Category Species

Types of Ducks Series: Defining Duck

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Before I started bird watching I don’t think I realized just how many variety of ducks there are in North America. I am not talking about waterfowl in general, but specifically ducks. I think when you say duck, most people think of two things, the Mallard, with his green head and yellow bill or they think of the yellow rubber ducky in their bathtub. But there are well over a hundred varieties of ducks in the world, thirty-one common enough to be listed in my Eastern North America guide. Over the next several posts I would like to take a closer look at these different species and what makes them each unique.

Before we can examine their differences, we need to establish just what qualifies waterfowl as a duck? There are four main behaviors and four major physical features that define a duck. To be classified as a duck, the species must tick all eight boxes.

The behaviors that define a duck include how it breeds, eats, flies, and quacks. Unlike other varieties of birds, ducks often breed across different varieties, creating hybrid ducklings sometimes with both wild and domestic parentage. This is perhaps not that difficult to believe. Many duck varieties will join together in one large flock, especially in winter. It seems they are drawn to each other by their similarities.

With regards to feeding, ducks usually eat one of two ways, they are either diving ducks or dabbling ducks. Dabbling is when a duck tips itself upside down in the water, with its back side still visible on the surface. Diving ducks behave similar to cormorants, penguins and other water birds, completely submerging in search of nourishment.

When it comes to flying, ducks are the original inventors of vertical take-off. While other waterfowl require space for a runway, ducks can usually take off almost vertically, regardless of whether they are on land or in the water. Unlike geese and other waterfowl, you will rarely see a duck glide unless it is landing. Instead notice the quick and regular flapping of their wings, which is how they keep themselves in the air.

As anyone who has ever heard a wooden duck call will know, most ducks don’t really “quack, quack” outside of nursery rhymes and children’s books. What is different about their communication is that among duck species, it is the female rather than the male that makes most of the noise. The males do get louder during mating season, but the rest of the year it is the females who dominate the conversation.

The physical characteristics that define a duck include its body type, bill, feet and plumage. All ducks have an oval body, although the extent of how oval does vary between types. Along with being oval, duck bodies also tend to be compact, which helps them to retain heat and aids swimming. Another characteristic common among ducks is the location of their legs, often located towards their tail. While this placement plays a role in creating their awkward waddle on land, it provides more power when in the water.

Aside from their placement on a duck’s body, the feet of a duck are themselves a defining feature. Wide and heavily webbed, a duck’s feet are two important tools for swimming and diving. Despite the webbing, usually three distinct “toes” or bone structures can be distinguished. These toes often terminate with nails or talons.

While duck bills do vary greatly among species, often being different colors, size and shape, a flat, broad bill is common to all. The bill, differs from a beak in that it can function as a strainer and ladle, a helpful feature for birds that feed on aquatic vegetation. Bills often have lamellae on the sides. Sometimes mistaken for teeth, these comb-like structures help filter the water, similar to the way whales have baleen to help them filter water from their mouths when they feed. For a good look at lamellae, I recommend you check out http://www.thenaturalistsnotebook.com/our-blog/tag/lamellae

Plumage is key to distinguishing a duck. Both its structure and color help separate it from the plumage of other species. Like most birds, duck feathers have two distinct layers or types, contour and down feathers. Because of the amount of time a duck spends in the water, its contour or flight feathers are tightly hooked to ensure that even when fully submerged, the downy layer does not get wet, in turn insuring that the duck will remain warm, even in the winter. (For more details on feather structure you can refer to my Feathers post https://tailsofatwitcher.com/2020/03/25/feathers/ ). With most duck varieties, the males and females have different coloring. The females are usually muted and plain when compared to the plumage of their male companions. The females’ coloring often provides for better camouflage, which the male’s bright feathers serve a different, but very important purpose: attracting a mate. However, many people don’t realize that once mating season is over, the male ducks of many varieties molt, replacing their distinctly colored feathers with more muted plumage that allows them to better resemble the females.

Now that we have a better understanding of similarities shared by all duck varieties, we will be better able to compare their differences in future posts. For the next several weeks, I will be focusing on different duck varieties that I have seen in the wild and detailing what makes them unique.

Additional Sources:

https://www.thespruce.com/what-is-a-duck-387099

Cedar Lawn Cemetery: Bald Eagle Update

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I was inspired by a recent comment on my post titled Bird Watching in the Cemetery, posted on March 10, 2020 to provide a follow up on the Bald Eagles in Cedar Lawn Cemetery. After my initial visit to the cemetery to locate the Eagle nest, I returned with my husband in early April and we did spot the Bald Eagles. My husband got a great view, as we drove up. There was a lot of activity in the nest, as we believe we witnessed the Eagle parents changing shifts on the nest. Bald Eagle pairs share the nest building, incubating and feeding duties. As both sexes of Bald Eagle look alike (the female is only slightly larger than her mate) it is impossible to say if we were looking at the male or the female.

After our initial spotting, we walked closer to the base of the nest, but by that time, its occupant had settled down and there was nothing to see. We decided to take a turn around the Cemetery, get a bit of air and exercise and then check in on the Eagles one last time on our way back to the car.

As was the case with my previous visit, the cemetery was a hive of animal activity. We saw several Northern Mockingbirds, many of whom decided to pose for me as they rested on the various gravestones. Cedar Lawn seems to have a large population of Northern Mockingbirds, who like a variety of habitats, so long as there is an abundance of shrubs. There are shrubs everywhere, scattered among the plots, so the cemetery is the ideal home.

Woodpeckers are another common site at Cedar Lawn, given the large number of trees that are scattered throughout the property. This visit we saw a Red-Bellied Woodpecker, enjoying some early berries.

And one cannot talk about the cemetery’s inhabitants without mentioning the four-legged varieties. If you decide to cut across the grass, you really need to watch the ground. Groundhogs have found the cemetery a very peaceful place to settle down, resulting in the ground being pitted with holes large and deep enough to break an ankle. While I think nature and humans need to co-exist, I think I can agree with the caretakers that the Groundhogs are making a menace of themselves. In some cases their holes have overturned gravestones.

And, as I have grown to expect, the cemetery’s herd of deer were also present, lounging among the headstones as if this was the most normal place for them to live. I wonder how many generations of deer have been born within the confines of the cemetery. In April, you can see they were still sporting their shaggy winter coats.

Our visit was cut very short, unexpectedly. Despite the open gate, the caretaker drove up to informed us that the cemetery was not open to the public at that time. Only funeral directors were allowed in, due to the newly issued stay at home order. So we rushed back to our car and followed him to the gate, so as not to be locked in. Unfortunately, the Pandemic made it difficult for us to return to the Cemetery for addition viewings of the Eagles last year, but I am looking forward to popping into the Cemetery and checking out the Bald Eagles in 2021.

Autumn Rambles

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I mentioned over the summer that my husband and I had relocated to a new nest. Well, that was greatly due to the fact that we were expecting our own little hatching. Our daughter joined us in September and as a result our nature walks and outings have taken on a slightly different form. Instead of a camera bag full of lens options, we now have a diaper bag. Instead of hilly hikes in the woods, we have been sticking to fairly mild trails, usually closer to suburban neighborhoods. If I am honest, the choice of terrain really has more to do with easing myself back into physical activity, but we can blame it on the baby.

As we began taking the baby on airings, I noticed that my focus was greatly changed. When I even thought to bring along my camera, my photos were all of the baby. Nature had taken a back seat. However, that changed recently. One of our rambles this Autumn took us to Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve where we made a rare (at least for me) sighting of a small flock of Hooded Mergansers. I happened to have my camera on this walk, and just like that, the bird watcher was back! (I did/do still take an exceptionally large number of photos of my daughter, don’t worry.)

I really love Mergansers in any of the three varieties: Hooded Mergansers, Common Mergansers and Red-Breasted Mergansers. They are all just so sleek looking, and they almost give the appearance of an upper-class snob with their fur collars popped at the other ducks in the pond. Based on my observations, even the Common Mergansers aren’t all that common, not in comparison to Mallards, Canada Geese and other waterfowl that you spot in every park in the world. According to The Birds of New Jersey,Hooded Mergansers are not common summer residents in most of the state. They are migrants and winter residents, arriving in late November and can be seen in most places with water, although they are more common near the coast. They typically arrive in pairs or groups of about ten birds. Once in their winter quarters, they meet up with other pairs to form groups of between 100-200 Hooded Mergansers.

The Hooded Mergansers are easy to identify and, as the name indicates, it is all about the hood. Unlike the other two species of Mergansers, the male Hooded Merganser has an arrangement of feathers on his head that form a large and very distinct crest or hood. The male has a sleek black body, with some brown or rust just at the waterline. A mostly black head makes the white patch on his crest pop even more. The male can actually open and close his crest at will, using it to attract attention.

The female Hooded Merganser also has a hood or crest, but as is the case with so many species, hers is much less flashy or eye catching. Its feathers are the same brown and rust color as the rest of her body. Her hood is also not nearly as round as his.

As we continued our walk we were able to spot a few more treats. We saw a few Double-Crested Cormorants. It is not unusual to see a few of them at this preserve. Generally they are spring and fall migrants, but they do live year round along both the eastern and western borders of the state where flowing water is available year round. One of the Cormorants we came across must have just finished fishing because it remained poised on a rock, wings outstretched in the sun. While it might look like this Cormorant was getting ready to take flight, this is a common pose for wet Cormorants who need to dry their feathers between “flying” in the water and taking off in the air.

The resident Mute Swans were also present, their white feathers in stark contrast to the late autumnal brown of their surroundings. They didn’t seem remotely phased by a pair of Double-Crested Cormorants resting nearby. But at sixty inches, a Swan is almost double the size of a Cormorant, and therefore probably not really concerned about them.

We had one final sighting, a bird so small and plain we almost missed it. If we hadn’t been watching the larger birds, we might not have seen its movements in the water. A lone Pied-Billed Grebe. I have only seen one or two of this species before, always a lone bird. Like the Mergansers, the Pied-Billed Grebe is a common winter bird in my area that starts arriving in the fall months. While they are hard to spot, once you have seen a Pied-Billed Grebe, it is easy to confirm its identity. Besides its small size compared to other water birds (it is 13 inches to a Mallards 28 inches), it has a thick, stubby bill. When seen in winter the bill has lost its usual, distinctive black vertical stripe. Its bill is actually its only “interesting” feature, as its body is dark gray and its eyes are black.

I am happy to be back, sharing my birding adventures and observations with you. I hope to get back to posting more regularly in the near future, so stay tuned!

The Tongue of a Heron

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On one of my outings this year, I encountered a Great Blue Heron. Often one sees a heron standing still and regal, elegantly waiting for the moment to strike at an unsuspecting victim in the water at its feet. Not this one. It stood on the edge of the Goffle Brook, opening and closing its mouth. I took my photos, as I usually do, in the heat of the moment and while the constant mouth movements did seem a bit unusual, I didn’t think too much about it until after I got home and took a look at the photos.

Once I had the photos on a computer where I could zoom in, I took a really good look at the Heron’s mouth. And that was when I noticed how weird its tongue looked. Usually we think of tongues like our own, a relatively smooth, flat muscle. Not the Heron’s tongue. While the tip was long and thin, the farther back into the bird’s mouth it went, the more grooved and angled it seemed to become. Besides the angles, it had more than one section that was raised, with curves and edges going in several directions. I found the irregular shape interesting and began to wonder why it was formed in such a way. So I decided to do a little research into why a Heron’s tongue is shaped the way it is.

It turns out that not only do birds have tongues that are very different from those of a human, they actually can have very different types of tongues from other birds. The type of tongue a bird has, just like the type of bill or beak, is directly related to what they eat and how they eat it. Nectar collectors like hummingbirds have tongues that differ from woodpeckers or fish eating birds. This is because birds do not have teeth, and therefore their tongues need to take on extra functions that a human tongue would not. Another big difference from human tongues is that most bird’s tongues are not involved in their vocalization or sound making. However, birds do have taste buds, though far fewer than humans. The exact amount of taste buds differs greatly by bird species.

Many fishing birds have tongues with hooks or spikes to help contain their captured fish. But a Heron’s tongue is different from other fish eating birds, like Cormorants or Pelicans, because it also eats amphibians, reptiles, insects and small mammals. Unlike woodpeckers and other birds with long tongues, Herons’ tongues are attached below the mandible bone and are more limited in the their movement. However, this is to their advantage, as it allows more room in their mouth for them to swallow large items. Herons swallow fish and other food whole, and sometimes they regurgitate up to a dozen fish when they are feeding young. So what they need is a tongue that won’t get in the way. Their tongues are shaped not only to allow fish to be swallowed whole, but also to be turned in the bird’s mouth and eaten head first. So now when I see the pink on the inside of a bird’s mouth, I think I will pay a bit more attention. Bird tongues turned out to be much more complicated and interesting than I expected and they can tell the bird watcher a lot about a species, if you know what to look for.

Sources:

Let’s talk about bird tongues
Bird Tongues

https://blog.lauraerickson.com/2014/12/more-about-bird-tongues-than-normal.html?m=1

https://lfpress.com/travel/birds-tongues-reflect-their-diet-habitat

Click to access Avian-Tongues_Johnston.pdf

A Juvenile Northern Cardinal

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I have said it before, but I will say it again, juvenile birds are so weird. With both the disheveled appearance of their developing adult plumage and their equally awkward behavior, it is little wonder many people’s first reaction upon seeing a juvenile is to assume the bird is sick.

In my backyard I have become accustom to certain juveniles. House Sparrow juveniles, for example, are almost a constant throughout the summer. However, last summer I received a few visits from a juvenile Northern Cardinal and I must say, seeing it in person made such an impression.

I think part of the shock has to do with my impression of adult Northern Cardinals. An elegant, almost aristocratic bird, the Northern Cardinal never seems to have a feather out of place. Male and female alike seem to treat the feeder and their fellow birds with disinterested disdain.

So perhaps it is the elegance of the adults that created such a strong contrast between them and their gawky juvenile. When it first landed, it made quite an entrance. Instead of a graceful decent, it more or less plopped out of the air. Once on the ground it began to wander. Like most toddlers, its attitude was one of wonder, as it explored everything with great interest and curiosity. Every other bird in the area was of particular interest, no doubt because they might be convinced to feed this pitiful little guy, so he didn’t have to fend for himself.

I say guy, but the sex of my juvenile could not be determined by appearance. Juvenile Northern Cardinals are similar in appearance to a female, but they are a duller brown throughout. The only hints of the Northern Cardinal’s famous red can be seen with some red tinting at the breast and tail. During its first visit it’s plumage looked particularly bedraggled. However, it visited more than once over the course of the summer, so I was able to see the progression from the scruffy youth toward the sophisticated adult. If you think about it, it was looking pretty good, considering that it was born naked except for a few tufts of grayish-brown down.

Additional Source:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/lifehistory

Common Yellowthroat

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If you only bird watch in your own backyard you can really miss some of nature’s most interesting creatures. And you don’t really need to go that far to see them. There are so many beautiful birds that live in our neighborhoods, if not directly in our yard. One perfect example is the Common Yellowthroat.

The Common Yellowthroat is found in open fields and marshes, usually near water. Within that range they are highly adaptable. Their choice of habitat is probably greatly affected by their diet of insects, which is also a reason why you won’t see these little guys visiting your feeders.

Fairly small at five inches, they stick to vines, reeds and bushes with heavy vegetation, making them more difficult to spot. They also hop around fairly quickly. According to The Birds of New Jersey, Common Yellowthroats are one of the most common breeding birds in the state, spending their summers here. You couldn’t prove it by me. Another book described them as “secretive,” which I think is an accurate description, and goes a long way to explain my relatively few sightings. I always feel extra pleased when I am able to spot, identify and photograph one of these little guys before he disappears from view. Most advice seems to agree that learning to recognize the call of the Common Yellowthroat is your best approach to more successful spotting. If you would like to hear its “witchety-witchety-witchety song” you can hear some clips here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Yellowthroat/sounds

If you can get a clear visual, identification is usually a no-brainer. Their backs are what the field guides describe as an “olive brown,” but what I would refer to as a mustard brown. They have a relatively large patch of bright yellow on their throat and breast, which terminates into a white belly. The male has one feature which distinguishes him very easily from his female counterpart, and most other birds his size, a black mask across his eyes, outlined in white. Imagine the lone ranger in bird form. If you can see a Common Yellowthroat in profile, you will probably notice his thin pointed black beak.

The Common Yellowthroat have a lot of time over the summer to hop around in the bushes looking for insects. They spend less than a month caring for their three to five babies, with the female incubating the nest for eleven to twelve days and the pair feeding their young for about ten days. This fairly quick turnover allows the Common Yellowthroat to have two broods each breeding season. That being said, their young remain dependent on their parents longer than is the case with most warblers.

So next time you are on a walk, and you hear a rustle in the reeds, keep an eye out for the masked ranger of the marsh, the Common Yellowthroat!

Baltimore Orioles

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Baltimore Orioles are one of bird-watching most prized songbirds, beloved for their song and bright, distinctive coloring. Baltimore Orioles are very common throughout New Jersey, though they are less likely to be seen in the Pine Barrens. Besides those birds that decide to reside in the Garden State all summer, the best times to see these beauties is actually in the spring and fall, when their numbers increase with the migration. The earliest sightings are usually mid-April. Typically they have migrated completely by late September, heading south to winter in the much warmer climates provided by Central and South America.

Baltimore Orioles are easy to spot and even easier to identify. As one of the northeast’s only orange birds, they are difficult to confuse with anything else. Both sexes are the same size, growing to be between seven and eight inches. However, it is only in size that the sexes are similar. The male Baltimore Oriole displays his orange coloring on his belly, across his shoulders and the underside of his tail. Though limited to certain areas, the orange appears brighter and more startling because it contrasts so strongly with his black head, back and wings. He has white wing bars and white flashes can be seen on this wings while he is in flight.

The female Baltimore Oriole has more orange plumage than the male, with an orange head. The tint of her orange feathers is slightly duller than her male counterpart, but only just. Only her wings and back are gray-black, or olive with white wing bars. She looks very similar to female Orchard Orioles or Hooded Orioles, but their plumage is more yellow than orange. If you have time to study them beyond the dazzle of their feathers, you will notice that the Baltimore Orioles have dark, penetrating eyes, a pointed gray bill and gray-black legs and feet.

Baltimore Orioles like to live on the edge of deciduous woodlands, and don’t mind being close to human habitation. They choose to build the nests high up in the tallest trees. Their nests are very interesting, being a sock-like sack that dangles down from a branch. They make it by weaving plant fibers together. For images of an Oriole nest being built, visit: https://www.nephotographyguild.com/2016/03/baltimore-oriole-nest/

Once the nest is ready for their four or five blue eggs, the male leaves the female to incubate for twelve to fourteen days. Once the eggs hatch, he returns and they feed the new babies together for the next two weeks. As they grow, the juveniles will take on the plumage of a female, with the males not growing their adult plumage until they are in the second or third year.

A Baltimore Oriole’s diet is widely varied. They eat insects, but also like fruit and nectar. They will come to feeders for fruit, nectar and suet. Jam/jelly feeders is another favorite. They definitely have a sweet tooth. As they grow, the adults will not be shy about bringing their fledglings along to feeders, so as the summer progresses you might have an opportunity to see the whole family.

Painted Turtles

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Today I want to take a little time to focus on a non-feathered inhabitant of New Jersey’s many nature parks, the Painted Turtle. A common northeastern reptile, I encounter Painted Turtles on many of my excursions, as I am sure do most nature lovers. I am very fond of these colorful little guys, with their often grumpy faces and knowing eyes.

The Painted Turtle is one of the most common turtles in North America, being found from the Atlantic to the Pacific. In New Jersey they are most active between April and September. Because of their wide range, there are actually four types of painted turtles: Eastern, Midland, Western, and Southern. Therefore, the turtles that I see here in New Jersey are most likely of the Eastern variety.

As its name implies, the Painted Turtle is very colorful. Its black or dark brown skin is striped with a series of horizontal red and yellow streaks. The stripes reappear on the turtle’s butt. Its similarly dark brown shell is edged in red flashes. All together these markings make the Painted Turtle very recognizable. If you are on the lookout for a Painted Turtle, don’t be looking for anything too big. They typically don’t grow larger than seven inches. Generally the females do grow larger than the males, but not to the degree that you could identify the genders by size alone. Usually, they will not grow beyond the means of their habitat, basing their size on the available food in the area.

Known as a “pond turtle,” Painted Turtles adapt to almost any body of still water. They are commonly found in ponds, marshes, beaver ponds and slow moving streams, however they prefer bodies of water with muddy bottoms and vegetation. The presence of water is key, as they are very active swimmers. Besides swimming, their other favorite activity is basking in the sun. If you approach a pond quietly, you are almost guaranteed to see at least one basking turtle, with its neck and back legs outstretched to their limits, balancing on a rock or log and soaking up the rays. But be ready for the “kerplunk” that inevitably follows. The minute the turtle senses your presence it will pop back into the water for safety.

Breeding season for the Painted Turtle begins in early spring. At that time males can be observed leaving their ponds and habitats and sometimes crossing a lot of terrain, in search of a female. Once they have mated, the female nests between May and June. She will typically build her nest within a few yards of the body of water she calls home, but some females have been known to travel greater distances to find the ideal nesting area.

Painted Turtles can lay anywhere between two and eight eggs, however five or six is typical. Once laid, the eggs will incubate for up to eighty days, usually hatching in late summer. The hatchlings, who look like miniature adults, will remain in the nest until the following spring. And who would blame them? It is a dangerous world for a little turtle. Painted Turtle nests are commonly raided by skunks, raccoons, foxes, snakes and other small mammals that eat the eggs. Once hatched, the juveniles are still in danger. They have been known to be eaten by large fish, snapping turtles, herons, crows and raccoons. Humans also cause some casualties both with vehicles and lawn mowers.

The young Painted Turtle’s best strategy for survival is to get bigger, and those that survive the early days do just that. While adult Painted Turtles are omnivores and eat a combination of meat and vegetation, the young Painted Turtles’ diet is a concentration of meat protein. With the nutrients present in the meat, they are able to double in size in their first year out of the nest. Once they grow larger, their diet will become more varied. Adult turtles eat beetles and other bugs/insects, algae and small fish. If they survive their first few years, Painted Turtles can be in for a long life. They have been known to live between twenty and forty years in the wild. They reach sexual maturity and begin breeding around ten years old.

Sources:

http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Care-Sheets/Turtles-Tortoises/Painted-Turtle/

https://srelherp.uga.edu/turtles/chrpic.htm

https://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/reptiles/turtles/eastern-painted-turtle/eastern_painted_turtle.php

Click to access turtles.pdf

https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Wildlife/Fact-Sheets/Painted-Turtle

American Goldfinch

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Found throughout the state of New Jersey in great numbers, it is little wonder that the American Goldfinch was officially declared the New Jersey state bird on June 27, 1935. Not only are they found around the state, many of the Goldfinch stay around all winter. However, in northern New Jersey we usually only see them in spring and summer as many of the state’s population migrate further south with the cold weather, in search of larger sources of food. At one time the population was noticed to decline as the House Sparrow population increased, but today the numbers have stabilized and the species is not considered under threat.

At five inches, the American Goldfinch is an inch smaller than most sparrows. But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in color. We all know this iconic bright yellow bird. The male has a black patch at the front of his head, as well as black wings and a tail. The wings have small bars of white, and a small patch of white is sometimes visible on its belly, right where the tail connects to its body. The female is just duller in color all around. The classic example of bird species where the vibrant male plumage is in contrast with a female of mellower coloring. The female’s yellow is just duller, almost grayer than her male counterpart. The black and white of her wings is also a bit more drab and she lacks the black on her head.

The male American Goldfinch does experience one of natures more drastic molts. After the conclusion of the mating season, the males lose their bright luster and appear much more muted, almost indistinguishable from the females. He does not even retain his black forehead plumage. His transformation in early spring, back into the brighter version of himself can sometimes seem even more extreme. During this process the males often look ill or strange, with patches or tufts of white scattered among the brighter yellow feathers.

The American Goldfinch eat a wide variety of seeds, as well as some berries, flowers and the occasional insect. They will visit seed feeders, but if you want to be sure that they find you, you can fill a feeder with exclusively Nyjer seeds. Nyjer attracts finches the same way that catnip calls to cats. It really works. Nyjer seeds come from the African yellow daisy, and they are so appealing to the finches because of their high oil content. Unfortunately, the Nyjer seeds are more expensive than the average backyard bird mix.

If you do succeed to attract New Jersey’s mascot to your feeders, be prepared for some of the most wimpy behavior you have ever seen. Goldfinch are not just flighty or shy, they are the most hesitant bird I have even seen. Often coming to my yard in groups of three to seven, they will slowly hop from branch to lower branch, calling to each other in their high-pitched squeaks. I swear the squeaks have a questioning inflection. “Is it safe?” “Is it safe?” They leap frog their way down the trees until the group finally convinces one bird (often a female, which I find interesting) to go the distance and land on the feeder. Once the guinea pig passes the test, the others will tentatively make their way over, often one at a time. But the slightest motion from an observer, or another bird, and they are all off like a shot, back up to the top of the tree, to start the process all over again.

If you are looking for the American Goldfinch beyond your own backyard, you can frequently find them in fields with high grass and weeds. They are also fond of open woodland. Gardens with lots of sunflower type plants are another good spot to look. Outside of the breeding season, they can be found in groups of up to twenty.

The American Goldfinch is known to be late to nest, waiting until late August or sometimes even in early September before they nest. The females usually build their cup-shaped nest in the fork of a tree branch and, like the hummingbird, they use spider silk and caterpillar webbing on the outside of the nest as binding. Due to their late start, the American Goldfinch only have one brood. Each brood consists of between four to six blue eggs, which the female incubates. The male will return to the nest periodically to feed her, but she sometimes has to call him and beg for him to return. Once the eggs hatch, the male assists with the feeding of the young. From year to year they will select different mates and are not monogamous.

Source:

To learn more about nyjer seeds visit: https://www.thespruce.com/birds-that-eat-nyjer-seed-386533

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak

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The name Rose-Breasted Grosbeak doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. But it is fairly logical. Grosbeak, a name applied to a group of birds, refers to their larger, seed crushing bill. The Rose-Breasted refers to the red patch that can be seen on the chest of the males.

The Rose-Breasted Grosbeak is a very common resident of northern New Jersey in the summers. I have never seen a Rose-Breasted Grosbeak in New Jersey myself, probably because they are much less common in urban and populated areas. But I have been lucky enough to observe them regularly in New York. If you are looking for them in New Jersey, they begin to arrive in late April, with the population peaking by the middle of May. They can be seen throughout the southern portion of the state as they start to migrate south in September.

Seven or eight inches in size, making it just a bit smaller than a Cardinal, the male Rose-Breasted Grosbeak is a black and white bird with a red patch on his throat and upper chest. His head, back and wings are black, with white stripes on his wings being the only exception. Most of his belly, below his rosy red patch, is white, with small black speckles. The female Rose-Breasted Grosbeak only resembles her mate in size. Being mostly brown and white with a white stripe along her eyes. With only a quick glance, the female Rose-Breasted Grosbeak can be misidentified as a sparrow, some varieties of female finches or sometimes a female Red-Winged Blackbird.

The Rose-Breasted Grosbeak likes open deciduous forests, but whether in the forest or your own backyard, you might easily mistake the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak’s whistling song with that of an American Robin. Both the males and the females sing, but the males are louder and easier to hear. You can hear for yourself at: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rose-breasted_Grosbeak/sounds The male is known to sing while he incubates the nest, as well as using his song to attract a mate and call to his fellow Grosbeaks.

The Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks nest in a cup style nest, built of loose twigs, which they build together. Each breeding season they have either one or two broods of 3-5 eggs. Their eggs are blue-green with brown markings, another similarity to the American Robin. The pair incubate and feed their young together, the female only leaving the first nest and fledgelings to the male if they plan to have a second brood.

While their “Grosbeaks” allow them to crush seeds, the Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks have a varied diet. They eat fruit and insects, as well as seeds. They have even been known to eat flowers. They glean from the ground and by hover, but the females are more likely to hover searching for food than their mates. And they will happily visit feeders, with very little sign of shyness or hesitation.