Will Sandhill Cranes be Hunted in Kentucky?

This important decision will be made on Friday of this week, June 3rd, by the nine members of the Kentucky Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Resources Commission.  If it passes, the Eastern Population of Greater Sandhill Cranes will move closer to being hunted--hunted for the first time since they were nearly extirpated in the early 1930's when hunting was ceased.    

Sandhill crane taking off in Barren County, Kentucky, 2010.  Image by David Roemer.

This would not be a decision to celebrate, but a great loss for wildlife.  There are only a small percentage of hunters who are interested in this hunt, and many hunters who are very opposed to it.  This is not a we-they issue.  Those of us who do not wish to see the eastern population of greater sandhill cranes hunted are all in this together.  We are sandhill crane lovers, hunters and non-hunters.    

Sandhill crane chick.  Image by Charlie Corbeil.

If you have not already done so, please help protect eastern sandhills by voicing your opposition to this hunt.  As you write your letter or make your comments, be sure to mention the following:  your recent visit to the state of Kentucky, and your involvement in fishing or hunting or boating.  Also mention if you've taken part in breeding bird surveys, or made wildlife contributions in that state, or been involved in bird banding.  The Commissioners will be more interested in what you have to say if they understand your interest in their state and their state's wildlife.

Your comments need not be long, just simply state your interest in the issue and your opposition.  You can find all the commissioners phone numbers and addresses listed at the following link:   Kentucky Coalition for Sandhill Cranes--Call to Action

An important note about contacting commissioners:  Commissioner Gassett responded to my letter and has responded to others, and his response was appreciated.  He has made it clear that he favors the hunting of sandhill cranes. My experience with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission was that each commissioner had a different background, attitude and opinion on hunting sandhill cranes in Tennessee. All were interested in the information and concerns they received.  Direct your comments to the other commissioners, as well as, to Commissioner Gassett.

At this date, email and phone calls are the best way to insure that your voice is heard.  To reach all the commissioners by email, it is suggested you address your comments to "Commissioners, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Resources", and email to KDFWR Commissioner Jon Gassett at jon.gassett@ky.gov, with a request that he distribute the letter to commissioners prior to June 3, 2011 meeting.

Greater sandhill cranes defining territory on staging grounds.  

Watercolor by Vickie Henderson.

Links and Resources:

Call to Action at the Kentucky Coalition for Sandhill Cranes

For the history of the sandhill crane hunt issue in the east, visit Sandhill Crane Hunting on this blog.

Eastern Bluebird Juveniles

The bluebird fledglings are now 28 days old.  Since they are stronger and able to follow their parents around, I found them perched on limbs over the patio yesterday morning waiting to be fed.  Previous to this they've been too far away or perched too high to obtain images.

Besides hearing begging chirps that help me locate them, they are venturing to lower limbs.  The one in the above image landed on this log to be closer to the female parent as she visited the mealworm feeder.  She  took off the second Mom departed.

After they had been fed, the three youngsters lingered on the limbs near the patio and one dropped down to a lower limb giving me a better chance to see her and show you what bluebird juveniles do in their spare time.

I saw all three of the juveniles do this same thing, pick lichen off the branch, hold it in their beak for a few seconds, then spit it out.  Babies learning what is and is not food?  The consensus--it's not good to eat!  

And above, my contender for baby-of-the-year photo.  Easy to see why I get little else done!

This is the seventh post in a series on this bluebird family.  To see all of the posts visit the link, bluebird family.   

For articles leading up to this series, visit my Wild Birds Unlimited articles:  Smitten with Bluebirds and April Celebrations.  And to see last season's chickadee family, visit the Secretive Chickadee Family and A Happy Fledging Time of Year.  In Wishing Upon a Bluebird, an initial encounter between nest building phoebes and bluebirds is described at Vickie's Sketchbook

Upcoming:  Bluebirds Love Water, and wing-waving in bluebird communication.

Eastern Bluebirds--Peace in the Neighborhood

Chronologically, this post happened earlier than my previous post about the bluebirds and their phoebe neighbors.  In particular, in this post, I wanted you to see how unflinching and determined a male bluebird can be when it comes to his nesting territory.    
Phoebe fledgling.

On this occasion, May 11th, sharp notes being issued by the phoebe parents alerted me to a change.  The phoebe nestlings had fledged and were perched all around the yard, mostly on oak limbs in the center of the yard.  This, of course, excited me. In three nesting seasons of two broods each season, I had never had the joy of seeing a phoebe fledgling until that moment.  Witnessing this event is a chance occurrence, especially when the nest is high over your head, and out of observation range.

Above, the youngest fledgling by appearance.

I searched for the nestlings by watching for movement and the parent's behavior.  Now that I knew the young had fledged, I couldn't be fooled into thinking that all phoebe shapes were the adults.  I found the youngsters, three, at least, possibly four.  They appeared to have different levels of maturity and flight experience, so I guessed that at least one, maybe two had fledged the day before.    

Enter, the male bluebird, who had been out hunting beyond the yard, and flew over the fledglings, landing on his favorite perch.  This was not okay with the male phoebe.  Two of his youngsters were on a limb on the other side of the oak trunk on the same level and about fifteen feet away from the perched bluebird.

Phoebe male.

This was one time I truly wished for a digiscope.  The distance was out of range for my lens, but the images will at least give you an idea of the events that transpired.  The male phoebe, erecting every feather possible to look menacing, issued loud, sharp warning chirps. The bluebird gave him his full attention, but did not budge from his perch.  This prompted the phoebe's aggression and he commenced diving.      

This male bluebird is clearly tough, determined, has nerves of steel. The male phoebe was defending fledged young, alarmed/angered by the closeness of the bluebird. I say angered because these two birds know each other. They share the same perching area and they've disagreed before. The male bluebird, obviously just as determined as the phoebe, held an unyielding posture on his perch.  

Below, you see the bluebird, far left, and the phoebe, far right, as they face each other before the phoebe begins another series of dives.  (Click the image to enlarge).  Sharp chirps are coming from the phoebe.  The bluebird is silent, stoic, alert.   

The bluebird wheeled around to face his opponent in whatever direction he approached.  But budge he did not.  He was firmly planted on that perch and its adjacent limbs.  Not only would he not be driven off, he sometimes rose up to meet the challenge, or leaped forward, perching closer to the phoebe rather than backing off.

At one point, right in the middle of a series of phoebe dives, a curious robin landed on a limb behind the bluebird at eye-level and began 'heckling' with the familiar thrush-y cackling noises that American Robins frequently make.  The male bluebird did not seem to appreciate this and wheeled around giving the robin the threatening stare shown in the image below.  The robin left shortly thereafter.

The end result of all this activity, to my relief, appeared to be a truce.  The bluebird apparently felt he had established his stand, and left voluntarily to help his mate with feeding nestlings.  Two of the phoebe fledglings began moving about, and the male phoebe also seemed ready to attend his young.    

I thought the moment above was interesting.  Even though several more dives occurred after this point, and moving closer can be considered intimidation, I wondered if ignoring each other or indicating disinterest is a mutual signal that its time to end the conflict.

The phoebe's aggression in this incident was understandable, given the presence of newly fledged young.  Even so, it came as a surprise to me, since these birds are around each other daily and share the same perching area.  But what surprised me even more, the unyielding determination of the bluebird male as he defended his right to stay on the perch that he and his mate use routinely.  He showed no avoidance, no moving away, no flinching as he faced the dives and only rose to meet a close encounter.

In hindsight, given that these families will likely continue to be neighbors, I can see how standing his ground was an important defense of his nesting territory.  

A phoebe fledgling landed close to me as the conflict ended.  A pleasant surprise.  And as you may know, I'm a fan of happy endings!

This is the sixth post in a series on this bluebird family.  To see all of the posts visit the link, bluebird family.   In Wishing Upon a Bluebird, an initial encounter between nest building phoebes and bluebirds is described at Vickie's Sketchbook.  I will be sharing more about this relationship between neighbors soon.

For articles leading up to the story on this post, visit my Wild Birds Unlimited articles:  Smitten with Bluebirds and April Celebrations.  And to see last season's chickadee family, visit the Secretive Chickadee Family and A Happy Fledging Time of Year.

Upcoming:  Bluebirds Love Water, and wing-waving in bluebird communication.

Eastern Bluebirds and their Eastern Phoebe Neighbors

Let's talk about getting along.

I have a pair of nesting Eastern Phoebes in my yard, who are very loyal to the gazebo shelf as their nesting site.  Not just one shelf, but they claim the entire gazebo, all of its posts, and all eight of its shelves, protecting this site valiantly.  They have nested here for three years, on one shelf or the other.  

Above, male phoebe bringing moth to feed young.

While watching nesting birds raise their young you become acquainted with the behavior of nest building, of feeding, when parents are calm and life is routine, and when behavior changes abruptly and the birds are agitated.  And I've discovered that the ease with which neighboring nesters get along varies with the phase of the nesting cycle.

Phoebe fledgling.

For example, one of the most sensitive times for these two species is clearly when nestlings initially fledge. Parents become aggressive and protective when their little ones have just fledged. The young are not strong at this point and their flight skills and judgement are just developing. They are babies, tentative and naive.

The phoebe nestlings fledged on May 10 and 11th.  The bluebird nestlings fledged this week, May 18th.

Phoebes are delightful, vocal, agile, precise in their incredible flight maneuvers and loyal to their mate and their nesting territory.  Bluebirds are strong flyers, too, able to hover in place like kestrels, swift and determined.  They too, are loyal. I'm not referring to mate fidelity, but loyalty to the nesting site and territory, and to the many interactions that clearly bond the nesting pair together in their efforts to raise and protect young.

Female phoebe with nesting material.

This morning I witnessed two battles between the phoebes and the bluebird pair, and this conflict was instigated by the bluebirds.  Though they tolerate the phoebes' presence high above their nest box, there are times when they make it clear they don't like it. Today, the female left the roof of the nest box and flew up to the gazebo shelf. One of the phoebes, I couldn't be sure which one, flew off its perch and immediately challenged her. The two fluttered out into the air, beaks clacking, until they descended to the ground in a flurry of wings. The male bluebird joined his mate by landing on the nest box, and when the female bluebird parted from her opponent, she perched beside him, clearly affirming their ownership of the nest site, their intolerance of intrusion.

Seconds later, the male bluebird repeated the behavior of the female and flew up to the gazebo shelf. Upon his landing, the phoebe who was perched on a nearby limb (I believe it was the male this time) challenged the intrusion. They fluttered down, clacking beaks, pursuing each other beak to beak, descending until they reached the ground, and continuing their dispute just above the surface. Finally, they parted and again the male bluebird landed firmly on the nest box with a defiant stare.

I, of course, remained frozen in my seat while watching this. There was no time for photos, and little time for breathing. When it was all said and done, the bluebirds sang softly, and the male phoebe landed on the roof above the nesting shelf and sang.

I thought about this interaction, ending as abruptly as it began, with no clear winners and, yet, everyone a winner. Each pair strengthened their site fidelity, affirmed their territory and their "don't mess with me" attitude with their neighbor. And pair bonding for each was surely strengthened in the process.

I don't take these conflicts lightly. In fact, I seriously don't like them. I prefer to think all is peaceful. The phoebes are feeding young and preparing to re-nest, and the bluebirds are feeding young only two days post fledging. Today I noticed that the bluebird fledglings are perching closer and closer. This advance makes me suspect that the bluebird parents will soon bring them to the bird bath and the meal worm feeder, both located near the nest box. These are important reasons to establish order in the neighborhood.  Hopefully, this morning's confrontation will settle territorial issues for a while.

Next post, I'll show you a different circumstance that brought conflict between the neighbors and share another attribute of nesting bluebirds.

Links and resources:

Find instructions for making nest box predator guards by clicking the link.  These guards have worked to keep the 9" arm of a raccoon out and have prevented prowling cat predation, as well as snakes.  A 7-inch depth is recommended.  You may also find a version of these guards at the Wild Birds Unlimited store nearest you.

The "meal worm feeder" you see in my bluebird family blog posts is available through Wild Birds Unlimited.

This is the fifth post in a series on this bluebird family.  To see all of the posts visit the link, bluebird family.   In Wishing Upon a Bluebird, an initial encounter between nest building phoebes and bluebirds is described at Vickie's Sketchbook.  To see another story about the gazebo and a picture of it's relationship to the nestbox, visit:  The Magic Gazebo and a Pair of Northern Flickers.

For articles leading up to the bluebird family posts, visit my Wild Birds Unlimited articles:  Smitten with Bluebirds and April Celebrations.  And to see the phoebe female nest building, visit:  The Hard Work of Nesting.    

To see last season's chickadee family's nesting success, visit the Secretive Chickadee Family and A Happy Fledging Time of Year.

Upcoming:  Bluebirds Love Water, and wing-waving in bluebird communication.    

Bluebirds' Fledging Day

The weather has been crazy for the past few days, low fifties and pouring rain yesterday, day 17 for the bluebird nestlings.  And today started with 48 F degrees and drizzle, not a typical May day in Tennessee, and not the best of fledging weather.  But today was day 18 in the lives of the bluebird nestlings, and when it's time to fly, it's time.  Look at this little guy!

And let me tell you how we met.

A perfectly timed 'first' happened yesterday in all this cold and wet.  With encouragement from the familiar blue dish of mealworms that I've been setting on the ground near the nestbox, and a sprinkling of mealworms on top of the mealworm feeder, both the male and female caught on to the feeder.   (The wire keeps larger birds out).

Early this morning, I was putting meal worms in the feeder when I noticed the male bluebird behaving differently.  He was sounding sharp chirps, flew to the deck overhead and the female joined him on another perch near me.   I glanced toward the feeder again before stepping inside to get my coffee and spotted this little, frozen statue on the sidewalk only a few feet from the feeder I had just been filling.  In the dim morning light, I couldn't even tell for sure that it was a fledgling, but the parents' behavior gave a sure clue.  I grabbed my camera and snapped the image before he disappeared.  I later saw the male taking food to a spot just out of sight under a shrub, only a few feet from where the fledgling stood earlier.  

The parents continued to feed nestlings inside the box and fledglings perched on limbs around the yard.   I couldn't see them in the wet canopy cover, but I heard them.  There were lots of soft two-note bluebird calls, both parents, fledglings and nestlings.  At one point, the female positioned herself on a perch just above the patio, the male beyond their favorite oak tree in the center of the yard.  For about ten minutes they called back and forth, soft songs with some chatter in between, and little answers could be heard from perches in the yard and from the nestbox. For a while, the air was filled with sweet bluebird surround-sound.

A very satisfying way to begin my day.  And believe me, it wasn't easy to drag myself away and head to the office.

Links and resources:

You will find instructions for making the nest box predator guards you see on my bluebird nestboxes in the tabs for pages under my blog title.   This guard provides good protection from wandering cats, raccoons and snakes.  This is the second year for one box, and first for the second.  Thus far, I've had two successful chickadee nesting seasons (six fledged each year) with no predation, and this season's first bluebird nesting brood of five all fledged.  You may also find a version of these guards at the Wild Birds Unlimited store nearest you.

The "meal worm feeder" you see in this blog post is available through Wild Birds Unlimited.

This is the fourth post in a series on this bluebird family.  To see all of the posts visit the link, bluebird family.   In Wishing Upon a Bluebird, an initial encounter between nest building phoebes and bluebirds is described at Vickie's Sketchbook.  I will be sharing more about this relationship between neighbors soon.

For articles leading up to the story on this post, visit my Wild Birds Unlimited articles:  Smitten with Bluebirds and April Celebrations.  And to see last season's chickadee family, visit the Secretive Chickadee Family and A Happy Fledging Time of Year.

Upcoming:  Bluebirds Love Water, a surprising disagreement between bluebird and phoebe parents, and wing-waving in bluebird communication.

Eastern Bluebirds--A Day in Family Life

Parenting in the bird world is busy and hard work.  Yesterday, for twenty minutes, I checked the timing of parent feedings at my bluebird box and found the intervals to be only two to three minutes apart.  

The young are ten days old today.  I took the image below at nine days.  Though it's hard to make out much else because of the five nestlings' huddled positions, you can see that their wings have grown substantially and new wing feathers are protruding from the sheaths.

Compare to day six, below, just three days earlier.  

Now, their eyes remain open when I open the box and they have no problem distinguishing between the arrival of a parent and a nest check.  In fact, vigorous peeping begins when a parent lands on the nest guard, while I receive no open gapes.  The nestlings are sensitive to both familiar sound and vibration.  Additionally, the male bluebird often gives a sharp chirp or two when he lands, the female less frequently and with a softer tone.

There is other work to be done in addition to feeding.  Below, the male leaves the nest box with a fecal sac.

The elimination of a fecal sac does not always go smoothly.  Generally, either parent may exit the nest box swiftly and drop the sac in flight somewhere beyond the hunting perches. But on one occasion, I saw the male land on a nearby perch and drop a shredding fecal sac on the limb itself.  He stared at it for an instant, then leaving it behind, resumed his hunting and feeding.    

Occasionally, the male and the female will arrive at the nest box at the same time.  If the male is inside the nest box when the female arrives, she has been observed to wait patiently until he exits, scooting herself to one side of the nest guard to allow for his departure.    

Other times, departure takes a quieter pace.  Either parent may sit on the edge of the nest guard and look around before taking flight.  Below, the male has paused and spotted movement in the grass. 

A quick trip to the ground and back up to the nest box, and a spider becomes food for one of the nestlings.

Next:  Bluebirds love Water!

Links and resources:

This is the third post in a series on this bluebird family.  To see all of the posts visit the link, bluebird family.   In Wishing Upon a Bluebird, an initial encounter between nest building phoebes and bluebirds is described at Vickie's Sketchbook.  I will be sharing more about this relationship between neighbors soon.

For articles leading up to the story on this post, visit my Wild Birds Unlimited articles:  Smitten with Bluebirds and April Celebrations.  And to see last season's chickadee family, visit the Secretive Chickadee Family and A Happy Fledging Time of Year.

Bluebird Hatchlings

I expected the eggs to hatch sometime during the two days I was away, and still my reaction was awe and surprise when I opened the box and found five tiny nestlings in the place of blue eggs.  All of them were quietly sleeping with Papa bluebird watching over them from an oak limb while I checked the box.

The next day, May 2nd, they had already visibly changed (below).  They were stronger, more active, opening their gaping bright yellow mouths in response to the opening of the nest box door.

Over the past several days, I've spent a number of hours watching the activity as the bluebird parents hunt, feed and protect their nestlings.  And I've seen some surprising behaviors, including cooperative feeding of young, mate feeding and defense of the nest area.  The male bluebird aggressively chased a Carolina wren out of the holly shrub, and the female displaced a titmouse that landed on a perch near the nest box.  She remained on that perch holding an aggressive posture to ensure that titmouse didn't return.  

On the other hand, the female phoebe often perches on top of the nest box to hunt for flying insects near her nest, located high on the gazebo shelf above.  No challenge is offered to her. (In the photo above, the dark area beyond the phoebe is part of the shaded underside of the gazebo.)  In fact, it's intriguing to think that a cooperative truce has been reached between these two nesting species.  Both bluebirds and phoebes guard the area and hunt from the same perches, exchanging those perches readily without disagreement.  That was not so in the beginning (see link below), when I watched the phoebes initially chase the male bluebird away.

I worried at first that they might discourage the bluebirds from nesting.  But that has all been worked out to the benefit of both families.  While the bluebirds keep some species away from the nest area, the phoebes challenge others.  I've seen the male phoebe instantly launch from his guard perch to 'pounce' on a male downy that landed on one of the gazebo support posts.

On the occasion pictured above and below, the female bluebird landed on the nest guard and paused, staring up, as if seeing a menacing shape perched on the house roof top or a limb above.

When the male arrived with his prey, he paused also, looking up and searching the area for several minutes.  He either found nothing of concern or the cause for concern moved on.  He then shifted his attention to the box opening, as if to urge the female to get on with feeding.

The female soon obliged by going inside to feed the nestlings.  When she returned to the guard, the male passed his skipper to her through the wire of the predator guard.  The image below shows the two just before she takes the food inside to feed.  

For a person who loves to watch animal behavior, this family is a true treasure.  I'm wondering how anything beyond watching bluebirds will get accomplished in the next few weeks.  But I can honestly say, I'm content enough to not be worried about it!    

Links and resources:
This is the second post in a series on this bluebird family.  To see the first post visit:  My Eastern Bluebird Neighbors.  In Wishing Upon a Bluebird, an initial encounter between nest building phoebes and bluebirds is described at Vickie's Sketchbook.

For articles leading up to the story on this post, visit my Wild Birds Unlimited articles:  Smitten with Bluebirds and April Celebrations.  And to see last season's chickadee family, visit the Secretive Chickadee Family and A Happy Fledging Time of Year.