Purple Martin

Posted on July 7, 2023 by tspuckler

I was able to observe several of these remarkable birds while visiting Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge in northwest Ohio. They are the largest swallow in North America. Despite their name, Purple Martins are not truly purple. The dark blackish-blue feathers have an iridescent sheen caused by light refraction, giving them a bright blue to navy blue or deep purple appearance. Females are not as shiny with some gray on the head and chest.

Purple Martins are considered synanthropic, meaning they have developed an association with humans over time and benefit from living in close proximity to them. Native Americans hung up empty gourds for these birds before Europeans arrived in North America. Purple Martins in eastern North America now nest almost exclusively in birdhouses, but those in the West use mostly natural cavities.

This birds is insectivores, primarily feed by hawking, a strategy of catching insects in the air during flight. A colony of these birds may catch and eat several hundred beetles, horseflies, grasshoppers, dragonflies, and wasps each day. Purple Martins not only get all their food in flight, they also get all their water that way too. They skim the surface of a pond and scoop up water with their lower bill.

Purple Martins suffered a severe population crash in the 20th century widely linked to the release and spread of European Starlings in North America. European Starlings and House Sparrows compete with these birds for nest cavities. Where Purple Martins once gathered in the thousands, by the 1980s they had all but disappeared. The Purple Martin Conservation Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of Purple Martins.

These birds are long-distance migrants, wintering in the Amazon Basin along waterways and wetlands. Graceful in flight, musical in its pre-dawn singing, the Purple Martin is one of our most popular, well-liked birds.

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California Quail

Posted on April 28, 2023 by tspuckler

I often see this cool bird while out and about looking for reptiles in California.

The California Quail is a small ground-dwelling bird with a curving crest or plume, made of six feathers, that droops forward; the plume is larger in males than in females. It is a handsome, soccer ball-sized bird with a rich gray breast and intricately scaled underparts.

Its stiffly accented “Chi-ca-go” call is a common sound of brushy areas of California and the Northwest. They are often seen strutting across clearings, nodding their heads at each step. If disturbed, they may burst into fast low flight on whirring wings.

This is a highly sociable bird that often gathers in small flocks known as “coveys.” One of their daily communal activities is a dust bath. A group of quail will select an area where the ground has been newly turned or is soft, and using their underbellies, will burrow downward into the soil one to two inches.

They then wriggle about in the indentations they have created, flapping their wings and ruffling their feathers, causing dust to rise in the air. They seem to prefer sunny places in which to create these dust baths. I’ve witnessed this activity while on Mount Hamilton.

Thsi bird’s main habitats are broken chaparral, woodland edges, coastal scrub, parks and farms. As an adaptation to living in arid environments, California Quails can often get by without water, acquiring their moisture from insects and succulent vegetation. During periods of sustained heat they must find drinking water to survive.

California Quail nests can contain as many as 28 eggs. These large clutches may be the result of females laying eggs in nests other than their own, a behavior known as “egg-dumping.” The chicks leave the nest shortly after birth. They make their first attempts at flight when they are about 10 days old and stay on the ground for about a month before roosting in trees with the rest of the flock.

The California Quail is the state bird of California.

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Black-throated Sparrow

Posted on February 17, 2023 by tspuckler

It seemed that wherever I went in the Mojave Desert, these sharp looking birds were present. Part of what made them easy to notice is that they tend to travel in small groups; their frequent high, bell-like calls made me aware of their presence.

Found throughout the southwestern United States and Mexico in arid upland habitats, the Black-throated Sparrow breeds as far north as Washington State. It prefers a habitat of desert hillsides and scrub, canyons and washes – but it is quite adaptable.

Its striking face pattern of neat gray bordered by two strong white stripes and a black triangular throat patch make it easy to identify. Juveniles lack the adult’s black throat and have faint streaking above and below. I have often observed them hopping on the ground, pecking for seeds and insects and making short, low flights between shrubs.

They have the habit of perching in trees and shrubs while giving quiet calls. The Black-throated Sparrow establishes and defends a large territory during nest construction and egg laying season, though once incubation begins, their territory size shrinks and males becomes less responsive to intruders.

The oldest recorded Black-throated Sparrow was a female that was least 6 years old when she was recaptured and re-released during banding operations in Arizona. This is a handsome bird that adds its good looks and interesting song to the desert landscape of the American southwest.

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Red-breasted Nuthatch

Posted on January 13, 2023 by tspuckler

This is a sharp looking little bird that I occasionally see while visiting Brecksville Reservation; it also sometimes attends our birdfeeders. Around here it is not as common as the White-breasted Nuthatch.

The Red-breasted Nuthatch is a blue-gray bird with a strongly patterned head. It has a black cap and stripe through the eye broken up by a white stripe over the eye. The underparts are rich rusty-cinnamon in color and more pale in females than in males.

This bird lives mainly in coniferous forests of Spruce, Fir, Pine, Hemlock, Larch and Western Red Cedar. It has a nationwide distribution that extends well into Canada. Eastern populations use more deciduous woods, including Aspen, Birch, Poplar, Oak, Maple and Basswood.

Like all nuthatches, the Red-breasted Nuthatch is an acrobatic species, hitching itself up and down tree trunks and branches to look for food. It goes headfirst when climbing down. It can “walk” on the underside of branches.

Its diet changes depending on the season. In the Summer, it eats mostly insects, occasionally even flycatching, while in the Winter, it switches to conifer seeds. At feeders it will take sunflower seeds, peanut butter and suet.

The Red-breasted Nuthatch often wedges food pieces in bark crevices in order to break them up with the bill (as opposed to holding the food in their feet, like the Black-capped Chickadee does).

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American Crow

Posted on August 5, 2022 by tspuckler

This is a bird that we’ve been seeing with increasing frequency in our neighborhood. On trash day they are often waiting to tear open trash bags left by the street in search of food.

This is a sign of the bird’s intelligence. Neighborhoods provide a food source now only from garbage, but roadkills and lawns with worms and grubs are also food sources for this omnivorous bird.

They are common sights in treetops, fields, and roadsides and in habitats ranging from open woods and empty beaches to town centers.

The American Crow’s flight style is unique – a patient, methodical flapping that is rarely broken up with glides. These birds congregate in large numbers (of a few hundred up to two million) in Winter to sleep in communal roosts.

Found throughout the United States, this is probably our most easily recognized bird. From beak to tail, an American crow measures 16–20 inches, almost half of which is tail.

Crows have been noted for their brain power. Researchers have found that crows are not only playful and mischievous, but also smart. They use tools to solve complex problems and have the same brain-weight-to-body ratio as humans.

Flocks of crows are called “murders.” They typically make a loud “caw-caw” noise, particularly when disturbed or alarmed, but they are skilled mimics and can make vocalizations that sound like laughing, crying or a dog whining.

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American Robin

Posted on July 8, 2022 by tspuckler

Although they are considered harbingers of Spring, many American Robins spend the whole winter in their breeding range. Because they spend more time roosting in trees and less time on the ground, you’re much less likely to see them.

One of our most easily identified birds, this member of the Thrush Family is a large, sturdy songbird with long legs, a light yellowish bill and a long tail. It has an unstreaked, rusty-orange breast and a dark gray-brown back.

They are a common sight in our yard, especially after cutting the lawn, when I often see them tugging earthworms out of the ground. They eat different types of food depending on the time of day: more earthworms in the morning and more fruit later in the day.

The American Robin’s rich caroling is among the earliest bird songs heard at dawn in Spring and Summer, often beginning just before first light. This bird lives across North America and in parts of Central America. They can be found in open grassy areas, gardens and woodlands.

This bird’s nest is a deep, sturdy cup of twigs, grasses and mud – usually positioned in the crotch of a tree or a branch fork. We had a nest in the shrubs in our front yard. The female typically lays four pale blue eggs and incubates them alone. Both parents feed the young.

The American Robin is the state bird of Connecticut, Michigan and Wisconsin.

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Black Vulture

Posted on October 8, 2021 by tspuckler

While visiting southern Illinois, I saw several examples of this impressive bird. With sooty black plumage, a bare black head, and neat white stars under the wingtips, Black Vultures are almost dapper. Whereas Turkey Vultures are lanky with teetering a flight, Black Vultures are compact with broad wings, short tails, and powerful wingbeats.

The two species often associate: Black Vultures makes up for their poor sense of smell by following Turkey Vultures to carcasses. Highly social birds with fierce family loyalty, Black Vultures share food with relatives, feeding young for months after they’ve fledged.

In the United States Black Vultures are outnumbered by their red-headed relatives, Turkey Vultures, but they have a huge range and are the most numerous vulture in the Western Hemisphere.

Vultures are part of nature’s clean-up crew. They rid the landscape of deteriorating carcasses and help curb the spread of dangerous diseases and bacteria. Their stomachs have strong enzymes that kill off dangerous toxins and microorganisms.

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Chipping Sparrow

Posted on August 6, 2021 by tspuckler

For me sparrows are hard to identify, because they all pretty much look like little brown birds.

But if you look closely, the Chipping Sparrow has a distinctive bright rusty crown, black eyeline and unstreaked grayish belly.

I was lucky enough to come across a Chipping Sparrow nest on a hillside across the street from me this Summer.

The nest is made of woven grass and some hair. The pale blue-green eggs had markings of brown and purple; they took 10 to 12 days to hatch.

These birds favor areas with open lawns and seems to benefit from urban sprawl. They are very common in suburbs, city parks, orchards, pastures, other altered habitats.

Although they are highly migratory, very few spend the Winter in Ohio – these often appear at feeders. (Baby sparrows at 11 days after hatching.)

Chipping Sparrows migrate by night and their flight calls are a characteristic sound of the night sky in spring and fall in the United States. In the warmer months Chipping Sparrows mostly eat insects, including grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles and leafhoppers. In the colder months, they mostly eats seeds.

This bird gets its common name from males, which sing a long, dry trill of evenly spaced, almost mechanical-sounding “chips.” It’s one of the most common sounds of open woods in Spring . (Baby sparrows at 14 days after hatching.)

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Spotted Towhee

Posted on April 10, 2021 by tspuckler

I have seen this fine bird in the Cerbat Mountains of Arizona as well as in California at Point Reyes National Seashore. It favors habitats of chaparral and brushy mountain slopes.

The Spotted Towhee differs from the Eastern Tohwee found in my home state of Ohio in that it has heavy white spotting on its upperparts and harsher, more variable callnotes in its song.

Like its eastern relative, it has a dark hood, rufous sides and a white belly – in addition to a dark, conical bill and red eyes.

This large New World sparrow is roughly the same size as an American Robin. These birds forage on the ground or in low vegetation and have a habit of noisily rummaging through dry leaves while searching for food.

Spotted Towhees feed mainly on insects, spiders and other arthropods in Spring and Summer and then switch to seeds, grain and berries in the Autumn and Winter.

This is a handsome and conspicuous bird that I enjoy seeing on my trips out west.

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European Starling

Posted on February 19, 2021 by tspuckler

This bird was introduced to North America in 1890 and 1891, when about 60 individuals were released into New York’s Central Park as part of the local Shakespeare society’s plan to introduce all the birds mentioned in their author’s favorite writings.

Today, more than 200 million European Starlings range from Alaska to Mexico and many people consider them pests. Here in Ohio, this may be the most numerous of any bird species, with massive Winter roosts numbering into the tens of thousands.

This is a surprisingly long-lived creature, with the North American record for a wild bird being 17 years and 8 months. Starlings are great vocal mimics; they readily imitate other birds as well as mechanical sounds and even human speech.

European Starlings turn from spotted to glossy and dark each year without shedding their feathers. The new feathers they grow in Fall have bold white tips – that’s what gives them their spots. By spring, these tips have worn away, and the rest of the feather is dark and iridescent brown. It’s an unusual changing act that scientists term “wear molt.”

Starlings will eat nearly anything, but they focus on insects and other invertebrates when they’re available. They also eat fruit including wild and cultivated types. We most often see them at our suet feeders.

Though they’re sometimes resented for their abundance and aggressiveness, European Starlings are still dazzling birds when you get a good look at them.

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Category Archives: Birds

Purple Martin

California Quail

Black-throated Sparrow

Red-breasted Nuthatch

American Crow

American Robin

Black Vulture

Chipping Sparrow

Spotted Towhee

European Starling