Cape May Bird Observatory in New Jersey

Cape May in New Jersey is home to the Cape May Bird Observatory. Cape May is arguably North America's premier birding location. This premier New Jersey bird watching spot is widely known among birders for its vast concentrations of autumn migrants. That over 200 species have been seen in a day is a testament to the everyday avian wealth of this area. More than 400 species of birds have been recorded in Cape May. There are few places in North America that offer more to bird lovers Cape May.

Cape May is an especially good place to observe shorebirds. Nearly a million and a half shorebirds gather along the beaches of Delaware Bay every spring, including loons, gannets, cormorants and sea ducks, all of which migrate within sight of land. An average of 60,000 birds of prey are tallied at the Official Hawk Watch every autumn.

Cape May Bird Observatory is also a nature resource center for bird, butterfly and dragonfly watching activity in New Jersey. Here visitors can find information pertaining to travel, lodging, and bird and butterfly watching.

New Jersey's Cape May Bird Observatory is a Mecca for American birdwatchers because it takes its purpose seriously. Cape May even features the Cape May Birding Hotline a 24-hour bird alert covering bird sightings in South Jersey. Cape May is also famous for its many workshops, nature weekends, regularly scheduled walks and a host of seasonally calibrated programs, field trips and special events. Cape May offers these walks, programs, and workshops throughout the year.

Since 1976 The Northwood Center overlooking Lily Lake at Cape May Bird Observatory has been the perfect one-stop shop for visiting nature lovers. Here birdwatchers can stock up on binoculars and spotting scopes. They can also pick up field-guides and books about nature for adults and children alike.

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Bird Watching Competitions – I Spy With My Little Eye

Bird watching typically conjures up images of people pursuing a relaxing day of staring into the sky with binoculars. Ah, but then there is the competitive side of birding.

Flying Emus…err, Elbows

For many people, something is only worth undertaking if there is an element of competitiveness. With bird watching, no such element really exists unless you include adding to your life list as a competition. Even if you do, it is a rather vague, indirect form of competition. This is where bird watching competitions come in.

Also known as “bird days” or “big days”, bird watching competitions are typically one or two day events held in a specific geographic area. The idea behind the competition is to bring a bunch of birding enthusiasts together and see who tally the most species in a particular time period.

Since the honor code is tied into reporting your tally, the competitive aspect of such competitions isn’t overdone. This isn’t a situation like bass fishing where they roll you into a stadium afterwards to count your sightings in front of screaming crowds. Then again, perhaps an opportunity presents itself…

Can you imagine ESPN covering the event?

“Bob, it looks like Longbill Louie is in fine form today. Look at the way he balances those binoculars and what rotation!”

Probably not, but a man has to dream!

Back in reality, participating in a bird watching competition is a good idea for two reason. First, the organizers tend to pick spots with lots of species you may not have documented before. Second, it is a tremendous opportunity to meet other people who have caught the itch. This often can lead to future opportunities to bird watch with new friends in previously unknown areas.

If you must compete, there are official bird watching competitions. The World Series of Bird Watching is put on by the New Jersey Audubon Society. Teams of birders are formed and pitted against each other in early May of each year. With humorous names such as the “four loons”, “stokes stompers” and so on, it is a good time. The next competition is May 13, 2006, so you have plenty of time to get in top birding form.

Birding competitions are a bit serious for me, but to each his own. Having a Big Day, however, is a great way to get kids interested in watching.


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Halloween Bird Watching – The Dark Side

Bird watching is just about the most unobjectionable hobby in the world. With Halloween approaching, however, it is time to discuss the dark, dark, dark side of birding.

Bird watching enthusiasts are always looking for good spots to whip out the binoculars and visually hunt for a new life bird. There are really only two potential downsides to this for bird watchers.

What Are You Looking At?

For backyard birding, one runs the risk of neighbors thinking you are a pervert of some type trying to look in their windows with your binoculars. This can usually be overcome by spreading the word in the neighborhood that you’re an avid birder and the binoculars are not pointing at anyone’s windows. Really.

If this doesn’t work, invite the offended neighbors over to do some watching. They will either grow bored and leave or get hooked. Either way, you’ll benefit and no longer have to deal with negative gossip.

Buffy the Bird Watcher

Cemeteries! Not just for demons, vampires and Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

A nasty little secret in the bird watching world is the fact cemeteries are good places to bird watch. Generally, the cemetery is quite, has lots of trees and hunters typically aren’t bold enough to have a go at the fowl. In short, a perfect place for birds to congregate and you to watch.

Now, it goes without saying that bird watching in a cemetery requires a certain etiquette. First, the staff at the cemetery may have a “get the hell off the property” policy towards birding enthusiasts. This can quickly be overcome by explaining that uncle/aunt [look at closest grave stone] was an avid bird watcher and you are bringing their equipment in remembrance. A little wailing may help with senior staff, while cigarettes seem to be preferred by staff carrying shovels.

Having dealt with the staff, small mention should be made regarding actual funerals. If a dearly beloved is being interred, do not pursue your birding within site of the event! Doing so could result in serious physical injury, as funeral goers do not seem to react well to a person with binoculars staring in the direction of funeral and writing down things. Keep in mind emotions are justifiably high. This means they can outrun you.

Typically, most will cluck in dismay at the idea of bird watching in a cemetery. You may be doing so now. Ah, but as Halloween approaches and you’re dying for a new sighting, you just might start to feel differently.




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Bird Watching Mecca – 338 Species At Acadia National Park

When it comes to birding, Acadia National Park is a mecca for sightings. The Park has 338 bird species, which is a record for any national park in the United States. The list of species includes such rare birds as the bald eagle, 23 warbler variations and falcons by the bushel load. If you’re looking to fill out your life list, Acadia is the place to be.

The park has such a wide variety of bird species because of a unique environment. Part of the park consists of offshore islands that provide protected nooks and crannies that are ideal for nesting. To this end, numerous species use these island nooks as their southern breeding headquarters. Nesting species include eiders in addition to other sea birds, herons and raptors. Sandpipers and a wide variety of ducks can also be found on the islands.

In addition to the nesting areas, Acadia is famous for its rare, predatory species. The park is home to a wide variety of eagles, including the bald eagle, and falcons. Indeed, Acadia is the home of the very rare Peregrine Falcon, which was nearly pushed to extinction in 1964. Reintroduced to Acadia in the mid 1980s, the Peregrines have flourished and established nesting patters in the park.

If you’re looking to add to your life list, Acadia National Park is a destination you must visit. Here’s a list of bird species you just might see:

Red Throat Loon

Common Loon

Pied-billed Grebe

Horned Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Great Cormorant

Double-crested Cormorant

American Bittern

Least Bittern

Glossy Ibis

Black-bellied Plover

American Golden-Plover

Semipalmated Plover

Killdeer

Pomarine Jaeger

Parasitic Jaeger

Dovekie

Common Murre

Thick-billed Murre

Osprey

Bald Eagle

Northern Harrier

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Northern Goshawk

Red-shouldered Hawk

Broad-winged Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Rough-legged Hawk

Golden Eagle

American Kestrel

Merlin

Peregrine Falcon

Gyrfalcon

Common Nighthawk

Whip-poor-will

Red-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch

Bohemian Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing

Solitary Vireo

Warbling Vireo

Philadelphia Vireo

This list is a very small sample of the species you will find at Acadia. Located in Maine, the park is highly recommended as a destination for amateur and fanatical bird watchers.



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Learning about Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds are a joy for a birdwatcher to observe. They are found only in the Western Hemisphere, from as far north as Southeastern Alaska and the Maritimes of Canada and as far south as Southern Chile. There are approximately 350 species of hummingbirds with 320 species found in the tropics. Within the family of hummingbirds is found the smallest bird in the world, the Bee Hummingbird of Cuba at 2.17 inches (5.5 cm) and weight 1.95gm (0.07 oz). Hummingbirds range in size from 2 inches to 8 inches.

The hummingbird derives its name from the humming sound that is produced by its rapid wingbeat. Generally the wingbeat is so rapid that the individual only sees a blur as most of these birds flap their wings about 50 times per second. The speed of the wingbeat depends on the size of the bird, the largest the Giant Hummingbird, has a wingbeat rate of 10-15 times per second. The fastest recorded rate was about 80 times per second, on a tiny Amethyst Woodstar, and the slightly smaller Bee Hummingbird - the world's smallest bird - may have an even faster rate. A hummingbird's wing is flexible at the shoulder, but inflexible at the wrist, this enables them to fly in many different directions. They can fly right, left, up, down, backwards and even upside down. To move away from the flowers on which they feed hummingbirds fly backwards and are the only bird able to fly backwards. While other birds get their flight power from the downstroke only, hummingbirds also have strength on the up-stroke. Though they fly very fast, they can suddenly stop and make a soft landing. They are so light they do not build up much momentum. Hummingbirds have poorly developed feet, so that although they are able to perch and will do so when feeding or resting, they do not walk. In order to move, even along a branch, they fly. Hummingbirds lift from perches without pushing off; they rise entirely on their own power, flapping their wings at almost full speed before lifting off. Hummingbirds sleep perched on branches with their neck retracted and their head forward, the bill pointed up at a sharp angle, and the feathers fluffed.

It is believed that hummingbirds live for only 3 to 4 years. They have a fast heartbeat with a rate of 1260 beats per minute having been measured in a Blue-throated Hummingbird. In torpid hummingbirds, the heart rate can drop to 50-180 per minute. Their fast heart rate and rapid wing motion require them to feed regularly throughout the day. It is reported that they must feed every 10 minutes and they may consume 2/3 of their body weight in a single day. A major part of a hummingbird's diet is the nectar they obtain from flowers and their bills are perfectly adapted to the various types of flowers that they feed on. Some hummingbirds have especially curved or elongated bills that allow them to feed on special flowers, eg the White-tipped Sicklebill hummingbird whose downward curving bill allows it to draw nectar from heliconias. The Ruby-Topaz Hummingbird has a short and slightly decurved bill that is suited to feeding on the flowers of the ixora shrub. The Blue-tailed Emerald has a short bill that is suited for feeding on the Hibiscus flower. the Copper-rumped Hummingbird has a straight long bill that allows it to feed on medium sized tube shaped flowers such as the Allamanda. In feeding, hummingbirds use their tongue to lap the nectar in a similar manner to cats lapping milk. Their tongue can extend a distance equal to their beak length. As they feed hummingbirds accidentally collect pollen and as they move from flower to flower, they help the flowers to reproduce.

Hummingbirds have little or no sense of smell, so colour is important to a hummingbird's search process for locating flowers containing nectar. While they will visit any flower that has sufficient nectar they prefer flowers that are red to orange in colour. It is believed that there are several reasons for this colour preference. Red flowers standout in a green background and so are more easily seen by the hummingbird. It is also believed that because hummingbirds compete with insects for nectar they choose flowers that are less likely to be visited by insects. Most insects do not see well at the red end of the colour spectrum and so may not visit red flowers while hummingbirds see the full visible spectrum.

Hummingbirds also need protein in order to build muscles, so they eat insects. They prefer to feed on small spiders and slow-flying insects such as gnats, small wasps and leafhoppers, which are rather buoyant in air and easy to catch. They also probe the bark and foliage for insects such as aphids, spiders, caterpillars and insect eggs. It is believed that up to one-half of their diet is made up of small insects. Hummingbirds are capable of living for extended periods without nectar as a component of their diet. They can quickly convert fat reserves and recently ingested insects to energy when deprived of nectar. Hummingbirds compete for nectar and insects and so they develop territories, which they guard aggressively. They will fight with other hummingbirds that enter their territory but serious harm is seldom inflicted during these fights. Also when food sources are scarce they fight to protect their source.

Most hummingbirds are green except hermits, which are mainly brown, and are known for the iridescence. These brilliant, iridescent colors of the hummingbird plumage are caused by the refraction of incident light by the structures of certain feathers. These structures split light into its component colors, and only certain frequencies are refracted back to the viewer. The brown colour in some hummingbirds is the result however of pigmentation. Hummingbirds groom themselves with their bills and claws, using oil from a gland near their tail. They also use their claws like a comb to groom their heads and necks. They sunbathe positioning their breast towards the sun and fluffing out, extending their neck and spreading their tail. Hummingbirds also take water baths using the water in shallow pools or cupped leaves. They flutter their wings or pull them straight back while lifting and spreading their tail; they dip their chins and bellies into the water. At times they can be seen sitting on a bare branch allowing the rain to soak through to their skin. After bathing they will preen and dry their feathers.

Hummingbirds build cup shaped nests, however hermits build long hanging nests usually attached to foliage. Male hummingbirds do not contribute to the building of nests or the care of young. All feeding is therefore left to the female. When feeding the female perches on the side of the nest, arches her back, stretches her neck, lifts her head, and holds her bill down to regurgitate nectar and half-digested insects to her babies. Her throat swells and she pumps her beak like a sewing needle.

Although various larger birds, snakes, and mammals raid hummingbird nests for eggs and chicks, this is not a major cause of death.


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Attracting Birds to a Tropical Garden

Some individuals enjoy bird watching but prefer to do their bird watching in their back yard. Below is some advice on attracting wild birds to your back yard.

Firstly it depends upon having wild birds in the general area where your house is located and then you can attract then to your backyard.

The method used to attract the birds will depend upon what is the diet of the bird. If the bird is a nectar feeder e.g. bananaquits or hummingbirds, then large flowering plants will attract them. Hummingbird bills are perfectly adapted to the various types of flowers that they feed on, so different types of flowers will attract different hummingbirds. Some hummingbirds have especially curved or elongated bills that allow them to feed on special flowers, eg the White-tipped Sicklebill hummingbird whose downward curving bill allows it to draw nectar from heliconias. The Ruby-Topaz Hummingbird has a short and slightly decurved bill that is suited to feeding on the flowers of the ixora shrub. The Blue-tailed Emerald has a short bill that is suited for feeding on the Hibiscus flower. The Copper-rumped Hummingbird has a straight long bill that allows it to feed on medium sized tube shaped flowers such as the allamanda. Hummingbirds have little or no sense of smell, so colour is important to a hummingbird's search process for locating flowers containing nectar. While they will visit any flower that has sufficient nectar they prefer flowers that are red to orange in colour. It is believed that this colour preference is due to the fact that red flowers standout in a green background and so are more easily seen by the hummingbird. It is also believed that because hummingbirds compete with insects for nectar they choose flowers that are less likely to be visited by insects. Most insects do not see well at the red end of the colour spectrum and so may not visit red flowers while hummingbirds see the full visible spectrum.

If space in your yard is very limited, preventing you from having large flowering shrubs, an area to consider is the curb area between your property line and the roadway. You can plant small flowering shrubs such as the miniature ixora, which will then attract nectar feeding birds to your property.

For birds that are fruit eaters, the presence of ripe fruit will attract and so having fruit trees will attract birds. The majority of trees however only fruit once per year for a few months, so the attraction is not year round. If your garden has sufficient space then multiple fruit trees that bear at different times in the year will ensure a continuous bird presence. One tree that bears fruit for a very extended period is guava and so can attract birds for most of the year. Trees are also an attraction to birds because they provide nesting and resting sites. If you have the palm trees that people usually plant in from their houses that will generally attract Palm Tanagers who will feed on the small nuts, use material from the tree for building their nests and may also nest in the tree.

When a large number of flowering shrubs and/or fruit trees is not an option, you can consider purchasing a bird feeder. The type of feeder will also be dependent upon the type of birds in the area and the type of birds that you want to attract. For nectar feeders you use a sugar solution (the feeder usually has directions). You must put the feeder in a location where the birds will see it and you must change the solution regularly (2 -3 days). Red Feeders are good for attracting hummingbirds because they have a preference for red flowers. If you use a feeder it will take a few days for the birds to recognise that it is present in your yard.

Other feed can attract other types of birds. Bare-Eyed Thrushes and Kiskadees are somewhat omnivorous and so you can use rice (not boiled). I have found that they will also be attracted by dog food. Tropical Mockingbirds can also be attracted with rice. In addition, ripe fruit such bananas, mangoes and cherry can be used and will usually attract Blue-Gray Tanagers, Palm Tanagers and Yellow Orioles.

As an alternative to purchasing a feeder you can construct a feeder. For fruits you can build a simple chicken wire basket or bamboo joint to hold the fruit and attach it to the fence. Another low cost feeder can be constructed using a plastic bowl with a narrow edge. To construct this feeder you punch three holes, equidistant around the bowl. Then attach wire strands through each hole with the strands coming together at the top to form either a hook or a loop for suspending the bowl. Three strands are required to provide stability to the bowl particularly when birds alight on the bowl to feed. It is necessary to punch several holes in the base of the bowl to allow any rainwater or liquids to drain out the bowl.

Attracting birds, apart from the visual delight also provides the benefit of controlling the insect population, as many birds are insect feeders.



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Dealing with Aggressive Blackbirds

The Carib Grackle is a member of the Oriole family and is commonly known as simply a "Blackbird". It is also called the Lesser Antillean Grackle, while its Latin Name is Quiscalus lugubris. It is a glossy black bird with a long slender curved black bill. The iris of the eye is yellowish white and the tail is long and keel shaped ("V" shaped). Females are slightly larger and less glossy while juveniles are dull brown with dark brown eyes. The size of the adult is between 28-34 cm (11-13 in) and the weight is between 74-142 g (2.61-5.01 ounces). This grackle is found throughout the islands of the Lesser Antilles, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas and Brazil. It is closely related to, but smaller than, the Greater Antillean Grackle (Quiscalus niger) that is found on the islands of the Greater Antilles. It is similar in appearance to the male Shiny Cowbird with the difference being the shape of the bill and the colour of the iris.

The Carib Grackle is common resident of all the countries in its range and is generally observed in groups. It is a noisy bold bird that spends a large amount of time strutting on the ground with its head held high. It is almost omnivorous eating fruits, insects, seeds, frogs, lizards, snails and discarded human food such as bread, beans, french fries and meat. The combination of its boldness and eating habits has resulted in this bird being very common around human habitation and is seen in household gardens, parks, open-air restaurants, shopping mall parking lots etc.

This frequency around humans sometimes results in problems for people. These birds nest in trees, thick shrubbery such as ixora and ledges of houses and their nesting period is from May to November with the heaviest nesting in June and July. The Carib Grackle is a very aggressive bird when nesting and will attack anything, including humans that it believes is too near the nest. Groups of Grackles will band together to attack and fearlessly swoop at the head. They will repeatedly attack until they drive the intruder away and with each successive swoop will get closer and closer to the head. In attacking they use their claws and beak. In some cases they have literally prevented individuals from using their gardens during the nesting period or forced homeowners to run anytime that they venture out of their house.

The solution to the problem is the removal of the nest. Whenever a homeowner sees large quantities of these Grackles gathering in the vicinity of their home during the nesting period, they should immediately begin looking for the location of the nest(s). It should be removed before the birds have an opportunity to lay their eggs. If the nest is removed the birds will move to another location to lay their eggs (hopefully away from the home), eliminating the problem for the homeowner. It may be necessary to remove the nest a second time as they may immediately return to the same spot to rebuild the nest. Be forewarned that any attempt at nest removal will cause these birds to attack even harder. The homeowner should therefore wear head protection such as a construction hard hat, safety goggles for the eyes and long sleeved shirts.


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