Irruptive Species

Snowy Owl taken at Little Talbot State Park, Florida

I apologize for sending my e-newsletter late. It has been COOOOOOLD! Have you ever remembered a winter being this cold? It seems to chill you right to your bones. My bones are hollow and that leaves me very cold, too. Thank goodness for my feathers to keep me warm. I just fluff them and have a natural down jacket!
This winter is also unusual because we have had unusual visitors. Some bird species have irruptive (ĭ-rŭp′tĭv) years. This means during the winter these birds migrate to different locations. It could be further south, east or west. Although this unusual movement seems out of place, this irruption happen in cycles. Scientists are not sure why different birds have irruptive years. Some believe the birds are looking for food, while others believe breeding season had a high success rate.
This year one of the most exciting irruptive species is the Snowy Owl. One has been on the Atlantic Coast at Little Talbot Island, east of Jacksonville, Florida since the beginning of December. Snowy Owls are also in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and all along the eastern coast. Although this owl has not been seen in Alabama yet, you never know when one might show up. Snowy Owls have visited Alabama twice in the past. The first visit was March 17, 1964. This owl was perched on a rowboat at Dauphin Island. The other sighting was in Opelika. This Snowy Owl was hanging out on the roofs of downtown buildings from December 24, 1974 through January 19, 1975.
Other bird species that have irruptive years are Red-breasted Nuthatches, Pine Grosbeak, Red Crossbill, White-winged Crossbill, Purple Finch, Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll, and Evening Grosbeak. Usually, during the winter, Purple Finches and Pine Siskins are scattered throughout Alabama. This year these birds are in scarce numbers throughout the state. However, it is not an irruptive year for them.
What irruptive species have you seen?

Harlequin Duck taken at Fort Clinch State Park, Florida

For Budding Ornithologists: 

If you do not have a bird field guide, you can access online guides for free at the following web sites.  Get your parents permission before going online.

·      eNature bird Field Guide

http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/intermediate.asp?curGroupID=1

·      Cornell Lab of Ornithology

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search

Scissor-tailed Flycatchers

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher,

Photo by Andrew Haffendon

 

This fall has been very interesting.  After most of my friends have flown across the Gulf of Mexico, a different bird started showing up along the coast. This bird has been seen in Alabama and is the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.

Sitting on an electric line, you might think this is me, a Northern Mockingbird. However, your attention would be drawn to the long, double tail, lighter colored head and chest, and the orange-salmon colored bottom.

This bird belongs n the bird group, of flycatcher. He will sit out in the open on a branch, fence, or wire.  When he sees an insect, he flies out, to catch it in mid-air. This is called “hawking” insects. Funny name since most large hawks would not waste their time catching insects, which wouldn’t even be a good appetizer for hawks. Small insects he will swallow whole as he flies. Large insects he takes back to beat it against his perch to before eating it. When insects cannot be found, he will eat berries.

These birds are very territorial. They do not like other birds in their area.  They will not only chase other Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, but also Red-tailed Hawks, American Crows, Blue Jays, and Sparrows. These birds are excellent flyers. They will spread their tails when they fly and can make fast turns and stop quickly to hover over an area, like a helicopter.

These birds have been breeding in Hale, Sumter, and Greene, Counties in Alabama. Keep your eyes open. You may see these birds moving into your neighborhood.

Aerial Acrobats

Mike and I have empty nest syndrome now. All of our babies have fledged (moved out) and are living on their own. We have been visiting our neighbors and have noticed the aerial acrobats performed by small dark birds. Have you seen them?

They are usually flying around lakes, ponds, open fields, bridges, and highways. This species will fly quickly up, down, around, and change directions so fast, you lose track of them.  Do you know why they fly so frantically (crazily)? They are chasing insects. These swallows catch and swallow the insects as they fly. Swallows catch and eat, beetles, dragonflies, grasshoppers, moths, butterflies, bees, wasps, and flies. These birds will also drink water while they fly! They will fly over lakes, ponds, or rivers, and will scoop water with their beak. 

The largest swallow, and maybe the most well known, is the Purple Martin (Progne subis). This bird is larger than the American Robin. These beautiful dark birds will nest in birdhouses that look like apartment buildings. They like to be with friends and family! This is called colonial nesting, which means they nest in groups and not by themselves.

They have short, forked tails, long, pointed wings, and are an iridescent purple-blue color. Females are a dusty gray-brown color with some glossy purple-blue on their crown (head) and back. They feed higher in the sky than other swallows and, of course, eat the larger insects: dragonflies, grasshoppers, etc. When it is time to migrate south to South America, these birds gather in large groups and migrate together in HUGE flocks.

The next most commonly known swallow is the Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica).  These birds have deeply forked tails with shiny blue backs and orange to peach colored chests, rusty foreheads and white bellies. Barn Swallows are larger than sparrows. These birds build mud nests in barns, garages, carports, bridges, and any other area that provides a protected ledge to hold a nest. They migrate to Central and South America for the winter.

Rough-winged Swallows, (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) are dusty gray-brown with light brown chests and dull white chests and bellies. They have short square-shaped tails. Their genus name “Stelgidopteryx” means scraper wing and their specific epithet “serripennis” means saw feather. Their name describes the small hooks along the edges of their wing feathers. If you rubbed your finger along the feathers, it would feel like you are rubbing on a fingernail file.

These birds balance the insect populations in our habitats.  I am just glad they do not compete with me for insects. I, like all mockingbirds, do not catch and eat insects as we fly. We like to eat insects as we perch or stand on the ground. However, like all birds, we do not have teeth to grind our food or to break the exoskeletons of insects into small pieces. We must eat grit and small bits of gravel to do the grinding for us. Next newsletter, I will explain more about our digestive system.