Beauty in the Macabre?

This blog is usually about things I find beautiful in God's creation.  Now, the macabre decorations that abound this time of year for Halloween don't typically fit in with my idea of beauty.   However, my mother instilled in me that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" so maybe some of you have different ideas about that!  In that case, this post is for you! 

 Fall is a great time of year for spiderwebs!

Especially in the early morning while the dew is still on them.

I will admit that I know almost nothing about them, but I admire the various shapes and structures.

That one had a double bottom... maybe to trap insects inside, or for the spider to reside in?

This very large one seemed to have no pattern to it, but it had a neat tunnel in the middle.

And this one seems less sinister, with its accompanying Queen Ann's Lace... but what could be hiding back there in the dark?

Creepy things!

Oh my!

I did like how that one made very tidy circles, then made a ZZZZZ into the middle!

This blackbird is keeping an eye on things....

While the rest of the flock hangs out nearby.

Over in the big, dark swamp more creatures await.

The kingfisher doesn't seem to mind all the spiders sharing his tree.

I can't leave you with just the macabre... even though it is that time of year...  so here is a shot of Ruby when she was a pup - dressed up for Halloween in a homemade costume!

PS - I actually do think spiderwebs and blackbirds (and Ruby!) are beautiful, how about you?

Bluebirds of Happiness

Does the weather affect your moods? I know it can mine!  Lately we've been having dark, foggy, and rainy days... and I'm thankful for the rain because it was getting quite dry.  But this time of year-- after most of the pretty leaves are gone and a lot of the birds have flown south, well, it can be a little depressing.  So it really gave my heart a lift to have a flock of bluebirds in our yard yesterday morning.  They aren't called 'Bluebirds of Happiness' for nothing.  (There is even a wikipedia page on that subject, here's a link!)

In the early morning fog, I went out on our deck to fill the birdfeeders and I heard the soft, sweet sound of a bluebird.  Then I heard a few bluebirds talking to each other.  (Listen here)  As I looked around, I saw a flock of them flitting around our garden!

After nesting season is over, it's typical to see bluebirds in flocks.  I've read they can gather in flocks of up to 100.  Wouldn't that be something to see!  I estimated this flock at 12 to 14 birds.  I could only estimate, because none of them were still for long.  They were busily checking out all three nearby nesting boxes.

I wonder if the next box looked familiar?  It is the house that 3 babies fledged from this summer.

I also wondered if the male in the following photos is the same bird who was not so graceful at sitting on the garden fence when he was a youngster?  (There's a video of that in this post.)

Oh well, it was wet and probably slippery!  He looks more elegant in the next two photos.

My field guide range maps for eastern bluebirds show our area as on the northern edge of where they typically spend the winter.  Our property list of birds (first sightings for the year)  that we've kept since 2008 records eastern bluebirds on January 14, 15, March 14, 15th, and one year as late as April 8th.  Of course the years when we saw them later they could have been around somewhere. 

We do have a number of nesting boxes for them to use, but I've never feed them meal worms.  (Being insect and berry eaters, they aren't interested in bird seed).  However, there is a collection of online data called Project Feeder Watch that does list eastern bluebirds.  It's very interesting to see the increase in numbers of bluebirds over the years since 1989.  Here's a link to Project Feeder Watch.  You'll have to enter the species name 'Eastern Bluebird' in the box to see that particular data.  It's well worth a look!

And keep looking for bluebirds... there is one in this picture:

He's really in there, here's a close-up to help you find him:

 I hope you have a happy day!

Super Suet Feeder

Over the years, I've used a number of different kinds of feeders to put suet out for the birds.  Everything from a plastic mesh onion bag to a small log with holes drilled in it, to a handmade knotted string bag, to a store-bought wire box for square suet cakes.  They all work just fine.  However, I was having a problem this spring with too many blackbirds and starlings.  They could devour a suet cake in a couple of hours.  So I went to our local Agway store and found this:

Suet feeders that only have access to the suet from the bottom are supposed to keep away the 'undesirable' birds.  Well, it took quite awhile for any of our birds to figure it out.  But I left it up, figuring during the warm spring weather they weren't going to starve without it.  (Not that they would in the winter either... God makes sure they have natural food).

Anyway, after awhile some of the birds started using it.  Like this Black-capped Chickadee...

and other birds who don't mind being upside-down or who even make a regular habit of it, like this White-breasted Nuthatch.

But, a couple of blackbirds even managed to figure out a way to eat from it.  Ever see a blackbird hover almost like a hummingbird? That's sort of what they did... 

At least they weren't able to be quite the gluttons at this feeder-- and it was fun to watch them.

Finally more of the other birds started catching on to the new feeder as well.  Woodpeckers really like suet.  Here's a Hairy Woodpecker:

And a Downy:

Some days the woodpeckers line right up to take turns at the feeder.

One leaving, one eating, and one waiting in the wings.

Most of them fly right up to it now,  swing under and grab on, like this Downy:

But this Hairy came down the chain hanger first:

The last of our regular woodpecker visitors just figured out how to get suet from it today.  (They have been coming to eat sunflower seeds from the other feeders).

female Red-bellied Woodpecker

Someone else figured it out today, too... oh no!

This Blue Jay was quite the awkward bird for its first several attempts.  Actually, I would say all its efforts were not exactly graceful!

It did manage to get some suet and even hang on after awhile.  Notice, however, the piece of suet on its belly!

And then, it drops to the ground! (the piece of suet, that is, not the bird!)

I'd highly recommend this type of suet feeder.  It saves on wasted suet (for the most part!) and it provides a lot of entertainment, too!

Dots, streaks, lines, and rings

The title of this post is not about some sort of new code.  Rather, it's what I've been studying lately.

The song, "Sparrow" by Simon and Garfunkel asks the question, "Who will love the little sparrow?"

"Me! I do!" I think when I hear it. 

But recently I have been thinking I don't know very much about sparrows... that I probably should pay more attention to looking at them closely to see if they are what I think they are!  That's where the dots, streaks, lines, and rings come in.  That's eye-lines and eye-rings, by the way.

Let's look at the sparrows on our property list so far in 2014.  

We started the year with two sparrows we have at our bird feeders in the winter.  First, the American Tree Sparrow.  They are only here in the winter, as in the summer they move north to nest and raise their babies.  North-- as in, way up in the tundra!  They have dots, eye-lines, white wing-bars and bi-colored bills -- all of which you can see in the photo.  Okay, American Tree Sparrow...got it?

Next on the list is White-throated Sparrow.  In Northeastern Pennsylvania, these birds live all year round.  Just south of us, they reside in winter only and just north of us they live in summer only.  So, we're lucky to have them all year long, as they are very beautiful birds.  They are one of the few kinds of sparrows that have a bright spot of color.  Notice the yellow on its face, and of course the white-throat it is named for.

The third sparrow on the list, we are not so lucky to have.  They are English Sparrows, also called House Sparrows.  The first name comes from where they originated (Europe).  The second name is because they like to live in towns and cities and build their nests in cavities  or birdhouses. 

Unfortunately, they will take over nesting locations that our native birds, such as bluebirds and tree swallows need.  This pair repeatedly tried to build a nest in one of our boxes this spring.  I also repeatedly removed it.  Luckily, I won.... they went somewhere else!

The next sparrow on the list arrived back at our feeders in March, just passing thru on migration.  This is a Fox Sparrow:

Their two main identifiers are their slightly larger size and their foxy reddish color... especially their tail.  After visiting us for a week or so, they continue on their way to the boreal forests of Canada for their nesting season.

Right after the Fox Sparrows came the Song Sparrows.  Now, we're really talking streaks and a dot on these birds!  When I learned them as a youngster, I was told that the dot in the middle of their breast is a 'music note' and the streaks are the 'music staff'.  Not sure how realistic that is, but it helps to remember them.  They are really called Song Sparrow because of their pretty song, which also has a way to remember it, as it's supposed to sound like, "Madge, Madge, Madge, put on your tea-kettle, ettle, ettle".    You can listen here and see if you think it sounds like that!  (Try the third sound clip, that sounds most like it to me!)  Here's a photo of a Song Sparrow, and it's even singing.

By the way, those lines on its tail are shadows. 

Another good clue sometimes as to what bird is what, is their behavior.  As I said, the Fox Sparrow and Song Sparrows arrived back here about the same time (in mid-March).  The following is a short video -- showing a Fox Sparrow on the left and a Song Sparrow on the right.  

The Fox Sparrow seems to burn an awful lot of calories hopping around getting its food, but I guess it finds food that otherwise might be missed.  Did you see the Song Sparrow's 'dot' at the end of the video?

The next sparrows to arrive were Chipping Sparrows which made the list on April 14th.  Their name comes from the chipping trill that is their song.  You can listen here.  They are very common and widespread... all the way from the east coast to the west coast of the US.  

Chipping Sparrows look a little like American Tree Sparrows with their rufous caps, but they don't have a dot on their breast.  And they are here at opposite times of the year.  Chipping Sparrows nest here in Northeast PA.  This next poor little guys nest blew out of a tree in our yard during a storm.  We put it back in the tree and as far as I know, everything turned out fine.  

The next sparrow to arrive and be counted on our list was a Field Sparrow.  I typically hear these birds more than see them.  They have a rather loud and obvious song.  Click here to listen.  Field Sparrows have a white eye ring and a pink bill.  So be sure you have your binoculars to check them out!

Otherwise, they look kind of like a sparrow with no dots or streaks on their breasts.  Are you getting confused yet? It's okay, we only have a couple to go!

The next sparrow appeared in our yard on May 8th.  I'm always looking for these to arrive because they are one of my favorites.  This is a White-crowned Sparrow.

My field guide says they are uncommon in the eastern US, but we usually have one or two stopping to eat our bird seed on their way north in the spring.  You can see where they get their name... from their beautiful white 'crown'.  This spring I heard a 'different' bird singing in the yard -- looked out and there it was.  So pretty!

Swamp Sparrow is next on the list.  I had a little trouble finding one this year so the date was May 30th... later than usual.  But they look a little like a Song Sparrow and sound a little like a Chipping Sparrow, so I wanted to make sure!  Of course the place to look for a Swamp Sparrow is-- you guessed it -- a Swamp.  Trouble is, those other birds could be there, too.  But, I finally saw this one:

There are lots more kinds of sparrows, my 'Sibley's Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America' lists 32 - many of which would never probably be seen in Susquehanna County.  So, when I had the idea a couple of weeks ago to pay more attention to sparrows, I wasn't really expecting I'd see anything unusual.  But, keeping closer attention paid off!  On October 1st, I added bird number 106 to our 2014 list -- a Lincoln's Sparrow!

A lot of times, sparrows are kind of hard to see because of the places they like to hang out.  The Lincoln's Sparrows were no different.  Can you find one in the upper center of the next picture?

 With binoculars, it was easier to see, but also luckily, it flew up on top of a fence post for a few seconds... long enough for me to get the next photo. 

It has streaky sides-- fine, dark streaks in a buffy-colored background.  When I first saw it, I just thought it looked 'different'.  Its identity was confirmed from my photos by other birders and it even became bird #160 on a county list by a birder who came to check them out (we saw two).  It was not a life bird for me since I had seen them out west where they are more common, but it was the first time for them to appear on our property list.  

Lincoln's Sparrows have a dot, streaks, lines, and rings... kind of a grand combination of sparrow markings!

Don't feel bad if you can't remember all the markings of the sparrows -- I get confused sometimes, too.  That's what field guides are for!  And even if you don't know the identity of a bird, you can still enjoy watching it.  How about this cutie who had an itch that needed scratching?

 Can you tell what it is?  Hints... rufous cap but no dot or streaks on its breast!