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| INTERESTING ODDS & ENDS archive #7 |
| Essays / Backyard / Tips & Quiz / Links / Sightings / Conservation / Bird ID / Featured Bird / My Photos / Seasonal Spots / Home |
| 10 TIPS ON LEARNING THOSE SONGS! (from Birder’s World Magazine, June 2005) 1- Start At Home: listen to those backyard birds and see who is making what sound 2- Learn Common Birds First: the one you see most often will be the ones you remember the quickest. 3- Watch the Singer: a great way to place the song with the bird is to see it and hear it at the same time. 4- Target Birds in Your Area: pick a few birds at a time to learn and “zero” in on them by listening to CD recordings and memorize. 5- Trust Time-Tested Phrases: phrases like “peter, peter, peter” representing the song of the Titmouse, or “drink your teeeea…” for the Towhee. 6- Whistle the Bird’s Song: If you can whistle at the birds’ pitch it will give you a clue and help you narrow down the possibliities. 7- Put Sounds Into Words: use descriptive words to define the song quality; repeating, varying, grating, nasally, fast, slow, whistling, high/low, buzzy. 8- Compare New Songs to Old Favorites: as you learn a new song, compare it to ones you have already learned. Is it faster than the Chickadee’s, higher in pitch, etc.? 9- Listen for Songs of Ancestors: group into species. For instance, most orioles have short, whistled phrases; thrushes have flute-like songs; warblers usually have high pitched songs; flycatchers songs are usually short, quick calls. 10- Tune Up For Warblers: during the winter listen to CDs with warbler songs. In the car is a great place to listen to a bird song CD. By spring you will have memorized quite a few songs and will be ready for spring migration! |
| ”OUR” BIRDS – DIFFERENT NAMES (from Birder’s World, December 2004) Some birds, found here in North America, are also found elsewhere around the world. Birds like the Barn Swallow and the Barn Owl can be found not only here but in South America, Britain, Europe, Russia, Sub-Saharan Africa, India, Australia and the East Indies. Black-crowned Night Herons breed on all continents except Australia and Antarctica. Some birds that are found elsewhere can be known by different names. Here are some examples of birds found in Europe and Asia and their “aliases”: loons (divers), Common Merganser (Goosander), Northern Harrier (Hen Harrier), Rough-legged Hawk (Rough-legged Buzzard), Horned Lark (Shore Lark), Bank Swallow (Sand Martin), Northern Shrike (Great Grey Shrike). |
| TEN WAYS TO HELP NESTING BIRDS (from BirdWatersDigest.com) 1 Provide Clean water for bathing & drinking 2 If you find a nest, leave it alone and don’t return; predators can follow the human scent to baby birds 3 Don’t mow meadows or brushy areas between April and Mid-August 4 Take in suet & mealworms; suet can foul feathers and too many mealy worms can cause birds to nest too many times due to overabundance of food 5 Put out eggshells for birds; good source of calcium. Dry them in oven (about 10 minutes at 250) and then crumble them into small pieces 6 Offer pet or human hair to birds for nesting material 7 Put out short pieces of string or yarn for nesting 8 Don’t trim hedges & shrubs for nesting places 9 Provide nest boxes 10 Keep cat indoors |
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| STATISTICS FROM THE GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT (GBBC) (from BirdScope Magazine, Spring 2005, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) The GBBC is a “Citizen Science” project that takes place every year during the month of February. It is when tens of thousands of people, just like you, count their backyard birds and send the results to the Cornell Lab. The GBBC records birds from all 50 states, adding to our knowledge of where birds are and their population sizes. Some interesting statistics: there were 6,508,295 birds counted, 613 species observed, 51,927 checklists submitted. most numerous bird counted was the Snow Goose (835,369l), the most frequently reported was the Northern Cardinal, fourteen species of hummingbirds were reported, unprecedented numbers of Great Gray Owls further south than usual (in Minnesota & Wisconsin). |
| BIRD “POOP” (from BirdWatchersDigest.com) Did you know that birds do not have bladders? That’s because birds don’t urinate. They produce uric acid made up of nitrogenous wastes, which is created in the kidneys. Just before it passes out of the bird through the cloaca (where all feces, urine, sperm & eggs pass) it mixes with water in the cloaca wall and turns into the semisolid white paste that mixes with darker feces and makes that stuff we all know as “bird poop”. You know, that stuff on your windshield?! The cloaca replaces the bladder and is a weight saving adaptation. And what else do we know about “bird poop”? Many larger birds, like geese and raptors may “drop a good size load” before take-off, which may be done to reduce weight. Some waterfowl defecate on their eggs in order to “render them unpalatable” to predators. Many baby birds can eject their waste out of the nest, often a good distance away. American Kestrel nestlings project their waste onto the walls of their nesting cavity, possibly to help kill off harmful bacteria, which may also be why vultures defecate on their legs. Belted Kingfisher nestlings also defecate on the walls of their burrows and then peck at the wall above the feces until the falling dirt covers the feces. Some baby birds waste is produced in sacs (“fecal sacs”) that are then removed by the parents. Grackles, martins and swallows are known to drop these fecal sacs into water; grackles are famous for dropping these sacs into swimming pools! Some bird species will eat the fecal sacs produced by their offspring, which sounds “yucky” to us but does contain valuable protein and nutrients. |
| BIRD COLOR (from BirdWatchersDigest.com) According to studies color plays an important role in bird mate choosing. Bright plumage can advertise, to a female, the virility and good health of a prospective male mate. For instance, in American Goldfinch, a male can be seen to be virile and healthy by the brightness of his yellow feathers. Since yellow feathers get their color from what the bird is eating, bright yellow feathers show that the male is well-fed and healthy. Underfed males will have a dull or paler coloration. Also, the carotenoids in the food that produce coloration are also powerful antioxidants and can aid in fighting disease and parasites. Therefore, his coloration also shows he will be healthy and able to take care of a family. Interestingly, when it comes to black, brown or gray feathers, coloration comes from melanins which are related to hormones. The darker feathers with these colors will advertise the dominance and aggression of “macho” birds. An example would be the House Sparrow; the blacker the bib on the breast, the higher in dominance the bird is. And you thought that bright yellow Goldfinch was just a pretty face! |
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| A Site About Long Island Birds & Birdwatching |
| SANDERLING IN TROUBLE (from Audubon Magazine, January-February, 2005) Due to loss of long beaches, the sanderling is declining in numbers. Due to their ceaseless running along, and into, the surf for small invertebrates, long stretches of beach are “a must for their survival”. Human development along coasts are threatening the necessary habitat for these birds. These small, and amazing, birds make yearly flights (twice a year) between the high Arctic Tundra (where they breed) and their winter homes in Central and South America. Unfortunately, both of their habitats are threatened, causing concern among biologists. |
| HOW IS WINGSPAN AND WING CHORD MEASURED? (from Birder’s World Magazine, June 2005) Wingspan is measured from wingtip to wingtip. Due to the variability of individual size within species as well as gender differences, the measurements given in field guides are usually an approximation. Wing chord measurements are taken from the “bend of the wing to the longest flight feather. |
| BIRDS THAT LIKE IT SWEET OR SAPPY (from Birder’s World Magazine, June 2005 & April 2005) The Cape May Warbler is the only warbler with a tubular tongue that sips nectar from fruit and will occasionally even come to nectar feeders. Other birds that may come to Hummingbird feeders (if the feeder is big enough) are orioles and even Downy woodpeckers. Jelly or marmalade will attract orioles, catbirds, tanagers, nuthatch and Cape May warblers. (Don’t put out too much though, as they can get mired in it!) Fruit treats like oranges, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, chopped grapes and apples will attract orioles, robins, catbirds, bluebirds and some warblers. Although not a “feeder” bird Cedar Waxwing like crab apples and blossoms and will pass the treats from one bird to another, “sharing” the treat with the flock. (Actually this behavior allows for easier digestion of the fruit as each bird’s saliva will soften the waxy coating on the fruit so that by the time it gets to the last bird it is able to be digested.) Sapsuckers, a species that drills shallow, squarish holes on patches of tree bark, feed on the tree sap with brush-like tongues. Sap can make from 20 – 100 percent of the sapsucker’s diet. The bird will maintain these holes, keeping the sap running, and defend rigorously against other sap-sucking birds like Hummingbirds, Cape May warblers. |