I & The Bird

Roger from Words & Pictures is hosting I & The Bird #36. There's so much great stuff on there. Check it out!

Sad News for NWR's

Here in NJ, we're lucky to have several great National Wildlife Refuges including the famous Edwin B. Forsythe Refuge, Wallkill, Supawna Meadows, Cape May, and the Great Swamp (where I learned to bird). All of these refuges offer wonderful wildlife viewing opportunities, hiking, hunting, and other outdoor activities. Unfortunately, our government doesn't see it that way. According to this article, staffing at some of these refuges is being cut back to minimal amounts due to federal downsizing. They are understaffed to the point of being almost inoperable.

After doing some research, I found that these budget cuts are not limited to NJ. Here are articles about budget cuts at NWR's across the country:

Savannah NWR in Georgia (where I just visited this summer)
Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Florida
Ding Darling in Florida
Alligator River in North Carolina
Pelican Island (the first NWR), Archie Carr and Hobe Sound in Florida

It seems that a 10 % across-the-board cutback in funding for the National Wildlife Refuge System that was announced on November 1 is trickling down to these refuges. It's a shame that one of the great treasures of our nation, the National Wildlife Refuge System, is being affected by this. I think Grady Horcutt, a former refuge managers said it best. “Redirecting a tiny fraction of what audits show is wasted or stolen in Iraq would allow for full funding of all refuge system needs,” added Hocutt, noting that the U.S. is spending an estimated $177 million per day in Iraq. “If Teddy Roosevelt knew what was happening to his legacy, he would be spinning in his grave.”

Feeder Update

One of the problems with working full time this time of year is that one can't spend as much time feeder watching as one would like to. I see the feeder for a few minutes each morning and then that's it! Our feeder has so far attracted a pair of Tufted Titmice, several White-throated sparrows, a few Juncos, and a hideous pair of House Sparrows. I came home early today from work and Beth arrived about the same time. We walked up towards the feeders and spooked up a couple White-throats. Then I heard a distinct YANK-YANK. A little White-breasted Nuthatch was bouncing down our oak tree! Who doesn't love a nuthatch? I had never heard or seen one in our neighborhood, so this was a nice sight. Its actions were pretty funny. It would climb down the tree headfirst and then pick seed off the ground while still suspended on the tree! Where was my camera?!

Nothing seems to be coming to our suet feeder. Maybe the nuthatch will like it. If nothing comes to it within a week or two, I'll swap it out for a peanut feeder.

Drilling Holes

In yesterday's post, I mentioned an additional bird that we saw at Willowwood Arboretum that I would post about today. While walking through the arboretum, I came across a Nikko Fir tree from Japan that had some very conspicuous markings on the trunk.


Here is a close-up of said tree. This tree seemed to be a hotbed of bird activity. I first noticed a White-breasted Nuthatch, then a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Then, I noticed some additional action higher up in the tree. Two woodpeckers were creeping up the tree. Every time I tried to see them, they would scoot around the opposite side. Don't you love it when woodpeckers do that?


The holes in the tree gave me a pretty good indication of who these woodpeckers might be. This is one of the holes in the tree, wet with fresh sap dripping out of it. I'm sure by now you may have guessed who these two birds were. Before I got the chance to see the birds though, they took off into a much taller nearby tree.


Here's one of them. Yes folks, it's a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - an uncommon migrant in this part of NJ. Sapsuckers traditionally tap small holes or make short horizontal grooves in neat rows around a tree and eat the sap that drains from them. Also, insects are attracted to the sap and add an additional course to the Sapsucker's diet. Unlike most woodpeckers that have a long, barbed tongue, the sapsucker has a shorter tongue covered in fine hairs perfect for lapping sap.

This Nikko Fir tree seemed to be a smorgasbord for sapsuckers. There were tons of holes in it due to several years of visiting birds it seemed, but very few in other nearby trees. What made this fir tree so desirable? I did some research, but didn't find anything. Any insights?

Fall Day at Willowwood

Beth and I decided to spend a little time today at the Willowwood Arboretum to see what fall brings to this great place. A lot of the trees were already leafless, but there was still some wonderful foliage to see. Being leafless brings out the beauty of the branching structures and bark of many trees. We even found a few birds along the way including several Brown Creepers, many Kinglets, a late Gray Catbird, and another nice bird that I'll talk about in my next post.


Japanese Maples, one of my favorite trees, come in many varieties here. The leaves of one fell on this small stone bridge. We saw yellow ones, orange ones, and my favorite - bright shocking red ones.


The sun shines on a trail at the Arboretum


If you read my last post about Persimmons, I extolled the virtues of the American (or Common) Persimmon tree. We found this one in full fruit along a woodland trail. Check out the cool bark!


Here's a close-up of the Persimmon fruits. They are about golf-ball sized and definitely different looking than the one I was eating the other day. We couldn't find any fruit on the ground or any low enough to pick. I wonder if this tree being here means that Luna Moths can be found at Willowwood. Hmm...

Yummy Persimmons!

Beth and I always like to buy some kind of funky fruit or vegetable when we go to the supermarket. The other day Beth picked up some persimmons. I hadn't had one of these since I was a kid. There are two major varieties of persimmon that you'll find in the store. Fuyu persimmons are tomato-shaped with firm flesh and can be eaten when still somewhat unripe. Hachiya persimmons, on the other hand, are acorn-shaped, with soft, puree-like flesh, and can only be eaten when they're at the peak of ripeness and soft to the touch. If you eat them before they are ripe, the high tannin content will make it an unpleasant experience! I've only had the Hachiya variety. To me, it tastes like a custardy, stringy, slightly sweeter mango.


Here is my persimmon before being cut up.


Here it is all cut up and ready to eat. It was devoured shortly after this photo was taken.

There's also an American Persimmon tree, native to the eastern and central US. It produces fruit just like the ones you can buy in the store, but I couldn't find any info on why they don't sell them anywhere. This tree is a wonderful, mid-size native tree providing food for wildlife such as mockingbirds, turkeys, deer, fox, and raccoons. My favorite benefit of this tree is that it's the larval foodplant of two spectacular creatures: the Luna Moth and the Regal Moth.


Left: Regal Moth, Right: Luna Moth

There is a lovely Persimmon tree along the trail of the South Cape May Meadows. It was fruiting last week when I was there. Perhaps there's a place in your yard for a Persimmon tree. You can get some delicious fruit and perhaps attract some outstanding wildlife.

Bearded Birders

This is a question I have pondered for a long time... Why do so many male birders have beards? I have nothing against beards. I'm just curious.

I did a Google image search for "beards" and the fifth picture on the page was a bearded guy with binoculars around his neck! Upon clicking on the picture, I learned that he's a birder. So what is it that attracts birders to grow beards? Do other outdoor activities like fishing and hunting also attract men to grow natural face warmers? Are we longing to be men of the wilderness and look rugged? Are beards used as a sort of mutual sign among birders to help us recognize our own "species"? I could see growing a beard for warmth while winter birding, but the last place I want to have a beard is while birding in hot weather or in the tropics. I can't imagine how much I'd sweat, let alone what kind of critters it could attract.



I thought perhaps that it was a nod to our birding and naturalist forefathers, but Alexander Wilson and Audubon were both clean shaven. Roger Peterson was beardless too. John Muir and an older Charles Darwin had some legendary beards though. It seems to be pretty split.

This birding beard phenomenon is just a curiosity I've had and I know others have noted it too. I personally grew a short beard last winter, but it was more an act of laziness than anything else. I'm going to try again this winter and see if my birding skills improve. The real question is... do beards grow in space? See below.

First feeder bird!

I put up a feeder a little over a week ago and I finally got a visitor on Sunday. I woke up to the sound of a Tufted Titmouse calling outside our window, which is where the feeder is located. I whispered to Beth, "I hear a Titmouse. It could be at the feeder." I checked and there was no one there. A few hours later, I peered out the sliding glass door towards the feeder and saw a little Tufted Titmouse zoom down to an Oak branch right above the feeder. I hoped and prayed he would take some seed. "Come on! You can do it!" He looked around inquisitively as Titmice tend to do. Finally, he mustered enough courage to fly down to a perch on the feeder, pick out some sunflower hearts, and blast back up into the tree. He repeated this act once more and was gone.

With the time change, I haven't been able to really observe the feeder too much other than a few minutes before work. I did notice that the feeder looks like it has some moisture inside. Birdchick had warned me that the hearts attract a lot of moisture. I need to get some Feeder Fresh this weekend and clean out that feeder ASAP!

I know there are White-throats and Juncos in the area. I hear them every day. Hopefully, they'll come to the seed I've left on the ground. I'm just glad that my first feeder bird was a Titmouse and not a darn House Sparrow.