This is not a great photo because it is taken from my kitchen window that overlooks the mature staghorn sumac about 15' away. In the upper right hand corner you can see the rest of the flock waiting their turn in a maple about 60' away. I had so much fun watching the robins and the accompanying stray blue jay, juvenile cardinal, wrens, finches, and woodpecker.
Here is another. Again not a great photo, even if it was, the shape of the robin really blends with the seedheads. You can pick out the robins when they perch on top of the seed head.
I found three in that last photo! Way cool! Robins won't be back my way until spring. To me, they're the harbinger of spring for our area. Once they come back, you know there isn't long to wait.
What a joy it was from 10 AM on. I have a feeder and some seeded suet-hanging. I watched until dusk. Robins, blue-jays, a pair of redpolls, downy woodpeckers, house finches, grackels, chickadees, and what appeared as a black crested titmouse. (That would be way out of range, but it sure fit the description.) A large and diverse traveling woodland band all enjoying a late winter buffet. I was so distracted, never got around to doing my taxes. ;-)
Most of my birdfeeders are right outside my kitchen window. Sometimes when I am rinsing off dishes to put in the dishwasher or scrubbing pots and pans I get totally hung up looking out the window at the activity level. I know what you mean. The redpolls are new to me this year. I wouldn't have even known what I had unless another DG member hadn't posted a photo and sure enough, I had redpolls.
A few weeks ago my son found a Cedar Wax-Wing in the yard (he saved it from me stepping on it in the grass--I guess its really true that kids see more things because they are closer to the ground!). We tried to save it--I'm guessing it was "drunk" on fermented berries because it had no balance--but, alas, though it lived a week with us feeding it, it died.
The really happy and cool ending to this story though, is that two days later, though I have never seen another Cedar Wax-wing in the years we've lived here, I went out and our cedar tree was teeming with a whole flock of them. My son and I had researched them while searching for what to feed the one that died, so he was thrilled to see a whole flock acting (and eating) exactly the way "the book" said they would. Great lesson for him, so as a parent, I was thrilled...
Good lesson about so-called "trash" trees, too (and many people look on the cedars that way). Even if we don't consider them important, they have their niche in the ecosystem....
I specifically planted three Thuja occidentalis (Eastern White Cedar) to provide shelter for birds. I started with the original three and added five more to a different area of my property two years ago. I have been creating a windbreak for my home to hopefully reduce utility bills in the future and went on a hunt for native trees that would multi-task. I ended up with an assortement of Pines as well as the Thuja and a spattering of miscellaneous species to fill in the windbreak. I'm very happy with it. Now if it will just begin maturing so it can some day be laden with cedar wax-wings like what you described, my husband would be very very happy.
Really neat that you spent the time to research the fallen bird. You're a way cool Mom!
sarahn,
Thanks for the photos of the Staghorn Sumac and birds. I was walking in the woods with a friend and we came upon these very dried seedheads and weren't sure of the ID.
I haven't seen any Robins yet this season, last year we seemed to have them around all season.
Yotedog, Lucky you to see a whole flock of cedar wax wings.
I'm not sure what trees you are referring to as trash trees. There are native cedar trees, Northern White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis) host plant for the pine elfin (Callophrys niphon) and Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus Virginiana) host plant to the pine elfin and the Olive hairstreak (Mitoura gruneus),to name 2 I am familiar with.
I"m reading a wonderful new book called "Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens" by Douglas W. Tallamy an entomologist. He very eloquently explains the unbreakable link between native plants and native wildlife. There are charts showing how non-native plants attract only a tiny percentage of insects needed by indigenous wildlife when they are moved out of their natural range. It is interesting to see the actual numbers -Clematis vitalba , supports 40 herbivore species in it's homeland for example, yet in North America, even though it's been here for 100 yrs. it only supports 1 species here.
I think this is a fabulous book and really fun to read.
This message was edited Feb 24, 2008 10:24 AM
I was referring to Eastern Red Cedar, but don't worry, I don't consider them trash trees, but many in this area do because they spring up so easily. Fortunately, long before I lived here, someone planted a row of them between myself and my neighbor, plus I have a few more that probably came up of their own accord. I love them, and often transplant little ones I see in odd spots (thought they've all died so far....).
I shoul've mentioned there are 5 robins in the sumac, and across the way waiting their turn were two more in the maples. They were back again today, though not as many. Beneath the sumac I have forsythia, which the chickadees tap into. My guess for the sap. There is a total of 6 mature forsythia that came with the property, spectactular in spring, and makes for wonderful cover in the warmer months. Oh, to be a small child again, what a wonderful kingdom that thicket would make! Ah, an ecosystem. So, any suggestions on ferns or plants that would be able to grow between all the root suckers?
If I'm taking care or the birds above why not a for the toads below?
My old boss used to have an interesting hobby.
She'd buy a couple hundred bobwhite quail and release them on the property every summer. (Bobwhites are extinct here.)
It'd be fun to see all the little chicks running around together. But, as it turned out, what she was really doing was turning the entire property into one big bird feeder, for hawks and eagles. Now, there's a take on Wildlife gardening that I haven't herd of before. She is quite an innovative woman.
I took a few to my own home and still delight in hearing them in the spring. We have a sorts of different low growing vacciniums that look great and feed all sorts of wild life. It's a pain in the butt to weed those things out when stuff gets going in them (Like Sorrel.. ugh!!!) but it's all very pretty in the fall.
In fact, if you haven't seen a field on vaccinium in the fall, you should consider a trip DownEast in autumn. Best time of the year here.
I've seen two hawks in flight along the highway here in southern NH, but I'm real sqeamish when it comes to live feeding. Although I don't mind watching a robin go worm hunting. Vacciniums, the blueberries specifically, are a consideration for a later addition to our yard. My dad has grown them for years and the fall color is exceptional and the berries can't be beat. We're not that far away so I'll be looking alot closer on our fall road trips for the vaccinium fields.
Oh, yeah. The robins are still feeding off the sumac, although the seed heads are looking sparse. That's three weeks of incredble bird watching. I just can't encourage enough other new gardeners to plant native and wildlife friendly.
The book sounds terrific...now I can use my credit at Amazon.com.
Sarahn: many ferns will grow in those conditions. I have a few that when I thinned them out...I just throw the extra ones and the rhizomes on the side of my compost bin. They took off and grew on their own. So now, I take a tiny piece and just put s bit of compost and mulch on it and away it grows.
I'm going to give some hardy ferns a try, ERIKRYAN. I just wish snow would melt a little faster.
Oh, yeah, I noticed one male robin has staked out the forsythia's to set up a nest.
