My feeder has a new pair of tufted Titmice, small birds like chickadees with a crown of light gray feathers on their heads. Yesterday evening I heard a killdeer calling on my Merlin bird identifier. It has started calling in the early evening. These two birds will probably be part of my bird count this weekend when I join the Great Backyard Bird Count.
Do you know about the Merlin identifier for your phone? It is a free app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. I can seldom identify bird calls. The Merlin identifier is like the flower identifiers that tell you what the flower is that you photographed on your phone. The Merlin identifier also lives on your phone. You turn it on when you hear a bird calling nearby. It records the bird song and it pops up with the name of the bird right on your phone. It’s like magic, and is very helpful.
The Great Backyard Bird Count is about to happen again this year around the world. It is scheduled for February 16-19, 2024. Everyone is encouraged to join by counting the birds they see and hear in their yard or a neighborhood park. Just go online to learn more at https://Cornelllabofornithology.org. At the top of the front page you will see a banner about the annual bird count. Click on the banner. Right away you can see that India has a very active group of bird enthusiasts. The bird count is worldwide and includes all countries in the world. This is a great activity to do with children.
Killdeer are actually shorebirds that often nest quite far from the water. They nest on the ground in a flat place with less than 1 inch of turf. You can identify them by their double band of black neck rings. They eat earthworms, insects and little frogs. A few years ago I saw one try to distract me from its nest with a “broken wing” display. They know that if I am a predator, a bird with a broken wing is an easy meal. So it tried to lure me away from its nest by hobbling around as if it were injured. When a predator tries to grab the bird for dinner, it will suddenly fly away to safety. Because these birds often nest near people, their predators are often cats, automobiles and pesticides.
I also have a titmouse at my feeder. It is tiny like the chickadees. It’s mostly light gray with a little crown. An aggressive little bird, it tries to frighten other birds away. Like the chickadees it carries seeds to a nearby pine tree to crack the shell. Some of the little birds don’t have strong enough beaks to crack shells while they perch at the feeder. Whoever named this spunky little bird a mouse?
I’m looking forward to the bird count. This will be the first year I have ever joined. It will be fun to see which birds arrive when I go walking this weekend.
