Dove Strike S***!

Since the snowstorm the activity at our feeders has increased, and we suddenly have bird strikes.

We had a few when we first got here. So, I put up our lone remaining uv sticker in the middle of the window, which worked… I think because the window was open most of the time so the expanse was opened up.

The day after the snowstorm I noticed some gray feathers and thought shoot!

Window Strike!

Yesterday, I was napping with the cats (It’s been that kind of week) and heard two thunks… I struggled to untangle myself from the Soph and blanket, found my glasses and… Shit!

Two new window strikes! The white winged doves! The ghostly remnants of their impact on the window. Damn!

 

Looked for downed birds…

Major Bird Threats – Cats & Windows

Window Strikes and Cat predation are major threats to birds, and two of the few things I have control over – at least in my own home. I feel strongly that if you feed them, you need to protect them. Our Soph and Sass are both indoor cats and I chase off the gray cat (Big-Ears) and the black cats (the Twins) that try to hunt in our yards. I even threw rocks at Big-Ears when he was in one of the trees, although I didn’t come anywhere near him, I did startle him and he hasn’t been up since.

The white winged doves like the side yard, which is only about 8 ft wide. Their numbers have increased sine the snowstorm. Yesterday something startled them and in the mass panic two hit the window.

I know my single uv sticker was like trying to use a finger to fix the dyke, but I was hopeful.

The Challenges of living in Magdalena, NM

It isn’t always easy to find things in Magdalena/Socorro. The bookstore at the Bosque del Apache had supplies but this is Festival of the Cranes week and I just couldn’t stomach fighting the traffic (I had the car) and trying to get in and out and meet up with R in time for us to have dinner and shlep out with the Star Party.

Oh, and Amazon two-day shipping doesn’t exist here. It was an interesting exercise to change my location – not only lost 2-day shipping but also lost the ability to even order some things. Now I knew I was no longer in Portland.

My quick and dirty solution wasn’t elegant. I took the paper the uv stickers were attached to and started cutting up the remaining area. Not pretty – but my hope is it will buy me a week or so while I track down the best option.

Preventing Window Strikes

A little research shows that there can not be more than 2-3″ between stickers – and etched glass, one way glass (that isn’t mirrored) or refitting the windows to look slightly down – show they show ground not sky – are probably the best. Audubon has an exhaustive list of things you can try, and CollideEscape has an amazing array of options to alter you windows.

Altering the windows permanently isn’t possible since we are renting, so I went for what I had on hand.

DIY Window Strike Prevention

I took the remnants of the uv stickers that I saved (I’m learning not to throw things out, please don’t let me become a hoarder) cut them up and we’ll see. You can just see the UV scraps and stripes.

Not the most elegant solution, but hoping it is enough to keep the strikes down until I can get supplies and do something better.

If anyone has used any products they love, esp. of they are temporary, please let me know.

~ Tess

Note: I started this post last week – fiddled with the stickers for a few days and have had 2 strike free days! 

Project FeederWatch!

It is that time again, and for the first time I get to make Project FeederWatch a priority rather than an afterthought.

Project FeederWatch is a Citizen Science project that helps scientists track long term trends in bird populations. From Nov. 9th – April 3rd, you chose two consecutive days each week and count the number of birds at your feeders, bird baths and ornamental trees/shrubs. Then submit your findings.

My aim is for a count every week.

For the count you are looking for the max number of any species seen at one time – i.e. a flock of 19 White Winged Doves, 5 Pine Siskin, 1 Curved Billed Thrasher.

I keep a paper running total…

They also track behavior interactions like dominance and predation. I’m not quite ready for that, learning how to count my flocks is challenge enough for now. But we will see how things progress.

First Count Days!

My first double-day of counting is almost over with a current count of 19 different species/subspecies. My counts didn’t reflect the insanity of the flocks outside my windows – but I’ll keep working on my counting skills.

And! I finally got around to taking pictures. I was all settled in my “blind” when I realized there were plants in the way… I’ll prune a few things back before my next picture taking session. I know almost nothing about photography, but I’m working on it. I’ve always been a bit of a hands-on learner and I want to document the birds that I see, so here we go.

See deep end…. Jump In!

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Eurasian Collard Dove – Oregon Junco – White Crowned Sparrow – Curve Billed Thrasher

Off to count more birds!

~ Tess

Final FeederWatch Tally – 11/12 & 11/13/2019 

• Oregon Junco – 5
• Pink Sided Junco – 6
• Red Backed Junco – 1
• White Crowned Sparrow – 3
• White Throated Sparrow – 1
• House Finch – 1
• Cassin’s Finch – 4
• Blacked Back Lesser Goldfinch – 1
• American Goldfinch – 3
• Spotted Towhee – 1
• Canyon Towhee – 3
• Curved Billed Thrasher – 1
• Red Winged Blackbird – 1
• White Winged Dove – 20
• Eurasian Collared Dove – 5
• Pine Siskins – 5
• Gambol’s Quail – 5
• Rock Dove – 1
• Bushtits – 2

 

Visitors from Home!

At first I was miffed… I mean, I’d been struggling to get birds to my feeders for weeks and the only ones that show up were Oregon Juncos?

Oregon Dark-Eyed Junco by VJ Anderson / CC BY SA 4.0

Granted, seeing their dark heads and the flash of white on their tails, was a taste of home, but one of reasons we came to this part of New Mexico was because of the flyway that tracks the Rio Grande to the Gulf of Mexico and all the exotic birds I would get to see.

Juncos? Really? That’s it?

Humbled!

Complaining about the lack of diversity at my feeder, I got taken to task.

DJ: Didn’t you read the news? Junco’s are in major decline!

T: Juncos? Really? I thought they were still listed as of “Least Concern”?

DJ: We’ve lost millions of them.

Millions?

I had seen the headlines and knew about the recent study on the decrease in the bird population, but due to the move I had put off reading it for later. It never occurred to me that something as ubiquitous as our little snow birds were showing a measurable decline.

The study’s model estimates that feeder birds like the Dark-eyed Junco declined by nearly 170 million individuals since 1970. ~ Science – Decline of the North American avifauna

I needed to pay more attention and not moan about my visitors from home. So I put out more bird seed and went looking for new places to bird.

Juncos were apparently in the air.

Researching local birding hotspots on eBird  I came across a recent sighting list from Water Canyon, just a few miles east of Magdalena. These birders had seen flocks of Juncos but had also identified 4 sub species. Oregon, Pink-Sided, Slate Colored, and White Winged.

Dark-Eyed-Junco have Subspecies? I had no idea. So, I did a little research…

There are apparently 15 Subspecies of Dark-Eyed-Juncos in North America…. 15!

Is there a word for more-than-humbled?

A new article in Audubon (March 2019), discusses the history of Dark-Eyed-Junco taxonomy. In the 70’s they were considered separate species. I dug around and found my old Peterson’s Guide my Dad gave me when I first became bird-obsessed in 3rd grade.

My c.1977 Peterson’s Guide – the Junco page

Later research showed that they were the same species so they were lumped together and broken into subspecies in following editions.

New research shows that we are seeing something more than subspecies. Junco show speciation!

Evolution in action… Juncos!?! How cool.

The silly little birds, that were some of the first I identified when I was kid in the 70’s and then just shrugged “oh, it’s just a Junco” since, are an eduction in evolution right on my door step. I’ll probably never see Darwin’s finches – but I can look out my window and see Juncos!

According to the article in Audubon, this is some of the fastest speciation seen/recored in vertebrates. It began with the retreat of the North American ice sheet over 10,000 years ago and is continuing today.

So I’ve started the harder-than-expected work learning to identify the different flavors of Juncos.

The 15 subspecies are divided into 6 groups – Slate Colored, Oregon, Pink-Sided, Gray-Headed,  White-Winged and Red-Backed. And surprise surprise, a lot of them show up here. So far I’ve seen Oregon and Pink-Sided and I’m pretty sure there are Slate Colored and I’m right on the edge of the range for Red-Backed.

It was amazingly hard fighting the bias in my head. For the first several days I could only see Juncos. I had both my new Peterson’s (1990) and even newer National Geographic (2008) books out. I kept referencing them and Cornell’s website. It took me days to make progress. It reminded me of the first time I saw the Andromeda Galaxy with my naked eye. It took me most of a week at a Star Party before my brain and eye could make the connection and I could “see”.

Pink-Sided by Junco Bettina Arrigoni / CC BY 2.0

Finally I could identify the Pink-Sided subspecies by the dark smug around the eye.

Looking for just the pink sides was unreliable since the Oregon form has the same coloration on its flanks and arguing with myself about wether there was enough for it to be Pink-Sided or not became a fruitless endeavor.

Gradually the Juncos became more like individuals and less like the stereotype that existed in my mind. Progress was being made! In addition to being humbled and ashamed at my prejudices – my visitors from Oregon made me feel guilty.

They brought me a gift…. their friends.

The Juncos at my feeding stations attracted white-crowned sparrows, Canyon Towhees, Curved Billed Thrashers, Cassin’s Finches, and American Goldfinches. The back and front yards have become “safe” spaces and Ruby-Crowned Kinglets and Williamson Sapsuckers now hunt in the trees surrounding the feeders.

Red-Backed Junco by Caleb Putnam CC BY 2.0

I’ll keep my eye out for more Junco subspecies and the friends they bring with them.

Fingers crossed I’ll see this one ⇒

~ Tess

Updated 2019-11-07 Never guess who showed up today? Yep, our first Red-Backed Junco. Check out our Corvidae House list to see if she sticks around 🙂