Story in the Snow

[scanned Kodachrome II slide]

A Story in the Snow

© Dave Spier

Birder's journal March 21, 1971: I was following the redtail along the ridge, not so much to get a photo of it as we were both heading in roughly the same direction. I was a minute or two behind the hawk when I exited the woods and entered a partly-scrubby opening on the north end of the drumlin. More by luck than anything else, I came upon the story written as clearly as if words had been used. The mouse tracks ended in a depression, surrounded by the hawk's wing and tail feathers imprinted on the surface as it lifted into the air, prey in tow, while a drop of blood on the snow was all that remained of the hapless creature.

This could have been written a week ago; we've had no shortage of snow and cold weather this winter. There is a timeless element to many of nature's stories. It's likely a story that has been written over and over again across the intervening years.

immature Red-tailed Hawk (note barred tail)

 

For more information on Red-tailed Hawks, photos and sounds, visit the All About Birds website. An interactive range map (zoomable to your location) can be found in the eBird Explore Data section.

Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at ebirder_14432@yahoo.com or connect through my Facebook page and photo page. There's also a community-type page for The Northeast Naturalist. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs Adirondack Naturalist, Heading Out, and a Naturalist's Viewpoint. 

Accipiters

Juvenile Cooper's Hawk eating what might have been a Red-winged Blackbird(?)... 
(It's hard to tell at this point, especially with some Norway spruce twigs in the way.)
Note that it's wings are spread out to "mantle" (hide) it's prey.
- All photos and editorial content © Dave Spier -

What birds are visiting your feeders? Probably cardinals and jays and chickadees and juncos and doves and the usual winter mix that comes to partake of seeds and suet. What do all these birds have in common? They attract what many people consider uninvited guests -- the bird hawks, members of the genus Accipiter, a word that comes from the Latin verb meaning "to seize." I know one is around our yard when the feeder birds become very still or suddenly disappear. Hawks are a natural part of the web of life and they help keep everything in balance. I'd prefer they catch starlings and house sparrows, but it seldom seems to work that way.

In much of the United States, from Washington to Iowa to Massachusetts and south, there are two Accipiter species likely to visit your yard in winter, the Sharp-shinned (Accipiter striatus) and the Cooper's Hawk (A. cooperii), but they are difficult at best to separate. Male Sharp-shinned Hawks are about 11 inches long, roughly the size of a blue jay. Like most hawks, the females are significantly larger. Female sharpie's are 14 inches long, about the size of a pigeon, but slimmer. Here's the problem. Male Cooper's Hawks are about the same size as female sharpie's and maybe an inch longer. The larger female Cooper's is approximately the size of a crow.

An adult Sharp-shinned Hawk eating what might have been a Mourning Dove 
(judging by the color of the feathers on the snow after the hawk left - but its hard to tell).

Plumages of our two bird hawks are virtually identical, making it that much harder to tell one from the other.  Juveniles of both are brown on top and streaked lengthwise underneath.  Juvenile Cooper's have thinner, darker, tear-drop-shaped streaks, but that is subjective and requires some experience for comparison. The juvenile's yellow eyes turn orange and then red as Accipiters mature.  Adults are gray or blue-gray on top, hence the nickname "blue darter."  The cap or crown is darker like charcoal, especially on Cooper's. (Sometimes a Cooper's Hawk will raise its hackles giving it a small crest.) Sharpie's have more of a hood, meaning the dark crown extends down the nape, wheras Cooper's have a lighter nape.

Underneath, adults of both species are light colored with rufous cross barring on the chest giving way to white under the tail.  At all ages, the tail is coarsely barred with dark bands. Under ideal conditions, subtle differences in the tail can be discerned. Sharp-shins have a square or notched tip on a slightly narrower tail. Cooper's tails are slightly wider or fanned with rounded ends due to the outer tail feathers being shorter than the inner ones (but molting could confuse the issue). A white tail tip is more noticeable on Cooper's, but this can be masked by feather wear. Cooper's have white bellies whereas sharpie's tend to have more smudged or "dirty" bellies (another subjective call).

juvie Cooper's again showing a slight crest and making the eye appear closer to the front
(by comparison, Sharpie's eyes appear larger and more centered on the head)

The third and largest member of the Accipiters, the Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) is a bird of Canada, the north woods and the Rockies. The name "goshawk" comes from the Old English word goshafoc, meaning "goose hawk." I have no photos of this species, but a distinguishing characteristic is a light line (called a supercilium) above the eye. This line is white in adults and it contrasts with a dark line through the eye. Adults are also gray on the back and light gray on the belly, but never rufous like the smaller bird-hawk adults. Juvenile goshawks are brown and streaky and have pale-tipped greater coverts overlapping the inner (secondary) wing flight feathers.

All of these raptors have relatively short wings for maneuvering between woodland trees. The small sharp-shin can even adeptly chase prey through bushes. I watched as one hunted chickadees. It was an aerial acrobat making contorted maneuvers, weaving and diving through the sumac and other shrubs in hot pursuit of black-caps. Accipiters have long tails to aid in sudden, sharp turns. Although small birds are the staple diet of our Accipiters, they will take other prey. Sharpie's will take mammals up to Red Squirrel size; Cooper's up to Gray Squirrel.

adult Sharp-shin again, showing square corners on the tail and a small, rounded head
with the crown extending down the back of the head and forming a "hood"

Mouse- and insect-eating hawks like the kestrel and redtail perch in the open and watch the ground for signs of motion.  Accipiters prefer to hide in a tree or bush while they eye your feeder.  When they attack, their flight is swift and low.  From the side, sharp-shins appear "neckless;" they keep their heads pulled in and wings pushed forward, compressing their short necks.  Overhead, this gives them a "T" shape.  Cooper's have  longer necks and larger heads, and overhead have the appearance of a cross.  During migration, sharpie's will intersperse bursts of rapid flapping with glides and they may circle briefly if they encounter a thermal (an updraft).  Cooper's flight is more direct and determined.

To the birds at your feeder, it makes no difference what species is chasing them. It's strictly a matter of life or death. The faster birds survive; the slower stragglers (read "old, sick or injured") don't. Remember the old saying, "Survival of the fittest?" If you want to help your seed eaters survive, locate your feeder(s) close to escape cover. The denser the better... Discarded Christmas trees can be staked next to the feeder and also serve as a wind break. (You also might consider placing a baffle or skirt around the bottom of the tree to prevent cats from hiding underneath.) In my younger days, when I had fewer back problems, we bought a live Christmas tree every year and planted it in the spring. Some of those trees are pretty big now and several of our feeders hang from the inner branches. If your zoning regulations permit, a loose brush pile also provides escape cover and winter storm protection for birds and small mammals. At least the House Sparrows will appreciate it and roost there overnight. Our Carolina Wren also uses the brush pile -- when it's not in the thicket across the road.

Okay, look out the window again at your feeder. Now, what do you see?

For more information, photos and sounds, visit the All About Birds website and type in the species of interest. An interactive range map (zoomable to your location) can be found in the eBird Explore Data section. Again, type in the species.

Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com or connect through my Facebook page and photo page. There's also a community-type page for The Northeast Naturalist. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs Adirondack Naturalist and Heading Out. 

Merlins

© Dave Spier

The Merlin (Falco columbarius) was once known as the Pigeon Hawk, a strong indication of its diet, even though it's about the same size as a pigeon. Unfortunately it also captures and consumes smaller birds. The Merlin is a very fast flier, nicknamed the "bullet bird," and intermediate in speed between the slightly-smaller kestrel and the larger Peregrine. Like all falcons, the wing tips are usually pointed. Accipiters fly with rounded wings. The Merlin somewhat resembles the Peregrine in appearance but without the bold facial pattern. The adult male Merlin is gray on the back, streaked on the front, and has a weakly-barred, dark tail and a thin, white stripe above the eye. Females and juveniles are dark-brown on the back, streaked underneath and often have more white on the throat, while males are buff or light brown underneath. Some individuals show a dark tail with narrow, whitish bands.

Perched juvenile Merlins can sometimes be misidentified as a juvie Accipiter. Get a photo if at all possible. When I was at the Audubon Center, we had such a case, but in the photo, a small detail in the shape of the bill was the key. Falcons have a notch in the upper mandible toward the tip; it's used to break the neck of its prey as I recall. The notch is often hard to see, though.

Merlins nest at higher elevations, primarily in areas like the Adirondacks, and then disperse and wander after the breeding season. They also breed across most of sub-arctic Canada and Alaska in the Boreal Forest zone and the northern prairies. They prefer open woods and edges. Unlike kestrels which lay their eggs inside tree cavities or nest boxes, Merlins take over nests of other raptors or crows in the open tree tops.

During migration they can turn up anywhere in the continental United States, and most Merlins spend the winter from coastal Alaska down through the western states to the Gulf coast and northern South America according to one range map. Other maps include the Great Plains in its winter range. I'm writing this now because I just had a Merlin on top of a conifer (last two photos) in the northern part of the Finger Lakes region of New York. (This is not the first winter I've seen them around this area.) They prefer open woodland, but can be found in grasslands, fields, marshes and seacoasts.

For more information, photos and sounds, visit the All About Birds website. An interactive range map (zoomable to your location) can be found in the eBird Explore Data section.

Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at

northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com or connect through my Facebook page and photo page. There's also a community-type page for The Northeast Naturalist.

Tree Sparrows

They migrate across southern Canada and winter in the colder portions of the lower 48 from Washington to Maine and south as far as Oklahoma. Contrary to their name, you're just as likely to find them in some bushes or feeding on the ground with the juncos. Their natural food is fallen weed seeds picked off the snow. If the snow grows deeper, they will cling to the taller plants while they pluck the seeds. In the winter they obtain water by eating snow.

Tree sparrows do not defend winter territories, but they do form dominance hierarchies and they sometimes spend the night as a group under the snow to escape bitter cold wind. Otherwise they individually roost in conifers or marshes.

tree sparrow at the Montezuma Audubon Center, Savannah, NY

In April they will head north to breed in the Arctic, generally above the tree line. They even nest on the ground, albeit in open, scrubby areas with alder thickets, dwarf willows, birches and stunted spruce. During the short summer, they eat primarily insects and spiders instead of seeds. For a bird that spends so much of its time on the ground, why would it be named "tree sparrow"? I have yet to find a good reason, but I often see them perched in trees or bushes. I suspect that early ornithologists first encountered this species sitting on tree branches.

Not quite as drab as some sparrow species, the American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea) sports a rusty cap, chestnut line behind the eye, some rufous on the shoulders and sides, an isolated dark spot on a gray breast, and a white wing bar. (At close range, you might notice part of a second wing bar.) One of this sparrow's distinctive field marks is a bicolored bill, dark on top and yellow on the lower mandible. This species' back is light brown with dark streaks, and the long, notched tail has dark-gray feathers with pale edges. Males and females are nearly identical and juveniles are similar but more streaked.

Tree sparrows are preyed on by Accipiters, kestrels, screech owls, weasels, foxes and even Red Squirrels. The average life expectancy is two to three years, but one tree sparrow was recorded as surviving 10 years and nine months.

For more information, photos, similar species and typical voice sounds, visit All About Birds. eBird provides an interactive range map of this strictly North American species (zoomable to your location).

Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com or connect through my Facebook page and photo page. There's also a community-type page for The Northeast Naturalist. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs Adirondack Naturalist and Heading Out.

Kingfishers

© Dave Spier

 

There are two requirements for finding kingfishers in winter: open water and an overhanging perch, usually a tree branch. The bird's main diet is small fish retrieved by diving into the water. In warmer weather, crayfish are on the menu.

The Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon, appears big-headed, but it's due mostly to feathers that fan into a double crest. The color is bluish-gray like its back, wing tops, and a wide "necklace." In contrast there is a white collar, belly and underwings. Females have an additional tan belly-band and flanks (sides), which might add a touch of camouflage. The kingfisher's bill is heron-like, possibly the result of convergent evolution resulting from the same prey items.

Unless you're anticipating a kingfisher, chances are your first clue to its presence is the loud "rattling" call as it flies away. You can listen to a recording of this sound on the All About Birds website, which also has a range map and information on behavior, habitats and summer nesting. (Kingfishers dig a tunnel into sand banks or muddy stream banks to hide their nest. The deepest can be eight feet long.)

The interactive eBird range map indicates that Belted Kingfishers have been recorded in all 50 states plus much of Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Nearly a hundred other kingfisher species are found in mainly tropical regions around the world.

_____________________ 

Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com or connect through my Facebook page and photo page. There's also a community-type page for The Northeast Naturalist. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs Adirondack Naturalist and Heading Out.

 

Scoters

 

Winter Visitors -- © Dave Spier

Having Lake Ontario along part of New York's northern border bestows certain wildlife advantages. A few deep water ducks, also referred to as "sea ducks," stop there for a winter vacation, rather than spending the energy on a longer flight to the Atlantic coast where many of their "friends" go. As cold as it may get, Lake Ontario’s influence moderates the local climate and keeps the shoreline milder than the duck's Canadian homeland.

 

White-winged Scoters, Melanitta fusca, cruise off shore and pull into the open water channels of several bays, including Sodus Point. One by one they dive under water, swim to the bottom and feed on mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic insects and a few plants that coat the rocks. Strong swimmers, they can dive to 40 feet. I don’t know if they eat zebra mussels, but the scoter's winter numbers are so low they’d have little impact even if they did.

 

This species also winters along the Pacific coast, based on the range map available at All About Birds. An interactive and zoomable range map is available on eBird. This version includes frequency data.

Male White-winged Scoters are black with a white "comma" or crescent under and behind the eye. When flying, they flash white wing patches (called speculums). At rest on the water, the white wing patches may be hidden or only show as a thin white line near the rear. The male’s bill is orange with a dark protuberance (knob) on top. Females are similar to males, but browner and have two lighter spots on the face and dark bills instead of orange. This species, the size of Mallards, is called the Velvet Scoter in Europe.

 

Two other slightly smaller species of scoters are rare in the Great Lakes. The Black Scoter male is all black with an orange bump on its bill, while the Surf Scoter male is all black with a multi-colored bill and two white patches, one on the forehead and a second on the nape (back of the head). The name scoter comes from their habit of scoting (scooting) through waves while feeding offshore.

Along Lake Ontario, White-winged Scoters can begin showing up in mid-October but many of these are gone by early November. They are probably passing through on the way to the seaboard. Our long-term winter residents arrive in December. By the end of March, these few scoters will be on their way back to the northern prairies and Western Canada, although a few migrants from the Atlantic coast may stop here again briefly in mid-April. Unlike Mallards which can jump into the air and fly, scoters need to get a running start across the water’s surface in order to get airborne. In migration, groups of scoters fly in long lines low over the water.

 

At one time White-winged Scoters nested across the width of Canada. Now they breed from Alaska to western Ontario province. The adult males leave the breeding grounds in July, while the females and young hang around for another three months. Are the males just self-centered and lazy, or do they reduce the competition for food by leaving early? Either way, look for them hanging around with the other winter ducks.

 

Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at

northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com or connect through my Facebook page and photo page. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs Adirondack Naturalist and Heading Out. There's also a community-type page for The Northeast Naturalist.

Kestrels

American Kestrels (revised with new links and photos)

© Dave Spier

They're easiest to see when they sit on power lines and watch the grass below. In the absence of these utility perches, they may simply turn into the wind and hover on beating wings. Oil droplets coating the bird's eyes filter out haze and glare. Retinas, each packed with a million light-collecting cells, give it vision eight times better than a human's. Theoretically they could see a mouse from the top of the Empire State Building. After prey is spotted, the hawk drops like a stone and reaches out with needle-sharp talons. I've also heard of them gliding downhill and grabbing a mouse running across the snow, a most foolish thing for rodents to do. This maneuver caught the attention of two crows which gave chase, causing the kestrel to drop its prey. Undaunted, the hawk circled back and retrieved its fallen victim.

The American Kestrel, Falco sparverius, was once known as the sparrow hawk, a name derived from its habit of eating small songbirds, but in reality these comprise only one-third of the hawk's winter diet. On an annual basis, mice and other small rodents, plus a few frogs and reptiles represent a much larger proportion of its intake. During warm weather it eats primarily insects, and late in summer the kestrel dines almost exclusively on juicy grasshoppers which are plentiful and easy to catch. This earned the bird the nickname "grasshopper hawk" from early ornithologists. Kestrels also eat crickets, cicadas, moths, beetles and ants. Small snakes are readily dispatched, but large snakes present a problem if they wrap themselves around the bird's legs. Small roadkills, and songbirds that fly into windows, are a source of easy meals.

Kestrels are the smallest members of the falcon family, a group that is no longer considered close relatives of the true hawks. Male kestrels are nine inches long while the larger females may reach 12 inches. On average they're about the size of a robin or blue jay which makes all these birds vulnerable to larger winged predators, especially Cooper's Hawks. On the other hand, kestrels will not tolerate competitors in their hunting territory and have been known to chase off larger, but less agile, raptors like the redtail. The falcon family also includes the kestrel's larger and more famous cousin, the Peregrine, which is uncommon in the northern Finger Lakes Region of New York.

If you're close enough, kestrels are easy to recognize. In addition to small size, on a white face look for bold black marks creating a "mustache" and "sideburns." Males have gray wings and rusty-red tails ending with a black band and white feather tips. Females are mostly rufous-brown with fine cross-barring on the back, wings and tail. The lighter undersides of both are spotted, giving way to white under the tail. The wings and tail are relatively long, much like the larger harriers which also hunt the open countryside. (Harriers, also displaying sexual plumage dimorphism, are in a different family.) Unlike harriers, falcons are noted for flying with pointed wingtips, an advantage for faster speed. Peregrine falcons, which can reach a diving speed of 200 mph, are the fastest animals on earth.

Kestrels are year-round residents throughout New York and most of the United States, and a summer breeder across much of Canada and the northern Great Plains states. You can find an interactive range map on eBird under Explore Data -> Range...Maps.

Kestrels nest in tree cavities, often taking over old woodpecker holes, but the cutting of dead trees for firewood results in a shortage of natural nesting cavities. Fortunately, kestrels readily take to large nest boxes erected specifically for the purpose. The size should be at least eight inches square inside and 15 inches tall with a three-inch entrance hole centered three inches below the top. Mount it at least 10 feet above the ground. As controllers of insect and mouse populations, kestrels are valuable to gardeners and farmers, and nest boxes are one way to encourage their presence.

For more information, visit All About Birds.

Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com or connect through my Facebook page and photo page. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs Adirondack Naturalist and Heading Out. There's also a community-type page for The Northeast Naturalist.

Redpolls

It's been a good year for redpolls. Every few years there's an irruption of winter finches from Canada when their food resources are scarce up north.

 

I'm in Upstate New York, and here they hang out with the goldfinches. In fact, they’re related to goldfinches (in the sense that both are in the finch family). They’re about the same shape and size and they eat the same kinds of seeds, but there it ends. Redpolls resemble streaky sparrows with a red cap and black around the bill and the males have an added raspberry wash on the breast. Winter brings them to New York from northern Canada and this is about as far south as they normally need to go. These are tough little birds.

Although they seem perfectly at home in the bushes near our feeders, the redpoll’s natural preference is open fields and patches of weeds. They’re more likely to appear in alternate years or irregularly when seed production from spruce and birch trees across northern Canada and Alaska is reduced. Redpolls also eat the seeds of willows and alders. When they're on the snow under our feeders, they're picking up sunflower seeds dropped by the other birds.

To make it through long, cold nights, redpolls have evolved a version of the crop, a throat pouch (on the esophagus) where a supply of seeds can be stored. After finding a sheltered perch, usually in a conifer, and then fluffing up their dense feathers for added insulation, they slowly digest the stored seeds at their leisure. The combination of food and fluff maintains a core body temperature of 105º F. This allows redpolls to survive colder temperatures than other songbirds.

During the summer they are abundant in boreal forests and open tundra around the subarctic regions of both North America and Eurasia.

Ornithologists, the people who study birds, still can’t decide how many redpoll species exist. At the moment, there are two. The Common Redpoll, Carduelis flammea, is the bird normally seen at winter feeders and traveling in flocks across fields. The rarer Hoary Redpoll, Carduelis hornemanni, is generally lighter in color, giving it a "frosted" appearance, hence the name hoary. Due to individual variations, there is almost an overlap between the two types of redpolls, and some ornithologists believe there is just one species with a number of races. Perhaps DNA studies will help to sort this.

For a small finch that weighs less than an ounce, the redpoll has wonderful adaptations that allow it to survive the toughest winters, not to mention unpredictable summers in its far northern homeland. The next time you’re feeling cold, remember the bird that finds warmth in Upstate New York winters.

For an interactive range map of the Common Redpoll, visit the eBird website and zoom in to your location. Recent report locations (within the past 30 days) are coded red. You also can set a custom date range to find recent reports.

Corrections, questions and suggestions are always welcome at northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com or connect through my Facebook page and photo page. There is a separate community-type page for The Northeast Naturalist. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs Adirondack Naturalist and Heading Out.

Coots

© Dave Spier

 

"Mudhen," "chicken of the marsh," and "water guinea" are just a few of the many nicknames for a dark bird with a white bill commonly found on area waters. Birders know it as American Coot (Fulica americana), as in "crazy as a coot." The poor bird gets no respect.

In the winter, look for coots on bays, saltmarshes, lakes or canals wherever there is enough open water for them to get a long, running start to become airborne. This includes the Pacifc coast from British Columbia south to Panama, then east across the southern states and up the eastern seaboard to Cape Cod. An eBird bar chart for any county or location (which lists all of the bird species reported and their seasonal distribution, i.e. when to expect them) will show if and when the coot has been present. (If you're in the coot's normal winter range and there is a gap the 3rd week in December, I'll bet it's an oversight because birders are too busy Christmas shopping instead of scoping local waterways.) Make a note; if you see a coot the third week of December, let me know and I'll help you submit the observation to eBird!

Coots have dark-gray bodies and nearly-black heads which contrast sharply with white bills. The adult's eyes are bright red. The legs are green and their long toes have lobed edges to help them swim. They usually travel in flocks and sometimes you can find a raft of several hundred coots swimming together.

Although they may hang around with ducks, a coot's body structure is quite different. The bill is somewhat chicken-like and the feet lack webs between the toes. Coots are related to cranes (but much smaller) and to rails, as in "skinny as a rail," but plumper. (Rails are secretive marsh birds laterally compressed for slipping through cattails and reeds. By now, they've gone south for the winter.)

Coots are primarily vegetarians. They will dive for underwater plants or pluck at plants in a marsh. Another preferred feeding tactic is to steal plants from other coots or ducks. (More on All About Birds...)

Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at

northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com or connect on my Facebook pages - Dave Spier (photographic naturalist) and my personal page. There is now a community page for The Northeast Naturalist.

Evening Grosbeaks

© Dave Spier

Natural food shortages (of the bird kind) are encouraging Canadian finches to head south for the winter. One of the most colorful is the Evening Grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertinus), somewhat resembling a giant goldfinch, which is not too far off, since they are related. Goldfinches are five inches long (slightly shorter than a chickadee), whereas these grosbeaks are eight inches.

The male Evening Grosbeak [photo above] is very noticeable with white patches contrasting against otherwise black wings and short, black tail. His body is burnt-gold (yellow) grading to a dark-brown head with yellow forehead and wavy line above the eye. Females [below right] are subdued, with mostly gray on the body and head. The only yellow is confined to her neck. Both sexes have massive, pale-colored bills.

Grosbeaks eat mainly seeds, nuts, berries and buds, and they readily come to feeders (if they're around). We had eight Evening Grosbeaks for several days right after Hurricane Sandy and then they vanished in their nomadic fashion. Three returned briefly and a week later, there were four down the road. Unpredictable is a good way to describe this bird.

As always, you can find photos, range map and voice recordings on the All About Birds website. In addition, find current range information on the eBird Range-and-Point-Maps under Explore Data. Use the search boxes to see a range map for this (or any) species you type and then zoom in to your location. You can narrow the date span with the "Custom Date Range" tool or look for any possible sightings in your area by using the Location tool. Write to me for specific information and links. I also encourage you to submit your own sightings. This is how I keep track of their wanderings in my neighborhood, and the information benefits science.

Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com or connect on Facebook (Dave Spier, or my photographic naturalist page, plus The Northeast Naturalist).

There's more information from the ABA regarding Evening Grosbeaks and the connection to spruce budworm in their breeding range [mainly the Canadian boreal forest].

Mourning Doves



Pair of Mourning Doves on the snow at the Montezuma Audubon Center

I call them "bobble-heads" because of the way their heads bob as they walk across the ground in search of seeds dropped by other birds from the hanging feeders. Small buffy head, large buff-colored body, darker gray-brown on the wings and back, dark spots on folded wings, long-pointed tail with white along the edges… They prefer to feed on the ground, usually in small flocks, but if there’s enough room they’ll land on a platform feeder. When they take off, the whistling of the wings is diagnostic. In the morning, flocks try to catch the early rays of sunlight by lining up on utility wires strung between poles along country roads. We are of course talking about Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura), named for their sorrowful cooing sometimes mistaken for the call of an owl.

Doves are the preferred prey of the Cooper’s Hawk, that long-tailed, short-winged, fast and maneuverable accipiter that visits our bird feeders.

The doves, related to domestic pigeons, are mainly vegetarian. You may see a flock picking up waste grain in a winter cornfield if there’s not much snow, but they also eat seeds from grasses and weeds. A few insects are fed to nestlings during the warm months. In late summer they eat the dark-purple, almost black, berries of pokeweed. Many doves head south to agricultural areas for the winter, and a few birds banded in New York have gone as far as the Gulf-coast states.

In early spring, watch for them to begin pairing up as they prepare for a long nesting season, and listen for their "song," a series of five coos with the second one rising and falling. Once they set up housekeeping, a skimpy handful of loose twigs barely qualifies as a nest and it looks like the eggs are in danger of falling through or rolling off. Mourning Doves nest repeatedly through the summer, and I’ve seen them sitting on eggs as late as October in New York. That particular nest, in one of our spruce trees, may have been the fourth brood of the year. It’s a good thing, because half the chicks don’t make it out of the nest; they fall victim to various predators, both avian and mammalian. Of the half that survive the nest and fledge, three-quarters don’t make it to their first birthday. Past that point, only 5% of the adults make it to five years old or beyond.

Mourning Doves were historically birds of the Southern states. They adapted to rural farmland where there was a combination of grain fields and watering holes or slow creeks to get a drink twice a day. During the 20th century the Mourning Dove population began expanding northward until it reached an estimated 10 million birds in New York State. They can live on the edge [called an ecotone] between woods and fields, but they are absent from large tracts of continuous forest. In the 1800’s Passenger Pigeons were the dominant bird in the forested Appalachians and north into New York, but that species was hunted to extinction.

The Mourning Dove is named for its sorrowful cooing, which is sometimes mistaken for the call of an owl. -- © Dave Spier

To get an idea of the Mourning Dove's range, visit eBird's "View and Explore Data" page, click on "Range and Point Maps" and type in "Mourning Dove" [or just click the link].  You'll notice there's a concentration of sightings across the South, the Great Plains and the Eastern United States.  Zoom in for detail.  The process works for any species anywhere in the world, but many areas like Asia and Africa and much of South America still lack data.

For more information, photos and sounds of the Mourning Dove, visit All About Birds.

In the Southern and Western States, you might encounter the similar Eurasian Collared-Dove. Check the eBird range map for this species if you have a question about your location.

Eurasian Collared-dove in Red Rock Park, New Mexico

Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com or connect through my Facebook page and photo page. There's also a community-type page for The Northeast Naturalist. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs Adirondack Naturalist and Heading Out.

Beaver Lake

One of the Eastern Gray Squirrels visiting the feeders at Beaver Lake Nature Center
 -- © Dave Spier

Beaver Lake -- © Dave Spier

Beaver Lake Nature Center west of Baldwinsville [Onondaga County, NY] is a favorite winter destination for several reasons. First, a long row of large picture windows overlook the feeders at the edge of a woodsy area. In addition to birds, there are the omnipresent Eastern Gray Squirrels, and you can view them from the comfort of a heated room. The second reason is a good system of trails for x-c skiers and snowshoers. For extended walks, there’s an easy, fairly-level, three-mile loop around Beaver Lake itself.  Boardwalks cross the swampy trail sections.

Boardwalks cross the wet trail sections -- © Dave Spier

Donna on the trail around Beaver Lake in December -- © Dave Spier

For more information on Beaver Lake Nature Center, including trail map, visit their website at Onondaga County Parks: http://onondagacountyparks.com/beaver-lake-nature-center/

A bench lets you take a break -- © Dave Spier

Questions can be sent to northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com

Beaver Lake from the loop trail -- © Dave Spier

White-throated Sparrows

I'd say this is an adult tan-morph White-throat based on The Sibley Guide to Birds, page 494.

White-throated Sparrows begin returning in October.  They spend the summer across much of Canada and the North Country, but for some of them, this is far enough south to endure the winter.  Many more go as far as the Gulf and Southern States.  A few western birds hug the Pacific coast in winter.

In the fall, it’s hard to find a good rendition of their song, likened to “Old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody” (hence the nickname “Peabody-bird”).  Perhaps these are young birds, but they have until spring to get it right.  Of course if you’re a Canadian resident, they sing “pure sweet Canada-Canada-Canada.”  Up there it’s known as the Canada sparrow.

Likely a first-winter White-throated Sparrow in December (in an ornamental Serbian Blue Spruce) - © Dave Spier

As adults, this species comes in two genetically-based color races (a.k.a. forms, morphs, or phases) known as white and tan.  Adult "white-morph" birds have high-contrast black-and-white racing stripes on the crown, yellow lores (the area between the eye and bill) and bright-white throats.  The adult "tan" race or version has brown and tan (or beige) head stripes, dull-yellow lores and a dull-white or light gray throat.  The differences have nothing to do with age or gender or geographic distribution as I understand it.  Both types are found mixed in the same population, a situation biologists refer to as polymorphism, or “many forms.”  That said, after the fall molt, the variation is less pronounced in their winter plumage.  To confuse matters, first-winter White-throats resemble the tan race, with lower-contrast head markings and a more-pronounced lateral throat stripe, a.k.a. malar-edge stripe or simply malar stripe.  Many field guides describe "bird topography" with illustrations of various field marks and their names.  In The Sibley Guide (the large, nationwide version), it begins on page 15, with the White-throated Sparrow as the example on page 16.

There are also behavioral differences.  White-morph males are more aggressive while tan females are better care givers.  Tan males and white females fall in the middle.  Ninety percent of the time, one color phase mates with its opposite and it is believed this balances their behavior characteristics.  After the young fledge from the nest, the brood is divided into two groups and each parent cares for only half of the fledglings.

White-throated Sparrows often associate with Dark-eyed Juncos, another type of sparrow.  Both species are ground feeders and at my house they clean up the sunflower seed dropped by the goldfinches, chickadees and other birds above them.  (With sunflower seed getting so expensive [about $25 per 50-pound bag, up from $11 a few years ago], I’ve taken some old metal garbage cans that rusted through on the bottoms, turned them upside down and placed screened tray feeders on top to catch the falling seed.  It used to pile up on the ground faster than squirrels, chipmunks, doves and other ground feeders could clean it up, and then the seed would mold and I’ve have to throw it away.  The screened trays allow precipitation to drain through on milder days, and the birds have a second chance to eat the seed.)

On rare occasions, White-throated Sparrows and juncos have been known to mate and hybridize.  [Off topic, we saw a pure-white junco when we were in Shenandoah National Park early in October.  It was hanging out with other juncos and a flock of Chipping Sparrows on their way south.]

During the summer, White-throated Sparrows consume high-protein insects, but the rest of the year they switch to a vegetarian diet consisting mostly of fallen seeds.  In the wild, they find their food by scratching through dead leaves and grass.  They also eat the fruits of dogwoods, cedars and spicebush.  These native shrubs and trees are plentiful at the Montezuma Audubon Center (MAC), but the sparrows have plenty of competition from thrushes and other berry-loving birds in the fall.  (The Audubon center also hosts a flock of American Tree Sparrows that over-winter in the walnut-grove thickets and brush piles.)   

White-throated Sparrows might be confused with White-crowned Sparrows which are also gray-breasted but lack the yellow lores and usually lack the white-throat.  In the fall, young white-crown’s resemble the color of tan-phase white-throat’s but have what I call a “butch-cut” or slight crest toward the back of the head.  Most of the white-crown’s are long-gone, having migrated farther south; they pass through about two weeks ahead of the white-throat’s.

A few White-throated Sparrows will stay here through the winter, but more return on their way north in the spring.  They stop for a few weeks in April and sing their characteristic song, well refined by then, before continuing north.

High-contrast, white-morph White-throated Sparrow in April with black and white "racing" stripes on the crown. - © Dave Spier

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