Learning About Birds . . . Scarlet Tanager

It has been a while since I have done a Learning about birds post and I certainly haven't been posting much in the way of bird photos lately so I thought this would be an appropriate time to start up this series again.

Scarlet Tanager
- Scarlet Tanagers have been recorded eating over 2,000 gypsy moth caterpillars in an hour.
- They become noisy and swoop around most birds who prey on them, such as Blue Jays and Eastern Screech owls, however they remain still and quiet around Merlins and American Crows.
- A group of tanagers are collectively known as a "season" of tanagers.





My other posts on the Scarlet Tanager.

Learning About Birds . . . Great Egret

It's been quite a while since I've done a Learning About Birds post so after seeing the green lores on this Great Egret shot I took at Springbrook the other day I thought it might be cool to show the difference. Here are a couple neat facts about these birds.


- The longevity record for a wild Great Egret is nearly 23 years.
- Aggression among nestlings is common and large chicks frequently kill their smaller siblings.
- In high breeding, the bill becomes orange-yellow and the lores become lime-green. (Lore, region between the eye and bill on the side of a bird's head.)

Here you can see the green lores:



For comparison sake, here is a shot of Great Egret taken down in Florida a few years back. You can see that the lores are not green in this shot:







If you are interested, here is a link to all my posts on "Learning About Birds".

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks

Continuing on my Springbrook Nature Center walk from Monday, here's yet another post from that night. (I've got one more post after this . . . just in case you were wondering.)

The Rose-breasted Grosbeak (in my opinion) is one of the prettiest birds around. It has a wonderful song and when it's in Spring plumage is just a striking bird. Well . . . you can judge for yourself! :)

Rose-breasted Grosbeak:









PS I recommend clicking on the photos to see the larger versions over at my flickr site.

Here's a previous "Learning About Birds" post on Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.

Pileated Woodpeckers (Learning about birds . . .)

We have been lucky to have a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers visit our feeder on a regular basis over the last few years. The last few days they have been visiting quite a bit. I thought posting photos to show the difference between the male and female to help with identification might be interesting. Look at the head and chin of the two birds and you'll see the red forehead on the male and black forehead on the female. The male also has red on side of his chin (malar area) where the female has black.

Adult male: Red forehead - Red malar area


Adult female: Black forehead - Black malar stripe


Malar: Area at the sides of the chin. Synonym(s): whisker, mustache, malar streak.

Since I haven't done a "Learning about birds" post in a while I'll add a few neat facts about these very cool birds:

- A Pileated Woodpecker pair stays together on its territory all year round. It will defend the territory in all seasons, but will tolerate floaters during the winter.
- The Pileated Woodpecker digs characteristically rectangular holes in trees to find ants. These excavations can be so broad and deep that they can cause small trees to break in half.
- The feeding excavations of a Pileated Woodpecker are so extensive that they often attract other birds. Other woodpeckers, as well as House Wrens, may come and feed there.

This marks my 125th post to this blog. :)

Learning about birds . . . Northern Shrike

So, as promised, here is a post on the Northern Shrike. This winter I saw more of these birds than I've ever seen. What's interesting is that many others reported seeing them more this yer than usual as well here in Minnesota. I wonder why . . .

Northern Shrike:
- The Northern Shrike, like other shrikes, kills more prey, if it can, than it can immediately eat or feed to nestlings. Such behavior was characterized by early observers as "wanton killing," but the Northern Shrike stores excess prey to eat later. Storing food is an adaptation for surviving periods of food scarcity.
- The Latin species name of the Northern Shrike, Lanius excubitor, means "Butcher watchman."
- The nest of the Northern Shrike is an open cup, but it is so deep that while incubating, the female is completely out of view except for the tip of her tail.




Here's a link to other posts I've made on Northern Shrike sightings.

Learning about birds . . . Red-shouldered Hawk

Well, the signs of spring are starting to show and I hope that this year, like the last 2 years, we'll have a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks nesting in our yard again. Last year that started their nest in our yard and due to a large storm that damaged it, they moved over a few yards. Hopefully they'll choose our yard again and we'll get to see the young mature in the nest.

- Although the American Crow often mobs the Red-shouldered Hawk, sometimes the relationship is not so one-sided. They may chase each other and try to steal food from each other. They may also both attack a Great Horned Owl and join forces to chase the owl out of the hawk's territory. - We saw this happen last year!
- By the time they are five days old, nestling Red-shouldered Hawks can shoot their feces over the edge of their nest. Bird poop on the ground is a sign of an active nest. - We definitely saw this the first year!
- The Great Horned Owl often takes nestling Red-shouldered Hawks, but the hawk occasionally turns the tables. While a Red-shouldered Hawk was observed chasing a Great Horned Owl, its mate took a young owl out of its nest and ate it. - We've had both of these in our yard but I had no idea how contentious their relationship could be . . .

Red-shouldered Hawks (From last years first nest attempt):


Here's all the posts I've made on Red-shouldered Hawks.

Learning about birds . . . Green Heron

Last spring/summer I saw a number of Green Herons at Carlos Avery WMA and was able to take a lot of photographs. Below is one of the better shots that I took.

- The Green Heron is one of the few tool-using birds. It commonly drops bait onto the surface of the water and grabs the small fish that are attracted. It uses a variety of baits and lures, including crusts of bread, insects, earthworms, twigs, or feathers.
- As is typical for many herons, the Green Heron tends to wander after the breeding season is over. Most wanderers probably seek more favorable foraging areas and do not travel far. But,occasionally some go farther, with individuals going as far as England and France.
- A group of herons has many collective nouns, including "a battery of herons", "a hedge of herons", "a pose of herons", "a rookery of herons", and a "scattering of herons."

Learning about birds . . . Ring-billed Gull

Pretty much every summer my family visits the North Shore of Lake Superior where we see all kinds of birds including many gulls. Ring-billed and Herring gulls are the most common gulls to see and I'm always amazed at their agility in the air.

- Young Ring-billed Gulls tested at only two days of age showed a preference for magnetic bearings that would take them in the appropriate direction for their fall migration.
- Many, if not most, Ring-billed Gulls return to breed at the colony where they hatched. Once they have bred, they are likely to return to the same breeding spot each year, often nesting within a few meters of the last year's nest site.
- Although it is considered a typical large white-headed gull, the Ring-billed Gull has been known to hybridize only with smaller, black-headed species, such as Franklin's, Black-headed, and Laughing gulls.

Ring-billed Gull (Developing done in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom)

Learning about birds . . . Rose-breasted Grosbeak

A saw my first Rose-breasted Grosbeaks this last summer. Below is a shot of one that I saw at Springbrook Nature Center.

- The nest of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak is so thinly constructed that eggs often can be seen from below through the nest.
- The Rose-breasted Grosbeak will mate with the Black-headed Grosbeak where the population densities of both species are low
- A group of grosbeaks are collectively known as "a gross of grosbeaks."

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Learning about birds . . . Ruby-throated Hummingbird

We have a number of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds visit our yard during the summer months. Our feeder sits just above our deck hanging on branch only a couple of feet above our heads. These little guys zoom in above us whether we are sitting near the feeder or not. I've spent a number of hours over the summer watching the "Hummers" come in for a snack. There were so many cool things about Hummingbirds I wasn't sure what to add here, but I will tell you that a quick search will reveal a tremendous amount of information on these birds. They appear to be quite popular with birders. So here are a few facts that I liked:

• These tiny birds have devised a fascinating way to conserve energy when they can't be eating—at night or when the weather is too cold or too rainy for feeding. They go into a sleep-like state known as torpor. During torpor, the tiny bird's body temperature can drop almost 50 degrees. The heart rate may slow from 500 beats per minute to fewer than 50, and breathing may briefly stop. A hummingbird consumes as much as 50 times more energy when awake than when torpid. If you were to find a hummingbird in torpor, it would appear lifeless. If a predator were to find one, it would be lifeless indeed! While torpor has benefits, there are risks too. It can take as long as an hour for the bird to come back into an active state, so a torpid hummer cannot respond to emergencies.
• The extremely short legs of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird prevent it from walking or hopping. The best it can do is shuffle along a perch. Nevertheless, it scratches its head and neck by raising its foot up and over its wing.

• HEARTBEATS: About 250 times per minute while at rest, about 1,220 per minute while flying
• HEART SIZE: About 2.5% of total body weight
• BREATHING: About 250 breaths per minute while at rest
• FLIGHT MUSCLES: Make up about 25% of bird's weight (compared to 5% pectoral muscle weight in human beings)

Learning about birds . . . Tree Swallow

So this weeks bird is the Tree Swallow. It's a very cool bird that I see regularly at Carlos Avery WMA every summer. I've never been sucessful getting a flight shot of a Tree Swallow, maybe I'll be luckier this summer.

Tree Swallow:

• Outside of the breeding season the Tree Swallow congregates into enormous flocks and night roosts, sometimes numbering in the hundreds of thousands. They gather about an hour before sunset at a roost site, forming a dense cloud. They swirl around like a living tornado and as darkness approaches they then wheel low over the cattail marsh or grove of small trees. Large numbers drop down into the roost with each pass of the flock until the flock disappears.

• The Tree Swallow uses many feathers from other birds in its nest. The feathers help keep the nestlings warm so they can grow faster. They help keep levels of ectoparasites, like mites, low too.

• The Tree Swallow winters farther north than any other American swallow, and it returns to its nesting grounds long before other swallows come back. Its ability to use plant foods helps it survive periods of bad weather.

Learning about birds . . . Pelicans

A friend of mine that reads my blog mentioned that pelicans might be an interesting bird to learn about, so here are a few facts about pelicans. All of these photos were taken at J. N. Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge in Florida.

American White Pelican:
- Unlike most birds, which warm their eggs with the skin of their breasts, pelicans incubate their eggs with their feet. They hold the eggs under the webs that stretch from the front toes to the hind toe, essentially standing on the eggs to warm them.
- The White Pelican does not dive for fish as the Brown Pelican does. Instead, it dips its head underwater to scoop up fish. Several pelicans may fish cooperatively, moving into a circle to concentrate fish, and then dipping their heads under simultaneously to catch fish.







Brown Pelican:
- The Brown Pelican frequently lowers its head onto its shoulders with the bill open, pulls its head back, and stretches the pouch over its throat and neck. The exposed neck looks like a large lump sticking up out of the pouch.
- The brown pelican is a plunge diver. It drops from the air with its wings partly folded and dives into the water to catch its prey. It is the only species of pelican that does this!The brown pelican is a plunge diver. It drops from the air with its wings partly folded and dives into the water to catch its prey. It is the only species of pelican that does this!

Learning about birds . . . White-breasted Nuthatch

The White-breasted Nuthatch is a frequent visitor to our yard. We regularly have 2 (likely a pair) at the feeder. These birds are commonly found in deciduous forests and wooded areas like my yard. Here are some of the fun facts that I have found:

White-breasted Nuthatch:
- Nuthatches gather nuts and seeds, jam them into tree bark, and hammer or "hatch" the food open with their bills.
- White-breasted Nuthatches are monogamous and remain with their partner the whole year from the time of courtship to the creation of a dwelling place or until the partner disappears or dies.
- Aside from being one of a few birds who can creep down a tree trunk head first to forage for food or hang upside down, swinging from tiny branches, the White-breasted Nuthatch is also known to exhibit a weird behavior known as "bill sweeping" in which it picks up a piece of fur, plant or insect with its bill and uses this to sweep around its nest''s cavity. Scientists believe it does this to remove its own scent around the nest and prevent detection by predators.


Here's lookin' at ya!

Learning about birds in 2008 . . . Great Horned Owl

This year I'm going to work on learning more about the birds in my area, things like their range, habitat, food, behavior, etc. I'm also going to try and find out neat facts (like the ones below) about a particular bird each week. I'll post those to the blog. This week it's going to be the Great Horned Owl . . . for obvious reasons. :)

Great Horned Owl:
- The Great Horned Owl is the only animal that regularly eats skunks.
- Great horned owls pair off to begin mating in early winter. By February, they are already nesting!
- Great horned owls don't make a nest, they take over nests left by other animals.
- Of all the owls, the great horned owl has the strongest talons. About 30 pounds (13,000 grams) of force is required to release the owl's grip on an object.

PS If anyone has a particular bird they would like to learn about , let me know and I'll post on that bird next week.