Foam Lake Birding No. 111

FOAM LAKE BIRDING
No. 111
We have made it to the Tucson area in Arizona and have gone birding in some of our favourite hotspots that we have visited before. It has paid off as we have added two more species to our life lists – the Bullock’s Oriole and the Hepatic Tanager. To birders it is always exciting to see new birds.
However, the bird that I am covering in this article is an Arizona specialty – the Arizona Woodpecker. The name says it all.
Unlike most woodpeckers that are mostly black and white the Arizona is brown and white. In fact it is the only brown woodpecker in North America. In size, markings, behavior and vocalizations it looks just like a brown Downy Woodpecker and is closely related to it. Like the Downy the male has a red head patch while the female does not. Like the Downy it is also very confiding and will allow people to come quite close to it when feeding.
To see an Arizona Woodpecker one has to travel to the desert mountains in southern Arizona. In valleys at upper elevations the temperatures are cooler and water is more plentiful providing an environment that sustains quite a luxuriant growth of both evergreens and deciduous trees providing ideal habitat for many subtropical birds including the Arizona Woodpeckers. Fortunately, there are many nature preserves in these mountains and as a result Arizona Woodpeckers are abundant here.
This week’s picture was taken at a private residence about thirty miles north of the Mexican border. The photo shows an Arizona Woodpecker sitting just above a feeder waiting its turn to get at the food.
Next week’s report will be from California.

John senkiw

Foam Lake Birding No. 104

FOAM LAKE BIRDING
No. 104
It is December and most winter birds are here already with the exception of Evening and Pine Grosbeaks. These two species are very irruptive and may be abundant for a year or two and then be completely absent the next several or even many years. Hopefully one or both grosbeaks will come and visit us this year.
In our backyard the feeders have been swarmed by Pine Siskins accompanied by House Finches, House sparrows, Red and White Breasted Nuthatches, Chickadees and one lone Junco. Throw in several pairs of woodpeckers and the odd raven and our yard has been really quite busy.
The Chickadees and Nuthatches are usually bullied by all the other birds and have to wait patiently for a chance to quickly grab a seed and fly away to eat it elsewhere. They have also developed the practice of feeding rather late in the evening when the other birds have gone to roost for the night and early in the morning before most birds are up. This way they can feed in peace without being harassed by the other birds.
This year the two species of "winter" woodpeckers, the Downy and Hairy, seem to have developed an interesting and unusual way of feeding that I have never seen before. Both woodpeckers fly up under the eaves of our house and feed on something there. It could be insects that were caught in spider webs and were not eaten by the spiders; it could be insects hibernating in cracks in the siding; or, it could be a little of both. Whatever the reason the woodpecker's drumming resonates throughout the house and, though loud, is actually quite pleasant in its own way. In Texas, woodpeckers commonly drum on buildings especially in the spring but around here it is not common at any time of year.
Since the recent bout of cold weather our flock of Pine Siskins has abandoned us as have the House Finches and the lone Junco. As a result our nyjer and canola feeders are still full and will stay that way unless the Redpolls come and take over where the Siskins left off. Redpolls are irruptive so there is no guarantee that they will come on this or any given year. We can only hope. The sunflower or black oil seeds have been consumed at an average rate, however, for some reason many of the remaining birds have really been attracted to the peanut feeder this year. So much so, that it looks like this could be the first year that it will have to replenished. The woodpeckers on the other hand can be found equally at any one of: the raw suet wired to a tree, the peanut feeder or the suet/cornmeal/peanut butter in the log. Being the dominant birds they are the backyard bullies at the feeders.
As alluded to earlier we seem to have more woodpeckers than usual this year. There is at least one pair each of Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers regularly at our feeders and often both at once with the Downys submitting to the Hairys. For this week's article I got pictures of the females of each species rather than the males which I usually do. Mustn't be sexist you know. Anyway, for a more in depth discussion of the a Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers see Articles Nos. 27 and 64 respectively.

john Senkiw

Foam Lake Birding No. 64

FOAM LAKE BIRDING
No. 64
It is that time of year again that I have referred to previously as the “fall doldrums” of bird watching. For the most part the summer residents and transients are gone south and the winter residents have not arrived yet. What is left are the year round residents such as the House Sparrow, Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker and a few others. To date we have one transient, the Junco, and one summer resident, the Siskin, in our yard. By the time this gets into print they will probably be gone.
This is also the time of year when most people who like birds put out feeders of some sort. It definitely is a good time to do it. In the summer food is plentiful, but in the winter it is scarcer and much more effort must be expended in search of it. Feeders help tremendously, especially in a stretch of extremely bad weather.
Farm people usually see more and a greater variety of birds than do town folk simply because farms are far apart and birds are more or less restricted to one farmstead. In town many people put out feeders so the birds can quickly fly from one residence to another in search of what they like best. Even so, there are still plenty of birds to go around for town folk, especially if “desirable” bird food is put out.
For feeding purposes, birds can be divided into five categories: seed eaters, insect eaters, fruit eaters, meat eaters and nectar eaters. It should be kept in mind that there is some cross over in many of the categories. Insect eating birds are the easiest to attract to one’s yard while meat eating birds are the most difficult if not impossible. In the coming weeks I intend to deal extensively with different kinds of feeders, feed/food, plantings and location of each in one’s yard.
This week’s photo, taken on a dreary winter day, is of a bird that is very easily attracted to a backyard feeder – the Downy Woodpecker. The Downy gets it name from the soft white feathers along the sides of its lower back – a feature that is of no use for identification. For a more detailed discussion of the Downy Woodpecker and its larger cousin, the Hairy Woodpecker, refer to article No. 27. Both of the woodpeckers have been in our yard already, so be on the lookout for them to be in yours.

Foam Lake Birding No. 27

FOAM LAKE BIRDING
No. 27
As I alluded to in the article on Chickadees, some of our permanent resident birds are more or less absent for the summer. It is not that they have migrated somewhere; rather, their nesting requirements dictated that they leave town for the breeding season. Woodpeckers, for example, need relatively large, dead or dying, trees in which to chisel out nests; and from which to extract worms and grubs to feed themselves and their young. Urban areas just do not have such trees available. Once the young have fledged, these “summer absentees” can be seen foraging on trees and visiting feeders in town.
One of these summer absentees is the Hairy Woodpecker. It gets its name from its white back feathers which vaguely resemble hair – a feature not noticeable in the field.
It is a striking black and white bird that has a clean cut appearance about it. The males and females are identical save for a small double red patch on the back of the male’s head. The double red patch lies horizontally across the back of the woodpecker’s head, and can only be seen when viewed directly from behind. When seen in profile, it appears as a single red square spot. One could compare them to human eyebrows. From the side they appear as only one; straight on there are two separated by bare skin above the nose. Occasionally, they merge into one “long” eyebrow with no separation above the nose. Sometimes, the Hairy’s spots also merge into one long stripe with no separation at the back of the head.
As striking as they are, they are often overlooked because of their habit of clinging motionlessly to trunks of trees. The bird in this week’s photo sat motionless in that position for a good half hour! It certainly made for some leisurely photography. However, they usually give themselves away by calling out sharply, almost as if they wanted to attract attention to themselves.
Like so many other birds, the Hairy Woodpecker has a “twin” as it were – the Downy Woodpecker. Except for some subtle size differences the two are almost identical. So, how does one tell them apart? The word, carefully, comes to mind. First, if the two are together, which often happens at feeders, size is diagnostic. The Hairy is robin-sized; the Downy is sparrow-sized (a large sparrow). Hairy Woodpeckers can vary considerably in size. A small Hairy will be only a little larger than a large Downey; a large Hairy can approach a Flicker in size. Second, when isolated, bill size is probably the most reliable and best distinguishing field mark. For a Hairy, the length of the bill from its base to its tip is about the same as the distance from the base of the bill to the back of the head. For a Downy, the length of the bill is about half the distance to the back of the head. With a little practice, it becomes easy to use this feature to tell them apart. This field mark always separates a Hairy from a Downy. Third, their calls, though similar, are different enough to serve as a good distinguishing characteristic also. The hairy makes a high pitched, sharp peek; the Downy makes a lower pitched and more subdued pick
Both woodpeckers will readily come to feeders if provided with suet or peanuts. The Hairy also eats fruit, but to get a fruit eater to a feeder is difficult. As of this writing, we have had a Hairy at our feeders, now we are waiting for its “twin”.