Are Bluebirds Attracted to Blue?

I have a question... We have eastern blue birds that love to perch on the blue plastic on our trampoline. What gives?

Bluebirds may be attracted to the colors of their species but it's more likely that it’s a good place to hunt. A bluebirds' diet is made up primarily of bugs, usually spied from a perch. It’s characteristic behavior of bluebirds to fly down, catch prey and then return to their perch to eat. Do you have a lot of bugs in that area; maybe not with the bluebird on patrol?

If you don’t have a trampoline in your yard you can also place a couple 4 foot wooden stakes or “hunting perches” in your bluebird habitat. Bluebirds, as well as other birds, welcome a low perch to hunt insects on the ground. You may also notice bluebirds taking advantage of fence posts or garden statues.

Along with bugs, Eastern Bluebirds eat fruit from flowering dogwood, holly, mulberry, wild grape, Virginia creeper, pokeweed and Viburnum. If any of these plants are nearby, hungry bluebirds might stay close.

It’s hard to understand why birds do a lot of things. He may be attracted to the color, bugs, plants or if they are nesting close by, the bird may find the trampoline the perfect spot to patrol his territory. Whatever the reason, it’s a good observation. If anyone else has a different theory let us know in the comments below.

More information on the management of bluebirds can be found at the Michigan DNR: http://ning.it/b8Pg9Q

Category › Question of the week

I Have a Great Crested Flycatcher in My Yard!

I was so surprised to have a Great Crested Flycatcher in my yard this year. JT ~St. Johns, MI

That's great! The Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus) is often hard to spot even though it's one of the most colorful of flycatchers, with a bright yellow belly. They spend much of their time perched on treetops making a loud, insistent "wheep!", "prrrrrrrrrreeeet", "wheeep" calls.

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These cavity-nesting birds are found in Michigan from early May to mid-September. They will nest in old woodpecker nests, natural tree cavities or birdhouses. According to the Birds of Michigan book by Ted Black, the Great Crested Flycatcher has an interesting practice of decorating the entrance of its nest with a shed snakeskin or a clear plastic wrapper, perhaps to scare away predators.

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They can flycatch from mid-air, on branches, or the ground. They will eat a variety of large insects, including beetles, crickets, katydids, caterpillars, moths, and butterflies. They also eat fruits and berries. At your feeder they may be looking for mealworms.

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Thanks for sharing!

Category › Bird of the week

A Hobby for All Seasons: Bird Feeding in the Summer

Bird feeding isn't just a winter hobby.
Feeding your birds in the summer will not make them too lazy, too dependent or keep them from migrating at the appropriate time. All of these old myths have been dispelled by modern research and observation.

Birds with access to backyard bird feeders are able to spend less time foraging for food and more time engaging in activities that positively impact their survival and well-being. This additional time can be used to be more aware of threats from predators and to preen their feathers for flight and insulation.

Studies have also shown that birds with access to feeders during nesting season spend less time away from their nests looking for food. These birds will lay their clutch of eggs earlier and fledge one more chick per clutch than birds without access to feeders.

Summer bird feeding will bring new birds to your yard with interesting behaviors to observe and enjoy. Summer is actually the most heavily bird populated season in most of North America. Contrary to popular belief, recent research also shows summer to be the most abundant season for birds to visit feeders.

The summer visitors at your feeders will be featuring their brightest breeding plumage, and they will often be accompanied by their young offspring with duller feathers. Summer provides a fascinating opportunity to see adult birds feeding and interacting with their young, and it is an experience that you do not want to miss.

Source: WBU Nature News

Category › Nature up close

Big Bird on Diet

An Australian kookaburra bird is undergoing personal training after growing too fat to fly. The kookaburra got into trouble with her weight when residents at a Sydney park began feeding her sausages at barbecues.

"Out in the wild she'd eat a whole small animal such as a mouse or skink, but butcher's sausages are just too much of a good thing," said Gemma Watkinson, Sydney's Taronga Zoo wildlife hospital nurse.

Following a rigorous exercise regime, the kookaburra is winning her battle of the bulge, but still has to lose a little more before returned to her native habitat.

For the full story by Pauline Askin, Editing by Michael Perry go to http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6513ZJ20100602

Category › Friday Photo

International Migratory Bird Day & Be a Tourist in Your Own Town

Location: Potter Park Zoo
Saturday, June 5, 2010 - 9:00am - 6:00pm
Price: General Admission

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Get a Be A Tourist passport, and admission is FREE! http://www.lansing.org/batyot

International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD) is a celebration! It celebrates spring, and with it the return of millions of migratory birds to their breeding areas. Nearly 350 species of migratory birds travel between nesting habitats in North America and non-breeding grounds in South and Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Come on out to the Zoo to celebrate IMBD and Be A Tourist In Your Own Town. Potter Park Zoo in Lansing will have stations set up to teach you about mid-Michigan's migratory birds, and will have fun activities for the whole family!

To learn more about IMBD go to http://www.birdday.org/.

Category › Family Fun

Are There Nectar Feeding Bats in Michigan?

Bats comprise one-fourth of the world's 4,000 species of mammals. Forty-three bat species are currently found in the United States. Of the 43 species of bats that live in the U.S., nine insect-eating bat species live in Michigan. All are nocturnal (active at night), and feed nearly exclusively on flying insects, including moths, beetles, and mosquitoes. None drink nectar.

Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas are home to three nectar-feeding bats (the lesser long-nosed bat, Mexican long-nosed bat and Mexican long-tongued bat) that are extremely important to the pollination and life cycle of agaves, saguaros and cacti.

For more information on the benefits of bats and how we depend on them for pest control, seed dispersal and to pollinate commercial products including bananas, avocados, dates, figs, peaches, mangoes, cloves, cashews and carob go to the Bat Conservation International (BCI) website: http://ning.it/dpjiDm.

Category › Nature up close

Migration Comes to a Halt

Delightful weather enabled banding 7 days this past week. Even at the beginning of the week migration had came to an abrupt halt. Birds captured were few and far between as many of them are busy with nesting activities and those moving northward have already done so. Tuesday was my busiest day with 32 birds captured. Our first robin caught this spring was a second year male in full breeding condition, primed and ready!

I was happy to hear bobwhite calls as I made my rounds. Last fall approximately 25 young were released on the island and I don’t think too many survived the winter.

I also spotted Saltmarsh Sparrows (formerly Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows) this week but they eluded our nets. There has been one in the same spot in the marsh and I’m hoping its breeding there.

Wednesday brought a special bird, a species we don’t capture too often. A Black-billed Cuckoo!

Their numbers fluctuate from year to year depending on food availability. They enjoy caterpillars immensely. This bird can have a complete molt in its first year, so I was unable to determine if it was a second year bird or older. Banders then have to age the bird as AHY (after hatch year). I also had to sex the bird as unknown, although the wing was very short leading me to suspect male, which tend to be smaller in this species. This bird presented with a brood patch, but both sexes are known to incubate eggs.





Note the beautiful red orbital ring surrounding its eye. In juvenile birds this appears as a dull greenish color, but changes gradually to a red color of the adult through winter and spring.

Another fine bird captured on Wednesday was a female Eastern Kingbird. She had a brood patch, her wing length was too short for a male and her outermost primary feather also pointed to female. Kingbirds breed on the island and we can hear their static-like song throughout the meadow. They belong to the family of flycatchers and capture insects on the wing.

Those who haven’t seen a kingbird up close may not realize it sports a beautiful orange patch on its crown.

Another bird captured today was a Gray Catbird that felt enormous when I took it out of the net. During banding I noticed a huge fluid filled area on its chest/abdomen. I’m inserting this picture in the hopes that another bander might recognize this condition. Fluid filled the right side of its body from the fulcrum down to the cloaca. Any thoughts would be appreciated. The normal red muscle color on the birds left is barely perceivable and the abdomen was fully feathered.

On Friday the only different species I had from the rest of the week was a male European Starling.

The starling is an introduced species brought over sometime in the nineteenth century. Their sheer numbers and aggressive behavior cause them to be disliked by many people, but one cannot deny the stunning beauty of their shimmering feathers up close.

This was the week for blackbirds. On Sunday we captured both  male (top) and female(bottom) Red-winged Blackbirds. You can see by the pictures below how different they look. Plumage in the female is cryptically colored to enable them to hide in marshes where they nest.

Common Grackles also belong to the Blackbird family. They are fairly big birds and their toenails really hurt when pressed into your fingers! They too have stunning shimmering feathers.

We closed the nets up early on Monday. Bird activity was very slow and I have to say I was ready to head home after a long week of banding. We did manage to capture our first male House Finch (another introduced species) of the year. You can see the typical streaking of the undertail coverts in the picture below not usually present in Purple Finches in the east. The bill also has a substantial curve to it. Another good indication this is a House Finch is the fact that it didn’t bite! Purple Finches are more aggressive when handled.

With migration coming to a close and birds busy with young, I won't be banding as often in the summer. I usually try to sample the area two/three times a week specifically targeting ticks we pull from birds. I may be posting every other week unless there are some great birds to share!

I want to thank bander Gretchen Putonen for running the banding station when I was away on Saturday and for banding with me all weekend. Many thanks also to Carolyn Kennedy, Judy Keller, and Judith Bruce for helping out this week. The following birds were seen, heard, and/or captured from 25 – 31 May :

Total birds: 147     Total species: 52      Total captured species: 20 Birds/100 net-hours: 18









Great Blue Heron

Canada Goose

American Black Duck

Mallard

Osprey

Northern Bobwhite

Black-bellied Plover

Greater Yellowlegs

Willet

American Woodcock

Laughing Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Herring Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Common Tern

Mourning Dove

Black-billed Cuckoo- 1

Great Horned Owl

Ruby-throated Hummingbird-1

Downy Woodpecker

Yellow-shafted Flicker- 1

Eastern Phoebe

Great Crested Flycatcher

Eastern Kingbird- 1

Tree Swallow- 1

Barn Swallow

Blue Jay

American Crow

Fish Crow

Black-capped Chickadee- 9

Tufted Titmouse

Carolina Wren

American Robin- 1

Gray Catbird- 44

Northern Mockingbird

Cedar Waxwing- 1

European Starling- 3

Yellow Warbler- 3

Pine Warbler- 2

Prairie Warbler- 8

Common Yellowthroat- 31

Northern Cardinal- 4

Eastern Towhee

Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow

Song Sparrow- 7

Red-winged Blackbird- 3

Common Grackle- 1

Brown-headed Cowbird

Baltimore Oriole

House Finch- 2

American Goldfinch- 23

House Sparrow

Category ›