It’s not every winter I see them. But quite the treat to see when they do show up. The Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata).
Internet sites say you can attract them with sunflower seed, raisins, suet, and peanut butter.
Where I see them most often though, not at the feeders but at the birdbath.
I’ve got my fingers crossed that I’ll get to see them this winter.
Suet at the bird feeders here insures that Downy Woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens) show up. They’re cute little things, about the same size a Dark-eyed Junco or a White-throated Sparrow. The smallest woodpeckers in North America. The Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus) is quite similar in its markings but a good bit larger — the size of a Robin. The proportional size of its bill to the head is a good indicator too, in telling the two apart. The bill of the Downy is about a third the size of its head. The bill of the Hairy is nearly as long as the woodpecker’s head. I love seeing these handsome little ones. I’m about out of suet, I’ve gotta get busy and mix up some more to keep those Downies happy.
Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum). Quite the handsome bird. It makes me think of a Roadrunner with its very long tail and long curved bill. They’re here during their breeding season but are year round in the deeper Southeast. The feeders here at my cabin don’t tempt them, not even the suet, but they love my blueberries. Down in Florida at my Mom’s feeders they are constantly eating the suet at her feeders. Omnivores, Brown Thrashers eat insects, berries, seeds and nuts, earthworms, snails, and an occasional lizard or frog.
They winter in South America. And their little wings carry them a humongous number of miles to get to their breeding grounds in eastern North America. Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea).
Male Scarlet Tanagers are that perfect color combination of brilliant red and black. Smart birds, they’re my favorite colors to wear too. The females are a subtle yellow and black.
If you are interested in what you might offer to attract Scarlet Tanagers to your yard, the internet will tell you to put out, “suet, mealworms, grape jelly or oranges.” My suggestion is have a birdbath or two or three and lots of blueberry bushes.
These beauties will be arriving very soon. I can’t wait.
The Downy Woodpecker, Picoides pubescens. A permanent resident here and in most places in their native range. That range, with the exception of the desert southwest and the tundra of the north, is nearly all of Canada and the United States. But in the northern portions of their territory, some may wander a bit south for the winter. Or if in the higher elevations may come to a lower elevation.
They are little woodpeckers. In fact, they are the smallest woodpecker native to North America. The size of a White-throated Sparrow. Little. Downy Woodpeckers are nearly identical to the Hairy Woodpecker, who is about the size of an American Robin. NOT little. Keep that in mind when you see one of these black and white beauties. I’m accustomed to seeing the Downy Woodpecker, and on the occasion that I see a Hairy Woodpecker, the size difference is enough to make me say, “Whoa!” For me, there is no mistaking one from the other, the size difference is quite striking.
Another difference that you might find helpful is the size of their bill. The Downy Woodpecker’s bill about 1/3 the size of its head. Think CUTE. The Hairy Woodpecker’s bill is about the same length as its head, from the base of the bill to the back of the head.
Though Downy Woodpeckers mainly eat insects, beetle larvae and caterpillars, they also eat berries, acorns, peanuts, sunflower seeds and grains. During the winter, when I’m able to feed the birds, Downies are frequently at the suet feeder.
During the warmer months the bears up here in the mountains, want to join in with the birds, getting their food, so I restrict my bird feeding, reluctantly, to the winter.
But I keep three bird baths full, one with a dripper. Without feeding them I still get to see the best of the warm weather birds. Pure delight.
Like High Noon at the OK Corral. A Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) sizes up its competition, a Chickadee (Paridae) and a Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus). Two pipsqueaks.
As intimidation begins, Chickadee excuses itself. Leaving Downy Woodpecker and Carolina Wren to a showdown.
Downy Woodpecker poofs its wing feathers. While Carolina Wren proceeds to enjoy the suet.
Downy Woodpecker draws upon its dramatic training and sweeps its wings open. While Carolina Wren ignores the theatrics.
And the winner is declared. The smaller and obstinate Carolina Wren tells the Downy Woodpecker to get in line and wait its turn.
An occasional visitor to my bird bath, in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. A Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata). Fondly called Butterbutts by birders. If you don’t have a bird bath, I sure recommend one equipped with a water warmer to keep the water from freezing during the coldest that winter can throw at you.
These warblers don’t partake of the beautiful bird buffet that I put out for them but I’ve read that they do enjoy suet, sunflower seeds, peanut butter and raisins at back yard feeders. AND down at my Mom’s feeder in Citrus County, Florida, they enjoy her suet. Maybe I should ask my sister for her recipe. They don’t seem interested in MY recipe.
When they’re not at a feeder during the winter they will feed on the berries of juniper, poison ivy, poison oak, greenbrier, grapes, Virginia creeper, and dogwood. Butterbutts also eat the seeds of grasses and goldenrod.
During the summer while they’re up north they eat spiders, and many insects like beetles, caterpillars, gnats, wasps, aphids, and grasshoppers.
Best of luck at getting to see Yellow-rumped Warblers and don’t forget, if I didn’t have a bird bath equipped with a water warmer I doubt I’d get to see these sweet little birds.
Yesterday’s post was about an irruptive visitor. The tiny Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) who shows up in the woods of the Blue Ridge Mountains of central Virginia, if its usual seed supply is less than optimal. But there’s another Nuthatch that lives here all year long. The White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis).
It is fun to find this Nuthatch searching for insects in crevices of tree bark. It goes up, down, and when heading DOWN the tree trunk it goes head first. It will eat insects, seeds, nuts, suet and peanut butter. A nice customer to have at the feeder.
I love to hear the White-breasted Nuthatch making its wonderful songs and calls. Announcing itself with a series of soft chuckles. Or on other occasions it may sound like the beep of a small tin toy car.
A little bird, larger than the Red-breasted Nuthatch, smaller than a Tufted Titmouse. Fun to find whether at the feeder or as I’m wandering the mountain.
A little feathered creature that I see some winters. A bird that is said to be “irruptive,” meaning it depends on the seed supply where it normally spends its winters. In years when the seeds of pine, spruce, and fir trees are not plentiful these birds will venture into areas where they are not normally seen.
The Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) shows up here in the Blue Ridge Mountains of central Virginia every two or three years. I’m always pleased to see them. And their songs and calls bring a smile to my face. They sound like a chuckle, or like the horn of a terribly tiny tin toy car.
While they’re here they will visit my feeders, eating the sunflower seeds, peanuts and suet that is put out. Sometimes I’ll see a Red-breasted Nuthatch going back and forth to the feeders, much more frequently than what I might expect. More than likely this means it is going to a special hiding place, stashing food in crevices in tree bark. Putting the food away for later.
So glad you guys are here and I hope I’ll see you next winter too.
In the past three days I have been entertained by a visitor that I have not seen for more than two years. I don’t really know if this visitor is actually one that I saw during the bitterest of late January and early February of 2014, but she is quite fun to watch whether new to my woods or not. I can see her out my kitchen window. She is a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus various.
Back in the winter of 2014, a family of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers showed up at the “watering hole” adjacent to the woods, and just outside my kitchen window. Female, male and juvenile. It was so cold that I was concerned for them. The only thing they seemed to be doing was enjoying the warm water that I had provided, and shivering. Particularly the female. In the picture above, by the way, is the male. Notice his stronger coloring, and the crimson patch at this throat, compared to the first picture, my current visitor, a female. They stayed around for a few days, during those extreme days of 2014, and then I never saw any of this species of woodpecker again, until just a few days ago.
The female that has appeared at the suet feeder has declared this suet to be hers and hers alone.
She takes her time feeding at the suet and takes a break, clinging to the little Dogwood trunk just a few feet away, with her sharply clawed toes. There have been Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, and Downy Woodpeckers who are regulars at the suet feeder. Now, if the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker sees someone that she considers a violator of her space she immediately throws her body at the intruder. This has gone on for three solid days, every moment that the suet feeder has been out there, in daylight. I don’t know where she goes as the sun goes down, but she must trust that nobody is going to eat her suet.
This behavior has me curious and I’ve gone to an amazing reference “book”, the internet. I find that Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers drill holes into trees that create sap flows, called sapwells. Sapwells provide the birds with sap which they lap up with their brush-tipped tongues, a path to the tree’s cambium which they eat, and the sap traps insects which they also eat.
The information about the sapwells is not new to me. Up in the woods there are trees that have lines of holes. These are sapwells created by the Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. Even in the trees immediately around my cabin, I don’t have concern about the woodpeckers harming my trees. Seldom is serious harm done.
I do find a bit of information that might apply. These Sapsuckers tend to watch over and protect their sapwells. This has me wondering. Could she have tapped into the little Dogwood? I go out and sure enough, I find a sapwell! And within a short time, she is working on another Dogwood just a short distance away. From my perch at the kitchen window I can see telltale moisture around the area where she has been working.
Nature is always prodding me to dig to get more information. Dig to learn more. I love Mother Nature.
