BACKYARD BIRDING

Text and photos by Paul Misko

Of course, it is nice to be able to travel to faraway places and see exotic animals up close and experience them first-hand. That’s a great idea, if you can make it happen. If you cannot, or even if you can, don’t overlook the natural world in your own backyard.

The Catskill Mountains’ favorite naturalist is John Burroughs. In his essay “Nature Near Home,” he reminds us that we don’t really have to travel far to study and enjoy nature. A city park, or even a backyard can provide a worthwhile setting for the armchair naturalist. My own backyard is flush with critters great and small, which would go largely unnoticed if I didn’t intentionally, and patiently, watch for them. I say intentionally, because it takes some effort to break away from the electronic screen in order to not miss out on the action. Park yourself at a good window, on a porch or deck, or on the edge of your lawn. A good pair of binoculars will come in handy, one that is rated 7,8 or 10 power will be fine. You need to be still for a while. You can still read a book or work on your laptop, so long as you can remain fairly still.

Birds provide the most reliable and colorful activity; dawn to dusk and year-round. In the winter months, while the bears are hibernating, a bird feeder will draw in a good flock of feathered friends. In the warm months, the feeder will draw in bears as well, and that would not be a good idea, as they won’t stop at just raiding the feeder, they will soon pry open the doors of your dwelling.

What can you expect to see around your house? If you get, or make, some bird boxes, you can count on some good action. Building them is a fine project for older kids, and proper dimensions, and even kits, can easily be found online, or buy some locally made ones. Boxes for bluebirds are especially needed, as they are in competition with an invasive species, the House Sparrow. Many birds have more than one clutch of eggs as we head into the summer, so it isn’t too late to hang a bird box now.

You will be fascinated not only by the variety of birds, but the variety of behavior between the different species. Birds will fly in, check out the birdbox, then leave, only to return for another look. They will often challenge each other for the rights to a bird box. I have even seen a bird show up and pull another bird’s partially built nest out of the box and start building their own. Not nice, but fascinating to watch.

The techniques of nest building will vary too. Wrens will often pick up twigs which are larger than what they can fit through the entrance hole, and will keep trying different angles until they successfully get it into the box. Robins and swallows are among the birds who will pick up some grass, dip it in mud, and then fly it over to their “construction site,” paying no mind to local building codes, but instead, following their “internal code”.

Of course, there will be more action to come, as soon the nesting couple will be taking turns to keep the eggs warm, then take turns bringing home the food. The best part, which one would be very lucky to witness, is when the young chicks become fledglings and take their first flight. This often involves them dropping out of the nest, hitting the ground, and then with a running start, flying off into a new life.

Bird feeders can draw in the birds, but as mentioned earlier, they might draw in the bears as well. A safer alternative might be to attempt hand feeding the birds. This past winter I decided to try this for myself. I noticed that the blue jays were loud and proud, but they were the first ones to fly away when I came near. On the other hand, the chickadees are small, but prove to be the bravest. I found that if I sat still with a handful of sunflower seeds, and patiently waited, the chickadees would eventually land on my hand and start grabbing seeds. I then added peanut butter to the menu, and they soon lined up to fill their beaks. They seemed especially hungry first thing in the morning. No surprise. After a while they would sometimes fly over and land on me whenever I went outside, just to see if I had some treats. When a few birds feel comfortable coming close, others will often follow their lead and come in close as well.

Another option is to set up a hummingbird feeder, which will be busy with the tiny jewel-like birds through the summer into the fall. Depending on your location in regard to the bear population, you may need to bring the feeder in at night.

If you pay attention to what is happening around your home, you will occasionally get a nice surprise. One for me was the bald eagle who showed up in the backyard tree and another was a pileated woodpecker. Additionally, you will catch sight of many other animals as well. It’s all there, waiting to be seen, in your own backyard.

Paul Misko is a Catskill historian, with a focus on Ulster County, and John Burroughs. He gives presentations on history and leads hikes with the Catskill 4000 Club. He can be contacted at catskill4000@gmail. com. His blog can be seen at catskillforestadventures.blogspot.com

Chickadee

Indigo Bunting checking out some backyard housing.