Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird

I took a couple dozen exposures of this female ruby-throated hummingbird at the feeder a few minutes ago. One can tell it’s a female by the lack of a ruby patch on the throat.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Well, it seems I’ve gone and done it again… I have a seriously backlogged “pile” of bird photos to share with you. Maybe I’ll finally make some time this weekend to write about some of my bird encounters from the last couple of months. For now, I thought I would share a photo from this evening.

I noticed a rather confused Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) hovering near my sun room window two days ago—confused because there were several new feeders hanging around the yard, none of which was a nectar feeder! Feeding the hummingbirds last summer inspired me to get into bird feeding in general, so I was really glad to see some return already. Yesterday afternoon I found where I had stored the feeders last fall; cleaned them up; prepared some nectar (1 cup sugar mixed with 4 cups boiling water); let the concoction cool for a while (the freezer helped); and then traded out the finch feeder for the nectar feeder.

By the time I got home from work this afternoon, there were two male and one female hummingbirds buzzing happily around the yard. I wanted to get an exposure that would freeze one in flight, so I opted for the ISO 1600 setting. I normally would not use such a high setting on such a sunny day, but a slower speed would not have captured what I wanted as well. Luckily the photo isn’t too grainy.

I leave you with some trivia: ruby-throated hummingbirds are the only hummingbirds that visit us in the Northeast; can beat their wings 60 to 200 times per second; and consume about half their weight in sugar each day. Males have (surprise, surprise) a ruby throat, but females do not.

March Madness

As I write this, I’m sitting in my comfy green chair in the sunroom looking out at the feeders on the pole. My regular visitors appear to be thrilled that I just put some more black-oil sunflower seeds in the feeders. This month’s Wild Birds Unlimited newsletter mentioned that March is one of the most difficult months for birds—fluctuations in temperature, precipitation, and scarcity of natural food converge to make survival onerous. This tidbit of information appeared at about the same time I began to have the need to fill the feeders daily (rather than every other day.)

As it’s been so long since my last entry, I’ve created a top ten list of my most exciting bird moments:

10. Going Crazy with My New Camera—I’ve now taken over 3000 photos on my new Rebel XS. I think it would be safe to assume that more than 50% of those exposures are of birds. (Most of which are of my most frequent visitors—chickadees, siskins, and goldfinches.)


9. Dinky Downy, Huge Hairy—the suet feeder on the pole has been attracting both Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers. It was not until both visited within minutes of each other two weeks ago that I was finally able to differentiate between the two. As the saying goes, a Downy has a smaller bill and build than the Hairy. (The Hairy is by no means huge when compared to the Pileated—but that’s a story for another time.)

Downy Woodpecker


Hairy Woodpecker

8. A Little Brown Bird—small, brown birds can sometimes be impossible for novices to identify, when that occurs they are categorized as “LBB” (little brown bird.) I sent the pic below to Joyce, who easily recognized it as a Song Sparrow.


7. Startled by a Red-tailed Hawk—I was delivering some clues around the lake for the first of the confirmation retreats last weekend, when a Red-tailed Hawk came swooping in from over the lake and perched on a branch about 15 yards away. It certainly is worthy of its name.

6. Discovering a New Finch (for me at least)—a small finch that appeared as if it had been dipped in fruit punch perched on the feeder pole last week. After some in-depth investigating, I determined it was not a House Finch, but actually a Purple Finch.


5. Is it a Fox or a Sparrow—spending hours now pouring through my field guides finally paid off yesterday, when I noticed yet another “LBB” scratching the ground below the feeder and was easily able to identify it. For nearly thirty minutes, I observed this migrating Fox Sparrow feast at the all-you-can-eat-buffet that is the ground below my feeder.


4. The Courtship of Eddie’s Father—I acquired another life bird yesterday afternoon. I noticed two birds following each other from tree to tree. As they zoomed across they yard, I recognized them as Hairy Woodpeckers. Initially I thought they were chasing one another (aggression increases as breeding season approaches), but when they stopped long enough for me to observe them with my larger binoculars I realized I was looking at a male and a female. It was my first time seeing a female Hairy.

3. “Scent-sing” Something at My Feeders—last Saturday evening I was sitting on the couch, when I sensed something at the feeders (which was kind of eerie). So I got up, turned the lights off, and peered out the sliding glass door. I’m glad I didn’t open the door, because this is what I saw:

Brings a whole new meaning to "pole cats"!

2. Matt 2, Squirrels 1—the squirrels began visiting my yard in earnest while I was in California and it’s now normal to see six gray and two red squirrels hanging around the pole every morning. The baffle on the pole continues to do just that; while the carabineer clips on the finch feeder prevent it from being batted down to the ground. I do have to give credit to the acrobatic squirrel that made its way onto the window feeder. I’m still winning, though.

1. Return of the Robins—I don’t care what the experts say, Robins do not stick around here in the winter. So when I thought I heard a Robin about ten days ago, I thought I was just being optimistic. That changed last Saturday morning when I not only heard, but saw a Robin announcing the arrival of spring!

Hopefully it won’t be another six weeks before I write again!

Shadow of the feeders on the pole

This week sort of flew by (no pun intended). The cold weather we’ve been experiencing lately gave way to a gorgeous, spring-like day today. It warmed up enough to allow me to re-hang the window feeder. I had barely gotten the door closed when the first red-breasted nuthatch landed on the feeder. If I didn’t know better I would have thought that it hadn’t eaten since the feeder came down last week!

The feeders continue to attract several dozen birds every day (I lost count at twenty-six at the other day.) I even came downstairs the other morning to find a Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) visiting the yard. I hadn’t seen one in the yard since this fall. I haven’t seen it return yet, so it may have been just passing through the area, but it was still a pleasant sighting.

I’m hoping to see lots of new birds next week when I am in California for the United Methodist Camp & Retreat Leaders’ Gathering. There are apparently several stands of redwoods at the conference center where we’ll be staying. I most certainly will be packing my small binoculars and camera, which will hopefully come in handy for the John Muir workshop I signed-up for. Luckily for the birds, I’ve made arrangements for Kevin to fill the feeders while I’m gone. Hopefully he won’t spoil them with any of his delicious culinary treats (which you can read about here.)

As I’m not sure that I’ll have access to the internet—or even the time—while at Mt. Hermon, you might have wait another week for the next update. Until then, happy birding!

Snowy Sunday

We received a good six to seven inches of fresh powder overnight here at the Lake and a light snow has continued to fall throughout the day. I’m not always a fan of driving in the stuff, but I do love the way snow makes everything look. The bitter cold weather seems to have passed and my feathered friends seemed to have managed to survive. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of my window feeder. As I went to clean it out on Friday afternoon, one of the suction cups slid and that was that. It is now sitting inside waiting for slightly warmer temperatures to make an appearance. (In order for the suction cups to actually hold the temperature needs to be above freezing.)

There has been a steady stream of visitors at the other feeders over the weekend. The cold weather and snow doesn’t seem to slow the birds down at all. Yesterday I did notice that there was more seed mix on the ground below the feeders than usual. A few minutes later I think I figures out the reason—I saw a blue jay scrunched up at the wooden feeder trying to get some food. I wish that I had had my camera at that moment, because the whole scenario was just too funny. It didn’t seem to be intentionally throwing seed down to the ground, but the sheer weight of the bird made the feeder tip quite a bit (to the point where I thought the jay might fall off.) It was quite humorous to watch. Guess the feeder is smaller than I thought…

I committed a faux pas yesterday and didn’t refill the feeders before the sun went down. One of the outcomes though, was that the chickadees finally started nibbling on the suet that I had put out a couple weeks ago. I was beginning to think I had gotten the wrong kind of suet, but they seemed to enjoy it this morning, so I may hold off on getting another cake until the current one is gone.

I leave you with a shot I got yesterday of two siskins munching away on nyger seed that had fallen from the sock feeder. (A lot more seed falls from the sock feeder when it’s almost empty…)

Blue Jay

I wrote a couple weeks ago about my excitement at hearing some Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) in the yard. For the last couple of weeks, I have been attempting to get a snap shot of one in the yard. Unfortunately, it just hadn’t worked out until today. It turns out that blue jays are quite skittish and apparently have phenomenal eye sight. Each time I stood to get closer to the window, the jay would fly away.

When I came home for lunch (which has become my primary daily bird watching time) today, I saw a white-breasted nuthatch at the wooden feeder. So I picked up my camera from the coffee table and zoomed in. I’m am by no means thrilled with the digital zoom, but I was able to get the best shot to date of this little bird that is also frustratingly skittish. After it flew away I put my camera down so I could each my bowl of ravioli. I was about half-way through when I saw a jay zoom by the window. I quickly picked up my camera in the hopes that it would land near the feeder. A few seconds later, it did so and I was able to get a few shots off. The shots I got weren’t high quality, but I was thrilled to have finally gotten any shot in which a blue jay could be distinguished!


A Blue Jay looking inquisitively at a Dark-eyed Junco

About ten minutes later another jay shows up and I got a couple more shots before it flew off. Then the nuthatch returned and I was able to get an even better shot of it. I was about ready to put my camera down when the jay showed up again. As it was searching for the perfect seed, a junco landed and, even though I was implementing the digital zoom, I captured some cool shots of the two of them pecking around. Then another jay showed up and was joined a moment later by a third one. I was like a little kid in a candy shop!


Two jays visiting the yard

Blue jays are certainly fun to watch and their varieties of calls are as unmistakable as their coloration. I have not personally heard it yet, but blue jays can apparently mimic the call of a hawk. After observing the smaller birds, blue jays look huge in comparison. This is particularly noticeable in the pictures I got of the jay and junco together (the junco itself is noticeably larger than the chickadees, gold finches, siskins, etc. that visit the feeders.) I’ve read on a couple other blogs that in some communities, jays have been known to become a bit of a nuisance by hogging feeders. I am keeping an eye on the jays, but for now they seem to only temporarily scare off the other birds. Fortunately for the smaller birds, my feeders are not sufficiently large enough for jays to land upon. Fortunately for the jays (and the ground-feeding junco) the other birds toss enough seeds overboard to keep them happy. A final observation I have made is that jays generally do not eat directly below the feeders; preferring instead to grab a couple of seeds and head to a nearby bush to crack the seeds open and enjoy the meat inside.

As a side note, the first deep freeze of the winter arrived overnight. So far the birds don’t seem to mind the bitter cold, although I did notice the seed mix in the feeders did seem to disappear a little quicker today…

When I imported the photo files onto my computer earlier today, I noticed a few frames where the pole appeared to have swallowed a jay and I found it rather humorous. Here’s a collage of that series for your enjoyment:

Close Encounters of the Bird Kind

On my way out the door yesterday morning, I noticed the feeders were almost empty, but there seemed to be enough to make it until lunch time. At one point mid-morning, I was looking out my office window and saw a Downy Woodpecker exploring a couple of nearby trees. The director with whom I was chatting on the phone was not nearly as excited as I was (perhaps her inability to see it from 100 miles away had something to do with it.) As soon as I hung up, I broke out the old binoculars that lurk around the office and watched the downy for a moment before it flew away. However, it would not be my last encounter with that woodpecker yesterday…

At lunch, I went home to fill the feeders. I gathered the necessary supplies (a small can, a water bottle I cut to sort of resemble a scoop, and the seed mix) and made my way to the door. There were several chickadees, goldfinches, and siskins going to town on what seed remained in the feeders, so I stood there at the door observing them for a moment. Despite trying my best to slowly opening the door, sure enough by the time I slid the door half-way open they darted off. I made my way across the crusty snow took the first feeder down, filled it, hung it back up, and retrieved the second feeder. As I went to hang it back up, I was greeted by a siskin perched on the first feeder. I think it startled me more than the other way around. I lost the impromptu staring contest and it flew away in a victorious manner.

I went back inside to eat my lunch. No sooner had I sat down than a “tap, tap, tap-tap-tap-tap” could be heard on the eastern side of my house. This same noise had woken me the morning before and I had a distinct feeling that it was a woodpecker. Unlike that first time, I was able to quickly make my way outside in time to see…a downy woodpecker fly away. I did not have a difficult time finding where it had been drumming—there were several noticeable holes in the cedar siding. (I’ll do a more in-depth entry on this saga another day.) This was not such a thrilling discovery, but there was nothing I could do at the moment except go finish my lunch.



When I finished eating, I noticed a siskin in the window feeder. So I grabbed my camera and slowly made my way to the window. Next thing I know I had taken almost seventy shots of the siskin. I got a kick out of watching it trying to figure out what the “big” gray thing was a few inches from its face. If you want to see some of the better shots, I created a Pine Siskin album. Otherwise, here are a couple of my favorites:







As I was getting ready to head back down to the office, the downy showed up again. So, I took an alternate route out of my sunroom and snuck around the side of the house. Apparently, it thinks it has found the mother lode of a tree! The motion of raising my camera was enough to startle it off. I did get another shot of the portion of the siding it is excavating. I did some research and I will be implementing some non-lethal techniques to discourage the downy from re-visiting my siding!

One more encounter to share—as I headed back around the side of the house, there was a siskin at the feeder beckoning me to come say “hello”. Luckily my camera was set and I cautiously approached the little bird on the red feeder. It allowed me to get incredibly close and I got a cute close-up shot of it. I think with a little work, I may be able to hand feed a couple of my visitors soon!

Slip Sliding Away…

Ice-covered Feeders, 7 January 2009

Well, the rain/sleet/snow/slush storm hit overnight and has continued most of the day. I feel like I’m living on glacier right about now… When I went to fill the feeders at lunch time today, I found the lid of the red, cylinder hopper completely frozen. It took a while to chisel away at the ice before it opened up. I then realized that enough ice had built up on its tray to freeze over the hopper openings. I was able to break enough ice off so the birds could get to it. One side of the wooden feeder was also frozen in, but that ice jam was soon broken up. No sooner had I gotten back inside than almost two dozen birds showed up to feast.

I felt sympathy for the little birds—they appeared to be drenched and had trouble hopping around on the slippery layer of ice coating the yard. Okay, to be honest, I did chuckle while watching a couple of goldfinches slip and slide all over the place. I was nice though and broadcast some seed on the ground to make it easier for them to retrieve.

I don’t recall where I saw it, but I recently read that the survival rate of chickadees in winter storms is substantially higher (something like 68% v 29%) when they have access to feeders. I feel much better about myself tonight!

The Neighborhood Hotspot

Some Juncos and Goldfinches Visiting the Feeders

The activity at my feeders seems to increase with each passing day. At one point yesterday I counted no less than three dozen birds (primarily chickadees, goldfinches, nuthatches, and siskins) at the feeders at the same time. As I was working on Friday’s entries, I heard a blue jay in the side yard, so I quickly made my way down to the sunroom (I hadn’t heard or seen a jay in a couple weeks—much less one at the feeders—so I was pretty excited.) Not only were there two jays, but a red-bellied woodpecker as well. I initially thought it to be a flicker, but the coloration of this particular woodpecker was a bit darker than the flickers that had visited the yard previously and it had noticeably more red on its head. By the time I got back from running upstairs to fetch my camera, the jays and red-bellied were gone.

Hoping that they would come back, I perched on my stool and stayed there for almost forty-five minutes watching the comings and goings of the birds. While the woodpecker didn’t return during this time, the blue jays did (accompanied by a third jay) and a white-breasted nuthatch made a couple of appearances. I was pretty sure I had seen this new nuthatch the other day, but wasn’t completely positive. This was a pretty exciting sighting.

After refilling the feeders yesterday, I realized I was almost out of seed. I needed to run a couple errands in town anyway, so I swung by Wild Birds Unlimited and picked up a twenty pound bag of “Supreme Blend” on my way through Johnson City. I received a free bag of “Choice Blend” with the window feeder and a bag of “Supreme Blend” with my hopper feeder. The “Supreme Blend” is a little less expensive and appears to have more black oil sunflower seeds, but the birds seem to really like it. What the birds really didn’t seem to care for is the cheap seed purchased at the grocery store. Lesson learned.

Here’s another shot of a pine siskin at the sock feeder with noticeable yellow on the tips of its wing:

Pine Siskin

The First Pine Siskin to Visit My Feeders

According to Peterson’s Birds of Eastern and Central North America, Pine Siskins (Carduelis pinus) are an “uncommon, irruptive” species. So I was pretty excited to spot one at my sock feeder the other day! About the only thing I enjoyed while suffering from the stomach bug was being able to watch my bird feeders from the couch. At one point, there appeared to be something new nibbling away at the sock feeder. It looked a lot like a goldfinch, but even from ten feet away its coloration seemed different enough to make me slowly get up off the couch and sneak a closer peek. I’m glad I did. As I got closer I saw it was darker than a goldfinch and had noticeable streaking on its breast and belly. Luckily my camera was right close by and I took a few snapshots.

I then spent quite a bit of time looking through my Peterson guide and my Birds of New York book trying to positively identify my new feathered friend. I even consulted the Cornell website. After my initial research I was able to narrow it down to being either a Pine Siskin or House Finch. Unfortunately, none of the photos I took really captured the tips of the bird’s wings or its tail and I hadn’t noticed any yellow in those locations in my direct observations. But I did have a couple of profile shots that showed the beak pretty well. Luckily, one showed up again the next day and I was able to observe the yellow streaks on its wings and tail, which confirmed my initial suspicions that it was indeed a Pine Siskin.

More Pine Siskins have shown up each day since my initial spotting. They are fun, little birds that appear to have a set pecking order amongst themselves. One of the other behavioral characteristics that I have noticed is that they’ll approach a feeder when a goldfinch or chickadee is already there, but will keep these other species away when the siskin is there first. Of course, it does give way to nuthatches and larger birds. As a side note, at one point yesterday morning I counted fourteen siskins at my various feeders.

Birding in Tough Economic Times (and a Goldfinch Update)

UPDATE: The finch sock seems to be doing the trick. I’ve seen at least six individual finches hanging around the yard the last couple of days. Here are some better shots of one in the feeder and one having a bite to eat from the new sock.



I’m hoping that I receive enough cash/gift cards at Christmas to purchase a metal garbage can to place in my sunroom (Santa—any metal can with lid will suffice). Now you’re probably wondering why I would ever want to put a garbage can in my living space…to put bird seed in, of course. As much as I enjoy feeding the birds, I don’t enjoy feeding the mice. Living in the country has its many bonuses. Having to deal with mice is not one of them (although Bill, one of our maintenance guys, discovered an ingenious method to deal with mice. But I digress…) If you have purchased bird seed recently, you know how expensive it can be. Protecting one’s investment only makes sense.

Speaking of investments… I came across an excellent article in defense of birdwatching the other day. If you ever need to rationalize this addiction (oops, I mean hobby), I highly recommend you consult this article!

American Goldfinch

I remember the first time I saw an American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis). I was walking down the main stairs of Sidney Dining Hall here at the Lake when a brilliant yellow bird in the brush across the drive caught my attention. (Incidentally, Sidney was replaced by Founders’ Lodge in 2003.) I just stood there mesmerized.

The other day, I was sitting on my couch watching one chickadee after another make its way to the feeder. All of a sudden another bird caught my attention. While it was similar in size to a chickadee, it was certainly not a chickadee. After flipping through one of my bird guides for a few minutes, I positively identified it as a goldfinch with winter/non-breeding plumage. Its plumage only hinted at being yellow, which initially threw me, but once I was able to see it fly in its roller coaster fashion around the yard I was convinced.

I tried my best to slowly make my way closer to the sliding door, but alas goldfinches startle a little more easily than chickadees. Luckily once I stood still at the door for awhile it came back. Actually that’s not entirely true—it took a few false landings before finally perching long enough to pick up a seed. What a beautiful bird.



I had just begun tinkering with the magnifying setting on my camera when the goldfinch in the photo above landed. Hopefully I’ll be able to get some better shots of finches soon—I hung a “sock” feeder filled with a nyjer/sunflower mix yesterday. The finches in my neighborhood are still a little skittish of the new feeder, but there were three of them hanging out on the barren deciduous shrubs in the yard yesterday, so it’s only a matter of time.

For those interested in learning more about the nyjer seed (which is not thistle!), I found a pretty descent article over at Shaw Creek Bird Supply’s website.

Black-capped Chickadee

A Black-capped Chickadee

Here are some shots of Black-capped Chickadees (Latin name: Poecile atricapillus) at my window feeder. From what I have been able to ascertain, chickadees can be likened to the scouts of the birding world. Ever the adventurer, a chickadee is usually the first bird to explore a new food source. Waiting in the wings (pun intended) are apt to be finches and nuthatches.

Chickadees derive their common name from their distinctive call—“chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee”. On a personal note, the chickadee’s song (a two-toned melody) was one of the first birdsongs I was ever able to produce. My observations thus far have led me to believe that chickadees are convivial birds that generously share feeder space with finches, but will easily give way to nuthatches. On the ground, all three species are agreeable. Over the next few weeks I’m hoping to be able to “train” the chickadees to eat out of my hands. I’ve found a couple good articles online that will hopefully help with this endeavor. I’ll be sure to keep you updated.

The photo above is one of my favorites I’ve taken so far. For a little bird, it looks very majestic perched there covered in snow seemingly oblivious to the fact that the only thing separating us is a sheet of glass. I enjoy being able to see a slight reflection in its eyes.

This chickadee is about set to go back and have a feast:



And with the seed firmly in its beak, takes flight. Not a prize-winning shot by any means, but I like how it captures the movement. Rapid shutter is awesome.



Finally, I thought this shot does a great job of capturing the side profile of a chickadee.

Ornithology Anthology

Okay, rewind. One weekend last spring I took a whirlwind trip to North Carolina and Idaho for my nephew’s and niece’s graduations, respectively (yes, I realize that NC and ID are nowhere near each other!) While in Idaho, my sister nonchalantly regaled me with her knowledge of the birds in her back “yard” (and by back yard I mean 10 acres of prairie). One day as we were driving into town, she spots a yellow-headed blackbird. We pull up next to it and roll down the window. Here’s how the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s website describes the song emanating from that unique bird:

“…a few musical notes followed by harsh, scratchy
buzzing, like very large, very rusty metal hinges squealing.”

I don’t know if it was my sister’s intent, but I was hooked. Long story short, I get home and immediately check out a few guides and CDs from the Broome County Public Library. In no time flat, I am able to identify about three birds by sight and sound. I then purchase Stan Tekiela’s Birds of New York with the companion CDs. After doing some birding with my pastor/director of one of our junior high camps, Joyce Allen, I invest in inexpensive binoculars. While they do the trick, I can’t even begin to compare them with Joyce’s… One of my first exciting moments with my binoculars was being able following a Northern Flicker scavenging through the trees beyond my driveway.

I resisted the temptation to immediately go out and purchase a bird feeder. Unless there’s snow on the ground, bird feeders around my neck of the woods are what one might refer to as “bear feeders”. Now fast forward to the weekend after Thanksgiving. Relatively certain that any local bears are pretty much settled for their long winter nap, I pay a visit to Wild Birds Unlimited in Johnson City. I return home the proud new owner of a simple window feeder. It was a mild day and I proceed to “install” the feeder on the sliding door in my sunroom. I pour a cupful of the free seed WBU gave me and wait for the first birds to arrive. I then waited some more… and some more… and…

Just when I was about ready to give up all hope of any birds ever coming to feast at my window, the first one arrived. On my way out of the office for lunch the other day, I noticed a blue jay sort of following me as I walked toward the house. Realizing that the feeder was probably too small for it, I decided to be nice and broadcast some of the seed onto the snow-covered lawn to make it easier to retrieve. I continued on inside, made my lunch, and went to enjoy it in my sunroom. As I was walking toward the couch, a sudden movement at my window caught my eye. A few chickadees finally discovered the feeder! I was very excited to say the least.

Yesterday I thought it would be fun to photograph the birds as they visited the feeder. At one point I decided to see how close I could get. It didn’t take long to realize that I could hold my camera flush against the window. Unfortunately, the feeder is below my eye level, but I can see enough of the rear display to point the lens in the semi-correct direction. I look forward to sharing some of my photos and stories with you in the near future. I leave you with this shot:



I just love the sultry look this Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) is giving the camera.