Kay’s Birding Blog

The mercury plummeted to the teens, and even down to single digits this week, driving out the few remaining sparrows tucked into our prairie installation.  But many birds still visit our feeders with a vengeance.  The sunflower feeder must be filled at least twice a day for the chickadees, nuthatches and goldfinches.  Juncos and American Tree Sparrows chow down on millet spread on the front porch.

We are often asked what we do about feeders when we leave for the winter.  This year, our plan is to head south next week – at least six weeks later than usual.  Since it has been very cold and everything is under a significant layer of snow, some of our avian visitors will have to find other sources.  Chickadees and nuthatches cache food for later in the winter, but ground feeders likely do not do that.

Some of our regulars will move to one of two neighbors who put out seeds, some will leave the area and some will seek out natural sources.  But my favorite birds this winter, a pair of  Red-bellied Woodpeckers spent the entire winter on Charter Sanctuary last year.  Clearly they were able to find enough food without our handouts.

That’s what good habitat can do for a bird.

After a week and a half of heavy snows, the landscape is considerably different than it was under the previous dusting of powder. Amazingly, there are still a few sparrows tucked into the tall grasses. And why not? Prairie grasses have structural strength that allows them to stand through heavy rains, wild winds and even blizzards. This structure provides cover for birds to escape whatever Mother Nature throws at them and there are more than enough seeds for sustenance. While it is unlikely that they will all remain throughout the winter, it is wonderful to see how a native prairie provides for wild things in even the harshest weather.

There is only one downside; the height of the grasses has robbed Snow Buntings of the broad, open areas they once used. Next year, we will be cutting a large area of prairie at the end of the season in the hope of bringing these engaging little finches back to Charter Sanctuary.

Snowbunting by Robert Epstein

Although it is late fall with a light dusting of snow and winter’s cold breath is finally drifting down from the north, there are still sparrows in the prairie installation on Charter Sanctuary.  Not so many as there were a month ago, but certainly far more than we’ve ever seen this late in the year.  These birds are likely still hanging around because the grasses provide plenty of cover and abundant seeds.

The attached photo was shot from the Charter’s driveway, across the big blue/Indian grass section, down through a Canada goldenrod dominated wetland.  Beyond the red area, which is primarily little bluestem, is SBTH Habitat Discovery Center.

This prairie installation was begun four summers ago.  Although we haven’t yet attracted all the avian species we hope to, the sparrows clearly love it — in all seasons.

Fall Migrants Mix with Winter Birds

A rare, but not unheard of find in mid-October was a pair of cardinals feeding a single late season fledgling.  The youngster is now coming to the feeder on his own, along with Dark-eyed Juncos, both White-crowned and White-throated sparrows.  Last week, our first Fox Sparrow arrived.

Wilson's Warbler by Jeff Kingery

The surprise sighting, however, was a very late Wilson’s Warbler that hung around last week for three days.  Occasionally, first year migrants travel in the wrong direction upon leaving their nesting territories.  They are always in for a tough winter.  Many don’t survive.  The Wilson’s was a young bird, and it was a full six weeks later than previous fall sightings.   We can only hope that mild weather held it up and that it didn’t get here by heading in the wrong direction from a breeding site in the northwest.

At 6:30 on Wednesday morning, I grabbed a stocking cap, shoved on my shoes and headed out – still in my robe – for the morning paper. Venus was bright in the sky and the faint glow of the dawning sun spread across the eastern horizon.  Although autumn’s brisk air carried the hint of cooler days to come, a couple of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks (along with waxwings and robins) continued to pluck dead ripe fruit from our black cherry trees.  Although the grosbeaks are still here, at the end of the first week in October, the catbirds finally left for the year.

A thirteen acre tall-grass prairie installation borders both sides of our quarter mile long drive. Big bluestem and Indian grass, towering over me, bowed their seedheads under the weight of the night’s dew. A zillion sparrows bounced around in the prairie grasses.  Since they tuck into the grass, they are impossible to ID, except for Vespers when they fly away and their white outer tail feathers are visible.

Vesper Sparrow by Robert Epstein

There was barely enough light to see the drive ahead of me, but it clearly wasn’t too early in the day for the lingering Veery calling from the woods…or the White-throated Sparrow singing somewhere behind the house.

Years ago, this time of year, with its brisk temperatures and changing leaves, was my favorite.  But now spring, with the return of our migrants, is the season for me.  Until that time, though, it’s wonderful to be able to watch for new arrivals, and to note which species are gone for the winter.

On Friday, SBTH member Judy Gass and I hiked the trail on Charter Sanctuary to see what birds were still hanging around.  There were still hordes of sparrows in the prairie grasses.  The only problem is that there is now so much cover that we were unable to identify any of them except for the Vespers when they flew away from us.

The pond was quiet, except for a single Song Sparrow bouncing around in a brush pile at the west end.  Even he didn’t stay long.

There was a lot of activity along the trail just east of the wetland, north of our home.  A couple of young hummingbirds took nectar from the remaining Joe-pye blossoms and two warblers – a young yellowthroat and a Nashville – were hawking insects from various wetland plants.  Chickadees called from the woods and Cedar Waxwings foraged in black cherries across the creek from where Judy and I stood.  Heard, but not seen, were scolding catbirds in the brush.

Brown Thrasher by Jeff Kingery

That night we had our first frost, and the next day we figured that most of the rest of our Neotropicals had been kicked out by the frosty air.  But that did not prove to be the case as several Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and at least one catbird were still eating ripened black cherries.  Then, as I had my lunch, a Brown Thrasher moved in through the serviceberries outside the kitchen window.  It was the latest we’ve ever seen this bird on the property, and it was a very exciting find.  The beautiful bird with the rusty back searched for food in the leaf litter under the cherry trees and serviceberry bushes next to the house…a good reminder about how helpful it is to our birds not to be too uptight about leaf raking at this time of year.

It is now the middle of September and most of our Neotropical birds (those that head to the tropics for the winter) have finished nesting and are on their way south.  But a few species remain in significant numbers; nearly all are young of the year.  Lots of hummingbirds are visiting feeders in the area, and here on Charter Sanctuary they are nectaring on spotted touch-me-not.

Common Yellowthroat by Dave Brunell

Catbirds are calling as they pass through our wetland, and we still see the occasional Rose-breasted Grosbeak plucking black cherries from the trees outside our living room window.

Two days ago I was out with a group on the trail and we heard a Common Yellowthroat singing.  The latest we have seen yellowthroats feed young here was in early September.

Veery by Jeff Kingery

But the best sighting this month was a Veery, foraging on the ground under the large serviceberry just off the kitchen deck.  We saw few of these delicately-hued thrushes here this year, and never once heard their signature song – a downward spiral of flutelike notes.

Several years ago, we qualified for a pond, constructed with funds from the Federal Government.  The funds were part of a grant awarded for wetland restoration to benefit migrating birds.  This pond has been a bird, frog, turtle and dragonfly magnet.  Each year, its diversity has increased as the habitat has improved.  We’ve had numerous sandpipers in spring, hooded mergansers in late summer and great blue herons at all times of the breeding season.

Recently, Rick and Deb Kreiger, who manage Michigan Audubon’s Lake Bluff Bird Sanctuary in Manistee, came to visit Saving Birds Thru Habitat and Charter Sanctuary.  They were especially interested in seeing the progress we’ve made on our prairie.  Their interest stems from the fact that they hope to find a way to replace some of the mowed areas on the Lake Bluff property with prairie plantings.

Pied-billed Grebe by Robert Epstein

While here, we hiked the trail on Charter Sanctuary.  Our first stop was the pond where we found a pied-billed grebe – an exciting discovery, as it was the first ever on our property.  As we watched the little bird swim around on the far side of the water, a green heron jumped up from the cattails and flew onto the branch of a dead aspen.  We left the birds soon after, not wanting to frighten them off.  It’s enough to know that they are taking advantage of the habitat provided for them; we didn’t have to harass them by hanging around to see what they did next.

The Kreigers were also impressed with the numbers and variety of birds foraging in the serviceberry bushes, laden with ripe fruit.  There were catbirds, rose-breasted grosbeaks, a brown thrasher and a couple of orioles.

Green Heron by Jeff Kingery

While both Rick and Deb are beginning birders, they are dedicated to the cause of conservation, and they understand that creating a healthy habitat begins with replacing non-native plants with natives.  It will be exciting to watch the positive changes taking place at Lake Bluff as they work toward that end.

This is supposed to be the time of year when things grow quiet in the bird world.  In past years, they have.  But not this year.  For several weeks, we have been inundated with the sounds of several blue jay families, bouncing around outside our home and scolding everything that moves.  Much sweeter and more welcome sounds (sorry, blue jay lovers, but your birds screech and squawk), drift down from a host of eastern kingbirds foraging from the tops of trees as they prepare to leave for points south.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

There are still scolding wrens, mewing catbirds and a couple of orioles chattering in the serviceberry bushes.  Families of rose-breasted grosbeaks feed on sunflowers and serviceberries.  Then, this week, there were several very special surprises:  First was the melodic call of a veery from our woods one evening.  The next afternoon, a great crested flycatcher came in, whistling its “Breep, breep, breep.”  He landed, facing away from us, on a branch in a black cherry tree, right outside our living room window.   Then he turned into the sun, his rufous wings highlighted by the light and his breast glowing a bright lemon hue.  He hung around until the end of day, snagging flying insects, and snatching the occasional serviceberry.

American Redstart

But the best bird experience of all was the day that American redstarts appeared and sang their way through our wetland for the entire afternoon.  These beautiful black and orange warblers are regular nesters on Charter Sanctuary.  Hearing them communicating reminded us - as if we needed any reminders - of why we bought this place sixteen years ago.

“Aristotle was, shall we say, a creative thinker, even by the freewheeling standards of ancient Greece.  In addition to declaring that horsehair turned into living worms, he believed that birds hibernated in holes in the ground each winter.

Baltimore Oriole

“It’s easy to laugh at Aristotle, because we know better.  The truth about migration is that birds are conjured up from the soft April air of a Gulf Coast sky.  The blue is rolled up to make indigo buntings and cerulean warblers, the fog folds in on itself to birth gray catbirds and gnatcatchers, while the orange clouds at dusk give of themselves to create orioles.  And the liquid gold of the afternoon sun is measured out, drop by precious drop, to form male prothonotary warblers.  Once the sky is full to bursting with these new-made wonders, it lets them fall like snow on the land.  Poetic hogwash, you say?  Suit yourself.  I’ve seen it happen.”

Prothonotary Warbler

The above lyrical passage is from Scott Weidensaul’s wonderful work, Living on the Wind; Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds.  I first read it years ago, after attending a birding event where he spoke.  Although I’ve also read other books by Scott (Of a Feather: A Brief History of American Birding, Return to Wild America:  A Yearlong Search for the Continent’s Natural Soul, and The Ghost with Trembling Wings:  Science, Wishful Thinking  and the Search for Lost Species), this one book, Living on the Wind is by far my favorite.  When I recently I picked it up again to read it through, it became clear why that is so when I read the last paragraph of the preface:

“This book covers a lot of ground.  Over the course of more than six years, I traveled virtually the length of the hemisphere, logging nearly seventy thousand miles by jet, car, bush plane, sailing ketch, tundra buggy, dugout canoe, horseback, and on foot - yet traveling fewer miles than a single small sandpiper would in its short lifetime, propelled only by muscle and the instinct to migrate.”

Living on the Wind demonstrates clearly, often with heart stopping detail and always in beautiful prose, what these remarkable creatures endure in their travels between continents.  It is a part of their lives we too often forget about.

Everyone who cares about migrating birds and their collective futures, should read this book.  Doing so makes us conscious not just of their migrational challenges, but also reasons for their population declines.  Weidensaul makes care deeply about these brave travelers enough to act on their behalf.