A Northwoods Almanac
for May 15-29, 2015
Pine Siskin Surprise!
I was
watching our bird feeders on 5/6 when I noticed one pine siskin feeding a
sunflower seed to another pine siskin, a sure sign of an adult feeding a
fledged chick. The adults and chicks look very similar, so I wouldn’t have
known one was a fledgling unless it was begging to be fed.
The droves
of pine siskins that are nesting here this spring aren’t a total anomaly.
Ordinarily they are an uncommon breeding species in northern Wisconsin, and a
common breeding species well north into Canada and Alaska. However, they are
also well known as an irruptive species that can be abundant in a given
locality one year and then absent the next, presumably due to the absence or
presence of conifer seeds, which make up the bulk of their diet. This is a bird
that clearly defines the term “opportunistic.” Its erratic movements and lack
of attachment to specific breeding area, seemingly unconstrained by time and
space, prompted one biologist to describe it as “errant par excellence.”
The National Biological Service’s
Bird Banding Laboratory database had 2,161 recovery records for banded siskins
as of 1997. To show how wildly erratic the siskin’s movements can be, a few
records document the presence of banded birds on approximately the same date in
different years but at places separated by nearly a continent – Quebec one
year, California the next! So, they can be true nomads.
Whenever Mary and I have been
walking in a conifer woods this spring, we’ve heard flocks of pine siskins in
very specific areas. I’ve since learned that pine siskins primarily nest in
loose colonies in relatively open conifer or coniferous-deciduous forests. So,
these flocks are most likely colonies of nesting birds.
Their nests are generally located
in foliage on the end of a horizontal conifer limb (average 18 feet above the
ground), often just below another branch. This location apparently offers protection
from precipitation as well as preventing radiation losses to the night sky.
The chicks develop quickly,
becoming fully feathered by day 10 and often fledged by day 13. However, the fledglings
continue to be fed by the adults for another 3 weeks, so keep an eye on your
feeders and nearby trees to see if you can observe one siskin feeding another,
proof that the siskins have raised chicks nearby.
Sparrow Delight
We
currently have white-throated, white-crowned, song, and chipping sparrows
feeding below our house (the tree sparrows just recently moved on north), but
we were really delighted to observe a Harris’s sparrow at our feeders on 5/10.
Their distinctive black crown, face, and bib, all encircling a pink bill, make
them unmistakable. They’re only occasionally seen in migration in Wisconsin, so
we always feel blessed when one stops by our feeders.
Harris’s sparrows breed in the
relatively narrow transition zone from boreal shrubs to tundra, and I found it
interesting that Cornell’s Birds of North
America, the Bible on species research, says “their remote breeding habitat
and secretive nesting behavior have made it one of the last passerines in North
America to have its nest and eggs described; until recently, little was known
about even the most basic aspects of its breeding biology.”
Today, 5/11, the bird is still present,
likely grounded during the night due to the rainy, cool weather. I suspect it
will soon move on, but in the meantime, we’ll enjoy our good fortune in having
this one visit our home.
Sightings Galore!
4/29: Sarah Krembs sent me a wonderful note that
emphasized just how aggressive, and beautiful, male trumpeter swans can be at
this time of year: “I was treated to the most amazing show at Powell Marsh this
evening! A pair of trumpeter swans were floating around lazily in that first
big pond where they have been seen this spring. Another swan, which had been in
the far pond, flew over the pair, and they started hooting like crazy at the
other one, and so he flew further away from them. Then, the pair faced each
other and spread their wings toward each other and bobbed their heads over and
over again. They settled down a bit, but kept bobbing their heads. It was like
some affirmation that THEY were a couple, and this third interloper dude was
not to be any part of it.
“Then, over near where the swan nest
was last year, an unsuspecting sandhill crane flew in, landed and started
pecking around, like they do. Well, the one swan from the pair was upset about
that and flew over and chased the sandhill away! And then he went back to the
other swan. A minute or two later, the crane got too close to the same area
again, and same thing. Oh, boy! I think they are totally planning on having a
nest this year. Fingers crossed.”
5/2: Dan Carney in Hazelhurst reported the first
rufous-sided towhee in the area, and then the first solitary sandpiper the
following day.
5/3: Our daughter, Eowyn, was visiting for a few days from
San Diego, so we needed to take her paddling and birding for old-time’s sake.
In the morning, we paddled a short section of the Bear River and saw our
first-of-the year (FOY) palm warblers and spotted sandpiper. Later that
afternoon, we hiked in Powell Marsh and found a yellow-headed blackbird as well
as a flock of greater yellowlegs, among an array of other birds.
5/4: Judith Bloom on Lake Tomahawk sent me a fine photo of
an American widgeon that visited them that day. Judith also noted that the ice
went out this year on 4/15 compared to 5/9 last year.
5/4: Grace Wanta in Springstead reported the first orioles
in our area.
5/4: Cherie Smith in Lake Tomahawk sent me photo of a
brown thrasher and noted, “Every year I see one in our yard and then he
disappears.” She also noted, “I saw in your column last week that someone
had a pine warbler eating peanuts. We have a pair of them, and they seem
to love this peanut butter/suet stuff we make too. We've had several birds
eating this concoction, including chipping sparrows and juncos, and last year
even an oriole was enjoying it!”
5/5: Mark Pfleiger in Harshaw saw his FOY ruby-throated
hummingbird, as did Grace Wanta in Springstead. We saw our first one as well in
Manitowish. I heard my first black-throated green warbler and black-and-white
warbler while hiking with Conserve School students near Land O’Lakes.
5/6: Mark Pflieger reported his FOY rose-breasted grosbeak
in the Harshaw area, and again, we also had our first one in Manitowish. Pat
Schwai also reported her FOY rose-breasted grosbeak on Cochran Lake. Mark also
noted, “We have a Coopers hawk that is becoming very proficient at chasing
birds into our sliding glass door and then coming back and hunting them on the
ground. Walks and turns his head like something out of Jurassic Park.”
5/7: Sarah Krembs sent several photos of four northern water
snakes she watched swimming beneath the bridge on Hwy. N that crosses Plum
Lake.
5/7: Cherie Smith reported her FOY ruby-throated hummingbird
in Lake Tomahawk.
5/7: A red-bellied woodpecker visited our feeders for a day,
and then departed. We also saw our first yellow warbler and northern parula
warbler.
5/7: Grace Wanta in Springstead reported the first indigo
bunting in the area. I don’t know what Grace is feeding the birds over there on
the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage, but the next day she had five rose-breasted
grosbeaks, two orioles, two indigo buntings, and one hummer.
5/8: Laurie Timm on Witches Lake reported her FOY
rose-breasted grosbeak, and had her first ruby-throated hummingbird the
following day.
5/8: Pat Schwai reported her FOY ruby-throated
hummingbird, black-throated green warbler, and least flycatcher on Cochran
Lake. She also noted the emotional perils of being a male songbird displaying
his wares: “I had to chuckle the other day when a male purple finch landed on a
branch in the midst of five females, not more than three feet from any one of them. His
crown feathers were raised, his wings trembled and not one of the ladies gave
him a nod. How humiliating is that?”
5/8: FOY baby robins were reported by Tom and Kaye Oscar in
the Irma area.
5/8: Linda Johnson sent me a photo of a wood turtle eating
slugs rather indelicately – it had slug parts extending all around its mouth.
5/8: Dan Carney in Hazelhurst reported the first
golden-winged warbler, American redstart, common yellowthroat, and catbird in
the area.
5/9: Birders attending the North Lakeland Discovery Center’s
Birdfest counted 93 species of birds on a rather chilly, often drizzly morning.
If the Birdfest ever gets a warm spring morning preceded by a good migration
night flight, the number will easily top 100 species. Kudos to the Discovery Center
for organizing another very pleasurable event, their 11th annual!
5/9: Mary and I led a morning trip for the Birdfest into the
Van Vliet Hemlocks where we had FOY sightings of a Nashville warbler and
Blackburnian warbler, among the nine species of warblers we heard or observed,
including yellow-rumped, northern parula, black-throated green, pine,
black-and-white, chestnut-sided, and ovenbird. We also had a FOY blue-headed
vireo, heard but not seen. Back home in Manitowish, we saw our FOY Baltimore orioles
and white-crowned sparrows.
5/11: On a hike on the Land O’Lakes bike trail, Mary and I
heard our FOY black-throated blue warbler and got exceptional close-up looks at
a northern parula warbler. Spring flowers were up on the trail; in particular,
hundreds of Dutchman’s breeches and Carolina spring beauties. Juneberries were
in flower all along County B.
Celestial Events
The planet Jupiter shines brightly in the evening western
sky all month and nears the waxing crescent moon on 5/24 and 5/25.
With a small telescope or bird spotting scope, you can see four of Jupiter’s
moons – Io, Callisto, Europa, and Ganymede. Galileo was the first to discover
them, so they are named the “Galilean satellites.”
Venus outshines Jupiter in the
western sky after sunset, but it sets a few hours after the sun. Jupiter and
Venus approach within 25 degrees of one another on 5/27. So, how far is 25°? If
you extend your arm, make a fist, and hold it to the sky, the distance across
the width of an average fist is about 10°. If you spread out your thumb and
little finger as far apart as possible, that’s about 25°.
Saturn remains an early morning
“star” in the southwest. Its ring system is currently tilted at 25 degrees from
horizontal, a feature that can be seen with a spotting scope or a small
telescope.
