Posted in wildbirds, tagged Arkansas, bluebirds, Boston Mountains, Eastern Blue Birds, NW, nw arkansas, parthenon on May 7, 2015| 2 Comments »
On my Bluebird Trail, I have 6 house; 3 occupied, five hatchlings each. I believe they are about 4-5 days from fledging. The male and female are making hourly flights at 4-5 minute intervals; then a pause for 20-30 minutes; then feed again for an hour. also, it is early enough in the spring for a 2nd brood; they will likely change houses. Carolina Chickadees used 2 of the 6 houses too.
Posted in Weather, Wild Birds, tagged 2015, April 2, Arkansas, bluebirds, courtship, mating, nest building, new Bluebird House, parthenon, wave, wing, wing wave on April 2, 2015| 1 Comment »
I added one new Bluebird House (and retired one) to my trail this spring. The Bluebirds started checking out the new house today in the stages to breeding; the wing wave. The male found the house and brought the female to it. She looked it over real thoroughly (inside and out); then the wing wave that signals mating is near and nest building will happen that same day (the new treated post is straight, camera crooked), Taken from 150′ with a Canon 50D and an EF400L f/5.6:
Posted in Wild Birds, tagged Arkansas, bluebirds, Feb 16th on February 16, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Weather, Wild Birds, tagged bluebird, bluebirds, Boston Mountains, cold weather, hermit thrush, mid January, migration, nw arkansas, Thrushes on January 6, 2015| Leave a Comment »
My guess is they have not gone any further south yet, this year. We have many days of very cold weather coming later this week (low 5-10F and highs 25F), so they may need to move on. They are shaped much like Bluebirds (also Thrushes). The bluebirds spend every winter here in the Boston Mountains. Included is a Bluebird picture from yesterday near a canebrake.
for comparison:
Posted in Weather, Wild Birds, tagged Arkansas, bluebirds, eastern, ever, hopeful, nesting, practice. parthenon, warm day in November on November 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Weather, Wild Birds, tagged Arkansas, bath, bathe, bluebird, bluebirds, Boston Mountains, parthenon, splash on September 7, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Yesterday was a beautiful day to sit outside. Temperatures in the 70s all day, some sun, more clouds but a NE breeze of 5-10 MPH all days and humidities way down. I did all my chores alone and did not break a sweat. After finishing moving a large pile of chat used for walkways (we cannot get river gravel here because it is not legal to remove it from the local rivers; thankfully), I sat on the partially finished deck and watched the bluebirds bathe; the best I could count was 25 spread across 3 baths. They are a joy to watch and have been bathing together since late June. They are very wary as a group – with many eyes; so I took these photos from inside through a glass window with a Canon 50D and an EF400L 5.6 Lens at ISO 1600.
I must change and freshen the water daily, or their not interested. The adults bathe first and the the older fledglings and finally those from Brood 3. Id say the fledglings are pretty much “on their own” now.
Posted in Shrubs and Trees, Wild Birds, tagged 2 hours, Arkansas, at least 20 species, birds, Black Locust, bluebirds, Boston Mountains, dead wood, indigo bunting, May 2014, mulberry tree, orioles, oven bird, parthenon, Red Mulberry, Red Mulberry; wild, tanagers, warblers, wild birds, winter birds on August 27, 2014| Leave a Comment »
The tree I am speaking of is OLD and large Red Mulberry and has a good bunch of squaw-wood (dead wood) at the bottom. Next to it, is a young Black Locust and a very large dead Elm. When the mulberries ripen in May. Some years earlier than others. I was astounded how may species of birds come to eat the fruit on this tree.
I spent an entire morning in May in a camp shirt and dark green hat on, about 40-50 feet from this Mulberry Tree with a hand-held Canon 50D with a Canon EF400L f/5.6 Lens snapping photos left and right on this amazing tree’s visitors.
Here are a few:
Posted in Wild Birds, tagged Arkansas, bathe, bird bath, bluebirds, Eastern Bluebird, fledglings, parthenon on July 30, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Taking their parents lead, these fledglings hatched from my trail, about 15, have taken to the water in a big way as their parents watch:
Posted in Wild Birds, tagged Arkansas, bluebirds, boston, Mountains, parthenon, Purple Martins on April 9, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Had a second pair of Purple Martins examine the house today; never had much luck with these birds. They’re are quite a lot of full Purple Martins on top of Shiloh and on top of Henderson Mountain. I am situated on a bench about 1000 feet below the mountain top and 200′ above the Little Buffalo River. I guess my house is hard to find ! The Bluebirds continue to incubate their eggs. One house, low enough for me to seen inside, has either 4 or 5 eggs. The other house I’m certain they are nesting in, is too tall for me to see inside.
Other pairs of Bluebirds continue to explore the newer house in the “house hunting” efforts. All photos here taken with a Canon 50D and a EF400L f/5.6 lens:
Posted in Weather, Wild Birds, tagged Arkansas, bluebirds, Boston Mountains, house sparrows, threat to our native cavity nesting birds on March 7, 2014| 1 Comment »
About 10 days ago we hit 65F and then 70F. The next day 63; then cold, then snow, and ice, then a slow warm up. Today the bluebirds seem lethargic and disinterested in the nests they started 10 days ago. Now, the English House Sparrows have occupied all the houses despite my attempts to trap and relocate them this February. I actually caught and removed 17 House Sparrows. They are always replaced (I guess) by similar numbers of House Sparrows. SO, the fight is on !! I have to spend time each day to ID and remove sparrow nests (they can build a full nest in one day), and ID and leave bluebird nests in each house. House sparrows are not sparrows at all; they are English Weaver Finches.
A few words about House Sparrows from Cornell Labs
House Sparrows aren’t related to other North American sparrows, and they’re differently shaped. House Sparrows are chunkier, fuller in the chest, with a larger, rounded head, shorter tail, and stouter bill than most American sparrows.
Male House Sparrows are brightly colored birds with gray heads, white cheeks, a black bib, and rufous neck – although in cities you may see some that are dull and grubby. Females are a plain buffy-brown overall with dingy gray-brown underparts. Their backs are noticeably striped with buff, black, and brown.
House Sparrows are noisy sparrows that flutter down from eaves and fencerows to hop and peck at crumbs or birdseed. Look for them flying in and out of nest holes hidden behind shop signs or in traffic lights, or hanging around parking lots waiting for crumbs and picking insects off car grills.
House Sparrows have lived around humans for centuries. Look for them on city streets, taking handouts in parks and zoos, or cheeping from a perch on your roof or trees in your yard. House Sparrows are absent from undisturbed forests and grasslands, but they’re common in countryside around farmsteads.
House Sparrows hop rather than walk on the ground. They are social, feeding in crowded flocks and squabbling over crumbs or seeds on the ground. House Sparrows are a common sight at bird feeders; you may also see them bathing in street-side puddles or dustbathing on open ground, ruffling their feathers and flicking water or dust over themselves with similar motions. From living in such close company, House Sparrows have developed many ways of indicating dominance and submission. Nervous birds flick their tails. Aggravated birds crouch with the body horizontal, shove their head forward and partially spread and roll forward their wings, and hold the tail erect. This can intensify to a display with wings lifted, crown and throat feathers standing on end, tail fanned, and beak open. Males with larger amounts of black on the throat tend to dominate over males with less black. When males display to a prospective mate, they fluff up their chest, hold their wings partially open, fan the tail, and hop stiffly in front of the female, turning sideways and sometimes bowing up and down. Sometimes, other males who spot such a display in progress will fly in and begin displaying as well. In flocks, males tend to dominate over females in fall and winter, but females assert themselves in spring and summer.
House Sparrow populations declined by over 3.5 percent between 1966 and 2010, resulting in a cumulative decline of 81 percent, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Partners in Flight estimates their global breeding population at 540 million with 13 percent in the U.S., 2 percent in Canada and 2 percent in Mexico. They rate an 8 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Scale and are not on the 2012 Watch List. Nest holes in trees and nest boxes are valuable commodities for birds that require them for breeding. House Sparrows are fierce competitors for these, and their abundance can squeeze out some native cavity-nesting species. After becoming common in North American cities, House Sparrows moved out to colonize farmyards and barns during the twentieth century. With the recent industrialization of farms, House Sparrows now seem to be declining across most of their range. They will kill our native cavity nesters (i.e.. Bluebirds, Purple Martins, etc.), in competition for their nesting space.
Life and Wildlife along the Little Buffalo River 