Black Bears Emerging From Hibernation Earlier and Earlier
Historically Black Bears in northern New England start emerging from their winter dens in April. However, over the past few years they have been active earlier and earlier. This year they have been spotted throughout Vermont since the beginning of March. Males awaken before females; females with cubs are the last to emerge.
Needless to say, after living off stored fat for several months, bears are ravenous shortly after becoming active in the spring. They seek out tender green shoots (often near wetlands), dandelions and other early-appearing flowering plants. If there are filled bird feeders available, there’s no easier source of protein and Black Bears will take advantage of this. Excellent ursine memories mean repeat ursine visits. If you want to decrease the chances of such a visitor this spring, it’s suggested by Fish and Wildlife that bird feeders be taken down prior to the end of hibernation, or ASAP.
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird Nestling: Feeding
After spending the first few days brooding her young, the mother begins spending more and more time away from the nest. She returns to feed her chick sporadically, varying from every half hour to as long as every two hours. She regurgitates into the chick’s beak, inserting her bill and then pumping vigorously. As the chick grows, small insects are brought, held between the mother’s mandibles.
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Black Bears Still Active
Black Bears often enter into hibernation in November, but their exact timing depends in large part on the weather as well as the availability of food such as hard mast (acorns, beechnuts, etc.). Cold temperatures and scarce food hastens their entry, and warm weather and ample food delays it.
As long as bears are active (and they still are in the Northeast due in part to relatively warm weather), one would be wise to delay feeding birds. Even though a Black Bear’s metabolic rate during hibernation can drop to a quarter of its (nonhibernating) basal metabolic rate, it still needs to put on a considerable amount of fat (some bears double their weight) in order to sustain itself while it fasts through the winter.
A pre-hibernation feeding frenzy by Black Bears is why putting up bird feeders prematurely (before Black Bears hibernate) is discouraged by most northern Fish & Wildlife Departments. If a bear comes upon a filled bird feeder it is very likely to return to it repeatedly until it goes into hibernation. A Black Bear’s memory is very impressive and most are unable to resist a free lunch. If you can’t put off feeding the birds for another few weeks, it’s a good idea to bring feeders inside at night if you live in bear country.
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Black-crowned Night Herons Feeding
Black-crowned Night Herons employ a number of techniques for capturing a wide variety of food, from standing stock still for a considerable amount of time waiting for prey to swim by to securing prey while swimming. They feed mainly from evening until early morning. Because they are crepuscular (feeding at dawn and dusk) as well as nocturnal (as their name implies), feeding competition from other (diurnal) herons is minimized.
The diet of opportunistic Black-crowned Night Herons includes earthworms, insects, crayfish, mussels, fish, amphibians, snakes, turtles, birds, small mammals and plant material. They have been observed actively manipulating bait (bread in one case, dragonflies in another) to attract and catch fish. As can be seen in the inset photograph, they grasp, rather than stab, their prey.
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Why You Don’t Feed Birds In The Summer (if you live in bear country)
Unfortunately, habituated bears often have very short lives. They lose their fear of humans, become “nuisance bears” and often end up being killed. Do not worry about the birds that have been visiting your feeder all winter. Your bringing your feeder in will not negatively affect them, as they get the majority of their food from natural sources. Also, when birds are nesting many feed their young insects and aren’t frequent visitors to feeders. Feeding enables humans to get a close view of their winged neighbors, but it is not necessary for the birds’ welfare.
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Pileated Woodpecker Parents Regurgitating
Nestling meals consist primarily of invertebrates. Adult Pileated Woodpeckers feed their young by regurgitation, inserting their bill quite far into the throats of their young as they deliver food to them. A visit can consist of one to three regurgitations per nestling. (Photo: adult male Pileated Woodpecker feeding male nestling)
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Where Are All The Birds?
Even though signs as well as sightings of active bears are plentiful, and black-oiled sunflower seeds are an open invitation for them to visit and potentially become “nuisance” bears, many devoted bird-lovers have already hung out feeders in hopes of luring feathered friends closer to their home. Throughout northern New England so few birds have been attracted to these feeders that they have remained full, some not having been refilled since September. Our usual fall and winter visitors appear to have all but vanished, and concern has been growing amongst those who feed birds.
Those familiar with bird feeding habits know that in the fall, when seeds are abundant, feeder visits by resident birds typically slow down. However, this year, at least anecdotally, appears to be extreme in this regard. Warm weather extending into November certainly has lessened birds’ food requirements. But having sunflower seeds sprout in your feeder before the need to replenish them arrives is unusual, if not alarming.
Dr. Pam Hunt, Senior Biologist in Avian Conservation at New Hampshire Audubon, recently shared some of her personal research with the birding world (UV- Birders). Hunt has conducted a weekly, 10 km-long, bird survey near Concord, NH for the past 13 years. In addressing the current concern over a lack of feeder birds, she extracted the data she had accumulated on 12 common birds (Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal, House Finch, American Goldfinch) over the last 13 falls, focusing on the period between Oct 1 and Nov 15. After extensive analysis, Hunt concluded that there has not been a dramatic decline in the number of birds this year, relative to the averages of the past 13 years. One cannot argue with scientific evidence (except for, perhaps, #45), but it does seem mighty quiet on the western (northeastern?) front this year.
Attracting Fruit-eating Birds
There are many birds, such as waxwings, that have a frugivorous (strictly fruit-eating) diet. The only time they usually expand their diet to include insects is during the breeding season, when growing hatchlings require high amounts of protein for proper development. Others, such as orioles, show a marked preference for fruit but also eat significant quantities of other foods. All of these birds play an important role by spreading fruit seeds to distant areas either by caching food or distributing the seeds through their droppings.
Bird lovers often put out seed to lure birds in for a closer look (a practice discouraged during the summer in black bear country), but there is an equally effective magnet for some species, and that is fruit. (Due to the high sugar content, little nutrition and potential bacteria growth in jelly, it may be best to provide fruit over jelly.) Grapes often attract Northern Mockingbirds, Eastern Bluebirds, Cedar Waxwings, Gray Catbirds, Scarlet Tanagers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, House Finches and American Robins. Raisins and currants (soaked in water overnight) appeal to Northern Mockingbirds, Gray Catbirds, Eastern Bluebirds, Cedar Waxwings and Eastern Towhees. Species that find orange halves hard to resist include Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Northern Mockingbirds, Brown Thrashers, Baltimore Orioles, Scarlet Tanagers, Gray Catbirds and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. (Photo: Gray Catbird (left), female Red-bellied Woodpecker (middle) and female Baltimore Oriole (right) enjoying breakfast at The House On The Hill Bed & Breakfast, Greenfield, MA.)
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Tree Swallow Nestlings Well Fed
Tree Swallow parents begin feeding their four to seven nestlings as soon as they hatch, and they continue doing so until their young depart the nest and sometimes for several days afterwards. The adult carries food in its bill and places it directly into the open mouth of a begging nestling. The small insects gathered by the parent may be formed into a rounded ball, or bolus, which they hold in their mouth or throat (often not visible to an observer). Both parents feed the nestlings, together averaging about ten to twenty deliveries per hour. During periods of peak nestling demand, parents may feed as many as 6,000 to 7,000 insects in a single day. (Thanks to Jeannie Killam and Terry Ross for photo op.)
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Home Delivery for Barred Owl Nestlings
Young Barred Owls are fed by their parents from the day they hatch until late summer/early fall. During their first two weeks, food is delivered by the adult male to the adult female, in a bill-to-bill exchange. The female tears up the prey into swallowable bits and feeds them to her offspring. During this time the female does little hunting, but she begins to capture prey after about two weeks of brooding the young. At about this time, the young begin consuming whole prey on their own (see photo). Female prey deliveries are greatest immediately following sunset and immediately prior to sunrise, while male prey deliveries remain fairly constant throughout the night. (Photo: Barred Owl delivering Red-backed Vole to nestling.) (Thanks to Alfred Balch for photo op.)
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Accommodating Both Birds & Bears
In response to my “bears & bird feeders” blog yesterday, a highly respected New England naturalist responded with the following comment, suggesting several ways to have your cake and eat it too. I so endorse his ideas, and especially the reasons behind them, that I am sharing them with my blog readers today.
April to mid- May is perhaps the most food-limited time for birds too. Furthermore, it is my belief that the biggest share of future curious naturalists (and conservationists) are those that grow up in households that feed birds. We NEED those bird feeders out there too! We naturalist types should be thinking about how to bear up and still keep the feeders going. Most of the time, I find that bringing the feeders inside for the night in late afternoon “works”. (I say, like bringing in the cat or the chickens.) We have a “bear resistant” rig here at the Harris Center-a feeding station that is raised and lowered like a flag on a two story flag pole. I know others have found electronic ways of keeping bears away (like motion activated lights), and my friends and neighbors Don and Lilian Stokes are very successful by electrifying their feeding station-just like an apiary. They wish many more people would do so.
Meade Cadot, Naturalist Emeritus, Harris Center for Conservation Education
Common Redpolls Appearing
The birds most commonly associated with winter irruptions are the winter finches — Pine Grosbeak, Red Crossbill, White-winged Crossbill, Purple Finch, Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll, and Evening Grosbeak. Their food supply, or lack thereof, in the Canadian boreal forests where they normally overwinter, determines whether or not they will be seen as far south as the U. S. Key trees affecting finch movements in the boreal forest are spruces, birches and mountain-ashes.
Common Redpolls feed primarily on the catkins (seed-containing fruit) produced by birch and alder trees. When catkin production is low further north, as it is this winter, Common Redpolls leave these areas and irrupt into areas where food is more plentiful. (Photo: male Common Redpoll)
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Woodpeckers Bark Sloughing
Several species of woodpeckers search for wood-boring beetle larvae by removing the bark from a tree (in addition to drilling holes). This is referred to as bark sloughing. Some birds, such as nuthatches, remove only scales of bark, not the whole layer like woodpeckers, and this is referred to as scaling. After finding or creating an opening, a woodpecker repeatedly slips its pointed beak under loose bark, prying it off of the tree. It then uses its long, barb-tipped tongue to capture the exposed insects. Different woodpecker species tend to feed on either trunks or branches, and at different heights. Initially sloughing can resemble the work of porcupines, but close examination can reveal the marks of a beak, which are perpendicular to the trunk or limb, rather than the grooves left by a beaver’s incisors.
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Tufted Titmice Caching Seeds for Winter Consumption
Tufted Titmice and Black-capped Chickadees are in the same family (Paridae), and share several traits, one of which has to do with securing food. They are both frequent visitors of bird feeders where they not only take seeds and soon thereafter consume them, but they also collect and cache food throughout their territory for times when there is a scarcity of food. Tufted Titmice usually store their seeds within 130 feet of the feeder. They take only one seed per trip and usually shell the seeds before hiding them.
In contrast to most species of titmice and chickadees, young Tufted Titmice often remain with their parents during the winter and then disperse later in their second year. Some yearling titmice even stay on their natal territory and help their parents to raise younger siblings.
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Common Nighthawks Migrating
Nightjars, or “goatsuckers” as some call them, are a family of birds that catch and eat insects on the wing, are often ground nesters, and many (whip-poor-will, for instance) have distinctive calls. Nighthawks are a member of this group, but not a very well-named member, as they are unrelated to hawks and are active at dawn and dusk (not night). This insect-eating bird is often seen on the wing, hawking insects in both rural and urban areas (Fenway Park comes to mind). Its loud, nasal “peent” calls and bat-like flight make this bird very noticeable if it is feeding. We are currently at the peak of the fall Common Nighthawk migration from North to South America. Flocks of hundreds and sometimes thousands are seen flying overhead, often in the early evening.
Unfortunately, in the past 30 years the breeding population of Common Nighthawks in Vermont has declined by 91%, according to the most recent Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas, and this drop in population is not limited to Vermont – much of Canada, New England and beyond has experienced a 50% – 70% decline. Increased predation, indiscriminate use of pesticides leading to lowered insect numbers and habitat loss may have played a part in this drop. (Photo from public domain.)
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Poison Ivy Fruit An Important Spring Resource for Birds
There are a number of birds that have returned to New England from their southern wintering grounds and are working hard to find enough to sustain themselves until food is more plentiful. Eastern Bluebirds, Hermit Thrushes, Northern Mockingbirds, Eastern Phoebes and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers adapt their diets to whatever is available at this time of year, which can mean going from eating insects to consuming fruit. Fruits that persist through the winter are few and far between, but one of the plants that provides the most sustenance to birds in early spring is Poison Ivy. The off-white, berry-like fruits are extremely popular with at least 60 species of birds, including the early returning migrants previously mentioned, as well as Gray Catbirds, Yellow-shafted Flickers, Wild Turkeys, and Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied and Pileated Woodpeckers. The popularity of Poison Ivy fruit with birds explains why this plant is common along fencerows and other areas where birds roost (and pass the seeds). (Caution – irritating urushiol, an oily resin found in the sap of Poison Ivy, is present in the leaves, stems, flowers, roots and fruit of this plant.)
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The Perils of Fermented Fruit
In New England, fruit-eating birds are particularly vulnerable in the winter, because they depend so heavily on a food source that ferments, and to get enough protein they need to eat a lot of it. Toxic levels of ethanol can be produced as the natural sugars ferment, causing some consumers to become inebriated. Robins, waxwings and starlings have been found dead in large flocks after eating toxic berries and diving into the ground or colliding with solid structures. In addition, when they are really drunk, they lose mobility, making them helpless in the presence of predators. To the surprise of many observers, birds that appear lifeless on the ground have been known to eventually sober up and fly away. While birds don’t intentionally wish to ingest a lot of alcohol, there are other animals, such as elephants and apes, that will wander for miles to seek the pleasure of fermented fruits.
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Birds & Water in Winter
In winter, dehydration can be as much as or more of a threat than starvation for birds. At this time of year, they often get their water supply from melting icicles and puddles. When it is severely cold and there is no available water, they eat snow, as this Hairy Woodpecker is doing. It takes a lot more energy for birds to thaw snow and for their bodies to bring the freezing temperature of the snow to their body temperature (roughly 102°F.) than when they take a drink of water. Water is also key to keeping a bird warm in the winter, as it is used to preen, or clean and realign, their feathers so that they can maintain pockets of air next to the bird’s skin that retain the birds’ body heat.
While access to water is essential, there can be too much of a good thing, especially in freezing temperatures. If you have a heated bird bath, it’s a good idea to put stones in it or sticks across it to prevent the birds from immersing themselves in very cold weather.
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Honeybee Scavenger
If the weather warms up sufficiently in January or February, honeybees take advantage of it and use this opportunity to leave their hive to rid themselves of waste that they have accumulated since their last flight and to remove the bodies of dead honeybees. They don’t fly very far before dropping either their waste or their dead comrades on the snow. This ritual is quickly noted and taken advantage of by animals that are not hive dwellers and need constant fuel in order to survive the cold. Black-capped chickadees are one of these animals – the chickadee in this photograph repeatedly landed on the hive body, and if a dead bee was available at the hive entrance, the chickadee helped itself to it. Otherwise it would survey the snow in front of the hive and then dart down to scoop up a bee in its beak before flying off to a branch to consume its nutritious meal. (Note dead bees at the hive opening, awaiting being taken on their final flight. Screening keeps mice out, but allows bee to enter and exit.) Thanks to Chiho Kaneko and Jeffrey Hamelman for photo op.
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Bird Feeding – Does It Foster Dependency?
Decades ago birds remaining in the Northeast in the winter almost exclusively survived on weed seeds and insects they gleaned from crevices in tree bark. Today, nearly one-third of American adults provide about a billion pounds of bird seed each year, to say nothing of suet, seed cakes, etc. Should we be worried about creating a population of food-dependent wintering birds? Studies suggest that this is not the case. Researchers (this is going to sound cruel) removed feeders from woodlands where Black-capped Chickadees had been fed for the previous 25 years, and compared survival rates with those of chickadees in a nearby woodland where there had been no feeders. They documented that the chickadees familiar with feeders were able to switch back immediately to foraging for natural foods and survived the winter as well as chickadees that lived where no feeders had been placed. Not only did the feeder-fed birds not lose their ability to find food, but research also showed that food from feeders had made up only 21 percent of the birds’ daily energy requirement in the previous two years. This is not to say that there aren’t negative aspects to feeding birds, such as window collisions, disease, house cats, etc., but one thing luring birds to our houses for a closer look doesn’t do is destroy their innate ability to find food. (Photo is of a Red-breasted Nuthatch.)
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