Not Such a Dummy After All

Posted on March 25, 2018 by Tina

In my recent post, Dummy, I wrote about an intrepid pair of Black-crested Titmouse, Baeolophus atricristatus, building a nest in a hanging bird house that Bee/Bird Daddy built some time ago. It was the first avian interest shown in this house, and I was tickled that Titmice chose this bit of bird real estate. Some of the cutest birds around, Black-crested Titmice are frequent visitors to my birdbaths and black-oiled sunflower feeders, and are year-round resident songbirds in Central Texas. Over the course a few days, I enjoyed observing their nesting preparations, as I’ve never been privileged to see those activities up-close.

Throughout nest-building project, I noticed House Sparrows, Passer domesticus, harassing the Titmice at every turn. House Sparrows are invasive birds, ubiquitous in urban areas. I’ve mostly tolerated them, not necessarily considering them particularly destructive, and enjoying their chatter–and there’s plenty to be had of that! They are piggy at the feeders, but they never appeared to displace other birds. I’ve read that they bully and even kill native songbirds, but never witnessed those heinous acts. But since the Titmice began prepping the house for their own offspring, I’ve observed intimately the House Sparrows’ nasty behavior toward another bird species. While no direct songbird murder occurred (that I saw), the Sparrows certainly impeded the Titmice family planning.

When at home, I’d chase the Sparrows off–yelling at them as I bolted out the front door. (My neighbors are accustomed to my, er, eccentricities in that way). While the Titmice continued bringing bits of nesting material to the house, singing and calling at one another as they worked, the House Sparrows proved persistent oppressors.

My concern about the Sparrow activities increased as I observed their determination to tyrannize the Titmice. I researched about various methods of discouraging them from successfully driving off native songbirds, especially during nesting season. One of the articles discussed affixing monofilament or fishing line around the bird house, because House Sparrows are inexplicably spooked by the fishing line, though it apparently doesn’t stop native birds from building. I also removed the rain chain, hanging directly in front of the house, so that the Sparrows couldn’t perch on it as they were bullying the titmice.

My focus was to photograph the Titmice, but the House Sparrows would perch on the rain chain and the house perch.

Alas, all measures were too little, too late, and too lame. I realized last weekend that the Titmice were no longer working at the house. As well, the Sparrows were scarce–they’d intimidated the titmice successfully and after rendering their competition moot, they moved on.

After a few days of quiet at the bird house, I wanted to see exactly what the Titmice had used to build their nest, so opened up the bird house and discovered that they’d made far more progress than I’d realized.

Pretty, speckled eggs. Each egg was about one-half inch in diameter.

Sniff. Three lonesome little eggs that will never become charming Titmice chicks. True to the literature on Titmice nesting, the nest was full of animal fur, soft pollen, and bits of cut grass.

Lots of fur in this nest. I recognized the coloring common to Virginia opossums.

I’ve learned some things with this experience. Next spring, early in the season, I’ll remove the rain chain and will also re-string the fishing line around the nest box. I’m also planning to saw off the house perch. It’ll limit the Titmice from landing, but as I observed the Titmice entering the house, they mostly flew directly to the entrance, without a perch-stop. However, the House Sparrows perched on the perch, blocking the Titmice from entering the house.

I hear Titmice song everyday–though not in my garden–especially in early morning and near sundown, so I hope they found a safer spot to raise their babies. There are significantly more House Sparrows than Black-crested Titmice in my neighborhood and I imagine there’s fierce competition for nesting spots.

I’m sure I’ll see Titmice, but I’ll have to wait until next year for any possibility of hosting a family of these darlings.

A companionable House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) shares with a Black-crested Titmouse.

Dummy

Posted on March 14, 2018 by Tina

Late last week, I was excited to see a pair of Black-crested Titmice entering and exiting a bird house, having apparently decided that it was a nice place to raise their little ones. The charming birds worked diligently for three days, one bringing bits of leaves into the house, while the other perched on nearby branches singing, calling, and standing guard.

All I managed to photograph was the tail-end of the bird as he/she entered the house,

…and its darling face as he/she exited to gather more material.

Titmice gather soft materials like new leaves, feathers, animal fur, moss, and similar items for their nests.

Sunday was windy. I saw them working that day, but I didn’t watch closely. By late Monday, having been in and out during the day and not having observed regularly, I realized in late afternoon that there was no activity around the bird house.

It seems they built a dummy. Birds will build a nest, then abandon for any number of reasons, including that they’re spooked by a predator, or that they built in several spots with the female then choosing one–not all–of those spots for her nesting. I don’t know why this couple decided against the house, perhaps it swayed too much in the wind or maybe it was just too close to the garage door. Maybe they thought the rain chain was a little tacky. Who knows what titmice think?

Whatever their reason, the house now sits empty. There will be no itty-bitty baby titmice for me to observe this spring.

I’m sorry that the cute bird house won’t house cute birds. They’re still visiting my garden, though their home-sweet-home is somewhere else. I wish them well in their family business and hope they bring their youngins to my garden for a drink and a nosh.

Sometimes They Land in Trees: Wildlife Wednesday, January 2018

Posted on January 2, 2018 by Tina

Happy 2018 and welcome to the first Wildlife Wednesday celebration of this new year. Winter arrived in Austin in the last several days with an ice-numbing grip of below freezing temperatures.

I heard that snort and saw those eyes a’rolling! I understand that compared to much of continental North America, my goose-bump inspired whining won’t win much sympathy, but darn it, it’s cold! Truthfully, I’m just fine-n-dandy with the hard freeze, in great hopes that every mosquito in Texas is dead, dead, dead (not likely, though). Also, with the frigid temps, my autumnally hued and interminably foliaged trees have finally let loose their leaves.

In the last couple of days, Red oak leaves blanketed the entirety of my back garden.

Maybe now I’ll be better able to observe the variety of birds who visit my garden, as the winter avian Texans (especially the tiny ones) prefer to flit among the bare limbs, in search of whatever they search for. With the leaves as camouflage, that’s been hard to do.

This shot was taken on Sunday, just before the temperatures plummeted and the tree dumped most (but not all!) its leaves.

That said, for most of this past month, critter watching has mostly involved the birds at the feeders, with the random pitter-patting of maddening mammals and the skulking about of bothersome marsupials.

I’m tickled at the early appearance of two examples of the stunning American Goldfinch, Spinus tristis. American Goldfinches usually show up later in winter, so it’s a treat to see them now.

This handsome fella is wearing his non-breeding colors.

Do you need something?

Pretty boy!

In addition to that obvious and gorgeous adult male, is this female or juvenile male.

The coloring–both dark and light–are muted in this bird.

Wonderful wing bars!

Sweet face!

American Goldfinches belong to the same Family and Order as the House Finch, and House Finch eye disease, Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis, which I wrote about here, also affects American Goldfinch populations. Fortunately, the two Americans who noshed at my feeder appeared free of the disease, the good news of which I reported on Project FeederWatch. I still see a female House Finch with one infected eye which is completely closed due to the infection. She feeds by searching for seeds on the ground, but she struggles to land when she flies and is vulnerable to predators with only one good eye. All other House Finches who are in my garden–and there are quite a few– appear healthy. The House Finch, Haemorhous mexicanus, is a year-round resident, becoming more active as winter settles in. Most bird feeders are designed with multiple perching stations, and birds share the stations with varying degrees of camaraderie. Here, the House Finch clan dominates, with a red-accented male perching at the left and the more drab females completing the feeder trio.

Hey birds, over here!

Another duo feeding a the food bar is a second male House Finch sharing a meal with a Black-crested Titmouse, Baeolophus atricristatus.

I’m not sure if the Black-crested is a male or female, but I’m confident that the House Finch is a young male.

The House Finch poses nicely, the Black-crested snarfs seeds.

A Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, couple nests each year in a neighbor’s shrubbery, but make daily forays into my garden to feed and bathe. No photo this month of the scarlet feathered male, but the female is a head-turner in her own right!

A common Texas wintering songbird is the Orange-crowned Warbler, Oreothlypis celata, and I’m fortunate to have at least one who is regularly visiting.

Song birds love suet and it’s a good thing to feed them in winter. I can’t provide suet for 7 or 8 months because Austin’s warm climate causes the suet to turn rancid quickly. It’s a perfect winter/early spring food though and provides fat, which birds need.

This little Orange-crowned also enjoys the occaisional bath in the pond bog.

About to take the plunge!

I provide a commercial suet for my avian friends, but there are many recipes for homemade suet. Check out these recipes if you’re so inclined

Facing the camera!

The pair of Carolina Wrens, Thryothorus ludovicianus, also visit more than just the feeders. A favorite perch is a metal sculpture where each of the pair takes turns surveying the landscape.

Check out my profile!

The 360 degree view requires a look-see at the backside!

This favorite perching place is just below a little house built for the wrens, which they’ve inspected, but haven’t yet used for chick rearing. Fingers-crossed that this spring, they’ll decide the neighborhood is worthy of their chicks.

Wrens forage on the ground, scavenging for insects and small seeds; they also enjoy the suet.

Eyeing something in the fallen leaves!

Finally, a bird who lands in a tree!

Giving me the stink-eye is this immature Cooper’s Hawk, Accipiter cooperii. He/she had scattered the neighborhood doves, with no meal as a reward, and was resting in a neighbor’s tree, no doubt annoyed with missing lunch. The beauty loped off just after this shot. Cooper’s Hawks are year-round residents here, but easier to observe once winter’s chill render some trees bare.

There are always plenty of squirrels (stealing birdseed and digging in plant containers) who become meals for neighborhood raptors, though perhaps not as often as some might wish. This squirrel was safe on the ground and near the house, munching away at fallen sunflower seeds and generally behaving well.

Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)

The Virginia Opossum, Didelphis virginiana, is still around too, sometimes mosying through the garden during daylight, but not sleeping in the owl house–for now.

There are no Eastern Screech Owls in the owl house either, nor have I heard the adults’ signature trill at night. I’m concerned that no couple is interested in the owl real estate in my garden and if there are no takers, that will be disappointing. There’s still time for some owl action and owls are remarkably elusive; I won’t begin the no-owls-in-my-garden lamentation just yet.

So begins another year of garden wildlife drama. Let’s celebrate lots of life in the garden during 2018. Please share your wildlife stories and remember to leave your link when you comment.

Good wildlife gardening to you!