Scenes like this are why we always start our day in front of the bird feeders. You just never know what is going to happen and which of nature’s wonders you will have the privilege of observing.

I remember when I first started birding and had memorized the song of the Vesper Sparrow in South Dakota.  When we visited North Carolina there were many songs that were not familiar, but I was seeing a Vesper Sparrow singing and thought the song was not quite right.  I have learned since then that the songs of the Vesper Sparrow can vary between regions, but a Vesper Sparrow in South Dakota will sound like every other Vesper Sparrow.  And a North Carolina Vesper Sparrow will sound like every other Vesper Sparrow.  I’m not sure how the regions are established, but there will be regional differences in their songs.  There is even a documented report of a Vesper Sparrow that learned to sing like a Bewick’s Wren!

The Vesper Sparrow was first called the Bay-winged Bunting and then the Grass Finch.  John Burroughs gave the bird the name Vesper Sparrow because he felt that its singing was “sweeter and more impressive toward the evening”.

This sparrow is a very adaptable little bird.  It is often the first species to return to a  forest area when a mining site or farm fields are reclaimed.  We felt complimented by his visit to our bird feeder, as we are slowly reclaiming over grazed pasture land and have some native trees that are now taller than we are!

Well, it’s that time of year down here.  As we sipped from our Southwest Canyon Bird Coffee Mug, the fall sparrow migration hit our bird feeders.  We had had a few Lark Sparrows into the recycled platform bird feeder last week.  Today the flock arrived!  We had them enjoying our bath bath and then using both platform feeders.  While we were watching them the Chipping Sparrows started filtering into the triple tube feeder.  Shortly we also had Savannah Sparrows, Lincoln Sparrows, Black Headed Grosbeaks, Blue Grosbeaks and a Green-tailed Towhee.  Most of these species seemed to prefer the platform bird feeders, but many used the various tube feeders we have scattered around the yard, especially the shy species.  Many of these species will stay with us for the winter.  Some will get their field marks back after this molt, making the ID so much easier.

We were surprised that so many species arrived at the same time, perhaps it is because we put up a new novelty crossing sign - ”Wild Bird Crossing!”

Lucy’s Warblers are one of the smallest warblers and has chosen to make the desert its home, making its nest in the driest of all warbler habitats.  

Dr. J. G. Cooper discovered this tiny and inconspicuous warbler at Fort Mojave in Arizona in 1861.  He named it after Miss Lucy Baird, daughter of his associate Dr. Spencer F. Baird. 

The Lucy’s Warbler is one of only two warblers that breeds in cavities. (The Prothonotary Warbler is the other.) If using a woodpecker hole, the warbler may fill the cavity nearly to the top with debris and put the nest on top so the bird can see out.  Abandoned Verdin nests are also a favorite nesting place.

I could not find if anyone has established the size of a Lucy’s Warblers territory. However, it is not unusual to find up to 5 nests in 1 acre.  When Tom and I do breeding bird surveys, the over lapping songs make it very hard to impossible to get an accurate count on the number of males singing.

Most people spot this bird while it is gleaning insects off foliage, and its quick movements catch the eye.  Remember, if you are in the dry desert do not eliminate all warblers when trying to identify a little gray bird!   It just may be a Lucy’s Warbler!

You might notice that I say he “ran”.  He did not fly.  Crissal Thrashers are known for their habit of running or walking around their territory.  Even when threatened by a predator or disturbed by us he runs for cover.  He does not fly unless death is imminent.  This unique habit makes things interesting when a Cooper’s Hawk flies over the bird feeders and a covey of quail are also in the yard.  They will all head for the same juniper/acacia tangle.  If the quail have young they win, if not the quail will usually head for the brush pile.

We have only found one Crissal Thrasher nest.  It was built close to the trunk of a tree, under a large branch.  Access to the nest was difficult for even the parent birds and should have provided great protection from predators and becauses of the location the nest was in a shady spot.  The Crissal Thrasher is only thrasher that lay unspotted eggs.

The energy of the Crisssal Thrasher inspired us to get moving or at least inspired me to get out to the office and write this blog.  You can find Crissal Thrashers and observe their habit of running by going to our Portal, Arizona birding map and looking for the big thicket.

I looked out the window this past week to see a Pinion Jay at our stainless steel sunflower bird feeder.  I did a double take.  We have had them in our yard before, but usually in December and January, and then only when we have snow at our elevation which only happen a few times a year.  Although Tom was sure I knew what a Pinion Jay looked like after helping band them for years, his eyebrow still went up just a little.

“How unusual,” was his only comment.

Just a few days ago Tom hollered in from the family room “Hey, we have a Scrub Jay eating at the suet bird feeder!”

“How unusual,” was my only comment.  Although I have to tell you that I did get a good look at him and will confirm his finding.

This morning while we were sipping from our coffee mugs we had a Dark-eyed Junco stop for a bite to eat at the triple tube bird feeder.  We looked at each other and said at the same time “How unusual!”  We can laugh and tease each other and this sort of teasing always makes the day start off right.

It does make us wonder-what kind of weather will we be having if the birds are already scouting out bird feeders at our lower elevation?

Are you people from up north feeling sorry for us?

But this morning we had one American Goldfinch stop in for a bite to eat and a quick bath in the bird bath. This species is uncommon for our area. A few are seen in the area each year, but we have never had the flocks we were familiar with when we lived in South Dakota, and they never stay in the area for very long.

We knew our day was off to a great start, and to add to the day a small flock of Pine Siskins stopped by. These were a first for this fall. They visited our thistle sock, as the stainless steel thistle feeder was pretty much covered with birds. The American Goldfinch was much larger than the Lesser Goldfinches, so he was not shy about making sure he got a hearty breakfast.

It’s great to have more than one kind of bird feeder in your yard. Yesterday the platform bird feeder had all of the excitement and today the thistle bird feeders. What will tomorrow bring?

Our yard has been fenced off from cattle grazing for about 10 years now.  We are fighting a battle with Russian Thistle and have noticed a definite decrease in this weed and several other noxious weeds.  The return of the Rufous-crowned Sparrow has given us hope that our yard will someday become a true desert scrubland haven for the birds.

Once paired the Rufous-crowned Sparrow remain on their territories year-round and stay bonded for life.  The are ground feeders and like to peck at the base of grass stems.  They are therefore most attracted to platform bird feeders in the winter, however prefer insects in the summer months.  The bird baths we have in our yard seem to be attracting them this year as we have not had much in the way of monsoonal rains. 

To help you find Rufous-crowned Sparrows download our Portal Birding Map and look along the Portal Road and the Foothills Roads in the scrub land before and throughout the big thicket.

But…..(you could hear that but coming, couldn’t you)…  we have a new bird feeder problem.  We have a young Cooper’s Hawk that has decided that our four tiered bird pond is a great place to soak it’s feet on a hot day.  It comes in and just stands in the water next to the water fall so that it gets a little splash, but not soaked.  We have never seen it attempt to hunt while it is here.  In fact it comes in with a great deal of wing flapping and hopping around.  It seems to want to clear every other animal out so that it has the bath to its self.  It is great to see the hawk stand so still for so long when you want to identify the bird or want to show it to a fellow bird watcher……but….you sure aren’t going to be able to show your fellow bird watcher any other birds when the hawk is around.

Now I realize that Cooper’s hawks have a rough life.  In a recent study of 300 skeletons,  23 percent showed old, healed-over fractures in the bones of the chest, especially of the wishbone.  The males have a particularly hard life.  Let me remind you that:

1. Cooper’s Hawks eat birds smaller that they are. 

2. The females will eat medium-sized birds.

3. Male Cooper’s Hawks are smaller than the female. 

 Are you getting the picture?

This tends to make the male submissive and he will make sure that his mate is in the mood before he makes his move, for reasons I’m sure are obvious to you.

The male will build the nest and will then feed both the female and the babies for the next 3 months, the time it takes for the young to be ready to go out on their own.

Now despite this rough life, I wish this particular Cooper’s Hawk would find some other way of cooling off this summer.  He is wreaking our chance to see the baby birds that would usually visit our yard.  It is always fun to watch the adult plumage slowly emerge.

We do have bird feeders on other sides of the house, so we haven’t been totally out of touch with the maturing of the baby birds, but it is just not the same when we fill our coffee cups each morning.

This hawk does not have a flight plan, so we can’t discourage him in the normal ways.  Our only solution is to let the pond go dry and water the birds in the other bird baths are offered around the yard.  I hope he gets the message soon.

Of course, we are not having to put out as much bird seed as usual, so we are saving some money. But, doesn’t the President want us to spend money right now?  Maybe I can get him to address this problem over a beer at the White House some time.

I am not sure why else they would be here.  Their preferred habitat is generally streamside willows, cottonwoods and mesquites.  They generally nest in cavities or under peeling bark of these trees.  The closest habitat of this sort is nearly three miles away from our property and there is not a tree large enough on our property to have cavities or peeling bark. 

These small active little elves have pale gray upperparts, plain gray wings and whitish underparts.  Both male and female have a rusty patch on the upper tail coverts.  The male has a very noticeable rusty red patch on the top of the head.  The bills are thin and very pointed and they have dark legs.  Overall size is smaller than some of our hummingbirds at about 4 1/4 inches.

Lucy’s Warblers are insect eaters and a great deal of the joy we have for these little tykes is watching them glean insects from the sage, acacia and mesquites which border our bird pond.  The acrobatics of these birds in catching their food is amazing as they chase small insects in every imaginable position up and down the branches of the plants.

I do not know if this pair flies from the better habitat three miles away or if they are nesting closer and are utilizing a non-traditional nesting site.  Today, however, they showed up with a juvenile bird.  The youngster was fully feathered and was catching its own food on the various shrubs.  It was similar in looks to the female but had some buff on the underparts.  Now we have three of these little birds to enjoy and enjoy them we will.

Shelter can be provided to birds and other wildlife in three basic ways:

• birdhouses for nesting
• brush piles for roosting, nesting and foraging
• plantings to provide nesting, roosting and and safe foraging areas.

While not a large number of bird species use nestboxes, many very desirable species do.  For these species the following components are important:

• size proportional to the bird species you wish to occupy it
• thick wood construction to provide insulation from the heat and cold
• an easy way to remove one side or the top for cleaning and clean it out when nesting is over to prevent parasites and disease
• the proper size hole opening to discourage predators
• no perch (perches are used by predators, not occupants)
• a rough interior or grooves on the inside under the opening to assist the young birds in leaving the nest
• box must be hung in the right habitat, at the right height for the species meant to occupy it and the opening must face away from prevailing winds

Brush piles provide a favorite nesting place for many bird species including quail, doves, towhees, juncos and several of the native sparrow species.  A simple pile of branches and yard cuttings will provide homes and hunting areas for many species of birds.  It will be a hub of activity during the nesting season and will provide great shelter in the winter time.  After a year or two move the brush pile and you will find a wonderful layer of compost beneath it which your garden plants will love.

You can also use plantings in your yard to provide shelter.  Massed plantings of evergreens are useful for nesting and protection from wind and bad weather.  Thick shrubs and trees will assist in providing nesting places and safe foraging areas for birds.  This is the hardest aspect of a backyard bird habitat to provide sometimes as it almost always seems like it takes forever for the plants to grow to a useful size.  Be persistent and it will come.

Remember the three Cs when providing shelter for your birds; cleanliness, comfort and consistency.  Then, sit back, enjoy a cup of coffee in your bird themed coffee mug and enjoy these beautiful and interesting birds you have attracted to your backyard bird habitat .