Osprey

Posted on August 24, 2019 by tspuckler

While staying in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, I observed several of these fish-eating raptors. Sometimes known as a Fish Hawk, this very distinctive bird was once classified with other hawks, but is now placed in a separate family of its own.

The Osprey’s head is distinctive, with a white crest and a face bisected by a dark eye-stripe. This bird has yellow eyes. Its feet (talons) are uniquely adapted for capturing and carrying fish; the surfaces are rough, and their toes can be held with three forward and one back, or with two forward and two back.

Its habitat is along coastlines, lakes and rivers. Its distribution is almost worldwide. The Osprey can often be seen flying over the water, hovering, and then plunging feet-first to catch fish in its talons. After a successful strike, it tends to fly away carrying the fish so that its head faces forward in a streamlined position for transporting it through the air.

When diving in pursuit of fish, an Osprey can completely submerge itself under water and still be able to fly away with its catch. it has Osprey a third eyelid (called a nictitating membrane, which is semi-transparent) that acts like goggles and helps the bird see clearly beneath the water.

Most of their nests that I saw had babies, which usually number three. The female Osprey remains with her young most of time, sheltering them from sun and rain, while male hunts and brings back fish, which the female feeds to her offspring. This bird feeds almost entirely on fish that are less than a foot long.

The Osprey was seriously endangered due to effects of pesticides in mid-20th century; since DDT and related pesticides were banned in 1972, Fish Hawks have made a significant comeback in many parts of North America.

Although on previous trips to the coast I was able to see Ospreys from afar, this was the first opportunity for me to get a close-up look at them – and they were fascinating to watch.

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California Scrub Jay

Posted on May 11, 2019 by tspuckler

This is a fun bird to encounter while visiting the Golden State; it is both colorful and intelligent. Their behavior can be bold and inquisitive, and their calls can be loud and raucous. The California Scrub Jay is often seen in parks, neighborhoods and riverside woods near the Pacific Coast.

Pairs of California Scrub-Jays are often seen swooping across clearings, giving harsh calls, with their long tails flopping in flight. This is a bird that does not migrate. Western Scrub Jays eat insects, fruits, nuts, berries, and seeds, and occasionally small animals. They are regular visitors to bird feeders.

California Scrub Jays gather surpluses of food and store it in scattered caches within their territories. They rely on highly accurate and complex memories to recover their hidden food, often after long periods of time. Jays can also be quite mischievous when it comes to procuring and storing food. They will steal acorns from Acorn Woodpecker caches as well as from stores hidden by other jays, and then look around to make sure no one is watching before they hide their stolen prize.

Recent research has suggested that jays and crows are among the most intelligent of animals. The brain-to-body mass ratio of adult California Scrub Jays rivals that of chimpanzees and is dwarfed only by that of humans.

Western Scrub Jays appear to have “funerals” in reaction to finding a dead jay. They will screech over the body, attracting other jays, for as long as 30 minutes and stay near the body for a day or two. We often don’t think of birds as being as “brainy” as mammals, but crows and jays are challenging that mindset.

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American Tree Sparrow

Posted on March 9, 2019 by tspuckler

I often see these small birds while hiking on the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath. This is a northern species that visits the United States in the Winter. It can tolerate very harsh weather and low temperatures if it has a good food supply.

American Tree Sparrows are mostly gray with a rufous crown and ear stripe. Their upperparts are streaked brown. There is one dark spot in the center of the breast; another good identification characteristic of this bird is its bi-colored beak.

In the Winter, they are gregarious and form flocks, sometimes hanging out with other bird species. They mainly search on the ground for seeds, but they also may ascend on plants, to look for seeds, berries and invertebrates.

Their preferred habitat is weedy fields with hedgerows or shrubs, usually along forest edges or near waterways. American Tree Sparrow often visit backyards, especially if there’s a birdfeeder.

This species breeds in the far north and is rarely seen outside of northern Canada in the Summer. It is fun to watch, as it adds its color and song to our sometimes drab Winters.

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Henslow’s Sparrow

Posted on July 28, 2018 by tspuckler

Hiking in Bath Nature Preserve in Akron Ohio, I encountered a bird I’d never seen before. Though to me several species of sparrow look remarkably similar, the Henslow’s Sparrow can be identified by its combination of chestnut brown wings, intricately patterned olive-green head and back of neck, black and brown streaked back, and flat-headed, short-tailed profile.

A grassland species, this bird historically bred in the tallgrass prairies. It now nests mostly in neglected grassy fields, where it dines on insects and seeds. This is a is a remarkably inconspicuous bird that very few people get a good look at. In addition, Henslow’s Sparrow populations have declined, and this species has been identified as the highest priority for grassland bird conservation in eastern and midwestern North America.

Unlike the tuneful Song Sparrow, which it closely resembles, the Henslow’s Sparrow’s dry, thin, insectlike song is often described as a “feeble hiccup.” When it sings, it sharply throws its head skyward and then utters its quiet song.

Though its call is unimpressive, it was a cool experience to observe this secretive grassland bird.

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Bald Eagle

Posted on June 16, 2018 by tspuckler

Ohio’s largest breeding raptor feeds largely on fish. A pair has been nesting near the Cuyahoga River in Cuyahoga Valley National Park for a few years now.

The Bald Eagle was negatively affected by the use of the pesticide DDT and the numbers of our national symbol dropped severely in the 1950s and 1960s.

By 1979 Ohio Bald Eagles declined to just four breeding pairs.The elimination of harmful pesticides has caused a dramatic comeback.

At one time, the word “bald” meant “white,” not hairless. The Bald Eagle is the only eagle unique to North America. Its distinctive brown body and white head and tail make it easy to identify even from a distance.

During breeding season, the male and female work together to build a nest of sticks, usually located at the top of a tree. The nests can weigh up to a ton and measure up to 8 feet across.

Once paired, bald eagles remain with each other until one mate dies, then the surviving bird will find another mate.

Immature birds have mostly dark heads and tails; their brown wings and bodies are mottled with white in varying amounts. Young birds attain adult plumage in about five years.

The Bald Eagle has been the national emblem of the United States since 1782 and a spiritual symbol for native people for far longer than that. For me it’s always a thrill to see one of these majestic birds when hiking the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath.

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House Sparrow

Posted on January 20, 2018 by tspuckler

I have seen these birds throughout my life, whether at my home growing up in Cleveland, downtown, or in my current residence in the suburbs.

The House Sparrow is native to most of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and much of Asia. Its intentional or accidental introductions to many regions, including parts of Australia, Africa, and the Americas, make it the most widely distributed wild bird.

This bird is strongly associated with human habitations and can live in urban or rural settings. Though found in widely varied habitats and climates, it is rarely found away from human development. It is often seen in city centers, suburbs, farms and around isolated houses or businesses surrounded by terrain unsuited to House Sparrows, such as desert or forest.

Their diet consist mainly of small seeds. They are attracted to corn, oats, wheat and other types of grain or weed seeds. These birds primarily forage on the ground.

Males have black chin and bib with white cheeks and rust colored cap and nape of neck, while females are plainer, with a broad buff eyebrow, brown and buff-streaked wings and back.

Because of its simple success formula of associating with humans, the House Sparrow is one of the most ubiquitous and abundant songbirds in the world today.

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Turkey Vulture

Posted on September 16, 2017 by tspuckler

Turkey Vultures are majestic but unsteady soarers. Their teetering flight with very few wingbeats is an identification characteristic. Their ability to ride thermals enables them to move from one destination to another.

These birds occupy a diverse range of habitats like roadsides, suburbs and farmlands. They are found in forested as well as open environments; they can be found just about anywhere they can effectively find a carrion food supply.

Turkey Vultures usually roost in large community groups, but search for food independently during daylight hours. They are talented scavangers with an acute sense of smell.

They have a well-developed sense of smell and are one of the only species of birds worldwide that uses smell extensively. Their sense of smell is so remarkable that they can even locate a dead mouse under a pile of leaves.

Several Turkey Vultures may gather at a carcass, but usually only one feeds at a time.This large bird species has a six foot wingspan and has been around since prehistoric times.

Turkey Vultures act as nature’s ultimate garbage collector and recycler.

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Cooper’s Hawk

Posted on August 12, 2017 by tspuckler

While doing yard work this week, I noticed this creature perched on a tree in my front yard. Copper’s Hawks often visit suburban homes to pick off songbirds from feeders.

I have also seen them in Brecksville Reservation – they among the bird world’s most skillful fliers – their short wings allow them to navigate through cluttered trees at high speeds in pursuit of other birds.

Cooper’s Hawks are forest and woodland residents, but suburbs with enough trees are a favorite habitat as well.

These crow-sized raptors mainly eat birds. Small birds tend to be safer around Cooper’s Hawks than medium-sized birds. They sometimes rob rodent nests and mammals are more common in diets of Cooper’s Hawks in the West.

While they can soar in classic hawk fashion, when in pursuit of prey, their flight changes. It becomes becomes powerful, quick, and very agile, allowing the bird to thread its way through tree branches at top speed.

Other common names for the Cooper’s Hawk include: big blue darter, chicken hawk, flying cross, hen hawk, quail hawk, striker, and swift hawk.

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Mourning Dove

Posted on March 25, 2017 by tspuckler

This graceful, slender-tailed, small-headed dove is common across the continent. The Mourning Dove is the most widespread and abundant game bird in North America. They like to hang out on the deck rail, ground and backyard maple tree at my house.

Part of the reason for its significant increase in population is that many forests have been converted to farmlands, pastures and towns – which provide ideal habitat, as this is an open-country bird.

Their soft, drawn-out calls sound like laments (mourning). When taking off, their wings make a sharp whistling or whinnying sound. Mourning Doves have coloration that matches their surroundings. They are brown to tan overall, with black spots on the wings and black-bordered white tips.

Seeds make up 99 percent of a Mourning Dove’s diet. It tends to feed busily on the ground, swallowing seeds and storing them in an enlargement of the esophagus called the crop. Once they’ve filled their crop, they fly to a safe perch to digest their meal.

Although this is primarily a bird of open areas with scattered trees, and woodland edges, large numbers roost in woodlots during Winter.

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White-breasted Nuthatch

Posted on January 14, 2017 by tspuckler

This bird is easy to identify by watching its behavior; it has the odd habit of creeping down tree trunks headfirst. All other species of bark-foraging birds search for food by climbing trees upwards. This gives the White-breasted Nuthatch a distinct advantage, allowing it the visual perspective of finding prey that other birds may miss.

This is a stocky bird, with a large head, virtually no neck, a short tail, powerful bill and strong feet. The upperparts are pale blue-gray, and the face and underparts are white. The species has a black crown and nape that contrast with a white face and breast.

It’s common name stems from its habit of cramming nuts and acorns into tree bark and then hammering away at them with their sharp bill, until the nut splits to “hatch” out the seed inside.

They store a variety of seeds and nuts in bark crevices, returning later to eat their stockpile of food. These birds are also frequent visitors to backyard feeders.

White-breasted Nuthatches reside in mature woods and woodland edges. They’re particularly associated with deciduous forests, consisting of Maple, Hickory, Basswood and Oak.

It’s call of Yenk-yenk-yenk-yenk sounds like a small nasal voice – or like a bath toy rapidly squeezed.

At this time of year I often see them in Brecksville Reservation in small flocks of Black-capped Chickadees and Tufted Titmice. One explanation for these flocks is that the birds gain protection from predators by the vigilance of the other birds.

A group of nuthatches are collectively known as a “jar” of nuthatches.

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Category Archives: Birds

Osprey

California Scrub Jay

American Tree Sparrow

Henslow’s Sparrow

Bald Eagle

House Sparrow

Turkey Vulture

Cooper’s Hawk

Mourning Dove

White-breasted Nuthatch