We have had a great spring for enjoying our yards, gardens, and of course, the many birds around us.

By now the vast majority of the birds have arrived from their southern over-wintering areas. Some have passed through and others are here to stay with us for the summer nesting season.

Many bird enthusiasts have seen birds such as orioles, indigo buntings, and rose-breasted grosbeaks at their feeders early in May and haven’t seen any since. Often these people have told me that these birds must have just been passing through and that they are disappointed. But in reality, these bird are still here — just not coming to feeders or being as conspicuous! It’s been a relatively warm month of May that has offered these birds plenty of insects which has lessened their need to come to the bird feeders for food (though we have had some pretty cool spells!)

We have been enjoying the “other oriole” — the orchard oriole — among us, mostly by hearing its steady calls all day long. This oriole has become very common, however, isn’t nearly as conspicuous as its close relative the Baltimore oriole.

Orchard oriole males are black and brick red and are very good about singing in a nearby tree, but remaining concealed in the foliage. The male has a habit of singing and flying from one tree to the next in your yard while its mate is busy incubating the eggs. The nest is much different that the Baltimore oriole’s sac-like nest. It’s song is also much different.

Whereas finding a Baltimore oriole’s nest is a real treat, it’s generally pretty easy to do simply by keeping track of the oriole adults when they are building the nest (which is already done) or by watching the adults as they feed their young (which will be happening very soon!) For some reason I don’t think this method will be as easy to find the orchard oriole’s nest, but I’m really going to try.

Finding orioles and other birds’ nesting sites generally requires watching the adults and truly paying attention to what they are doing and where they are going.

Obviously, if you see any adult bird with food in its bill, you can assume that it is en route to its nest to feed its young. If you keep your distance, but keep focused they will “show” you where their nest is.

Other birds will be issuing warning calls when you are too close to their nest site. Other times you may end up inadvertently flushing a bird off her nest just by walking near it. These clues allow you to carefully search the area for the nest. Remember that some birds actually nest on the ground in the thick grass … and others like the killdeer and horned lark nest on bare ground in open fields and gravelly areas.

I have mentioned bluebirds often — our state bird — and pointed out that the first nesting of bluebirds (and several other early nesters) often fails. This is usually because of cool wet spring weather for only a day or two at a time. This spring, though not as dramatic, cool weather has still caused several bluebirds to abandon their nests. Predators are also a big factor which includes other birds — especially the nasty house (English) sparrow. If your bluebird nest failed, remove the nest and allow them to start over.

Yes, paying attention to the nesting adult birds can allow you many more opportunities to experience so many more wonders of nature! Be alert and enjoy!

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Hans Kunze is an avid birder and nature enthusiast. He writes twice a month for the Livingston County News. You can reach Hans with questions about birds and his shop by writing to him at 6340 LaGrange Rd Wyoming, NY 14591 or by calling 495-6797.

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May is here and we have had a wonderful weather month so far! It’s been so nice outside and the birds are enjoying it as much as we are.

As I write this, the weather looks to change a bit by Mother’s Day weekend. Maybe we’ll get some of that much needed rain?

But hopefully we won’t get any real cold weather for a number of reasons —but especially on behalf of the nesting bluebirds. A cold spell — even for only a day or two — can cause the bluebirds to abandon their brood of young as finding food for them can become very difficult during a cold spell in May. You can almost count on at least one of those challenging cold spells somewhere in mid May.

Since bluebirds nest two or three times each spring and summer it is not unusual that the first attempt has a low success rate. Let’s hope we dodge that traditional cold spell and be able to enjoy many more bluebird young in our yards this summer!

With Mother’s Day on our doorstep, we can’t help but to be thankful for all of our dedicated mothers in our lives. Their commitment to us is unmatched and for our mothers we are truly grateful!

The commitment of mothers is much like that of mother birds that risk their lives tending to nests despite the danger they face from predators. I think of various bluebird nest boxes that I check where the female stays right on the nest. You experience it with robins and many other nesting birds. I think of the turkeys, pheasants, and ducks that stay on their nests in the meadows to protect their nests from the likes of foxes, raccoons, and even farm machinery! I know that farmers feel bad if they mow off a nest and would gladly go around the nest if they knew where it was!

As beautiful as the weather has been in recent weeks, one would think that all of the birds have migrated back to Western New York — but that is not the case. Many species of birds have not arrived yet and will be coming soon.

The birds’ migration schedule is tied to the calendar — not the weather. Birds that wait until May to arrive are those that rely heavily on insects, especially warblers, vireos and flycatchers.

If you are used to seeing some colorful favorites at your feeding station, that will also have a direct correlation with the weather. If the weather is cool in May and June you will see more action at the feeders from birds such as orioles, indigo buntings and rose-breasted grosbeaks.

Many birds that eat seeds still enjoy the feeders as there are no new wild seeds available. Many birds that eat seeds also eat insects.

The goldfinches are back in large numbers, all dressed in their yellow attire. With Mother’s Day almost here, your hummingbird feeder should be up.!

There is so much going on out there right now. Try to enjoy every minute of this beautiful time of the year.

And let’s not forget to remember our mothers and their dedication to all of us. Thanks to all of you Moms out there.

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Hans Kunze is an avid birder and nature enthusiast. He writes for the LCN twice each month. He and his wife own and operate a bird feeding store at their home in Wyoming. You can reach Hans with questions about birds and his shop by writing to him at 6340 LaGrange Rd. Wyoming, NY 14591 or by calling 495-6797.

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Nice April weather is bringing back a good variety of spring birds.

Actually, regardless of what the weather is, the birds are coming back — it’s just that we don’t tend to notice them until the weather gets nicer. This gets us outside to see and hear these harbingers of spring!

As I have mentioned before, the vast majority of species will actually arrive — or pass through here — in May. But for right now, here are a few to look for in your back yard …

Surely you’ve seen plenty of robins by now. Their close relatives, the bluebirds, are also back and busy staking out their choice of bluebird nest boxes as they are now serious about nest building and laying eggs over the next couple of weeks. If you have bluebird nest boxes, make sure you have cleaned them out.

Tree swallows are already here — some as early as the first week of April. I’m not sure if those “early birds” survived the cold spell we had since then with virtually no flying insects available. The ones arriving now are more timely and are also checking out nest boxes but won’t be nesting for some time. Most barn swallows and purple martins will come later.

The brown thrashers are arriving and have their own version of mimicking songs in the hedgerows — different than those of the mockingbirds which are also around. The mockingbird is an excellent imitator of other bird songs. The thrasher does its calls generally in twos. The thrasher often sits high in a tree singing away — look for a long tail and a rusty brown back and tail.

Also, singing from the thickets you can hear the eastern towhees (formerly called rufus-sided towhee) which have a couple of familiar songs or calls. Their song sounds like it is saying “drink your teeee.” Often the male also sings from a perch high in a tree.

This time of year is best to see several species of birds of the thickets as the leaves are not out yet.

While you are out there tracking these birds, you are likely to find some early ruby-crowned kinglets — tiny, but very vocal olive-colored birds moving through the thickets. For a little while, one can still see their winter relatives, the golden-crowned kinglets before they had north for the summer. Numerous warblers will be coming soon.

The fields of the open country are also welcoming back birds including the field sparrows, savannah sparrows, killdeer, and eastern meadowlarks. A little later we will see the first bobolinks return from their 3,000 mile trip from wintering in Chile!

Soon we will also see and hear more catbirds.

More native sparrows will also be appearing. Two which will pass through in large numbers are the white-crowned sparrows and white-throated sparrows. If you are a birder, you can’t miss the elegant white crown and the neat yellow in the face, or the white-crown and white-throat, respectively.

April is a busy nesting time for many birds including cardinals, robins, bluebirds, phoebes, killdeer, doves, house finches, and some others. Most of these birds will nest another time or two — especially because the first nestings often get disrupted by predators or a spell of cold, wet weather. Waterfowl and birds of prey are already well along with their nestings — however this varies greatly as other species will wait.

So, as you enjoy working out in your yard in these last few days of April and early May, be aware of the birds around you! There is so much beauty to take in each and every day!

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Hans Kunze is an avid birder and nature enthusiast. He writes for the LCN twice each month. He and his wife own and operate a bird feeding store at their home in Wyoming, NY. You can reach Hans with questions about birds and his shop by writing to him at 6340 LaGrange Rd Wyoming, N.Y. 14591 or by calling 495-6797.

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Spring is here regardless of what the weather is and the birds are moving ahead with their migration and nesting schedules.

With warmer days surely around the corner, we will see more birds returning from the south.

Every week from now through the end of May will bring us several new species of birds. Many of your most colorful favorites will start appearing in early May. However, another favorite is the eastern bluebird which is arriving during the next couple weeks. These close relatives of our robin — both belonging to the thrush family — can survive winter weather by eating wild berries and sumac until the insect population improves.

As you can tell from the various early arrivals such as red-winged blackbirds, Canada geese and robins — they are all anxious to get started with nesting. The red wings will have to wait a little until they get some plant growth to help support their neatly woven nests, but they’ll guard their nesting territory starting now.

The bluebirds will mean business early in April as they stake out nesting boxes and territories. Once they decide on a nest box, it’s only a few days before they have their nest built. Egg laying happens daily for four or five days and then the female incubates the eggs for about two weeks. That is the easy part as there is little competition for the nest boxes this early in April and even if the weather is cold the eggs are kept nice and warm.

The problem comes in late April or early May after the eggs have hatched. Now the adult bluebirds have several hungry mouths to feed while making sure they keep the babies warm. If cold weather sets in — which it can for a couple of days in May — it is often disastrous for the brood of young as the adults have difficulty finding enough food for the babies while keeping them warm and also finding enough food for themselves!

All too often that first brood of bluebirds does not make it. So the bluebirds have to start over with a new nest. If you are on the ball and clean out the failed nesting, the bluebirds will often use the same box for their new nest. Otherwise they will find another nest box near by. But now the problem is there will be more competition from other birds such as the tree swallows and house sparrows. If they are getting competition from wrens, your box is too close to bushes and thickets. Furthermore, wrens will simply destroy an active bluebird nesting (so don’t put your nest box in the wrong place; always way out in the open away from brush and woods.)

Robins also know a lot about having a rough start to the nesting season. They’ll build nests all over in April generally low to the ground. This will result in a high level of predation. My estimate is that about 80 to 90 percent of the early nestings of robins fail. Keep an eye out for your robins and see what happens.

Yes, spring is here and there is lots of activity out there.

The doves, cardinals, phoebes, horned larks, house finches and several others will be nesting well before a large wave of new species arrive in May. Eagles and great horned owls are already well underway with their nestings.

With nicer weather, you’re going to have a great opportunity to enjoy spring with the birds!

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Hans Kunze is an avid birder and nature enthusiast. He writes for The LCN twice each month. He and his wife own and operate a bird feeding store at their home in Wyoming. You can reach Hans with questions about birds and his shop by writing to him at 6340 LaGrange Rd Wyoming, N. 14591 or by calling 495-6797.

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Well, here we are – spring officially arrived on the calendar the calendar this week after several birds suggested that spring is already here!

As usual, there are always some early birds out there and those generally include the red-winged blackbirds, grackles, killdeer, robins, and even the bluebirds. Obviously, only a fraction of them have arrived, but they are representative of what’s coming.

Red-wings start appearing in late February and grackles in early March. Robins and bluebirds are just gradually appearing as well. And the killdeer are showing up sporadically here and there.

The variety of waterfowl are already showing up on our inland bodies of water whose ice has already melted. Just yesterday I watched a nice variety of ducks on an open pond. If you could take the time to look at them a little closer, you’d be surprised at their unique and beautiful features – this time I was admiring the ring-necked ducks (they have a white ring around their bill and a distinct white vertical shoulder patch) and the hooded mergansers.

If you are planning on putting up a wood duck box you still have some time. Wood ducks and hooded mergansers like to nest in them – other ducks don’t use them and most ducks don’t even nest here.

Right now is a good time to watch (and listen) for tundra swans in migration. I’ve seen them two days in a row flying high but only saw them because I heard them first. They make an unusual noise – much different than Canada geese. They are a beautiful sight to see as the sun reflects off them. Some will rest on ponds and the flooded flats.

Bluebirds and robins are close relatives and they will both begin nesting some time in April – meaning that they’ll be staking out nesting territories late in March into early April. Robins will build their nests generally low to the ground – sometimes on the ground – this early in the year to keep the nest out of brisk winds. As you can imagine, the success rate of robins’ first nestings is very low due to predation.

Bluebirds will be looking to use nest boxes in April and will likely hatch young by the end of April or early May. They too will have a low rate of success primarily due to cold weather spells which make it difficult for the adults to find enough food for their young. Only a day or two of cold weather can wipe out most bluebird first nestings.

Birds with a high mortality rate generally nest two or three times in a season. Besides the robins and bluebirds nesting early, watch for the cardinals, house finches, and eastern phoebes. Phoebes will nest on ledges on your back porch or barn.

Very hard to find, but nesting early, are the horned larks in the open fields. You can see them pairing off right now as you drive the country roads. Soon the fields will have even more action with the arrival of various native sparrows and the eastern meadowlark. In May the bobolinks arrive.

Now, also be on the lookout for evening grosbeaks and pine siskins and other northern species that overwintered south of here. They will be gradually making their way north. A couple of weeks ago a flock of 15 evening grosbeaks were at Lisa White’s feeding station in Dale.

It’s spring time and a great time to enjoy the many birds coming our way!

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As much as I’m an avid birder, starlings aren’t even close to making a list of my favorites. But they do make my list of smart and respected birds!

You probably share my concerns regarding starlings in that they are a non-native bird to North America which is upsetting our ecosystem and affecting the survival of several of our native bird species — especially those that nest in hollow cavities. Starlings nest in any hole or nook or anywhere they can fit a sloppy nest made of whatever they can find.

Starling nests are often where they cause trouble such as in eve’s troughs and chimneys. They built a nest in my greenhouse chimney pipe which is 8-inch diameter and on a slant. They packed about 2 feet worth of pipe with grass and straw!

Starlings are quick to begin nesting in spring and often have their first brood of young way before most birds have even started. They nest over and over again and are very successful. These birds then form large flocks in mid summer through the winter and raid diary farmers’ corn silage feed bunks and feeding alleys in search of the softened kernels of corn.

So what is good about starlings? Probably only the fact that they can find grubs deep in the sod of hay fields and lawns. Their large beaks are handy for poking in the ground. It’s quite amazing how they find these grubs. What else is good about them? Not much.

My parents who grew up in Germany said that they remember starlings and that there were only a few and that they were actually admired — especially when they only had one pair nesting somewhere.

Starlings are smart. They often gather food along roads and rarely get hit. They run out of the way when a car comes and go right back. They are good at finding food most anywhere. In winter, they eat a tremendous quantity of wild grapes, thus the reason for “purple rain” on your car and porch!

I admire the starlings ability to imitate other birds. As spring is approaching, I’m hearing starlings imitating several spring birds that will arrive in late March and April such as killdeer, meadowlarks, savannah sparrows, tree swallows, phoebes, and several more. We even have starlings that imitate the call of a woodchuck!

My challenge will be keeping starlings out of the bird houses and my barn this spring and summer. We should not allow them to be successful with any nest on our premises as they will continue to overpopulate and take nest sites of native birds. They are probably the number one reason for the rapid population decline of red-headed woodpeckers, which are no longer a common bird. Starlings are a big problem and no one knows how much more damage they will cause our ecosystem.

Hans Kunze is an avid birder and nature enthusiast. He writes for the LCN twice each month. You can reach Hans with questions about birds by writing to him at 6340 LaGrange Rd Wyoming, NY 14591 or by calling 495-6797.

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Here we are in the dead of winter and the most common birds are those at the feeding stations. As much as we humans are getting used to the winter, so are the birds —but the birds have to live in the cold and survive the long cold nights. I admire their energy and ability to adapt to the cold.

If you enjoy feeding the birds as a hobby, bird feeding takes on an even greater meaning now. The birds are counting on your feed at the feeders with a good snow cover and near zero night time temperatures. The natural food supply seems to vanish as winter progresses. So, even if you don’t have time to enjoy the birds as much right now, know that feeding them is a wonderful way of helping birds cope with winter weather challenges.

The other day I was filling the feeders that were nearly empty and I was amazed at how quickly the birds came to the feeders — while I was still filling the feeders!

The many tree sparrows that are here for the winter from northern Canada are noteworthy. They are somewhat tame, but seem to be getting tamer —or should I say more thankful and dependent on the variety of mixed seeds I was putting on the ground. They have a nice call and it felt good to see them surround me as if I was part of nature. The tree sparrow has a rusty cap and a distinct single dot on the breast.

While filling feeders the chickadees and red-breasted nuthatches are often tame, sitting on the edge of the bird feed bucket or on the feeder that’s being filled. Recently as I was filling a peanut feeder I had a tufted titmouse perched about 10 inches from my nose. If you look closely you see so much more detail and it’s really a beautiful bird!

The common redpolls that are with us in good numbers this year, seem to feed at the nyjer and sunflower feeders like we aren’t even there. This is somewhat common among birds that live in the far north where there are few, if any, people so they see us as another creature they share nature with — except for of course those bird-eating hawks.

I find that feeding a good mix on the ground also keeps the birds coming. So many like to feed on the ground and often the other feeders have limited space. I put a wooden shallow flat box on the ground and put my feed in that. That way I can move it, take it in at night if snow or rainy weather is coming, or keep it away from night-time deer visits.

Yes, keep feeding the birds and enjoy them. Better yet, enjoy that good feeling of truly helping the birds survive the winter as a result of your generous high energy gifts!

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Hans Kunze is an avid birder and nature enthusiast. He writes for the LCN twice each month.

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The deep winter chill has arrived — and it reminds me of the more traditional cold winters that we used to have.

If you are feeding the birds, they are truly appreciating your effort this winter.

If not it’s not too late to start. You will likely have instant success in this cold and snowy weather, whereas other times it may take the birds longer to realize that you have feed for them.

This winter will be known for its winter finch irruption which means that a huge number and variety of northern birds have moved south for the winter into our area. As I mentioned in a previous column, there are common redpolls everywhere. There are also numerous reports of two kinds of crossbills — white-winged and red. They move around in large flocks and seem to be harder to encourage to use the feeders. They feed on pine and spruce cone seeds — thus using their criss-cross bills to extract seeds from cones and other seed-bearing “fruits.” One day you may have something very unusual at your feeders and it could be crossbills.

All of these winter finches love sunflower seeds and nyjer seed — just like most of our winter favorites, including cardinals, goldfinches, house finches, chickadees, and titmice.

Peanuts and suet are other favorite foods for many of the more desirable birds at your feeders such as the various woodpeckers, both kinds of nuthatches, chickadees, titmice, and others. If you feed sunflower, nyjer, suet, peanuts, and a good mix that has cracked corn and white millet you will have something for everyone and a busy birdfeeder!

I have been feeding plenty of hulled sunflower seeds this winter. That really makes it easy for the birds since they don’t have to crack sunflower seeds. Is that spoiling them? Yes, but that’s OK. The cost of hulled sunflower is much more than regular sunflower, however, there is less mess and the birds go crazy over it. I’m not sure how many pounds of regular sunflower you would need to equal a pound of hulled sunflower, but I would guess it’s nearly two. If your budget allows for gourmet feeding in these cold temperatures, give the hulled sunflower a try!

Because of deer browsing around the yard at night, I find myself waiting till morning to replenish my ground feeding trays. I feed a lot of feed on the ground in these wooden feeding trays. That keeps the feed from getting mixed into the snow and the soil — and more readily available for the birds.

Yes, we’re deep into winter right now and the joy of feeding the birds also brings happiness, and often survival, to these feathered friends! They need us now more than ever!

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Hans Kunze is an avid birder and nature enthusiast. He writes for the LCN twice each month. He and his wife own and operate a bird feeding store at their home in Wyoming. You can reach Hans with questions about birds by writing to him at 6340 LaGrange Rd Wyoming, NY 14591 or by calling 495-6797.

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Figuring out the migration patterns of the birds is tricky business — and that’s why researchers at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology are constantly gathering data from all of us birders in all parts of the country and throughout North America.

The recent Christmas bird counts will provide more valuable data as these annual counts took place all over the country in late December and into the first few days of January. One of the counts took place in eastern Wyoming County which yielded 87 different species – a new record! If you are participating in Project Feeder Watch, your data will also help researchers.

You may recall the large numbers of pine siskins throughout the month of October and into November – many of them coming to your nyjer feeders.

Also, for the first time in probably 10 years we had several small flocks of evening grosbeaks coming through Western New York. Both of these interesting species apparently moved much further south as few have been seen around here in recent weeks. We had hoped that they would spend the winter with us.

So why did they go further south? And why at times do they stay in our area and why do they often not migrate this far south at all? These are the things the researchers are working on.

Much of the migration has to do with the natural food supply up north and food supply down here. Some birds rely heavily on the small seeds that come from various evergreen cones.

Some of these evergreens up north occasionally get diseases that inhibit cone production which certainly would force the birds to move to another area to find food in the winter. Most seed eating birds eat a great deal of insects and other foods in spring and summer which is their nesting season.

One northern visitor that we are enjoying this year in significant numbers is the common redpoll. If you haven’t noticed them yet, take a closer look at your smaller birds. They like to flock with the winter goldfinches.

They have a blood red cap and a black chin. They love nyjer seed and sunflower and other small seeds. If you learn their call, you can easily pick them out of a flock of birds flying around your home! These birds often do not come this far south in winter and many probably went even further south.

Other northern birds in our area, but not at the feeders, would include northern shrike, rough-legged hawk, short-eared owl, and snow buntings. A drive through the snow-covered countryside on a calm day in winter can yield you many interesting species that you can add to your 2013 list!

Hans Kunze is an avid birder and nature enthusiast. He writes for the LCN twice each month. He and his wife own and operate a bird feeding store at their home in Wyoming, N.Y. You can reach Hans with questions about birds and his shop by writing to him at 6340 LaGrange Rd Wyoming, N.Y. 14591 or by calling 495-6797.

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Wow, what great weather we have been having! I love being outside and always seem to have a project to do. Today it was planting some small evergreens at our South Warsaw property.

As I was planting away, I was just enjoying the beautiful day, thinking about the Thanksgiving celebration in a few days and being thankful for my many blessings. Who would have thought I’d finally be getting to planting trees in November in 50 degree weather?

I, of course, had my ears tuned and my eyes focused on the sky and the near by woodlands. I was surprised at the variety of birds that made themselves known during my two hour visit.

Early on, I enjoyed watching a graceful great blue heron fly right over the field I was in. Maybe this is one that will be braving the winter here? Maybe it did last winter and figured that it was a piece of cake. Who knows what he may experience this year!

Shortly after that was a red-bellied woodpecker busily working in the hedgerow — a hedge row has quadrupled in width over the years.

Then I heard some birds coming my way overhead. It was horned larks I was sure. And as they came into sight right over my head I counted 12 of them heading from the west side of the Oatka Valley to the farm fields on the east side probably going to their favorite roosting sight.

This, of course, would be on the ground as they never perch in trees. They will be spending the winter here and will be joined by snow buntings very soon.

A little later I happened to see a couple of turkey vultures cruising by looking for a meal. They too will likely spend the winter. More and more do as the road kills of deer and other animals seems to support them quite well.

With deer season fully underway, they will likely find deer that have died from wounds. About that time I heard that familiar pileated woodpecker call from the woods.

I was hoping it would fly from one woodlot to the other so I could see its impressive strong wingbeat and undulated flight. It probably did eventually fly over, but I just didn’t see it. You can’t see everything!

I heard the scream of the red-tailed hawk early on, but didn’t see him until later. What a beautiful bird that is! I also heard a variety of the familiar winter favorites near by including the cardinal, chickadee, and downy woodpecker.

It was in this field earlier this month that I saw my first and only redpoll fly over. And today, no sign of those winter finches that were getting me and others all excited earlier in the month. Where did they go?

It seems like the siskins and evening grosbeaks have gotten scarce again and maybe have headed much farther south. If that’s the case we may not have them much in the dead of the winter, but very possible in late winter and spring as they gradually work their way back north. It’s just too early to tell. When winter really does settle in, we’ll know a lot more.

No matter what, we will have a winter full of beauty with whatever birds are around to brighten up our days. They bring so much color and joy to all of us if we just take a little time to enjoy them… or should I say to “smell the roses!”

At this Thanksgiving, let us remember the blessing we have in the beauty of the great outdoors and the many creatures that share it with us!

Hans Kunze is an avid birder and nature enthusiast. He writes for the LCN twice each month. He and his wife own and operate a bird feeding store at their home in Wyoming, NY. You can reach Hans with questions about birds and his shop by writing to him at 6340 LaGrange Rd Wyoming, N.Y. 14591 or by calling 495-6797.

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