Millet Mania

It has always interested me how certain birds have very precise feeding preferences; they will only visit a certain type of feeder, will sort through a mixed seed to find their favorites, and may even eat in a very particular way. This is never so apparent at my backyard feeders than when the lazuli buntings come to visit.

These beautiful spring birds are mad for millet - they will swarm over my platform feeder frantically feeding, and they quickly discover other feeders offering millet or mixed seed they can pillage. They staunchly ignore other feeders, however, even with the choicy hulled sunflower seeds or more expensive Nyjer.

I'm thrilled that the lazulis have returned this spring; I've had a dozen or more males feeding at once, with a smaller but no less voracious number of females. Fortunately, my platform feeder is still housed beneath the patio table for shelter from the spring rains, but even chilly, unseasonable weather hasn't deterred their appetites - I'm adding another heap of millet to the feeder every couple of days. I know they won't stay around for long and will probably leave for more elevated nesting areas in another couple of weeks, but while they're here I'm happy to host a millet-heavy buffet.

One Good "Tern"

After days of hectic scheduling and steady, dreary rain, the weather cleared today enough for a bit of local birding, and I wasn't disappointed in the results. My husband and I spent an hour on the Brigham Young University campus, watching ducklings and mallards in the botany pond as well as exploring the gentle paved trails along a heavily wooded and carefully maintained hillside. There, I spotted a lively, hyperactive little bird that is none other than a ruby crowned kinglet, and despite the bird's aversion to sitting still I managed to capture a quick picture as well as add another bird to my life list.

After several days of birding drought, however, one new bird - even a fun one - wasn't enough, and we visited a favorite pond where earlier this season we'd spotted dozens of American white pelicans. The pelicans have moved on, and at first the area seemed sadly devoid of birds until I noted what looked like gulls whirling and diving in the distance. After tromping through a sandy construction zone toward a dredge pond, I spotted what weren't gulls after all, but what were Caspian terns, and another newcomer to my life list. Terns can be challenging to identify, but the thick, dark red bill, black legs, and hefty size of these birds pinpointed their identity.

Even the backyard yielded a surprise today: the first lazuli bunting of the season has returned for the briefest of visits. Last spring these colorful blue, white, and cinnamon colored songbirds descended on the yard in large numbers for several weeks, and I hope they will do so again. The new feeders are gradually being put in place, and it is my hope that the last bit of the landscaping will be finished early this week so I can begin planting and adding new feeders in earnest. The birds are coming, and I must be ready!

Two New Species

Wonderful news to report today, confirmation of two new species now added to my lists. One is finally identified for the wild list, while the other is a new and unexpected visitor -- and voracious feeder -- to the backyard.

The newly identified wild bird is the Downy Woodpecker, whom I've seen regularly on a particular trail walk by the Provo River but whom I've been unable to identify without the zoom-and-freeze aid of a digital camera. While this is a common wild bird, identification can be challenging because of its similarity to the Hairy Woodpecker; truly they look like twins, though the downy woodpecker is smaller with a shorter bill. Because those are the only ways to truly distinguish this bird from its larger cousin, the camera was necessary to help freeze the moment and make the positive identification.

The new backyard visitor is a Lazuli Bunting, or rather quite a few of them. The beautiful blue, cinnamon, and white coloring of this songbird made him easy to identify, and it's apparent that they travel in flocks for in the course of less than an hour, the feeder was visited by at least three males and one rusty-buff female. Somewhat more skittish and hyperactive than the Cassin's finches and house finches that were feeding alongside, the Lazuli buntings appear to prefer niger seed and other mixed seeds (though not the black oil sunflower) on the platform feeder. This makes me doubly glad that I've opted to include niger seed in the custom mix I fill the large hopper feeder with, if it is indeed attracting such a stunning variety of visitors.

Welcome, all.