Up Front Feeding Fun

I had a birdfeeder epiphany a few weeks ago - all my feeders are in the backyard, and while I'm working studiously on upgrading the landscaping to create a bird sanctuary, it is obviously a long-term project and a slow process. Meanwhile, I have mature aspen trees, small blue spruce trees, boulders, and a few shrubs already in my front yard, but no birdfeeders. Why not?

Most people tend to put all their birdfeeders in the backyard because that is a center of outdoor activity for play areas, a grill, deck, spa, or whatever may be available, making backyard birding convenient for backyard feeders. While it is the same for us, I miss out on much of the bird activity because my office faces the front yard. So why, then, don't I have feeders in my front yard? Last weekend, I changed that by purchasing another feeder pole and wooden hopper feeder from Bill Fenimore at the Wild Bird Center in Layton (can I possibly recommend him enough?). Installing it was a hassle, as our soil is quite rocky and the pole is difficult to sink straight, but we managed.

For a day or two the feeder and its bounty of sunflower chips sat lonely and desolate. I was concerned that perhaps the busy street we live on was too much of a disruption that the birds wouldn't appreciate, but that was not to be. Within two days one female house finch had found the feeder, and the next day she returned with a male house finch and a male house sparrow. Today, the feeder's popularity has boomed and a boisterous flock of house finches and house sparrows was waiting turns to feed -- the nearby boulder, the small shrubs, and even my office windowbox became perches for hungry birds. The level of seed is dropping quickly, and I look forward to filling it. I may not have brought birds all the way into my office, but they're just a glance away.

If you only have feeders in one spot in your yard, I highly recommend adding more in different areas. Watch where the birds congregate - long before I considered adding feeders to the front yard, I'd seen the popularity of the blue spruce trees as flock hangouts. Check your bird activity, and plan accordingly to expand your own feeder selections. Happy birding!

Not sure which feeders to add to your yard? Give these easy feeders a try!

Storing Up for Winter

The weather is definitely cooling off, the days are getting much shorter, and there's a nip in the air whenever I go out to refill the feeders. Just as so many animals cache food for the winter -- even birds -- so too should birders be sure they're ready for the change in seasons. In the past couple of weeks, I have...

• Swapped out some larger capacity summer feeders for smaller, more sheltered winter designs
• Rigged a way to shelter my ground feeders beneath the patio table to keep them free from snow
• Installed my birdbath heater
• Inventoried my store of seed and added to the stock with extra millet and sunflower chips

At this point, I have more than 150 pounds of birdseed ready to go, of many different types: sunflower chips, millet mix, straight nyger, straight black oil sunflower seed, whole peanuts, cracked corn, and a nyger and sunflower chip mix. But where is it all? One of the landscaping improvements this summer was to add a birdseed shed at the edge of the patio, very conveniently located for refilling feeders. In it I not only stock my seed (all in appropriate plastic containers, transparent for easy choice), but also feeder and birdbath cleaning supplies, my filling cup, gloves, a pitcher to refill the birdbath, a broom for sweeping up the patio, and a step stool for reaching the higher feeders hanging from our gutter. I also have a bin that holds miscellaneous supplies, such as small cups, extra chains, and various accessories.

Storing birdseed and supplies properly can make a world of difference for enjoying refilling your feeders instead of making it into a chore. While not everyone will need - or want - a dedicated shed, if you find a way that works for you you'll be sure to keep the feeders filled and the birds happy all winter long.

Check out this article on storing birdseed properly for more tips!

Mountains of Lifers

It's easy for birders to assume that the waning autumn is a poor time to find new and unusual birds, particularly if you are not located along a major migration flyway. To my delight, however, I've discovered just the opposite. Twice in the past weeks I've been hiking in the mountains and been fortunate enough to add new lifers to my ever growing life list.

The most recent additions come with their own startling observations. First, I've added the first bluebird to my life list - the mountain bluebird. While driving past a field that had recently been plowed under, I spotted several birds flitting about a small stand of trees, and we stopped to investigate. The birds were perching, then diving to the ground and rooting for worms in the soft soil, which they'd then take back to their perch to feed upon. Watching carefully, the faint field marks of a pale eye ring, dusky blue-gray back, buff wash on the chest, and brighter blue wing edges and tail feathers were obvious, and the mountain bluebird was confirmed, specifically a flock of female birds. The most fascinating part of the sighting is that they were completely unafraid of my presence as I crept closer and closer, and they simply went about their business.

The second lifer I stumbled upon quite literally as we were hiking along Mt. Nebo in search of Devil's Kitchen, a rare and stunningly beautiful formation. After viewing the fabulous red rocks, we came back down the short trail and not five feet away was a juvenile dusky grouse - the bird's camouflage was most complete, but the mottled flanks, plainer back of the neck, and wide gray strip at the tip of the tail identified the bird quite well.

Both of these new lifers came upon me when I wasn't seriously birding - while I did have my field bag and binoculars available (as a serious birder always will), we were more interested in seeing the brilliant fall colors and the unique geological formations of our neighboring mountains. It just goes to show, however, that you're best off never stopping your birding habits - even in the autumn weather or on a short walk, you never know what new lifers you may find - or that may find you!

Hunting Hawk

I'm always thrilled when my backyard birds put on a wild kingdom act, whether it's feeder aggression threat displays, begging fledglings, bathing, preening, or stretching out in the sun. The most exciting events, however, are hunting hawks, and I've been priviledged recently to have my Cooper's hawk, Dart, attack in my yard.

Many birders have a soft spot for their backyard birds and despair if a hawk scatters the flock or manages to catch a songbird. I look at the hunt a bit differently: these birds don't hunt for fun or sport, and only about one tenth of the time are they successful in catching their dinner. They don't waste food, and they're just as vital a part of ecological health as any bird. The birds a hawk catches are often sick, weak, or simply have slower reflexes than their peers, and thus a flock is strengthened whenever one of these weaker links falls prey to a hawk.

This hunt seemed to be one of Dart's most successful. While Cooper's hawks regularly feed on birds, including larger birds such as doves, her juvenile reflexes and strength aren't as sharpened as an adult's would be. After catching this unfortunate Eurasian collared dove (you can tell by the size and coloration of the bird), she fluttered with it for several feet in ungainly hops before finally getting good enough purchase with her talons to carry it over the fence and to a more secluded spot to dine. I particularly like the photo I managed to snap of her regarding the dove, as if wondering just what to do next.

Hawks are outstanding creatures, and both sharp-shinned and Cooper's hawks are regular visitors to backyards here in Utah. For more information, I highly recommend...

• Cooper's Hawk Profile
• Sharp-Shinned Hawk Profile
• Cooper's Hawk or Sharp-Shinned Hawk? Identification Tips
• How to Protect Backyard Birds From Hawks

Most of all, remember to enjoy the hawks when they grace your yard with a visit. It may not be the ideal image you have of backyard birdfeeding, but any visit from a less frequent bird is a sighting to be enjoyed and treasured. Happy birding!

Making Plans

While the birds may be heading south now, I'm already making plans for their return next spring: specifically, I'm on the planning committee for the 2010 Great Salt Lake Bird Festival, which will be May 13-17, 2010, right in the midst of spring migration. The festival will include numerous workshops, bird-related vendors and artwork, expert guest speakers, and dozens of field trips to prime birding locations in northern Utah, including some of my favorites -- Antelope Island, Farmington Bay, and more. The spotlight bird is the burrowing owl, a western owl with long legs, bright eyes, and a mild disposition.

If you'd like to learn more about the Festival, there will be an information booth this Saturday (10/10) at the Wild Bird Center in Layton, as part of the store's ninth anniversary celebration. There will also be live birds of prey, Audubon chapters, prize giveaways, and more. I will be manning the information booth from 10 a.m. until noon, but it will be there in the afternoon as well with other members of the planning committee. If you've never attended a bird festival and would like to know what one is all about, please do stop by!

Birds a Brewin'

Fall migration is always a wonderful time, even more so when it makes stops in your backyard as it did with mine this week. I was working at the dining table, always watching the sparrows and house finches munch at the platform feeders, when I noticed that one of the sparrows looked different than the rest of my dinner guests. It had a distinct pale eye ring, very fine streaking on the head, a clear breast and abdomen, long tail, beige-washed cheeks, and the faintest black moustache. A Brewer's sparrow had come to visit! Not a new bird for my life list, but definitely a new backyard visitor.

He only stayed the one afternoon, but returned to the feeders several times to snack on millet and black oil sunflower seeds. I had some great looks through my new binoculars, even when he retreated to the neighbor's tree (several branches overhang our fence), and I enjoyed his company, however brief it may have been.

We need to enjoy the fall migration and enjoy the new visitors it brings to our feeders; it's yet one more way to appreciate the outstanding diversity that fills our skies. Keep your feeders full and your resident flocks will catch a visitor's eye, bringing them in for a bite. I can't wait to see who arrives next!

Attract migrating birds with these great tips!

Fun in the First of Fall

Fall is upon us here in Utah, or at least it seems that way to gaze up at the mountains as they turn brilliant shades of orange and red. The yellow coloration isn't quite here completely yet, but it will come as the season blazes to a spectacular finish.

It can't get much more spectacular than the nearly four hour hike through the mountains I did today, with two new lifer birds joining my list. The first was the mountain chickadee, a perky, active bird of high pine forests that is much like its more familiar cousin, the black capped chickadee. Easily distinguishable by the bold white eyebrow that the black capped variation lacks, the mountain chickadee is still a beautiful and feisty bird that I was thrilled to see. That was at the beginning of the hike, which eventually led to the stunning Stewart Falls waterfall cascade.

On the return hike I again spotted the mountain chickadees flitting through the same area of trees, and when I was raising my binoculars to watch them once more I commented to my husband that what I really wanted to see was a nuthatch, a type of bird completely lacking from my life list. To my surprise, however, it wasn't just mountain chickadees flitting in the pines this time - they were joined by at least two red-breasted nuthatches. Ask and ye shall receive! Not only could I observe them quite well, but their distinctive "henk-henk-henk" call couldn't have been clearer.

In addition to these fabulous new lifers, the walk yielded some other great sightings...

• Steller's Jay - Calling through the woods and pecking furiously at the pines.
• Red Tailed Hawk - A dark morph soaring over the mountainside, as well as a clear, vibrant call.
• American Robins - Pecking away at berries in a high mountain grassland clearing.
• Black Capped Chickadees - Toiling away in the grasses and aspens as they flitted for food, though one brave little bird posed beautifully for a moment.

Chipmunks and squirrels rounded out the sightings, though there were other unidentified birds that continually taunted me both with their calls and with brief glimpses too quick for confirmations.

Thus ends a beautiful fall weekend; I'm already looking forward to next weekend, when we'll likely scout a different location and who knows what we may find.

These fall birding tips can help you make the most of this season's birds!

Corny Visitor

I haven't been birding much in the past couple of weeks, but the action locally has been exquisite. Not only have I continued to see Dart around our neighborhood, but during a drive near the Provo Airport this evening, I spotted a pair of lovely Swainson's hawks hanging out on power poles. The birds - new on my life list - are unmistakable with their white chins and brown bibs, and these were bold enough not to be afraid of me getting out of the car for a better look (I really do need to remember to bring my binoculars whenever I leave the house), though they got agitated enough for a grumpy screech before flying away. The flying is good, however, since it gave me a chance to check under their wings and be sure of their identity.

Even bigger is the backyard news, though it's not so birdy. I've heard many a tale of birders lamenting the visits from squirrels in their backyard - fuzzy, uninvited guests who clean out birdfeeders in a flash while preventing any birds from sharing a bite. Living in an urban area without mature trees, however, I've never been pestered by squirrels. This week, I was thrilled to see a fluffy, fuzzy tail scamper across my patio, and more thrilled still to see it attached to a squirrel with a fondness for cracked corn. I feed the corn in a shallow, wire mesh platform for the sparrows and doves, but this squirrel was even more entranced by the offering as his cheeks puffed out further and further as he munched. When he spotted me watching and snapping pictures, he flashed away, vanishing into my neighbor's woodshed where, I'm sure, he has a nice stash of corn. While I may change my mind if my yard becomes a squirrel sanctuary, for now I'm happy to have yet another guest at the feeders.

If you have problems with squirrels, check out this article about how to squirrel-proof a birdfeeder!

Cool as a Cooper's

Exciting news from the backyard this week: after careful study, consultation with Bill Fenimore, and more than a little research, I've concluded that this year's mystery hawk is a juvenile Cooper's hawk. I'm thrilled, as my earlier hawk visitors have most definately been sharp shinned hawks, but from the outset this one looked different. Not so much in general coloration - though the slight red tinge on the cheek and the differences in the spotting are clues - but the fact that this bird just seemed immediately larger and with a longer tail, thicker legs, and larger head.

It is a joy to watch juvenile hawks, however; they're so certain of what they need to do (catch birds) but so clumsy as to how they go about it. This one, whom I've christened Dart, landed in the yard on the birdbath, then wondered why the birds were gone. She strutted around the birdbath for several minutes, still looking both hungry and confused, before flying to the back fence and waiting concealed by overhanging branches. She's not patient, however, and after just a bit of waiting flew off beyond the fence, then later to another yard. She's a fine, big bird, however, and will undoubtedly find her dinner eventually.

I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to observe her (and I use the gender pronoun randomly - last year's sharp shinned hawk, Spook, I'd christened male), since this month is Raptor Month on my About.com site and I am planning a feature on telling the difference between sharp shinned and Cooper's hawks. Be sure to sign up for the free weekly newsletter for all the raptor happenings!