Flickers & Bluebirds At Carpenter Nature Center

Friday was an unbelievably beautiful day at Carpenter Nature Center.  I ended spending way more time out there than anticipated.  It ended up being a perfect day and now as I look outside my window to see TWO inches of snow with more on the way, I'm glad I took advantage of the fall color and sunlight even if it never made it to 40 degrees.  And yes, I did just type two inches of snow.  That's a bit insane even for Minneapolis standards.  I'm prepared for snow when Halloween hits.  But not on October 12.  Sigh, if you take into account that five inches in April is a normal occurrence, that means that we have six months of winter ahead.

Mental note: Plan a trip to Panama and possibly Peru this winter--who is in with me on this?

We haven't even gotten our full fall color in the Twin Cities yet.  You can see in the above photo that we are right on the cusp.  I think all this snow will make all the leaves say, "Screw it!" and just drop off the trees.

Banding was awesome--I got to band a brown creeper--who make sad little chirps in hand.  It was a hatch year bird, hope it finds a way to survive the winter and is recovered by another bander some day. We also got in our first junco of the season.  We normally get those in little Potter traps.  It was weird taking one out of the mist nest (we only use mist nets in warmer weather at Carpenter).

My buddy Larry processed a downy woodpecker that I originally banded in May.  That was exciting.  When I banded it him in May, I aged him as a second year bird but according to Pyle and his fall plumage he was resembling an after second year bird.

Part of it was his eyes.  In the sun, they looked very red.  Although this photo shows them to be more brown than red.  It's always nice to find an older bird and to have it surviving well.

As Larry and I walked around checking the nets, we watched a fascinating interaction among the birds.  Migrants like the above northern flicker and yellow-rumped warbler were all over.  We heard some blue jays and crows crabbing at each other.  The crows were half heartedly mobbing something, but the blue jays sound a bit more on alert...a bit more like they do at the hawk blind when a sharp-shinned hawk is perched nearby.  Then Larry and I heard a flicker give a distress call.  We walked over to investigate and sure enough, a shin was actively hunting among the trees.  He perched in the open momentarily and is was a juvenile male shin (barely the same weight as a flicker).  He was in hot pursuit of flickers, but all of them were on to him and could out fly him.  Shins, especially larger females can nail a flicker, but they need element of surprise.

The male shin would chase a flicker, it would give the distress call while the shin chased.  As soon as the shin would perch, another flicker would fly right in front of it--almost taunting it.  The blue jays would scream and yell like townies at a bar encouraging a fight.  What was really interesting was a pileated woodpecker flew into the scene and perched near the shin, keeping a close eye.  I've seen this before.  I've seen pileateds creep towards a shin and even a male Cooper's hawk that is on the same branch and in both instances chase it away (it's a big woodpecker and I think it's size and bold approach freaks out smaller hawks).  The pileated flew off and the shin gave chase--I don't know what it thought it would do if it actually had a pileated in its teeny talons.  The pileated easily out flew the shin and perched in a tree. A second pileated hidden nearby gave a soft call, almost as if asking, "You still there?"  The chased pileated called back and then took flight, circling the tree that the shin was perched in.

The poor male shin finally gave up and took to a thermal and circled high and out of view.  My advice small male sharp-shin?  Stick to sparrows and warblers.

A lot of birds were crabby--perhaps they knew better than I did that snow was on the way?  Above a yellow-rumped warbler was trying to drive an eastern bluebird out of a tree.  The bluebird crabbed back at it.  The yellow-rump still mobbed the bluebird and eventually the bluebird lunged and chased it off.

I spent the better part of the afternoon with the bluebirds.  They have a great palette to begin with, but I wanted to try and get a picture of that beautiful bird with the fall colors behind it.  This bird was most uncooperative.  Okay, so perching withe the blue sky behind it does make a statement.

But it kept coughing up berries.  I'm not sure what's going on with that.  I've seen berry eating birds like robin, waxwings and thrashers do that when they are in the midst of chowing down on a bunch of berries.

The bluebird were raiding the larder of fruit on the dogwood.  It's funny, a fellow birder on Facebook had announced on this status the day before that a great front had moved in so watch the dogwood bushes for birds.  I love hanging out around dogwood in the fall.  Tons of birds eat the berries and all kinds of sparrows will pop out from beneath them.  While chasing bluebirds I saw chipping sparrows, Lincoln's sparrows, fox sparrows, field sparrows, and one robust Harris sparrow mixed in among them.

The flocks of bluebirds would drop down and hover over the dogwood and then disappear in the foliage looking for berries.

It was a perfect day for digiscoping.

Mesh Tube Bird Feeding Video & Links

There are some way cool links out there.  One is over at Round Robin Blog and it's all about an Albatross Cam!  It is so cool.  One of the photos from the albrotross backpack cam shows them feeding along with killer whales--how cool is that?  Sigh, I would love to hang out at an albatross colony for a day.  I may never see one, but I love knowing they are out there. Another fun link is about a satellite transmitter on a whimbrel and another is a person's photos of a great horned owl rescue.  The owl is apparently doing fine, but the photos are awesome, especially just the one eye staring at the photographer from the box.  Sinister box indeed.

Bill and I also completed another video for OpenSky about one of the mesh feeders I really like.  You may recognize it from some of the photos in the blog over the years.  Why even Mr. Neil has taken photos of birds on it.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7ozd6dQiwQ[/youtube]

If you like the feeder, you can get it here.

A Day In Frank Taylor's Blind

A photo of a pair of hatch year sharp-shinned hawks (the female is the larger bird on the left, the male is smaller and on the right) means that it's that special time of year for me.  That special time when I try to cut back on where I travel to so I can have time to help out with some hawk banding.  To those who have ever participated in a well run and a good banding station, it's not only scientific research, but it's part hunting and part sports game.  You scan the skies looking for a hawk that might be in a good position to see your bait, if it comes down, it could at the last minute dart off, if it does hit the net, you have to make sure the bait bird doesn't get nailed, then you have to dash out of the blind before the hawk gets out of the net.  After all of that research, you take notes on the bird and let it go, hoping for it to be recovered again when even more valuable information can be garnered.

Sunday was the first day I was able to go up.  I hit the road dark and early.  Watching the forecast, I wasn't sure what to expect. Websites predicted a 40% chance of rain all day, but the winds would be west in the morning, northwest in the afternoon--promising.  And at the end of the day, a slow day in the blind, is better than any day away from it.  And even to have the chance to watch the hawks on part of their journey is a treat.  No worries, it was not a disappointed day in the least, note the above red-tailed hawk--oh, what a flight to watch come in to the net.

Above is my buddy Frank Taylor posing with a hatch year (passage) red-tailed hawk we got in the nets.  He's also posing with his wounded rabbit call, which I must admit, I was skeptical about it. But it totally worked!  This young red-tail flew up to catch a thermal.  Rick, our master pigeon yanker, pulled the pigeon to flap a few times, and the red-tail showed no interest.  Frank grabbed his wounded rabbit call, blew loud and blew hard and the bird flapped, came out of the thermal and set towards the pigeon--it was beautiful.  It came in from far, set its wings, slowly lowered the talons and flew right into the net!  The call of the wounded rabbit was just enough to get the red-tail's attention to see the bait bird.

After we band the birds and are about to let them go, I like to try and get photos of them taking off.  My favorite way is to lay on the ground.  Normally, the birds are looking to get away.  Not this red-tail, it watched me to the whole time.

It was not interested in anything else.  I even said to Frank, "I really don't like the way this one is looking at me." It was not looking away.

Yet, when the hawk was released, it lost complete interest in me.  Whew.  When I showed this photo to Non Birding Bill, he said the hawk looked like it was auditioning for Fame and trying to light up the sky like a flame.

One of the fun parts of the blind is getting to see the local wildlife come out, not knowing that we are there.  This was a doe who came out to browse.  Although, her interest was piqued when she heard all of the camera clicks.

We had a very ballsy chipmunk come out to gather some of the leftover pigeon food to its winter stores, seemingly oblivious to the potential predators we were trying to draw in.

Blue jays also came in for the spilled food and periodically competed with the chipmunk.  This bird was really loading up on food--look how full the crop is.  Early in the morning when fewer hawks were moving, we had time to watch the chipmunk and the hawk, but by 10am, the hawk faucet was turned on and we were too busy catching hawks and watching others fly over to pay attention to the others.

We got in quite a few haggard (after hatch year) sharp-shins.  Normally, we don't get too many of those until later the season.  It was such a great day of watching hawks of all sizes from far off spot the pigeon and then come in for it.

One particular adult had us wondering about his past.  As soon as my friend Amber took him out of the nets, she noted that he had a Cooper's hawk look about him with his head.  It did look a bit flat, but he was sharpie in size and dainty bill.  As she banded the sharp-shin, he did what many hawks typically do--open its mouth and stick its tongue out.  Only, when this hawk did it, the tongue veered sharply to the right (not unlike someone with a neurologic disorder).  While Amber banded this bird, more hawks came into the nets and Reier held the hawk.  The hawk turned it's head this way and that.  When it would strain too far to the left or right, it would shake.  Reier noted that it was like someone with nerve damage.  Between the flatness of the head and the abnormalities, I wondered if this bird had flown into a window or some other blunt trauma?  It was a chunky bird, so it felt as though it had been eating well, but something happened to it somewhere.

Shorebird Banding At The Midwest Birding Symposium

A birder scans the dawn for migrants.  What a beautiful morning at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge in Ohio!  During the Midwest Birding Symposium, I got the opportunity to observe some shorebird banding last Friday (which was a fun change of pace from the usual songbird banding I do on Fridays).  The banding started at dawn and involved two men named Tom.

The nets were set in areas where the shorebirds were feeding. The banders had to be careful to too keep the bottoms of the nets high, so if too many birds were caught, the nets wouldn't droop down into the water. You had to wear some serious waders in order to put the nets up and to retrieve the birds.

Some birds were not buying it, like the above pectoral sandpiper (that's a yellowlegs blurred in the background). Some birds fed right under the nets, while others flew right above and below.  However, many flew into the nets and we got to see quite a large variety of shorebird species in the hand.

Some of the nets were not easy to get to. Shorebird feed on mudflats and that gets messy.  They had to cross a stream to be able to get at the nets in a fast and easy manner.

Look at this beauty--a pectoral sandpiper.  This is one I can remember, note how far the brown goes down on its body before it meets the white.  The brown goes down much further on this bird than it would on a semipalmated or least--plus it's bigger.  The birds were all smaller in hand than they look in the field, which is what I expected.  According to bird banding guru Peter Pyle, this bird takes a band size of 1A.  You can put a 1A band on a cardinal to give you an idea of size.

The banders took the usual measurement of wings and tail, but also checked weight. This was done swiftly, by quickly inserting the shorebird into a tube and setting it on a scale (the weight of the tube was already calculated on the scale.  I think the banders had all of their measurements taken, banding and then assessment of age and sex in less than 60 seconds. They were quick, with the shorebird's safety and health a primary concern.

Here's a cute little bird! It's the sample size version of the killdeer, a semipalmated plover.  Don't you just love that yellow eyering?  These also take a small 1A band like the pectoral (and cardinal).  After this bird was banded, it flew across the nearby creek and began to forage as though nothing had happened.

And if you are wondering what the name "semipalmated" is all about, it refers to the slight webbing between the toes.  See?  Again, a bird named back in the day when they were shot first and identified later.  It's something seen easily in hand and up close to the face, but rarely seen when the bird is running around on a mudflat.  And believe it or not, non birders, this is not the only semipalmated bird out there.

We also got a semipalmated sandpiper into the nets too.  Above you can see Tom splaying the toes revealing the partial webbing between the toes.  This bird had a slight deformity on its bill, there was a lump in the middle.  Had it flown into a window at some point? Was it just some sort of odd defect it was hatched with? Who can say?

If you remember the photo from the previous entry, I asked if these were the same birds or different.  Even in hand, up close it can be a challenge.  Normally, I would point out the bill differences, but the semipalmated has that notch in its beak.  Another way I tell the two apart in Minnesota is also covered up.  Semipalm's bill and feet appear to be the same color, least sandpipers feet look lighter in color than the bill (you'll have to take my word on that since the least's feet are covered up in that photo).  You can see some examples here.

The coolest bird of the day for me was a Wilson's snipe that came into the nets.  What a great bird and what a treat to see up close.  Above is bander Tom Bartlett, reminding me a bit of Hannibal of the A-Team, loving it when a shorebird plan comes together.  And for the record, all we had to do to get this snipe was put up banding nets in the morning, no one was out in the middle of the night with a pillowcase making strange noises.

Here are some snipe toes, remarkably clean for a bird that wanders in mud.

Here's a shot of the head and that incredibly long beak it uses to probe in mud.  The bill  of the snipe is so flexible that it can open just the tips without opening the whole bill! Sensory pits at the tip of the bill allow the snipe to feel its prey deep in the mud.  It's bill is also handy for yanking the occasional worm too.

Tom tried to gently reveal the serrations inside the bill.  There are a couple of different theories as to how the snipe gets food and perhaps it uses both.  Some think that they may suck up food when the bill is probed in soil and others think the serrations pointing back towards its mouth in conjunction with its tongue will help move prey found in mud.  Still something we can learn.

Tom does have to bee quick when getting birds out of the nets.  He showed us this photo from just last month when a young peregrine falcon saw shorebirds struggling in the nets and thought it might be easy prey.  Tom got a little messy, but was able to get the falcon before it got the shorebirds.

This was a fun and educational experience and hands down one of my favorite birding moments at the Midwest Birding Symposium.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Blackpoll warbler chips outside my bathroom window. I look through the screen.  It chips and flies away as if to say, "You just got served!" I did?  I got served.  Holy crap, is it on?  According to Mike McDowell's blog, it's on. Fall migration has totally hit and from looking online, some of the hottest action is at Hawk Ridge.  Check out this photo of a peregrine falcon eating a sharp-shinned hawk on the wing.  Yeah, migration is on!

Yesterday, I was supposed to lead a bird walk at Coon Rapids Dam.  No one showed, so I took it as an opportunity to "rove."  We rangers will sometimes just walk around in different parts of our park and be there to chat with people.  Walking around with my uniform, spotting scope and camera, I'm basically a walking sign, "Come and talk to me!" People do.

I didn't get very far because I found a spot right on the bank of the low Mississippi River that was just chock full of birds. This cedar waxwing was surrounded by palm warblers, one Cape May warbler, yellow-rumped warblers, hundreds of robins, one Philadelphia vireo and a red-eyed vireo.  Behind me were gulls, herons and egrets so it was a great spot to point out birds.

I got this shot of a great egret and when I downloaded it noticed that there was also a drake mallard in the shot too--the drake is coming out of his eclipse plumage. His head is almost all green with that patch of brown. Ducks must be so relieved to be finished with their molt in the fall. I can't imagine what it must feel like to have thousands of pin feathers coming in at once.

I met a new birder Paul who was also taking photos. He said that he was relatively new to birding, but it's been awhile since I've met someone excited about geese. He took photos of them every chance he got--which is great. I think many birders overlook the "common" birds and he was focused on getting the best flight shots of them possible. He inspired me to take a few shots, I like getting photos of them squabbling.

The big treat for me were the sparrows. Check out Mr. Mutton Chops above--I love song sparrows, when you catch them in just the right angle, they have such a great pattern on their heads. Song sparrows are fun this time of year, they are in fresh plumage, the tee up nicely for photos and I LOVE listening to young song sparrows in a bush practicing their songs for next spring. They don't quite have it down and the sing over and over sound like sort of song sparrows.

I saw a group of four song sparrows as I was leaving. After I got a few shots, I continued the walk back to my car. I noticed something scurry like a mouse across the trail. Only it wasn't mouse shaped, it was bird shaped. "Lincoln's sparrow," I thought to myself. I set my scope up to where it had scrambled into the grasses and waited, knowing it would pop out again.

And it did. I love me some brown birds and a Lincoln's sparrow is always a great during migration. It has streaks like a song sparrow, although not as thick. They can even have a central breast spot like a song sparrow, but they don't quite have the mutton chops that the song sparrows have. Ah, what a great sparrow to find.

As I went up the trail to the parking lot, I apparently startled a tree. In fairness, it was dozing on the job so kind of had it coming.

Midwest Birding Symposium Highlights

I'm just back from the 2009 Midwest Birding Symposium and this was the most insanely busy birding event I have ever been to.  There was so much going on and so many people, my only complaint was that I didn't have the time to have an actual conversation with many people from people I want to meet to old friends I rarely see in person.

The symposium was held in a gated/resort community in northern Ohio, right on Lake Erie (and had a large feral cat population).  It's a small "dry" town with cute houses fitted close together owned by wealthy people--I learned that the cottage I was in is owned by the Windex family so I was blessed with bright shiny windows.  But you could walk/bike all over and it was interesting to walk from the cottage I was staying in to the speaker and vendor areas and pass birder after birder--many well known ones.  "Oh, hey, there's Kenn Kaufman.  And over there is Scott Weidensaul and over there is Sibley."  The small community had totally turned into Birderville: population 1000. I have to say, that Minnesota birder and one of the best speakers on the bird festival circuit, Al Batt, brought down the house with his keynote.  All the speakers were great, but Al as usual stood out and left people sore with laughter the next day--way to represent the Minnesota team, Al!  Speaking of speakers, Jim McCormac has a blog post up and if you scroll down, you can watch a video of Kenn Kaufman behaving like a horny mourning dove (so much for Lakeside being a dry community).

I didn't take the above photo of ring-billed gulls.  I lovely woman I met named Marilyn took it with my digiscoping set up.  Part of my duties at the symposium was helping out at the Swarovski booth and help people with digiscoping. Even in early morning with low light, she was able to get a great shot with my HD 80 scope, Nikon D40 and DCA digital adaptor.  I did enjoy working one on one with people to help them hone their technique...and explaining how to use Twitter.

The event was more about information and workshops than it was about birding but there was quite a bit going on.  The bird of the festival was a Kirtland's warbler that was spotted five minutes from the event and many were able to go out and get photos of this accommodating life bird.  Here's one over at 10,000 Birds.  I went to look for it late in the day on Friday and had to chuckle at all the birder litter guiding folks to the spot where it could be seen.  I did not see it, but I wasn't trying all that hard either (as can be seen in this blog entry over at Born Again Bird Watcher.  Although, while a I was laying on the ground avoiding warbler neck, a Cooper's hawk flew low over the group and I had the best view.  I joked that it appeared to have a warbler shaped crop and that was the reason we weren't seeing it.  I left early, I think a Kirtland's is one of those rare birds that I know I'll see one day, I'd like to make it to Michigan.  I actually spent more time watching shorebirds at the symposium--more on that later.

I had a total geek out moment.  I was included in the book signing area for City Birds/Country Birds and it was an honor to be surrounded by the likes of Julie Zickefoose and Scott Weidensaul (above), but the real excitement for me was getting to sit next to Lang Elliot!  He's written several great books, but many people out there know his voice.  If you have any birding cds, chances are good that you have heard his classic, subdued voice narrating the species' names.  I listened to these eight hours a day, five days a week when I worked at the bird store (eight years).  I have to say, he may sound scientific and stuffy based on the narration, but he's hilarious.  I told him that I had heard his voice so long saying bird names, I had always wanted to hear him swear.  So, he swore at me.  Loved it!  Love meeting these hardcore dedicated scientific types and learning that they've got a little freak flag in there and they're not afraid to wave it.

Congratulations to Bird Watcher's Digest and all of their hard working staff who made the event so well attended and so action-packed with great content!

Birding Around Almaty, Kazakhstan

You may recall that I took a little trip to Kazahstan in May...I still have a few posts left to write about this wonderful place.  I don't know if I will ever get back, but I hope I do.  I have said it before and I will say it again, if you want to feel like the only person on the planet, you find several spots that will give you that impression.

When we first arrived, we stay in Astana, a city still growing and full of new development.  It's on the Steppes which is basically short grass prairie, but the locals do try to grow trees and they are very small.  Above is a photo of Almaty, and older city with established trees and older buildings.

I was most curious about my accomodations at this hotel, in my travel itinerary it was described as a "Soviet Style Sanatorium."  However, as you can see in the above photo, the rooms were not padded and did not come with complimentary straight jackets.  They were very clean and simple.  The tubs were huge and even though I was tired and had to get up early, I refuse to let an opportunity to soak in a deep hot bath pass and took advantage of it.  I had a life bird singing the whole time right outside my room, a scops owl--kind of like an eastern screech-owl (here is what it sounds like).  It was not what I would call a soothing and relaxing sound...neither were some of my fellow birders outside my room trying to call it in.  I ended up putting on my headphones in order to fall asleep.

The next morning I woke up to some crazy birds outside--like Indian Mynahs.  Alas, it was a tad cloudy and drizzly so I was not able to get the best photos, the mynahs were very striking birds.  Here's a photo of what one looks like.

Here was a familiar bird--the Eurasion collared dove.  A bird working its way into the United States as an introduced species.  Again, here I was seeing the bird where it was supposed to be, Eurasia.  Our breakfast at this hotel was an odd combination of cold cuts, white sausages, cucumbers and tomatoes, cheese, some kind of cabbage salad and yogurt.  I was also getting accustomed to NestCafe--instant coffee granuals are not as bad as I thought.

We had quite a few destinations this rainy day, but some of the most exciting were around this cemetery.  Not quite as grand as some of the larger ones seen near Astana but still quite cool.  This spot was where we got our first look at hoopoes which were just too darn fast digiscoping on a cloudy day, but man what a dynamite looking bird.  And what a fun word to say.  Incidentally, it is pronounced "who poo" not "who poe."

We passed quite a few shrikes on the road and one was teed up in the cemetery.  For a bird that is known to impale it's prey on spikes and sharp barbs, a cemetery seemed the perfect place for it to establish territory.

Surrounding the cemetery were huge poppy fields.  We passed dozens of fields with wide swathes of crimson, full of poppies.  When we stopped near the cemetery, we did find an interesting, yet familiar plant growing among them which we all sensibly acknowledged but left behind with knowing smiles.

Another exciting species for me (but not as exciting for my fellow European birders in Kazakhstan) were these rollers.  They are kind of related to kingfishers.  They are a striking big blue bird and looked gorgeous over the poppy fields.

Another bird that showed up was the golden oriole.  Again, these are just the tip of the iceberg to the amazing birds and scenery that were yet to come this day.

Friday At Carpenter Nature Center

Not that I could deny before, but migration is totally on.  We got in our first fall white-throated sparrow in the banding nets at Carpenter Nature Center on Friday.  I think this is the earliest we've ever had one.  I'm very curious about this fall's migration.  Will our cold summer cause changes?  It's been too cool for backyard gardeners to get their tomatoes to ripen...what effects has there been on seeds and insects birds use to fatten up for the journey south?

Signs of summer are still around, check out this apparently well fed green frog that was lurking in Carpenter's new pond.  It was hiding in the grasses waiting for some unsuspecting insects to land nearby.  I love these frogs, they make a sound kind of like a banjo string being plucked.  Here's a link to a great video of green frogs calling.  At first I worried that this was a young bullfrog ( a non native frog that could cause problems in the pond) and so Jen and I looked up how to tell green frog from bullfrog.  Green frogs have a dorsolateral fold from their eye to their hips.  This frog had that fold, so that made it a green frog--whew.  You can read more about the differences over at the Hilton Pond site. 

Incidentally this is the best time of year to visit Carpenter Nature Center, the scenery is outstanding with the blooming goldenrod and asters.  It gets even better as the leaves begin to change color.  They have some great programs this fall from The Raptor Release to even a watercolor class in October (I might sign up for that). Note that swallowtail butterfly in the above photo?  Take a closer look at it below:

Some will look at this butterfly and think "Aw, poor thing!"  I look at it and think, "Man, that is one badass butterfly!"  How long has it survived to have such a ragged look.  That chunk missing out of its wing looks like the telltale patter of a bird beak.  Has it evaded numerous attempts to be eaten by flycatchers and swallows? Perhaps this is the oldest swallowtail of the summer.  It even bullied the honeybees and bumblebees trying to nectar along with it.

Cornhatch?

Usually, it is the hummingbird that is the best at communicating when the feeders are empty.  If you have a nectar feeder and it goes empty, one of the best clues is a hummingbird flying up to the window as if to let you know the nectar is bad or empty.  If you have studied bird behavior or worked with birds as an education animal, it's not a far stretch for bird--even a hummingbird with an incomprehensibly small brain to figure out that the large creatures in the building come out and fill the feeders.  The above white-breasted nuthatch has appeared to figure out the same strategy.  The other day, it was hanging around the suet sandwich (a great feeder if you are having raccoon problems, they can't seem to crack it).

I was out taking photos around this feeder still had a little bit of suet left in the center of it.  I was in deep inside, a woodpecker with a long tongue would have problem getting at the food, but a wee nuthatch with a short tongue would be SOL.  So, while I was out taking photos, this white-breasted nuthatch kept hanging out and just sitting on the feeder.  A nuthatch sitting still is immediate cause for suspicion.  At first I wonder if it sees a hawk, but no other birds at the surrounding feeders appear alarmed.  The nuthatch then worked around the feeder pecking the fake bark, the screw, any little crevice it could and then it would look at me as if to communicate, "I'd like to eat here, but there appears to be no fatty bounty on which for me to forage."

I filled the feeder.

I had some of what I would call "emergency suet."  Not the best stuff, it read "peanut suet" but had a ton of corn inside.  I filled both the suet sandwich and the suet log with the same stuff.  The nuthatch (and the downy and hairy woodpeckers) went for it.  I was really surprised at how they devoured it...especially when I think of all the times I have splurged on fancier cashew suets (that I made sure did not have corn).

The nuthatch did appear to be perplexed with the corn.  I love the above shot.  It set the corn kernal down on the log, repositioned it, picked it up, set it down and repeat.  I think the nuthatch was expecting the usual nut chips and the corn texture surprised it. As I watched teh nuthatches comeing in for the suet, they didn't eat it right at the feeder.  All of them (both white-breasted and red-breasted) would take a hunk and cache it in a nearby tree.  I'm not sure if they will eat it later this winter or not, but it's interesting to watch their reaction to corn.

Anyone else have nuthatches eating corn?

Young Finches Learning The Ropes At The Feeders

As signs of fall migration make themselves achingly apparent, many of the goldfinches in my area are still holding on strong to breeding plumage.  As I was digiscoping this male yesterday, I noticed differences in the bird calls around me.  No indigo bunting singing on territory or red-eyed vireo--that was first this month.  There were contact calls of warblers.  I did hear a scarlet tanager giving the old "chick-burr" behind me and noted that while the tanager was here, all the orioles were gone.  I know most people in my neck of the woods have lamented our cold summer.  Wearing a jacket in August is crazy, even by Minnesota standards, but I have loved it.  Although, as much as I enjoy cool nights and several days without turning on the air conditioner, I look at all my friends who cannot get a tomato to turn red in their gardens this summer and wonder how this affects the seed crops and insects fall migrants need to head south.  I also wonder if this means an exceptionally long winter as well.

I did notice this male goldfinch on the long tube with kind of a reverse goatee.  He's bald around his beak.  I seem to recall seeing this before in a goldfinch either last year or two years ago.  I wonder if it's an odd molt or some sort of mites (not unlike the bald cardinals we see this time of year).  This particular male had at least one recently fledged chick following him around to the feeders begging to be fed.

The adult male is on the bottom of the sunflower tube feeder and the begging chick is on the upper perch.  The adult would dutifully demonstrate how to get seed out of the port, while the younger bird above continued to beg.  Eventually, the young bird left the adult alone and tried pecking around the feeder.  It ignored the gaping opening of the feeding port, and pecked at the plexiglass tube.  It could see the seed and couldn't understand why it couldn't get at the food.

Eventually, the adult male flew to a different feeder and what does the young finch do? Continue to ignore the open port with food and hang upside down towards where the adult had been feeding and unsuccessfully pecking at the tube around the port.  Not the brightest bulb on the tree.

The young finch followed the adult male over to the Nyjer feeder and begrudgingly began to eat the seed out of that port.  All the while, continuing to flutter its wings in a food begging behavior.

The young bird finally left the Nyjer feeder and flew over to a black oil sunflower feeder.  Soon afterwards, it was joined by a young house finch (who had just a hint of pink show up along his flanks).  Both birds fed in peace, but periodically the larger house finch would lunge toward the goldfinch if it got too close.  I wonder if these will be the last of the fledglings I will see for the year?