During one vacation on the western shore of Lake Superior, probably thirty-five plus years ago already, we encountered a seagull with a bad leg so we would try to make sure ‘Hoppy’ got a treat each day. Last week on the south shore of Lake Superior, I encountered another ‘Hoppy’ and spotted him each day on the beach, especially since he was an outcast and normally on the fringe of the group or by himself.
But I shouldn’t have called him Hoppy since he never hopped, as he just stood on his one good leg or flew, no hopping around. So instead I should have called him ‘Crooked Leg Charlie’.
The most numerous bird in North America, and perhaps the world, covered the skies for days in the 1850s when an estimated five billion passenger pigeons migrated. Loss of habitat and acorns as a food source from deforestation as well as aggressive and massive hunting of the pigeons for a cheap food source for people and hogs in the 19th century wiped out the existence of any wild passenger pigeons by 1900.
A few captive passenger pigeon were kept in zoos but the captive birds failed to reproduce, and soon only one female remained, even though a $1,000 reward was offered to find a mate for Martha (named in honor of Martha Washington) who lived in the Cincinnati Zoo. Martha had had an apoplectic stroke several years before her death, which left her weak and frail and as she grew older, her keepers had to continuously lower her perch so she could climb up onto it, rather than fly up to the perch.
Martha lived to the age of 29, ancient by pigeon standards, but when she died on September 1, 1914, the passenger pigeon, vanished from the planet. It has been a hundred years since of blue, long-tailed, fast and graceful passenger pigeon, larger than a mourning dove, inhabited the country where it was once so abundant.
These young swallows where hanging on tight to the branch while yesterday’s winds were tossing them like a carnival ride. The field yesterday was filled with swallows so they might be gathering to head south before winter but before they go, they better eat a lot more of my mosquitoes!
It has been hard keeping the bird feeders filled now that the baby orioles and grosbeaks have been coming to eat (besides the mother squirrel too). And it appears the baby Northern Flickers have left the nest as I saw a group of them on the lawn looking for their meal. But since they feed on insects, I don’t have to put more seed out since there are plenty of bugs this year.
After a stormy weekend, I always wonder how the oriole nest manages to stay attached to the branches with extreme swaying and wonder how the poor eggs aren’t scrambled. But I suppose since the female spends a lot of time incubating the eggs and builds the nest, she doesn’t take shortcuts nor scrimp on the number of the fibers as it takes a week to build or longer if the weather is bad.
When I see holes in dead trees, I always wonder if they are a house for some critter. This hole did have a resident who I scared out when out working but came back quickly so I don’t know if there are eggs in the nest or babies or just in the building phase.
Northern Flickers generally nest in holes in trees and takes about 1 to 2 weeks to build the nest by both male and female and will lay between 6 to 8 eggs which are high glossy, white eggs. I probably won’t be able to get a picture of the eggs since the hole is high up on the tree and the other half of the tree has blown down so probably not safe to lean a ladder on it.
There are over 100 common names for the Northern Flicker, many based on the sounds the woodpecker makes like heigh-ho.
Monday brings another start of a work week but the male Eastern Bluebird has his work done building a nest for his new family already. He brings a couple pieces of building material to the nesting box and goes in and out and fluttering his wings and catches the eye of a female to his nesting site. After that the female does all the work, building the nest with grasses and pine needles. I noticed the male would inspect her progress every once in a while and she would have to push him in the butt when he was blocking the hole while she was making her numerous trips for material. He even dropped a pine needle back outside after he went inside once and I wondered if he got scolded for messing up her work.
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology web site, the Mourning Dove’s nest is “a flimsy assembly of pine needles, twigs, and grass stems, unlined and with little insulation for the young.” Well that describes this Mourning Dove nest found on a snapped off tree, although I wouldn’t have noticed it if I didn’t scare her off the nest while on a hike.
My yard has been filled with colorful birds with the return of summer birds intermixed with the year round birds; Indigo Buntings, Bluebirds, Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Orchard Orioles, Scarlet Tanager, Cardinal, Yellow Warblers and the Goldfinches provide a rainbow effect outside.
The birds have been emptying the feeders at an alarming rate and there are fights at the feeders. The Goldfinches are rather strict vegetarians, selecting an entirely vegetable diet and only inadvertently swallowing an occasional insect, so there is a waiting line for the sunflower seed feeder. Sometimes it is hard at times to pick out the Goldfinches among the dandelions when they are searching for the fallen seed.
