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Home > Blogs > Birds and Butterflies > Archives > 2009 > November
November 2009
Reflections of an Amateur Birder- Eastern Phoebe
Written By Lisa McGurk
My co-worker Skip spotted an Eastern Phoebe in Germantown MetroPark. They are among the first birds to arrive in Spring and among the last to leave. They are a small gray flycatcher. I looked up some more facts on Cornell Lab of Orinthology’s website. One interesting fact is that the Eastern Phoebe was the first banded bird in North America. In 1804, John James Audubon banded a Phoebe’s leg with silvered thread. Unlike the Cedar Waxwings, Eastern Phoebes are loners and even mated pairs spend little time together. They have been able to tolerate human interference with the landscape because of their use of buildings and bridges for nest sites. See www.allaboutbirds.org for more information.
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Happy Turkey Day!!
Blog by Katy Malcolm
As the Thanksgiving Holiday approaches, it is only appropriate to discuss the life history of the wild turkeys of Ohio!
It is common knowledge that Benjamin Franklin wanted this noble bird to be the United State’s emblem instead of the bald eagle. Despite finding favor with a Founding Father, the wild turkey’s history in Ohio has been a bit rocky. By 1904, deforestation of the area had completely eradicated the wild turkey from Ohio. As nature preserves were established and forests re-grown, wild turkeys were trapped in other states with stable populations and released in Ohio. The turkey slowly began to make a comeback.
Today, wild turkeys can be regularly seen and heard in a wide variety of MetroParks. Their peak breeding period occurs in April, which is also the best time to hear their vocalizations. Males will gobble to attract females. Once mated, the males leave in search of more females to mate with. Females raise their chicks alone, leading them to various food sources. They will stay together for about five months. Females will sometimes stay with their mother until the following year.
So, as you gobble up your Thanksgiving feast, contemplate the life of your meal’s wild relatives!
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More Flocking Behaviors to Look For
Blog By: Katy Malcolm
Last week, I mentioned behaviors you could easily pick out while watching mixed flocks feed. A number of studies have looked at vocalizations that are produced while feeding behaviors are occurring. So, the next step to observing feeding behaviors is to open your ears as well as your eyes! Different sounds birds make while feeding can mean many different things. I mentioned that one advantage to a mixed species flock may be the ability to better avoid predators. This can only be accomplished if there is a warning system in place for these predators. Any noise made by a bird to warn others of a predator is known as an alarm call. If you take the time to fully observe feeding birds, you may notice different types of alarm calls. If a predator such as a hawk is flying over, an alarm call is used to tell the other birds to freeze or take cover. If a flightless predator approaches, a different call may tell the members of the flock to take flight. Different alarm calls may also indicate the threat level posed by an intruder. Many say that the ‘chick-a-dee-dee-dee’ call of the Carolina Chickadee is used this way. The more ‘dees’ present at the end of the phrase, the higher the threat level of the intruder. So, when approaching a group of chickadees, try to assess you own threat level!
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Reflections of An Amateur Birder- Golden-crowned Kinglet
Written By Lisa McGurk
One of my co-workers was walking the white trail at Germantown MetroPark last week and saw a group of Golden-crowned Kinglets. This is a new bird to me so I did some research on the Cornell Lab of Orinthology website. The Golden-crowned Kinglet is frequently found in coniferous woods (they were in our spruce trees). They formerly bred almost exclusively in the boreal spruce-fir forests of North America, but they have been expanding their breeding range into Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. Another interesting fact about them is that the female feeds her brood only on the first day after they leave the nest and then starts laying the second set of eggs while the male takes care of the first brood. See www.allaboutbirds.org for more information on this beautiful, small bird.
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Butterflies in Space
When the space shuttle Atlantis lifts off on November 16th the astronauts will be joined by Monarch and Painted Lady butterflies. The habitat was designed and built by BioServe Space Technologies at CU-Boulder. The study will compare the development of butterfly larva on earth and in the weightless environment in space. The neat part about this experiment is that school children will be raising the caterpillars here on earth. Students K-12 will take part in classrooms across the country to care for and document the growth of the larva. Read more about this at www.sciencedaily.com or www.monarchwatch.org.
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Feeding Behaviors to Look For
Blog by Katy Malcolm
As we move deeper into our winter season, it is becoming easier to find different species of birds finding food together. A common pairing is the Tufted Titmouse and the Carolina Chickadee. We often see these birds moving along tree branches during our nature hikes. When different species are looking for food in groups, they are called mixed species flocks.
If you ever come upon a large flock of birds feeding, take some time to observe their behaviors.
You may notice that individual birds maintain a certain distance from all the other birds very carefully. In a large flock, when one bird shifts, several others around it may shift as well. Quiz: Why do you think it is important for birds to keep a boundary around themselves at all times? You may also observe behaviors resulting from an established social ranking system. Flocks can have dominance hierarchies, just like dog packs.
There are many reasons why birds may want to feed in a large group. One reason may be that there are more eyes present to look for predators. Another may be that predators may think twice about attacking a larger group of birds.
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Reflections of An Amateur Birder- Saw-Whet Owls
This Friday night from 8 to 10 we are having a Saw-Whet Owl banding program at Germantown MetroPark, and I’m looking forward to getting a close look at these beautiful birds. The Northern Saw-whet Owl is a small owl that can be found roosting in winter in conifer trees. I consulted the Cornell Lab of Orinthology website and found out that their main prey are mice, and that adult mice are usually eaten in pieces in two different meals. Another interesting fact about them is that when her young are around eighteen days old, the mother will start spending the night in another hole. The young owls will then leave the nest after another ten days to two weeks. For more information on Saw-whets (and to see pictures of them), see www.allaboutbirds.org. Also come to Germantown Nature Center on Friday November 13th at 8 pm to see some close up.
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Dark-eyed Juncos Back at Possum Creek
Blog By: Katy Malcolm
While on our way to check on the American Coots that are still hanging around Argonne Lake, I managed to catch a glimpse of a tiny black tail outlined in white. That was my first official Dark-eyed Junco sighting for Possum Creek this fall! Of all Ohio’s winter residents, I think the Juncos are among my favorites. I like to spend a great deal of time watching them eat and interact. Their vocalizations remind me of a ray gun from a sci-fi movie. Juncos forage for food on the ground and are usually in groups. These groups may be made up of several different species. Juncos can also be found in many different habitats and areas, so you should not have to go too far to see one!
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Butterfly Ears
Scientists have discovered ears on the Blue Morpho butterfly. A small membrane discovered at the base of the wing seems to be for the detection of low pitch sound. This may enable the butterfly to hear the approach of a bird. This work has been carried out by scientist from the University of Bristol. Read more about it at WWW.sciencedaily.com
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