March "Firsts"! Birdsters please post your Sightings!

Birdsters! March roared in with a nasty snow storm last night and what are we to do?! My hopes of hummingbirds and bluebirds atwitter on my windowsill this morning are dashed!

But they are sure to arrive soon--by the vernal equinox, March 20, the official marker of Spring (in the Northern Hemisphere), we will find avian northern migrations beginning with lots of 'Firsts' to report here! Our posters in the South can give us news as the warblers, hummingbirds and orioles begin their journey back to the northern fields and woods and the Boreal Forest breeding grounds.

Birdsters who are watching for first Spring Hummingbird arrivals can help scientists by notifying Hummingbird Bird Mapping project of your sightings. We should try to do this: http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html A 'First' for me.

Hummingbirds will be here in Ohio around April 1-7, so March is the time to put up feeders to attract the first HB scouts from the South.

Those of us who are fascinated by Bluebirds (or who would like to be! :-) ) can get the basics on how to put up a BB nesting boxes from the North American Bluebird Society website: http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/start.htm
March is the time to do this, too. So I hope to have a First BB this month too.

Here in Ohio it's time to start seed propagation for summer Bird and Butterfly Gardens. If Finches are your favor---pick up some Liatris bulbs at HD and start them in pots indoors this month. Here's a site that will give you more than you want to know about creating a habitat for birds this spring:
http://www.howtoattractbirds.com/links.htm There are lots of others, of course.

So, here we go Birdsters! A promising month for posting "Firsts" is in the making! Have a great day. t.

p.s. here's a pic of my feeder regulars this morning--it's 20 degrees and they are cold and hungry.

This month I am going to master the digital camera! I promise... ;-)

Do you have a tripod, t?

John

Well the first bird I saw in my garden in March was this Eastern Spinebill Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris. This is one of the Australian honeyeaters, which do the job of the humming birds over here, feeding mainly on nectar. This is one of the smallest honeyeaters and does occasionally hover briefly in front of a flower, but prefers to feed from a secure perch. They can be attracted to feeders like the hummingbirds, except that there must be perches provided.

The Male Red Bellied Woodpecker shows up at my feeder just about everyday. This morning he was above me in a pine tree giving me a piece of his mind. However, I stood still until he finally succumbed to the peanut butter suet. He has provided me with so many photo opportunities this winter. I was also able to get a fairly decent in-flight photo.

What a lovely little bird Ken! He reminds me of the Little Green Bee-eater http://www.birdguides.com/html/vidlib/species/Merops_orientalis.htm that we have here in Israel....one I've been aspiring to see myself. His territory is further south in the Negev and west around the Dead Sea though so my opportunities are few and far between. One day though :-)

Linthicum, what a lovely little friend you've got there :-). And your photos of him are getting better and better :-)

-Julie

Beautiful shots...Ken I'm always so amazed at the variety of birds and other critters that come onto your property.

Thanks, John, lol-- yes I have a tripod but it's missing a piece so it's not working! I think I'm going to get one of those Minolta Anti-shake digitals...Don't you like my pictures!?! lol

I'm not really this bad at picture taking--I actually took a class in it at the University of Wisconsin years ago! I just can't see very well and I shake a lot! Not good for an A. Adams wannabe! Now I sound like a really old lady and I'm not that old! Just challenged until I get Lasic and stop drinking too much coffee!

Now, on to March Firsts--First Sightings, first for your backyard list, first life list, firsts! t.

My camera has image stablization and I highly recomend that feature. I have a tremor in my left shoulder so I must shoot one handed. Tripods are too cumbersome for me.

John

Thanks, Julie .... I am considering using one of my Red Bellied Woodpecker photos as a 2005 Christmas Card with a few enhancements, like, "From Our Nest to Yours".

Anyway, the Red Bellied Woodpecker and the Downy Woodpecker take turns at the suet. Here is a Male Downy photo taken this morning, also.

Ahhhhhhhh, now that little guy is really sweet! I love him! :-) Will you cage him up, send him overnight delivery with handle with care instructions so I can see him up close? I promise to send him back the next day :-) LOL

-Julie

We have robins all winter but today I saw the flock flying around here in the snow storm. No pics though-too wet out.

Ken what beautiful markings on that spinebill!!

Wonderful shot of the red bellied woodpecker! I love all their complaining. We don't have them here. I always see them on birding trips elsewhere but they're always complaining...makes them easy to spot!

Julie, I would do it if I could .... I am concerned about their well being since this afternoon, I looked out the window and saw this Hawk drop down from a tree in the woods. He stayed there for a long time so he definitely had killed something. I know I will be anxiously looking for my woodpeckers tomorrow.

This is my first March as a "birdster" and my first March on DG! :)

Linthicum :-( I sure hope he got a mouse instead.

A Kestrel flew over my garden a few days ago while I was watching "my" Sunbirds happily dancing about on their favorite Salvia. The Kestrel was on one of those silent stealth glides coming straight toward our garden. The male Sunbird was perched on top of the Salvia. I wanted to scream "Hide Sunbirdies HIDE!" but luckily the Kestrel had something else in his sights because he flew right over their heads and then over our house. Being as I was inside the house looking out through the window, I couldn't see what the Kestrel went for, but I was sure happy it wasn't my sweet Sunbirds!

I love the Kestrels too, so I hoped he got lunch at the mouse diner in teh park across the road ;-)

-Julie

Mmmm, yummy!

Linthicum, I sure hope your woodies are ok. That is how I lost my juvenile hairy w/p last year. All the hawk left was the beak & a pile of feathers. It just broke my heart. I know they have to eat too but there are wooded areas & farms all around us. They could go eat there. We don't have hawks in the winter. I usually don't see them til the end of July or beginning of Aug.

And Spring is just three weeks away .... Sure !!!

A "Dole of Mourning Doves" counting the days .... photo taken 3/1/05.

your pic of the dole is so sweet.

how am I doing on vocabulary building?

have a good day. t.

Tabasco, I think we're all gonna build vocabulary this month LOL.

Linthicum that is such a sweet photo of your little triplets :-)

-Julie

This will be another enjoyable month of looking at all the nice bird photo's everyone posts! And it's off to a good start already! nice shots! I especially liked the honey eater photo, Won't see those in my area! Haven't really seen any different birds then what I normally see in my yard except for 1 Goldfinch, And 1 purple finch But I did not get a picture of them ( Hopefully I will tommorrow) I did how-ever get a shot of a Swan that was in a pond right down the road from my house ...

This message was edited Mar 3, 2005 7:52 PM

These are some of the BlueBird houses that my hubby made me, I can't wait for the weather to break and for it to warm up a little so I can go put them out around the yard, I have about 7 that I put out last year and every one of them was used through the season, Not only by Bluebirds, But other birds also, They are still being used now as a Winter roost by the birds! I cement the bottom's in pails so that I can easily move them if I want to. ....

Iris, I am so envious of you with your bluebirds. I have a male that has shown up for the last two years but he doesn't stick around. He wants the house that the tree swallows have but momma swallow isn't giving it up. Do you have a large yard or is it a bluebird trail that you have? Nice bluebird houses. Cementing them in a pail sounds like a good idea. How high off the ground is the opening? I know bluebird houses aren't supposed to be in a high spot. Mine are on the garage & shed. Probably too high, right?

Broots, Don't be envious, I waited quite some time for Bluebirds to start coming to my yard. I think maybe you need to put some more bird houses up seeing the tree swallows are claiming the house that the Bluebirds want, Or move the one's that they are not useing. My houses are about 5 ft off the ground We have almost 4 acres here, So I have the houses spread out everywhere, but I have experienced that the Bluebirds like to be in one area around each other, I have also found that they like other bird houses, Not just the ones made for Bluebirds. One thing to be carefull of, Is, If you have a lot of sparrows around, They will try to claim the box if it's a normal birdhouse, They don't seem to do this as much with a bluebird house but it does happen. If there's a lot of sparrows around, Bluebirds have a hard time nesting as the sparrows will attack them.
The boxes that are pictured above are 'Petersons Bluebird Houses', They are not quite done yet because they still need the ventallation holes drilled and to be nailed to another piece of wood and then cemented in buckets, It really is nice to have them in buckets, So much easier to move if you want to change the location, Plus you can sit them out and they will stand where they are or you can make a hole and bury them to the top of the bucket ( This is what I do, Makes them a lot more sturdy in the wind) I have also noticed that Bluebirds 'Do' like the house to be where there are shrubs around, An open area, But with shrubs around. I had a pair the other day that went into one of the boxes out back, I seen them go in but didn't seem them come back out and didn't have the time to wait to see if they were going to come back out, They do this constantly here about this time of year, I'll see them on and off going by the houses, but it's too cold right now for them to nest and they dissapere for days or weeks and then they come back, I've actually seen over 10 Bluebirds at one time together in a tree, I think I have a picture somewhere of them together but I'm not sure where it is. And I've had them nest as close as 5ft from each other. I leave the boxes up all year and when the weather is warms up enough, I go out and clean the houses, It's not long after that, That Bluebirds and other birds start moving in. Right now I have boxes being used a winter roosts by some birds, Especially the Downy Woodpecker. I have a red-bellied woodpecker thats always at the boxes! He's always on them and looking in them, But I have never seen him inside one yet, He did make the entrance hole bigger on a couple though! ( Easy to fix) I've included a photo of him in action, Not the best photo, But you can see him, Hope I helped in some way. How high are the boxes you have on he garage-shed? I actually could have put mine lower, But they ae being used so I leave them as is.

Iris, I'm glad you posted that last pic. I was really confused about what you meant about cementing the bottoms in pails. I thought you meant the bottom of the actual house, not the bottom of the post. So I couldn't figure out how that helped you to move them or how you got them up 5 feet of the ground if they were stuck in sement pails. Now I feel a bit silly for not having understood from the beginning what you meant LOL.

Despite the weight of the cement, do they ever get blown over in a stiff wind? Or do you dig a hole in the ground to put the pail in? Curiouser and curiouser :-)

-Julie

Julie, Sorry about that, And dont feel silly, I dont explain things well many times, I try, But, It just dont come out right! LOL!
...Mine are cemented in small pots ( about 2-3 gallon size) And put in a hole in the ground, But if I had cemented them in a big pot, I highly doubt that the wind would knock it over, I also highly doubt I'd be able to move it by myself, Even in the small pots, They are pretty heavy to move around. So to answere your question precisely, If in the ground or in a bigger pot, Even a Super Strong wind 'Would Not' blow them over! They are very secure, Especially in the ground! ~Hope I helped.

I have a March First!!!! Actually, I have several... First, see if you can guess my birdie...

Today, just before lunch, I noticed the strangest bird call. It was just three short monotone notes in a row, almost like an alarm or sharp whistle. I didn't recognize it at all, and it definitely stood out as "unusual". So, there I stood, like a nut. My head out the screen door for a good ten minutes, just listening and trying to figure out where it was coming from. It sounded so near! Well, after a good while of scanning the sky, houses, and grass around... I saw a little movement in the weedy common area behind the yard. "What in the world is that!", I said aloud. Quick, I ran to the closet to get my video camera so that if he flew away, I could "watch" him again and try to identify him. He was brown on his body, with a white tummy, and he had bold black and white stripes all over his neck and face. His legs were long and looked somewhat like a sand/shore bird's legs. He was very compliant and stuck around for quite a while. Unfortunately, he was much too far away for the digital camera we have. The video camera's zoom is better, though, and I got good footage of him :) As far as I can tell, he was a....







...Killdeer. Fun for me!!!! More than a house finch! Not a bird I'd even heard of! :) Very fun!

Also, I saw about 20 robins boppin' around out back today. Plus, my Mourning Dove count is now at 5, and there were 9 house finches on the feeders at once this morning. The song sparrow is still hanging around, too. Now, if I can just get those robins to rock on over to our yard!

So those are my best birding firsts, yet! :)

Hugs :)

Hi Iris. I was actually looking at the plans for the Peterson birdhouse on the NABS site last night. I think I will get my DH to make me one. We had one pair of sparrows here last year. The big ones, not the little guys. They took over the other empty birdhouse. I was going to take it down & take out the nest but there wasn't any sense to it as the house wasn't going to be used by anything else. Do your nest boxes face east by any chance? I have one facing east & that is the one the bluebirds always sat on & tried to poke their heads in. The other one faces south. Tthe garage & shed are about 11-12' high. That's a big difference from 5'. Maybe I will take down the birdhouse that the sparrows used & replace it with a Petersons birdhouse & have it facing east. I read somewhere that birdhouses should face east. Five feet sure doesn't seem very high off the ground. I know there are bluebird trails around here because I have seen them, so the bluebirds are around. I just don't know where I would put a 5' high birdhouse. There are cats running loose around here all summer. That is my #1 ongoing battle.

I was interested to hear that the birds use your birdhouses in the winter for roosting. I have seen the chickadees & hairy woodpeckers at the house but not actually in it during the winter. You are so lucky. Thanks for posting your red bellied w/p photo & thankyou for answering my questions. I hope you have a lot of bluebird families this year.........Linda

Way to go hugahosta. Now that you are going to have all those birds it will be interesting to see how much inside work you get done this summer. Probably while the little ones are napping you will be birdwatching. I get next to nothing done inside during the summer unless it rains. Between gardening & the birds, there just isn't enough hours in a day....Linda

I'm with you, Linda! Sometimes I'm gardening to be amongst them. I fit right in!

Broots, I have houses that are facing North, East, South, And West, But Everyone of them was used or a nesting site last year, I would have to say that the ones facing West were the ones most used by the Bluebirds. The ideal height I believe is between 4-6 ft. off the ground, I have most of mine at 5-5 1/2 ft off the ground, But, I do have 3 houses that are on a cedar fence that are about 7ft off the ground and have had Bluebirds nest in those three boxes, So I have had luck at different heights. I know what you mean about the cats and the low-ness of the houses! I have the same problem here and it tends to get on my nerves quite a bit! I chase them away at anytime I see them and in the summer I use a 'Scarecrow' pest deterrent water splasher ( Works quite Well!!) I don't see the cats around all that often, But it really does get on my nerves when I do! I like cats, But I don't like when there in the yard trying to get the birds!
...I hope your hubby makes you a petersons, They really are a pretty good birdhouse! When you mentioned you had the big sparrows, I'm not sure what you meant, I only know of sparrows as being small, Do you have a larger kind in yor area? Though there were no other birds around nesting, I would have taken the house down and the nest out where the sparrows were, The more discouragment of having them nest in your yard, The better chances you'll have with the Bluebirds.
....I looked for the pictures I took with the birds inside the houses, But I haven't found them yet, I looked on all my picture cards, And they werent on there, So either they are on my camcorder or I deleted them for whatever reason, But when I get a chance to check the camcorder tapes, I look to see if there on there and post some pictues for you, Or, I'll try to get out there really early and get a picture which is a bit hard for me to do because it's 'Freezing Out!" LOL! They look out the entrance hole at the break of dawn and as soon as it's light out, They fly out, They do how-ever go back in , In the early evening, But, I hate to try and take a picture at that time because they are very skitsty and I don't want to scare them out when it's getting dark. ~ Have you looked at your house in early morning or early evening to see if there are any roosters? A lot of times I'll have different birds look in the boxes
during the day, But they dont go inside, It's during the early morning/ early evening hours that I see them inside the box. ~ Your Very Welcome for the photo and answere's, I'm by far no expert, But I can share what knowledge and experiences I've had with birds in my yard, And I'm always glad to help if I can! 'Thankyou' on the Bluebird wishes! ~ I hope you have
Lot's of luck' with them at your house this year!!
P.S., I was pretty happy today to see that my Screetch owl came back to his box, I haven't seen him around in about 3 weeks! So happy to see him back!
.....Hugahosta, Sounds like you had a fun and exciting day!! I haven't seen a killdeer in so long, So happy for you that you got to see one today!

Broots and Boojum, I'm with you's! In the summer, There really isn't enough time in the day to enjoy all the Gems of the garden!! About 4 more months till summer, Boy, I can't wait!!!!

No firsts yet this month but on my way home I had this overwhelming need to go home and stick my hands in my yard dirt. Not hardly, with several feet of snow here. It's gonna be a slow haul to get there. Hope I see some exciting birds to get through this time. I'm still "running off" of those bluebirds. And I've been buying almost every orchid I see at HD!!! Going to the Smith College bulb show today. That will help!! I'll share-I'll post a thread if my photos are worthwhile (sometimes it's too jammed to shoot).

Have fun at the bulb show boojum!! Post some pictures if you get the chance to take anyway, Would love to see them!

Linthicum you take such great photos, lloved your dole of mourning doves. None have shown up here yet. I know there are different classifications of groups of birds, like a skein of geese, but didn't know the dole. I did see a little Hairy W at the feeder earlier but haven's seen any Downy's this year.

kennedyh your picture of the Eastern Spinebill is very interesting, you do have very different birds.

Iris I have about 10 bluebird houses up around the edges of my garden. Bought some meal worms for them but haven't seen any yet.

Nothing new here yet, heard the lovely meadowlark song but haven't seen them close yet. DonnaS

My March first was very exciting for me. Not because of the type of bird, but because of what he was doing! I went outside to water a few things that I knew needed watering. Got to the hose and suddenly noticed a pair of Great Tits (why on earth whoever named them had to name them that I don't know, but that's neither here nor there). There is a still bare Redbud tree in the upper garden. I have the birdbath on a rock wall right next to that tree. The bird bath has been there for over 6 months. Not once have I ever seen a bird go near it. In any case, the two birds today were perched on the tree. One of the birds saw me and flew away. So I stood dead still. The other bird hopped around on the tree a bit, then hopped over to the bird bath. I thought, "How great! he's going to drink! Cool!" And he did perch on the rim and take a drink. And then he hopped over to the center rock dipped his head in a bit, then got right down in the water and splashed around for a good 3 minutes before hopping back to the tree to shake his wings dry and then fly away. It was SOOOOOOOO fun to watch! The first time I've noticed that my birdbath is being used for just that! Yipppeeeee! :-)

-Julie

Rutholive, Is it that the Bluebirds have just not arrived to your yard yet or that this is your first year for attracting them? I am thinking in terms of they haven't arrived yet?

....Salvia-Lover, Congrats on your Very exciting sighting!!! Always so much fun to see them splish-splashing in the water, Whether it be the first time or the 50th! Extra exciting when you havn't seen any action at yor birtbath for over 6 months!

Huga--I am thrilled about your Killdeer! I have heard about them since moving here and wondered what they were. We have not seen any around here and I have been searching for them. I think they like those grassy weedy fields and patches where you saw yours. I wish we would get one here--so did yours look like this one?

http://www.backyardbirdcam.com/gallery/killdeer.htm

BTW Have you seen the Cincinnati Birding site?

http://cincinnatibirds.com/goodbird/sighting.php I like to look at this for hints on what birds are out there to ID--

Iris when I said big sparrows I meant the white throated & song sparrows. I consider the chipping sparrows as small. I have a question about your 'Scarecrow' water sprayer. Do the birds set it off or is it just the dogs & cats? I am going to take down my bird house that the sparrows used & replace it with a Petersons & see if I can get it facing west. I would love to see any pix that you post of bluebirds. I haven't checked my birdhouses in early morning or late evening. I just figured because I didn't see them that they weren't there. Next month will be time to clean out the birdhouses for the tree swallows ret'n at the end of April.

Julie I'm so happy to hear that your birds went to the bird bath. Just gives you a good feeling. I bet you will get more too........Linda

Here's another really great site for those who are interested in helping out Bluebirds-

www.sialis.org

They are my personal favorite of all Bluebird sites. They are a little bit more comprehensive and address the English House Sparrow issue quite eloquently.

Didn't see any birds there, but half a dozen or more sunflower seeds scattered around on top of the wall where that feeer is :-). Looked inside the feeder and there's definite evidence that a critter took seeds and it wasn't just the wind knocking seeds out :-)

Also just before coming in from the garden (gotta go to the supermarket, so I can't stay out there ALL day LOL), we spotted a huge bird above flying circles in the sky. Watched him for a long time and was pretty certain it must be a buzzard or vulture from the sheer size. Checked the bird book and sure enough, it was a Common Buzzard http://www.birdguides.com/html/vidlib/species/Buteo_buteo.htm It was so big that my 3 year old daughter kept telling me "No, Mommy, it's not a bird. It's an airplane!" LOL

-Julie