TENNESSEE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY

http://birdmemphis.org

December 2020

Aਭ Uਭਤ਷ਯਤਢਲ਼ਤਣ Rਤਵਤ਱ਲਠਫ ਮਥ Fਮ਱ਲ਼਴ਭਤ

It all started with a family trip to look for Barn Owls in Fayette County. We piled into the vehicle and drove one hour to the known roost of Tyto Alba. Having seen fresh evidence of occupancy before, we hoped to catch a glimpse of the resident at home. When we arrived, all we saw were two hunters in their vehicle using the place as a shelter. Slightly dejected, we headed home. As we turned onto Gardener Road, we decided to look and listen for owls. We scanned the tree lines but there were no great horns silhouetted against the darkening sky. We listened intently, but there was no “who cooks for you” wafting through the cool air. But out of the corner of our collective gaze we saw movement. Who could it be? It was too dark for hawks to be about. As we leveled our binoculars, we discovered a bird with buoyant, bouncy flight. The bird wheeled and as it did we saw the pale underside and dark carpal markings that confirmed our gathering suspicions. They are back! The Short-eared Owls are back!

At the time of writing this article, there are three owls. Many have already come out to see them. If you have not yet, they are truly striking to watch. The best time to see them is right before sunset. Over the past week, they have been getting up around 5pm. They are also active at sunrise but it is colder and they are less active. If you do come out, please observe from the edge of the road and resist the urge to venture into the field for a better picture. These birds depend on this habitat and we do not want to disturb it or them. If you have time, drop a line to Shelby Farms and thank them for not mowing this area this year.

-Cliff VanNostrand OCTOBER 25: W.C. JOHNSON PARK

We had 12 participants and 39 species. We had seven species of warblers. -Martha Waldron

NOVEMBER 6: SHELBY FARMS

On Friday November 6th, 2020, four of us birded a section of Shelby Farms along the trail that starts at the small parking lot at the end of the one-way road at the top of the hill and winds its way past three ponds and lakes and ends at the fields bordering the east side of Farm Road. Accompanying me were David and Betty Blaylock and Sue Ferguson. The weather was clear and 50-70 degrees with only a light occasional breeze. It was very birdy this day due to a high number of Robins working the trees. We did record 37 species in the limited habitat we covered and were pleased to see the variety that we identified. A good number of kinglets were seen with an especially good view of a Golden-Crowned. A few ducks were on one of the lakes, mostly Ruddy Ducks with singles of Shoveler, Gadwall, Ring-necked, a few Mallards and a couple Pied-billed Grebes. GBH (2), Great Egret (1), the usual Belted Kingfisher, some Red-bellied and Downy Woodpeckers and Sapsuckers. Eastern Phoebe was represented two or three times as were Brown Thrashers and Northern Mockingbirds. Warblers were limited to Yellow-rumps, but sparrows showed up in better numbers including White-throated, Chipping, and Field along with a few Juncos and one Eastern Towhee. The usual crowd of Black and Turkey Vultures was there. By noon we were tired and the birds were resting as were the Buffalo, so we called it enough on Great Blue Heron this beautiful day. Photo: Chad Brown -Chad Brown

NOVEMBER 21: SHELBY FARMS

The 21 November field trip at Shelby Farms was a success. The mild temperatures attracted 12 birders. Four groups covered the area on both sides of Walnut Grove Road. A total of 61 species was reported. Interesting species were a Dark adult/Black-phase Red-tailed Hawk, a Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk, eight species of waterfowl, a Great Egret, eight species of sparrows, and Pine Siskin.

- Martha Waldron AWARD TO BRANDON GILBERT AT WRWMA

Wolf River Wildlife Management Area Manager Brandon Gilbert recently received the 2020 Firebird Award by the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative. The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to habitat restoration.

As the name implies, prescribed fire is a key management tool to maintain suitable habitat for Northern Bobwhite quail. Last year, more than 400 acres were burned Photo by: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency on the Wolf River WMA. The full-time management staff at Wolf River consists of only Brandon and Tony Duncan. They have continued to maintain and create usable quail habitat despite being at ground zero for chronic wasting disease (CWD) among deer in Tennessee. Brandon has successfully used TWRA’s volunteer program to assist in management efforts. Four of Brandon’s former interns are now TWRA employees, and two others work for Agency partners.

A donation from Safari Club International allowed Brandon to hire additional seasonal staff. The other staff, plus Brandon’s use of many tools such as aerial herbicide applications, the Fecon mulcher, and growing-season fire, increase quail habitat every year. -Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

https://www.facebook.com/tnwildlife/photos/a.1429337780427145/4015595408468023/?type=3

We were delighted to learn that Brandon Gilbert, manager at the Wolf River Wildlife Management Area in La Grange, TN, has just received a national award for his work in trying to rebuild the population of the beleaguered Northern Bobwhite in our area. Dick Preston and I have been working closely with Brandon during the past two years on Bluebirds and Barn Owls, and salute his strong commitment to the conservation of both game and non-game species. Northern Bobwhite -David O. Hill Photo: David O. Hill With a coat as crimson as Santa Claus’s and a penchant for feeders, what bird could be a better symbol for Christmas? Featured on many a holiday card, cardinals are perhaps the birder’s best friend, cheering the dreary days of winter with bright feathers and boisterous song when other colorful birds are sunning themselves in the tropics. In fact, some western birders travel to the east just to see cardinals.

Scientific name: Cardinalis cardinalis

Range: Cardinals are year-round residents throughout their range, which extends east and south of the US Rockies.

Habitat: They live in any habitat that is relatively open, with many bushes and shrubs for cover. The average backyard is good habitat for this versatile bird. In fact, the growth of suburbia has expanded the cardinal’s range.

Diet/feeding: Cardinals feed on seeds and fruit, including buckwheat, grasses, corn, blackberry, mulberry, and wild grape. They also eat a small number of insects. Their favorite feeder food is sunflower seed but will take most seeds, as well as some fruit and suet. Although they forage on the ground in the wild, cardinals will use platform, hopper, and tube feeders.

Behavior: Cardinals love to sing and preen on a prominent perch, but they forage furtively in shrubs or on the ground. In a courtship display, males may perform a “dance”, hopping from side to side and flicking or fluttering his wings while a female watches. Males also feed their mates to strengthen their bond. During the breeding season, both sexes attack their reflections in windows or mirrors. The female looks for a fork in a branch of a shrub or small tree in which to build her nest. Males may bring nest material to the female, who uses sticks to shape the foundation of the nest. Then, she lines the cup with material she finds such as: bark, grass, and pine needles. Each nest has approximately 3-5 eggs, which hatch in 11 to 13 days. After hatching, the young fledge in about a week.

When, where, and how to see: Cardinals are common year-round in eastern North America, occupying almost any suburban or rural habitat. Other than a black patch or “face mask” around a red bill, males are clad in brilliant scarlet feathers. Females have brown body feathers, with the same face mask as males, but crest, wing and tail feathers are tinged with red. Juveniles lack the flamboyant colors of adults, resembling dull females with gray beaks. Cardinals avoid flying for long distances. The cardinal’s trademark song is a series of loud, upturned notes followed by faster, descending notes (sounds like a-wheep, a-wheep, a-wheep, shubody, shubody, shubody). Their call is a short, metallic chip note.

Conservation: The expansion of suburbs that is hurting other bird species has enlarged the cardinal’s range. The population increased from 1966 to 2014.

Fun facts:

 The Northern Cardinal’s range extends into Hawaii! In 1929, because a cardinal escaped from its cage, its mate was released as well. Later, the Hui Manu society (dedicated to introducing colorful songbirds to Hawaii) and other groups released another 300-350 cardinals. This was part of a 40-year effort to repopulate the islands with beautiful birds, as the native ones had become extinct, or had retreated into the mountains. Birds from all over the world were shipped and introduced to Hawaii, including two other cardinal species: the red- crested and yellow-billed, both native to South America. The Hui Manu turned to conservation projects when the government began putting restrictions on songbird introductions.  Although rare, yellow Northern Cardinals do exist (however, do not confuse with the separate species Yellow Cardinal, Gubernatrix cristata, which is native to South America). These birds have the black mask of normal birds, but due to a genetic mutation, all red feathers on their bodies are replaced with yellow ones. This condition is known as xanthochromism, and it occurs in other birds such as Evening Grosbeaks, Scarlet Tanagers, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers. Sadly, these birds have trouble attracting mates.  Male cardinals are a brighter shade of red in winter than in summer. In early fall, cardinals shed their old, worn feathers and don a new coat of fresh ones. The new feathers have gray tips, and as these tips wear off in fall and winter, the brilliant red beneath shows through. Cardinals are brightest during the courtship season. -Lynn M. Hui

Bibliography:  Most info in this article and range map from the Northern Cardinal page on Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds guide Other sources:  http://www.thebirdingproject.com/blog/2018/2/27/3-things-you-need-to-know-about-yellow-cardinals  https://www.to-hawaii.com/birds/redcrestedcardinal.php  http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/birds/rlp-monograph/Introduction.htm#huim  http://www.instanthawaii.com/cgi-bin/hi?Animals.cardinal  https://identify.whatbird.com/obj/1128/_/yellow-billed_cardinal.aspx#:~:text=Yellow%2Dbilled%20Cardinal%3A%20Introduced%20to,edges%20of% 20woodlands%20and%20forests.  https://hawaiibirdingtrails.hawaii.gov/bird/yellow-billed-cardinal/  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/are-cardinals-brighter-in-winter/

Editor’s Note: Special thanks to MTOS member Lynn Hui for contributing this article. A Year of Backyard Birding in Quarantine

In the winter of last year, I decided to add some birds to my life list when spring came. My family had just taken a road trip to the Gulf Coast of Texas, and had birdwatched to our heart’s content, snapping photos of species that I had only wistfully gazed at in the pages of my field guide. After such an exciting trip to the subtropics, the cold, rainy atmosphere of Collierville dulled my spirits. I tried to search the surrounding parks for Golden-crowned Kinglets and Brown Creepers, two species that I hoped to check off my life list, but to no avail. Just when it seemed like there would never be another lifer, I remembered that spring would be coming soon. I immediately started studying the songs of warblers in preparation for the influx of migrants that would arrive in spring.

Then, as spring crept nearer, I was confronted with an obstacle: the spread of coronavirus. The woods were filled with a cornucopia of migrants that had started to trickle into the surrounding parks, but I was stuck at home as the pandemic persisted into the spring. Although I was practically bursting to go outside and collect species for my life list, the daily increase in positive cases reminded me that safety always comes first. I stared longingly at sightings from popular hotspots, and eventually stopped checking eBird because it was too painful to see how much activity I was missing out on.

One day, as I looked out of the bedroom window into the dreary, wet backyard, I noticed a plump shape perched amongst the new leaves of an oak tree. Could it be? I grabbed my camera and rushed out into the yard. Yes, it was a Swainson’s Thrush! I had never thought that my humble little yard could attract neotropical migrants, but this thrush changed my perspective. I started to stroll around the yard more often, camera slung on my shoulder, listening intently for singing warblers. Other migrants began appearing alongside the warblers: vireos, Great Crested Flycatchers, and even an oriole. Soon, I realized that my yard was not as plain or barren as I thought. During my backyard “warbler fever”, I often awoke at six in the morning to pace my yard for any sign of the beautiful birds. It was during these weeks of enthusiasm that my yard revealed itself to me.

As a robin and two pairs of jays nested near the yard, I took an interest in nests and began looking for them. Birds often visited the feeders with their fledglings in tow, and I eagerly snapped pictures of these youngsters as well as their parents. Then, as June came and the influx of migrants died down, I focused on producing pinprick-sharp photographs of the homely feeder birds that were ignored during my “warbler fever.” I also played around with the shutter speed and ISO settings on my camera, learning to adapt to different light conditions. I often sat on a stool in the humid heat, surrounded by a cloud of malicious mosquitoes, waiting for a bird to stop by the feeders. There were plenty of birds, though, and the weather was bearable for most of the summer.

In late July and August, I suddenly became obsessed with attracting hummingbirds, as photographing feeder birds had become too predictable and boring. Early in my endeavor, a hummer hovered right in front of me before flying to a neighbor’s feeder. Greatly encouraged by this event, and after making some feeders that attracted more ants than birds, I decided to buy some from Amazon. Much to my delight, the hummingbirds soon familiarized themselves with the new feeders. I started noticing aggressive behavior among these feisty birds, and soon three distinct hummingbird “kingdoms” were formed, with one individual occupying each cluster of feeders. There were also several individuals who could be recognized by their throat patterns, and I named them accordingly: Patchy, Shiny, Spotty, Whitethroat, Male #2. Each hummer ferociously guarded his territory from a nearby perch, and once I discovered the locations of these favored twigs, I could track down a hummer easily by checking his perch. These territories were always shifting, and I noticed that the short period of time after I refilled the feeders were crucial. When the water in a feeder became stale, the owner of that territory would move away and try to steal sips at another hummer’s. However, after the original feeder was refilled, the first one to realize that the water was fresh would most likely be awarded possession of that feeder. The hummers’ predictable behavior offered me an exclusive window into their world.

Now, I am back to photographing wintering feeder birds. The discovery of Purple Finches, Golden-crowned Kinglets, and Pine Siskins have once again reminded me that my yard is full of surprises! I’ve also hung up a few nest boxes in the hopes of attracting nesting bluebirds, chickadees, and wrens next spring.

2020 has been special. I did not have the chance to visit tropical forests or trek in the arid heat of the American West, but I found an important gift: my backyard.

-Lynn M. Hui

Editor’s Note: Special thanks to MTOS member Lynn Hui for contributing this article. If you would like to submit an article about your experience watching birds, please send it to [email protected]. A I  Bird Counting 101 https://ebird.org/news/counting-101  How to Identify Small Red Finches https://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/solve/faqs/how-to-identify-small-red- finches.php  Recipe for Suet Dough https://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/learn/feeding/a-recipe-for-suet-dough.php  BirdSpotter photo Contest https://feederwatch.org/birdspotter2020-21/  Christmas Birding Wish List https://amzn.to/2Hh2Q3v

The 2020 Memphis CBC will be held on Sunday, December 20. Birding parties will cover different areas of Memphis. For more information contact the compiler Margaret Jefferson at [email protected] / 901-274-1045 or contact one of the group leaders listed below.

Sunday, December 20 Memphis CBC Ensley Bottoms, TVA Lakes & T.O. Fuller Bird on your own and send data to Margaret Jefferson. [email protected] / 901-274-1045 In the COVID guidelines for the 121st CBC, Shelby Farms Audubon asks that participants stay socially distanced and/or wear masks and carpool Field Trip Leader: George Payne only within groups that are already [email protected] / 901-233-8766 socializing together such as family and very

close friends and that there be no in-person Raleigh compilation gatherings. I suggest that birding Field Trip Leader: Sue Ferguson parties or group leaders submit their data to [email protected] / 901-386-3759. eBird as a way to share data with other

groups. Overton Park Field Trip Leader: Margaret Jefferson -Margaret Jefferson [email protected] / 901-274-1045

You can also send comments on your CBC NW area observations to the MTOS newsletter Field Trip Leader: Dick Preston & Van Harris at [email protected]. Dick: [email protected] / 901-837-3360 Van: [email protected] / 901-876-3337

Sunday, December 27 Wapanocca National NWR, CBC https://goo.gl/maps/8mFp46AdEXxbn19p8 Field Trip Leader: Van Harris & Dick Preston Van: [email protected] / 901-876-3337 Dick: [email protected] / 901-837-3360

Tuesday, December 29 Arkabutla CBC Field Trip Leader: Van Harris [email protected] / 901-876-3337 TOS Membership Information Chapter Meeting Benefits include monthly programs, field Chapter Meetings are cancelled until further notice. trips, quarterly journals, and state and chapter newsletters. Categories and dues are: Individual $36 Upcoming Field Trip Information Family $40 Sunday, December 20 Sustaining $55 Memphis CBC College Student $23 Other Student $ 5 Lifetime $450 one time +$18 yearly Sunday, December 27 Dues payable by check, made out to MTOS Wapanocca National NWR, CBC Please send dues to: Barbara Pyles 8488 East Askersund Cove Tuesday, December 29 Cordova, TN 38018 Arkabutla CBC (901) 570-1009 E-mail [email protected] Saturday, January 9 Tunica/Northern Mississippi Newsletter Delivery Options To reduce printing and mailing costs, a Saturday, January 30 digital version, which is usually Wolf River WMA expanded with photos and occasional articles, is provided. Notify Margaret Jefferson, [email protected]. If you have no internet access, a printed version can be mailed.

Chapter Newsletter Submissions Email submissions to Cliff VanNostrand [email protected]

Deadline for submissions to the Newsletter is the 22nd of the month.

Field Cards Please mail or e-mail your field cards and notable sightings to Dick Preston. [email protected] New Members Tennessee Warbler Deadlines *February 28 for the April Newsletter Kim Goble, Cordova *June 30 for the August Newsletter [email protected] *October 31 for the December Newsletter William Robert Peeples, Monticello, AR [email protected] Forward contributions to: Theresa Graham, Editor Andrew Gafford, Memphis P.O. Box 366 Oakland, TN 38060 [email protected] (901) 465-4263 Email: [email protected] Gadwall Carolina Chickadee

Northern Pintail Mallard, male

White-throated Sparrow Mallard, female

Ruddy Duck American Robin