The Birders Report

Ring-billed Gull at Kutras Lake, Redding, California photos by Larry Jordan

Kutras Lake is actually an outcropping of the Sacramento River in Redding, California.  There are many places to bird adjacent to the downtown area as you can see on this map.  The most popular spots being Turtle Bay and Kutras Lake.

If you click on the link to Turtle Bay, make sure to check out the EagleCam.  The Bald Eagles have been nesting at the edge of the Turtle Bay marsh area, on the West end of the highway 44 bridge, for many years now.  The last couple of years, successfully raising young while the bridge is being worked on.

But this story is about the Ring-billed Gull.  We see them here in the winter, in their non-breeding plumage.  At Kutras Lake, they are often seen with Herring Gulls, California Gulls and Glaucous-winged Gulls.  On occasion Western, Thayer’s, Mew and Laughing Gulls are spotted at Kutras Lake also.  I took the following images of this adult Ring-billed Gull, apparently in a somewhat aggressive display causing the surrounding birds to move away.

The most entertaining aspect of the Ring-billed Gull for me are their aerial maneuvers.  The adult birds will drop objects, then swoop down after them as if to show off their skills to the onlookers.  They are very skilled fliers and people love to toss pieces of bread into the air and watch as they snatch them up effortlessly.  Their normal diet however consists of mainly of fish, insects, earthworms, rodents and grain.

The previous photos were taken on an overcast day back in mid December but this last week I went out looking for some rarities at Kutras (like the Red-throated Loon or the recently seen Tundra Swans).  No luck with the uncommon birds but I did get these in-flight shots.

Have a bird filled weekend starting with Bird Photography Weekly!

Geese Flying Overhead in “V” Formation photos by Larry Jordan

As the winter turns to spring and the geese once again begin flying north in those beautiful “V” formations you hear flying overhead, it is time to check your nest boxes once again.  Even if you cleaned your birdhouses out in the fall, after all the nesting activity was over, you need to check them all and make sure they are once again ready for the return of all of your cavity nesting birds.

You may find that your birdhouses were used by some bird species during cold winters to stay warm at night. You may even find evidence that mice were using some of your nest boxes for homes.  No matter what birds or animals took advantage of the warmth of your birdhouses during the winter, there are important considerations you need to know when you begin cleaning out those nest boxes in the spring.

I found a couple of nest boxes full of acorns this week

Position yourself to avoid inhaling any dust from the nest box and wear gloves while cleaning out the boxes.  I use a putty knife to remove any old birds nests or wasps nests and put them into a plastic bag with a tie or a zip lock bag in case there are any parasites in the nest box material.  Dispose of old nest materials in the trash. Do not dispose of the old nesting materials close to the birdhouse as this may attract predators.

Once you have scraped out the nest box and made sure all of the drain and vent holes are open, you can disinfect birdhouses by spraying them with a 10% bleach solution (one part bleach, nine parts water).  If you decide to disinfect your birdhouses, leave them open for 24 hours to allow them to dry before closing them back up.  I recommend disinfecting your nest boxes if you have evidence of parasites in any specific boxes.  Many times you can simply scrape the insides of the birdhouses and wash them out with a sharp stream of water.

Just as I’m sure you like a clean house, your birds enjoy a clean birdhouse when they arrive in the springtime to bring all of their beautiful color and song to your backyard.  Make them welcome by keeping your birdhouses clean before they arrive in the spring and, if you have nesting birds that produce more than one brood per season, clean out the nest boxes after each brood.  You can download a complete nest box monitoring guide in PDF format here (3MB).

It’s also very important to clean your bird feeders regularly.  Cleaning bird feeders and birdbaths is a crucial practice in preventing the spread of disease between birds.  Audubon recommends disinfecting your feeders with the same 10% bleach solution you use for your nest boxes once or twice a month.

When you clean your feeder, get rid of the old seed.  Rake or sweep up any uneaten hulls on the ground.  Avoid overcrowding by providing more than one feeder for each type of feed you plan on feeding.  Move your feeders, if you can, to prevent waste from piling up below the feeders.

Empty water from your birdbath every few days, brush it clean and refill it with fresh water.  You will need to do this more often in warm weather.  Having a constant source of running water is ideal.  Birds can’t resist running water!

Once you clean out all of your nest boxes and bird feeders, you are ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count.  The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent and in Hawaii.  It takes place from February 12th through the 15th this year.

Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts.  It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event.  It’s free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds.

Hermit Thrush photos by Larry Jordan

Enjoying the cold and rainy day off today, I decided it would be a great day to record some backyard birds for Project FeederWatch.  If you haven’t heard, Project FeederWatch is a winter-long survey of birds that visit feeders at backyards, nature centers, community areas, and other locales in North America, operated by Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Lab of Canada.

When I walked out onto my back porch, there were birds everywhere.  The Hermit Thrush shown above was actually one of the last species I found, rummaging around in my photinia bush.  It was being chased out every so often by an American Robin that apparently claimed ownership of said bush and its berries.

They were joined by several other species that enjoyed the cover of the almost tree sized bush.  The Spotted Towhees were foraging on the ground for the most part but they would fly up into the bush and adjacent Sapphire Dragon Tree where this one decided to sing for me.

Over at the “feed station” is where most of the action was taking place.  There were Western Scrub-Jays yac, yac, yackin as they flew in to disrupt the House Finches at the platform and tube feeders.

Aspects Large Antique Brass Tube Feeder

There were over forty Dark-eyed Juncos foraging under the sunflower seed feeders and making trips to the hanging platform feeder.  Occasionally they would sneak some suet from one of the easy to reach suet feeders, stopping to perch on the same branch the Oak Titmouse uses to access the suet block.

One of the male Anna’s Hummingbirds that has stayed here all winter was perched just above these suet eaters, diligently watching this way and that, making sure none of the other hummingbirds around drew nectar out if his feeder.

Right behind all this activity were the American Goldfinches and Lesser Goldfinches vying for the best spots on the thistle feeder.

Notice the difference in the markings of these two species that are just beginning to acquire their spring plumage.  The American Goldfinch in the middle of the photo is brownish on the back with a light breast, yellow throat and a solid conspicuous wing bar.  It also has a white rump and is larger than the dark rumped Lesser Goldfinches above it.

36 inch Yellow Metal Thistle Feeder

The White-breasted Nuthatches that I’m pretty sure will be breeding here this year, were visiting their two favorite feeders, the upside down suet feeder …

and the ultimate woodpecker feeder which was also being visited by this Nuttall’s Woodpecker.

It was a fun feederwatch day, spotting fourteen species that actually came to the yard in search of food.  The most exciting thing for me, and the last bird on my list was a new visitor to my yard.

Brigitte and I have been watching and hearing a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks nearby since last summer but I have yet to find their nest site.  This morning we had a visit from one of our local Red-shouldered Hawks and Brigitte got a picture of it through the living room window.  It was perched right above one of the sunflower seed feeders.  The first Red-shouldered Hawk to perch in our yard!  How cool is that?

Make sure to check out all the other great bird photos at Bird Photography Weekly!  And if you want to see other sights, all over the world, check out MyWorld!