Mom's (Dad's) Day Out

Time for Babies! (again)

I was standing in the kitchen over the Fourth of July weekend just concluded and a cacophony of sound drew me to the window overlooking the feeders. Chittering, squeaking, and chipping was emanating from various small birds on the ground at the base of the feeding area. Nearby each chick were their various doting matching parents, each bending at the hip (do birds even have hips?) with a beakful of something that their eager hatchling(s) would enjoy. The immature shortened feathers bristling as the tiny proteges verily shivered with delight and excitement at the prospect of nourishment. There were Northern Cardinals, American Robins, House Finches and House Sparrows together on the ground under the hanging feeders all doing what comes naturally at this time of year. If you've not had the pleasure of witnessing this preciously choreographed and all important duty, I urge you to pause and do so. Well sir, as I witnessed the feathered conclave of interspecies breakfasting unfolding before me, I was struck by how much the scene under my window ledge reminded me of similar human interractions between new parents, their strollers, and younglings as they too gather at the park for a bit of "outside" the home time. Now, in today's human world just as in the avian it would be unfair to merely call this "Mom's Day Out" without mentioning how the male of the species has gotten his hand or wing into the act. It seems as though both parents have rightly decided the importance of rearing the children together as each has something unique to offer the "kids." Lessons are there to be taught and learned with each interraction and session, so to leave the man of the nest out of the "fun" would be a shame. Well, just as I know that human Mom's (and sometimes Dads) glowingly gush when their own precious one begins to do something for the first time, Don't you also wonder if the "gals" are sitting up in the branches and bragging about how junior just took his first hop or said her first "cheep?" Well...I do...but then that's me.

Spring Stimulus Package

Some stimuli are free and naturally occurring.

Let’s talk stimulating! Nesting time is just around the corner and in some areas, birds have already begun to do what comes naturally and begin. Most birds are not particularly fussy as to exactly where their incubation stations are located, as long as a few key features are present prior to site selection. Turdus Americanus (American Robin) fancies a variety of habitat including; Cities, villages, farmlands, gardens, and open woods. She will build her nest in shrub, tree fork, and horizontal branch or on almost any substantial ledge, principally on a house or outbuilding such as a garage, but rarely on the ground. How many of us can boast about the nest built over the outdoor front light fixture, causing us to cover our head each time we exit the house for fear of an agitated “mother” guarding her chicks. Birds will build their nests from grasses, twigs, sticks, mud and bits of string, plastic bags, and candy wrappers. You can even put colorful scraps of your leftover yarn and floss out in an empty onion bag for birds to find and utilize. Imagine the sight of a bird dwelling high in a tree festooned with brightly colored bits of your handi-crafts.

Birds can also be economical in their recycling techniques. For instance the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher will tear up a completed or partially completed nest and reuse the material to build another nest nearby. Most birds build a new nest each year. Some that have more than one brood in a season will build a nest for each brood. Other species, particularly birds of prey will often repair their nests from year to year and use them for many years in a row.

Why do birds build nests in the first place? Evolution is the simple answer. It is most widely believed that birds evolved from exothermal (cold-blooded) creatures into animals that could no longer abandon their eggs to hatch in the heat of their environment. As warm-blooded creatures, they were compelled to supply warmth for their eggs through incubation. This necessitated the development of protective measures not only for the exposed eggs, but for also for the parent bird. It is believed that nest building became a necessary part of the breeding cycle. The first nests evolved as well as the builders, growing from simple scrapes in the ground, and natural cavities in trees, etc. to the more complex structures we are familiar with today. Intricate camouflage is often interwoven into the exterior to match the surrounding limb or foliage, such as the Acadian Flycatcher, Eastern Wood Pewee or Baltimore Oriole do in the construction of their nests.

City birds such as House Sparrows will take advantage of nearly any man-made device or piece of equipment. While in Rhinelander, Wisconsin last weekend I spotted the clever use of the raised external letters on the side of the local Trig’s grocery store that spelled, “PHARMACY.” These sparrows were happy as a Lark as they sat in the Catbird’s seat watching the shoppers enter and exit the store. It didn’t hurt either that the supply of 50 lb. black oil sunflower seeds were stacked under the drive-through awning, not 20 feet away from these opportunistic survivors. Several bags had “mysteriously” been punctured and were providing the onlookers with occasional stolen moments of enjoyable dining. I even was fortunate to take a photo from the Davenport Street Bridge of a swimming Pine Marten (Fisher) as it crossed the river towards the Wausau paper mill. This is the same area where I will routinely see the year’s first Yellow-rumped Warblers on the banks of the Wisconsin. Rhinelander is the Home of the Hodag don’t cha’ know and the green creature of lore is the same one utilized by the high school as their official mascot, is painted on the sides of the police vehicles, and is also used by several businesses in the city in their names. By the way; Hodags (I’m told) don’t eat claw-fuls of these small migratory breeders, nor do they mess with the feisty Martens…just keep your white Bulldogs in your car with the windows up.

Sources: Hal H. Harrison’s Peterson Field Guides “Birds Nests” (and my fertile imagination.)