On the first day of February, I spotted my first robin of the year. They are usually here year-round, but decided to migrate to unknown parts after having been present in abundant numbers last summer. Maybe they found better food sources elsewhere this winter.
Our bluebirds have already built nests in three of the four houses we have for them. (The fourth one has a nuthatch nest.) It’s always exciting to see the little blue eggs and later, the nestlings. The disappointing mystery is not seeing them fledge and not knowing where they go. I’ve heard they start out early in the morning and usually are all gone by the end of the day. I’ve seen the little ones sitting at the opening, but have never seen them fly from the nest.
Our mockingbird couple has returned to their favorite bush after taking a year away. We missed their songs last summer. They’re very protective of their babies and will often dive at dogs, cats or humans who approach their nests. I saw one hit my male cat once from behind, raising his backside off the ground. The cat’s pride allowed him to walk on slowly with his head held high while ignoring his attacker.
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Our backyard stays full of cardinals, blue jays, mourning doves, brown thrashers, finches, sparrows and other small songbirds. We throw seeds along in front of our grapevines and find the birds lined up on the ground each morning and evening. Easter morning we saw a bunny eating along with a squirrel and the birds. He didn’t leave us eggs or candy, but it was nice to see a rabbit in our yard again. The chickadees, brown-headed nuthatches, chipping sparrows, and titmice eat at the tube feeders.
The cowbirds are back to lay eggs in the smaller birds’ nests again. They are parasites and never build a nest. The female lays up to 36 eggs per season in small songbirds’ nests who then unknowingly raise the larger cowbird baby at the expense of their own, thus causing a decline in their population.
A male cowbird spends most of his time on the kitchen window sill, looking up at the feeder that’s too small for him. When I approach, he turns toward the window, puffs up his neck and body, flashes his dark tail feathers, stretches his wings and bows to me, the “seed queen.” While begging, he makes a soft, squeaky, high-pitched sound. If I don’t feed him this summer, maybe he won’t come back next summer. Wishful thinking?
Life appears to be normal in my bird world until I spy a bird I’ve never seen eating along with the rest. After studying the stranger through my binoculars for a while, curiosity sends me running to my Peterson Field Guide on “Birds of Eastern and Central North America” to see if my guess is correct.
One morning as I was looking out at the cardinals and others, I noticed a bird that looked like a rose-red male cardinal without a crest. Its bill was pale white instead of orange-red, and it didn’t have a black patch at the base of its bill like a cardinal. That was certainly something I had never seen before. My field guide revealed it to be a summer tanager.
A couple days later, I noticed a bird during the morning lineup that looked a lot like a robin, but smaller. Its back and head were black, and its breast was orange. Since the robins don’t usually congregate with the rest of the breakfast crowd vying for seeds, I decided this dark bird was not a robin. I discovered it to be an orchard oriole.
The variation of woodpeckers has surprised me this spring. A yellow-bellied sapsucker spends a lot of time at the tube feeders. It appears a little comical as it hangs on the feeder with its tail tucked under for balance. It’s a striking smallish woodpecker, 8 to 9 inches long, with an all-red throat patch, a spot of red above the beak, zebra-striped back, long lightning-like white wing stripes surrounded with black. The chest is a light pale yellow. The stark whites, reds and blacks make it quite a beauty.
The downy woodpecker has visited often at the feeders. It’s only about 6 1/2 inches long. Its coloration is similar to the yellow-bellied sapsucker, but the back has a long white streak and the tail feathers are spotted. It has a small red nape patch.
The red-headed woodpecker has not been a stranger over the years. According to the field guide, it is the only eastern woodpecker with an entire red head. It has a solid black back and a white rump.
My favorite visitor this spring has been the pileated woodpecker. I often hear them in the woods singing their rapidly paced, loud call, but rarely see them. The one I saw spent about half the day pecking on a rotten log at the edge of the woods. He must have found lots of bugs. (We don’t spray poisons on our property in order to protect the birds and other pollinators.) He was about the size of a small crow, 16- to 19-inches long, and had a flaming red crest. His back was black and his wings were white underneath and flashed when he flew. The artist who made Woody the Woodpecker popular in cartoons must have had the pileated woodpecker in mind.
Some serious birders travel to places all over the globe to find rare birds, but the ones who visit my husband, Dean and me, and live here in our backyard keep us interested and busy.
Delight Van Horn is a member of Morganton Writers Group.
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