Blue Jay

The Blue Jay is a bird I will always associate with Oklahoma. From a very early age I can remember hearing their noisy calls, which would send me searching the tree tops for the familiar blue, crested bird. Blue Jays are known for their complex social systems with tight family bonds and are a very intelligent bird. They have a fondness for acorns which is credited with helping spread oak trees after the last glacial period.

Smaller than crows, but a little larger than a robin, these large crested songbirds have a broad, rounded tail. White or light gray underneath, they range various shades of blue, black, and white above. Blue Jays make a large variety of calls that carry long distances. Most calls are produced while the jay is perched within a tree. The Blue Jay can stuff food items in a throat pouch to cache elsewhere when eating.

A few fun facts about jays:

• Blue Jays have been known to mimic the calls of hawks, especially the Red-shouldered Hawk. It is unknown why, but has been theorized that these calls may provide information to other jays that a hawk is around, or may be used to deceive other species into believing a hawk is present.
• When feeding peacefully with family and flock members or tending to nestlings, Blue Jays lower their crests.
• The oldest known wild, banded Blue Jay lived to be at least 17 years 6 months old.

Blue Jays are partial to forests of oak trees but can be found in all kinds of forests; they are a forest edge bird and are common in urban and suburban areas, especially where oaks or bird feeders are found. Omnivores, Blue Jays glean insects and take nuts and seeds in trees, shrubs, and on the ground; they also eat grains. Blue Jays sometimes raid nests for eggs and nestlings, but it doesn’t seem to be a common activity among all jays. In a study of 530 birds, traces of bird eggs and nestlings were found in only 6 stomachs, although a search was specially made for every possible trace of bird remains. Blue Jays hold food items in their feet while pecking them open. Like squirrels and chipmunks, they store food in caches to eat later.

A clutch of 2–7 eggs are laid an open cup of twigs, grass, and sometimes mud, lined with rootlets placed in the crotch or thick outer branches of a deciduous or coniferous tree. After 17–18 days the bluish or light brown with brownish spotted eggs will hatch into naked and helpless nestlings. It generally takes 17 – 21 days for the hatchlings to fledge.

Fall Chores

Fall is here and winter’s cooler weather is approaching. For some areas, the cold of winter is becoming a reality. As a reminder, I thought it would be nice to make a list of things to do to prepare for the time of year that can be a real stress for the feathered friends in our neighborhood.
Clean out all nest boxes and put them away. A solution of one cup of bleach to one gallon of water should be enough to clean out any parasites trying to hibernate through the winter. Also, failing to take down nesting boxes could be an invitation to sparrows and starlings to set up winter quarters.
By now you should have taken down any hummingbird feeders. Those little guys have a real long migration and shouldn’t be lingering up here in the cold. Discard broken feeders and clean up those that can be reused.
If you don’t have a heated birdbath you should probably empty it out, scrub it up real good and either turn over the top to keep snow and ice from accumulating, or cover it up. If your birdbath has a heated feature go ahead and give it a good scrubbing before refilling it to provide water when most natural sources will be frozen over.
Take down your bird feeders and give them a good once over. Discard any that have broken with time and weather. Clean these as well and refill to provide winter nourishment. You may want to change what you feed now as some of your birdlife will probably change as the different species migrate to their winter ranges. Suet feeders are a great addition this time of year. Don’t forget to clean up around the base of your feeders. Accumulated seed hulls and discarded seed can breed nasty little germs over the winter. Not something we want to greet the birds with on their return in the spring.
Fall and winter are also great times to keep an eye on the clearance aisles of your local bird supply store. You can pick up some pretty good bargains if you have the room to store extra feeders or houses. If you’re pretty handy with a saw and hammer, now’s the time to build a couple more bluebird houses, or nesting platforms if you’re lucky enough to live close to the water. After you’ve completed these chores, pick up your favorite birding magazine; sit back with a cup of hot chocolate and an afghan and dream of spring.

Northern Cardinal

I have to admit a definite fondness for the Northern Cardinal. These bright red birds are one of the first to draw my attention to our backyard feeders each year. As a teenager in Oklahoma I can remember a pair that nested in the honeysuckle that grew around our propane tank. My sisters and I would peek in each day to see the progression of the eggs and nestlings. It didn't seem to bother the parents, but my mom scolded us several times for being too nosey.

Although they stay around all year, I don't start to notice the Cardinals until the spring when their breeding plumage brightens to the familiar scarlet. They really don't molt during winter and become dull, it's just, to me, the spring time makes them much more noticeable. Maybe it's because we don't get as much snow here as they do in more northern climates, so the birds just don't stand out as much as they would from a snowy background.

Cardinals are members of the finch family. The male is red all over with black immediately around a red bill. The female is a duller brown with red tones. The Northern Cardinal has a very nice call of pretty pretty pretty pretty or sweet sweet sweet sweet. This spring a lone male announced his availability to all the world from an oak tree overhanging our yard. He would flit higher and higher, calling as he did so. I did see one pair, but, alas, he wasn't a member and I didn't see him get to hook up with a female. Maybe next year he'll have better luck.

The female does most of the nest building, with the male bringing her the materials. They'll use twigs, grasses, bits of trash, leaves, and stems to make a four layer nest in the crook of a tree. The female lays two to five white eggs speckled with brown which she will incubate for around 12 days. Nestlings take anywhere from seven to 13 days to fledge. This year we were so very lucky to have one clutch led to the feeder outside our office window. It was a real treat to see the young Cardinals all together. Northern Cardinals generally are ground feeders, but I have seen them land on the feeder at my window. They feed mainly on seeds and fruits, but will also eat insects. Nestlings are fed primarily insects.

Black Capped Chickadee

A regular winter visitor to my bird feeders is the Black Capped Chickadee. These tiny, birds with their antics are a source of great amusement as they fly to and from the feeder, fetching a single seed and flying away to a nearby branch to peck it open and eat the kernel inside. A talented acrobat, they will hang upside down on a feeder or suet basket. Distinguished from their cousin the Carolina Chickadee by their prominent black cap and throat, they are a dull, dirty white below with darker grey back and wings. The most recognizable attribute of a Black Capped Chickadee is their buzzing chicka-dee-dee-dee call.

Chickadees can be found in the winter enjoying the milder southern climate from Maryland to Texas with overlapping breeding range from New Jersey into Canada. Having adapted well to suburban life, the Chickadee can be found in mixed and deciduous woods, willow thickets and very common at backyard feeders.

Their preferred nesting site is a rotted tree in which they've excavated a hole and lined with plant down or bits of fur. Six to eight brown speckled eggs are laid and will take 12 to 13 days to hatch. Nestlings will take slightly less than two weeks to fledge. Chickadees will eat seeds, insects, bits of meat and fat from carcasses and suet. It is said that these little birds have a dominance hierarchy within their flocks. They sleep in their own cavities even during the coldest temperatures. Other birds will associate with the Black Capped Chickadee since they are very alert and will give alarm calls to warn of danger. The best way to attract these birds in your yard is to feed peanuts or sunflower seeds, and provide nesting boxes placed back in the woods with sawdust or wood shavings in the bottom.

Mourning Doves - A Haunting Call

Generally considered a rather dull, nondescript, common bird, Mourning Doves are one of my favorite birds. The coloration listed in my Audubon Field Guide is "soft sandy buff" but to my eyes, they have an almost iridescent mauve coloring to their breast, with black tipped, white tail feathers and black spots on their back. Their outline is quite unmistakable, as is the quick beating of their wings as they fly past.

Mourning Doves can be found almost anywhere from southern Canada to Northern Mexico. They seem to prefer suburban neighborhoods and other open areas with nearby shrubs and trees. Their nest is loosely constructed of twigs, and I've even observed one dove that nested on my bare window sill behind a growth of yellow trumpet vine. Two white eggs are the norm for Mourning Doves with an incubation period of about 14 days. Nestlings take about two weeks to fledge. The call is where this beautiful bird gets its name - the haunting, mournful coo is a sound I have become accustomed to hearing in every area I've lived.

The mourning doves that visit my yard can be rather scrappy birds, unfazed by squirrels feeding beside them, and even chasing away the grackles. They prefer to feed on the ground, and seem to thoroughly enjoy the black oil sunflower seeds I provide. They, along with the squirrels, keep the areas under my bird feeders pretty clean of seed wasted by other birds. Their diet consists of grains, wild grass seeds, some berries, an occasional snail, and even peanuts. As with most birds, attracting them to your yard is as easy as providing food, shelter, and water.

Observing Mourning Doves is relatively easy, since they become accustomed to your movements around the yard and garden. The visitors to my yard will generally keep right on feeding even as I walk around my deck, I just can't get too close for their comfort or off they'll go with a signature "wheat, wheat, wheat" call. I've also been able to watch them through the open window of my office, which has a bird feeder approximately ten feet away.

What Is A Birdwatcher?

Good question you might answer. Or, duh, what do you think it means? For me, a birdwatcher is someone who has a true interest in the habitats, habits, lives, and sightings of any bird. From songbirds to raptors to wetland to game birds, I've got a love of them all.

I'm not sure exactly when I came to referring to myself as a birdwatcher, but I do remember exactly when my interest began. Copan, Oklahoma, ninth grade science class. Our teacher gave us a project to look for as many birds as we could find, study them, find out all the information we could, and prepare a report on all of our findings. I got an A, found more birds than I ever realized, and was hooked forever. My sisters grew tired of my constant insistence of sitting by the door when we wouldd drive somewhere. I just knew if I couldn't look out the window, I might miss something important. I've passed on my birding interest to all four of my children at different levels. My youngest son is almost as avid as I am, the eldest daughter enjoys pointing out birds to her young daughter, the youngest daughter likes to watch the birds that come to our feeders, and the eldest son is mostly concerned with which ones are the best for hunting.

Thankfully, my sweetheart also enjoys putting up bird feeders, keeping the birdbath filled, and seeing what birds happen into our yard. I can't describe the pleasure I get from seeing the first hummingbird migrate back into our area and investigate the flowers in my gardens. I just know he's telling me it's time to put out the nectar for him. Or, even the dark eyed juncos and various hawks migrating through. This year we've put up two additional feeders to go with the two we already bought last summer. I fill them with black oil sunflower seed, which is what I've always fed. I'm not sure if that's the best for my area in upper Delaware. The in-laws have always fed a songbird mix and have had good luck attracting a variety of birds to their yard.

I look forward to imparting the information I have accrued over the years and hearing from those who happen on my blog. After all, the creation of a birdwatcher begins with the sharing of knowledge.