northeast-flora-and-fauna

You've heard of the Bluebird of Happiness  (presumably looking sort of like this guy )? Given all the noise they make, this must be the Graybird of Loquaciousness . It's actually a Gray Catbird , 1 of my area's most talkative birds. In the summer you can see these birds everywhere, and hear them more than that. July 6, 2023 at Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary Photo 301263315, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Here's another Veery from last spring. Veeries are in a fairly good-sized family of birds, the thrushes . Some of the other thrushes look somewhat similar, some rendition of brown on top and whitish below: Hermit Thrush Swainson's Thrush Wood Thrush Other relatives are red-breasted, making them a little easier to identify: American Robin Eastern Bluebird  And then there are birds that sound like they're related to the thrushes, but are actually a type of warbler : Northern Waterthrush This is the complicated world of the birds. May 18, 2023 at Willowwood Arboretum Photo 292813063, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Here are a few Eastern Bluebirds hanging out in trees. I was fortunate enough to see them all on the same day last May. I believe they're all the more vibrantly colored males, though the middle picture might be a little questionable.  I was happy to see these guys, fitting given the expression the bluebird of happiness . It sounds like many cultures have positive feelings about birds that are blue [1], though Asian and European traditions associating birds with blue plumage with happiness certainly predate their knowledge of Eastern Bluebirds like these guys. And some Native American myths about "blue birds" are believed to be about Blue Grosbeaks . You should be able to find these birds in New Jersey all year round. May 18, 2023 at Fairview Farm Photo 292810452, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) May 18, 2023 at Fairview Farm Photo 292810825, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) May 18, 2023 at Willowwood Arboretum Photo 292812808, (c) jpviolett...

You knew I needed to do a pun on the Veery's name, didn't you? These birds sound like they're saying "veer", hence their name. You can kind of interpret this as Thrush Week, since this is the 3rd thrush I'm featuring this week. And while the American Robin and Eastern Bluebird are distinctive and colorful enough that misidentifications are rare, the Veery, Swainson's Thrush , Wood Thrush , and Hermit Thrush are all mostly earth-toned above and white-with-some-speckles below. If you're not good with bird vocalizations and don't get a pretty good look at the last 4, identification can be difficult [1]. May 12, 2023 at Lord Stirling Park Photo 282422617, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) [1] And don't let the names fool you. It's not a Wood Thrush just because you saw it in the woods, and it's not a Hermit Thrush just because it was alone when you saw it.

This Swainson's Thrush (perhaps due for a renaming) was perched on a fairly heavily lichened branch. Though there are a lot of thrushes around here, American Robins and Eastern Bluebirds are the ones I see the most (though I have met some Hermit Thrushes  on occasion). This is another bird that's not easily identified, mostly because there are other thrushes that look pretty similar. I think you're supposed to identify the Swainson's Thrush based on a little more light coloring around the eyes and a back that's slightly grayer than similar thrushes. In the foreseeable future, you won't see Swainson's Thrushes around because ... they're in line to have their name changed . The American Ornithological Society wants to rename all birds named after people. Though the subject came about due to some birds named after unsavory characters, it was also noticed that while names like Red-winged Blackbird tells you a lot about the bird's appearance [1], name...

This Northern Cardinal appeared to be contorting himself to get some sort of snack off this tree. Similar to this Eastern Bluebird , I can't tell exactly what the cardinal was eating. Though in general they will eat "leaf buds", I'm fairly sure their inclination to do so varies from plant to plant [1], and I don't know what plant this was. And of course, I can't rule out that there was some sort of tasty bug who had the misfortune of getting spotted by the cardinal. All I can say for sure is that something certainly got the cardinal's attention. Birds are probably unusually hungry this time of year: Some birds may have recently migrated back to the area, expending lots of energy. Northern Cardinals are around here all year long, though they may be doing small migrations within their winter range [2]. Even if this cardinal was here all winter, winter probably isn't considered a "season of plenty" for birds, and he might very well relish food ...

This Tree Swallow was looking out the "doorway" of its "domicile" [1]. Tree Swallows are 1 of the most likely birds to be peeking out of their nesting boxes, as seen here and here . I have 3 (not mutually exclusive) explanations for this: Tree Swallows are fairly abundant birds. These nesting boxes are numerous in many places, and are often within viewing distance of trails. Tree Swallows are 1 of the more aggressive birds in defending their territories, and they're probably looking out to see if someone is outside that they need to dive-bomb [2]. May 9, 2023 at Duke Farms Photo 282306495, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) [1] FWIW most of the time these domiciles were intended for our less common Eastern Bluebirds . [2] If you like tiny birds flying at your head and veering off at the last second, 1) intruding around their nests is for you, and 2) there's something wrong with you.

Our common names for many species can cause confusion: Sometimes people will tell you they saw a "blue bird" and you'll think they're talking about a bluebird, which in this area basically means an Eastern Bluebird . Other times people will be unaware that there's a difference between the Eastern Bluebird and other blue birds. While we have lots of birds that are bluish gray (including the aptly named Blue-gray Gnatcatcher ) and some vibrantly blue birds that you don't see a lot (like the Indigo Bunting ), there are actually some common blue birds we see more often than Eastern Bluebirds. Here's a non-bluebird blue bird, the Blue Jay . These noisy birds are actually much larger than Eastern Bluebirds; confusing them is probably similar to confusing me with a Polar Bear. May 3, 2023 at Duke Farms Photo 278557206, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) The next bird, a Tree Swallow , has a shinier blue than the Eastern Bluebird, and as cavity nester...

I got this somewhat obstructed picture of an Eastern Bluebird this spring. While the bird seemed to be awfully interested in this tree, I have to confess I'm not certain what had gotten his attention: I know squirrels and birds will sometimes eat the buds off of trees; it's possible that's what's going on here. My understanding is that bluebirds - like their bigger American Robin cousins - are omnivorous, preferring to eat bugs when they're available but willing to go vegetarian when bugs are scarce. Bugs > Buds > Nothing. This looks like a smallish opposite-branching tree; I'm suspicious that it's a dogwood tree. When I asked the internet whether birds eat dogwood buds, I found about a bajillion gazillion articles about birds eating dogwood berries, and a couple broken links about them eating dogwood buds. (Thanks a lot, internet.) And of course trees - especially native ones - are home to insects, so it's possible that our bluebird friend has f...

Last December I met this Eastern Bluebird perched in a local high point in a meadow, giving him a pretty good view of the surrounding area. Many birds will sit in a treetop either to get a wide view or (during breeding season) to help their singing voice carry further. It does come with some risk though; if you can see a lot of the area, it usually means a lot of predators in the area can see you too. If a Cooper or Sharp-shinned Hawk makes the scene, he'll no doubt need to scurry for cover. As is frequently the case, there were other bluebirds (both male and female) in the area. Having more eyes out there looking for danger is no doubt helpful to them. December 5, 2022 at Duke Farms Photo 251086118, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) My guess is that my camera and I were deemed too great a threat to stay perched, so he decided to vacate the area. December 5, 2022 at Duke Farms Photo 251086128, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

While Eastern Bluebirds are spotted in central NJ fairly often, this time I got a picture of juvenile Eastern Bluebirds. Though there's some blue plumage that's come in, they have the white speckles of a juvenile. Their thrush cousins, the American Robin , also look speckly as juveniles; presumably this is better camouflage than adult plumage. Though they have a fair number of thrush relatives, their closest relatives, the Western Bluebird and the Mountain Bluebird , live on other parts of the continent. One of the biggest challenges for bluebirds is to find a place to nest. As cavity nesters, nesting boxes are a good substitute for the tree cavities that used to exist when this area was mostly forest. Duke Farms provides nesting boxes for bluebirds, and my understanding is that the bluebirds on the property successfully raised an above average number of kids this summer.  July 6, 2022 at Duke Farms Photo 221313845, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

I've been surprised at how often while walking by a birdhouse a Tree Swallow will poke its head out to check out who/what is walking by. This is no doubt because, among birds approximately the size of an Eastern Bluebird [1], the Tree Swallow combines both the feistiness to claim a birdhouse and the abundance to occupy a lot of them. While I've implied they poke their heads out because they're nosy, I have to acknowledge that they've claimed a box to raise their children in, and you could view them as concerned parents participating in a neighborhood watch program. However you interpret their actions, it's kind of neat to see a little head poking out of the birdhouses as you go by. July 17, 2022 at Duke Farms Photo 222062634, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) [1] My understanding is that most of the birdhouses in my area were put up for use by Eastern Bluebirds, though larger boxes might be intended for American Kestrels , Wood Ducks , etc.

Here's an Eastern Bluebird who didn't know if I was going to be trouble, but he was certainly going to keep his eyes on me. This fella was at Duke Farms, where I'm told there is a thriving community of bluebirds raising families; it wouldn't surprise me if this was a dad scoping out the neighborhood for threats to his nestlings. One false move on my part and I'd be subjected to 1.1 ounces of unrelenting feathery fury. (In actuality Eastern Bluebirds are less aggressive nest protectors than Tree Swallows or Red-winged Blackbirds , both of which have "attacked" me.) Previous bluebird posts are here and here . June 8, 2022 at Duke Farms Photo 209834311, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Here's an Eastern Bluebird I saw late in May, and have talked about them before. Duke Farms has quite a few bluebird nesting boxes scattered around the property and they may be paying off. Despite Tree Swallows taking a nontrivial number of the nesting boxes, I've been seeing bluebirds behind the Farm Barn pretty regularly this spring. What's this bluebird looking at? An airplane banner ad? A UFO? Probably neither of these. I suspect that the bluebird was birdwatching, either of another bird flying overhead or maybe on the nearby telephone lines that are popular perching spots. And there seemed to be a little competition for this perching spot, so he may be keeping an eye on a rival bird looking to perch in this spot. My second best guess is that he's got a meal on his mind and a potentially tasty insect flew by. May 29, 2022 at Duke Farms Photo 205019151, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Last fall I met a little flock of Eastern Bluebirds . Our bluebirds are frequently found in these small flocks, at least when they haven't paired off to start a family. They are fairly small thrushes , noticeably smaller than their American Robin cousins. (Robins outweigh bluebirds more than 2:1, though the size difference may not be apparent when you see them.) Like robins, our bluebirds are year-round residents in New Jersey. While both our robins and bluebirds have orangish breasts, I can't tell you this typical of thrushes; most other thrushes lack this characteristic. November 21, 2021 at Duke Farms Photo 170814186, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

In colder months finding Eastern Bluebirds seems to be feast or famine; either I won't see them at all, or I'll see 3-6 of them hanging out together. Given they look more gray than blue in my picture, I'm assuming these are females (though even the males can look gray in certain light). A century ago, the Eastern Bluebird was considered to be in danger of extinction due to loss of nesting and loss of foraging habitat. That dire consequence is past us, though Eastern Bluebird populations are still suppressed due to competition for nesting locations for these cavity nesting (bird houses or hollow trees) birds.  Apparently Eastern Bluebirds are one of the few bird species known to have had twins . Twins in birds implies that 2 birds hatch from the same egg. My suspicion is that twinning happens much more often than we know; in most cases the only way to tell is if we see N number of eggs but see N+1 number of hatchlings, and we just don't monitor every bird nest well eno...