Black-billed Magpies: Did You Know?

October 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment

We were recently in South Dakota and of course we had to do a little bird watching while we were there.  One of the species that I enjoyed seeing was the Black-billed Magpie.  Although it is not rare and not really hard to find, the striking black and white pattern always makes me smile.

Black-billed Magpie featured at http://tomsbirdfeeders.com

The black and white pattern along with the long tail make identification easy.

When I started bird watching I was startled to see a magpie sitting on the back of a deer.  I watched it land on the deer’s back, fly away and then land on the deer again four times.  This behavior sent me back to the books (this was before the internet) to find out why.  It seems that magpies are tolerated by the deer because the birds are removing ticks.  The magpies will eat some and then cache some for later use as many members of their family do.  The problem with this is that the ticks are stored alive and unharmed.  The ticks simply crawl away and resume their lives.

Black-billed Magpie nest from http://tomsbirdfeeders.com

The large domed nest of the Black-billed Magpie is unmistakable.

 The nest of the Black-billed Magpie is unmistakable.  It is a large domed nest, made primarily of sticks and mud. The interior of the nest is lined with hair, grass, bark, or rootlets. The nest can take the birds up to 40 days to build.  A recent study found that the pair only spent about 1% of their daily energy to build their nest.  The female on the other hand spent 23% of her energy laying the eggs.

 As with other members of the corvidae family, the magpies will predate the nests of  birds taking both eggs and nestlings.  However this predation only makes up a small part of the Black-bill Magpie’s diet.  Most of the time the magpie will forage on the ground for insects, grains, with acorns being a favorite, small mammals and some carrion.

 When we lived in South Dakota the magpies would sometimes visit our suet feeders and our platform bird feeders.  The smaller songbirds would sound the alarm and quickly make the magpie feel unwelcomed.  They never stayed very long and we never seemed to be visited on a regular basis.  Maybe they just came in with the deer that visited our birdbath for a drink  occasionally.   :^)

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Red-breasted Nuthatch: Did you know?

August 31, 2010 by Leave a Comment

We were visiting some friends and, since they are birders also, they understood when our attention was drawn to their bird feeders.  The sunflower bird feeder was just outside their family room picture window.  Now I know that a Red-breasted Nuthatch is not a particularly rare bird, but we do not get them out on the desert where we live.  This group of nuthatches was very busy taking one sunflower seed at a time out of the tube bird feeder, cracking it, eating it and then returning to start the process all over again.  Occasionally they took a seed from the platform feeders.

These birds reminded me of watching a pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches build a nest at my folk’s house in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  When I arrived the pair were busily collecting resin globules from coniferous trees and plastering them around the entrance of  their  nest hole.  I expected the birds to carry the resin in their bills.  I was amazed that the nuthatches used what I considered a tool.  The male collected  pieces of bark with pine pitch on it and then used the bark as an applicator. The male puts the resin primarily around the outside of the hole while the female puts it around the inside. It is thought that the resin helps to keep out competition for the nest cavity and also deters predators. The nuthatch avoids the resin by diving through the hole, not perching in the entry as most birds do.

My father reported that the Red-breasted Nuthatch had fought hard to claim the nesting cavity.  He had first seen a Downy Woodpecker hammering away, trying to enlarge the hole.  The Red-breasted Nuthatch aggressively chased the Downy away after a two day battle.  Next the Red-breasted had to defend the cavity from a White-breasted Nuthatch.  It seems this pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches were particularly feisty and again won the battle.

This pair brought 3 young off the nest.  My folks were as proud as “grandparent”s could be.  In fact,  they purchased a peanut bird feeder when the young left the nest as a way to keep the nuthatches in the area.  I don’t know if the same pair stayed around, but the familiar “yank-yank” has been heard for years at my parent’s house.

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Turkey Vultures Mean Spring is Here!

March 19, 2010 by Leave a Comment

While driving home yesterday I saw one lone Turkey Vulture soaring by Rodeo, N.M.  For those of us in southeastern Arizona that means that spring is upon us. The trees are starting to bud and the poppies are turning the hillsides golden.

We had a Broad-tailed Hummingbird into our saucer hummingbird feeder this morning and the Cactus Wren and the Curve-billed Thrasher are fighting over the telephone pole. Both feel they  have territorial rights to this pole.  We cleaned out the nesting platform, but the Cactus Wren has started moving nesting material into it already.

The spring bird migration has started, the flowers are blooming and it is a GREAT day for nature lovers!

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Bird Migration is Starting in Portal, Arizona

March 16, 2010 by 3 Comments

This week-end we saw our first signs of the spring bird migration.  We had put up our Best  1 hummingbird feeder a few days ago.  Over the week-end we had a Magnificent Hummingbird and a Blue-throated Hummingbird.  We also had a smaller humming bird in, but was not able to identify it.  It just didn’t stick around long enough.

We also had  Mountain Bluebirds come into our Supper Dome bird feeder. If you are not familiar with the Supper Dome, it is both a mealworm feeder and a suet feeder.  We had put out some mealworms for the Says Phoebes, but phoebes weren’t fast enough.  I guess the old saying  “The early bird gets the worm” would apply.  Our new supply of mealworms came in Monday, but the poor pheobes had to find breakfast the old fashioned way-hunt for it.

With the bluebird migration on, remember to have your bluebird houses cleaned out, repaired or replaced, as territories will be established soon.  Get the mealworm feeders out and get your supply of mealworms stocked.

Remember to only put out a little nectar in your hummingbird feeder until the hummingbird migration is in full swing.  Also remember to change the nectar regularly. 

Hope your bird migration is great this year and I will let you know what is coming into our yard.

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Mountain Bluebirds – Did You Know?

March 9, 2010 by Leave a Comment

I have written about the importance of nest boxes for bluebirds. The importance can be emphasized when talking about the Mountain Bluebird. Most studies of the Mountain Bluebird involve birds in nest boxes, and in fact very little is known about natural nest site requirements.

Scientists have learned by observing the nest boxes that only the female builds the nest. The male sometimes acts as if he is helping, but he either brings no nest material or he drops it on the way. (Men- we are talking about bluebirds and this behavior should not be reflected in your actions.)

Where territories overlap Mountain and Western bluebirds will compete for nest boxes, and consider males of the other species direct competition.

The Mountain Bluebird will usually dominate the Eastern Bluebird. This relationship may limit the westward expansion of the Eastern Bluebird.

Your effort in establishing bluebird trails and your addition of a bluebird feeder will help this species continue to recover. And really, what would the world be without the bluebird of happiness in it?

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February is Here – Start Thinking Bluebirds

February 9, 2010 by Leave a Comment

For many years now the bluebird populations have been declining because land has been cleared for new houses, shopping malls and highways.The old wood fence posts that provided nesting cavities are now being replaced with metal posts. Much of the natural nesting cavities for bluebirds and other native cavity nesters has been greatly reduced.

We also have to remember that the House Sparrow and the European Starling have been introduced to the U.S. Both starlings and sparrows are cavity nesters, and both are very aggressive. House Sparrows are small enough to enter any hole that a bluebird can, and are so aggressive that they will chase away the more timid bluebird. Starlings can be excluded from bluebird boxes by using the correct size entrance hole, but will compete with bluebirds for woodpecker holes and other natural nesting cavities.

During the summer, bluebirds feed mainly on insects. In the winter, bluebirds depend on many kinds of wild berries for their food supply. However, the supply of wild berries has also decreased over the years. The few berries that remain are often stripped quickly by large flocks of starlings.Even though the bluebird population has greatly decreased, you can impact the population positively. One very important step you can take to help bring back the bluebird is to provide nesting sites by setting out a bluebird box or starting a bluebird trail. A bluebird trail is simply bluebird boxes placed along a prescribed route. In areas where nesting boxes have been put up in suitable habitat, bluebird populations are increasing. Bluebirding is a great project that people of all ages can enjoy. Many a good bluebird trail has been set up by boy scouts and other similar youth groups.

Another way to enhance your area for bluebirds is to add a bluebird/mealworm bird feeder.  These feeders have entrance holes the correct size for bluebirds, and been designed specifically so that your mealworms will not be able to escape from the bird feeder.

These simple steps will encourage bluebirds to stay around your area and help increase the bluebird population nationwide.

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Lucy’s Warblers-Darlings of the Backyard

July 10, 2009 by 2 Comments

For the past couple of weeks we have been entertained by a pair of Lucy’s Warblers while we sit with our coffee mugs and watch the birds coming in to our backyard bird habitat.  These birds do not come in to the birdseed we put out for the birds.  However, the sound of flowing water in our four tiered bird pond has been bringing them in every day.

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.

Filed Under: Bird Watching, Birding in General, Coffee Mugs, Nesting and Nestboxes, Pond and Waterfall Kits Tagged With: ,

Summer: A Prosperous Time for Birds?

June 4, 2009 by 3 Comments

Summer might be considered the most “prosperous” time of year for birds.  Most raise their families during this time of year because of the abundance of insects and berries to feed the young and themselves and the leafy shelter of trees, shrubs and vines is much more luxuriant during the summer than any other time of year providing cover for birds and nests.

For some birds, however, this may still be a critical time of year.  While nature and man may provide luxuriant growth in many areas, some birds must still travel afar to obtain water and food to feed themselves and their young.  The birds are exposed to added dangers during these forays.  This is where we as birders can come in and make a difference for the birds and add a great deal of enjoyment to our own lives by attracting a greater number of birds and bird species to our yards. 

By providing fleshy fruits for feeding babies and water we can eliminate or lessen these dangers.  Many nesting birds require fleshy berries for food during their early development.  We can help by providing or planting cherries, mulberries, serviceberries, blueberries, elderberries, raspberries, pyracantha, blackberries, wild plums, chokecherries or other fleshy fruit producing plants in our yards. 

In summer, birds look for thick plantings to provide shelter and nesting areas.  They naturally look for thick evergreens, yews or barberry hedges, vine thickets, hawthorns and trees providing hollow cavities for nesting.  We can help by putting up bird nest boxes for the species that will utilize them.  These plantings also attract many insects which the birds eat themselves or feed to their young.

Fresh water is even more important during the summer than any other time of year, especially in hot dry weather.  It is more important during this time of year to keep fresh water in the bird baths than to operate feeding stations during the summer.  Always remember that the sound of moving water will attract more birds to your yard during this time of year than non moving water.  This can be accomplished by providing your bird bath with a dripper or mister or by providing moving water with a backyard waterfall kit.

Summer is a “prosperous time of year for the birds, but, this does not mean that we cannot still help them out and provide enjoyable, educational and relaxing entertainment for ourselves.  Summer can be fun in the backyard.

Filed Under: Bird Baths, Birding in General, Nesting and Nestboxes, Pond and Waterfall Kits, Water Features Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Backyard Wildlife Habitats: Part 3 Shelter

April 3, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Over the past weeks I have discussed the first two necessities of providing a good backyard habitat for birds; food and water.  Today I will elaborate on the third and final component of a good habitat, shelter.

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 .

Filed Under: Birding in General, Coffee Mugs, Nesting and Nestboxes Tagged With: , , ,

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