30-Minute Blizzard

Okay, maybe our snowfall Saturday morning (2/16/13) wasn't actually a blizzard, but it was certainly more than the forecast flurries.  Daybreak was partly cloudy.  Then, more clouds moved in followed by this fairly heavy snowfall which only lasted for about thirty minutes.

The Goldfinches took advantage of  our bird feeder under the porch while the snow fell.

The snow stopped as abruptly as it started.  A little while later, the sky was clearing again.

By noon, sunshine was chasing the fallen snow into the deep shadows.

30-Minute Blizzard

Female Northern Cardinal

Female Northern Cardinal
(Cardinalis cardinalis)

Because of the wide-angle lens on our camera, about the only way we can photograph birds is by luring them within 18" of the camera using a tray feeder right outside the window. I finally got around to re-installing the tray feeder yesterday.

More info on Northern Cardinals from Cornell.

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Female Northern Cardinal

Carolina Wren - Nesting

Carolina Wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus) are cavity nesters.  In the wild, they nest in places like a woodpecker hole, the open crotch of a tree or tangled roots of an uprooted tree.  Birdhouses 101 says the male begins nest construction with sticks and then follows with softer materials like grass, moss and bark strips.  The male may start several nests so the female can choose the one she prefers.  After the female makes her choice, she often tosses out some of the material collected by the male and finishes the nest with her own choices of interior decor.

Carolina Wrens are monogamous.  The male often brings food to the female while she incubates their eggs.  Both feed the young after the eggs hatch.  One hardcopy field guild we have said males will sometimes finish raising a brood while the female begins incubating another clutch of eggs on another nest.

Birdhouses  101 says, "Carolina wrens prefer natural nesting sites located in woodlands, thickets, brushy hollows, and swamps and along the banks of streams where there is plentiful cover."  The site continues, "Due to the growing density of human population Carolina wrens do not always have the option to build nests in wild spots like that. However, Carolina wrens do not have a really difficult time adapting to their environment and are fairly tolerant of human activities. In fact they often use man-made objects..."  Both of the statements are true, but I tend to disagree with the word "prefer" in the first sentence.  We live in a very rural area with abundant natural nesting locations for the wrens.  While I'm sure many wrens do choose natural nesting sites, others seem determined to use man-made locations.

The jar-style bird feeders Jo makes are one of the Carolina Wren's favorite nesting sites.  We only feed the birds during the winter.  There is often a time lag between the time we stop feeding and when we get around to taking down and cleaning the feeders.  Wrens often take advantages of the empty feeders.

We'd watch a wren building a nest in this feeder and thought the nest was nearing completion.  As it turned out, we'd been watching a male preparing a nest for his mate's inspection.  She accepted this bird feeder nest, but then immediately began remodeling it to her satisfaction.

Once the female wren got the materials of her choice arranged the way she wanted them, she laid her eggs and incubated them.

The eggs hatched and the young wrens were fed by their parents until they successfully fledged.


The bird feeders obviously mimic the woodpecker cavities wrens might choose for nesting in the wild, but wrens also nest on the ground in dense undergrowth.  As far as wrens are concerned, a fern growing in a hanging basket is a suitable substitute for "dense undergrowth".

In this case, we'd missed seeing the wrens' nest building and remodeling activities.  Jo became aware of the nest because of the female's indignant response when watered.  Subsequently, Jo carefully watered around the wrens and these young birds also fledged successfully.


While it's easy to understand that a bird feeder mimics a tree cavity and a fern in a hanging basket seems like dense undergrowth, it takes a bit more imagination to visualize pots sitting atop a stereo speaker resembling a tree crotch or tangle of roots.

The speaker, pots and nesting wren are over in Jo's pottery studio.  "Studio" is a glamorous sounding word for an Arky cabin that was in pretty bad shape when we bought this place.  Its condition hasn't improved in the past thirty years.  The wrens can easily get into and out of Jo's studio even when the door is closed.


In past years, wrens chose to nest inside the pots.  This pair decided to build a nest among the pots.  Wrens are very tolerant of a human presence.  They fuss a little and make you feel guilty for bothering them, but don't abandon their nest or neglect feeding their young.  Jo enjoys watching wrens come and go while throwing pots.


This previous post provides more species details about Carolina Wrens and photos of a wren feeding at our suet feeder this winter.

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Carolina Wren - Nesting

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

Recovering from striking a window.  Flew away soon after this photo was taken.

The White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) is a common species.  At one time or another during the year, it is found throughout most of North America.  It over-winters here in the Arkansas Ozarks.  White-throateds are the only sparrow among our yard birds during the winter.

Habitat:  Cornell Labs says, Look for White-throated Sparrows in woods, at forest edges, in the regrowth that follows logging or forest fires, at pond and bog edges, and in copses near treeline. In winter you can find these birds in thickets, overgrown fields, parks, and woodsy suburbs. They readily come to backyards for birdseed.  We have several weedy, waste spaces at the edge of our yard.  During the fall and early winter, flocks of White-throateds forage in these dried weeds.  As winter wears on, we see more of these sparrows under our tube bird feeders and in our tray feeder.  While primarily ground feeders, these sparrows also partake of the pseudo-suet (cornmeal, peanut butter and lard) mixture we offer.

White-throated Sparrow scratching through the debris in our tray feeder.

According to the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center these common birds exhibit a characteristic that is rare in birds, they show genetically-based plumage polymorphism. In other words, these sparrows come in two different color forms, or morphs.

During the breeding season, the morphs are most easily distinguished by the colors of their crown stripes. The "white-stripe" morph typically has distinctly contrasting black and white crown stripes and bright yellow lores (the area between the eyes and the base of the bill), while the "tan-stripe" morph has duller black (or dark brown) and tan (or pale brown) stripes and less vivid lores.

...both male and female white-throated sparrows exhibit this polymorphism. Moreover, an individual almost always pairs with another of the opposite color morph for breeding. And despite the fact that images of the white-striped morph are more frequently presented to illustrate the species, the two color morphs actually occur in relatively equal numbers in the population. Most interesting is that behavior differs between color morphs, especially during the breeding season. Both male and female white-stripe birds are more aggressive than tan-stripe birds. In fact, white-striped females will even sing and contribute to territorial defense, whereas tan-striped females do not. In contrast, tan-striped birds of both sexes provide more care to their young than white-striped birds do.

Since the White-throated sparrows I've photographed are in their winter plumage when it's more difficult to distinguish morphs, I'm not really sure if they are white or tan stripe.  Perhaps my more experienced birder readers can make that determination.

White-throated Sparrow diving into our suet feeder.

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White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

We have American Goldfinches year around, but have many more during the winter.  They are one of our most common feeder birds.  When the Goldfinches start really getting into their breeding plumage in the spring, most head north.


"The goldfinch’s main natural habitats are weedy fields and floodplains, where plants such as thistles and asters are common. They’re also found in cultivated areas, roadsides, orchards, and backyards. American Goldfinches can be found at feeders any time of year, but most abundantly during winter."  (From The Cornell Lab of Ornithology where there are many more photos and more information about these beautiful little bird.)

I'm not much of a birder, but I believe the top photo is a male and the bottom a female.  If anyone with more experience disagrees, I'll be glad to make a correction in this post.  Both birds were at the feeder hanging outside our dining nook window.  Many people feed thistle seeds to Goldfinches and I'm sure the birds enjoy them, but our Goldfinches have never refused the sunflower seeds we feed.  

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American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

My World: At The Birdfeeders

A little bit of snow (around 1" or so) produced a lot of activity at our bird feeders. (Photos by Jo - 1/3/10)

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My World: At The Birdfeeders

Camera Critters: Tufted Titmouse

Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)

The Tufted Titmouse is a common songbird in the forest and at feeders in the Eastern United States.  Since the 1940s Tufted Titmice have gradually expanded their range northward into the Great Lakes region and southeastern Canada.  Prior to that their range only extended as far north as Iowa, Ohio, southern Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.  Researchers are not certain of the exact reason for this expansion, but global warming, the maturation of abandoned farmlands to forest, and increased number of winter bird feeders are suggested as possible explanations.

Summer Range:  Resident from southern Minnesota, northern Michigan, southern Ontario and southern Vermont, southward to northeastern Mexico and the Gulf Coast.

Habitat: Deciduous and mixed woods forests as well as gardens, parks and shrub land.

Feeding Behavior:  Forage actively on branches, sometimes on the ground, mainly eating insects, especially caterpillars, but also seeds, nuts and berries. They will store food for later use.  Titmice tend to hold food -- like the sunflower seed in the photos -- in their feet and peck at it to open.

Nesting: Titmice nest in a hole in a tree, either a natural cavity or sometimes an old woodpecker nest. They line the nest with soft materials, sometimes plucking hair from a live animal such as a dog. (Once while napping on a camping trip, I was the live animal whose hair a titmouse attempted to include in its nest.)

Sometimes, a bird born the year before remains to help its parents raise the next year's young. The pair may remain together and defend their territory year-round. These birds are permanent residents and often join small mixed flocks in winter.

Sources and additional information:
Wikipedia
Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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Camera Critters: Tufted Titmouse

Camera Critters: Carolina Chickadee

Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis)

The winner of our Most Frequently at the Feeder award here in the Ozarks. The Carolina Chickadee is a year round resident, but we seem to have many more of them in the winter.

Many thanks to Nate for taking the time to correct my original identification of this bird as a Black-capped Chickadee. According to the Cornell site linked below the range of the Black-capped Chickadee is across southern two-thirds of Canada and northern two-thirds of the United States. The Carolina Chickadee pictured above is a southeastern counterpart to the more widespread Black-capped Chickadee. Based upon his birding experience in the Ozarks, Nate says Black-caps are generally found on the north side of the Missouri River, Carolinas to the south.

Physical characteristics distinguishing the two species are: 1.) Carolinas have more grayish flanks while those of the Black-Caps are brown. 2.) The black bib area on the Carolinas is more cleanly demarcated than the more rough transition found on the BCs. (Carolinas are also smaller, but that's often difficult to distinguish without side by side comparisons.)

Since the social behavior of the two species is quite similar, I'll leave the information about the Black-Capped Chickadee at the bottom of this post. Pages dedicated to the Carolina are: Cornell University and Wikipedia.

Thanks again to Nate for the correction. Be sure to visit his birding blog, The Drinking Bird.

(Edited by Marvin 1/20/2009.)


Cool facts from the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology:

► The Black-Capped Chickadee hides seeds and other food items for later recovery. Each item is placed in a different spot and a bird can remember thousands of hiding places.

► The chickadee's simple-sounding calls have been found to be extremely complex and language-like. They code information on identity and recognition of other flocks as well as predator alarms and contact calls.

► Breeding pairs and nonbreeders join up into flocks outside of the breeding season. Nonbreeders may be members of several flocks, with a different position in the dominance hierarchy of each flock.

More information is also available from Wikipedia.

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Camera Critters: Carolina Chickadee