The Birders Report

Cliff Swallow Collecting Nesting Material photos by Larry Jordan

I was headed to Dye Creek Preserve yesterday to find a location for installing Burrowing Owl habitat when I witnessed something I had never seen before.  More about that in a moment.

Dye Creek Preserve is a property near Red Bluff, California, managed by The Nature Conservancy.  You can see a list of the birds we saw there on a recent Audubon outing here.

It was a cold, blustery morning, with a storm moving in quicker than expected.  On route to the preserve, I was greeted with at least fifty Cliff Swallows on the side of the road, braving the high winds to gather nesting material near a local orchard.  I had to pull over and watch, having never observed this behavior before.

The thing that really caught my eye as I pulled to the side of the road was a male Cliff Swallow diving down to mate with the female as she gathered grass for the nest.  Opportunistic, I thought to myself. But wait, there’s more

Killdeer Chick photos by Larry Jordan

A friend of mine told me he had seen some Killdeer chicks near a lot where he feeds the wild birds.  Having never seen a Killdeer chick, I went out to investigate.

I followed his directions to a quiet, two block long, graveled side street in town.  A perfect spot for these plovers to breed.  As I walked down the deserted gravel road I spotted an adult Killdeer doing its “broken wing” act before I ever saw the young ones.

The adults perform this little show to draw predators away from the youngsters and give them a chance to escape.  Here’s a shot of one of the adults after finishing its show and realizing I was only there to observe.

I get many emails this time of year from people who find the Killdeer eggs and want to know what bird laid them.  This a photo of their “nest” from Lisa who inquired about some eggs she found mowing their lawn last year.

They typically lay four eggs that are arranged with the pointed ends toward the middle of the nest.  When the nest is located in a gravelly area, they are nearly impossible to detect, blending in so well with the surrounding stones.

After watching the broken wing act, the other adult Killdeer flew in from somewhere and that’s when I saw the chicks.  There were three of them, so well camouflaged that I didn’t see them until they moved.

And when they move, they move!  These very cute little chicks act exactly like the adults.  They run, then stop abruptly, stand still and bob their heads.  Even the adults are usually so well camouflaged that you hear their loud calls before seeing them.[audio:https://thebirdersreport.com/audio/KILL.mp3] Audio courtesy of  Taylor Brooks, audio found at Xeno-Canto.org

This is what the little fluff balls look like from the tail end as they scurry away to forage for worms and insects.  They leave the nest as soon as their down dries after hatching.  And here is a photo of the adult with the speeding chick in the background just to get an idea of the size of the chicks.

To see more great bird photos, go to Bird Photography Weekly!  Wanna join the fun, submit your own bird photos and share!

White-breasted Nuthatch photos by Larry Jordan

As I was checking the Oak Titmouse nest the other day, I heard White-breasted Nuthatches sounding their typical single note call in the oak tree a few feet away.  I looked up to see the male approaching an opening in the tree where a branch had died off and created a cavity.

Here he is carrying a moth toward the opening where they had built their nest (it’s easier to see the moth if you click on the image to get the full sized photo).

Here he is with some worms or grubs of some kind.  Note how dark his black cap is and the dark markings on his wings.

The female White-breasted Nuthatch has a lighter colored back and cap.  Their nestlings must be getting fairly large because they were bringing them food at ten to fifteen minute intervals.

If you live in an area with large shade trees like these oaks, you will likely find single, large trees that provide nesting cavities for several birds at once.  Here you can see another oak with White-breasted Nuthatches and Tree Swallows nesting just a few feet apart.

Here is a short video of this Nuthatch pair bringing food to the nest.  I put two visits together, the second visit, both parents showed up at about the same time.  The female comes in first, then the male has to wait for her to come out before he can deliver his goodies.

Go check out all the other great bird photos at Bird Photography Weekly.