Provide for Breeding Birds!

Rose-breasted Grosbeak, female, comes frequently to feeder, she may be breeding nearby.

Hairy Woodpecker, male (right) taking hulled sunflower back to his nest to feed young. Mr. Cardinal comes for a seed and feeds Mrs. Cardinal as part of courtship and breeding.

Cosy pair of Gray Catbirds, who love the oranges! We have 2 pairs of nesting Catbirds.

View of part of the hayfield.

We have Bobolinks nesting in our fields and make sure our farmer does not hay the field until late August, after all the Bobolinks have fledged.

We have 15 nesting pairs of Tree Swallows in the bird houses we provide. That's great, as this is a declining species near us.

Lots going on here at Bobolink Farm, our NH home. We feel like bird farmers. Breeding birds are everywhere, with many taking advantage of the habitat we have created, our bird feeders and bird houses. It's a great time of year to sit on our deck and watch the show around us. So many baby birds in the works. It gives us great pleasure to know we are helping so many birds, especially since many of these birds, such as Bobolinks, continue to have population declines due to lack of suitable habitat.

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Can't Get Enough of Them!

Beautiful Rose-breasted Grosbeak, male, at our feeder

The shape of the red bib of the male can vary, 

making it possible to individually identify them.

Female Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are more subtly colored.

Here's another example of a female.

Here's a 1st-winter male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. He looks much like the female but with a variable rosy wash on the breast. The 1st-winter female looks much like the adult female.

Can one get enough of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks? I think not. We celebrate their arrival each spring. They're strikingly gorgeous. We're lucky because we have them visiting our feeders regularly. They must be nesting nearby, although we do not know exactly where. Maybe they will bring the fledglings to the feeder as they have done in the past.
The male's plumage is so striking with the dramatic red on the white breast. One of the things we look at is the red bib of red on the male. It is a slightly different shape for each bird, making it possible to often recognize individuals. The female is not as knock-your-socks-off brilliantly colored as the male. Then again, he does not have to sit on the nest, as she does, a sitting duck for any predator. So, for her, it's much better to have subtle, more camouflaged colors. The young male Rose-breasted Grosbeak at first looks like the adult female but with a rosy wash on his breast. Eventually he will acquire the plumage of the adult male.

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks breed in the upper quadrant of the eastern half of the U.S. and much of Canada and winter south of the U.S., so many people may see them during migration in many parts of the country. Attract them to your feeders with black oil sunflower seed, in the shell or shell less, their favorite. Make sure that feeders have a ledge or wide enough perching area for them to land. Enjoy your weekend, hope you see some Rose-breasted Grosbeaks!

Beautiful Migrants Headed Your Way!

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Red-eyed Vireo

Prothonotary Warbler

Hooded Warbler

Scarlet Tanager, female

Scarlet Tanager, female

Orchard Oriole, female

Happiness is... a Gumbo Limbo tree loaded with fruits at the Sanibel Lighthouse park if you are hungry migrants such as these. These migrants depend on finding food when they arrive in SW FL after crossing the Gulf of Mexico. The fact that Sanibel's code is to keep native vegetation on its properties insures there will be fruit and insects available for migrants and helps conserve these birds. Think of helping both migrant and resident birds on your property by planting plenty of native trees and shrubs. You will be rewarded with the sight of beautiful avian jewels and the birds will thank you. Soon these migrants will be arriving near you! Enjoy them by keeping your binos handy and getting our The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region or Western Region.

Beautiful Black-necked Stilts are Breeding!

Black-necked Stile, male

Black-necked Stilt, female

The Black-necked Stilts are nesting at the Bailey Tract on Sanibel, FL. The female (brown back) took a break from incubating to feed and the male sat on the nest, then the female returned and resumed incubating. These beautiful shorebirds breed in the shallow water of marshes, ponds, fields, and impoundments in coastal areas of some of the eastern half of the country and in some coastal and inland areas of the western half of the country. Even though there are plans to fill in one of the ponds in the Bailey Tract to create more marsh, we hope it it after these wonderful birds are through breeding.

Orchard Oriole Migrants, Nice!

Orchard Oriole, male

Orchard Oriole, male

New migrant yesterday was this beautiful male Orchard Oriole at the Sanibel lighthouse park. On it's way to its breeding range in much of the eastern part of the U.S.except the very upper East. Such a treat, as where I live in NH, it would be rare to see one.

Migrant Warblers, Here they Come and How to Help Them

Black-and-white Warbler

Black-and-white Warbler

Palm Warbler

Prairie Warbler

Migrant Black-and-white Warbler, often thought of as the upside down warbler because of its habit of foraging upside down on tree limbs and trunks (don't try this at home). Palm Warbler with a nice lunch and female Prairie Warbler preening after crossing the Gulf of Mexico. These migrants find a big welcome at the Sanibel lighthouse park, which has ample native vegetation for food and cover. Sanibel's policy is to landscape public places with native vegetation and for homeowner's to keep native vegetation on their property! So, if you want to attract birds to your property and provide for migrants coming though, landscape with native vegetation!!

Kentucky Warbler, Yes!

Kentucky Warbler

Ovenbird

Today's exciting migrant was this bright yellow Kentucky Warbler, a rare find here and who preferred to forage in dense, dim underbrush. Also this Ovenbird walked in the leaf litter tucked way back in dim light. Finding these birds at the Sanibel lighthouse park and getting everyone on them is a group effort, so thanks to all.

Red-eyed Vireos are Migrating!

Red-eyed Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo

Real birds don't pose for minutes nicely in the open at the Sanibel lighthouse park. Hungry migrants that they are, they flutter in the protection of the dense foliage and forage rapidly. This Red-eyed Vireo was a new arrival yesterday. It's a common breeder in mature deciduous woods in mostly the eastern and upper mid-western U.S. and across Canada.You will hear it singing all summer.

Indigo Buntings are Migrating!

Indigo Bunting

Indigo Bunting

Northern Parula

Indigo Bunting

Bird migration still occurring here in SW FL and lots more to come. Yesterday it was all about Indigo Buntings, many still molting and a few other warblers such as this Northern Parula. Also seen were Hooded Warblers and Prothonotary Warblers. They land in the native vegetation at the Sanibel lighthouse park and feast on the fig fruits, replenishing their reserves after their long journey across the Gulf of Mexico. Soon they will come to you!

Prothonotary Warbler and More Migrants!

Prothonotary Warbler

Black-and-white Warbler

Here they come! Migrant warblers, vireos, buntings and tanagers flooded into the Sanibel Lighthouse park yesterday all day. These hungry migrants have just crossed the Gulf of Mexico. They land and rapidly search for food. Some of the treats were this Prothonotary Warbler and Black-and-white Warbler. Also seen by us or others were Blue-headed, White-eyed and Yellow-throated Vireos, Summer Tanager, Northern Parula, Worm-eating, Hooded and Prairie Warblers, Indigo Buntings, Yellow-billed Cuckoo. More are to come!

Migrating Birds, Sanibel Lighthouse, Warblers, Kingbird

Hooded Warbler

Prairie Warbler

Gray Kingbird

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Here are some recent migrants that have come into the Sanibel Lighthouse, FL. Hooded Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Gary Kingbird, Northern Rough-winged Swallow!

Acrobatic Northern Parula Warbler and Prairie Warblers

Northern Parula

Northern Parula 

Prairie Warbler

Prairie Warbler

Several migrant Northern Parulas at the Sanibel lighthouse, FL today, one demonstrating acrobatic foraging and coming up with a juicy prize! You have to admire the ability of this warbler to hang upside down.These migrants are hungry, they have just crossed the Gulf of Mexico!! Also there were several Prairie Warblers. Note the red stripes on the back of one male, not always visible. These warblers will be coming your way soon. For more on how to ID them see our The New Stokes Field Guide To Birds, east or west editions.

Shorebirds Getting Pretty, Red Knots and Short-billed Dowitchers

Red Knot and Willets

Red Knots and Willets

Short-billed Dowitchers

Shorebirds getting pretty. Many shorebirds are migrating now and turning into their breeding plumage, such as this Red Knot. The Short-billed Dowitchers are getting darker feathers on their backs. Red Knots migrate to high arctic breeding grounds so national wildlife refuges, like J. N.Ding Darling NWR where I photographed these, are vital places for them to stop and refuel on their long journey!

Feeder Friday: Know Your Woodpeckers

Downy Woodpecker, male at suet.

Hairy Woodpecker, female at hulled sunflower.

Woodpeckers are great feeder birds because they're easy to attract and several species, the Downy and Hairy Woodpecker, live just about all over the country. These two look-alike Woodpeckers are best told apart by size, the Hairy is 9 1/4 inches tall and the Downy is 6 3/4 inches tall. Males of both species have a red patch at the back of the head.

The trick to attracting them is to offer the right food, in the type of feeder that allows them to cling and feed naturally. We find the favorite foods of Downy and Hairy are suet, hulled sunflower, black oil sunflower and other nutmeats like peanuts. In our yard, the two foods they most prefer are suet and hulled sunflower. Suet is a type of beef fat that is rendered (cooked and cooled) and formed into square cakes, often with some seeds or fruit added.

The above Hairy Woodpecker female is on our Stokes Select Sunflower Screen Feeder, a large enough feeder, with good clinging surface, allowing this large woodpecker to hang on and feed on the hulled sunflower. Woodpeckers in the wild like to cling on and hitch around tree trunks and limbs, probing for insect larvae in the bark, so feeders that allow them to hold on in their usual manner are appealing to them. That's not to say they don't come to tube feeders with short perches as well. The smaller Downy Woodpecker masters that a little better in our yard than the larger Hairy Woodpecker.

There are some cool things we like about these woodpeckers. They excavate their own nest holes, the Hairy in live wood the Downy in dead wood. They "drum" (a rapid pounding on a resonate tree or surface), instead of singing, to attract a mate and define a territory. Usually they make "teek" calls as a way of keeping in contact. They live as a pair all year round, on the same territory. Our Hairy Woodpeckers bring their babies to the feeder when they first fledge. The fledgling hangs on the feeder and the adult grabs the food and feeds it to the waiting mouth. Eventually, the young learn on their own and come to the feeders when they are independent.

So, just by offering their favorite foods in the right containers, you can have woodpecker entertainment all year.