hummingbirds as they prepare for their return to Central and South America.  While you may have already seen a reduction in numbers of hummers at your feeders keep in mind Ruby-throated hummingbirds continue to head south from as far as Canada.  These very birds may show up at your feeders at some point weeks from now so keep the fresh nectar coming and your feeders clean.  Earlier in September I was in Maine and had several sightings of hummingbirds.  Isn’t it amazing when you consider the distance traveled by these little dynamos?

Evening Bats

For 5 years now my wife and I have enjoyed the presence of bats in a “Rocket house” built by a customer–friend that traded it to me for some bags of birdseed. I have to say I got the better end of that deal. Those bags of birdseed are long gone, however, the bat box is a source of fun and interest between March and October as our bat population has grown to over 250 now.

Only this spring we learned they are known as Evening bats, Nycticeius Humeralis. We were able to connect with a person from the Tennessee Nature Conservancy who came to our home to observe the bats exiting the box. He filmed them and used a sound device that records and translates their “calls” to sonograms. Each bat species’ call has a unique and identifiable sonogram. During his visit we counted approximately 150 bats leaving the box.

Then came the night of June 9th and we were watching the bats emerge when we saw something fall from the box and not fly. Upon a closer look I was shocked to discover a baby bat, perhaps just a day or two old clinging to the post the box is mounted on. We suspected but now had proof our colony of bats are females raising babies.

Baby Evening Bat.

The Evening bat is an abundant bat throughout the southeastern US, north to the upper Midwest and Ontario, and along the Atlantic seaboard into Florida.

The evening bat is almost never encountered in caves and is considered a forest bat. It forms nursery colonies in hollow trees, sometimes in buildings and attics, and fortunately for us, in bat houses. Some maternity colonies are quite large, containing several hundred individuals. Evening bats emerge soon after dusk and forage on a large array of small nocturnal insects including flying ants, Japanese beetles, June beetles, and moths. Take note mosquitos were not mentioned. While they may eat mosquitos when encountered, bats are typically feeding at a more elevated level while mosquitos are closer to ground level.

In the fall, evening bats store large amounts of fat for a potentially lengthy migration to southern parts of their range. In a banded bat recovery study, evening bats were found as far as 300 miles south of their banding sites. Still, little research has been done to learn the exact migration movements of this species. The bats have not been found hibernating in local caves and simply disappear from their summer habitat. Once these bats have arrived at their wintering sites, they are thought to remain active throughout the winter.

Breeding occurs in the fall, and delayed fertilization allows for the birth of 1-2 young in late May through June. Young begin to fly after 3 weeks but continue to nurse until 6 to 9 weeks.

On another recent evening as we watched the bats emerge one flew directly toward us somewhat awkwardly and as if it realized it had made a mistake crash landed onto the deck between us.

The picture is the young bat aside a quarter I placed next to it for perspective. I assisted the little bat in getting back to the post where it climbed up into the box safely. From our counts earlier in the spring of around 150 to our counts now of over 250 it’s reasonable to conclude we are seeing over 100 offspring. Clearly there is some overcrowding and we are going to add another Rocket house nearby to, hopefully, encourage more. Other bat houses are good, too, and I recommend visiting the websites below to learn more. It’s interesting that the more we learn about these docile, beneficial, creatures the more questions we have. We hope to continue cultivating the success we are experiencing and learn much more in years to come.

Other species of bats seen in TN include Brazilian free-tailed, Eastern pipistrelle, Eastern Red bat, Eastern Small footed, Gray, and Hoary bat.

www.batcon.org www.merlintuttle.org