northeast-flora-and-fauna

Here's a female Tree Swallow taking a little time to do some feather preening . (I'm pretty confident the gray coloring instead of a shiny blue indicates this is the more modestly colored female.) While bat wings are mostly a thin membrane of skin, much of the functional part of a bird's wing consists of its feathers. Feathers are also important for warmth and (especially among waterfowl) waterproofing. Unfortunately for birds, their feathers become dirty, wet, infested with parasites, and the feather barbs become separated, all of which can reduce their effectiveness. Thus it's important for birds to preen themselves to keep their feathers working properly. Preening is done quite a bit by the conscientious bird. Sometimes (as in this picture) a preening bird will essentially "nibble" on a feather to dislodge dirt/parasites and to smooth it out. In other cases they'll pass their bill over each (reachable) feather to accomplish the same result. In many sp...

Though a number of our local birds have blue plumage [1], the Tree Swallows are almost certainly the shiniest. While some birds are bluer (like Indigo Buntings , Blue Grosbeaks , and probably Blue Jays ), when you factor in the shine, you get a Tree Swallow [2]. I'm pretty sure those thorns indicate this fella was in a Honey Locust tree. I don't know if it's a favorite perch for this bird, but it might be a little safer there than elsewhere. I suspect that any climbing predator would need to take care to avoid those dangerously sharp thorns. Of course, this tree provides little protection from an aerial attack from a hawk. Since the males are generally bluer/shinier, this is almost certainly a male. May 14, 2023 at Duke Farms Photo 292808063, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) [1] But they don't have blue pigment; their blue plumage is dependent on their feather structure to reflect the blue light hitting them. [2] At least that's true for New Jersey...

I spotted this Barn Swallow at the Delaware Raritan Canal. Here's a joke originally about Barn Owls . Barn Swallows when humans first started building barns: "Oh yeah, it's all coming together!" In actuality, Barn Swallows do kind of like nesting in man-made structures, but don't require those structures to be barns. For a few years they were using a roofed bird blind at Negri-Nepote Native Grassland Preserve. In this case I believe the Barn Swallow may have been building a nest under a bridge at the canal. Though I'd like to think that Barn Swallows and Barn Owls would bond over their shared love of barns, I'm pretty sure that Barn Swallows are on the menu of the Barn Owls, seriously jeopardizing any neighborly relationship [1]. Barn Swallows are considered the most widespread swallow in the world, living on parts of every continent except Antarctica [2]. None of its closest relatives live in the New World, and its genus seems to be best represented in ...

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...

Here's a Northern Mockingbird taking in the scenery from a low perch. I've talked about their mimicry and eating habits in prior posts, which suggests I see/hear them a lot. Today I'm going to write this stealing information from a book I borrowed from the library: What It's Like to Be a Bird - Sibley. Apparently mockingbirds will "attack" people, at least if you define an attack as "making a lot of noise and flying towards you only to veer off before getting to you". I've personally been attacked like this by Red-winged Blackbirds , Tree Swallows , and even an American Robin , but never by a mockingbird [1]. In virtually every 1 of these situations the attacking birds were trying to harass me into leaving an area, almost certainly because they perceived a threat to their nest or a fledgling. One foraging tactic they (and some other birds) use to find food is " wing flashing ". Here's the way it works. The bird lands someplace t...

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)

I wouldn't recommend that everybody go up on the roof of their house to scan the neighborhood, but it works for this Tree Swallow . (Walking around on the edges of your roof is less dangerous when you have wings, and can fly out of any misstep you make.) The females are described as having a duller color blue than the males; this guy looks to be a shiny enough blue that it's almost certainly a male. And it wouldn't surprise me if he's guarding a brood in the birdhouse he's standing on. They might be small, but these acrobatic fliers will dive down on intruders (and they have a fairly expansive definition of "intruder") at least as large as humans. May 13, 2021 at Raritan River Greenway Photo 132038848, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Here's a Tree Swallow poking his head out of a birdhouse. A picture like this isn't as hard to get as you might think. Tree Swallows readily use these birdhouses, there are quite a few Tree Swallows out there, and they are feisty birds that will attempt to chase away animals it thinks could threaten their nest. In fact they may the the common birds most likely to dive bomb humans to try and drive us away (though Red-winged Blackbirds are another strong candidate for this designation). Many times I'll be on a trail and have these guys diving at my head. Though they are fast and very maneuverable fliers, they have at least grazed my hats in their efforts to drive me away. I'm not sure if that was intentional, or if their zeal to scare me caused a small miscalculation during their attack. FWIW, I will usually try to vacate the area quicker than I normally would, though I'm a little old to actually run from them. Sometimes though they seem to follow me a surprisingly l...

Here's a Tree Swallow with something on his mind. I suspect that his thoughts were "Twit-weet!", though I don't recall his exact words. These are neat-looking little birds, especially the guys with feathers that (in the right light) are a shiny blue. (The females technically have some blue too, though at a distance it can be hard to see.) They and the other swallows are terrific fliers, and can be seen acrobatically soaring, diving, and turning. They were built to catch insects in flight, so this maneuverability is vital to them. They are also fairly territorial, and will mock-attack people that get (what they consider) too close to their nest. This can be inconvenient when "their territory" overlaps with a hiking trail; I have had my hat grazed as these birds escorted me away. April 28, 2021 at the Plainsboro Preserve Photo 128319001, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)