FIRST REPORT FROM FEBRUARY'S FEEDER COUNT (3/2/01)

We had quite a maelstrom in our yard a few days before the start of the count! Swirling robins and starlings competed for the red berries of the barberry and the blue berries of the privet. Woe be to any hungry neighborhood mockingbird or any catbird that shows up a bit early this spring, as these berries are what they would eat until other food becomes available!

Downy and hairy woodpeckers were part of the show, too, undulating back and forth between the suet and the nearby trees. We even caught a flicker on the suet, a first for us. Their behavior suggested an approaching storm front even though that was not the case. As I watched the activity that lasted at least a half an hour, I wondered whether others might also be experiencing such a phenomenon. I was pleased that a few readers had also witnessed somewhat similar activity.

Thanks to all the readers who returned their tallies, many with nice notes, and a few with commemorative funds that will go along to the Bald Eagle restoration program in Florida. Many respondents indicated they liked this new format of having a two-week period over which to record birds in their yard. I hope you also sent your data along to Mass. Audubon and Cornell for their feeder counts.

There are several reasons why I like to conduct this count each winter. Not only does it give you an opportunity to let me know about your yard birds, but it gives me a chance to answer your questions and to find out what topics you’d like me to address in future columns. Also, it paints a very good picture of the make-up of our wintering bird population. Some species’ numbers, such as chickadees, cardinals, crows, goldfinches, song sparrows and titmice, remain stable from year to year, while others may vary widely, reflecting either growth of permanent residents or merely an atypical wintering population.

Regarding the former, I tallied 36 red-bellied woodpeckers this year, as compared to less than ten only a few years ago. Formerly considered a southern U.S. species, these non-migratory birds are obviously expanding their range northward in much the way cardinals, Carolina wrens and mockingbirds did several decades ago. I also noted with interest how many flickers (92), a widespread breeding bird on the Cape, decided to winter over rather than join the many others of their kind who made the traditional flight further south for the winter.

Other bird numbers that stood out were the 181 red-winged blackbirds that apparently thought we were having an early spring, since March is their usual month to return; nearly 238 juncos, which I thought a surprisingly high number, especially as we never have any in our yard; 24 red-breasted nuthatches which were here (and all over New England) last winter in far larger numbers; 49 grackles (a bit on the early side); 145 crows at the lucky (?) Stearns’s in Marstons Mills; over 600 robins, observed stripping pyracantha, barberry, privet, juniper, yew and alder berries, continuing what seems to be a trend for them, thanks to all the available food.

Birds that were few and far between were the 13 towhees, 4 fox and 2 white-crowned sparrows; 5 cowbirds; 19 brown creepers (undoubtedly in yards where there are many pine trees); 2 pine siskins; 5 pine warblers; 31 yellow-rumped warblers, once again showing just how hardy these supposedly delicate birds are; 1 phoebe; 1 catbird; 1 turkey; 2 hermit thrushes, one at the Wellers’ in Brewster, the other at Masch’s in Cataumet. Sadly, the 38 bobwhite (quail) reported by only 5 observers, plus a covey of 6 seen before the count, confirms the rapid decline of these once abundant Cape birds.

The good news, though, came from the 16 lucky folks who had a total of 92 bluebirds enjoying suet and special suet mixes and birdbaths! Two questions asked by many correlate with each other: “How can I attract bluebirds to my yard?” and “What kind of bird houses should I place in my yard?” Unfortunately, bluebirds, beautiful as they are, are also fickle to any one site. They may nest in a yard one year but not return the next. They may start to nest but then disappear. I personally think it would take a bird psychologist to understand their behavior!

Nevertheless, there is no harm in trying to attract and keep them. Having a bird bath with open water all year around is a starter. Erecting a bird house with the specific dimensional requirements of this finicky birds is certainly important. Many books and websites explain the specific criteria that bluebirds demand: the size of the hole; the depth of the box and its height from the ground, the direction it should face, etc. Bluebirds start to nest in March, so it is not too soon at all to put up a house or to clean out one that was used last year.

Bird houses designed specifically for tree swallows (same design as for bluebirds but with different placement), house wrens, flickers and screech owls quite often find their targeted tenants. A word of caution, though: Do not allow either English (house) sparrows or starlings to take over these houses. These introduced birds are aggressive and destructive to our native birds. If they decide to become residents, you must continue to remove their nesting material or simply block the opening so that they cannot use your house.

Here’s my final statistic: David Masch, Cotuit, reported the highest number, 92, of birds recorded in any one yard, followed by between 80-90 at feeders in Eastham and 73 at the Jurkowski’s in Marstons Mills and In my next column, whether your forms and letters arrived after this column’s deadline or not, I will attempt to answer your many questions.