With the weather turning cooler, we took pity on our little birdies this weekend and set out the new feeder and watering dish.
It took a good deal of scrubbing to clean the water dish, but once it was filled and placed on the shepherd's hook, the reward was watching the birds drink and bathe in the dish.
And the feeder got a good cleaning, also. Once seed was in it and it was hung on the opposite side of the shepherd's hook from the water, we had more feathered friends in a couple of hours than we could have dreamed to have. They literally flocked the place, including the holly bushes just beneath the feeder.
All this activity made me remember the year the Painted Bunting showed up. In fact, one showed up two years in a row, but I don't know if it was the same one both years.
Yesterday, the cats and I sat back from the window a little, so we couldn't be seen, and watched a bright red male Cardinal as he fed sunflower seeds to his little wifey (well, that's what I want to call her). It was like watching a movie. The cats surprised me at how still they could be, even with their tails switching slightly.
So, today when I got to work, I looked for just the right book to help me learn a little more about attracting more birds to the feeder. The book I selected is "How to Attract, House and Feed Birds" by Walter E. Schutz. It's an old book, but it's a goodie. Tells about bird watching, food, water, shelter, and some helpful hints. I was especially interested in that section, where it talks about winter care
of birds.
There's still lots for me to do before our coldest part of the year arrives. I need to stock up on peanut butter and suet (I plan to make my suet balls this year). And I want to find another source of water. Maybe one of those dishes with the small heating unit that doesn't shock the birds, but keeps their water from freezing.
I won't have any birdhouses. However, I do know that they sometimes make little homes in the holly bushes near the feeder, so they'll have homes. But if I can provide food and water at a time of the year when all the flying insects and bugs seem to be holding up somewhere else, then I'll be able to help feed them some. Winter's hard on the birds when their natural food hides from them.
This is a wonderful time of the year to watch birds. And we have plenty of books here at the library to help you learn about them. Just think, birdwatching and reading books from the library...nice fall and winter projects. And they're part of our FREE stuff!
Showing posts with label birdwatching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birdwatching. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
A Rare Georgia Bird Is Seen
Like most bird lovers, I feed birds. I have a double shepherd's hook stuck in the holly hedge just outside my workroom window. The hook holds a lantern bird feeder and a water dish.
One morning last week, I stared at a strange bird sitting on the edge of the feeder. I'd never seen such an amazing bird. It reminded me of an Indigo Bunting in size and shape, but it had a rosy-colored breast and rump, bright blue head, lime-green and brown wings, and a bright yellow patch across its shoulders. I was just mesmerized. The bird stayed on the feeder for about three minutes, then fluttered away. I wondered if I'd ever see it again.
My book about Georgia birds showed me a picture of a Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris). That was my strange bird. And here's what I learned:
The male Painted Buntings are the most spectacularly colored of all North American songbirds. This species has two distinct breeding populations in North America, but overall, it is rapidly disappearing from many of its nesting haunts near wetlands and rivers of coastal Georgia. The exact causes for the Painted Bunting's decline are not known, but they are believed to include habitat loss, cowbird parasitism, and trapping for the pet trade on its wintering
grounds.
The female Painted Buntings are not as brightly colored as the males, but they are also distinctive. The female has an overall greenish plumage which is more darkly colored above than below. Both birds are about 4-1/2 inches long with a small, conical bill. Its diet consists mostly of seeds and insects, and they forge mostly on the ground or in a low bush. But my painted bunting was on my bird
feeder!!!
It takes two years for a male Painted Bunting to become a brilliantly colored songbird. Many people are unaware that this small colorful finch is a native songbird that migrates in late April from southern Florida, the Caribbean Islands, and Mexico to its nesting areas in the U.S. (And mine showed up the first week of March!) Painted buntings nest along the coastal areas of Florida north to North Carolina, but they also nest inland near large coastal rivers in these states. In some areas, they use abandoned farmland, open woodlands adjacent to pastures, and hedges associated with farming. My Painted Bunting seemed happy to have found my holly hedge.
There's a cooperative program entitled the Southeastern Atlantic Painted Bunting Conservation Initiative (SAPABUCI), which was formed in 2001 to address the research and management needs of Painting Bunting populations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Through this group, people are cooperating in planning future research of the Bunting that will benefit the recovery of its population.
The Painted Bunting is also on the Audubon WatchList and is identified as an extremely high priority species in Partners in Flight's Bird Conservation Plan for the South Atlantic Coastal Plain.
So, now you can see why I've become so excited about the little Painted Bunting that landed on my bird feeder. And you know what? I did see him again. . .just this morning. Maybe he'll keep coming back. I'm sure going to keep feeding him.
Check out some of our library books and enjoy birding for yourself.
One morning last week, I stared at a strange bird sitting on the edge of the feeder. I'd never seen such an amazing bird. It reminded me of an Indigo Bunting in size and shape, but it had a rosy-colored breast and rump, bright blue head, lime-green and brown wings, and a bright yellow patch across its shoulders. I was just mesmerized. The bird stayed on the feeder for about three minutes, then fluttered away. I wondered if I'd ever see it again.
My book about Georgia birds showed me a picture of a Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris). That was my strange bird. And here's what I learned:
The male Painted Buntings are the most spectacularly colored of all North American songbirds. This species has two distinct breeding populations in North America, but overall, it is rapidly disappearing from many of its nesting haunts near wetlands and rivers of coastal Georgia. The exact causes for the Painted Bunting's decline are not known, but they are believed to include habitat loss, cowbird parasitism, and trapping for the pet trade on its wintering
grounds.
The female Painted Buntings are not as brightly colored as the males, but they are also distinctive. The female has an overall greenish plumage which is more darkly colored above than below. Both birds are about 4-1/2 inches long with a small, conical bill. Its diet consists mostly of seeds and insects, and they forge mostly on the ground or in a low bush. But my painted bunting was on my bird
feeder!!!
It takes two years for a male Painted Bunting to become a brilliantly colored songbird. Many people are unaware that this small colorful finch is a native songbird that migrates in late April from southern Florida, the Caribbean Islands, and Mexico to its nesting areas in the U.S. (And mine showed up the first week of March!) Painted buntings nest along the coastal areas of Florida north to North Carolina, but they also nest inland near large coastal rivers in these states. In some areas, they use abandoned farmland, open woodlands adjacent to pastures, and hedges associated with farming. My Painted Bunting seemed happy to have found my holly hedge.
There's a cooperative program entitled the Southeastern Atlantic Painted Bunting Conservation Initiative (SAPABUCI), which was formed in 2001 to address the research and management needs of Painting Bunting populations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Through this group, people are cooperating in planning future research of the Bunting that will benefit the recovery of its population.
The Painted Bunting is also on the Audubon WatchList and is identified as an extremely high priority species in Partners in Flight's Bird Conservation Plan for the South Atlantic Coastal Plain.
So, now you can see why I've become so excited about the little Painted Bunting that landed on my bird feeder. And you know what? I did see him again. . .just this morning. Maybe he'll keep coming back. I'm sure going to keep feeding him.
Check out some of our library books and enjoy birding for yourself.
- Birding by Joseph Michael Forshaw R598.07234 (in the Reference Section)
- The Bird Feeder Guide by Marcus Schneck 598.2S
- Birdwatching by Rob Hume 598.072H
- How to Attract Birds by Michael D. McKinley 598.07M
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