Hello Mr. Cooper...

I came home for lunch today and found this male Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) perched outside my kitchen window. I photographed him through glass and a screen...and it was dark and snowy, so the photos aren't the best, but you can still see the beauty in him. It's always a shock to look out the window and see this fierce fellow looking back...

Adult male Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) outside our kitchen window. Even the gloom of a steel-gray winter's afternoon can't dull his rusty red chest and belly feathers. His dark blue-gray head and shoulders add to his beautiful coloring. 

See you later, Mr. Cooper! 

Black, orange and white...striking in the snow!

As snowflakes tumbled, drifted and fell, sticking to anything that didn't move (including me), I kept my camera lens trained on an American Tree Sparrow as he picked seeds from withered and dried goldenrod flower heads. It was quiet and lovely, with just the sweet calls of American Tree Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, White-crowned Sparrows and Carolina Chickadees around me. As I watched the American Tree Sparrow through the lens, a sudden flash of orange burst through the background. What? I quickly looked up from my camera, and there in front of me sat a handsome and regal male Eastern Towhee...

An Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) looks dashing in the snow. His deep black, rufous, and bright white plumage are especially striking with snowflakes falling all around him.

Eastern Towhees are year-round birds in our area, but we don't normally see them in our backyard. Towhees really aren't suburban birds. They like the deep leaf litter found in shrubby forest edges or open woodlands, and while some come to feeders, most shy away from humans. So I was excited and happy to see this beautiful bird. I've been adding bushes and brushy areas to our yard for years trying to create the perfect "birdy" habitat. Maybe it's starting to work. The towhee was foraging in a tangle of weeds, grasses and shrubs under our weeping willow tree. Ideal habitat for the bird...

An Eastern Towhee faces into the wind and falling snowflakes. 

It looks like this fella took a nip of snow from the small accumulation beside him, but the visible ice crystals on his face really resulted from rooting for seeds just a moment earlier in snow-covered weeds on the ground. 

Eastern Towhees like to scrabble and scuffle in the leaf litter on the ground, so it was nice to see him come up to less snow-covered branches to pose for the camera! :-)

I have to admit. I still let "Rufous-sided" Towhee slip when naming this bird. I learned the bird as a Rufous-sided Towhee as a teen and can't seem to shake it. The name was changed in 1995 to Eastern Towhee...could someone please tell my brain that?

For having the same black and rufous-colored plumage of an American Robin, it's amazing how different the birds look. Even from a distance the silhouette of the towhee clearly marks it as a different bird, and when you throw in the tail bobbing, spreading and flicking a towhee is so famous for, there's no question...

...the famous tail bobbing of an Eastern Towhee! 

American Tree Sparrows blew in with the snow...

...finally our American Tree Sparrows have arrived for the winter! They always seem to ride in on the night winds of the first big snow in January, so when I looked out the kitchen window yesterday morning, I had my fingers crossed. Sure enough...the little sparrows were under the feeders searching out seeds. I cracked the window so I could hear their pretty, twittery calls. It only took colder temps and five inches of snow to lure them in...

A sweet American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea) pulls seed from brush in our backyard. 

American Tree Sparrows are birds from the far north, so they are well adapted to our cold winters. This spring our little flock will pick up and head back home, flying over 2,000 miles to reach their breeding grounds in Manitoba, so we have to enjoy them while we can. I'm thankful we have a little flock that stays with us each winter. Their cheery calls and warm, beautiful colors always brighten up the gray that can descend during winter. I just checked the thermometer and it's 4 degrees Fahrenheit. These little fellas should feel right at home!

American Tree Sparrows eat the seeds at my feeders, but they also scour the yard looking for weed seeds and spent flower heads. I know they love the purple coneflowers that I have all over, especially those mixed into the weed patch I've created in part of my yard. They go for Goldenrod too...and almost any plant packed with seeds.

...a weed seed eating demon!  

In the January 2009 issue of Birds and Blooms magazine, George Harrison mentioned that over a hundred years ago, a Professor F.E.L Beal reported that in Iowa, American Tree Sparrows consumed 875 tons of weed seeds annually, and farmers considered these little birds economic allies. (These angelic looking birds are weed-seed-eating demons!)

The two-toned yellow and black bill, and the stickpin in the center of his chest are two identifying field marks of the American Tree Sparrow...not to mention his jaunty rusty cap!

...a pretty bird in beautiful snow! I can never resist head-on shots of the winter birds.

The warm chocolate browns, caramels, and rusty oranges are beautiful against the white snow. 

Don't clean your yard up in the fall...birds like it messy!
I always leave flower heads, weedy areas, and brushy areas for the birds in winter. The little sparrows can't resist these wild pockets in a suburban yard. I've let a section of my yard "go wild" with goldenrod, black-eyed susans, purple coneflowers, and grasses and I can always find something interesting hiding out in the brush...

An American Tree Sparrow hangs out in the wild weed patch. I never cut down flower heads and weedy areas in the fall. I leave them as is for the birds, who eat seeds and wintering insects in them all winter long. In our yard, the American Tree Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows, American Goldfinch, and Carolina Chickadees really love the uncut grasses in the weed patch. 

A Northern Cardinal eating red honeysuckle berries in the snow...sustenance or an "ecological trap?"

A couple weeks ago, while the snow was still fresh, Rick and I headed over to the Little Miami River to walk in the fluffy whiteness and look for birds. We saw White-breasted Nuthatches, Carolina Chickadees, Downy, Pileated, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Golden-crowned Kinglets, White-crowned and White-throated sparrows, Northern Cardinals, Blue Jays, Eastern Bluebirds, and a Red-shouldered hawk. We even saw a solitary Pied-billed Grebe swimming and diving in the river near the Lebanon cut-off bridge. It really was a winter wonderland, and we had the place to ourselves! All the birds were chatty (except the grebe), and they all were busy searching for food to help fuel them through the snowy day and upcoming night. At one point, we stopped and watched a male Northern Cardinal eating bright red berries from the frozen branches of an Asian Honeysuckle bush. If you look at the photo below, you can see berry pulp and skins still plastered to his bill. "At least these invasive bushes are good for something," I said to Rick...

A bright red Northern Cardinal was happy eating the bright red berries on an Asian Honeysuckle bush. 

When I got home, I googled, "Are Asian Honeysuckle berries good for cardinals?" I knew the berries had helped American Robins expand their range to the north, but I didn't know if the berries had helped Northern Cardinals. Along the Little Miami River, Northern Cardinals love the dense thickets that border the trail, and they claim the territory for their nesting sites in the spring, so they seemed to like the plant, but was the plant good for them? The first article to pop up in the search was written by John Carey on the National Wildlife website titled "Nonnative Plants: Ecological Traps; Offering alluring habitat for songbirds, exotic plants may actually decrease the animals' long-term survival fitness" (click here for the article). The article had a Northern Cardinal munching on bright red Asian Bush Honeysuckle berries, much like our little cardinal was doing. Uh...oh...

Asian Honeysuckle berries create an artificial indicator of health
Ecologist Amanda Rodewald of Ohio State University has been researching the affects of invasive honeysuckle on Northern Cardinals. Basically, the berries of Amur honeysuckle and other Asian invasive species might help cardinals get through the winters now, but 70 generations from now? Seems the berries artificially create bright red, healthy-looking males. Females usually chose the most colorful males as mates because bright red plumage indicates the birds have been eating berries packed with nutrients to make them strong and carotenoid pigments that make the feathers red. Asian honeysuckle berries contain plenty of pigments to color the feathers, but they lack the protein and fat the cardinals need to stay healthy and fit. So the bright "dye job" that results from a diet of Asian honeysuckle berries is misleading, and females may choose males that are not the healthiest. As a result, the couple will fledge fewer offspring, which over time could hurt the population.

Asian Honeysuckle bushes are an "ecological trap" for nesting cardinals
In another study, Rodewald uncovered an additional danger to Northern Cardinals. Asian honeysuckle bushes leaf out first among all forest plants. Northern Cardinals are early nesters, so the fittest males nest earlier than other birds by nabbing nests in the dense branches of the green and leafy honeysuckle bushes. Even though these sites appear to be the best, they aren't, and cardinals that nest in honeysuckle have a lower fledge rate than the less-fit cardinals who have to wait to chose "less desirable" sites in native trees and bushes. The earlier nesters fledge 20% fewer young, which means the healthiest birds are not reproducing at a normal rate. Why? Because cardinals nesting early in invasive honeysuckle are about the only birds nesting in the forest at that time, so they become marks for predators because they are easier to find. Rodewald concludes "breeding in honeysuckle seems to flip natural selection. It is a kind of ecological trap." (Check out the entire article for details on Rodewald's research and additional findings by other researchers.)

Eliminating non-native invasive plants from your yard...
I've been battling invasive honeysuckle from my yard for years. It's just about gone now, and I've replaced it with several varieties of native viburnum bushes, Staghorn Sumac, holly bushes, and others. The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) advises trying to eliminate the invasive shrub from your yard. Botanist Bruce Stein, National Wildlife's director of climate change adaptation writes, "While many nonnative plants are fairly benign, others can be ecologically destructive. We need to pick our battles wisely by figuring out which ones we can live with and which, if left unattended, will undermine our ecosystems.”

Click here for a pdf by The Ohio State University titled, "Controlling Non-native Invasive Plants in Ohio Forests: Bush Honeysuckle," for a description of Amur, Morrow, and Tartarian honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.) and recommendations on how to get rid of it.

Click here to learn more about invasive species and how NWF is working to stop their spread.

White-throated Sparrow with Snowflakes...

I think our little White-throated Sparrow has just settled himself for a long winter's nap.
(...or maybe he's watching for Santa!)

Wishing you the happiest of holidays

filled with love and cheer. 

Merry Christmas...and a Happy New Year! 

Winter Birds
White-throated Sparrows are one of our first winter birds to arrive in our back yard each autumn. Rick and I watch for them, along with White-crowned Sparrows, American Tree Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos as soon as the leaves start to turn colors and a chill hangs in the air. These sweet birds leave their nesting grounds up north and head south to live with us during the winter. They are special guests, and their musical calls and beautiful plumage brighten dull gray winter days. It's always exciting to spy the first to arrive for the season. This year, Dark-eyed Juncos won the contest, showing up on October 21. White-throated Sparrows were right on their heals, making their appearance on October 23. White-crowned Sparrows sometimes skip our yard altogether, but this year, they dropped in on November 14. We're still waiting for our musical little American Tree Sparrows to show. They usually blow in with a winter storm in January. With all the snow we've had in December, however, we were hoping they would show up sooner. We will keep watching. Maybe they will hitch a ride with Santa, and we will see them at the feeders Christmas morn...

Gray Dogwood is for the birds, too...

Just like the Staghorn Sumac berries (drupes) from the previous post, Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa) berries are very important to the birds too! The nutritional content between the fruit of the two species is different, however, and the birds eat the fruit for different reasons. Staghorn Sumac drupes are low in fat and high in ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and tannins, which creates fruit that is hard and lasts long into the winter season. The drupes, which are ignored until all the "tasty" berries have been stripped from the trees, help birds survive the harsh, cold winter and early spring. Gray Dogwood berries are the opposite...the creamy white drupes of the dogwood are high in fat, which makes them soft and highly palatable to the birds. Gray Dogwood drupes are meant to be eaten through the fall and early winter to help fuel migrating songbirds (especially catbirds and thrushes) on their energy-expending flights south...

Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa) berries (drupes) are high in fat. Migrating birds need these high-fat calorie-dense drupes to build up their fat stores so they have enough energy to make it to their wintering grounds.

This stand of Gray Dogwood was located along the trail near the visitor's center at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge right next to the Staghorn Sumac from the previous post. Gray Dogwood has white berries, bright red pedicels (the stalks the fruit grows on), and red stems on newer growth but gray bark on the older branches. The gray bark is how the plant gets its name...

Gray Dogwood and Staghorn Sumac grow side by side along the trail near the visitor's center at Ottawa NWR near Toledo. In addition to the fruit benefiting the birds, thickets of Gray Dogwood provide cover and habitat for birds.

The white berries of the Gray Dogwood start to ripen in late August and early September. By the beginning of November the soft drupes are already showing wear. 

White berries on bright red pedicels. You can see the birds have been busy eating the fruit while the eating is good! Gray Dogwood drupes are a fall fuel treat for migrating songbirds and are not meant to last through the winter.

...only one berry remains on this Gray Dogwood pedicel. Although the drupes will be gone soon, the bright red color of the fruit stalks lasts through the winter.

Gray Dogwoods as pioneer woody shrubs...

Gray Dogwoods are one of the first shrubs to move into a prairie if it is left un-mowed or unburned, making it a "pioneer woody plant" that moves a prairie or abandoned field toward succession. Click here for an article by the Ohio Prairie Association detailing how Gray Dogwoods overtake and shade out prairies and how to manage prairies to prevent it. A good example of a meadow being overtaken by Gray Dogwoods is the Voice of America (VOA) Metro Park's high meadow. It was left untended for years, and Gray Dogwood pioneers had definitely set up camp. This spring the park service started prairie restoration in several places. I need to head back and see how it's progressing.

Flowering Dogwoods are for the birds, also...

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) trees also have fruit high in fat, and migrating songbirds love the tree's red berries. For a post on a Flowering Dogwood tree I photographed last autumn in Greenbo Lake State Park in KY (click here). 

Staghorn Sumac is for the birds...

In early November when we headed up to Toledo for a little birding, we spent one morning at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately, my favorite trails were closed, but we still were able to see three American Bald Eagles from a distance and numerous other birds and ducks. We walked the small trail and boardwalk near the visitor's center and saw lots of berry-producing plants. I especially liked the color showing on the Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)...

It's easy to see how Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) gets its name. Its furry and velvety stems and branches resemble a stag's antlers in the "velvet" stage of development. 

A little about antlers and velvet...

Male deer grow new antlers every year. They shed them in late winter, and new antler growth begins in late March or early April. Antlers are bone, not horn, and the growing bone is fed by blood vessels in the sensitive skin that covers the bone, which looks like and is called "velvet." Antlers grow quickly, and by late summer the levels of the reproductive hormone testosterone increase, signaling the bone to start to harden. Up until then, the antlers were soft, spongy, and even delicate. Eventually, a ring at the base of the antler (the burr) cuts off the blood supply to the velvet, which dries up and falls off. The hard antlers remain on the stag through the height of the breeding season. As testosterone levels start to fall after the rut, the antlers eventually fall off. For a more detailed explanation of the growth of a deer's antlers, click here for an article by the University of Missouri that also contains photos of deer antlers in velvet. Click here for a similar article that explains how antlers grow by The Izaak Walton league of America. For a beautiful photo of a white-tailed deer in velvet, click here. For a photo of a white-tailed deer losing his velvet, click here.

You can't beat the color of Staghorn Sumac in the autumn. 

A little about Staghorn Sumac, winter, and the birds...
Staghorn Sumac is native to the United States and is part of the cashew family. I love the bright red and orange color of the leaves in autumn, and a few years ago I added a few plants to my yard. They have multiplied and have already started a small colony, but even though I love the fall color, I love the fruit Staghorn Sumacs produce for the birds even more. Staghorn Sumac fruit helps birds get through the dead of winter. When all the other softer and more desirable berries of late summer and fall have been consumed, and the bushes and trees are all stripped bare, Staghorn Sumac fruit is still viable. The fuzzy fruit becomes an important source of food in the late winter and early spring for overwintering birds such as wild turkeys, Eastern Bluebirds, American Robins, Northern Cardinals, Mockingbirds, woodpeckers, chickadees, Brown Thrashers, Cedar Waxwings, Bobwhite Quail, grouses, and Hermit Thrushes. Staghorn Sumac "berries" are technically called "drupes" (a drupe is a fleshy fruit that surrounds a single seed in a shell; e.g., a cherry or a plum), and the conical cluster of drupes is called a "bob."

Vibrant red leaflets stand out against the dull background.

Staghorn Sumac leaves are compound and are made up of nine to 31 leaflets. The leaflets are between two and five inches long. They have toothed edges and hang opposite each another.

Staghorn Sumac is not Poison Sumac
I've heard people mention they don't like Staghorn Sumac, because they thought it was Poison Sumac. It's not. Staghorn Sumac has red berries, furry stems, and jagged (toothed) leaves. It's also common and grows at forest edges, clearings, and hillsides. Poison Sumac has white berries, smooth stems, and smooth leaves. It's not as common and grows in wetlands. Poison Sumac is not your friend. I read on the TrekOhio blog that it is the most toxic plant in the United States! For photos and more discussion of urushiol (the resin in the plant that causes the allergic reactions in poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac), click here. In Ohio, Poison Sumac is mostly found in the northeast and in boggy areas in the south. Urushiol doesn't bother the birds, and just like Staghorn Sumac fruit, birds like Poison Sumac berries.

Click here for more information on Staghorn Sumac from The Ohio State University's Ohio Perennial and Biennial Weed Guide.