I have been a bit under the weather but promise to post soon. Sylvia and Lloyd are perfectionists and have not quite finished their nest. so far, no eggs, but I am thinking any day now......
I will be back to post next week and hopefully more often.....
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
"Approved" Nesting Material: Forget that Dryer Lint!
Hey folks,
Many of us would like to help the progress of our nest-building buddies by putting out material for them to use for their nests. There is a little confusion regarding what is good material and what might not be good for our friends. Some people think that they are doing a good thing by putting out their dryer lint for them to line their nests with. Unfortunately, this is not a good idea for a couple of reasons. First of all, if any of you have ever taken the lint out of your washing machine and revisited it later (you know like it didn't quite make it into the trash right away), it is a hard compacted nugget-mess. Yuck-o! Not good nesting material. Because it absorbs so much water, it becomes matted and heavy and thus doesn't allow water to pass through. A nest will eventually get wet, so they need material that allows water to pass through or that will allow space to be between it and the next type of material like grass, etc. Plus, there is concern that additives in laundry detergents (i.e., chemicals) will harm birds, including phosphates and dyes and fragrance. Sooooooo.....on that note, here is a list of approved material as specified by the bird experts, The Cornell Ornithology Lab.
** Dead Twigs or leaves
** Dry grass
** String or thread or yarn in 4-8 inches
** Human or Horse hair
** Animal fur (cat or dog) Good excuse for a brushing!
** Sheep's wool
** Feathers (The mama will use her own downy, too)
** Plant fluff or down
** Moss
** Cotton batting
** Bark Strips
** Pine Needles
** Thin Strips of cloth 1"wx6"l
** Shredded paper
Take an old onion, shallot or other mesh bag like the type lemons and limes come in and fill it and hang it somewhere accessible like a pole, tree or post.
Anjoy nesting season!
Many of us would like to help the progress of our nest-building buddies by putting out material for them to use for their nests. There is a little confusion regarding what is good material and what might not be good for our friends. Some people think that they are doing a good thing by putting out their dryer lint for them to line their nests with. Unfortunately, this is not a good idea for a couple of reasons. First of all, if any of you have ever taken the lint out of your washing machine and revisited it later (you know like it didn't quite make it into the trash right away), it is a hard compacted nugget-mess. Yuck-o! Not good nesting material. Because it absorbs so much water, it becomes matted and heavy and thus doesn't allow water to pass through. A nest will eventually get wet, so they need material that allows water to pass through or that will allow space to be between it and the next type of material like grass, etc. Plus, there is concern that additives in laundry detergents (i.e., chemicals) will harm birds, including phosphates and dyes and fragrance. Sooooooo.....on that note, here is a list of approved material as specified by the bird experts, The Cornell Ornithology Lab.
** Dead Twigs or leaves
** Dry grass
** String or thread or yarn in 4-8 inches
** Human or Horse hair
** Animal fur (cat or dog) Good excuse for a brushing!
** Sheep's wool
** Feathers (The mama will use her own downy, too)
** Plant fluff or down
** Moss
** Cotton batting
** Bark Strips
** Pine Needles
** Thin Strips of cloth 1"wx6"l
** Shredded paper
Take an old onion, shallot or other mesh bag like the type lemons and limes come in and fill it and hang it somewhere accessible like a pole, tree or post.
Anjoy nesting season!
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
The Nest that Sylvia Built
Okay, so I called her Betty before, but I have changed Mama Bluebird's name to Sylvia. Lloyd and Sylvia Bluebird. And they are building away. I should say Sylvia is building away because it seems that she is doing all the work and all Lloyd is doing is running his beak and flying in and out every now and then to seemingly criticize her work. The progression is amazing and the footage is probably the coolest thing I have ever seen.
So the routine basically goes like this. Sylvia lands on top of the house and makes some noise and hops around with a bunch of dead grass in her beak. Then she hops in and drops it as she enters the box. She chirps while she hops around and then does the spin, pat down dance. She spreads her wings, sticks her tail in the air and spins in a circle, patting down the grass on the sides with her chest. It seems she is also scratching with her feet. The center is still bare, but she is building up the sides.
Then she flies out and comes back about 10 minutes or more later with more grass and continues her funny pat down dance. Lloyd is outside on the top of the box or in a nearby tree just chirping like crazy and my guess is he's asking for updates, bossing her around or asking if she needs anymore supplies. He flies in a few minutes later empty-beaked and inspects. Sometimes he goes in and actually messes up what she's done! And sometimes he takes stuff out as if it is not suitable. The other day he was inside and she was outside and it was almost as if she was yelling at him as he scattered stuff about and she flew in on top of him and he immediately flew out! It was the first time we had seen them both inside.
Anyway, a couple extremely windy days, a brief cold snap and some freakish wintry weather have upset their progress slightly,, but they have kicked it up a notch. I understand that she will lay her eggs a couple days after the completion of the nest. There is still some wood showing through on the bottom, so I think they are still working.
So the routine basically goes like this. Sylvia lands on top of the house and makes some noise and hops around with a bunch of dead grass in her beak. Then she hops in and drops it as she enters the box. She chirps while she hops around and then does the spin, pat down dance. She spreads her wings, sticks her tail in the air and spins in a circle, patting down the grass on the sides with her chest. It seems she is also scratching with her feet. The center is still bare, but she is building up the sides.
Then she flies out and comes back about 10 minutes or more later with more grass and continues her funny pat down dance. Lloyd is outside on the top of the box or in a nearby tree just chirping like crazy and my guess is he's asking for updates, bossing her around or asking if she needs anymore supplies. He flies in a few minutes later empty-beaked and inspects. Sometimes he goes in and actually messes up what she's done! And sometimes he takes stuff out as if it is not suitable. The other day he was inside and she was outside and it was almost as if she was yelling at him as he scattered stuff about and she flew in on top of him and he immediately flew out! It was the first time we had seen them both inside.
Anyway, a couple extremely windy days, a brief cold snap and some freakish wintry weather have upset their progress slightly,, but they have kicked it up a notch. I understand that she will lay her eggs a couple days after the completion of the nest. There is still some wood showing through on the bottom, so I think they are still working.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me.......
Okay, a cheesy one-hit wonder from the eighties, but also how the Bluebirds must be feeling now that Big Brother, or rather, a big bird nerd is watching. That's right, the bird-cam is up and running and I am ready to start recording all of the live bird on bird action! Seriously folks, this has got to be one of the best gifts ever and it even had sound! I have it connected to my big-screen TV and can watch all of the activity in two ways: from the comfort of my couch in front of the fireplace and also out the window that is just to the left of the TV and has a perfect view of the birdhouse. I am trying to come up with a name for the birdie love shack and welcome any suggestions. I think I have the names for the birds: Betty and Lloyd. I have no clue where those came from, but Lloyd popped in when I was animating Betty, watching her hopping around inside, looking up at the camera suspiciously. I imagined her yelling out to Lloyd (who was on top chirping at her): "Lloyd? Did you install a ceiling fan in here? Did the landlords do some renovations I don't know about?" Hopefully the camera won't deter them. They have built in the same spot the past two years, and have bred successfully all season long both years. I just checked and there is still no new building material, but hopefully we'll see some action in the next week or so. It's definitely time for box hunting, and nest building should begin in a few weeks. I am planning on setting up two of my recycled milk jug boxes in neighbor's yards since they seem to be too close to my original box for comfort. Hopefully they will choose the boxes over people's black metal mailboxes that are not conducive for eggs.
Well, happy spring and remember to be alert to birds shooting across roads as they become more active. The Robins are arriving in the mid-Atlantic and the White-throated Sparrows and Juncos should be shoving off soon. The song Sparrows are all a-twitter and the woodpeckers and Nuthatches are very active. Spring is springing!
Well, happy spring and remember to be alert to birds shooting across roads as they become more active. The Robins are arriving in the mid-Atlantic and the White-throated Sparrows and Juncos should be shoving off soon. The song Sparrows are all a-twitter and the woodpeckers and Nuthatches are very active. Spring is springing!
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
New Year, New Bird House
Here we are in the doldrums of winter and I have been wondering how the critters are dealing with the wacky weather trends happening all over the country. As my bulbs have sprouted thanks to some of our Spring-like days, I can only imagine that the birds are equally confused and may start their Spring activities early. I am pretty sure they have an inner clock that keeps them straight no matter what the temperatures are doing. What about the hibernating critters? Do they stir from their deep slumbers on uncharacteristic warm days? It moves us outside, stirs us from our cozy houses and lifts our moods, how can it not have the same effect on animals?
Well, the feeders are full of activity and the weather has not been much of a deterrent. The howling winds we had for two days straight certainly kept the birds away, but as soon as the air was still again, they were back. It is getting close to house hunting time for the bluebirds and soon they will separate from their flocks and leave their siblings and cousins behind to start families on their own. I am ready and waiting with my new video camera-equipped bluebird house! As soon as we have a dry day, I am going to get it up and running. I only hope that they are not deterred by the new house, but excited about it. I am replacing an old, wooden, plain-jane, $8.00 one that I bought at the local hardware store as a temporary fix, but they seem to prefer it to my $50, indestructible, recycled milk-jug houses. Oh well, one can never guess what nature will do! My fingers are crossed, though and I am looking forward to live bluebird video. I'm sure the cats will enjoy it, too!
Well, the feeders are full of activity and the weather has not been much of a deterrent. The howling winds we had for two days straight certainly kept the birds away, but as soon as the air was still again, they were back. It is getting close to house hunting time for the bluebirds and soon they will separate from their flocks and leave their siblings and cousins behind to start families on their own. I am ready and waiting with my new video camera-equipped bluebird house! As soon as we have a dry day, I am going to get it up and running. I only hope that they are not deterred by the new house, but excited about it. I am replacing an old, wooden, plain-jane, $8.00 one that I bought at the local hardware store as a temporary fix, but they seem to prefer it to my $50, indestructible, recycled milk-jug houses. Oh well, one can never guess what nature will do! My fingers are crossed, though and I am looking forward to live bluebird video. I'm sure the cats will enjoy it, too!
Friday, November 04, 2005
Oops! They're here!
Perhaps I wasn't listening carefully or early enough, but the White-Throated Sparrows are indeed here. It's 8:46 and I have opened the kitchen window and hear what sounds like several of the little guys singing at the edge of the woods. I was hoping to seduce them into coming closer by sprinkling seeds, crumbs and other goodies below the deck, but I think they are still a little tentative. I can imagine they are enjoying the mess of my decrepit garden and all of the dying wildflowers out there. Still no Juncos on the feeders, but that just may be a lack of observation on my part! Now it feels officially like fall. I just wonder what they think of these warm temperatures?
Thursday, November 03, 2005
No Migratory Yet......
Well, so far, I have yet to hear the tinny, whiny song of the White-throated Sparrow. I am not sure if the warm weather has thrown them for a loop and caused them to stall somewhere else, but I suspect that might have something to do with it. I haven't seen any Juncos either. I am still seeing blue bird rallies in the morning. This morning there were several on the deck railing and in the Crepe Myrtle that brushes up against it. I put out some "Mealie Snacks" (dried mealworms", but it seems they haven't seen them yet. The temperatures have been unseasonably warm, but I doubt there is anything such as "seasonal" anymore. My daffodils are coming up once again, just like last year. They are several inches above the ground already.
In other interesting bird sightings, I was recently in Las Vegas and saw my first Road Runner. ("Meep, meep"). It was pretty exciting for me, being a big ole' bird nerd, and I took a million pictures of them. Road Runners do have the ability to fly, but rarely so, preferring to scurry along the ground very fast, so as to deal with the hot desert ground temperatures. It was exciting for me to see these guys in action since I have driven across Texas, NM, AZ, NV, and CA and never saw one. This trip I was actually on a golf course of all places. Just goes to show you that birds like pretty landscaping as much as we do. I was lucky enough on my previous trip across the SW, to see Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, Anna's Hummingbirds and Rufous Hummingbirds.
Well, that's all for now. I welcome any bird sightings or questions. I will find the answer if I do not know it already!
If anyone has had migrating bird sightings or insight as to the delay this year, I would love to hear about them.
In other interesting bird sightings, I was recently in Las Vegas and saw my first Road Runner. ("Meep, meep"). It was pretty exciting for me, being a big ole' bird nerd, and I took a million pictures of them. Road Runners do have the ability to fly, but rarely so, preferring to scurry along the ground very fast, so as to deal with the hot desert ground temperatures. It was exciting for me to see these guys in action since I have driven across Texas, NM, AZ, NV, and CA and never saw one. This trip I was actually on a golf course of all places. Just goes to show you that birds like pretty landscaping as much as we do. I was lucky enough on my previous trip across the SW, to see Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, Anna's Hummingbirds and Rufous Hummingbirds.
Well, that's all for now. I welcome any bird sightings or questions. I will find the answer if I do not know it already!
If anyone has had migrating bird sightings or insight as to the delay this year, I would love to hear about them.
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