Indigo Bunting

All puffed up and of no mind to endure trespassers, this Indigo Bunting stood his ground along the Ozaukee Interurban Trail in Mequon. It was an hour after sunrise on the 4th of July and he was guarding his small patch of woody, swampy land called home.

The peace and pace of the early morning was about to change though. I doubt he understood how or when.

Fireworks were in his future.

Try to imagine the stresses a bird feels shortly after retiring for the night when fireworks start exploding.

The sun goes down... fireworks go up?

The fireworks came later.

For now, he faces a more immediate challenge. Looking southward down the bike trail he sees bicycles heading his way.

The holiday brings bike traffic ten times its normal rate passing through his home territory.

His stress level is rising.

To my knowledge an Indigo Bunting has been at this corner of the bike trail since at least 2012. I can't say this beautiful bunting is that same bird, but it could be. The oldest recorded Indigo Bunting was 13 years and 3 months old when banded and recaptured in Ohio.

The Fourth of July is a stressful time for many animals. Many household pets try to hide from fireworks noise.

But where does a bird go to get away?

He can turn his indigo back to the problem, maybe, but that is about all he can do.

Allan

Credits: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds

Spring Migration 2016

A rainbow of colorful birds is filling our skies again this spring.

The annual migration of birds traveling through Wisconsin is underway.

A female Baltimore Oriole struggles to untangle a luckless fisherman's line.

Doggedly determined she twists and tugs at the unyielding strand for nesting material.

Countless colorful birds are arriving daily feasting on buds, blossoms and insects.

The Yellow-rumped Warbler is a common and colorful candidate for your first woodland outing.

Approachable within reason, binoculars provide a tool for close-up views of this distinctive summer visitor.

The Eastern Bluebirds are back. Granted, never really far from Wisconsin to begin with, still the returning bluebirds are a welcoming signal of a pending summer. Nest boxes, either homemade or purchased, are a good way of attracting bluebirds into view at your window.

Our female Baltimore Oriole seems to be tangled up in her work. Inorganic material like monofilament fishing line is an attractive building material for nesting birds, although it presents dangers not found in organics. She seemed quite resolved to secure this prized tidbit and works to near exhaustion freeing it from a tangle of branches.

Colorless in the customary sense, the
Black-and-White Warbler
is impressive nonetheless.

Distinctively fashioned to blend into the darker recesses of an old growth forest, the Black-and-White Warbler is normally found at eye level or below.

His tree trunk travels are perpetual searches for ants, spiders, wood-borers and insect larvae .

Another bird of note is the House Wren.

Fairly muted in color to be sure, you may hear this melodic, but scolding wren prompting you to keep moving through his territory.

You may find yourself staring eye-to-eye if you get too close to the House Wren.

He's unlikely to back down on his claim and may insist you leave first.

If asked, it is preferable you move back a few steps and watch him with binoculars.

The Indigo Bunting is another welcome sight in the woods. Look for him searching for food on the field/forest edge. At this time of the year they dine on newly emerging buds...in summer it's insects.

A year round Wisconsin resident the male American Goldfinch is a stand-out...ready for the spring mating season. If you feed the birds in winter you've noticed this bird's colorful transition.

But don't expect baby American Goldfinches any time soon. American Goldfinches time their breeding to coincide with milkweed and thistle seeds maturing. Seeds sustain this truly vegetarian bird.

Even though the American Goldfinch falls victim to the parasitic habits of the
Brown-headed Cowbird (cowbirds lay an egg in other bird's nests for the host bird to feed) the cowbird chicks cannot survive on an
all-seed diet.  

You may also find a Chestnut-sided Warbler searching the underside of leaves for insects.

At last our female Baltimore Oriole seem to be winning her battle with the fishing line. Somehow she has cut the line into manageable lengths and is using it to build her highly recognizable pouch-shaped nest.

She has chosen an outer branch high over the Milwaukee River for the privacy a
leafed-out tree will afford.

She feels confident enough already to dive into this flimsy pouch for more weaving and shaping to her precise body measurements...the beginnings of a new home for her 2016 brood.
Allan
Credits: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds, 
The Sibley Guide to Birds, second edition

Migration Molt

The birds have been lying low lately…hiding out.

There are dramatic changes occurring in the woods right now and we're not invited to watch.  Down low in the understory, the birds are transforming into a less colorful presentation of themselves. 

It happens every year, shortly after the young have fledged.  Birds start to replace their bright breeding color feathers with fresh new ones, only now in more subdued shades.  Starting in late July and continuing into the fall migration, birds retreat to the thickets to make their migration transformations in private. 

When they come out there is a noticeable difference. These American Goldfinch are making the change now.

The Hermit Thrush normally has a  tail a third the length of his body.  Losing his tail in a molt would make him look more like this juvenile.  He could be at a disadvantage then, if he had to escape a raptor...I'm sure he senses that, too.   Catching his food  has to be more difficult with his limited flying prowess also, so lying low is his strategy. 

Hermit Thrush, May 2013

Feeling vulnerable while short-on- feathers, birds in general choose to remain hidden in late summer.  Being inconspicuous helps them survive this necessary transition. 

Cautious and careful, this Hermit Thrush flew away as soon as he saw me.

Birds don’t lose all their feathers at once; it’s a gradual process.  Feathers get worn, torn, lost and sun bleached. Summer and winter replacement cycles are necessary and predictable. 

Being largely uninvited to view the adults in transition, the young, on the other hand, have something to show off...their new colors. 

This 1^st year Northern Cardinal was changing from a multi-colored fledging into a bright red adult and seemed proud to show it off.   The Northern Cardinal is a year-round resident in Wisconsin and a welcome sight when everything else here is black and white.  

REMINDER: Click any picture to enlarge.

The male Indigo Buntings will lose a bit of luster soon, also.  This one is still quite blue, but he will become blotchy blue-brown as the season progresses…he’ll be in Central America by then. 

One bird that doesn’t change much from season to season is the Black-and-white Warbler.  Its black and white stripes are replaced with black and white stripes, so the transition is hardly noticeable.  For a bird whose nature is to forage up and down tree trunks of a similar stripe, he possesses the perfect camouflage.  

Finally, for a bird with common in his name, the Common Yellowthroat doesn’t deserve such disrespect. This one is a 1^st year juvenile just now developing the black mask he will wear throughout his life. It's true, he is common in one sense...he's widespread over North America.  He's not often spotted in the wild, though.  In that way he is similar to a bird in molt...secretive all the time. 

Allan 

Credit: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds

Credit: Sibley Guide to Birds

Indigo Bunting

The male Indigo Buntings are putting on a show for you right now…don’t miss it! 

‘Blue’ doesn’t get any bluer than this. He’s singing his heart out for you and the show is free.

It’s hard to tell when a male Indigo Bunting is singing to impress a female or demanding you get out of his territory. 

While passing through, he came out of the bush to check me out.  His message isn’t always clear though. By singing a pretty song is he welcoming me or not…no, I think not.  

His song entertains, but he’s more likely screaming at me...‘Go away, get out of here, scram.'  It's a mixed message.

Migrating at night with the stars for guidance, they arrived in Wisconsin a few weeks ago.  They won’t travel much further north of here either.  After wintering in Central America they spread out over most of the US with the exception of the Northwest quarter.  They even make a home in arid Arizona. 

Indigo Buntings need brushy, weedy habitats to find the insects they prefer. Seeds, berries and grains also satisfy them…they’re not picky eaters.  Look for them along fencerows, railroad tracks, streams and power line cuts.

Pause briefly to enjoy him. Don’t make him scream at you for long though.  You could be taking him away from nest protection duty or food gathering.  Indigo Buntings are not endangered, rather common and widespread, but let’s keep it that way.  This is a beautiful bird everyone should get to see in the wild.

Allan