Birding with Noah - Jan. 10, 2015

Noah Sferra

It was a brisk but sunny morning near Lake Windwing, but birds are not "bird brained" at all.  If you want to find them, look for warm, sunny spots sheltered from the wind.  We had luck on the far, sunlit side of the lake where there was quite a flurry of activity near the water's edge.  It was surprising to learn that some birds, like bluebirds, change their diet from insects to fruits and seeds during the winter months.  But others, like goldfinches, can remain year-round because their diet is all seeds.  Berries such as winterberry, juniper, & holly are an important food source.  As are the highly invasive oriental bittersweet’s orange berries.  Noah observed that during his youth, he never saw robins in the winter but looked for their red breasted appearance and "cheer-up cheerily" call to herald in the springtime.  Possibly climate change, population pressures and habitat factors account for the observation that robins and other birds that used to migrate south are staying through the New England winter.  We saw cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, titmice and dark eyed juncos which Noah called the "usual suspects".  Also, we observed a white-throated sparrow, song sparrow, and a female red-bellied woodpecker climbing up a trunk.  Noah instructed us in a few basic good birding tips:  1) Don’t point your finger at the birds as this seems to scare them away (although talking does not seem to bother them).   2) Don't use your bird apps to play recorded bird calls, especially during nesting season, as this possibly effects the establishment of territories.   3) Don't let everybody "pish" (a sound that mimics the warning cry of certain species) in order to flush birds them out.  Instead, if this appears necessary, designate one person to do it.  The morning ended with the sight of 4-5 crows chasing a red tailed hawk with raucous cries and dive bombing the poor fellow until he moved on.  This is called mobbing.  The walk proved that there are plenty of birds to spot in the winter months, all you have to do is bundle up and know where to look. Photo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-throated_sparrow)