Winter Birds and Tennessee's Ice

Ice presents stressful winter conditions, not only for people, but for wildlife.  Though beautiful to witness from warmth and safety, a wintery mix of precipitation that coats food sources presents challenges for bird survival.

In Tennessee we have birds that live here year-around and remain for the winter because of the generally moderate winter conditions and abundance of food.  If enough food is available, many bird species can survive temporary plummets in temperature.  Extended periods of sub-freezing temperatures, however, such as the single digits that we recently experienced, and a quarter inch coating of ice over everything increases survival challenges considerably.  

The American Robin is one of the species that we call resident birds because they remain during the winter.  Many northern robins join our local ones to take advantage of the food sources, so we may see large flocks of robins descending on our yards and visiting fruit producing trees and shrubs. Asian holly is one of the berry producing shrubs that attracts many species of birds, though if you are planting holly, the native American Holly is a better choice.

In these images, you see a Robin picking berries from the holly.  He not only was feeding on berries, he soon claimed the holly for himself, driving away other robins and also driving away the area bluebirds that came to visit.  He ignored sparrows, the Hermit Thrush and did not bother the Mockingbird, the bird we all expect to be territorial with a holly.

The ice and the several days of below 20 F temperatures, presented conditions so stressful, that many birds we normally don't expect to be aggressive were chasing others away from their food source. Above, you see the robin in the act of grabbing another berry.  Notice what happens to the berry in the next image.

An ice coated berry is hard to hold on to!  People feeding birds during the ice storm and deep freeze temperatures in east Tennessee noticed many territorial birds and an influx of species that weren't commonly seen visiting their winter feeders.

I'll show you some of those species in the next few posts.

Next:  Bluebirds and ice--a special matter

More on wintering birds in this blog

A good article on Winter time feeding and water--Cornell

That Baby Bird Stuff Going on Out There!

There is a lot of baby bird activity going on this time of year. Not only are baby hummingbirds out of the nest and visiting feeders, more than doubling the number of nectar visitors, other young birds are foraging around the yard.  It just takes a minute of being still to find them.

I stepped outside because I heard tapping, a sign of a woodpecker near by.  I wondered if a Pileated Woodpecker was around, but found the next best thing--a female Red-bellied Woodpecker foraging in the pines.  I will show you images of her in my next post, but in this one, I wanted to show you some of the baby stuff going on under that same tree!

There were several American Robins running around on the ground and I quickly identified them as juveniles with rusty breasts still speckled with dark spots and white down, and their back and wing feathers also speckled with white.

They already have very robin-like posture and movements.  Alert stance, listening to everything above and below, lightening quick feet.  They learn quickly to watch for food and watch for danger at the same time.

 A good strategy--don't linger in one place for too long!

Right after the young robin scurried away, a Carolina Chickadee landed in front of me. I would not have thought much of it had I not snapped some images just because the camera was in my hand.

Parent and juvenile chickadees look the same. I glanced at these images and concluded, this must be a juvenile! He has picked up a yummy rock for all his foraging efforts!

 He seems to be wondering what to do with his prize.

Thankfully, Carolina Chickadee juveniles follow their parents around for several weeks while they learn to find food and feed themselves!

Next:  Red-bellied Woodpeckers foraging

Carolina Chickadee
American Robin

A Carolina Wren's Strong Grip

Carolina Wrens have large strong, gripping feet.

These birds are so much fun to watch, especially their bouncing stance.  I feel fortunate to have a pair of wrens that frequent my garden and my patio area, flying in low to the ground to explore the garden, the logs around it, the edges of the house and any pots or plants tucked in the corners.

I've heard bird bander's comment on the strong grip of their feet, but not until I witnessed this wren bathing recently did I completely appreciate the strength of that grip!

Raccoons visit my yard at night and frequently turn over the bird bath.  I sometimes hear the "kerplunk" if I'm sitting in the living room reading.  I try to discourage them by putting a pan of water on the ground at the edge of the patio.  It worked last night. They triggered the movement sensor of the porch light, though, and I looked out to see two of the cutest fellows climbing the posts to the deck and peering over the cross beam, clearly in search of seeds or suet. They found none!

The last time I heard the bird bath fall over, the chimes also started ringing.  I looked out that time to see a raccoon hanging upside down from the cross beam checking out the chimes for food!  I have to admit they make me smile.

When I filled the bird bath the next morning, I filled it too full, even though there are some rocks in it, placed there for smaller birds.  The water was too deep for this determined little wren, but that didn't stop him from taking his bath just the same.   

As you scroll through the images below, notice that he never lets go of the rim of the bird bath!

He grips the edge, lowers his sides into the water and flicks his wings and tail to splash water over his back.

Needless to say, after watching his efforts, in the future, when the bird bath is actually level (which is rare), I won't be filling it so full!  

Below, Carolina wren sketches from my book,  Red-Shouldered Hawk Territory, A sketchbook journey through a nesting season.

Links and resources:

More Carolina Wren posts in this blog

Cornell on the Carolina Wren

Red-shouldered Hawk Territory, A sketchbook journey through a nesting season

Eastern bluebird juveniles bathing

A Spring Head-dress and a Heart-stopping Thrush

This female northern cardinal visiting the bird bath for a drink gave me my first belly laugh of the day.     

Her plumes on her crest stood up like flames in the wind.  Despite the winter-y blast of heavy snow in the mid-western states, we're having mild temperatures and blustery pre-March winds in Tennessee.  And if that weren't enough to hint of spring, birds are showing signs of spring molting.  Just twelve days ago, I snapped the image below, of a female cardinal in the snow.  She was fluffed and warm in her thick winter plumage.   But in the days since, we've had more moderate weather with some days reaching as high as the 70's F.

My Atlas of the Breeding Bird of Tennessee says, "In late February and March, cardinals form stable, monogamous pair bonds. Both the male and female defend the territory with song, displays, and mild combat."   Females pick the nest site usually in April but as early as mid-March, meaning that the tolerance of communal winter foraging is about to end, replaced by freshened spring plumage and territorial attitudes.

Along with the tattered and comical appearance of her crest, feathers have molted around this cardinal's face. New feather sheaths will emerge quickly where old feathers have been shed and fresh ones will rapidly grow to replace the lost ones.  This female's colors are beautiful, nonetheless, even though she wears a wind-blown look.  I couldn't be sure if she was on the alert or if the wind was standing her remaining crest feathers up so tall.

The watering hole is definitely a fun place to hang out, a good place to watch the tall pines, oak and maples waving in the gusting wind, as well as, to see birds that may otherwise go unseen as they come for a drink.  Several times I've seen a yellow-rumped warbler both drink and forage near the feeders but, so far, not when I'm outside with the camera.

Today I enjoyed a better look at the beautiful streaking and contrast in an American robin's plumage as she braved the birdbath for a drink.  When she flew, my heart picked up a beat, as a hermit thrush popped in to replace her, its 7-inch stature seeming exceptionally petite next to that of a robin, ranging from 9 to 11 inches.

It was special to get lingering looks at this shy bird, standing tall on tiny legs.  More often I notice her hanging out in the shadows of the hemlock, impossible conditions for a good photo, and visits to the birdbath are usually glimpsed through the window.  This made today's surprise visit exceptionally appreciated and I fell in love with the wind-blown look below!

Hermit thrushes are best known in Tennessee as a migrant and wintering resident, generally arriving in October and departing by early April.  Breeding seasons have only been sparsely recorded in Tennessee in the higher elevations of Roan Mountain and the Great Smoky Mountains (Atlas of the Breeding Birds of TN, ed. Charles P Nicholson.)

When this thrush turned, giving me nice looks at her body proportions and rust tail, I thought she was leaving.      

But she lingered a few minutes longer and reached from the side to take several more drinks.  Sigh.  One of many special moments enjoyed in the backyard.  

Links and Resources:

Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Tennessee, edited by Charles P. Nicholson.  This book is out of print and pricey on the secondary market, but with patience, you may find lowered pricing on Amazon with time.  

More thrushes on this blog:  Bird Gratitude, Townsend's Solitaire, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin

And more about cardinals and molting in A Day-making Family of Cardinals

If you have not already signed the petition requesting a new management plan for the Eastern Population of Sandhill cranes, visit the petition site right now and voice your opinion on this important conservation issue.  Kentucky is battling a sandhill crane hunting proposal similar to the one deferred in Tennessee.  We have a lot of work left to do to protect this population that has only recently recovered from near extirpation.  To read more visit A New Plan for Eastern Sandhills.    

Linked to Bird Photography Weekly #130 at Birdfreak.com to promote the conservation of our world's birds.

The Beauty of November's Berries

Covered with berries and leaves earlier in the month, the Dogwoods in my yard are now bare of both. (Click images to enlarge.)All that remains are their upreaching limbs and tiny white buds, reminders of the crowd of birds, especially the robins, that covered their branches one morning and boldly announced their arrival.

But there are plenty of other berries still around, among them this native American Beautyberry (below) that I found at Ijams Nature Park. Expecting to find very little in the way of color when I stopped by, it took me by surprise. I even double checked to make sure the brilliant orange leaves were attached to the same limbs as the berries!

Who but Nature would pair these luscious colors together in such a grand display?!

October is most definitely a glorious month for leaves. But as November begins to fade, I think it steals the show, hands down, for its bountiful display of berries. Just ask the birds and squirrels who are busy harvesting them!

A Crowd of Robins and A Dogwood Tree

A cold front welcomed in our first day of November, so I set feeders out for the birds. Titmice, chickadees and cardinals gathered but it soon became apparent there were many more birds in the yard than usual.

When I walked over to the Dogwood to investigate, I found a crowd of American Robins in the tree eating the ripened dogwood berries.

Not a bit shy about their new surroundings, the robins, mixed with a few Cedar Waxwings, were hungrily picking berries in as many different ways as you and I might invent. Some hung upside down, others grabbed berries in a fly-by fashion, still others found a convenient spot and picked and swallowed them one by one. Sometimes as many as half-a-dozen gathered on a branch at a time. And all around, on nearby limbs, more birds waited their turn.

It was heavenly. They were so close, so busy, so accessible. As you might guess, I took a ton of photographs. And while I enjoyed the party, others came to dine--a male Red-bellied woodpecker (I will show you more about how he uses his tongue in a later post), two male Yellow-bellied sapsuckers, a Hermit thrush, an Eastern Phoebe, a White-throated sparrow, three Northern Flickers and a Northern Mockingbird.

Need I say what a fine party this was for me? (Last image, Northern Mockingbird).

An American Robin Nestling and His Pop

I refer to the male Robin as Pop because he seemed to be the most vigilant about the youngster. The female was nearby also, but perhaps her efforts were focused on young still in the nest. Pop was busy gathering food for this nestling and when I saw him coming with this mouthful of earthworm, I thought, wow! And decided to watch for a while. Not, 'just a robin', he was a parent with a mission and none too happy about my presence.In the series of images below, you can see how he communicated this in several ways, raising his crown feathers, flicking his tail and issuing wing flicks along with sharp warning chirps. Above he spreads his tail feathers and below, he's in the midst of wing flicking.
I was at ground level with him at this moment, so I moved to a different position to reduce stress. I also wanted him to feed that baby. So I retreated up an embankment. With more distance and a tree between us, my new position caused no concern and the meal he brought was quietly delivered in small pieces.
One final, lingering look before departure.
The male awoke the nestling with greeting chirps as he approached, but not a sound was made by either the parent or the nestling during feeding. In fact, the whole time I observed the nestling, he never made a sound. He watched the world around him and listened. Secretive silence, camouflage and stillness are the only protections for this nestling, too soon out of the nest. Somehow, he seems to know that.After his meal, the nestling had more energy. A blue jay had been overhead earlier, tapping something against a limb as if attempting to break it. I wondered if he had a snail. I both feared the nestling would attract attention by moving and wished for a better hiding place for him. And my wish happened. When he took a notion, he toddled and stumbled with determination to a new location with Pop delivering encouraging chirps the whole way.

In the images above you can clearly see his blood feathers with blue sheaths supplying the blood to newly developing wing feathers. I don't know how long it takes these feathers to mature, but hopefully in only a few days. These are the flight feathers he needs to fledge.

The nestling headed into a dense bamboo stand, definitely a better spot than under the hemlock where the jays hang out periodically.

I decided to end my observations here. But just outside my window, I'm continuing to send this nestling wishes for a safe and speedy fledging.