Interspecies Cooperation and Communication: Black-capped Chickadee and Tufted Titmouse

 In theory, every species expends its energy to further the continuation of its own genetic code. One might assume that means not aiding other species of dissimilar genetic code, especially those that compete for the same resources in a common environment. Essentially, however, it is in the interest of every species to maximize its return on investment in terms of genetics. So, if helping a species that competes for the same resources results in a higher overall survival rate of one's own species, then helping that other species survive is an overall net win. It's basic game theory.

For the strategy to be effective, the effect of the lost resources taken by the other species has to be outweighed by the benefit gained from having the other species sharing those resources.

Let's look closer at two example species: the tufted titmouse and the black-capped chickadee. In New England, and specifically where I live in New Hampshire, the Tufted Titmouse and the black-capped chickadee share the same territory. Where you find one of these two species, you are quite likely to find the other. They will even visit bird feeders together. They generally eat the same foods and should be protective of food resources against one another, but they are not. So, it seems, the benefit to each species of having the other around must outweigh negative effects of sharing available food resources.

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What sort of aid might they give each other? One type of cooperation is that they both give vocal warnings when they notice a potential threat and each species responds to the threat call of the other. This gives the advantage of extra sets of eyes watching out for danger when the birds are feeding. In this video you can here the alarm calls of both the chickadee (the familiar CHICK-A-DEE-DEE=DEE call) and of the tufted titmouse whose call seems to me tonally similar to the DEE-DEE-DEE part of the chickadee alarm call. At twenty-two seconds into the video, you'll hear the tufted titmouse's alarm call. At forty seconds, the alarm call of the black-capped chickadee.  Both bird alarm calls are meant to be loud and attention getting, so that birds in the nearby area can hear them and be alerted to the threat. Chickadees even change their call to indicate the severity of the threat and whether the threat is from below or from the sky. In that sense, it's a primitive language in that they are communicating specific meanings with their vocalizations.

In the case of these two bird species, it seems, the benefit of having that extra warning when there is possible danger outweighs the burden of sharing food and habitat with each other. 

What are some other forms of interspecies cooperation that you've noticed? Let us know in the comments below. 

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
 

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

White-breasted nuthatch male (Sitta carolinensis)

Photo credit: Brad Sylvester, all rights reserved

 The white-breasted nuthatch and its cousin the red-breasted nuthatch, both use their long toenails to dig into bark and wood allowing them to hop along the sides of a tree-trunk, or even to hang upside down under a branch or overhang so comfortably they may make you wonder if they are immune to the effects of gravity. Using their sharply pointed beaks they dig into the nooks and crannies of tree bark or into soft deadwood to find insects much like a woodpecker. They don't typically dig deep holes into the trees or make loud knocking noises like many woodpeckers, but otherwise, their behaviors might seem similar.

The white-breasted nuthatch is most easily distinguished from the red-breasted by it facial markings, or its lack of facial markings. Both the male and female red-breasted nuthatch have a dark bar that runs directly through their eyes. The white-breasted nuthatch has no eye bar at all. Additionally, the male red-breasted nuthatch has a rufous/red breast and throat and a small, raised black crest on its head. The male white-breasted nuthatch has a smooth black cap that runs back to the nape of its neck, and, as its name suggests, has white feathers on its breast and throat areas.

One can also distinguish the male white-breasted nuthatch from the female of the species by the color of their caps. The male's will be black while the female's is grey.

These small birds are common visitors to backyard birdfeeders in New Hampshire, and, indeed, are often present at my feeders in the spring. They are a bit more shy than the black-capped chickadees that often accompany them around the feeder. Outside of breeding season, they will often form mixed flocks with chickadees and tufted titmice.

They have a very distinct song that reminds me a little of a hairy woodpecker's call. Listen to the white-breasted nuthatch's song at this link to Cornell University's All About Birds web site.

Note the long toe-nails of the white-breasted nuthatch. It uses
these long, curved talons to hold onto bark and wood, allowing
it to hop up and down vertical surfaces and hang upside-down.
Photo credit: Brad Sylvester, all rights reserved.

Introducing this resident of my yard gives me a good excuse to discuss the convention of hyphens in bird names. If there is a hyphen following an adjective in a bird's name (such as the color white), then the adjective refers directly to the bird's body part that follows the hyphen. For example, if we were to make up a couple of birds to demonstrate, the white-crested flyer would be a bird with a white crest although the rest of the bird might be any color. A white crested flyer (without the hyphen) would be a white bird with a crest of any color. Although in practice, word order is also used to help reduce ambiguity, so the second of our fictional creations would more likely be called the crested white flyer.

Quick Facts about the white-breasted nuthatch

What does the white-breasted nuthatch eat? It's diet consists of both insects and seeds, especially larger seeds and nuts. The bird gets its name, according to Sterry & Small's Birds of Eastern North America, from it's habit of tucking hard-shelled seeds and nuts into the bark of a tree and, then, hammering away until the meat of the hut "hatches" from the broken shell.

Where does the white-breasted nuthatch go in the winter? The white-breasted nuthatch is present throughout its entire range in both winter and summer without a significant migration. In the winter, it may move to search for the best food sources during harsh weather, but otherwise stays put. In the spring and summer, the bird establishes a home territory for nesting and raising its young.

Where does the white-breasted nuthatch live? The range of this species extends from southern Canada to most of the United States and down into inland Mexico. Although found along the east and west coasts of the United States, it is generally absent from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, according to Mitch Waite's iBird Pro 2 app for the Kindle.

What is the white-breasted nuthatch's preferred habitat? The white-breasted nuthatch is most commonly found in and alongside deciduous forests. Although it's range covers most of the United States, it is generally not present in the high mountains and plains where there is an absence of forestland.

What are its nesting habits? The white-breasted nuthatch, says iBird Pro 2, builds its nest inside woodpecker holes or natural cavities 10-60 feet high in trees. Inside the cavity, it builds a cup-shaped nest out of twigs, grass, hair, feathers and other similar materials that it may find. The female lays between three and ten eggs which are white or light pink on color with irregular brown, purple or red spotting. It takes about 12 days for the eggs to hatch according to iBird Pro 2.

What predators eat the white-breasted nuthatch? The adult birds may be eaten by owls and hawks. Bird eggs and helpless chicks can become targets of opportunity for many forest animals including snakes. Of course, the high, protected nest limits the number of predators that can reach the nest.

Is the white-breasted nuthatch an endangered species? No, the white-breasted nuthatch population is quite healthy and even increasing in size. Perhaps the increased availability of food from bird feeders during the winter months is helping the species to thrive (although I have no direct evidence or source for this speculation). The IUCN Redlist shows Sitta carolinensis as a species of Least Concern.

Taxonomy of the white-breasted nuthatch:

Kingdom: Animalia
Class: Chordata
Phylum: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Sittidae
Genus: Sitta
Species: Sitta carolinensis

 

Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) Stocking up Before the Storm

Tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2013

As I write today's entry, it is February 8th and it is snowing. We're expecting a nor'easter with two feet of snow or more in the next 24 hours. It's windy and we are under a blizzard warning. One might think that those are not very good conditions for finding wildlife in one's yard. One would be wrong.

Whenever it snows, natural food sources get covered up. For those, like myself, who put out bird feeders in the winter months, you will often notice much higher traffic around snowstorms. During the very worst of the weather, many birds will stay put. During lulls and before and after the storm, however, they will redouble their efforts to secure enough calories to keep their metabolisms fueled through the storm.

A variety of bird feeder types with a variety of bird feeds will give you the best opportunity to attract a wide variety of bird species. Today, among other bird species, I have a tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) visiting my feeders. It seems to prefer the safflower seeds to the other available offerings.

According to the Cornell Ornithology Lab, the tufted titmouse will pick up a seed from a bird feeder in the winter and store it for later, making repeated trips to build up a cache of food. This is fairly common among feeder birds, watch and see which ones take a seed and fly off repeatedly. Chances are they are storing them somewhere else rather than eating them immediately. Although the tufted titmouse often uses a cache location that is different than its nest location, some birds will lead you right back to their nest holes with each trip if you can follow them.

Today, as the snow storm approaches, the tufted titmouse, like many humans, is stocking up on groceries to get it through the rough weather.

Identifying birds can be a complicated science, but if you learn just one bird at a time, eventually you'll be able to reliably identify almost any bird you might find in your area. The tufted titmouse is a relatively easy choice with which to start.



First, as its name suggests, it is tufted. That means it has a raised group of feathers on its head that are reminiscent of the feathered crest of an ancient helmet. In fact, the word tuft is derived from the Latin word tufa which means helmet crest.

Description of the Tufted Titmouse

The tufted titmouse is about the same size (slightly bigger) than the well known black-capped chickadee. The feathers of its upper body are blue-grey in color while its underbody is mainly white. A light rusty-orange splash of color can be seen on the flanks. There will be a small patch of black right above the beak which is itself black. The bird's legs and feet are blue-grey. The eyes are very dark and rest on a light background that may be a mix of the white of the underbody with a bit of the steely blue-grey of the upper body.

Here in New Hampshire, I am at the northern end of the range of the tufted titmouse. Its range extends south to Florida and west to about the middle of the country. It can be found throughout its range all year round.

Quick facts about the Tufted Titmouse:
Diet: The tufted titmouse is primarily an eater of seeds and nuts during the winter, when it is most often found visiting backyard bird feeders. In the summer, it is an aggressive hunter of insects.

Life Cycle: Breeding season is April to July. Nests are made by lining holes that it finds in trees with softer material such as leaves or moss. The female lays 3-9 eggs which hatch about 13 days after being laid. Within 16 days, says the University of Georgia's Museum of Natural History, the newly hatched birds leave the nest and are ready to take care of themselves.

Lifespan: Cornell says that a tufted titmouse has been observed to live as long as 13.25 years in the wild.

IUCN Red List Status: The IUCN lists the tufted titmouse as a species of least concern due to large numbers and widespread habitat. Its numbers are reported to be increasing, perhaps due to the ready availability of seed from bird feeders during the winter.

Interesting Notes: The tufted titmouse cannot carve out the holes in which it nests, but relies of those created by woodpeckers or the natural growth of the tree.

Update May 3rd, 2015: Although we always have Tufted Titmice around our yard, this is the first time we have been able to locate one of their nests. As I noted above, they use existing cavities for nesting sites. This one was left behind when a branch fell off a big, old birch tree in our front yard. It is perhaps forty feet off the ground. The inside of the hole will be lined with moss and other soft things to make a cushion and insulate the eggs. We watched the male and female make repeated trips to and from the nest.

Taxonomy of the Tufted Titmouse

Kingdom: Animalia
Class: Chordata
Phylum: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Paridae
Genus: Baeolophus
Species: Baeolophus bicolor

Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus), an irruptive visitor

Pine Siskins at a thistle feeder. March, 2012.
Photo by Brad Sylvester. Copyright 2012. Do not copy.

Living in the northeast United States and having thistle feeders out during the winter months, I expect to see large numbers of American goldfinches, which I do, and I also expect to see pine siskins on occasion. Until this year, however, I had not seen a single pine siskin on our property, despite living here during the 2008-2009 pine siskin irruption documented by the Cornell lab of Ornithology's Project Feeder Watch. This year, beginning in early March, we finally have pine siskins at the thistle feeder on our back deck.

Irruptive Migrants

Pine siskins fall into the group of birds known as irruptive migrants. That means that they may or may not migrate for the winter depending upon local conditions. These types of birds often form small flocks during the winter and move from food source to food source. When there is plenty of food in their usual summer territories during the winter, they may not move far at all. When this happens relatively few pine siskins will be seen in the southern reaches of their winter range although there are usually still some that make the trip. In other years, if food is scarce in their summer range during the winter months, pine siskins or other irruptive migrants may come south in great numbers and be widely seen over a much broader range.

While I haven't seen great numbers of reports that would suggest that this winter (2011-2012) has seen a large irruptive influx of pine siskins, there is an ordinary number of reports of pine siskin sightings throughout New Hampshire and we are lucky enough to have spotted them for the first time in our yard.

Similar to American Goldfinch

Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus) in profile.
Photo by Brad Sylvester. Copyright 2012.

Pine siskins enjoy thistle seed as do American goldfinches. They are often seen together, with one or more pine siskins mixed in with a larger group of goldfinches. When this happens, they can be easy to miss unless one looks closely. Pine siskins look a bit like goldfinches when the latter is in its winter drab colors. Indeed, they are from the same taxonomic genus as the goldfinch: Carduelis. They are a similar size and shape, behave similarly at the feeder, may show a bit of yellow coloring when the wings are folded, and even have wing bars that can resemble those of goldfinches when they are mixed together and swarming a bird feeder.

Upon closer examination though, they are easy to differentiate. Most notably, the pine siskin has prominent streaking on its underside. The American goldfinch's underside is a nearly uniform pale olive-yellow during the winter months. Likewise, the pine siskin's head shows streaking as opposed to the solid yellow-drab of the winter goldfinch (although males may also show the beginnings of the black forehead and crown they'll wear in the summer). The pine siskin will have a relatively bright yellow patch visible on the lower part of its folded wing.

When the wings are extended, the yellow patch of the wings and another on each side of the base of the tail become more visible. The pine siskin is also decidedly more brown in color than the American goldfinch and can sometimes be mistaken for  female house finches or female purple finches until the yellow markings on the tail and wings are spotted.

Attracting Pine Siskins to your Yard

Pine siskin (Carduelis pinus) looking at the camera.
Photo by Brad Sylvester. Copyright 2012. Do not copy.

Your best bet for attracting pine siskins in the winter in the United States is to put up thistle feeders like one of these. If you are getting American Goldfinches in the winter, then you've done all you can to also attract irruptive pine siskins. To encourage them to breed, well, either you've got an established coniferous forest, or you don't.

Quick facts about the Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus):

What do Pine Siskins Eat? Pine siskins eat small seeds such as thistle seeds,dandelion, and pine seeds, and many others. They also eat small insects and the small buds of trees such as birch and maple.The Cornell Lab of Ornithology says they also may be attracted to mineral deposits like road salt, ashes, or fresh cement.

Range: In the summer, the pine siskin lives mainly in Canada and the extreme northern United States, but can also be found throughout the Rocky Mountains and in parts of California. Sometimes, after a particularly irruptive winter, a few pine siskins will stay in the southern winter range to nest. I'm hopeful that some of those visiting us this month will remain to breed here as we have many large, established evergreen trees in our backyard forest.

Where does it go in winter? As irruptive migrants, pine siskins generally do move south for the winter, but the distance and degree to which they migrate depends upon local food conditions. Movement is generally done is short flights over a period of time. In some winters, they may be found all over the continental United States in good numbers, in others, they may be much more sparse throughout the United States and absent in many regions.

Lifespan: Unavailable

Nesting: According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds site, nests are built toward the end of the branch of an evergreen tree, well-hidden by the needles. 3-5 greenish-blue eggs with brown or reddish-brown spots are laid in a shallow nest made of twigs, grasses and other fibrous plant material, lined with feathers, thistle-down or other softer material to cushion and insulate the eggs against cold temperatures in the northern nesting range. The eggs take 13 days to hatch.

IUCN Red List Status: Species of least concern. Large population over a wide range.

Pine Siskin Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Passeriformes

Family: Fringillidae

Genus: Carduelis

Species: Carduelis pinus

Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) riding a thermal



Hawk flying over my yard on March 7, 2012. This is
 a juvenile red-tailed hawk.
Photo by Brad Sylveser. Copyright 2012.
Do not copy.

 For the purposes of this blog, I will count the skies overhead as a part of my yard. If I spot a bird flying overhead and it can be identified, I'll list it here. This morning I happened to look out my window and spy a hawk flying overhead. At first it seemed to be hunting, actively flying in a stright line, then hovering in place with quick wing beats as it focused on some object below.

It did not dive after whatver it spotted and instead began to circle lazily. Riding an uplifting thermal current to gain elevation. Hawks will sometimes ride these thermals all the way up to and even past cloud level. This particular hawk was quite high up by the time I got outside with my older camera. They look like they are just circling, but the rising air carries them quickly upward.

My camera has an autofocus feature and an infinite focus landscape setting. Depending on the height of the hawk, I might use either to catch a soaring bird. If the autofocus can get a good lock on the bird, that is the best option for my camera. Otherwise, using the infinite focus yields acceptable results for ID photos, if not nearly professional caliber. This particular camera has a 10X optical zoom. At any rate, the photo is good enough for an ID. The observed hovering behavior in a Buteo also suggests a red-tailed hawk, although it is not definitive.

Red-tailed Hawk hovering.
Photo by Brad Sylvester. Copyright 2012

 This hawk is definitely a member of the Buteo genus which can be differentiated by the length of the tail relative to the wings. Longer tails are found in Accipiters and shorter tails like this one, in Buteos. One of my favorite resources for identifying hawks is Hawks at a Distance. This book offers 3-4 pages of photos of each raptor and a separate page with dozens of silhouettes of each species to help make identifications under less than optimal conditions.

New Hampshire falls within the northeast migration corridor for a huge number of raptors that head south in the fall and come back in the spring. Some hawk watch station may see thousands of hawks ina single day during the annual migrations.

The red-tailed hawk, however, can be found in New Hampshire all year round, with Canadian birds coming down ffrom the north in the winter. When hawks migrate, they will usually ride thermals high into the sky and then glide for long distances preserving as much energy as possible.

When not migrating, they can often be spotted in trees at the road's edge along highways. This is a great vantage point from which to spot small animals darting out across the road. Unfortunately, this results is a relatively high number of red-tailed hawks being killed by vehicles as well. Despite this, they remain a very common New England hawk.

Quick facts about the Red-Tailed Hawk:

What do red-tailed hawks eat? Red-tailed hawks are carnivores and active hunters. The eat small mammals like squirrels and mice, but, according to the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, they are not above taking reptiles, amphibians and birds as well. In New England, reptiles and amphibians would be snakes and frogs. Red-tailed hawks are not nearly as agile bird hunters as the Cooper's or sharp-shinned hawks, but will take birds if they have the opportunity for an easy strike.

Where do red-tailed hawks live: Red-tailed hawks live throughout North America up to the Arctic Circle and down to Central America.

What kind of habitat do red-tailed hawks prefer? Red-tailed hawks live in a wide variety of habitats. They often sit overlooking open grassland to scan for prey. They primarily hunt open spaces, but may also live in forests if there are nearby hunting grounds.

What eats red-tailed hawks? Not much eats red-tailed hawks with any regularity, but if caught on the ground, coyotes and other larger terrestrial predators will take them from time to time.

When is it here? Red-tailed hawks are found in New Hampshire all year round.

Where does it go in winter? Red-tailed hawks migrate south in the winter, but New Hampshire is still within the winter range for Canadian hawks and the summer range for more southern red-tailed hawks.

What's the life span of a red-tailed hawk? Nat Geo Wild puts the average lifespan of a red-tailed hawk in the wild at 21 years.

Nesting: Females lay 1-5 eggs in stick nests high off the ground according to Nat Geo Wild. The eggs take 4-5 weeks to hatch. Both parents care for the eggs and the young hatchlings.

Notes: Although most often identified by their prominent rusty red tails, not all red-tailed hawks have red tails.

Red-tailed hawk taxonomy:
Kingdom: Animalia (Animals)
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves (birds)
Order: Accipitriformes (formerly Falconiformes)
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Buteo
Species: Buteo jamaicensis

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) Back After Absence

Male goldfinch in breeding plumage stops by for a drink.
Photo by Brad Sylvester. Copyright 2010. Do not copy.

In the winter of 2010-2011 and the spring and summer of 2011, we had a decided absence of American Goldfinches (Carduelis tristis or Spinus tristis) despite having had many of these colorful little birds in previous years. I am very happy to report that they are back this winter. They have been visiting our thistle feeder in good numbers for several months and appear healthy.

The goldfinch is one of the more brightly colored summer birds that visits our backyard feeders. They are also quite vocal and their twittering can be heard from the trees surrounding our yard as they prepare to swoop in on the feeder and take their turn.

American goldfinches swarming a thistle feeder in February.
Photo by Brad Sylvester. Copyright 2012. Do not copy.

As the regular author of a bird watching column for Examiner.com (Manchester Bird Watching Examiner) for the past several years, it seems like it's about time to start adding more of the birds that live in my yard to this blog. There are well over 200 species of birds that live at least part-time in New Hampshire. Even excluding seabirds and those with specialized habitats, I should be able to log a very large number of species in my yard. Birds should be second only to insects and possibly spiders for total species counts by my estimation, at least until we start considering microfauna.

Although American goldfinches may shift their range north or south with the seasons, they are always present as a species in New Hampshire and live in my yard year-round. They are active bird feeder visitors, preferring thistle seed to all other offerings. Although they pair up for the summer breeding season, in winter they tend to travel in small flocks travelling around from food source to food source.

• Read more about the American Goldfinch's change from winter drab to summer gold  

The American goldfinch is sometimes called the wild canary because of its bright yellow color and small size.

Lifespan: The Cornell Lab of Ornithology lists the oldest known American Goldfinch at 10.5 years (as of 2007). Average lifespan will be much lower, but I could not find reliably consistent figures.

Habitat: Overgrown fields and forest edge

Diet: Primarily seeds including thistle, sunflower, birch catkins, but will also eat insects during breeding season

When is it here? American goldfinches are found in New Hampshire all year round.

Where does it go in the winter? In the winter, American Goldfinches may move south to avoid severe cold, but the summer and winter ranges have considerable overlap according to National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Sixth Edition. In places like New Hampshire where there is significant snowfall, American goldfinches often "hang out" close to backyard bird feeders with thistle seed or black-oil sunflower seeds during the winter months.

Life-cycle: According to information published by the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, American goldfinches lay 4-6 eggs per clutch once or twice per season. The eggs are very pale blue, almost white, and take 10-12 days to hatch and the baby birds are ready to leave the nest within 11-17 days after hatching. Breeding typically takes place in July.

Notes: The American Goldfinch makes a small, cup-shaped nest in the forking branches of trees and shrubs. Nests are often made of thistle or milkweed silk and other plant material woven tightly. Nests are usually constructed between 10-20 feet off the ground, but may be higher or lower. The Cornell Ornithology Lab reports that brown-headed cowbirds will often lay their eggs in the nests of American goldfinches, but that cowbird chicks cannot survive on the diet of regurgitated seeds and die within days of hatching.

What eats American Goldfinches? Many animals eat small birds. One of the biggest predators is the house cat. Others include bobcats, foxes, martens, fishers, raccoons, hawks like the sharp-shinned and Cooper's hawks, and many others.

IUCN Red List Status: Species of Least Concern, population trend: increasing

American Goldfinch Taxonomy:
The taxonomy of the American goldfinch is interesting because the genus was actually changed in the mid-1970's. Originally classified as belonging to the genus Spinus, it was reclassified into the genus Carduelis with Spinus becoming a sub-genus. It common to see the American Goldfinch listed either as Spinus tristis or Carduelis tristis.
Kingdom: Animalia (animals)
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves (Birds)
Order: Passeriformes (Perching birds)
Family: Fringillidae (True finches)
Genus: Carduelis (formerly Spinus)
Species: tristis

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

The bright clean feathers on this chickadee indicate that
the photo was taken in late fall or winter. The feathers will
in the late summer before being replaced.
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2011. Do not copy.

As you may know, I am a freelance writer by trade. One of the regular columns I write is the Manchester Bird Watching Examiner at Examiner.com. I just published an article there about one of the birds that lives in my yard, the black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus). In the article, I discussed the complex set of vocal signals the black-capped chickadee uses to communicate with others of its species and even with other species of birds. If you find the idea of language being used by animals other than humans as interesting as I do, you can read "The Language of Chickadees" at this link to learn what they are saying with their different songs and calls.

Meanwhile, let's discuss the bird as another of the animals that lives in my yard.

The black-capped chickadee is another year-round resident in New Hampshire. In the spring and summer they set-up housekeeping and establish nests. In the winter, they are a bit more cooperative forming groups of six or eight birds that tend to stick together in a small flock. They don't generally migrate from New Hampshire, but extremely harsh winter weather may periodically push them south as they search for food and respite from the very coldest temperatures. This, as I mentioned in a previous post, is called irruptive migration.

Black-capped Chickadee Nesting Habits


Chickadees are quite happy in suburban settings as well as on the forest edge or clearings deep within forests. They nest in hollowed out tree cavities which they either find or dig themselves. They can also be tempted into using artificial birdhouses located 6-15 feet off the ground and placed in or on the edge of the forest. They'll line these cavities with soft plant material such as moss, pine needles, and the soft down of plants like thistles or milkweed. Of course, man-made materials that they find will be used as well. In our yard, we often brush our dog's coat in the pring and early summer as she is shedding and we leave the hair on the lawn for the birds to use in their nests.

Chickadee eggs are quite small, about 5/8 inches in diameter. They are white with brown spots and are typically laid in clutches of 6-8 eggs. Instead of laying them all at once, the black-capped chickadee will lay one egg each day until the clutch is complete. The young hatch blind and featherless, but are ready to leave the nest in just 16 days after hatching. Adults measure 5 inches in length.

Quick facts about the Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus):

Lifespan: Although generally considered to live about 2-3 years, Ehrlich, Dokin and Wheye of Stanford University state that the longest recorded lifespan for a black-capped chickadee is 12 years, 5 months.

Black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) at a
suet feeder.
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2011. Do not copy.

Diet: Chickadees are primarily seed eaters in the winter and are frequent vistors to backyard bird feeders. As you can see in the photo to the right, they will eat suet as well. During the summer, they'll flit from branch to branch in trees and shrubs looking for bugs to eat.

When is it here? Black-capped chickadees are found in New Hampshire all year round.

Where does it go in the winter? Chickadees are active all winter, relying on seeds and berries that are left on trees and bushes or the seed and suet put out in birdfeeders.

Notes: Although most of us know the "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" warning call of the black-capped chickadee, the usual call is a smooth, lazy "Feee-beee" that has a much more musical sound.

Cedar Waxwing in the Pin Cherry Tree

Earlier today, I saw a bird called a black and white warbler (click here for a photo of the black and white warbler I took at a location a few miles away from my yard or here for an ID photo from the Crossley ID Guide). the appearance is distinctive and there was no doubt about what it was, but I did not have my camera. It's a bird that I don't often see in my yard, so I wanted to record it for this blog. I went in to get my camera, but when I came back out, no luck. It was gone into the woods. I won't count it as living in my yard until I can get a photo to share with you.

However, since I had the camera, I walked over to an area where I heard some birds singing to see if I could spot something else. The area where I was looking has several mid-sized pin cherry trees. This was a particularly bad year for pin cherries, in my yard at least. They flowered up beautifully, but very, very few of the flowers bore fruit. I wonder if there was a severe shortage of pollinators this year. The trees have, I would estimate about five percent of the amount of fruit they have had in prior years.

Pin cherries are a favorite of many birds, including the one shown in the photo below, the cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum). I've been writing a regular column about Bird Watching for Examiner.com, so I tend to notice the birds that live in my yard and their habits. I have had cedar waxwings in the pin cherries in prior years, but I was worried that the lack of fruit this year might keep them away. Thankfully, this one, at least, is here.

Cedar waxwing with pin cherries
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2011, all rights reserved

Cedar waxwings tend to nest later in the year than many other birds. This is probably due to their heavy reliance on dietary fruit that doesn't ripen until July or later in New England. The picture shows some pin cherries in the top right. You can see that they are not quite ripe as they will be a uniform dark red when ripe.
Pin cherries are quite flavorful and sour. They can be eaten by people, but they are very small and contain a large pit, that makes them more work than they are generally worth. One year, when they are plentiful, I'm planning to gather a batch for fermenting and see if they'll make a decent wine.

In the winter, like American Robins, waxwings tend to flock together and will mob berry bushes and fruit trees en masse to feed. In the breeding season, however, they split up into nesting pairs. They do migrate north into central Canada in the summer and south to Florida, Cuba, and Mexico in the winter, but the territory is so broad  that there are cedar waxwings in the northern half of the United States all year round, though not necessarily the same ones.

The easiest trait to pick out on this bird is the crest. I may stand up erect or be swept back giving the cedar waxwing a distinctive profile either way. The facial coloring is also another clear species indicator. Black, mask-like coloring over the eyes is quite easy to spot. The cedar waxwing will have a white border around the mask top and bottom. The Bohemian waxwing, however, has the white border only on the underside of the mask.

The cedar waxwing in the picture here actually has a variant coloring. The band of color at the tip of the tail feathers is usually yellow in the cedar waxwing, but occasionally it will be orange as seen in this particular bird. So for today, July 8, 2011, what lives in my yard? The cedar waxwing does!