Blogs

Fall Migration has begun!

Just as soon as we think we are just getting into one season (summer) we are already heading into another!  Migration has already begun, male Rufous hummingbirds for example began their long journey south of the boarder at least a month ago! (they have no part in the raising of the fledglings that they have left behind…. 🤪)

Other infrequent visitors might be appearing in your yard now as they are heading south as well.  For us, the Evening Grosbeaks are back (yay!).  They won’t stay long, but I hope they enjoy the good quality food and places to rest that they have access to in our back yard…(we very specifically leave branches and dense brush areas for birds to roost in and hide from predators).  I’ve also left some of the wild blackberries for various berry eating birds and my Merlin app has been picking up Cedar Waxwings and a variety of warblers which is super fun.

It might not seem like the time to worry about food sources, after all in theory there should be an abundance of food sources now; however in the PNW, we’ve been experiencing back to back dry summers for a number of years (and even fire in some areas) which has reduced the availability of food sources.  Additionally after a cold & wet spring in which only the moss seemed to thrive, we may not have high quality natural food sources available for these weary travelers.  Continuing to offer high quality food helps the migrating flocks to maintain strength and helps those who have not yet begun their travels to build high quality feathers. Don’t forget, most all birds molt after the stress of breeding season, and it takes a lot of energy to grow new feathers this is why it’s so impactful to continue to offer high quality foods throughout the year.  

Another thing that helps is turning off extra lights as the flocks migrate south, this helps them better find their way and helps to prevent distraction as they make the long journeys. Here’s a link to a great article from the Audubon society with more details: Lights-Out Program.  

Ok…key take always:

1. Provide high fat & high protein foods & fresh water.
2. Provide safe areas for birds to roost in away from predators & weather.
3. Turn off unnecessary outdoor lights to help birds migrate.  
4. Enjoy the fall visitors in your yard!

Spring is a season of change and new visitors. We see old favorites returning, maybe a new visitor to the yard that we’ve been hoping of seeing, and then we see something that isn’t in any of the books….a LBB. LBB’s are the little brown jobs that defy identification in our favorite bird book. They might sort of look like our regular visitors, but in a different color. Excitement builds as you look further into the books…maybe this is an exotic visitor from Asia, blown off course and completely out of its normal range! What if it’s a completely new species? Or a hybrid that’s never been seen before? Oh the excitement! What is it?

This is when I fall back on the old adage ‘if it walks like a duck’….etc etc. In other words, if that little LBB is hanging around the Junco’s, eating off the ground…maybe even begging for food from a Junco, it’s most likely a fledgling Junco. That’s because most of the fledglings of our favorite backyard visitors don’t look like Mom & Dad when they leave the nest. Striped brown plumage is handy to be wearing if you are just learning to navigate the world on your own. It’s a good thing to be more camouflaged before you know all the safe hiding spots.

The most common culprits in our yard in this season are Sparrows (all of them -lol), Junco’s, Towhees, Starlings, and Robins. Of course there are others, but these are the most common. You might notice the beginning hints of adult plumage, maybe its the white outer tail feather of an adult Junco peaking out on the tail of that LBB, or the red of a Robn’s breast that is starting to peak thru the fledgling feathers, or the hint of a different color on the top of a fledgling white crowned sparrow. What ever you see, LBB’s can be challenging to identify for even seasoned bird watchers.

Now…just to add to the fun, many adult sparrows can fall into to the classification of a LBB! White Crowned Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Golden-crowned Sparrows, and so on are just a few of the small brownish birds that we might find in our back yards. And to add more spice to the mix, many of our local birds might have a regional variation to their plumage. In the Pacific Northwest, Song Sparrows and Fox Sparrows look different from their eastern relatives.

But don’t despair….fledglings will quickly gain their adult plumage and we will all go back to asking what adult LBB is that?

Happy Birding!

Spring is the time that we find all kinds of new additions to our yards. Migrating seasonal visitors that you wait for each spring (hello Rufous Hummingbirds … I love it when I first hear the male in the year each year). Some are unusual and unexpected visitors to you yard – we have had a male California Quail this year! How cool is that?

As spring progresses we get the next most adorable visitors…the babies! Most of the time, they stay in the nest until they are fully feathered and ready to go, but sometimes life happens and we find babies out of the nest before they might be ready. What do you do? The old wives tale of “if you touch the baby bird the parent’s won’t feed it because of our smell” is not true. Carefully setting the baby back in the nest for the parents to take care of is the best solution. If it’s fledging (feathered and learning to fly), set them in a bush near the nest, the parents will be feeding the babies and it’s amazing how quickly they will literally gain their wings and join the flock.

If they baby is too young/injured/etc and you can’t find the nest or it is destroyed, contacting a local licensed rehab facility is the next best solution. Washington State has a list on their website here. Many local vets offices, Audubon societies, or Wild Birds Unlimited locations can also provide the contacts for the closest rehab facility as well.

Keeping an eye out in our yards to help our amazing feathered friends reach their full potential is always a great experience, I hope this helps!

Happy Birding!

Have you noticed a crazy number of little brown & white stripped birds with a flash of yellow on their wings who squabble like siblings and eat you out of house and home suddenly appearing in your yard? We are in the midst of the biggest Finch Irruption year since 2008. A “Finch Irruption” can include all kinds of birds that normally winter north of us in Canada. Birds like Pine Siskins, Goldfinches, Purple Finches, Grosbeaks (of various kinds), etc. These birds are normally in the Boreal forests of Canada, but because of several reasons (fires in BC, lack of food due to bug damage and low cone production etc) they are moving south in very large numbers looking for food sources. Large crops of spring and summer foods resulted in record large populations of these birds that then found food sources to be lacking in the fall and they started moving south in large numbers in search of food sources. This year is unusual as well as this irruption is occurring all across the US and is enabling many backyard birders to see birds that may not normal show up at their feeders.

The primary birds that we are seeing at our feeders are Pine Siskins, these very social birds are showing up in the hundreds and are inundating back yard feeders and can easily empty these feeders in record time. There are often a few Goldfinches (in winter olive gray plumage) mixed in, but the activity at a feeder might be so frenzied that it’s challenging to identify who is who at a feeder. One challenge with Pine Siskins is the fact that they often bring Salmonella to our feeding stations. For some yet unknown reason Pine Siskins are highly susceptible to salmonella outbreaks both in the wild and at our feeding stations. Salmonella is a highly contagious bacteria that is passed through fecal contamination and it is very important to keep your feeders clean to prevent it spreading.

What can you do to keep your birds safe?

Remove all tray and platform feeders (you can put them back out when the Pine Siskins leave).

Clean all feeders with a 10% bleach solution.

Clean under your feeders (high pressure hose, rake, etc and a 50/50 white vinegar/water solution are all great ways to clean).

If you have bird mortality occurring in your yard we recommend removing feeders for at least a week (make sure to clean with a 10% bleach solution prior to resuming feeding).

Make sure to wash your hands thoroughly when finished.

The Pine Siskins won’t stay around for ever, they will start moving back to the north soon. As they move north, our regular back yard visitors will return and our feeding stations will return to normal. Just a reminder, cleaning your feeders is always recommended on a regular basis in addition to feeding a high quality no mess food which will help your birds to maximize the nutrition that they receive from our feeders.

Winter is coming, now is a great time to make sure that your yard is ready. Make sure that you leave some brush piles (for birds to escape to when the weather is nasty) and leaf litter (bugs will live in the leaf litter and your birds will love finding a snack or two!). Feeding high fat and high protein foods will also ensure that our feathered friends will thrive this winter!

We love living in the PNW. Nature is all around us and spoils us with its beauty, we are live long residents of the area and are so excited to be sharing this wonderful area with you.