Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) Male photos by Larry Jordan

Saturday I had some time to just relax and watch the clown-faced member of the woodpecker family, the Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus), as the adults brought their juveniles to the feeder (click on photos for full sized images).

It is fitting that they sport the clown face too because they really put on a show chasing each other around through the trees and around the woodpecker feeder.

This first video begins with a juvenile male at the feeder as he goes about eating some smaller seeds and discarding others as he searches for the larger nuts in the mix, followed by what appears to be an adult male and then an adult female who goes through some contortions to get what she wants.

This is a close up of the male Acorn Woodpecker showing the light colored iris and bright red crown of the adult bird.  This particular male is one of the few having a small red spot below his throat on his breast.

The female has a broad black stripe separating her bright red crown from her white forehead.

Here is a close up of the contortion maneuver she used to extract her treasure from the feeder.

The difference in magnification from the first video to this second video and the photos is the difference between my 400mm lens and the digiscope setup.

This video includes a close up of the juvenile male and you can also hear the “laughing” call of the Acorn Woodpecker near the beginning.

I hope you enjoyed watching them as much as I did!

To see more great bird photography, check out Bird Photography Weekly!

Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) photos by Larry Jordan

A few days ago I heard the unmistakable sound of the Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) calling from my back porch.  They have a rich, fluid, melodious song that for many is the harbinger of spring (click on photos for full sized images).

The female above was accompanied by, what appeared to be three adult males.  They seem to like the all weather feeder for some reason.  I think it is ergonomically correct for their size.

Today was the first time I had seen American Goldfinches (Carduelis tristis) at the thistle feeder this spring.  A few joined the multitude of Lesser Goldfinches and Pine Siskins that have been here all winter.

I took a short break from all the yard work Brigitte and I were doing all day to take some shots of the other yardbirds that are here year round.

The Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura) are almost constantly cooo, coo cooing this time of year.

And of course the Acorn Woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus) are always amusing with their call that sounds like an insane person laughing.

This male was selecting his favorite treats from the ultimate woodpecker feeder.

Another clown of the yard is the ubiquitous Western Scrub-jay (Aphelocoma californica).  Being members of the Corvidae family, these guys are no dummies.

Doesn’t this bird look inquisitive?  No, he’s not curious, he’s looking up at the upside down suet feeder that is made specifically for clinging birds.

You see, he loves suet and this jay bird has figured out how to feed out of this feeder without hanging upside down.

He simply flies up and takes bites out of the suet in mid flight.

And he is good at it too!  If you want to see some good bird photography, head on over to Bird Photography Weekly and post your own great bird photos!

Wild Birds Unlimited EcoTough Bird Feeder photos by Larry Jordan

Wild Birds Unlimited asked me to review one of their products and even gave me my choice of product to evaluate!  Since I am big into feeding the birds that choose to come visit me (I have more than a dozen bird feeders) around my home, I chose to review their EcoTough Classic Too Bird Feeder.  At the end of this review is a chance for you to win a product worth up to $50 from Wild Birds Unlimited so don’t miss that.

The “EcoTough” series of products are environmentally friendly, high quality products that are made from recycled plastic milk jugs, preventing used milk jugs from making their way into our landfills, so they are good for the environment as well as the birds.

I must say I was immediately impressed with the quality of construction and the excellent design of this classic hopper style bird feeder.  They are solidly built with quality screws and hinges and come with a lifetime guarantee to never crack, split or rot.  The sticker attached to this feeder even states “squirrel damage that affects the function of the feeder is covered by the guarantee!  That’s hard to beat!

Dark-eyed Junco at EcoTough Too Bird Feeder
(click on photos for full sized images)

I have several bird feeders including tube feeders, caged feeders, thistle feeders, suet feeders, a woodpecker feeder, a weatherproof feeder, a nut feeder, a tray feeder, and several hummingbird feeders, but this is my first hopper style feeder.  I have waited several weeks before writing this review so that I could fairly evaluate this product.

Not only is this feeder constructed from top quality materials, the design is well thought out too.  The hinged roof makes it easy to fill from the top when you see no more food through the plexiglas sides.  The bird food flows out onto a narrow porch with solid wall perches on each side making it easy for the birds to access the feed and perch comfortably.

I noticed that most of the songbirds using the feeder actually turned on the perches and faced outwards while feeding, making it easier for the bird watcher to view them.  The curved end design also allows the bird watcher a much better view of the birds as you can see from the photos on this post.

The area in front of the perches are open on the ends allowing seed and shells to drop to the ground where ground feeding birds can clean them up, making this an efficient self-cleaning feeder.

My yard birds are many and each species seems to prefer certain types of feeders.  They have been feeding from tube feeders for years and so it took them a little while to investigate the hopper feeder but once they found it, they went crazy, as you can see from the video at the end of the post.

I have found over the years that it is most practical to feed only quality bird seed to my backyard birds.  I feed only sunflower seed, nyjer (thistle) seed, raw nuts, suet,  and a special woodpecker, nuthatch and chickadee mix.  Wild Birds Unlimited has several seed choices to choose from including wild bird seed, suet and specialty food.

I put black oil sunflower seed in this feeder and got lots of takers like the Dark-eyed Juncos above and the Oak Titmice that breed in my nest boxes.

To my utter delight, I went out on the porch a few days ago and found an Evening Grosbeak feeding at the EcoTough Too Classic Bird Feeder along with a Purple Finch.

I believe this is the first Evening Grosbeak seen in my yard.  They are not common to my area and are usually only seen occasionally at feeders in the winter.  They certainly gave the EcoTough Bird Feeder a good review!

I also shot some video of the action at the Wild Birds Unlimited EcoTough Classic Too Bird Feeder for your enjoyment.  I went out later, after filming this video to find all four of the Evening Grosbeaks feeding at the feeder.

I edited the video to cut it down to a minute from its original four minutes, but you can see the Lesser Goldfinches, Oak Titmouse, House Finches, Purple Finches and Dark-eyed Junco enjoying the bounty.

Other products from Wild Birds Unlimited:

• Black Oil Sunflower Seed
• Thistle Seed
• Suet Feeders
• Wild Bird Feeders
• Window Bird Feeders
• Birdacious Products

You can also check out the Wild Birds Unlimited Newsletter and become a fan of their Facebook page.

Now you have a chance to win any product from Wild Birds Unlimited (WBU) up to a $50 value simply for leaving a comment on this post about what WBU product you like, or think you would like to try.  This giveaway will be open until March 27th when I will put all names into a hat and choose a winner!  Good Luck!

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!