Local birding report

When trying to identify birds high up in trees or deep within thickets it is important to get a good hold on several of the characteristic traits (movements and call notes) of the more common birds such as Tufted Titmice, Black-capped Chickadees, House Finches and Goldfinches that are often times intermingling with warblers and other songbirds. With practice and patience in the field, a keener sense of awareness will develop as will a better birding experience overall.

In Holly Merker and Richard Crossley’s book “Ornitherapy for your Mind, Body and Soul,” the authors reinforce the importance of what it means to “look.” By simply asking oneself, “what do I see? the observer can get back to the basics by slowing down and getting lost in nature. There is no right or wrong. You see, it’s all about the question, not the answer – It’s that journey of discovery that is the fun.” Every day provides a new opportunity to learn more about birds. One of the things that I appreciate about these creatures is their ability to link themselves to my memory of places and seasons - so that the sudden appearance of a bird, a song, or flicker of a tail feather sets in motion a string of delightful reminiscences in my mind.

The fall of 2023 is shaping up to look like that of 2017 and 2019 where there were widespread reports of bird feeder and backyard activity drop off. In addition to climate change, habitat loss, outdoor cats and window strikes, there are a “perfect storm” of reasons for a visible lack of both local and migrating birds in our backyards this fall. The bluebirds that have been a constant on our property for over five years have disappeared and my feeders (including the mealworm lodge) are taking three times as long to reach empty. A few explanations for this phenomenon include mild weather, abundance of natural food sources and the flexible nature of later in the season migrants like sparrows and blackbirds. Adding to the combination of scenarios, this is peak raptor migration time of the year and predators like Coopers and Sharp-shinned Hawks who primarily dine on songbirds are passing through or, unbeknownst to us, may be setting up camp in close proximity to our feeders.

Specific to mild fall weather, when its warmer birds have to consume less food to generate energy and keep warm. As for natural food abundance, this has been a very productive year for several common tree species that produce acorns or cones including Oak, White Pine and White and Red Spruce. White-throated Sparrows, Dark Eyed Juncos along with the last big waves of blackbirds have yet to arrive in Cape. These birds adjust their arrivals and departures based on access to or abundance of food. By the second day of October last year it seemed like White-throated Sparrows were everywhere.

A few mentionable observations over the last two weeks include, on September 27 Pine Warblers were singing high up within the conifer canopy of Robinson Woods I. Of note, this was the same general location that I typically first hear Pine Warblers singing every spring. Additionally, on the afternoon of September 28 while travelling through the depths of Gull Crest I came across a small party of foraging moss-green birds with bluish heads and bright white “spectacles.” Two of the three Blue-headed Vireos paid no attention to me as they deliberately worked their way along the forest edges no more than a couple feet overhead. For a moment the only sounds were the wind blowing through the trees and the vireo’s whispered trill like chatter. Also, on the late afternoon of September 29 my two-year-old son was pleasantly surprised to hear the daytime call of our local resident Barred Owl from somewhere within Robinson Woods I.

And on the morning of October 1 deep within the upper canopies of Runaway Farm’s old pine forest were good numbers of Blackpoll and Bay-breasted Warblers darting here and there in search of fall inchworms. Blackpoll and Bay-breasted Warbler identification in the autumn is particularly challenging because both species’ plumages look similar. Blackpolls in general have a more lemony-yellow tint to their breasts versus the buffy-yellow color tint of a Bay-breasted. Additionally, if any yellow can be seen on the legs or feet of the bird in question, it is a Blackpoll. Interestingly, compared to the Bay-breasted and most other warblers, the Blackpoll has visibly longer wings which are needed on the long nonstop flight over the ocean from Maine to Northern South America.

On this same outing I also heard the tin trumpet calls from more than a few Red-breasted Nuthatches interwoven with the nearly constant, fine, nasal twitterings of their distant, White-breasted cousins. I recently learned that a key difference between these two species is genetic makeup. The fact that these two birds do not interbreed strongly suggests that they are not related at all. More precisely, this means that they are not simply different populations of the same species, but rather two separate species.

Fortunately, there seems to be no shortage of Golden Crowned and Ruby Crowned Kinglets in our forests this fall. These tiny dainty birdlets float and flutter among the coniferous trees hunting for small insects such as tree lice - their sweet, threadlike tsee call notes giving way to musical warblers that trickle down and tickle my senses. Amazingly, this is one of the first bird songs that people stop being able to hear as they grow older.