Backyard Birds

This year’s Cornell Ornithology Lab’s Feederwatch Project began twelve weeks ago, and we have been counting the birds in the backyard every Sunday & Monday.  We have seen nineteen different species using our seven feeders, one heated birdbath, trees and bushes, and a pond surrounded by native forbs and grasses.  Much of the pond freezes on particularly cold nights, but the mallard population keeps a portion open all the time.  Birds visit the feeders several times each day.  Every species exhibits unique feeding behaviors, using one or more of the feeders which include a covered tray, an open tray, a tube for black oil sunflower seeds, an open mesh tube for nyjer seeds, an upside down cage for suet, and seed placed out on open ground.  This attracts a large mix of birds for us to watch. 

Chickadees and red-bellied woodpeckers may eat or cache their food.  A bird flies to a feeder, takes a food item and immediately flies to a nearby covered perch, usually in one of our pine trees.  The bird may store the item in a cavity in the bark of the tree or eat the item immediately.  Hairy and downy woodpeckers eat at suet feeders, but are very vigilant.  After landing on the feeder, they will spend several minutes checking all directions for possible threats before beginning to eat.  Sparrows and cardinals select different types of seeds.  Northern cardinals have a large, heavy beak making it easy for them to break open seeds like striped sunflower that have a thick outer shell.  Sparrows have small beaks and eat correspondingly smaller seeds, including millet, safflower and black oil sunflower seeds, which have a thin outer shell.

Goldfinchs’ favorite seed is nyjer, a small, oil-rich seed from an invasive plant native to Ethiopia.  Imported from overseas, the seeds are put through a heat-sterilization process prior to distribution in the United States to ensure that invasive plants do not grow from the seed.   House sparrows take small seeds from the woodpecker blend in the covered tray house feeder.  Mourning doves and juncos feed on open ground and are found cleaning up various seeds that fall around all of our feeders.  Sparrows and mourning doves also enjoy white millet, a small, starchy grain that provides a nutritious meal, served in an open tray. 

Occasionally, a red-tail hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, or Cooper’s hawk buzzes the yard.  These birds are top predators in the area and feed on the smaller birds flying to and from feeders.  Hawks will grab a smaller bird either in flight or from a feeder, grasping their bodies with strong talons, that are also used to kill their prey by repeated puncturing.  The hawks will fly to a nearby perch, high up in one of the larger trees, to eat.  Their attacks are swift and usually come from a direction that is not easily monitored by birds on the feeders.  Whether the hawk is successful or not, there are no birds to observe for a long time after one flies through the yard.

Projects, such as Feederwatch, have gathered data on various bird behaviors for many years.  Combined observations from all of North America help to identify long-term trends in species distribution, which food items attract each species, and environmental factors that affect the birds.  Observations and anecdotal evidence provide insight into species that travel and feed together, how habitat is used for food and cover, and group communication. 

The Feederwatch Project website, at https://feederwatch.org/, contains information on a variety of topics including summaries and graphs of the data being currently collected, as well as all past data.  Click on the EXPLORE button to access bird count summaries, trend graphs, and more scientific information.  eBird, another observation project hosted by Cornell Ornithology Labs, also contains an EXPLORE page with species and hotspot maps, bar charts showing population distribution over time, photos and sound recordings.  Try accessing the page for eBird / Explore / Explore Hotspots, at https://ebird.org/hotspots;  change the date in the middle top bar to “Jan, current year” and scroll in until only the Chicago area is displayed.  Hover your mouse over any one hotspot to see the number of species reported in January at that location.  Then consider signing up to create your own observational hotspot!

If you are interested in making your own bird observations, consider signing up for the Great Backyard Bird Count happening next weekend, February 12th to February 15th.  Click on the link below for more information and to sign up as a participant.

Fun sites to explore:

• https://feederwatch.org/   Project FeederWatch home
• https://ebird.org/home    eBird Home
• https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/    Cornell Lab of Ornithology home
• https://www.birdcount.org/    The Great Backyard Bird Count home   Feb 12-15, 2021