The Bird Feeder - part III

At times many species of birds come together to share the space in peace. This birch is their favourite perch and a great lookout. It is often possible to see the House Finches, Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches sharing the birch with Northern Flickers and even with noisy Steller's Jays.

Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus

American Goldfinch, Carduelis tristis
This finch will turn lemon-yellow in spring.

House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus
The male's red colour advertises his healthy state to a potential mate.
The intensity is related to the quality and abundance of food.

Steller's Jay, Cyanocitta stelleri  moved in from higher elevations for the winter. I read somewhere that these noisy birds move in flocks of 10 or more birds but that is not our experience. We usually see two or three during the fall and winter. In summertime they move into the woods somewhere higher up. It is quite amusing to watch them as they collect and stash away their seeds and nuts. They arrive and stuff their gullets with seeds to a bulging point. Then they fly away to store their treasure in a secret place - often under a bush where it is going to get covered by a thick layer of snow!  In most cases however, they store their food up in the trees and, in the winter, relying on their memory, they re-visit hundreds of locations where they hid the food. How, after such long periods of time and after using so many locations they can find their cache is beyond me. Luckily, I can rely on a variety of supermarkets rather than on my poor memory for my winter survival. Otherwise, you would never read this blog.

Busy, pre-winter time.

Periods of peaceful coexistence on the birch tree do not usually last very long. The weary birds keep an eye out for any movement, their numbers and behaviour helpful in detecting any danger. It takes one of them to freak out and in a split of an unnerving second they all take flight and head for a cover.

Their panic is often without a merit and seems to be a complete waste of energy.
But when the birch tree becomes abandoned and the birds are nowhere in sight we better look around, chances are that there could be a special visitor nearby. An American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos (or two) will make the little guys take off, but the birds will soon return. When the times get tough, the crows too, will explore the feeder and its vicinity. They are smart creatures, extremely aware of their surroundings and here in the countryside they (unlike their town dwelling, garbage picking cousins) will never allow me to get close to them .
I took this photo through our kitchen window - even so, they registered and, right took off.

If there is a Northern Shrike nearby, the small birds will disappear without a trace, and for as long as the shrike is in its hunting mode, all will be quiet around the yard . 

Fortunately for the birds, the shrike never stays long here - for a couple of weeks, maybe three at the most. It pearches high  on a tree every second day and then it is gone.

But the shrike's disappearance does not mean that the birds are home-free. 

Once in a blue moon, other, special visitors check in.  

Two winters ago a Hawk Owl,  Surnia ulula (what a great sound to its Latin name) 

settled on the very top of a young Douglas Fir surveying the grounds. The small birds are in a habit of mobbing owls but we have not witnessed this behaviour.

Hawk Owl hunts during the day and although it prefers to eat mice and voles, birds are also on its menu. 

It will swoop down on them from its perch where it sat motionless like a fluffy statue. Like all the owls, this one too has a great advantage when it comes to sitting still and yet, looking about. Its cervical vertebra, muscles and blood vessels are  is adapted in a way that allows the bird to turn its head in about 270 degrees each to either side! 

In addition the owl's plumage is also built in a special way helping to reduce the noise, that why its flight is "deathly" quiet. So when an owl swoops down it is usually too late for its prey before it realizes that a big trouble is on its way.

"Our" Hawk Owl visited for about a week. It occupied the birch tree where it sat patiently watching the space below. 

It might have been a scurrying mouse or an unwary bird, foraging on the ground that made it to swoop down on its silent wings. Too focused on taking a picture, I did not have time to check out if the hunt ended in success. The owl disappeared behind the shrubs giving me no further chance.

Hawk Owl stayed with us for a couple of more days before it moved on. 

It seems that our birch tree was only a stopover on its way to better, rodent-richer grounds.

And the birds? I found them hidden in the bushes, relying on camouflage and general confusion. 

Everything was quiet there, nobody moved, nobody made a sound. I happened to be only meters away before I noticed them at all.

Bobcat ...and the cat came back...

Yes, the Bobcat, Lynx rufus, returned!

Several days after the initial sighting, the bobcat and I met again. Meanwhile, someone in the neighborhood reported a lost Yorkshire Terrier. It went for a run outside the yard and never came back. Hard to know, but the coincidence is hard to ignore. 

The second time we saw him, and I do believe that this was a male, he was hunting in  the lower section of the property obviously checking out the rodents that were minding their business among the grasses and under the hard cover of snow. 

Absorbed in its hunt, the cat ignored everything else in the surrounding world. Just like any domestic cat, it noiselessly covered the ground on its quiet feet ...

than sat ... listened ...observed ... patiently waiting for its moment to arrive....

When it did the bobcat sprung up like a Jack from a box and in one elegant motion attacked its prey. 

Missed! 

At least I believed that he did, for there was no sign of a dinner.

Only after his unsuccessful hunt did the Bobcat become aware of the shining glass of my 400 mm lens. He gave me a very long look-over, a bunch of unfriendly thoughts and then, just like the first time, he dashed away, leaving me with a memory that will, forever, be hard to forget.

Bobcats' common name (in English) is derived from its short tail as this one demonstrates the case. Because of its reddish colour they might call it a red lynx  in other parts of the world.

Bobcats are elusive and territorial animals but the winter is their mating time. Males might start wondering and as the saying goes - love (or hunger for that matter ) is a powerful magician - so that's probably why this handsome creature lost its normal bobcat mind and let us witness the small portion of its bobcat day.

The Bird Feeder - part II

Winter continues and so do the Pine Siskin,  wars.
Identifying Pine Siskins by their Latin names will lead to Spinus pinus which is a protonym and/or the presently used Cardeuelis pinus.

It is both, a good challenge and fun, to try to freeze their flight and study the amazing variety of their movements and body language. The above image must be one of my favourite photos, and no, I did not Photoshop the bird in. It was just one of those lucky shots and I almost collapsed laughing when I saw what my camera captured on that beautiful, sunny, mid-winter afternoon.
Their eye-brain-muscle coordination floors me (you are reading a note from someone who just recently managed to fall off a treadmill while doing 5 km/hr). How much more is there to learn and will we EVER come close to knowing the ways of Nature?

Observing the Siskins evokes other thoughts: there is a much too familiar trait to their interactions - it seems to be better to loose a seed than letting the other guy have one, or spend a vast amount of energy in chasing and not being able to feed at all. There is a good study regarding childrens' psychology that describes nearly identical behaviour in human kind.

The others at the feeder value their energy much more than the siskin warriors. They do not squabble, lest fight. They just quickly fly in, preferably while the siskins are busy fighting, kidnap a sunflower seed and scurry away to safety of a nearby bush or tree.

There, choosing a nice little branch, they place the seed against its hard background and give it a thorough whacking until the shell breaks up. That's how it's done in a civilized society!

This is a Black-capped Chickadee, Poecile atricapillus, the one with the familiar chick-a-dee-dee-dee call. According to Richard Cannings and his Birds of Interior BC and the Rockies the number of "dee-dee-dees" increases if there is a predator nearby. I am trying not to quote too much but this is a really neat fact.
We have to try to observe this sometimes.

The other day we noticed that there was another, different, chickadee at the feeder. Same size, same shape and mostly same colours but it had a white streak - like a brow above the eye. It was a Mountain Chickadee, Poecile gambeli. Either we have not noticed it before or it is a new arrival at this place (though their ranges overlap in BC). in any case - the photo-hunt is on to capture an image and add it to this story.
Chickadees seem to come and go, so hopefully it will appear again.

1 day later:

OK, did my homework and assaulted a Mountain Chickadee - note the eyebrows. Both,  Black-capped and Mountain Chickadees were flying and feeding together.

It was sunny in the afternoon and the chickadee decided that it was a good time for some gymnastics in the sunshine.

Actually it was "just" preening - giving its coat a very thorough cleanup. 

Birds spend a very high percentage of their time by taking care of the feathers.

Poecile gambeli - did you know that you can find vernacular names - common names of species -  from different languages on www.commons.wikimedia.org ? 

Perhaps you can add some that are still missing  from your language too. 

Underneath a large cultivated cedar lives a pair of lively, almost neurotic birds. Each time one of them ventures out from the darkness of the underbrush, its dark-brown tail whips the air in rapid movements, propelling the bird in many directions (seemingly) at the same time.

Yes, this is a Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia (at least I hope that my identification is correct because this one has so many relatives that it gave me a good run before I dared to call it a name).

The Song Sparrows prefer to stay close to their apartment on the ground floor and not to fly too high or too far from it.
Once in a while we throw a handful of seeds into the darkness underneath the tree. It is a selfish action though, for not too long from now the male will pay us back with its clear, enthusiastic, spring song.

 To get a Song Sparrow portrait that was not fuzzy took me a while. I did not want to use a high ISO and the bird did not want to stay still. Finally, after setting up a blind and freezing my better parts in it for a very long time, I managed to catch this sparrow (a-male-or-a-female-?) in a state of  inertia.  When the bird showed up it wasn't sure about the "eye" of my lens staring at it from the darkness of the blind so it froze. 

After two seconds of inertia its tail flipped this way and that and the studio session was over. Thank you very much Song Sparrow.

Some like to fly a lot, some fly less and others not too much. But they all fly to get from place to place..

Then there are those who prefer to walk. Why fly when one could use one's legs to get from here to there? 

Flying is good for emergencies .... doesn't it look rather cool to march?

Horned Lark, Eremophila alpestris, is one of those marathon types. 

A very unusual visitor, the Horned Lark shared the yard with us only for a short time. A week at the most and then it was gone. It tried to establish its residence underneath the same cedar tree as the Song Sparrows did. It came out during the day, walked about trying to find some seeds (no insects on the menu at this time - sorry) it even took to the air couple of times (only to come back walking from behind the bushes). Then it was gone.

Perhaps the song sparrows did not like the lark's presence underneath their tree, perhaps some bird-eating monster shortened its life or perhaps it just decided that it was time to find more of its own kind and simply walked away.  In any case, we thoroughly enjoyed this bird's colours and determined looks. Happy travels buddy, and please, come back one day.

Speaking of monsters...I know that I am going to ruffle many feathers by making the following statement but...

CATS ARE NOT WELCOME!

There. I said it and I meant it and I would repeat it many times .... except ....

Well, it just happened so unexpectedly. 

It was nine A.M. and we'd just finished our morning coffee when I looked outside the window and noticed a cat !

A CAT !!!!! A VERY LARGE CAT !!!! 

I sprung to my feet planning to open the door and scare it away so badly that it would NEVER EVER dare to come back again.
But before I finished my first step something made me to look more carefully. It was not just any cat. It was a wild one. A Bobcat! Lynx rufus.

It walked nonchalantly about as if the entire property belonged to it. Mind you we do not live in the middle of the wilderness!
I ran for a camera, ran back and tried to sneak to the window. Forget it. Nonchalance was gone in a split of a second and so was the cat. All I managed to get was this:

I have never seen a wild cat in nature and must say that I was sorry to see it run away so fast. Why didn't I try to sneak upon it in some more intelligent manner .... why ...why ...
Then a song started to play in my mind:
"And the cat came back ..... and the cat came back." Over and over again. Meow. Hope dies last. Maybe we shall see each other again.
Who knows?

The Bird Feeder - part I

It is hard to believe that Winter has started only a couple of weeks ago. It has been mild so far, most winters here, in the West Kootenay region, are. What we lack in freezing temperatures we rack up in white, fluffy snow. Were I an avid skier I would post amazing images of white mountain ridges and dry powdery snow being carved in gracious curves by skis, snowboards and snowmobiles.
I shall leave this to those more adept - my winters are spent by observing furred and feathered creatures, their stamina as they deal with cold and hunger while waiting for the Sun to warm up the Earth.

It is already higher up in the sky - more with each day but it will take some time before it warms up the air and stirs the insects. Meanwhile everyone has to keep on scrambling - many appreciating the feeders of various kinds.
We like to leave our seed-bearing plants uncut and berries unpicked for the winter to ensure that those who share the winters with us have a variety of  foods.
There is Mountain Ash , Oregon Grape, Hawthorn just to name a few, and many kinds of cone-bearing conifers. Yet, each winter is a bit different - while last year's berries lasted until February, this year they have been picked clean in December. That's where the bird feeders come in.

Our visitors can differ too. There are those who are happy to stay with us all year.
American Goldfinches - Carduelis tristis - for one. They are quite a social bunch - even more so in the dead of winter. The males will turn bright yellow when their mating season comes but as of now that is still several months away.

And there are special guests.
Last year, for the first time since we've lived at this location, the American Goldfinches were joined by a flock of Common Redpolls - Carduelis flammea. he name "redpoll" refers to their red hats. These cute, lively, happily chattering birds arrived from north - why, the last year and not this, I am not sure. They stayed with us until February and then disappeared. I was hoping to see them this year again but it seems that, this year, we are out of luck. According to "Birds of Interior BC and the Rockies" by Richard Cannings, "they often vary on a two-year cycle" which means that we can keep our hopes for the next year.

Redpoll males have pink-reddish breast while females are more modestly coloured. Which means that the one below must be a female. I had a lot of fun sneaking up on these guys who, unlike goldfinches, did not seem to mind being photographed.

American Goldfinches and the Redpolls, cousins as they are in the classification system,  lived happily side by side feeding and chirping, even sleeping together, keeping an eye out for an enemy during the day and warming each other at night.

And the enemy showed up as well. Northern Shrike - Lanius excubitor arrived, as it often does, in November, then it disappeared for a while. Now, in January, it took residence here, near the feeding grounds. it seems to have a schedule - it appears every second day at about 10 am. Even though we do not see it arrive, we can often tell by the sudden disappearance of the little birds. Gone!  Surely enough, Northern Shrike perches on a tree, surveying the world below.

 It is a handsome bird but its beak and its black mask betray its occupation. Its feet however are not strong enough to pierce a bird - the shrike has to chase its prey and pin it down to a ground or a branch. We saw it once to chase a bird through the dense cedar tree. It was lightning fast and aggressive and capable of quick turns among the branches. The result of that pursuit remains a mystery to us but I would never want to be in the little bird's position. Caught, pinned down and clobbered to death.
Yet, that's the way of Nature and I, the meat-eating omnivore, have only one right: to observe.

Shrike (the bad guy), also catches mice and insects in the summer months so from my point of view it is also a good guy. Awwwh humans!
Perhaps we should simply remove the feeder!

(And get rid of the cat - no cat in this household!....and keep the raccoons at bay .... and .... lets keep this for another blog.)

Redpolls and goldfinches share the feeders with another cousin: it is Pine Siskin - Carduelis pinus (previously known as Spinus pinus). Although seemingly smaller than goldfinches and redpolls, pine siskins prove to be much more aggressive. Their beaks are thin, pointed and sharp and they constantly vie for a position by the feeder. They chase away redpolls and finches as well - and they are not gentle about it. They are mostly brown but the greatest machistas sport yellow bars on the wings - they show the best in flight - what a better way to announce who is the best  fed and bravest of them all!

This year and the year before last (a two year cycle as well?), we were graced by the presence of another colourful species - they too visit irregularly - at least at our location by Kootenay River.
They are Evening Grosbeaks - Coccothraustes vespertinus.

When they arrive - often in very large flocks, the feeders become empty in no time. Their powerful beaks break the sunflower shells with ease, bits of starchy sunflower flesh flying in all directions. The little guys love them, for they can pick bits and pieces left by the messy grosbeaks.

Male, as in most avian cases, is more colourful than the female, but in grosbeak's case, I was surprised by the beauty of the female's feathers - although not boasting the golden-yellows, the pattern on her wings and tail is stunning. Perhaps it is a good nesting pattern that helps her disappeared in lights and shadows of the woods.
For as soon as there are enough insects and buds these birds will return to higher elevations to roam  British Columbia's forests.

 And, of course, there are woodpeckers. Not all woodpecker species visit our place - our trees are not old enough. We might see a hairy woodpecker once in a while, but the others don't think that this place is worth making a stop-over.
Fortunately "the others" do not include Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus - our, often noisy, year-round companion. The flickers love our semi-open, semi-treed place. In summertime they can find kadzillions of their most favourite ants as these little creatures occupied the entire underground of the many acres of the sandy river banks. In summer the flickers often walk in the grass looking for the ants.
Although Pileated Woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus, also loves to eat ants, Northern Flicker is the only woodpecker making its living by probing the ground. They also love to eat stinkbugs - THANK you flickers!

The above creature is a male - sporting his red moustache and a bit of red under the wings (red-shafted) and tail. He is a westerner, that's why. The eastern species have do not have a red moustche but a bit of red on the nape. They have yellow wing lining and yellow under the tail. Books told me so.  

I have yet to see the yellow shafted flicker in nature but you can check it here.

The female is less adorned (as my Dad would always tell me when he caught me at the mirror applying  make-up.). It is the male who must stand out! ALWAYS!

Beautiful nonetheless.

There are more visitors, such as colourful house finches (yes, the males are red) and chickadees ( hooray - they are of the same, same, same - finally - unisex markings!) and special visitors ...... that really calls for a
Part II.of the Bird Feeder Series.

Meanwhile, I am going to leave you with a MALE photo that shows all the colours of this January day.