Nature: Snowy owl makes a somewhat rare appearance at Alum Creek

 

A snowy owl looks back at its admirers/Jim McCormac

Nature: Snowy owl makes a somewhat rare appearance at Alum Creek

Columbus Dispatch
December 6, 2020

NATURE
Jim McCormac

Seeing a real live Hedwig – Harry Potter’s mail owl – in the flesh is always a thrill. Potter’s feathered postal carrier was a snowy owl, a magnificent bird that breeds in Arctic regions around the top of the globe.

People have been smitten with these huge white owls long before J.K. Rowling dreamt up Hedwig. Snowy owl cave art estimated to be 30,000 years old has been found in Europe. It’s not surprising that this magnificent bird of prey would draw ancient people’s attention.

Thirty millennia later, nothing has changed regarding human-owl fascination.

On Sunday, November 22, Beth Lenoble and Corrina Honscheid were birding along the dam at Alum Creek Reservoir in Delaware County. Suddenly, a ghost on wings appeared, headed their way. “Snowy owl!” they exclaimed.

Word went out over social media, and before long dozens of New Age cave painters converged on the site. Their owl art was to be done with cameras and pixels.

Should you find yourself in proximity to a snowy owl, please remember: the owl’s welfare always comes first. Excessive harassment can cause them to relocate, increasing the risk to the bird’s welfare. Remaining about a football field away is a good guideline. Because of their massive size, great views can be had with binoculars even from afar. My accompanying photo was made from several hundred feet away.

The big white owl developed a fixation with the rocky toe of the dam’s slope, resting atop boulders. Occasionally, to the delight of the assembled throng, it would take wing and drop into a nearby grassy field for a vole.

I and my camera joined the lineup a few days after the owl turned up. Probably over a hundred people came and went in the three hours I was present, and countless thousands of images were made.

Small wonder, their fixation. A snowy owl is spectacular. Females – which I believe this one was – can be two feet long, weigh five pounds, and have a five foot wingspan.

A massive pair of piercing yellow eyes is set in a flat face, and those golden orbs are the same size and weight as an adult human’s. Owls have a human-like appearance and I think this accounts for a good chunk of the outsized interest that people have with them.

Woe to the small rodent spotted by a snowy owl. Unless it’s fast, the owl will silently fly to it and seize the hapless mammal in gargantuan talons. The rodent will be ripped asunder and the pieces swallowed and digested. Indigestible remnants – fur and bone – will be cast into a hard pellet, which the owl will later regurgitate.

While rodents are staple prey items, the owls can kill much larger fare. Canada geese, great blue herons, and gulls have been observed being captured.

In an interesting bit of anatomy, owls have 14 neck vertebrae, double the number of humans. This allows an owl to rotate its head 270 degrees in either direction. In the accompanying photo, the protagonist of this story is looking 180 degrees backwards. Don’t try it.

Because of past research, we know that at least some snowy owls that visit Ohio originated in the Ungava Peninsula of northern Quebec, some 1,500 miles north of Columbus, Ohio. Virtually all of the owls that reach southerly latitudes such as ours are juveniles. Adults, especially males, typically remain in the Arctic.

About every four or five years, a snowy owl irruption occurs in the Midwest. Dozens or even hundreds of owls might appear in Ohio, and one might turn up anywhere. I recall seeing one some years ago atop a water tower near Sinclair Road and State Route 161.

These booms follow summers of major lemming outbreaks. The burly rodents are the owls’ major food source on the breeding grounds. Large numbers of owlets are successfully fledged, and many of them venture far south the following winter.

This is not an irruption winter, and few snowy owls have been noted in Ohio. That made the Alum Creek owl even more of a celebrity.

Probably, by the time this column appears, the owl will have moved on. But during its stay it awed thousands of people from far and wide.

Naturalist Jim McCormac writes a column for The Dispatch on the first, third and fifth Sundays of the month. He also writes about nature at www.jimmccormac.blogspot.com.

Evening Grosbeak irruption

 

An elegant pair of Evening Grosbeaks (male, top) perch in the top of an Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) in Ashland County, Ohio. I made this image last Saturday, and there were about 50 others in the area. Bonuses included a pair of Common Redpolls, and two flyovers of small groups of White-winged Crossbills.

In regards to winter finches, the big news this winter is the Evening Grosbeak. These robust, vociferous birds of the north woods used to stage regular southward irruptions into Ohio and points south, but these incursions have become nearly non-existent in recent decades in much of the east and Midwest. Thus, a newer crop of birders is reveling in easy opportunities to cast eyes on these extraordinary birds. Evening Grosbeaks quickly recognize feeders, and are about as likely to turn up in someone's yard as anywhere. If a ravenous flock does materialize, prepare to budget more for sunflower seeds. Flocks foraging in the wild are often smitten with Box-elder (Acer negundo) seeds. This maple holds its fruit well into winter, and is common throughout Ohio.

Map courtesy of Birds of the World online/Cornell Lab of Ornithology. If you want a superb source of avian information, this comprehensive compendium of bird monographs is a must. GO HERE for subscription information.

The Evening Grosbeak's stronghold is in western Canada and western U.S. mountains. About a century ago, this species began moving eastward, eventually colonizing boreal forest regions all the way to the east coast. The expansion is sometimes tied to an increase in use of Box-elder as a planted ornamental tree. I have my doubts - not that these grosbeaks like Box-elder fruit, but that a sudden proliferation of plantings caused the species to stage a large-scale eastward expansion.

Box-elder is very much of a successional species, flourishing in cut-over and disturbed habitats, in addition to its typical floodplain habitat. The grosbeak's expansion correlates with the widespread logging of the early 20th century. The great swaths of cut-over landscapes would have probably made for great opportunities for Box-elder, in many areas. As reforestation and maturation of eastern forests has increased markedly since, habitat changes probably have made this food-rich tree far less frequent than during the grosbeaks' expansion. Widespread deforestation may have stimulated temporary production of other fruit-bearing woody plants favored by grosbeaks, too, such as hawthorns and plums.

The grosbeak's eastern expansion may be a case of boom and bust. Declines in eastern populations over the last few decades are clear, and may be tied to large-scale shifts in habitat, especially forest composition and age. But the reasons for ebbing grosbeak populations are imperfectly understood.

This map is courtesy of Ethan Kistler, who has been tracking the extent of Evening Grosbeaks in Ohio this fall and winter. Such maps are a great way to share current information, which Ethan has been doing, and stimulate reports in unmapped counties.

As of now, grosbeaks have been reported in 59 of Ohio's 88 counties. Let me know in a comment if you have a record for one of the unmapped (white) counties. I'd bet a peck of finches that Evening Grosbeaks have been in every county thus far. Birds at feeders can't be missed, but wild-foraging birds certainly can, especially if one is not familiar with their calls.

GO HERE to listen to Evening Grosbeak calls. It's a pretty easy one to learn, and knowing the vocalizations will up your odds of finding this species. Pay special attention to the "calls" as you're unlikely to hear the "songs" down here in winter.

If you haven't already, I hope that you get the opportunity to see Evening Grosbeaks this winter. It might be many winters to come before we get another invasion.

Nature: Black-chinned hummingbird seen for first time in Ohio

 

A black-chinned hummingbird that made an appearance earlier this month, is a first for Ohio/Jim McCormac

Nature: Black-chinned hummingbird seen for first time in Ohio

Columbus Dispatch
November 29, 2020

NATURE
Jim McCormac

It isn’t every day that one finds a bird new to Ohio. I’m sure that was the last thing on Dr. Cheryl Bater’s mind when she glanced at her hummingbird feeder at 7:27 Saturday morning on Nov. 14.

The veterinarian, who has a practice in Dublin, is by her own admission a casual birder. But she knew a hummingbird in mid-November was highly unusual.

This hummingbird was a young male or female, confounding an easy identification. Though adult male hummingbirds are distinctive, females and immatures can be far trickier to name.

The only hummingbird species that occurs regularly in Ohio is the ruby-throated hummingbird. But ruby-throateds should be long gone by this time, and the odds were greater that Bater’s bird was something else.

Bater posted photos on the Facebook Ohio Wildlife and Nature group, which quickly drew Jen Allen’s attention. Allen, an avid birder and photographer, made a visit, and sent photos to hummingbird expert and licensed bander Allen Chartier.

Chartier, of Inkster, Michigan, near Detroit, had a good idea of the bird’s identity, and the following Monday he made the 3½-hour drive down to try to capture the bird.

Catching a hummingbird can be easy if you know what you’re doing. Chartier places a cage around the feeder, with a remotely tripped door. Once the bird enters the cage to get to the sugar water, Chartier drops the door.

With the bird in hand, Chartier quickly determined its identity: a hatch-year male black-chinned hummingbird. Young black-chinneds greatly resemble young/female ruby-throateds, differing in subtleties of bill and primary flight feathers. The sprite weighed a smidge under 4 grams — about the same as a nickel.

Black-chinned hummingbirds breed across much of western North America, from southern British Columbia to northern Mexico. Most of them winter in Mexico, but small numbers regularly wander far to the east, usually turning up in Gulf Coast states.

Midwestern U.S. records are nearly unknown, and everyone involved knew that this “mega” would spur considerable interest in the birding community.

Bater opened the floodgates shortly after Chartier banded the bird. By the time of my visit on Wednesday, dozens of birders from all over the state had visited.

Rare birds draw the big guns. I saw Dr. Bernie Master of Worthington, and Cleveland birders Rob and Sandy Harlan. This hummingbird was number 386 for all of their Ohio lists — a phenomenal total and about 90% of all species ever seen in Ohio.

The black-chinned hummingbird is the seventh hummingbird species recorded in Ohio. Other than the common breeding ruby-throated hummingbird, all but one are western North American species. The other is the Mexican violetear of Mexico and Central America, which appeared in 2005 in Holmes County.

Why do these birds wander east? No one knows for sure, but the proliferation of hummingbird feeders is surely a factor. As is long-blooming, nectar-producing ornamental flowers that persist into early winter. Hummingbirds are powerful flyers and quick to capitalize on new resources.

Bird distributions do not remain static. Many species seem to have “scouts” hardwired into the population. These “vagrants” as they are often called, might be thought of as casing out potential new turf. Over the long haul, this is one way in which species can expand into newly favorable territory.

Lest you worry about the black-chinned hummingbird’s welfare as the weather gets cold, fear not. These are hardy birds — as long as they can get adequate food, they can endure surprisingly cold temperatures. It will leave when the time is right, although where it ends up will be a mystery.

Thanks to Bater for hosting legions of birders. Such an unexpected invasion requires big adjustments in one’s schedule, and occasionally can test one’s tolerance.

Naturalist Jim McCormac writes a column for The Dispatch on the first, third and fifth Sundays of the month. He also writes about nature at www.jimmccormac.blogspot.com.

American Crows are full of smarts

An American Crow strikes a pose in my Worthington, Ohio, backyard. This is probably the smartest species - including humans and raccoons - that enters my property. Today, I had a surreal experience with two of them. I peeked through the kitchen window to see one drinking from my bird bath, its back to me. About 20 feet further out was another crow, prominently perched and perhaps acting as a scout.

The scout instantly saw me through the window, even though it was dim inside the home - no lights on and a dark rainy day. The lookout made some soft sound - no raucous CAWS or anything overt. The bird on the bath immediately swiveled its head over its shoulder to look right at me. And both flew off into some nearby spruce trees. It was as if the scout whispered "Psst! Hey Frank! Over your shoulder!" It would be fascinating to better understand how these corvids communicate, and communicate they surely do, probably in far more complex ways than we can imagine.

 

Frugivores, plying their trade

A male American Robin deftly flips a berry into its gaping maw. This bird and many of his comrades were devouring a thicketful of Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) fruit. I made this shot last Friday morning at Glacier Ridge Metro Park in Union County, Ohio.

The likely evolution of brightly colored berries is to serve as bird attractants. Enticing strong fliers to eat and thus disperse one's fruit is an effective colonization strategy. The migratory and localized nomadic tendencies of robins makes them ideally suited to the task.

Unfortunately, robins don't discriminate between native berry crops and introduced ones, such as this honeysuckle. There are three species of Eurasian bush honeysuckles that have become well established and highly invasive in Ohio and elsewhere in the Midwest, and the shrubs have taken over with great rapidity.

Birds are the reason. Along with Cedar Waxwings and European Starlings (an invasive bird), American Robins are doing much of the heavy lifting in regards to honeysuckle dispersal. All three are highly frugivorous (fruit-eating), at least seasonally. It's very common to see mobs of these species stripping honeysuckles of their fruit, and they will expel the seed-rich fruit far from where they ate it, most likely. One could not design a better plan for a botanical takeover.

Other species of birds eat honeysuckle fruit, but I single the trio above out due to the sheer force of their numbers and strong tendency to harvest fruit crops. Collectively, those three species comprise about 9.5 million individuals in Ohio alone and that's a lot of honeysuckle harvesting power.

We can't blame the birds for this invasive scourge - well, maybe the starlings - but hopefully we can learn from our mistakes. The landscape industry and fish and wildlife agencies pushed these honeysuckles for a long time, touting their "wildlife" values and aesthetic properties (I would agree with the latter - they are quite showy). It should be very apparent by now that woody plants, especially shrubs, that develop colorful bird-dispersed fruits have a great chance of vaulting the garden fence and going rogue. Perhaps the nurseries could become more visionary and avoid selling these plants BEFORE they become problems. 

 A stone's throw from the fruit-plundering robins was this Eastern Phoebe. A tough flycatcher, phoebes will try to ride out the winter if conditions give them half a chance. This one was staying near a small stream on this chilly morning. Their odds of finding insects are higher around water. But on a few occasions I watched the phoebe duck into a patch of Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora) and scarf down a few berries. When push comes to shove, and food is of the essence, phoebes will turn to fruit. But because of their low numbers and ephemeral frugivory, they probably play a very minor role in invasive plant seed dispersal - certainly nothing even remotely approaching the gangs of robins, starlings, and waxwings.

HERE'S A POST from 2014 from a site where I caught a number of species in the act of honeysuckle plundering, and talk a bit about why honeysuckle is bad for birds and ecology. Here's ANOTHER POST about robins and global warming that you might find of interest.

A buck, in prairie grasses

 

A young buck White-tailed Deer observes the photographer from across a restored prairie meadow. His pelage beautifully matches the autumnal coloration of the Indian Grass. I shot him (with pixels) yesterday morning at Glacier Ridge Metro Park in Union County, Ohio. To temporarily get his undivided attention, I snort-huffed like another buck. Not only did that make him look my way, it also drew him about 50 feet closer. But he quickly forgot about me, and continued his meanders through the prairie, perhaps following the scent cues of a doe.

Nature: Red-breasted nuthatches are a tough and energetic species

 

Lured by seeds, a red-breasted nuthatch perches on the lens of Jim McCormac's camera

Nature: Red-breasted nuthatches are a tough and energetic species

Columbus Dispatch

November 15, 2020

Nature

Jim McCormac

The white-breasted nuthatch is a familiar bird to many feeders of birds in our region. This small songbird is snowy white below and wears a coat of slate-blue above. A bold black stripe caps its head and neck. Most notable, perhaps, is its foraging tactics. Nuthatches creep along tree bark in the manner of woodpeckers. But they invariably head down trunks and limbs. Woodpeckers almost always head up the trunks.

Nuthatches visit feeders, and for most of the year – and some years, ALL year – we must make due with only white-breasted nuthatches. It is the only one of North America’s four nuthatches that is resident in Central Ohio.

But another nuthatch does occur in Ohio, the tiny red-breasted nuthatch. This northerner is a rare localized nester in the Hocking Hills, Mohican State Forest and scattered areas in extreme northeast Ohio. But most breed in the vast boreal forest that blankets the northernmost U.S. and much of Canada.

However, these tough little birds do pay us wintertime visits, at least some years. Red-breasted nuthatches are intimately associated with the coniferous trees that make up much of the boreal forest. In warm seasons, they glean plenty of insects, especially beetles, caterpillars, and spiders.

Come the long, cold northern winter, easily obtained insect bounty largely vanishes. Then, the nuthatches switch to a diet heavy in conifer seeds, particularly those of fir and spruce.

Roughly every other winter, the nuthatches stage major southward incursions, with some birds even reaching the Gulf Coast and Mexico. Snowbirds seeking a Floridian vacation? Not hardly. Elfin 10 gram red-breasted nuthatches are tough as nails.

In the accompanying photo, a red-breasted nuthatch perches on the end of my camera lens. They are not shrinking violets, although the seed I put atop the lens helped draw them in. I was standing in a forest in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada, and the temperature was about 5 below zero F.

It isn’t cold that drives the nuthatches south, it’s the lack of food. The conifer seeds that are their wintertime staple are cyclical, with big crops every two-three years. Alternate years are relative busts with few seeds produced.

As long as food is plentiful, red-breasted nuthatches ride out winter in the north woods. One or two evenings during my January 2018 Algonquin foray, it dipped to 20 below zero. The nuthatches were unfazed.

Southward incursions of boreal birds are known as irruptions, and birders down this way eagerly anticipate them. I began to hear occasional red-breasted nuthatches in August. By October’s end they were everywhere, statewide and far beyond, and were visiting my feeders along with the local white-breasted nuthatches.

If the pattern holds, it might be winter 2022-23 or 2023-24 before we again see many red-breasted nuthatches.

This isn’t the only boreal irruptive species. Pine siskin – a close relative of the American goldfinch – is another. Siskins are also appearing in large numbers. Watch for small brownish heavily streaked birds with a yellowish wash in the wings and tail. Siskins often travel in flocks, sometimes sizeable. Groups up to 200 have been recorded in year’s past. Anyone entertaining such numbers had better increase their thistle seed budget.

Far rarer irruptives include common redpoll, evening grosbeak, red crossbill, and white-winged crossbill. If any of these appear at your place, give me a shout, please.

Naturalist Jim McCormac writes a column for The Dispatch on the first, third and fifth Sundays of the month. He also writes about nature at www.jimmccormac.blogspot.com.