Is Anybirdy Home?

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I skulked around the yard yesterday, spying on nests and any tree or shrub that looked like it could contain a nest.  I found quite a few, some unoccupied.  What prompted me was the three fledgling kiskadees in the photo above,  noisily perched in an oak tree across the driveway from their nest.  The nest, a big round blob in an ebony tree, is one of the most interesting nests in the yard.  Its side entrance is unusual (not for a kiskadee nest, but for nests in general) and it is so conspicuously placed in an exposed fork of an ebony tree that I figure the birds won't mind if I walk around under it.

The nest is the one I wrote about in early April  (here and here).  I can't be sure when the babies hatched, but the adults have been busy feeding them in the nest for the last ten days at least (since we returned from Florida).  Now three hungry fledglings clamor  for handouts from trees within about a 30 yard radius of the nest.

The Brown-crested Flycatcher nest is also empty.  On Sunday the parents were still carrying in bugs and flies (see last  Sunday's blog),  but by Monday afternoon all was quiet, nobody home.  I watched from the deck yesterday but saw no sign of flycatchers, young or old.  I knew from previous years that the flycatchers did not stay particularly close to the nest just after fledging.  Only once have I seen a young one make its first flight, poking its head up out of the vertical railroad tie a couple of times and then flying to the oak tree.  But I thought I would see them this time since they were so close to the deck I spend so much time on. I looked for the flycatcher family yesterday but never saw any birds that looked like fledglings.

Today I did.  Unfortunately, what I saw was a flycatcher interacting with a fledgling Bronzed Cowbird.  Cowbird  parasitism affects not just flycatchers but cardinals and especially hooded orioles, at least by my observations.  I hope that the one cowbird chick I saw was not the only young bird the flycatchers raised in their house beside our house.  I'll be watching for signs of successful nesting.

The Northern Mockingbirds have been frantically singing all day and into the night.  We have more than just one pair, so I don't know if the loudest most persistent singer is the same one that has a nest in the neighbor's small Anacua tree.  I suspect the singer is an unmated male that is trying to find a mate.  It's been over a month since the mated pair build their nest of thorny twigs about 4 feet off the ground in the anacua.  At least one fairly good sized chick is in the nest.  I hope it's not a cowbird.  I looked very quickly when the adults were out of sight but not close enough to take a picture or examine the nestling.  I felt bad enough about the quick peek.

In the nest photo you can see the rough sandpapery leaves of the Anacua, a wonderful native tree.  Some call it "sandpaper tree."  You know it's a favorite of berry-loving birds such as Mockingbirds and Kiskadees because they accidentally "plant" so many seeds beneath their favorite perches. (Not an accident, of course in nature's design.)

And speaking further of Anacuas, their green/gold  berries are turning brighter gold and a few already orange.  The nest tree is too small for berries yet, which is probably fortunate for the birds since when  anacua berries ripen, the tree is a magnet for kingbirds, kiskadees, mockingbirds, thrashers, green jays and woodpeckers.  I noticed yesterday in my ramble around the yard that a few of the gold berries are ripening to orange.  If you look really close at the picture of the fledgling Kiskadees at the top of this post, you can see that one has a berry in its beak.  I first thought it was a red berry of the fiddlewood but then decided it was a bright orange anacua berry because the fiddlewood berries are black when ripe (thus the alternate name negrito).  I wouldn't think an adult Kiskadee would feed its young unripe fruit!   Regardless, the young bird didn't seem to know what to do with the berry ripe or not.  It clutched it in its beak for the longest time.

The Altamira Oriole nest in the Live Oak tree to the west of the driveway is also unoccupied.  I have not seen any orioles at the nest since we came home.  I wonder if that, too, is caused by the cowbirds.  The orioles are nearby but are not in our yard as much as they were in April.  There's not been enough time since the nest was built in mid April for birds to have completed nesting, and I think I would see them going in and out of the large pendulous nest if they were still there. Although I did not see any contentious acts on the part of the Kiskadees, whose nest was about 15 or 20 feet away, perhaps the orioles considered them noisy neighbors and went elsewhere.  I have seen Kiskadees land on the nest a few times.  Another possibility I hope is not true is the issue of cats--we have too many in the neighborhood that are hunters.  But Altamira Orioles do not perch low enough to fall victim easily.  I have seen only one oriole at a time since we returned from Florida and never on the nest.  I'm certainly hoping to see a family in the yard soon.

In addition to the three noisy, hungry Northern Kiskadees, I know that Starlings and Great-tailed Grackles and Golden-fronted Woodpeckers already have successfully nested. I'll keep reporting on what I find in my front-yard spying. Perhaps my reluctance to get too close to nesting areas means I miss some clues.   I'm just disappointed that  such a beautiful Altamira Oriole nest isn't being used. Something happened when we were away from home, but I don't really know what --and there's no reason to think the orioles aren't elsewhere in the neighborhood or across the river.

Nests and Easter Songs

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Since today is Easter, a time of rebirth and renewal, it seems appropriate to be thinking of nesting. I like to know that the trees in our yard are homes for birds.  The intricacies  of their courting and nesting are fascinating to watch.   Even if the actual nest is not in our yard, the birds feed and court here and bring their fledglings to feed-- so we claim them. Green Jays and Altamira Orioles may be nesting outside the yard, but they are here calling each other and eating from our shrubs and feeders all day. 

Great Kiskadees continued their nest-construction today in the Ebony beside our driveway, forming the Easter-egg-shaped clump of grass and palm tree material into a larger ball and installing a side entrance.  Strangely, I think there may be more than two birds working on it, though  I'm not sure.  Perhaps an "extra" male or female is just checking it out, or perhaps its not certain yet which two are forming the "couple."  Yesterday I watched from my deck as two birds flew east from the direction of the nest, over the drive, and over the neighbor's yard.  Then another bird flew from an Oak tree and engaged one of the other two, tumbling through the air while calling loudly.  They spiraled about five  feet together and then flew off in separate directions.  

I am not going to take any more photos of the nest for a while, though I'll continue to peek at it unobtrusively.  I don't want to disturb the birds by walking in the neighbor's driveway  to point the camera back towards our tree.  Last summer was the first time the Kiskadees nested in our yard and I wonder if they liked the location because the place next door is unoccupied.  As I watch for nests, I do not want to disturb their inhabitants.  The place next door is unoccupied by humans, I should have said, but not by wildlife. 

I found this nest in a La Coma shrub, about five feet above the ground, across the drive from the Brasil that has five nests (under the hawks from the last post).  I think it is a dove's nest that was used previously but is not in use now.  The White-winged Doves are calling loudly all day "hoo Hoo hoo, hoo Hoo hoo!" or what sounds to me like "Who are you? Who are you?"   And the little Inca Doves call out "whirlpool! whirlpool!" when they take time out from snuggling and showing each other their wing-linings.  Tomorrow I hope to get my nest books in the mail from amazon.com and can start learning to identify nests.  I still plan to keep a close--but not so close I'd disturb the birds--watch on our nesting birds.  For a not so big yard we have had quite a bit of activity lately.

Some botanical notes about the nest picture above:  The La Coma (Bumelia celastrima) on the right in the nest photo is one of my favorite native trees with long spikey thorns at the ends of its twigs, creating great protected nest sites. In addition, its dark blue fruit is devoured by the birds and it has wonderfully fragrant flowers. Right next to the la coma (left in the photo) is another favorite native shrub, the Texas Baby-bonnet (Coursetia axillaris), which is thornless (unusual for native shrubs around here) and in the spring covered with tiny pink flowers that really do look like baby's bonnets.  The two photos here are closeups of the blooms of the Texas Baby-bonnet (left) and the Guayacan or "soapbush" which grows just on the other side of the Baby-bonnet.  The blooms sometimes look prettier than they do in these photos.  I took these after the tiny flowers had been beaten by the  30-40 mph winds we've had all week. They're a little bruised but still have a delicate beauty that I love.  If you live down here in south Texas, you really need to have these great native plants for butterflies, birds, and beauty. 

Here is a photo of the Brasil tree where the multiple old nests are (see the last post for more details).  I love the sort of lime green color of this tree/shrub, especially next to the dark green leaves of an Anacua tree (the two trees are together in another place in the yard where I can see them from the deck).  Brasil has berries that the birds eat and tiny green flowers.  Of course, like most shrubs in the thorny brush of South Texas, it is armed.  I think it's funny that the "real" name of the Brasil  is condalia hookeri because those thorns really will hook your eye (or arm or head) if you get too close.  Good protection for nests!  I suspect the reason the Brasil at the end of the drive has so many more nests than the large one is that we have had to trim it to keep it from scratching our cars and that makes it really compact and thick in its foliage and thorns. 

The Black-crested Titmice that I blogged about a couple of weeks ago are still hanging out around the dead cottonwood tree where Golden-fronted Woodpeckers excavated a hole about ten feet from the ground.  Notice the interesting fungus growing on the stump. And look closely at the bird, or click to enlarge the photo---you'll see a little white caterpillar in the bird's tiny beak. Although it hasn't happened yet, I expect a family of tiny titmice to be in residence here.

  Yesterday I counted about four or five titmice in the backyard trees.  The females flitter their wings and the males feed them.  At first I thought some of the birds might be fledglings, but they did not look or sound like young birds, and I realized that the fluttering and feeding are part of courtship. In both photos of titmice beside possible nesting places, they have food to offer a mate. 

Here's another photo of a bird checking out a bird house that I stuck up in a tree yesterday.   If you look closely at this photo of the bird on the blue house, you'll be able to see the moth in its beak.  I wonder if the moth had once been a caterpillar like the one in the other photo. 

I saw a rabbit, an Eastern Cottontail, by the road today, running through the culverts under two of the neighbor's drives.  Maybe it was the Easter Bunny.  If so, I'm glad it survived:  Years ago, on the eve of our first Easter in this house, our two older grandsons had just come with their parents to spend Easter with us.  Spencer was only a few months old, but Caleb  was two years old and very excited about the Easter Bunny.  When they arrived, we were all distracted, greeting the family and talking enthusiastically about the Easter bunny that would be hopping down the bunny trail by morning.  Amid the noise and confused happiness we didn't notice that the stray cat who was courting us had come in the open door and  dropped a screaming baby rabbit at our feet.  Luckily I saw, got my husband's attention but not my grandson's, and he ushered cat and rabbit out the door.  He hid the rabbit, alive but terrified, under a thorny bush where adult rabbits had been, and put the proud cat on the other side of the house. (That cat was a killer, but a sweet one.  We adopted her after she had a litter of eight kittens in Brad's closet.  She is now at least 15 years old and living out a long rabbitless, birdless life indoors. Our grandsons remained blissfully unaware until recently that she once tried to kill the Easter Bunny.)

No grandchildren are visiting on this Easter day (we had a great Spring Break with the whole crew two weeks ago), but we can hear at least a dozen kinds of birds outside the windows.  Among those I've heard in the last hour as I've been writing this:  Laughing Gull, Mockingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Green Jay, Red-winged Blackbird, Black-crested Titmouse, Great Kiskadee, Gray Catbird, Chachalaca, Osprey, Mourning Dove, Inca Dove, White-tipped Dove, Collared-dove, White-winged Dove, Carolina Wren, House Wren, House Sparrow, Altamira Oriole, Northern Cardinal.  This is not an unusual list for here and I may have actually left some out.  It doesn't even include the birds I'll see when I go back outside. We really do live in a birdwatcher's paradise!

 I am so glad the wind is not quite as noisy today so that I can hear the sound of birds which is the sound of Spring on the Arroyo Colorado in South Texas.

Harris's Hawks and Mystery Nests

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When I walked out to the end of the driveway a couple of mornings ago, I found two Harris's Hawks balancing on the electric wire, each of them grasping the thick wire with just one strong yellow talon.  What handsome hawks these are!  In addition to bright yellow talons, they have bright yellow ceres and eye rings that contrast with deep brown heads.  White feathers at the tip and base of the tail also stand out, and chestnut shoulders, wing linings and "leggings" add distinction to this striking bird. Next to the White-tailed Hawk,  which also has chestnut shoulders, these are my favorite neighborhood hawks. For years I could always see a nest at the top of a mesquite tree in an area of mesquite brush across and just up the the road.  Broken by Hurricane Dolly, the tree is now short and twisted and didn't have a nest last year. I don't know where the hawks  are nesting now.  I watched them watching the drive for a few minutes before they flew off across the cotton field and disappeared. 

 I seldom see Harris's Hawks flying or perching just one at a time.  Young hawks often remain with their parents for a few years and may even help raise new broods.  They  hunt together in twos, threes,  or small groups.  I've seen them hunting cooperatively  and then sharing their catch, perhaps a rabbit, ground squirrel, or wood rat.  Later in the summer,  when the young have fledged, family groups hunt in the fields across the river or across the road. Young hawks look like adults except for brown streaks on the breast, wings and tail.

Speaking of nests, Great Kiskadees are rebuilding one in a three-way fork near the top of an Ebony tree in our yard.  They built the large spherical grass nest last spring, but over the winter it was blown to bits by the wind.   About a month ago only a few pieces of grass remained,  but now it's almost as big as last summer's nest. Here's a picture I took yesterday.  The nest appears a  little loose and has gaps, obviously not finished yet. The bird in the photo sits on top of the nest instead of in it, but  when it's completed,  a side entryway will lead to an enclosed nest .

I've read that Kiskadees sometimes take almost a month to finish building these big football-shaped nests.  I can see how that could be--they keep taking time out to call loudly to each other, display their gold crests, and even tumble in the air as I saw them do yesterday.  Their name comes from their loud call of  "kiskadee!" but I think it just as often sounds like "oh, boy!" or "kiss, kiss, kiss a boy!  kiss a boy,  kiss a boy!"  The Kiskadee has also been called the Derby Flycatcher because of its black and white "hat."

Here's another photo, this one taken as a Kiskadee was calmly sitting on a branch this winter.  It seems they are never calmly sitting these days as they swoop up to their nest and down to the baths, calling and displaying the hidden gold crest at the top of their heads.  I like this picture because it shows that line of gold, the edge of mouth and the back beak which is bright gold, contrasting with the black beak and thick black eye line. 

The first time I saw a Kiskadee, I had first heard it calling loudly outside my classroom when I had just begun teaching at Harlingen High School.  Though in the middle of a discussion, I ran to the door, and saw two boisterous Kiskadees fly into an Ash tree in the courtyard.  Between classes I hurried down to the library for a field guide that identified the bright yellow and rufous bird with its black and white "hat."  We had only recently moved to the Valley,  and after seeing this spectacular bird just outside my classroom door, I knew we would stay here for the rest of our lives!  (I also begankeeping a field guide on the shelf beneath the classroom window and beside the window posted a list of birds seen from the room.  Over the years the list grew and I've had former students tell me they became interested in birds after being in my class. I didn't teach science, but literature --  but I guess if they see a teacher run outside at the call of a bird, they get an idea of how enthusiastic some birders can be.

Another large nest appeared suddenly in a Hackberry tree in December after the leaves had all fallen off the tree. Of course it had been there all along, but the leafy hackberry hid it well.   At first I thought it was a squirrel's nest because it was so large and covered with leaves, but the leaves that had apparently accumulated in our brief "fall" soon blew off, leaving a woven nest made of twigs and some palm fibers, not as messy as a squirrel's nest. (I'm not an expert on any nests, really, so I could be wrong about this.  I have never seen a squirrel near it, though,  so I finally concluded it was a bird's nest. Our squirrels usually nest in the palm trees or an owl box until we chase them out.) Anyway,  I don't know what  built the nest---and I'm surprised I didn't see it last summer since it is very near the upstairs back porch.  All winter, Green Jays stashed corn kernels in it (click on the photo if you can't see the corn),  but it has no inhabitants this spring. Could it have been built by Green Jays? So far, it's still a mystery.

Every winter when the foliage is thinner, I find nests and wonder how I missed them when they were inhabited.  I guess I'm not always a keen observer, not what you would call hawk-eyed.  About a month ago I found four nests in a small Brasil tree out near the end of the driveway, right underneath where the two hawks were perched yesterday.  Three of the nests were constructed of small twigs, probably  doves' nests, and one is a small woven one that looks a lot like the ones the Hooded Orioles build in palm trees. I've got an order in to Amazon.com for a nest guide book which should help my investigation into just who might have constructed these old nests.

This nesting season I want to keep better track.   I need to do a census of the inhabitants of our yard. That's a good resolution for today--April 1, 2010--Census Day. It's too early yet to do a nesting census, but  it's something I intend to do. I'll be careful not to disturb the nesters, but no nest will escape my keen observation:  I'll be hawk-eyed.