Migration is starting soon, herons and songbirds returning!

 

Migration is starting and soon migrants such as herons, warblers, hummingbirds and more will be flooding into the U.S. and Canada on their way to their breeding grounds. Watching birds will help take your mind of the virus crises we are in. I photographed this Black-crowned Night-Heron yesterday on Sanibel, FL. This is a bird that occurs year round in many coastal areas of the U.S. but breeds in much of the country. So look for them soon arriving on their breeding grounds this spring. They are active mainly at night and can be found in marshes, lakes and streams. For more information see the new The Stokes Field Guide to Birds, Eastern or Western Region.

Tree Swallows are Back!

They're back! Happiness is seeing four Tree Swallows flying around our bird houses and landing on them. We have a large Tree Swallow colony here at Bobolink Farm our 23 acre NH property, with about twenty nesting pairs each year on the houses in our large field near the water. These are not the first Tree Swallows we have seen, one passed by here on March 14th but it flew on. These four look like they have been here before and right away are settling on some of the houses which they will have to defend as other swallows arrive. Bluebirds have to compete with the swallows and sometimes we put three houses together to help with the competition. Love the swallows they bring joy.

World Sparrow Day Appreciation!

American Tree Sparrow 

Something to take your mind off virus anxiety - today is World Sparrow Day, a day to appreciate biodiversity and these wonderful birds. Here is an American Tree Sparrow I photographed in fall, eating goldenrod seeds. We always used to have a little flock of Tree Sparrows arrive at our NH home and stay the winter and enjoyed their musical twittering calls. Their breeding grounds are in the far northern areas of North America. Take time to watch and appreciate birds, it's stress reducing!

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Tree_Sparrow/sounds

American Woodcocks Have Arrived!

The males make a nasal "peent" sound then launch into an aerial display where they make twittering and chirping sounds. Then they land and again "peent." The displays attract females and the males mate with them then the females go off and nest in the woods.

Canada Geese arriving!

Canada Geese flying overhead this morning on their way to the newly opened water. Spring is coming.

Corgis watching

The Corgis watching from the snow cleared deck. Abby, Andre in middle, Phoebe right. Always keeping track. Pileated Woodpecker is drumming in distance.

Happy Valentine's Day Eagles

Happy Valentine's Day! Celebrate with the ones you love!

Gary Cole, Goodbye.

Gary and Don waiting at Blind Pass for the green flash.

 Diane and Gary

Blind Pass sunset, Goodbye Gary.

Gary Cole, our good friend, passed away Monday, Feb. 3rd at his home in Illinois. Gary was generous and funny and passionate about bird photography, native plants, prairie restoration, conservation and of course, his grandkids! He was my photography buddy on Sanibel and we had many wonderful times with he and his wife, Diane Elizabeth Bell Cole there. Gary led many plant walks on Sanibel for the Weeds and Seeds group. Here are some of his bird photographs he last posted on his facebook page. He was sometimes shy about showing his photos, but I don't think he would mind me posting these. Gary was one of the good guys. We will miss him very much. In my photo of he and Don and the sunset they are waiting at Blind Pass for the Green Flash. My heart goes out to Diane and her family. Love you Gary, goodbye.

Bluebird Happiness!

Bluebird time! Yesterday our pair of Eastern Bluebirds were checking out their nesting box, going in and out, thinking about the upcoming breeding season. Happiness is bluebirds!

Happy Groundhog Day! Early Spring Predicted!

Happy Groundhog Day! It's official, Punxsutawney Phil, the famous predicting groundhog, did not see his shadow so we will have an early spring. Where I am in eastern MA it is overcast so any groundhog who emerged would not see it's shadow, however all groundhogs here are still hibernating in their burrows despite the spring-like weather here (no snow on ground, mild temps). What's the weather where you are?
https://weather.com/…/2020-01-30-groundhog-day-punxsutawney…

Great White Pelican, Here We Go Again!

Great White Pelican, Sanibel, FL 2016, ©Lillian Stokes

Great White Pelican, Sanibel, FL 2016 ©Lillian Stokes

Great White Pelican, Merritt Island, FL 2020 ©Kristina Fisher

Here we go again! A Great White Pelican (a species found in Africa, Asia and Europe) showed up Thursday at Merritt Island, FL. Experts are trying to determine if this is the same Great White Pelican that showed up at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel FL in Feb. 2016, 2017 and 2019. The Sanibel sightings were rejected by the Florida Ornithological Society as a first North American record even though there was no evidence that this was a bird escaped from captivity in the U.S. Experts keep track of that plus this bird had no bands. Will this open the case again? Amazingly this new sighting, as with previous sightings, had the Great White Pelican showing up the same month, February, in the company of American White Pelicans. The photo on top I took at Ding Darling in Feb. 2016, the photo on bottom was taken by Kristina Fisher Thursday at Merritt Island. Stay tuned. To see my blog post on the Sanibel bird go,

https://stokesbirdingblog.blogspot.com/search…

 

Short-eared Owl, Wonderful Winter Owl!

Thinking about winter owls. Here's a Short-eared Owl I saw several years ago in Salisbury Beach, MA on Christmas day. What a gift! This wonderful owls breeds across all of Canada and AK and the uppermost part of the West, but winters across most of the U.S. in grasslands and open areas where they hunt voles and mice.

Happy National Bird Day!

Happy National Bird Day! Celebrate birds, protect birds, go birding, feed birds and most of all enjoy birds! I chose to show this Hairy Woodpecker at a feeder because that is the way the majority of Americans interact with birds.

Purple Sandpiper, winters in New England

Sweet Purple Sandpipers are a wintering sandpiper here in New England. They breed in the tundra and winter on the rocky Atlantic Coast. Some may migrate through Greenland and winter in Europe. Not very purple but beautiful to see against the ocean landscape.

Carolina Wren First Bird of 2020, What's Yours?

Carolina Wren was my first bird of 2020. Sign of the times and the warming climate as this species has been moving its range northward, also helped by bird feeders. What was your first bird of 2020?

Our Christmas Bird Count 2019

 Don looking for the Tree Sparrow

 Eastern Towhee

 Cooper's Hawk

Belted Kingfisher

Northern Mockingbird

 Can you find the mockingbird?

Dawn

 

An Eastern Towhee was our best bird yesterday when we participated in the Christmas Bird Count for the greater Concord, MA area which includes parts of 18 towns. Our section in Acton had good habitat and the towhee was found in a shrubby area near a pond. Other highlights were Belted Kingfisher, Cooper's Hawk, Bald Eagle, Golden-crowned Kinglet, American Tree Sparrow (found in the wetland near Don) 2 Northern Flickers and Raven, considered less common here. For big numbers we had 58 Mallards and 142 Canada Geese. If you can find a big patch of Multiflora Rose (unfortunately an invasive) you can find a Northern Mockingbird and we found 2. Mockingbirds can form a winter territory around a good berry food source. Our Bald Eagle was seen while we were looking up searching the trees for a kinglet. You just never know where something will pop up, that's the fun! Temps started out below freezing and rose to the 40's, much better than today's sleet storm! We ended the day with 32 species and saw 457 birds for our small section of the total count area where last year they tallied 88 species and 52,501 birds (some of that number included an amazing count of over 20,000 robins). The countdown party is on Thursday so we will see what the numbers are for this year. There are always surprises. (Photos were taken just for records in the field with the canon SX 50 or cell phone, not for high quality portraits of the birds, I was too busy recording birds!)

Merry Cardinal Christmas!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and wonderful birding in 2020!

How to Help Bluebirds Survive Winter!

We have recently seen Eastern Bluebirds checking out some of their nesting boxes from this past breeding season. They even grab a snack of the dried mealworms if you offer it. They usually move on when the weather gets really bad.

Bluebirds may sometimes remain in some northern areas in winter, much to people's surprise. Here's some tips for bluebird enthusiasts, on how to help bluebirds survive in winter.

1. Bluebirds can roost together in bird houses to keep warm. Insulate your bird houses in winter by closing off all cracks, drainage holes, etc., with some sort of insulating material so less drafts and cold get into the bird house (open these in spring). Just always leave the entrance hole open. Face bird houses away from prevailing winter winds.

2. Bluebirds mainly eat fruit and berries in winter. Plant your property with an abundance of crabapples and native, berry-producing shrubs such as viburnums and hollies (like winterberry holly). Place these berry plantings in sunny, protected areas, blocked from winter winds. The bluebirds will have a warm place to eat and use less precious energy.

3. Some bluebirds will come to food such as, hulled sunflower, suet, dried mealworms, and some of the many "bluebird meal mixtures" or nuggets. Generally most bluebirds do not learn to do this. You can certainly try putting out these foods, but your best bet is to have lots of berries planted in your yard.

4. Bluebirds like water (may help with processing the berries) and will visit bird baths and heated bird baths. In general, when it is very severely cold, some people think it is a risk for birds to bathe. Holding off on the water, or placing sticks over the bird bath to only allow birds to drink, not bathe, may be a good idea in this situation. Many birds will eat snow in winter to get water.

Most bluebirds move out of the northernmost areas of their range in winter. Even ones that may linger eventually move on, once their berry sources are depleted or ice-covered. For bluebirds, and many birds, there is a trade-off of staying more north in order to be first to claim prime breeding territories, yet risking survival due to bad weather. Some of these tips may help them survive and you feel you're helping them. Bluebirds are truly beloved.

For more complete information see Stokes Bluebird Book.

For the very latest identification information and range maps on all three species of North American Bluebirds; Eastern Bluebird, Mountain Bluebird and Western Bluebird, see our new best-seller, The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America and the new regional editions, The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern and The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Western Regions.

Blue Jay and Cardinal Beautiful!

Such beautiful birds in the snow! Cardinal like a flame and soft blue beauty of the jay.

Makes winter wonderful!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! This is a good year for Wild Turkeys in NH, we have seen lots. And there is a bumper crop of one of their favorite foods, acorns!