Gotta Keep Up

The title of this blog may have you thinking, I'm referring to blog entries or keeping the feeders full or even my species count for my competition.  I wish it was in reference to the fun side of birding, the happy days of searching new species or of simply enjoying the ones I share my yard with and then share with my readers.  Today, I walked out into the courtyard at work and found a horde of birds that were casualties of circumstance.  These birds had simply picked the wrong place to forage and never saw the glass that they flew into. 

 

American Robins from the beginning of Nov.

I can't even count the number of dead or injured birds we have found around work that were victims of window strikes.   If I were to estimate over the last 4 years...  I'd guess around 300.  What amazes me is not the number but the fact that those are only the ones I've seen.  When I think of all the other building in the world and all the other windows, the estimates conservationist make seem beyond real and more like an understatement. 

Fox Sparrow, not all the birds die, at least right away.

Here the abundance of window strikes is without a doubt Dark-eyed Juncos.  These small gray-brown sparrows breed across Canada and into the northern US, including some higher altitude areas farther south.  During the winter they migrate south as far as parts of Mexico to forage for food and survive before heading north again.  There are quite a number of forms of Dark-eyed Junco as would be expected from the large distribution of the species.  To go into any more details about their behavior would require discussing separate forms.  Instead, I just also mention that they are NOT the only birds that have been killed.

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)- 10 in total today from one hall

Window Strike Species (off the top of my head): Red-tailed Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Mourning Dove, Hermit Thrush, Swainson's Thrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Dark-eyed Junco, White-throated Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Northern Flicker, American Robin, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Indigo Bunting, Brown Creeper, etc, etc.

Squirt Bottle
filled with soapy water

So back to the title.  I take some of the blame for today's casualties.  We have tried a number of different methods for keeping them from flying into the windows but our options are limited because it is a workplace.  In vacant areas we've put some newspaper up on the windows but that's not an option for the higher traffic sections.  In those areas we try to do non-invasive window soaping.  The basic goal is get soap scum on the windows to breakup the reflection and let the birds know something is there.  BUT I haven't done it in awhile and with all the rain, most of the residue has washed away.  I "Gotta Keep Up" with making sure we're making an effort to reduce the number of window strikes. 

Me illustrating the final product, it doesn't stop the strikes
but it does reduce them.

Window Strikes Again

Almost every morning that I drive into campus, I make a swing under what I have started to call the 'corridor of doom'.  It's not 1 but 2 floors of elevated glass hallway that connect two buildings here at work.  I guess I should clarify, two unoccupied buildings here at work.  I've asked if they would be willing to lower the shades all the time, at least until people move in.  Of course, the answer is that it is an impossibility because it's automatically programmed to close and open based on temperature in the blah blah blah.  I must admit to me it sounds like, the hallway is too pretty to keep shaded and I'm not going to put the trouble into figuring out how to do it. 

Casualties of the Corridor of Doom: Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Black-throated Green Warbler

One fall we had a HUGE fallout of Juncos and unfortunately many did not survive.  Luckily, that has been by far the worst accrual of death we have had due to window strikes.  I can't blame all the death on those corridors however; our building also has three ground-floor passageways with glass on both sides.  One side of one passageway causes most of the window strikes in our building and we've been lucky that we have gotten away with hanging newspaper on the windows and no one has taken it down.  Lucky except... there's a glass door with a glass header over it and the birds still fly into that. 

Last week I went out for a quick walk-through the courtyard and didn't see anything by the windows and was happily enjoying the White-throated Sparrows that have just shown up on campus, the American Robins feasting on random berries, and a Common Yellowthroat hopping around in the underbrush. 

Then as I was heading in the doors, here was this little bird sitting on the cold cement slab panting.  Ruby-throated Humingbirds are still migrating through Connecticut with mostly females and first year birds left.  Most of the hawkwatch sites count the Ruby-throats they see and by this time the numbers are starting to drop off with most of the birds already reaching the southern U.S. on their way to Mexico and South America to overwinter. 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird- female/ immature type

So why did I pick this bird up and not just leave it where it was to recover?  Hummingbirds burn a lot of energy and they have a very small body which doesn't retain heat very well.  I picked it up to donate some of my body heat while the bird was recovering.  After a few minutes of sitting on my open palm, it recovered enough to fly up to a tree branch in the sun about 15 feet above me.  I watched it for about five minutes but it was still sitting in the tree when I left, I figured it could probably do without the stress of having me still so close. 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird- recovering from window strike

The Littlest Falcon

Three different species of falcon call Connecticut home, Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, and American Kestrel.  The American Kestrel, the smallest of the three falcon species, is an open prairie or grassland hunter in general, feeding on almost any small moving animal.  They are known best for their love of grasshoppers and dragonflies as food for their young.  Unfortunately, this habitat is becoming compressed in the state and compounding that with a reduction in nesting spots, the population of nesting kestrels has dropped.  Recent efforts by bird lovers such as Art Gingert and Tom Sayers have helped these falcons bounce back, if even just a little.

Now for my story:  Yale's West Campus is approximately 130 acres, many of it wooded, but the majority is landscapes lawns and some natural grassy areas.  We have been working to encourage the landscapers to retain as much 'natural' habitat as possible in hopes that it will attract more bird species.  Our current species count on campus is at over 100 and American Kestrel is one of those we have seen on frequent occasions.  So, it didn't take long for us to begin to wonder if maybe a kestrel would want to use campus to raise their young. 

Sue (my coworker) and I decided to try and get a nest box to hang in one of these natural grassy areas.  We made contact with Art Gingert who supplies nest boxes in suitable habitat but he felt ours was not good enough quality to be able to give us a box, when other better habitat was in need.  We however, have a tough time giving up so easy and instead dug into our pockets and pulled together enough money to buy the supplies to build our own box.

After months of delay (it was winter anyway), we volunteered Nate another coworker to help us put together the box.  After about 7 months of the wood sitting around, two weeks was all it took to get the box together and ready to hang.  Last Wednesday was a nice sunny day, we had some spare time, and a nest box ready to hang.  Here are a series of pictures from the afternoon.




Lynn (Me) showing off the finished product





Hanging the kestrel nest box about 12' from the ground.





Nate doing some final touches


If you have an interest in learning more about American Kestrel, information can be hard to find, I'd suggest starting here. 

Information about Tom Sayers work in CT can be found here.

Directions from Art Gingert on how to build a nest box can be found here

We are keeping our eyes on the box and around campus in general for kestrels.  I'll keep you posted with any updates.

An Odd Assortment

Ok So, I have been slacking, Oh well. Here are a few pictures from the last... month or so. Birding and such from work and beyond.



The new Purple Martin gourd houses at Milford Point Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center... House Sparrow resistant, maybe for nesting but they still like to hang out on them, even with fake martins.

Ring-billed Gull flying by at Milford Point, just a picture I like.

Green darner dragonfly. Hey I'm an entomologist, these things catch my eye.



Great Egret who flew away to hang out with the Oyster Catchers.

We have Wild Turkey every where at work. This one is in our new meadow.

Eastern Kingbirds have recently shown up at work too. I guess the meadow is bringing in insects too.


Some of the early nesters are done, here is a fledgling Northern Flicker who was hanging out with some fledgling Black-capped Chickadees next to the parking lot.

Our nesting Red-tailed Hawks are still being harassed by the Common Grackles.



So I FINALLY went to a mushroom foray with my club, the first in about 3 years. This little slug came in on a branch with some Mycena mushrooms.

A beautiful specimen of Tremella foliacea. I wish they all looked like this.



Here are the 2 tables of finds from the last Sunday foray, Frank was checking out the diversity.

So a good little mix of recent activities. I'll probably go out mushrooming again Sunday.



Woops a couple more birds. Cedar Waxwings have also shown up to feed on the fruiting trees at work. There were at least 5 at one point.

And our most recent addition to the bird list at work. Willow Flycatcher. Sue heard one the other day and so at lunch I sat outside and finally go this shot. A week later we hadn't heard it again but today, I sat by the meadow and there was one in a tree a few feet away. Of course I didn't have a camera. Oh yeah, and this was a life bird for me!

Breaktime Lifer

A quick walk to check out the MOST ridiculous robin nest today yielded a life bird for me. A couple of the facilities guys today mentioned that they had a robins nest on some fencing that they use every now and then. They asked us to come take a look because when someone needed it they would just dump the nest. We headed down to take a look and found one failed nest with one egg in it, another nest with 2 eggs in it that was falling apart and a stray egg on a different section of the fencing. This was a very strange nesting site, in a stairwell, on 4 pieces of plastic barrier that must have blown in the wind.

On the way back to work we took the long way and heard a new call for campus. It turned out to be a Warbling Vireo. Granted these birds aren't considered uncommon, and the song sounded rather familiar, it was still the first time I had officially seen this bird. We saw it fly down into a tree and I pished for a few minutes, turning up a Cedar Waxwing, American Robin, Bluejay, and a pair of Yellow Warblers, but the Vireo just kept his position and sang away. I refused to budge till I got a good look and patience was the key. Finally, this drab little guy popped out onto the end of a branch and hopped around singing for a couple of minutes.

I can't wait to see what turns up tomorrow!

Avert Your Eyes!

I had a great day at work today as far as birding goes. I got out of my car and spent the next 10 minutes around the parking lot chasing a Blue-headed Vireo but I found him! Of course as I was trying to take a picture another bird flew in and took my attention, it turned out to be a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Mourning Doves, House Sparrows, Barn Swallows, American Goldfinch and Red-tailed Hawks all greeted me on my way in.



At lunch, Sue and I headed out to see what might have flown in to our section of the Oyster River. We had the usual feathered creatures along our walk, House Wrens, American Robins, Gray Catbirds, Common Grackle, and the occasional Bluejay. Then we heard a less often heard sound, a Baltimore Oriole! Having not yet seen one this season I was encouraged to try pishing and once again it worked! It was a still molting male who peered curiously at us from behind a tree.

While this was going on in flew two Yellow Warblers who seemed to really like each other. Take warning below are a few of the images that were captured. Interestingly, the bird on top is rather drab for a Yellow Warbler and the brighter individual is... well... on the bottom.