Our winter birds are enjoying the bounty of our feeders and, likewise, we are enjoying watching them on these cold and often gray winter days. We have upped our game this winter and joined Project FeederWatch. Now not only do we identify the species of birds we are seeing, but also record their numbers.
The information collected by project participants like us is used to determine the abundance and distribution of winter bird species and changes in their winter ranges due to factors such as climate change. We are glad to help with this effort.
The program is administered in the U.S. by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and in Canada by Birds Canada. The data is available to scientists and the public.
We watch our backyard feeders weekly for about four hours over the course of two days. We record the species of birds we see and the highest number of that species seen at any one time during those two days. This has given us the chance to hone our identification skills on about 15 species of birds thus far this winter.
What are the most common birds we see? Those would be the northern cardinal, dark-eyed junco, house sparrow, black-capped chickadee, house finch, mourning dove, rock pigeon, blue jay, red-breasted and white-breasted nuthatches, American goldfinch, and both the downy and red-bellied woodpeckers.
Our watching has revealed interesting bird behaviors. We’ve learned that the northern cardinals come in greater numbers shortly before dusk. We have seen up to 7 at one time as the afternoon light dims, their red coloring still visible as the sun slips away.
The dark-eyed juncos stick together, several appearing at once and prefer to feed on the ground; so we scatter sunflower seeds for them.
The nuthatches and the woodpeckers prefer the suet, so we keep a suet cake handy. Even the chickadees and juncos come for an occasional morsel. Some birds share; we’ve seen both the red-breasted nuthatch and downy woodpecker on the suet feeder at the same time.
You have to be sharp of eye to see more than one chickadee at one time. They are quick to pick out a seed and quick to leave, disappearing into our cedar hedge. They cache (store) an amazing number of seeds every year to help them survive the winter. I think they are still in this survival mode! We feel lucky that we have observed three black-capped chickadees at one time.
Blue jays are master peanut snatchers, somehow knowing when we have put the peanuts out. They disappear quickly.
The American tree sparrow, not a frequent visitor, is very aggressive for a small bird, driving off the juncos to gain sole access to their spot on the feeder. Interesting, they do get along with house sparrows; perhaps they recognize a relative.
There is drama. One morning we were disappointed that no birds were at our feeders. It was a cold snowy morning, one when there would normally be a flurry of activity from our winged friends. Then we looked beyond our feeders and knew why. Sitting on the ground in our backyard was a Cooper’s hawk making short work of its morning meal, a mourning dove. The only sign of its presence once it left was a scattering of soft grey and cream feathers on the snow.
We have seen the Cooper’s hawk three times. It is large hawk with a grey-black back, reddish brown striping on the breast and belly and banded tail. No doubt our feeders are part of its daily foraging rounds. At times we let the feeders go empty to discourage it from our yard. That works for a while.
We feed the birds mostly black oiled sunflower seeds as most birds like these. We do add some songbird mix (millet, cracked corn, peanuts) to some feeders as some birds such as goldfinches like these. A heated birdbath provides water, important for when temperatures dip below freezing.
It’s interesting to observe birds — for fun, to learn more about them, and to contribute to science. You can easily become a project participant, too.
Your survey station can be anywhere birds frequent such as your backyard bird feeder or a favorite park. Observations are made from November through April. The survey schedule is flexible; you put in as much time as suits your schedule. For information on Project FeederWatch, go to https://feederwatch.org/about/project-overview/#what-is-feederwatch
We look forward to our weekly time with the birds. There’s always something they can teach us, and there is no charge for all the entertainment, beauty and liveliness they bring to our lives.
Cathy Carnes is a retired biologist in Oconto who worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Green Bay Field Office and prior to that with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Branch in Buffalo, New York. As endangered species coordinator for the USFWS, she helped conserve and recover federally listed threatened and endangered species in Wisconsin.
