Mourning Doves

I went into my garden to find beauty. This Mourning Dove sat quietly and calmly beneath the tube feeders. Perhaps it was waiting for the songbirds to drop seeds they don't want from the tube feeder onto the the ground. The Doves could then eat the dropped seeds.



 After a moment or two, I noticed the chest feathers on this bird's breast. The ruffled feathers are just over the bare spot birds have. The feathers overlap and cover a spot which has no feathers on it. I think all birds that incubate eggs have these bare spots. The bare skin transfers body heat to the eggs, helping to warm them.

Mourning Doves have chicks from February until November. They don't have to wait until the insects and spiders are abundant like other birds.

The sound of cooing signals the mating and courtship of a pair of Doves.

From the ruffled appearance of the breast feathers, I assume that this bird is incubating eggs. If this is true, then this bird might be a female as males incubate during the day and females during the night.

Mourning Doves feed their young a form of milk they make in their crop. It is called "pigeon milk" or crop milk. Both male and female doves make this milk. It is secreted by the crop lining. The milk is an extremely nutritious food with more protein and fat than is found in either cow's milk or human milk.

Flamingos also produce a milk-like substance to feed their young.

The young doves insert their beaks into the corner of their parents mouths. This action stimulates the parents to produce the milk.

The chicks are fed this milk for five to ten days after hatching and then they are gradually introduced to a diet of regurgitated seeds or fruit.

The Earth is a fascinating and mysterious place, where birds make milk and chipmunks sleep through the winter.

To read more about Mourning Doves visit Cornell Lab of Ornithology  of Birds website.

Great backyard Bird Count - Starts this Friday

This Friday, I will be participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count. It runs from Friday, February 18 through Monday, February 21, 2011.  It is the first time I have submitted data for this citizen science project. I don't think it will be much different from Project Feederwatch, that I participate in.

The Great Backyard Bird Count, like Project Feederwatch, monitors the abundance, distribution and winter bird movement of birds in North America.

I think it is important to count and submit data on urban birds. An article, last year, in the scientific journal Nature, revealed that ecologists have neglected the study of urban ecosystems.  There is a notion afoot, that animals and plants must disappear (die off) in the presence of humans. The numbers are often reduced, but many animals live in cities. What I often write about is how we can provide good lives for all the inhabitants of the city, human and non-human.

Hairy Woodpecker Fights Back - Project Feederwatch Update

A female Hairy Woodpecker keeping House Sparrows away

There was a little ruckus at my suet feeder the other day. Even though Hairy woodpeckers (Picoides villosus) will share a feeder with other birds, this female was not putting up with the gregarious and pushy House Sparrows (Passer domesticus).

You can just make out the woodpecker hiding behind the center stick.

Whenever a House Sparrow tried to eat some of the suet, the woodpecker hid, then lunged at them and drove them away. I don't blame her. If she hadn't, a gang of House Sparrows probably would have done the same to her. Hairy woodpeckers eat suet and black oil sunflower seeds at my feeders. These foods supplements their basic winter diet, of overwintering beetle larvae and ants found in tree bark.

I know this is a Hairy Woodpecker and not a Downy (Picoides pubescent), because I finally learned a reliable method to tell them apart. The Hairy doesn't have black spots on the white tail feathers, a Downy does. The Downy does have a smaller beak and head than the Hairy, but sometimes it is hard to judge.

Hairy Woodpeckers don't migrate. They are year-round residents here in Pennsylvania. They are often seen in residential areas in winter. Hairys mate for life and keep the same territory all their lives. So, this is probably the female that visits my feeders in the summer nesting season. Her mate is probably the male that also visits from time to time. Hairy Woodpeckers roost in tree cavities during winter nights.

Hairys begin courtship display in November and continue throughout the winter. During courtship, woodpeckers drum on large trees and branches rather than sing. So, listen for the sound of fast drumming, echoing in the still winter air.

Enjoying a quiet, undisturbed meal.

Bird Feeders Replaced after Squirrel Attack

Three weeks ago, I had to replace my hanging tube feeder, the Squirrel Buster.  My old one succumbed to the skills of the squirrels. The squirels can not eat the seeds with the feeder hanging from a post, so they teamed up to knock it down.

summer photo of squirrel working on the Squirrel Buster.

The squirrels destroyed it by knocking the stand down, which cracked the plastic tube which holds the seeds. I just saw the stand crashing to the ground as two squirrels high-tailed in out of my garden.

I was so ticked off, I wouldn't write about it until I cooled off. Which is now. It took me three weeks to get over the annoyance, forget the money I had to spend and like the squirrels again.

This is one of my new feeders. It is a Squirrel Buster Classic. I stuck with the Squirrel Buster because they do work and last awhile. I bought two this time, a small and a larger one. I like the wire cage on the outside, which will protect the plastic tube from cracking during squirrel attacks.

House Sparrows on new Squirrel Buster

I ordered my new Brome 1055 Squirrel Buster Mini and Brome 1015 Squirrel Buster Classic from Amazon.com.

For those of you who are just starting out feeding birds, here is a good article on what types of feeders to use, 5 Best Bird Feeders for Winter | Audubon Magazine Blog

Colorful Evening Visitors - Project Feederwatch Report

Male Cardinal waits his turn at tray feeder.

The colorful native birds arrive at my backyard feeder in the very late afternoon. I went to replenish the feeders at 4 o'clock, and the Cardinal pair and a female Hairy Woodpecker were already eating.

The woodpecker pecked at the suet cake, just as she would peck at hibernating insects and eggs in the tree trunks.

female Hairy Woodpecker

She lacks the bright red patch on the back of her head that the male Hairy Woodpecker has. But I could see she was a Hairy woodpecker by the lack of spots on her outer tail feathers. The Downy Woodpeckers have black spots on their tails.

The Cardinals were foraging for seeds underneath the feeders, but few were left. The gregarious hoard of House Sparrows had cleaned the area out earlier in the day.

I like the House Sparrows, but their pushy ways and loudness, get on my nerves. I kind of resent them. These invaders from the other side of the world, keep the native birds away from the feeders.

Eat, eat my little friends! (House Sparrows)

They are fun to watch. They vocalize all day. They travel in packs. And they eat the full buffet I put out at my feeders, black oil sunflower seeds, suet, millet and Nyjer seed. I guess this is why they are so successful and numerous. I am trying to love House Sparrows.

Dark-eyed Junco

Eight dark-eyed Juncos hopped into view from under the shrubs. When the House Sparrows are around, there are at most, three Juncos in my garden. I had no idea there were so many of these little birds in my garden.

In the fading light the birds left my garden, one by one.

Location: My backyard, Philadelphia, PA; Time: 4:00 - 4:57 pm

Weather: cold 28 degrees F, clear, breezy H: 26 degrees F, L: 22 degrees F

Species seen: Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis), Northern Cardinal ( Cardinalis cardinals), and Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides pubsecens)

My Project Feederwatch Photo Gallery