Month December 2019

Cooper’s Hawk

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This November I was able to add a new bird to my list. I was particularly pleased about this sighting as it was not only a new bird, but a new bird of prey. In my own backyard, literally. Thank goodness for the strong fall breezes removing most of the leaves from the trees. I had only been sitting out for about fifteen minutes, relaxing and waiting for the birds to get used to my presence and return to the feeders, when they all called out this horrible racket. As the Cooper’s Hawk settled down on a nearby branch, the trees erupted with objections from every other feathered and furred creature in the vicinity. The Blue Jays attempted to intimidate the predator with there loudest shrieks. The Squirrels making their panic noise, which is a cross between the sound of a dry-heave and nails on a chalkboard. The House Sparrows were also adding their sweet voices, not so much to intimidate as to deter the would be predator by demonstrating their greater numbers. Together these sounds and calls created the most inharmonious chorus ever heard. And they just kept it up!

At first I thought they were disturbed by the neighbor’s cat, who I had seen rushing from the middle of the next yard a moment earlier. This is a fairly regular occurrence. Later I realized that the cat was also panicked by the Hawk and running for his life. Not to sound too mean, but I took a slight bit of satisfaction that for once the cat was being terrorized, instead of terrorizing. But when the cat appears the ruckus soon calms down. With the cat gone, I started looking for another reason for their unhappiness. And that was when I spotted it. To have that kind of power to have just your silent presence on a branch cause so much commotion.

I knew instantly that this magnificent creator was not a Red-Tailed Hawk, the species of hawk seen very often in our town, especially in the nearby park. The darker color of the wings was my first indication that this bird was different. A quick look at its tail and rump confirmed that it was not the Red-Tailed Hawk (pictured on right below). The hatch marks of the feathers along the belly were also differently patterned and more heavily colored.

The Cooper’s Hawk is considered a medium sized hawk. They measure between just over a foot to twenty inches. The females are slightly larger than their male counterparts, but this is their only difference in appearance. The Cooper’s Hawk has a white chest, which appears rusty due to the closely placed hatch-marks on his belly feathers. Its back and wings are a slate gray and its tail is also gray and long, with a rounded end and a series of black bands running along the width of its tail. The face of the Cooper’s Hawk made the greatest impression on me. A fierce intelligence radiates from its red eyes. The top of its head is capped with dark gray feathers, while its cheek is covered in a rust colored blush, which further helps to emphasize the bird’s eyes. The Cooper’s Hawk looks almost the same as the Sharp-shinned Hawk except it is larger and has rounded tail where the Sharp-shinned has a squared tail.

The Cooper’s Hawk has shorter wings than some other hawks, a feature that helps them steer through trees. They apply ambush tactics when hunting and have been known to spend time at or near feeders, hoping to pick off an unsuspecting songbird. They are mostly silent, calling only to or from their nests. This quiet adds to their aura of danger and menace. While their diet is mostly comprised of smaller birds and small mammals, they have been known to eat reptiles and amphibians in a pinch.

While this species of hawk is present in New Jersey year round, some birds do migrate to Mexico and other warmer areas in the south. While their population was badly affected by DDT pollution in the 1950s-1980s, today they are a common bird. Spotting them however is often by chance. Knowing that I feel doubly lucky that I chose that morning to enjoy a bit of the autumn sunshine.

A Chance Encounter with a Famous Owl

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This past August I attended the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire and had a brush with fame. Located on the estate of the Mount Hope Winery, the faire is home to the wide variety of acts and demonstrations we have come to expect at Renaissance themed events. Alongside the jousts and human chess, the jugglers and musicians, was Her Majesty’s Royal Falconer. It didn’t take much convincing to get my party to both take a look at the birds in their pens and to check out one of their daily educational demonstrations. The faclconer, Ash Cary gave a wonderful talk entitled Knightwings: Birds of Prey, which included a lot of information about the efforts made toward conservation of birds of prey. To learn more about Cary and his conservation efforts, you can visit the website of his non-profit One World Raptor at https://oneworldraptor.org/

Unfortunately, I had decided I would enjoy the faire more without carrying the weight of my camera and lens, so I was forced to rely on a phone camera for the show. As you might expect, not all the birds are included in each demonstration. Our demonstration included Zuul, a South American Black Hawk-Eagle and Ulysses, a European Eagle Owl. While Zuul was a beautiful bird, it was Ulysses who completely captivated me. Elegant and distinguished, his large size dominated your attention from the moment he emerged. And one look into his large orange eyes with their disdaining disinterest, and you understand immediately why humans often personify owls as being stuck up and haughty.

It is really a small wonder that Ulysses caught my attention. Eagle Owls are the largest species of owl in the world. While in looks they somewhat resemble the Great Horned Owl, the Eagle Owl is over two feet tall. Its size is further enhanced with its “fluffy” plumage, presenting a large girth that seems formidable. Ulysses and other Eagle Owls have yellowish brown bellies with darker brown wings and back. Besides their large orange eyes, their other distinctive facial feature are their long ear tufts on either side of their forehead, which stand straight up except when they are in flight. The young look much less distinguished, being as white as snow with fluffy downy bodies, resembling a clump of cotton candy.

When living in the wild, Eagle Owls reside in mountain regions. They like forests that have rocks or cliffs. They often nest in the cliffs and spend most of the daytime hours roosting in coniferous trees. Like many other owls, they feed on small mammals and small birds.

As if Ulysses was not cool enough already, he is also a movie star. According to Cary, he was cast as Draco Malfoy’s owl in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001). A quick review of the movie credits indicated that they did not list every animal by name. I decided to re-watch the movie in full to see if I can spot him. While he might have been cast as Draco’s owl, I am confident that there are no scenes of Draco with an owl. I did however spot a European Eagle Owl in a few scenes. Assuming that owl was Ulysses, he was in the first scene, sitting on the street sign as baby Harry is delivered to his aunt and uncle’s home and he was the owl who delivered the first Hogwart’s letter to Harry. He was hanging on the roof with several other owls trying to deliver Hogwart’s letters when uncle Vernon goes to work, he was among other familiars hanging out in Diagon alley and he also delivered some mail to Hogwarts when Neville received his remembrall. Unfortunately my DVD doesn’t include deleted scenes so I couldn’t investigate further.

I am very excited because this post has given me the opportunity to use the newest resource in my growing bird library, a gift from my husband Collins Bird Guide: The Most Complete Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe text by Lars Svensson, 2009.

The White- Breasted Nuthatch

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When I first started watching birds in my own backyard, the White-Breasted Nuthatch was one of the first “exotic” species I encountered. Basically, what I mean by that is the Nuthatch was the first bird I wasn’t able to name without the assistance of a field guide.

Since that initial sighting, I have become familiar with the comings and goings of these little guys. They are fairly small in stature, being about 5 or 6 inches, which puts them between the size of a Chickadee and a House Sparrow. Their coloring is not particularly memorable. The have slate gray wings, backs, necks and head caps and a white belly, throat and bottom. You can also look for a little bit of chestnut by the back of their legs and butt but it will probably be a flash sighting as these little guys move rather rapidly. Males and females look similar, but the females are a dark gray where the male is black. Their bodies are almost streamline, with their tail and their very long, thin beak almost lining up when the White-Breasted Nuthatch is looking straight ahead.

However plain is its appearance, the Nuthatch is distinct in its behavior. The Nuthatch hops head first down feeders and trees. From this upside-down posture, they often arch their necks to see forward, causing them to resemble a marble dolphin in a fountain. It is this behavior that has caused the White-Breasted Nuthatch to be nicknamed the “upside-down bird” by several members of my family.

The Nuthatch resemble Woodpeckers in their eating habits. They like to hunt and eat insects directly from trees. Their long toes and toenails, along with their long, thin beaks, are great tools for the job. They scrabble along tree bark, hunting for their dinner. However, this is where the Nuthatch is different. While a Woodpecker will land on a tree and hunt its way up to the top, the Nuthatch starts at the top and works down. This strategy allows them to see insects and insect eggs that are not visible from the bottom to top approach.

The Nuthatch will come to suet and seed feeders, but suet seems to be their preference. They also eat nuts and acorns, particularly in the autumn and winter, for they are non-migratory. Due to their Woodpecker-like behaviors, it won’t surprise you to learn that White-Breasted Nuthatches like to nest in cavities and often take over holes that have been deserted by woodpeckers. They have only one brood a year, and both parents concentrate their efforts on feeding the nestlings. Despite their smaller stature, the Nuthatch is generally not shy of other birds. They fly in mixed flocks outside of the breeding season and are not usually startled by companions at the feeder.

The White-Breasted Nuthatch has several relations that look similar to him. He resembles the Red-Breasted Nuthatch, which is also common to New Jersey, but is slightly smaller and has rusty red belly. The stripe over its eyes is the first noticeably difference for observers. The Brown-Headed Nuthatch, which only resembles the White-Breasted in shape and behavior, is more commonly found below the Mason-Dixon line, which includes the Southern tip of New Jersey.

Felt Birdhouses?

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Over the summer, I found myself shopping in a touristy, vacation town. I had only just started working on this blog and was still trying to determine what directions I would like to go with it and all bird related products were of particular interest. I happened to look up over the registers and there, hanging among the wind chimes and windsocks were a series of felt birdhouses. The accompanying sign assured customers that not only were they a sustainable and fair trade product, but they were for inside or outside use. Taking one look at these cute things I felt great doubt that they could sustain a full season outside. But who knows? Lucky for me I had my phone handy and thought fast enough to snap a quick reference photo. I put this in my metaphorical bag of ideas, for a rainy day when I had time for more googling.

It didn’t actually take much research to find the source of these felt birdhouses. Wild Woolies Felt Homemade Designs. The retail website indicates that they are made of 100% wool, in Nepal. As I searched the site and took a look at the birdhouses, I was genuinely surprised by the variety of styles. According to my count, there are exactly thirty-nine different felt real estate options. Many are what you might expect, cute houses, themed and decorated in a way that you just know Tinkerbell and her fairy friends would feel right at home. These styles included the Pixie Cottage, Magic Mushroom and Fairy House, as well as the Chalet and Hermit Hut (for those birds seeking a life of solitude and quiet contemplation). There were others inspired by nature such as the Acorn, Cactus and Beehive and several decorated with flowers, humming birds and insects. But there were also some less traditional housing options, including a Taco Truck, Yellow Submarine, Hot Air Balloon and Yeti Hut (for which you could also purchase the accompanying yetis). For me the most bizarre were those designed to look like animals. The Owl, Chicken and Fox, which all have holes in their bellies, making me assume that the emergence of the resident bird probably looks like an adorable parody of a scene from Alien. For me the Puffer fish and flower power Elephant were just a bit too weird, though admittedly cute.

As I browsed the different houses I caught myself thinking of which friends would like which designs, as if I was doing my Christmas shopping instead of researching for my blog. But the questions still remained, can they really survive the elements and act as a functioning birdhouse? I snapped out of my shopaholic state, and started looking for reviews. I could only find one, which was a five star review from 2018. A positive sign. Unfortunately the review didn’t answer the question of outside use as the reviewer specifically said she wouldn’t put it outside. Five stars for cuteness, but does the product work outside as promised? I searched in vain for a while longer before coming to the conclusion that there were no more reviews. No one had put the wool birdhouses to the test AND written about the results.

And then I got an idea. An Awful Idea. I had a Wonderful Awful Idea. Just kidding! What are the holidays without a good Grinch reference?! But I did truly have an idea. If I wanted to know how the houses fared outside, I should buy one. I could hang it out this spring and document its progress. And then I could write the definitive review that either confirmed or denounced whether these cute little houses can weather the elements.

So I have put in my order, and am anxiously awaiting my package. Stay tuned to see which design I picked and learn how it does outside.

If you are interested in buying one of these lovely houses, since I think we can all agree that they are super cute, you can find them at a variety of retail outlets, including amazon. I referenced https://www.songbirdgarden.com/ when I did my research which seems to be the outlet that features all of the different style options. They also sell a variety of felt bird ornaments, perfect for any bird lover on your holiday shopping list.

Black-Capped Chickadees

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Black-Capped Chickadee’s are one of Northern New Jersey’s year-round residents. Small but spunky (they are only about 5 inches), the Chickadee tends to be a bit shy of other birds around the feeder and will often wait to have some alone time with the seeds. When they are feeding young, often the pair will visit the yard together, one keeping watch while the other gets seeds. Then they swap places before flying off to fill the empty bellies and gaping mouths of their little ones. But don’t let this behavior make you think of them as cowards. The are cautious adventurers. If you are just starting to feed birds or you put out a new feeder, it is very likely that the Chickadees will be the first to find it.

Besides their small stature, you will know the Chickadee easily. He has a black cap and neck, with a tan belly and gray wings. There is some white in his wings and a white section at the back of his neck. I say he, but in fact the male, female and juvenile Black-Capped Chickadees are all identical. Even if you can’t see a Chickadee, they tend to be very polite, and introduce themselves with their typical “Chick-a-dee-dee-dee” call that gives them their name (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-capped_Chickadee/sounds)

Attracting a Black-Capped Chickadee to your yard with a feeder is pretty easy. Their diet is varied enough with a mix of insects, seeds and fruit that they will come to seed or suet feeders. It is also pretty easy to convince them to become tenants. In nature the Black-Capped Chickadees like nesting in cavities, but they think the basic nest box is very homey. In my garden they have tried to move in for a few years now, however the Sparrows seem to intimidate them until they abandon their nesting activities. It takes them about 10-14 days to make their cavity homey, lining it with moss, feathers, hair and cocoons. They typically have one brood of 6-8 white eggs with red-brown markings. After three weeks the babies fly off make their own way in the world.

In the winter Chickadees have been known to flock in groups up to twelve. They like to roost in dense conifers for protection from the weather. They are easily spotted in the snow, foraging for food as they need to eat on a daily basis to survive. They must even brave the worst winter storms to search for food. So next time you look out your window into a snowstorm, spare a moment of thought for the brave little Chickadees.

A Wintry Walk in the Celery Farms

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One of the things I like most about the Celery Farms in Allendale, NJ is that it provides an interesting walk, regardless of the season. I know I have said Autumn is my favorite season to visit, and it is, but winter is definitely nice as well. Especially if the weather is snowy and the lake has frozen. In fact many of the locals play hockey on the ice, so on an early morning winter walk (especially during the school break) one often finds the parking lot full.

Winter at the Celery Farms is not really for the unadventurous. If you think the path is muddy in other seasons, wait until you experience it in the winter. What makes it more interesting is that the mud sometimes freezes awkwardly making footing complicated. Definitely don’t forget your boots. Besides slip-sliding on the paths, the platform stairs can also be a bit slippery, so take extra care.

But this extra effort to walk safely around the trail only makes the few sightings you have all the more rewarding. Usually winter at the Celery Farms yields the sightings you would expect. All our year round residents are there including Sparrows, Mallards, Canada Geese, Northern Cardinals, Dark-Eyed Juncos and Woodpeckers.

However, the lack of vegetation makes it possible to see some of the smaller birds that winter here, such as the Golden-Crowned Kinglet. The Golden-Crowned Kinglet is actually smaller than a Chickadee, making it really difficult to spot. But they have a tendency to flick their wings around as they hop from branch to branch, so the extra movement helps to attract one’s attention. They eat insects, fruit and drink tree sap (sans pancakes) as a part of a healthy balanced diet.

If you are having a particularly cold spell, you might see other birds and animals, flushed from discrete roosts to hunt for food. The deer are always foraging about and you never know if you will see other mammals wandering about.

Birding in the Winter

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Bird watching in the winter is not always for the faint of heart. Some of the best snowy bird photos can only be taken when one is exposed to the elements. Wintry walks are one great option. Get out of the house for a bit, get some fresh air and explore your favorite trails from a different perspective. Sometimes this can be tricky, especially if piles of snow or icy patches have developed on the trail. In New Jersey the ice is more of an issue than snow, but trail safety, especially when carrying expensive camera equipment, can be sketchy at times. Just remember to have good treads on your footwear and take it nice and easy.

The backyard is also still an option during the winter months. I am not just talking about the view from the warm comfort behind the windowpane. Bundle up, bring a lawn chair and camp out for a bit outside. I have done this a few times after a good storm and I have gotten some amazing shots. The birds are just as happy as the humans that the snow has stopped, so they come out in force. Besides some strange glances from the neighbors, there is really no downside. I get a bit of fresh winter air, and the experience of fresh, clean snow which honestly doesn’t last more than a day of two in New Jersey most of the time.

Winter is also a great time to focus on some of the Northeast’s year-round birds. I feel like the summer is focused on attracting the rare birds…can I get some VIP’st to my yard? Winter allows us to rekindle our relationships with the everyday backyard birds. Woodpeckers, Cardinals, Chickadees, Blue Jays, several varieties of Sparrow. During the winter in New Jersey our usual cast of characters is also joined by the Dark Eyed Junco.

Even if you decide not to brave the storm, remember that the birds don’t have a choice. If you feed the birds during the summer, you really should feed them during the winter as well. During the summer they become used to thinking of your feeders as a source of food. The winter months, especially if there is snow and ice, can be deadly for birds. So get off your couch, put on your boots and go fill up that feeder!