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THE EASTERN WOOD PEWEE! |
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| If in the spring you find yourself walking in the woods and you hear a clear “Pee-o- wee” or descending “peeeeer” song, take a look about midway up in the trees. On the end of a branch you might find a small sparrow-sized bird; the Eastern Wood Pewee. Olive green on the back with two pale white wing bars, little or no eye ring, a pale breast with a slightly darker wash on the sides are features defining this bird. Bills are dark on top with the lower bill being yellow, and they have shorter legs and longer wings than other flycatchers (their Latin name means “short-footed”). Males are slightly larger that the females. |
| Pewees arrive in late spring after the trees have leafed out - usually in mid-May in the northern states. The males return to the breeding grounds a few days before the females and begin singing. Generally the woodland breeding territory is two to six acres, and fidelity to breeding grounds is high, with the male returning to the same location (sometimes even the same branch on the same tree) each year. Courtship involves much chasing of the female by the male through the trees, with occasional, non-lethal, combats between males. Once mating occurs, a cup-shaped nest of woven grass, covered on the outside with lichens, is built on a horizontal limb of a tree. It is lined with hair, grass, and moss and resembles a larger Ruby-throated Hummingbird nest. Two to four milky white eggs with splotches are laid. The female incubates the eggs for about 12 days. The young are altricial (born without feathers and with their eyes closed) and are fed by both parents. The babies fledge in about 15 days. Nest predators of peewees are blue jays that will eat both the eggs and the young. |
| The pewee’s diet is almost totally insects that they catch in the air (flies, small wasps, beetles, moths) but they will also take ants and caterpillars from leaves and spider webs. They will also eat berries in the late summer and fall, but these make up a very small percentage of their diet. Pewees begin their southward migration in September and by the end of the month they have left their breeding territory. By October they have reached their wintering territories which extend from Panama to Bolivia. |
| WHAT A BIRD! (CONTOPUS VIRENS) |
| Pewee populations have been in slight decline for the past 25 years. It is believed this is due to habitat loss on their wintering grounds, as well as over-browsing by white-tailed deer on their breeding grounds. So take up the challenge this spring! While in the woods try to locate this little bird, the Eastern Wood Pewee - a bird that is often overlooked but fun to watch! Good birding to all! (for more information on Eastern Wood Pewee, click here) |
| Pewees like to perch quietly and then fly out quickly, almost exploding off the branch, to catch their flying insect prey. They will then fly back to the exact same perch, usually a dead branch about mid-level in the tree. Because of this preference for dead branches they have been nicknamed “dead limb bird”. Pewees are quiet in nature, are usually heard before they are seen and can be hard to spot. They are a bit reclusive and are almost always alone or with just their mate. They are also non-aggressive but will actively defend their territory by flying after larger birds and pecking at their backs. |
| Thanks for the photos to: Glen Tepke (click here for more photos by Glen) Mike Danzenbaker (click here for more photos by Mike) |
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