Woodpecker Hole Identification, Pileated Woodpecker

Woodpecker holes in a pine tree in our yard.
Photo by Brad Sylvester, all rights reserved.

In the forest, there are many animals that are reclusive and tend to hide away from human contact. By learning their habits and patterns or just by being lucky, we might be able to see them from time to time. Some, however, might remain forever hidden if they did not leave behind evidence of their presence after that have hidden themselves away from our sight. Many woodpeckers, for example leave holes in trees that tell us that they have visited even if we never see or hear them directly.

In our yard, as I mentioned in a previous post, we have a nest of Hairy Woodpeckers. They live inside a big birch tree in a cavity that they chipped out with their chisel-like beaks. The opening is a small round hole. This type of hole, round and just a two or three inches wide at most is typical of Hairy Woodpeckers and Downy Woodpeckers as well as several other types native to the area. it is definitely not typical of a sapsucker or the larger Pileated Woodpecker.

Sapsuckers, when they feed, tend to make linear or grid-like patterns of very small holes around the trunk of a tree.  These holes might be a half inch or less in diameter. Far too small for nesting. The handiwork of Pileated woodpeckers, on the other hand, can be identified by the size and shape of the distinctively rectangular holes they carve out in the tree trunks.

Rectangular or oblong holes indicate the work of a Pileated
Woodpecker.
Photo by Brad Sylvester, all rights reserved.

The hole of the pileated woodpecker starts out as a small round hole not too different than that of other woodpeckers, but may tend to have more raw wood with the bark removed around the outside of the hole. The pileated woodpecker, however, keeps working the holes over time in a vertical direction so that they soon develop into larger narrow slots in the tree truck. There will often be several such holes in a single trunk.

In the photo to the left, you can see both expanded edges around the round holes and markedly rectangular holes in this pine tree. These are strong evidence that this is the work of a Pileated Woodpecker.

I have to admit that I have rarely seen pileated woodpeckers in the area of our yard. Very occasionally, I will see one flying through, but only once or twice a year. I thought they lived farther away in the forest. The number of holes in this tree, however, suggests that they are visiting my yard fairly frequently despite the rarity of sightings. I haven't heard their calls in the yard and haven't distinguished their drumming pattern from that of the more common hairy and downy woodpeckers, although I admit, I have not thus far made a determined effort to do so.

The Pileated Woodpecker is, by a good margin, the largest woodpecker in New Hampshire and has a very striking crest and coloring. Knowing it is present with some regularity means that I will definitely prioritize getting some good photos for this blog. For now, I'll hold off on adding it to the master list of animals that live in my yard even though there is very strong evidence.

Animals Announce their Presence in Spring: Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)

 

Male Chipping Sparrow singing in Springtime.
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2015. All rights reserved

Springtime can be a particularly fruitful time for discovering new species in one's yard, especially new species of birds. Spring is the time when male birds of many species are loudly announcing their presence with their songs, often performed in the most highly visible location they can find in the hope of attracting a mate. All one needs to do, therefore, to find a new species in one's yard is to listen for an unfamiliar bird song and catch a glimpse of the bird singing it. As an added bonus, spring is the time when most of them have their full breeding plumage offering the brightest color of the year.

Popular apps like iBird Pro 2 not only have drawings and photos of bird species, but also allow you to listen to the song to see if it matches what you're hearing in the field. It is an absolute clincher for tentative identifications. For example, This morning, I heard a long trilling song from about 50 feet up in a pine tree in my front yard. I got my camera and zoomed in to the location from which the song emanated and got two very mediocre shots of a small brown bird.

As many of you know, there are a great number of small brown birds. As it happens, though, I got enough in the photo to determine that it was almost certainly a sparrow. I could see a greyish-white underside in one photo and in the other I could see a pronounced rufous-colored cap, bordered by white then a black eye line. By typing sparrow into the iBird Pro 2 App on my phone (I also have it on my Kindle Fire), I chose a likely candidate from the thumbnail images of all sparrows. It looked like a Chipping Sparrow, but the photos weren't great, so maybe it could have been an American Tree Sparrow. To settle between the two, I used the app to play the song of the Chipping Sparrow. It was an exact match to what I heard up in the tree. Case closed, and another species, Spizella passerine, is added to the list of animals that live in my yard.

Quick facts about the Chipping Sparrow

Q: When can the Chipping Sparrow be found in New Hampshire?
A: According to Spring Arrival Dates Revisited by Pam Hunt, Chipping Sparrows most often arrive in early April after having spent the winter months in the southernmost tier of states (from Southern California to South Virginia) and Mexico.

Q: What does the Chipping Sparrow eat?
A: I often see chipping sparrows foraging on the ground for seeds and insects. They will also visit feeders and take suet and most common bird seed.

Q: What kind of nests to Chipping Sparrows build?
A: They build nests of grasses, small plant stems and similar stringy materials woven into a thin cup-shaped nest. The cup is then lined with softer material such as animal fur. At our house, we have a long-haired dog and whenever we brush out her coat she sheds lots of hair. We leave this outside on the ground and it is often incorporated into bird nests around our yard.

Q: What do their eggs look like?
A: Chipping Sparrow eggs are a light blue-green in color with darker brown or black spots usually more pronounced on the fatter end. They usually lay between 2-7 eggs that take 10-15 days to hatch, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Cornell also says Chipping Sparrows may hatch between one and three sets of eggs each year.

With the addition of song identification, the two photos
shown on this blog entry are enough to positively ID
the Chipping Sparrow.
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2015, all rights reserved.

Taxonomy of the Chipping Sparrow

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Emerizidae
Genus: Spizella
Species: Spizella passerine






 

Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis Phoebe) Returns with the Spring

A female Eastern Phoebe building her nest under the eaves
of my house.
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2015, all rights reserved.

While some view the American Robin as a sign of spring, the truth is that they can be found in New Hampshire all year round. The return of the Eastern Phoebe on the other hand, truly means that spring has arrived. In fact, according to an article by Pamela Hunt published in the Spring 2007 issue of New Hampshire Bird Records, the earliest recorded spring arrival date for the Eastern Phoebe in New Hampshire is March 3rd (as of 2007), with a median arrival date of March 24.

The Eastern Phoebe typically builds its nests under the eaves of artificial structures. The nest is made from mud, moss, twigs, pine needles, and similar things that it can find and which can be used to make the nest sturdy and comfortable. Nesting sites are usually near wooded areas and sources of water.

The Eastern Phoebe is likely one of the birds whose population numbers have likely been aided by the encroachment of European style buildings throughout North America since they provide millions of suitable nesting sites for the species. Although I'm not sure data exists to support this speculation. Before widespread artificial structures were present, the Eastern Phoebe built nests on rocky ledges. Some can still be found nesting in such places, but they are much more likely to choose a man-made building with eaves.

This video shows a female Eastern Phoebe adding what appears to be a daub of mud to the beginnings of a nest under the eaves of my house. A pair of Eastern Phoebes have nested there for several years. Their call is a familiar sound around my backyard. You can listen to their calls at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website.

The Eastern Phoebe belongs to the set of birds known as flycatchers. As you might expect, they get their name from their eating habits. The Eastern Phoebe will sit on a tree branch and wait for insects to fly by. When it spots one, it will leap up with a flutter of wings and grab the bug out of the air. Often with its legs and wings protruding out from the edges of the Phoebe's clamped beak. While Phoebes generally eat insects, especially flying insects, they are opportunists, as are most small birds, and will also eat seeds and small fruits.

As they sit and wait for a snack, they will often bob their tail feathers up and down rhythmically. This may be part of a territorial display since they seem to choose branches that reach out into highly visible areas for this display, but their motivation is only my speculation.

The Eastern Phoebe gets its name from the sound it makes. The first part of the song is a clear, musical "feee" sound and the second half is a bit more of a buzzing, trilling "eeee" or "beee" sound. The male will generally respond aggressively if you can imitate its call and often responds to "pishing."

Quick facts about the Eastern Phoebe:

Q: When is the Eastern Phoebe here in New Hampshire?
A: The Eastern Phoebe arrives in March and stays until the weather turns colder between September and early November.

Q: Do both male and female build the nest?
A: No, only the female Eastern Phoebe actively builds the nest.

Q: What color are the Eastern Phoebe's eggs?
A: The Eastern Phoebe lays between two and six small white eggs which may have some little light brown spots. They may raise one or two broods each summer. If the nest remains through the winter, the birds will often return and use it again the following spring.

Q: Where does the Eastern Phoebe go during the Winter?
A: The Eastern Phoebe, according to the IUCN Red List website, winters in the extreme southern areas of the United States around the Gulf of Mexico and down through Mexico to Central America.

Q: Is the Eastern Phoebe and endangered Species?
A: No, The Eastern Phoebe is numerous and widespread throughout Eastern North America. The IUCN lists it as a species of least concern. It is, however, protected by The Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Eastern Phoebe building a nest
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2015. All rights reserved

Taxonomy of the Eastern Phoebe:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Tyrannidae
Genus: Sayornis
Species: Sayornis phoebe
 

Life with Three Feet of Snow

As you know, New Hampshire gets cold in the winter, sometimes very cold. It snows here, sometimes it snows very much. Animals that are native to the area, therefore, must develop strategies to survive the cold and to find food when everything is buried beneath three feet of snow, as it is now.

Many things simply hide themselves away in the warmest place they can find and wait it out. Insects, for the most part, are among those that simply wait for spring. As we've previously mentioned, lightning bugs may burrow as deeply as they can into the rough bark of trees for shelter. If we search carefully, we can find them there. Others take advantage of man's ability to control the environment. The Asian Lady Beetle and the Western Conifer Seed Bug may have burrowed into tree bark in their warmer native environments, but after migrating here to the much colder Northeast, they burrow into the cracks and crevices of the woodwork of our houses. Sometimes, they find a way all the way inside and we may find an active one or two inside the house in the dead of winter.

Some insects burrow into the ground and rely on the natural antifreeze compounds in their bodies to keep from turning into ice cubes. June Bug grubs, Japanese Beetle grubs and a number of others fall into this category.

Chipmunks hunker down in their burrows and truly hibernate through the winter. Chipmunks and some other rodents are known as obligate hibernators. That is to say they have a built-in need to hibernate seasonal regardless of whether there is still food available. Their body temperatures drop quite low, and body temperature and heart rate slow along with all their other metabolic processes.

Some animals, like the black bear, go into a more shallow form of hibernation when the weather gets cold and food becomes scarce. They also experience a drop in body temperature, but the drop is much smaller. They are less deeply asleep, and may even be roused during hibernation. While their hibernation differs from that of deep sleepers like chipmunks, they are still classified as hibernators.

Hibernation means that the animal in question suppresses its normal metabolism to much lower rates, enabling it to go long periods without the intake of food and to survive in harsh conditions. Some lower their metabolic rates more than others, but that is simply a matter of degrees within the spectrum of hibernation.

Other animals are still able to find food during the winter and remain active throughout the year. White-tailed deer, many birds, the gray squirrel, the snowshoe hare, and the coyote, for example, can be found roaming the woods and hills of New Hampshire even in the coldest of winters.

Some, particularly many species of birds, simply go away to where the weather is less severe. Migratory birds such as the Canada Goose and most warblers fit into this category. We've all heard of birds flying south for the winter, but it is less commonly known that for some birds that live even further north, the New Hampshire is a gentle enough winter climate for them to comfortably overwinter when compared to their breeding ranges. This means that during the winter months in New Hampshire, it is possible to find some species that are not commonly found here during the summer.

Some undertake a much lesser migration, remaining in the same latitude, but heading to more hospitable winter habitat. Many woodland ducks fall into this category. The Common Loon, Wood Duck, and Mallard Duck all fall into this category. Moving from the inlands ponds, lakes and rivers where they spend the warmer months to the seaside for the winter. They require open water in which to feed, so they head to the only open water that is guaranteed not to freeze in this climate, the ocean.

Even though we are in the very heart of winter, we can still find new species, even some that aren't here during the rest of the year.