For at least the last eleven years, a colony of scores of rough-winged swallows have wintered at the Northeast Philadelphia Sewage Treatment Plant near the Delaware River in Philadelphia. It is the only gathering of wintering swallows in North America north of the Gulf of Mexico. All other rough-wings winter on islands and mainlands around the Caribbean Sea and the rim of the Gulf of Mexico where flying insects are abundant and available during the northern winter. That sewage treatment plant is a relatively warm habitat, a human-made mini-ecosystem in the cold of winter. I have read reports of swallows at that plant in winter, but have not been there myself. But it is intriguing to think of this unusual environment, and others like it. And it is enlightening to realize how resilient nature is.
The presence of rough-winged swallows and other kinds of small, insect-eating birds, including a few each of cave swallows, barn swallows, eastern phoebes and a few species of warblers, including palm warblers and yellow-rumped warblers, wintering at that sewage treatment plant, is based on swarms of a kind of insect called midges. Adult midges are small, two-winged flies that fly about that sewage treatment plant in swarms and are eaten by those birds in winter.
Other kinds of small birds that might winter at Philadelphia's sewage plant to eat midges are tree swallows, pine warblers, orange-crowned warblers, common yellowthroat warblers and yellow-throated warblers. A few of each one of these species already winter in the north, though most birds of each species winter in Central and/or South America.
But how can adult midges, being cold-blooded, be active and available to hungry birds in winter? That depends on the warmth of sewage in underground treatment ponds. Sewage water constantly flows from warm buildings through underground pipes to open-air sewage pools in the ground at the treatment plant. Being in the insulating soil, the sewage water stays relatively warm and is a breeding ground for the midges that live at that sewage treatment facility. As fast as the waste water cools, it is supplemented with warmer water that warms the air above it, and midges in that air.
Adult, flying midges don't eat anything. They only live three to five days and there only job is to mate so female midges can spawn thousands of egg masses on the surface of sewage water. But many adults are eaten by birds before they get to mate or spawn. Midge eggs sink into the sewage and bloodworms hatch from them. They are called bloodworms because they are red.
Each bloodworm creates a protective case around itself and joins others of its kind in red, wriggling masses on the bottoms of tanks and their walls. There those red midge larvae consume bacteria, and sewage, which is still loaded with nutrients. Both the bacteria and sewage is suspended in the water and is, therefore, available to the bloodworms. The bloodworms pupate and later emerge as adult, flying midges in great swarms that feed those insect-eating birds around Philadelphia's sewage plant in winter. Bloodworms in more natural habitats feed fish and a host of other aquatic creatures.
Bacteria that bloodworms feed on ingest sewage. We can see that new food chains developed in sewage treatment plants, which is based on human waste. Sewage feeds bacteria, which is consumed by bloodworms that emerge from the waste water as adult, flying midges, many of which are eaten by small birds, some of which are eaten by small hawks and other critters.
There are many kinds of adaptable plants and animals. Two examples of that are chimney swifts and barn swallows that hatch babies in protective niches. Chimney swifts historically nested down the inside of hollow, broken-off trees, but now raise young down the inside of chimneys, which, to them, are like hollow trees. Barn swallows originally nested on cliffs and in shallow caves, but now rear offspring in barns and under bridges, which to them, are like cliffs and caves.
The colony of rough-winged swallows that winter at Philadelphia's sewage plant might, in time, develop a new species of swallows because of their isolation from their mainstream relatives. That group of rough-wings might stay at that plant to nest, which might also contribute to their isolation.
It's inspiring to know that some forms of life are so adaptable that they survive where we wouldn't expect them to. Because of relatively warm sewage, bacteria and midges are active in winter. And swarms of midges attract wintering, insectivorous birds that are farther north, in numbers, than they ordinarily would be. These food chains in a human-made environment created an interesting mini-ecosystem.
Friday, December 30, 2016
Monday, December 26, 2016
Wintering Suburban Thrushes
At least six wintering American robins have scratched for invertebrates and seeds in loose soil under a clump of three bushes on our lawn for the last several late afternoons in December of 2016.
I've never seen robins do that before on our lawn in winter, which peaked my interest. Robins' adapting to different habitats and food sources has made them successful as a species, including in that little niche.
Robins, which are a kind of thrush, probably lived and nested in woodland clearings originally. But as European colonists cleared the forests to create fields, robin populations increased in an ever-expanding environment they were preadapted to, which led to their great success as a species.
Today robins commonly nest on suburban lawns that have shrubbery and young trees. There each female builds a mud and grass cradle in a fork of a bush or tree. But after their breeding season, robins gather in flocks, some of which go south for the winter, while others stay north, including here in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Robins wintering in the north usually live by eating crab apples and a variety of berries, including those on hawthorns, multiflora rose, barberries, bittersweet and hollies. But they also consume invertebrates when and where they can get them in winter, including digging for them with their toe nails in unfrozen ground.
A few beautiful eastern bluebirds were in our suburban neighborhood on December 10, 2016, which was an exciting first sighting of them here. In fact, I never saw bluebirds in a suburb before. They were in our neighborhood because they were eating red berries from a barberry bush against the next door neighbors' house. Eastern bluebirds, like robins, probably lived and nested in woodland openings and have adapted to and benefited from farmland, where they consume invertebrates in warmer months and berries in winter. There they nest in holes in lone trees, fence post hollows and bird boxes erected for them. And in winter, little groups of bluebirds pile into some of those same cavities to spend winter nights sharing body heat and surviving.
And just a few years ago, many wintering hermit thrushes, which is a kind of spot-breasted thrush, visited bird feeders near shrubbery throughout the United States, including one wintering hermit in our back yard. It was an interesting lone bird with its characteristic tail pumping and foot tapping. And that hermit stayed among shrubbery all winter, and scratched up invertebrates, and seeds fallen to the ground from our bird feeder in the midst of protective bushes.
Those few wintering species of the thrush family have made our lawn more exciting and memorable. Traveling to see birds is fun and exciting, but, I think, no more so than those species seen at home. And, at home, we have the advantage of studying and enjoying birds daily and more intimately.
I've never seen robins do that before on our lawn in winter, which peaked my interest. Robins' adapting to different habitats and food sources has made them successful as a species, including in that little niche.
Robins, which are a kind of thrush, probably lived and nested in woodland clearings originally. But as European colonists cleared the forests to create fields, robin populations increased in an ever-expanding environment they were preadapted to, which led to their great success as a species.
Today robins commonly nest on suburban lawns that have shrubbery and young trees. There each female builds a mud and grass cradle in a fork of a bush or tree. But after their breeding season, robins gather in flocks, some of which go south for the winter, while others stay north, including here in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Robins wintering in the north usually live by eating crab apples and a variety of berries, including those on hawthorns, multiflora rose, barberries, bittersweet and hollies. But they also consume invertebrates when and where they can get them in winter, including digging for them with their toe nails in unfrozen ground.
A few beautiful eastern bluebirds were in our suburban neighborhood on December 10, 2016, which was an exciting first sighting of them here. In fact, I never saw bluebirds in a suburb before. They were in our neighborhood because they were eating red berries from a barberry bush against the next door neighbors' house. Eastern bluebirds, like robins, probably lived and nested in woodland openings and have adapted to and benefited from farmland, where they consume invertebrates in warmer months and berries in winter. There they nest in holes in lone trees, fence post hollows and bird boxes erected for them. And in winter, little groups of bluebirds pile into some of those same cavities to spend winter nights sharing body heat and surviving.
And just a few years ago, many wintering hermit thrushes, which is a kind of spot-breasted thrush, visited bird feeders near shrubbery throughout the United States, including one wintering hermit in our back yard. It was an interesting lone bird with its characteristic tail pumping and foot tapping. And that hermit stayed among shrubbery all winter, and scratched up invertebrates, and seeds fallen to the ground from our bird feeder in the midst of protective bushes.
Those few wintering species of the thrush family have made our lawn more exciting and memorable. Traveling to see birds is fun and exciting, but, I think, no more so than those species seen at home. And, at home, we have the advantage of studying and enjoying birds daily and more intimately.
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
A Mid-Winter Nature Drive
I went on a local, mid-winter nature drive for an hour on the sunny afternoon of December 20, 2016. I say mid-winter because to me December 21, the shortest day of the year, is the middle of winter and the end of the biological year, a Biological New Year's Eve. December 22, then is Biological New Year's Day. From that day on, periods of daylight each successive day get longer as the northern hemisphere begins to tilt toward the sun, heralding spring's coming north.
I drove out of New Holland, Pennsylvania on country roads for two miles, passing suburbs, farmland, a couple of streams and wood lots on the way. Those four habitats are the major ones in Lancaster County.
The first creatures I saw as I drove out of town were about 60 mallard ducks and close to that number of Canada geese in an overgrown meadow with a stream flowing through it. I must say that no matter how commonplace mallards and Canadas are, they are the most handsome and stately of waterfowl in this county.
Some of the ducks were swimming in a slow part of the waterway, while others of their gathering were feeding on weed and grass seeds from three-foot-tall, beige plants close to the water. The drakes had beautifully iridescent-green heads that shown in the in the sunlight while the female mallards were lovely in a camouflaged way in the dead and light-brown grass.
The geese were elegant with gray plumage on their bodies, and with their black-feathered rears, necks and heads, with a white chin "strap" on each side of the head. Those Canadas were grazing on short grass in a back part of that pasture.
Driving on, I saw a fairly large, female American holly tree loaded with striking red berries on a lawn. Another holly, a male, had no berries on it. But the male's pollen blew on the wind in May and fertilized the female's blooms, hence the decorative scarlet berries.
Moving on, I saw a young thicket of pretty shrubbery and trees in an abandoned meadow along the road I was on. I saw a few cranberry viburnum bushes with lots of red berries, a couple of red-twigged dogwoods complete with red twigs, and a few young white oak and pin oak trees that still had several dead leaves clinging to them. At some time in winter, American robins and other kinds of birds will eat those viburnum berries.
Here and there, along the way, I saw stately, planted Norway spruce trees and white pine trees that lend green to the gray and beige winter landscape. Many of the spruces also had decorative, beige cones on their upper limbs that have seeds that gray squirrels, mice, and American goldfinches, house finches, two kinds of chickadees and other kinds of small birds will eat during winter.
As I continued to drive through farmland, I saw a Cooper's hawk zip up into a tall, deciduous tree in a meadow where it perched to watch for birds to prey on. A pair of red-tailed hawks perched on a tall tree in a nearby pasture. I suspect those red-tails are a mated pair that may have a nest, or will build one, nearby. And in that second meadow I saw a couple of eastern bluebirds on roadside electric wires and a northern mockingbird in a big clump of multiflora rose. Both those species eat invertebrates when they can, but will turn to berries when the weather is cold and invertebrates are not available to them.
I parked by a small, weedy thicket on the edge of a woodland before returning home. The thicket was filled with tall, dead goldenrod stalks and dogbane plants. A male northern cardinal and a song sparrow were among the goldenrod, eating their seeds. A staghorn sumac tree with several pyramid-shaped clusters of fuzzy, red berries was in the little thicket. And several vines of bitterweet, each one loaded with orange berries, were strung beautifully in the trees on the edge of the clearing. White fluff, each one with a brown seed, floated out of the open pods of the dogbanes and away on the wind. Some of those seeds will find good soil in sunny places to sprout and grow.
On the two-mile trip home I saw another Cooper's hawk land on a lawn and a group of small birds perched on the top of a half-grown, deciduous tree in a pasture. Using binoculars, I looked at the congregations of birds in the tree and saw they were house finches, with several pink-breasted males. Over the years, I've noticed that house finches nest in suburbs, but are scarce there in winter. I think they may be driven out of town by gangs of house sparrows, which can be aggressive. But the house finches seem to winter in weedy hedgerows and woodland edges outside of towns during winter. That way, perhaps, they can live and feed without being harassed by house sparrows. It's interesting how nature works out many potential problems.
Though it only lasted around an hour, I enjoyed that nature trip with its magnificent trees, lovely berries and interesting birds. Readers can do the same. Just get out and look around. Most any nature excursion, no matter how long or short, can be enjoyable and inspiring. They can give many people a new lease on life.
I drove out of New Holland, Pennsylvania on country roads for two miles, passing suburbs, farmland, a couple of streams and wood lots on the way. Those four habitats are the major ones in Lancaster County.
The first creatures I saw as I drove out of town were about 60 mallard ducks and close to that number of Canada geese in an overgrown meadow with a stream flowing through it. I must say that no matter how commonplace mallards and Canadas are, they are the most handsome and stately of waterfowl in this county.
Some of the ducks were swimming in a slow part of the waterway, while others of their gathering were feeding on weed and grass seeds from three-foot-tall, beige plants close to the water. The drakes had beautifully iridescent-green heads that shown in the in the sunlight while the female mallards were lovely in a camouflaged way in the dead and light-brown grass.
The geese were elegant with gray plumage on their bodies, and with their black-feathered rears, necks and heads, with a white chin "strap" on each side of the head. Those Canadas were grazing on short grass in a back part of that pasture.
Driving on, I saw a fairly large, female American holly tree loaded with striking red berries on a lawn. Another holly, a male, had no berries on it. But the male's pollen blew on the wind in May and fertilized the female's blooms, hence the decorative scarlet berries.
Moving on, I saw a young thicket of pretty shrubbery and trees in an abandoned meadow along the road I was on. I saw a few cranberry viburnum bushes with lots of red berries, a couple of red-twigged dogwoods complete with red twigs, and a few young white oak and pin oak trees that still had several dead leaves clinging to them. At some time in winter, American robins and other kinds of birds will eat those viburnum berries.
Here and there, along the way, I saw stately, planted Norway spruce trees and white pine trees that lend green to the gray and beige winter landscape. Many of the spruces also had decorative, beige cones on their upper limbs that have seeds that gray squirrels, mice, and American goldfinches, house finches, two kinds of chickadees and other kinds of small birds will eat during winter.
As I continued to drive through farmland, I saw a Cooper's hawk zip up into a tall, deciduous tree in a meadow where it perched to watch for birds to prey on. A pair of red-tailed hawks perched on a tall tree in a nearby pasture. I suspect those red-tails are a mated pair that may have a nest, or will build one, nearby. And in that second meadow I saw a couple of eastern bluebirds on roadside electric wires and a northern mockingbird in a big clump of multiflora rose. Both those species eat invertebrates when they can, but will turn to berries when the weather is cold and invertebrates are not available to them.
I parked by a small, weedy thicket on the edge of a woodland before returning home. The thicket was filled with tall, dead goldenrod stalks and dogbane plants. A male northern cardinal and a song sparrow were among the goldenrod, eating their seeds. A staghorn sumac tree with several pyramid-shaped clusters of fuzzy, red berries was in the little thicket. And several vines of bitterweet, each one loaded with orange berries, were strung beautifully in the trees on the edge of the clearing. White fluff, each one with a brown seed, floated out of the open pods of the dogbanes and away on the wind. Some of those seeds will find good soil in sunny places to sprout and grow.
On the two-mile trip home I saw another Cooper's hawk land on a lawn and a group of small birds perched on the top of a half-grown, deciduous tree in a pasture. Using binoculars, I looked at the congregations of birds in the tree and saw they were house finches, with several pink-breasted males. Over the years, I've noticed that house finches nest in suburbs, but are scarce there in winter. I think they may be driven out of town by gangs of house sparrows, which can be aggressive. But the house finches seem to winter in weedy hedgerows and woodland edges outside of towns during winter. That way, perhaps, they can live and feed without being harassed by house sparrows. It's interesting how nature works out many potential problems.
Though it only lasted around an hour, I enjoyed that nature trip with its magnificent trees, lovely berries and interesting birds. Readers can do the same. Just get out and look around. Most any nature excursion, no matter how long or short, can be enjoyable and inspiring. They can give many people a new lease on life.
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Nesting Mill Creek Waterfowl
One day this past November, I made three stops along Mill Creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania farmland to enjoy scenery and wildlife. Among other kinds of birds spotted along that waterway, I saw a flock of Canada geese, a smaller group of mallard ducks and a few wood ducks at one place, a gathering of gray-lag geese at another stretch of creek, a pair of mute swans near the gray-lags and at least a few muscovy ducks at each of those spots along the creek. The first three species of waterfowl are native and wild, but the latter three are domestic birds gone feral and living and nesting along Mill Creek. In fact, all six of those waterfowl species raise young along Mill Creek, as they do along other waterways in this county, and all are permanent residents here, except woodies which migrate south for the winter.
All these species of waterfowl, both wild and domestic, are built like boats were easy floating and swimming on water. And they have beauties and intrigues, which add the same to the waterways and impoundments they live along. And one has to admire and respect the feral birds as much as the wild ones because they are on their own and risk being caught by predators. The feral species are just as vulnerable to predators as wild birds are simply because they nest in the wild. The eggs and small young of all these kinds of waterfowl are subject to being preyed on by mink, raccoons, great blue herons, hawks and other kinds of predators.
The young of all these related waterfowl species, and other kinds in their extended family produce young that are fully fuzzed, open-eyed and alert, and able to get their own food upon hatching. They also have webbed feet for easy swimming.
Canada geese and mallards hatch young in grassy nurseries on the ground near water. Each pair of geese and mallard hens brood their young, lead them to food and warn them of danger. Canadas also protect their young from predators.
Pairs of wood ducks return to the north early in March and almost immediately look for unused hollows in tall trees, or empty nesting boxes erected especially for woodies, along creeks and impoundments. And when the ducklings hatch in those cavities in May, they use their toe nails to crawl up the inside of them and jump out the entrances to the water or ground below. Each mother leads her brood to invertebrate food.
The pompous gray-lag geese are originally from Europe where they nest in the wild. Long ago, some of their population was domesticated and European pioneers brought gray-lags to American colonies to be raised for meat and eggs. Gray-lags, like many kinds of geese, ingest grass and other plant material, both on land and in water. And some feral pairs of these geese in local cropland hatch up to six young in a brood in grassy nurseries along waterways and impoundments, just as though they are wild. And those wild-living pairs raise as many goslings as they can.
Mute swans are large, elegant birds originally from Europe where they are wild birds. Pairs of these stately swans were brought to America to be placed as ornamental birds on ponds in estates and parks, and on farms. There many pairs annually raised up to six cygnets in a brood over the years and many of those young birds escaped captivity. Today thousands of feral mute swans live on larger waters in Delaware, Maryland, New York State and New England.
Lancaster County has several pairs of domestic mute swans that raise young on ponds, and other, feral pairs that rear offspring along creeks. Some of those young swans escape captivity and make a living in the wild.
Both parents of each pair of mute swans is aggressive in defending its cygnets against predators. And many pairs of mutes drive away Canada geese, which they consider to be competition for space and food. Male mutes are particularly aggressive. They hold their wings up to be more intimidating while swimming in strong spurts in a threatening manner toward their foe.
Muscovy ducks are from South America and were domesticated for meat and eggs, the reason they were brought to North America. Wild muscovies are large and black with white trim, but many domesticated ones today have pure white feathering or any pattern of black and white. Drakes are a little over twice as large as hens, and each muscovy has a partly-naked, red head, with males having much more red skin on their heads than females do.
Interestingly, some feral muscovy hens in Lancaster County farmland start hatching young late in summer, and even in autumn, on their own along creeks and ponds. This may be in response to the sun "slipping" south then, triggering muscovies that were adapted to living in the Southern Hemisphere to nest. The sun "going" south indicates spring in the Southern Hemisphere. But other muscovy hens apparently adapted to the Northern Hemisphere because they start nesting in May.
All these species of waterfowl, both native and feral, nest along Mill Creek, as they do along other waterways and impoundments. And there both the wild and domestic birds are interesting to watch conducting their life cycles in Lancaster County's agricultural areas. Some day, the feral species may be totally wild in North America.
All these species of waterfowl, both wild and domestic, are built like boats were easy floating and swimming on water. And they have beauties and intrigues, which add the same to the waterways and impoundments they live along. And one has to admire and respect the feral birds as much as the wild ones because they are on their own and risk being caught by predators. The feral species are just as vulnerable to predators as wild birds are simply because they nest in the wild. The eggs and small young of all these kinds of waterfowl are subject to being preyed on by mink, raccoons, great blue herons, hawks and other kinds of predators.
The young of all these related waterfowl species, and other kinds in their extended family produce young that are fully fuzzed, open-eyed and alert, and able to get their own food upon hatching. They also have webbed feet for easy swimming.
Canada geese and mallards hatch young in grassy nurseries on the ground near water. Each pair of geese and mallard hens brood their young, lead them to food and warn them of danger. Canadas also protect their young from predators.
Pairs of wood ducks return to the north early in March and almost immediately look for unused hollows in tall trees, or empty nesting boxes erected especially for woodies, along creeks and impoundments. And when the ducklings hatch in those cavities in May, they use their toe nails to crawl up the inside of them and jump out the entrances to the water or ground below. Each mother leads her brood to invertebrate food.
The pompous gray-lag geese are originally from Europe where they nest in the wild. Long ago, some of their population was domesticated and European pioneers brought gray-lags to American colonies to be raised for meat and eggs. Gray-lags, like many kinds of geese, ingest grass and other plant material, both on land and in water. And some feral pairs of these geese in local cropland hatch up to six young in a brood in grassy nurseries along waterways and impoundments, just as though they are wild. And those wild-living pairs raise as many goslings as they can.
Mute swans are large, elegant birds originally from Europe where they are wild birds. Pairs of these stately swans were brought to America to be placed as ornamental birds on ponds in estates and parks, and on farms. There many pairs annually raised up to six cygnets in a brood over the years and many of those young birds escaped captivity. Today thousands of feral mute swans live on larger waters in Delaware, Maryland, New York State and New England.
Lancaster County has several pairs of domestic mute swans that raise young on ponds, and other, feral pairs that rear offspring along creeks. Some of those young swans escape captivity and make a living in the wild.
Both parents of each pair of mute swans is aggressive in defending its cygnets against predators. And many pairs of mutes drive away Canada geese, which they consider to be competition for space and food. Male mutes are particularly aggressive. They hold their wings up to be more intimidating while swimming in strong spurts in a threatening manner toward their foe.
Muscovy ducks are from South America and were domesticated for meat and eggs, the reason they were brought to North America. Wild muscovies are large and black with white trim, but many domesticated ones today have pure white feathering or any pattern of black and white. Drakes are a little over twice as large as hens, and each muscovy has a partly-naked, red head, with males having much more red skin on their heads than females do.
Interestingly, some feral muscovy hens in Lancaster County farmland start hatching young late in summer, and even in autumn, on their own along creeks and ponds. This may be in response to the sun "slipping" south then, triggering muscovies that were adapted to living in the Southern Hemisphere to nest. The sun "going" south indicates spring in the Southern Hemisphere. But other muscovy hens apparently adapted to the Northern Hemisphere because they start nesting in May.
All these species of waterfowl, both native and feral, nest along Mill Creek, as they do along other waterways and impoundments. And there both the wild and domestic birds are interesting to watch conducting their life cycles in Lancaster County's agricultural areas. Some day, the feral species may be totally wild in North America.
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Landfill Wildlife
On December 12, 2016, I drove to a landfill near Morgantown, Berks County, Pennsylvania that I have known about for years to see what birds were in and around it. Land just north of Morgantown has woodlands, human-made impoundments, overgrown fields and hedgerow thickets between those fields that feed and shelter adaptable wildlife in that area. But it also contains expressways and their accesses and cloverleafs, state roads, corporate centers, other businesses and the landfill.
As I approached the landfill, a blizzard of thousands of ring-billed gulls lifted off it, circled it a few times, then settled into it again like a snowfall of giant flakes. A minute later a great, dark swarm of starlings rose from the landfill and created several pictures in the sky as the flock abruptly turned this way and that. Then they, too, settled back into the landfill, on the fence surrounding it and on nearby tall trees. No doubt, ring-bills and starlings are at that landfill all day, every day, in winter to ingest edible garbage brought in by a parade of trash trucks. The gulls spend winter nights bobbing on local impoundments, while starlings find shelter in groves of coniferous trees or among buildings in cities and towns.
I was outside that landfill for a couple of hours on December 12 and saw many of the ring-bills and starlings there take flight in great flocks at frequent intervals. And each exodus by one or the other of those species is exciting, inspiring and entertaining to see. The gulls are adapted to open, human-made habitats because they evolved on beaches and salt marshes where their great flocks can form. When not in flight or eating, ring-bills in the landfill stood in white and pale-gray masses on its floor, as they congregate on beaches and flats. And those gulls standing on landfill soil were undisturbed by the big trash trucks that drove close to them. Starlings have adapted to most every human-made habitat, including this dumping area, much to their benefit as a species. Adaptable species of any kind have a future.
Sprinklings of wintering American crows, turkey vultures and black vultures are also adaptable, abundant scavengers, like the ring-bills and starlings. The crows and vultures daily come to this landfill to consume edible garbage through the winter, but not in great congregations. Turkey vultures soar, with wing tips uplifted, into the wind and down on the landfill with little expenditure of energy. Black vultures sail down with intermittent series of rapid wing beats and soaring. The vultures spend winter nights in the tops of trees in wooded valleys that break the force of cold winds to an extent.
Like the surrounding countryside, the sloping edges of the landfill are covered by thickets of young trees of various kinds, including several red junipers and stag-horned sumacs, shrubbery such as multiflora rose and Tartarian honeysuckle, bittersweet vines and tall weeds and grass, including goldenrod and foxtail grass. All these plants hold down the soil and provide food and cover for adaptable wildlife. During the short time I was watching the landfill for the larger, flock birds, I saw northern cardinals, song sparrows and white-throated sparrows eating seeds from weeds and grasses. And I saw a flock of American robins ingesting the fuzzy, red berries of a long line of staghorn sumac trees. A sharp-shinned hawk was present near where I sat as that little hawk watched for small birds to catch and consume. And I saw a few red-tailed hawks along the landfill slopes as they looked for mice to snare and ingest.
As each section of the dumping area fills with trash, soil is pushed over it and planted to grass seed. The seeds of other plants blow in on the wind, or are carried in bird droppings to those grass-planted spots. Eventually a variety of vegetation will fill those once bare-ground places, hold down the soil and feed and shelter a variety of adaptable wildlife. What were once open sores on the landscape are reclaimed by plants and wild animals that make the countryside lovely again.
Landfills, including this one, don't have to be wounds on the land, with proper management. After trash is buried by soil, plants can be planted or allowed to take hold on their own. That vegetation will be attractive to certain kinds of adaptable wildlife that will make a home in its embrace, and raise young there as well.
As I approached the landfill, a blizzard of thousands of ring-billed gulls lifted off it, circled it a few times, then settled into it again like a snowfall of giant flakes. A minute later a great, dark swarm of starlings rose from the landfill and created several pictures in the sky as the flock abruptly turned this way and that. Then they, too, settled back into the landfill, on the fence surrounding it and on nearby tall trees. No doubt, ring-bills and starlings are at that landfill all day, every day, in winter to ingest edible garbage brought in by a parade of trash trucks. The gulls spend winter nights bobbing on local impoundments, while starlings find shelter in groves of coniferous trees or among buildings in cities and towns.
I was outside that landfill for a couple of hours on December 12 and saw many of the ring-bills and starlings there take flight in great flocks at frequent intervals. And each exodus by one or the other of those species is exciting, inspiring and entertaining to see. The gulls are adapted to open, human-made habitats because they evolved on beaches and salt marshes where their great flocks can form. When not in flight or eating, ring-bills in the landfill stood in white and pale-gray masses on its floor, as they congregate on beaches and flats. And those gulls standing on landfill soil were undisturbed by the big trash trucks that drove close to them. Starlings have adapted to most every human-made habitat, including this dumping area, much to their benefit as a species. Adaptable species of any kind have a future.
Sprinklings of wintering American crows, turkey vultures and black vultures are also adaptable, abundant scavengers, like the ring-bills and starlings. The crows and vultures daily come to this landfill to consume edible garbage through the winter, but not in great congregations. Turkey vultures soar, with wing tips uplifted, into the wind and down on the landfill with little expenditure of energy. Black vultures sail down with intermittent series of rapid wing beats and soaring. The vultures spend winter nights in the tops of trees in wooded valleys that break the force of cold winds to an extent.
Like the surrounding countryside, the sloping edges of the landfill are covered by thickets of young trees of various kinds, including several red junipers and stag-horned sumacs, shrubbery such as multiflora rose and Tartarian honeysuckle, bittersweet vines and tall weeds and grass, including goldenrod and foxtail grass. All these plants hold down the soil and provide food and cover for adaptable wildlife. During the short time I was watching the landfill for the larger, flock birds, I saw northern cardinals, song sparrows and white-throated sparrows eating seeds from weeds and grasses. And I saw a flock of American robins ingesting the fuzzy, red berries of a long line of staghorn sumac trees. A sharp-shinned hawk was present near where I sat as that little hawk watched for small birds to catch and consume. And I saw a few red-tailed hawks along the landfill slopes as they looked for mice to snare and ingest.
As each section of the dumping area fills with trash, soil is pushed over it and planted to grass seed. The seeds of other plants blow in on the wind, or are carried in bird droppings to those grass-planted spots. Eventually a variety of vegetation will fill those once bare-ground places, hold down the soil and feed and shelter a variety of adaptable wildlife. What were once open sores on the landscape are reclaimed by plants and wild animals that make the countryside lovely again.
Landfills, including this one, don't have to be wounds on the land, with proper management. After trash is buried by soil, plants can be planted or allowed to take hold on their own. That vegetation will be attractive to certain kinds of adaptable wildlife that will make a home in its embrace, and raise young there as well.
Monday, December 12, 2016
Expressway Plants in Winter
Early in December of 2016, I was driving about 60 miles per hour along an expressway in southeastern Pennsylvania and noticed, as I always do, various picturesque and interesting plants on the ditched and sloped edges of the highway. But this time I made a list of the more adaptable and outstanding plant species, vegetation with some beauty and intrigue in winter, and are also helpful to wildlife along major highways with deep shoulders.
Grass that is occasionally mowed and lines of successional trees dominate those broad roadsides, and hold down their soil against erosion during heavy rains. Occasional flocks of Canada geese graze, here and there, on the short grass through winter. And little groups or singles of white-tailed deer nibble twigs and buds on the trees.
Most of the roadside ditches and low spots are dominated by attractive cattails and phragmites, both of which are wetland plants. The main beauties of these two plants are there seed heads. The multitudes on cattail stands look like fat, brown hot dogs, while dense patches of them on phragmites are like downy plumes of beige, which are most lovely when sunlight shines behind them.
Seeds of cattails and phragmites blow all around, but only those that land in at least moist soil grow into plants. Cattails and phragmites also spread from runners in damp soil.
These decorative species of bottomland plants provide food and shelter to a limited number of wildlife species. Song sparrows and marsh wrens live and nest among them. And muskrats feed on cattail roots and use the leaves of that species to build homes in the middle of larger puddles of standing water along expressways, as well as in ponds and cattail marshes.
Many red juniper and stag-horned sumac trees, Tartarian honeysuckle bushes, and bittersweet vines, all on higher ground, bear fruits in winter that are not only attractive, but are food for a variety of birds and small mammals, including northern mockingbirds, American robins, starlings and mice. Juniper "berries" are actually small, light-blue cones with barely visible scale edges. All these plants are spread by seeds in the droppings of birds that eat the fruits, digest their pulp, but don't digest all the seeds. Gangs of starlings ingest a lot of berries and spread them over the countryside in their travels. And since roadside shoulders don't get plowed, or even mowed much, these plants have a good chance of sprouting and growing to maturity.
The seed heads and stems of teasel, goldenrod, fox-tail grass and broom grass are about three feet tall, attractive and abundant along many stretches of expressways. The seeds of these plants are scattered by blowing on the wind. The dark-brown heads of teasel are prickly and were used by medieval Europeans to tease out wool. The stems and seed heads of the rest of the plants are beige, and most lovely when sun lighted from behind.
American goldfinches, house finches, dark-eyed juncos and mice are some of the little critters that consume the seeds of these species of vegetation. Some of the mice, in turn are caught and eaten by majestic red-tailed hawks and pretty American kestrels, which is also a kind of hawk. Kestrels hover into the wind to watch the ground for prey.
The vegetated shoulders of expressways are prettier and more interesting than is usually thought. Watch for the adaptable plants and animals that are readily seen while RIDING, not driving, along those major highways.
Grass that is occasionally mowed and lines of successional trees dominate those broad roadsides, and hold down their soil against erosion during heavy rains. Occasional flocks of Canada geese graze, here and there, on the short grass through winter. And little groups or singles of white-tailed deer nibble twigs and buds on the trees.
Most of the roadside ditches and low spots are dominated by attractive cattails and phragmites, both of which are wetland plants. The main beauties of these two plants are there seed heads. The multitudes on cattail stands look like fat, brown hot dogs, while dense patches of them on phragmites are like downy plumes of beige, which are most lovely when sunlight shines behind them.
Seeds of cattails and phragmites blow all around, but only those that land in at least moist soil grow into plants. Cattails and phragmites also spread from runners in damp soil.
These decorative species of bottomland plants provide food and shelter to a limited number of wildlife species. Song sparrows and marsh wrens live and nest among them. And muskrats feed on cattail roots and use the leaves of that species to build homes in the middle of larger puddles of standing water along expressways, as well as in ponds and cattail marshes.
Many red juniper and stag-horned sumac trees, Tartarian honeysuckle bushes, and bittersweet vines, all on higher ground, bear fruits in winter that are not only attractive, but are food for a variety of birds and small mammals, including northern mockingbirds, American robins, starlings and mice. Juniper "berries" are actually small, light-blue cones with barely visible scale edges. All these plants are spread by seeds in the droppings of birds that eat the fruits, digest their pulp, but don't digest all the seeds. Gangs of starlings ingest a lot of berries and spread them over the countryside in their travels. And since roadside shoulders don't get plowed, or even mowed much, these plants have a good chance of sprouting and growing to maturity.
The seed heads and stems of teasel, goldenrod, fox-tail grass and broom grass are about three feet tall, attractive and abundant along many stretches of expressways. The seeds of these plants are scattered by blowing on the wind. The dark-brown heads of teasel are prickly and were used by medieval Europeans to tease out wool. The stems and seed heads of the rest of the plants are beige, and most lovely when sun lighted from behind.
American goldfinches, house finches, dark-eyed juncos and mice are some of the little critters that consume the seeds of these species of vegetation. Some of the mice, in turn are caught and eaten by majestic red-tailed hawks and pretty American kestrels, which is also a kind of hawk. Kestrels hover into the wind to watch the ground for prey.
The vegetated shoulders of expressways are prettier and more interesting than is usually thought. Watch for the adaptable plants and animals that are readily seen while RIDING, not driving, along those major highways.
Saturday, December 10, 2016
Feathered Dramas on a Lake
On December 9 of this year, I went to a large, human-made impoundment in southeastern Pennsylvania to see what water birds would be active and visible. The lake was surrounded by deciduous woods and has a wooded island in the middle of it.
The first water bird I saw, soon after arriving at the lake, was a ponderous, immature bald eagle that was soaring in the gusty wind over the lake. It also swooped gracefully low to the water occasionally, as if about to snare a fish, but then swept upward without making a catch.
While watching the eagle, I saw a fast-moving line of ducks powering low over the impoundment with the wind, circle into it and land in the middle of the lake, in a line stretched across the wind-driven water. Studying those ducks with my 16 power binoculars, I saw they were 21 buffleheads. The genders were equal in number. And once on the water, the buffleheads stayed there resting during the hour and a half I was along the lake.
Soon after seeing the buffleheads, I noticed a great blue heron flying majestically low across the lake. It might have been looking for another fishing spot along the gravelly shoreline.
For a while I saw only the heaving water, blue sky billowed with gray clouds and the grayish-brown, deciduous woods, spotted with green juniper and white pine trees. Then a few ring-billed gulls arrived over the lake, followed by more and still more. One minute there were no gulls to be seen, and the next minute they seemed to be everywhere in the sky, gliding round and round. The ring-bills coasted and circled on outstretched wings, and seemed to play in the wind. All the while more gulls flew to the lake, probably from nearby fields and parking lots where they were looking for food. Some of the gulls landed into the wind on the waves and white caps of the impoundment while others continued to swirl over the lake. The gulls landed into the wind for better flight control. Meanwhile, more and more gulls came to the lake from wherever they were. And many more of the airborne gulls dropped to the rafts of bobbing gulls forming on the tossing water. Little by little, more gulls flew to the lake and more of them landed in the white and pale-gray rafts of their species the rest of the time I was along the water until there was at least a few hundred of them bouncing on the impoundment.
As I scanned the hundreds of gulls on the water, I noticed that most of them were ring-bills as stated earlier. But I also saw that there were a couple dozen herring gulls in those ring-bill rafts. All gulls of both species were obviously rocking and resting on the restless water.
Ring-billed gulls have been numerous inland for many years. And I think they have attracted other kinds of gulls, in more recent years, to winter inland as well, including herring, great black-backed and lesser black-backed gulls, all of which can be spotted on inland impoundments in winter.
While the gulls were putting on quite a show, a few noisy flocks of Canada geese flew in V's over the lake at intervals. They probably were going to feeding fields of waste corn kernels or winter rye.
Their gatherings are always exciting to hear and see.
Suddenly, all the gulls lifted off the water at once, forming a blizzard of birds, and swirled away. Knowing that bald eagles can make flocks of gulls fly away in panic, I scanned the sky for an eagle or two and saw the same immature bald in the sky close to where the gulls were on the water. Within seconds the lake was empty of gulls except one. I looked at it with my field glasses and noticed it was floating on its back with its legs weakly kicking the air. Although I didn't see it happen, the eagle must have attacked that gull, badly wounding it.
The eagle swooped down to the gull a few times, but didn't pick it off the water. Then it soared out of sight. But, after several minutes, the eagle swept down to the now-dead gull, lifted its victim off the water with its sharp, curved talons and flew away with it to a wooded shoreline to, presumably, eat its prey.
There weren't many kinds of water birds seen around that impoundment that day, but each species seen presented an interesting show. A person can't know what life is around any given habitat until he or she looks for it. But every species seen is intriguing.
The first water bird I saw, soon after arriving at the lake, was a ponderous, immature bald eagle that was soaring in the gusty wind over the lake. It also swooped gracefully low to the water occasionally, as if about to snare a fish, but then swept upward without making a catch.
While watching the eagle, I saw a fast-moving line of ducks powering low over the impoundment with the wind, circle into it and land in the middle of the lake, in a line stretched across the wind-driven water. Studying those ducks with my 16 power binoculars, I saw they were 21 buffleheads. The genders were equal in number. And once on the water, the buffleheads stayed there resting during the hour and a half I was along the lake.
Soon after seeing the buffleheads, I noticed a great blue heron flying majestically low across the lake. It might have been looking for another fishing spot along the gravelly shoreline.
For a while I saw only the heaving water, blue sky billowed with gray clouds and the grayish-brown, deciduous woods, spotted with green juniper and white pine trees. Then a few ring-billed gulls arrived over the lake, followed by more and still more. One minute there were no gulls to be seen, and the next minute they seemed to be everywhere in the sky, gliding round and round. The ring-bills coasted and circled on outstretched wings, and seemed to play in the wind. All the while more gulls flew to the lake, probably from nearby fields and parking lots where they were looking for food. Some of the gulls landed into the wind on the waves and white caps of the impoundment while others continued to swirl over the lake. The gulls landed into the wind for better flight control. Meanwhile, more and more gulls came to the lake from wherever they were. And many more of the airborne gulls dropped to the rafts of bobbing gulls forming on the tossing water. Little by little, more gulls flew to the lake and more of them landed in the white and pale-gray rafts of their species the rest of the time I was along the water until there was at least a few hundred of them bouncing on the impoundment.
As I scanned the hundreds of gulls on the water, I noticed that most of them were ring-bills as stated earlier. But I also saw that there were a couple dozen herring gulls in those ring-bill rafts. All gulls of both species were obviously rocking and resting on the restless water.
Ring-billed gulls have been numerous inland for many years. And I think they have attracted other kinds of gulls, in more recent years, to winter inland as well, including herring, great black-backed and lesser black-backed gulls, all of which can be spotted on inland impoundments in winter.
While the gulls were putting on quite a show, a few noisy flocks of Canada geese flew in V's over the lake at intervals. They probably were going to feeding fields of waste corn kernels or winter rye.
Their gatherings are always exciting to hear and see.
Suddenly, all the gulls lifted off the water at once, forming a blizzard of birds, and swirled away. Knowing that bald eagles can make flocks of gulls fly away in panic, I scanned the sky for an eagle or two and saw the same immature bald in the sky close to where the gulls were on the water. Within seconds the lake was empty of gulls except one. I looked at it with my field glasses and noticed it was floating on its back with its legs weakly kicking the air. Although I didn't see it happen, the eagle must have attacked that gull, badly wounding it.
The eagle swooped down to the gull a few times, but didn't pick it off the water. Then it soared out of sight. But, after several minutes, the eagle swept down to the now-dead gull, lifted its victim off the water with its sharp, curved talons and flew away with it to a wooded shoreline to, presumably, eat its prey.
There weren't many kinds of water birds seen around that impoundment that day, but each species seen presented an interesting show. A person can't know what life is around any given habitat until he or she looks for it. But every species seen is intriguing.
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Feathered Ocean Mice
Dovekies and Wilson's petrels are feathered mice on the vast, featureless North Atlantic Ocean, the former species during the northern winters and the petrels in the northern summer. Dovekies are in the Alcid family of birds while the petrels are in the Hydrobalidae family. The chunky dovekies are built like tiny penquins, but live and nest in the northern hemisphere, and are able to fly. Wilson's petrels are light-bodied, have external, tubed nostrils and nest in the southern hemisphere. Both species are pelagic when not raising young, six and a half to six and three-quarters inches long, have webbed feet but do not walk well, and each pair of each species lays one egg per year.
Dovekies nest in large, noisy colonies, with each pair rearing its chick in a crevice between rocks at the foot of cliffs in northern Greenland, Iceland and North Atlantic islands. Adult dovekies have a direct flight of whirring wing beats on short wings, are black on top and white below like penguins, and have stubby beaks. They are active around their breeding colonies at night to avoid the predation of glaucous gulls, polar bears and Arctic foxes when they land to feed their chicks in their burrows. Inuits catch many adult dovekies during the birds' breeding season. They snare them in nets on long poles and process them for food.
In winter, dovekies are abundant on the lonely, seemingly endless North Atlantic Ocean. There rafts of them bob on a habitat of ocean waves and slip under water to feed on tiny crustaceans. They swim with their webbed feet on the surface, but power under water with their wings, as if flying under water, as penguins do.
Wilson's petrels are abundant in groups off the North Atlantic Coast during the northern summer, and are, sometimes, seen from shore. It's thought by some ornithologists that this species is the most abundant bird on Earth. This kind of petrel nests in crannies among loose rocks, under boulders and in cliffs on islands off the southern tip of South America and in the Antarctic Ocean, which completely circles Antarctica.
Wilson's petrels are dark brown with white rumps and a light patch on the upper surface of each wing. They have long legs with yellow, webbed feet. They have a direct and gracefully gliding flight into the wind and low over the unending waves, which alternates with swallow-like wing beats. When feeding on krill and other small crustaceans, plankton and tiny fish, petrels seem to dance on the waves with their wings raised into the wind for lift and long legs dangling and often touching the water. Gulls and skuas, which are related to gulls, feed on some of the petrels.
Though from different families of birds, dovekies and Wilson's petrels have characteristics in common because the habitat they share has shaped them to be what they are. That process is called convergent evolution. And for the same reason, the little dovekies of the northern hemisphere are somewhat similar to the penguins of the southern hemisphere. And even if we never see dovekies and petrels, it's still neat to know they exist in mid-ocean habitats when not raising offspring. These feathered mice are hardy in a tough habitat, which can be stirring to a person's imagination.
Dovekies nest in large, noisy colonies, with each pair rearing its chick in a crevice between rocks at the foot of cliffs in northern Greenland, Iceland and North Atlantic islands. Adult dovekies have a direct flight of whirring wing beats on short wings, are black on top and white below like penguins, and have stubby beaks. They are active around their breeding colonies at night to avoid the predation of glaucous gulls, polar bears and Arctic foxes when they land to feed their chicks in their burrows. Inuits catch many adult dovekies during the birds' breeding season. They snare them in nets on long poles and process them for food.
In winter, dovekies are abundant on the lonely, seemingly endless North Atlantic Ocean. There rafts of them bob on a habitat of ocean waves and slip under water to feed on tiny crustaceans. They swim with their webbed feet on the surface, but power under water with their wings, as if flying under water, as penguins do.
Wilson's petrels are abundant in groups off the North Atlantic Coast during the northern summer, and are, sometimes, seen from shore. It's thought by some ornithologists that this species is the most abundant bird on Earth. This kind of petrel nests in crannies among loose rocks, under boulders and in cliffs on islands off the southern tip of South America and in the Antarctic Ocean, which completely circles Antarctica.
Wilson's petrels are dark brown with white rumps and a light patch on the upper surface of each wing. They have long legs with yellow, webbed feet. They have a direct and gracefully gliding flight into the wind and low over the unending waves, which alternates with swallow-like wing beats. When feeding on krill and other small crustaceans, plankton and tiny fish, petrels seem to dance on the waves with their wings raised into the wind for lift and long legs dangling and often touching the water. Gulls and skuas, which are related to gulls, feed on some of the petrels.
Though from different families of birds, dovekies and Wilson's petrels have characteristics in common because the habitat they share has shaped them to be what they are. That process is called convergent evolution. And for the same reason, the little dovekies of the northern hemisphere are somewhat similar to the penguins of the southern hemisphere. And even if we never see dovekies and petrels, it's still neat to know they exist in mid-ocean habitats when not raising offspring. These feathered mice are hardy in a tough habitat, which can be stirring to a person's imagination.
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Some Diving Water Birds
On December 1, 2016, I stopped at a few human-made lakes that are fairly close to each other in southeastern Pennsylvania to look for migrant water birds other than the mallard ducks and Canada geese that are almost always on those impoundments. At the first lake I saw 20 ring-necked ducks, two pied-billed grebes and two immature white-winged scoter ducks. I saw three more pied-billed grebes at the next lake and two ruddy ducks on the third one. Though few in diversity and numbers because most of their kinds have not been pushed south yet by cold weather and freezing waters, these diving water birds were interesting to experience, considering where they raised young, how far they traveled, their repeated and entertaining diving under water for food, and their life histories. And, interestingly, there is limited competition for food among these diving birds. Each species has its own menu for the most part.
I saw those water birds on a somber day of heavy, gray clouds, patched here and there with yellow and pale-orange from sunlight, and the gray water that reflected the sky. Though foreboding, the sky was beautiful and interesting, looking much like a water color painting.
The birds were in open water close to shore where I got excellent views of them through my 16 power binoculars. They were in the shallows near land because that's where a lot of their under water food is and because I stayed in my car, parked at the water's edge, so as to not scare the birds away. Most wildlife is frightened by the human figure, but not by vehicles.
Ring-necked ducks are common, and the most inland of bay ducks. They nest on fresh water lakes and ponds on Canadian prairies and winter on inland, fresh water lakes, while their relatives the scaups, canvasbacks and other species winter on salt or brackish water of large estuaries. Because these adaptable ducks winter on inland and built ponds and lakes, ring-necks are more easily and regularly seen than their estuary relatives. And ring-necks are becoming more common in the east than what they had been, adding to the numerous sightings of them here in winter.
Drake ring-necks are attractive, being dark on top with pale-gray flanks. Females are brown, which camouflages them while raising young. But this species should be called ring-billed duck because the faint ring on the neck is barely visible, but their is a white ring on the spoon-like beak of each bird, both male and female.
Members of each flock of ring-necks rest together while bobbing on open water a little distance out from shore. They also feed together, mostly on aquatic plants and seeds, and a little of water insects and snails, all foods they dive under water to get.
The common pied-billed grebes, like all their clan, are duck-like, but are not ducks. They are duck-like because wildlife of a habitat are molded by their home into similar beings. Loons, grebes, cormorants, geese, swans and other kinds of water birds are built like boats so they can easily push through the water they live on.
Pied-bills hatch young on vegetative rafts in the shallows of ponds across most of North America and winter in the more southern part of this continent. Pied-bills slip under water to capture and eat crayfish, small crustaceans such as scuds, aquatic insects and small fish. Their heads bob forward as they swim on the surface, as if those heads are pulling their bodies along.
The two scoters were also diving to the lake's bottom, to shovel up water plants, scuds, water insects, snails and crayfish. Those ducks had migrated from Canadian prairies where they hatched, but will, ultimately, winter in salt water along the Atlantic coast.
Ruddy ducks hatch young near shallow water in fresh water lakes and ponds on the Canadian prairies, and some of them migrate into southeastern Pennsylvania for the winter. Ruddies ingest aquatic vegetation mostly, and some water insects.
These are just a few diving water birds I happened to see in a few local lakes recently. They were intriguing because they are migrants and dive entertainingly under water to get food.
I saw those water birds on a somber day of heavy, gray clouds, patched here and there with yellow and pale-orange from sunlight, and the gray water that reflected the sky. Though foreboding, the sky was beautiful and interesting, looking much like a water color painting.
The birds were in open water close to shore where I got excellent views of them through my 16 power binoculars. They were in the shallows near land because that's where a lot of their under water food is and because I stayed in my car, parked at the water's edge, so as to not scare the birds away. Most wildlife is frightened by the human figure, but not by vehicles.
Ring-necked ducks are common, and the most inland of bay ducks. They nest on fresh water lakes and ponds on Canadian prairies and winter on inland, fresh water lakes, while their relatives the scaups, canvasbacks and other species winter on salt or brackish water of large estuaries. Because these adaptable ducks winter on inland and built ponds and lakes, ring-necks are more easily and regularly seen than their estuary relatives. And ring-necks are becoming more common in the east than what they had been, adding to the numerous sightings of them here in winter.
Drake ring-necks are attractive, being dark on top with pale-gray flanks. Females are brown, which camouflages them while raising young. But this species should be called ring-billed duck because the faint ring on the neck is barely visible, but their is a white ring on the spoon-like beak of each bird, both male and female.
Members of each flock of ring-necks rest together while bobbing on open water a little distance out from shore. They also feed together, mostly on aquatic plants and seeds, and a little of water insects and snails, all foods they dive under water to get.
The common pied-billed grebes, like all their clan, are duck-like, but are not ducks. They are duck-like because wildlife of a habitat are molded by their home into similar beings. Loons, grebes, cormorants, geese, swans and other kinds of water birds are built like boats so they can easily push through the water they live on.
Pied-bills hatch young on vegetative rafts in the shallows of ponds across most of North America and winter in the more southern part of this continent. Pied-bills slip under water to capture and eat crayfish, small crustaceans such as scuds, aquatic insects and small fish. Their heads bob forward as they swim on the surface, as if those heads are pulling their bodies along.
The two scoters were also diving to the lake's bottom, to shovel up water plants, scuds, water insects, snails and crayfish. Those ducks had migrated from Canadian prairies where they hatched, but will, ultimately, winter in salt water along the Atlantic coast.
Ruddy ducks hatch young near shallow water in fresh water lakes and ponds on the Canadian prairies, and some of them migrate into southeastern Pennsylvania for the winter. Ruddies ingest aquatic vegetation mostly, and some water insects.
These are just a few diving water birds I happened to see in a few local lakes recently. They were intriguing because they are migrants and dive entertainingly under water to get food.
Thursday, December 1, 2016
Winter Flock Birds
Every winter day in the farmland of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, we see large, exciting flocks of noisy American crows in fields and gathering at their overnight roosting place at Park City Mall outside Lancaster City. These crows raised young in the forests of Canada and are here in winter because of more abundant food, including corn kernels in harvested fields, acorns on lawns, road-killed animals, dead livestock in fields and tidbits on parking lots and in dumpsters, all of which are unwittingly provided by human activities.
Several other kinds of adaptable, abundant birds also form big, interesting flocks in human-made habitats where they roost and/or feed, and in the air, in winter. These birds include ring-billed gulls, mallard ducks, Canada geese, starlings, rock pigeons, house sparrows, mourning doves, American robins, horned larks and two species of vultures. All these species shelter at night in different places. All are permanent residents as species here, except the crows and gulls. And all are entertaining, particularly in the air.
Having nested along the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River and ponds in western prairies, ring-billed gulls winter along the Great Lakes, the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts, and along Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, Delaware, Hudson, Potomac and Susquehanna Rivers and many inland, human-made lakes in the eastern United States, including in Lancaster County. Wintering ring-bills also hunt fish, scavenge edibles and roost at night in those watery habitats. And they scavenge from landfills, dumpsters and parking lots.
But flocks of ring-bills are most majestic when flying to or from their feeding areas in winter mornings and mid-afternoons. They fly swiftly in V's, long lines or loose congregations, gang after gang, one after another, along aerial highways, steadily and silently, until they reach a feeding place or their watery refuge for the night. Upon reaching their destination, the various flocks swarm round and round and intermingle by the hundreds, before landing on land or water.
Mallards and Canada geese nest near water in Lancaster County, as elsewhere across most of North America and winter mostly on human-made impoundments, large and small. Through winter, they rest on the still water, but feed in harvested corn fields and winter rye fields. Flocks of these related water birds are most stately when in flight and silhouetted black against red sunsets of winter evenings. Both species take off into the wind from the water, group after group along an invisible road through the sky. The mallards take flight with whistling wings while the Canadas honk noisily and with a slapping of webbed feet on the water before becoming airborne. Upon arriving at a feeding field, flying gangs of both species circle the field to watch for danger. When seeing none, they come down to the ground, angling into the wind, one group after another, until all are on the ground and feeding. Sometimes in winter I've watched these birds dropping to fields into drifting snow at sunset. One second they were visible, the next they were not, then they suddenly reappeared. And, meanwhile, that blowing snow was pink, from the sunset, and looking like the farmland was on fire.
Gatherings of starlings, rock pigeons and house sparrows, all originally from Europe, and native mourning doves, the pigeons' little cousins, all feed on grain and weed and grass seeds in fields the year around, including winter. The brown sparrows and doves are camouflaged on the ground and hard to see.
Starlings move about in great flocks that draw pictures in the sky as they swirl and turn this way and that in unison, without collision. These birds spend winter nights perched on buildings and in planted patches of evergreen trees that block winter wind.
Doves also spend winter nights in coniferous trees, but pigeons perch overnight in barns, under bridges and on ledges of city buildings. House sparrows nestle into dense shrubbery and crevices in buildings during winter nights.
Not all American robins migrate south for the winter. Some groups of robins stay north and feed on crab apples and berries during winter days. And these relatives of thrushes spend winter nights in the protective embrace of coniferous trees in suburban lawns.
Gatherings of horned larks fly low across fields harvested to the ground. Their flight is bouncy as if bobbing over invisible wavelets, then suddenly disappears as the birds land on the ground where they are camouflaged.
Horned larks nest on those fields, and winter on them, when they feed on weed and grass seeds and hunker down overnight among clods of soil or whatever vegetation they find in fields. And larks, and all other birds in this essay, except robins and vultures, feed on bits of chewed, but undigested, corn in livestock manure spread on top of snow in the fields.
Gangs of turkey vultures and black vultures, sometimes in mixed gatherings, scavenge dead chickens and other deceased livestock dumped into the fields, including in manure strips. Turkey vultures are usually the first to notice dead animals because of their good sense of smell, a sense that is not so well developed in black vultures. Vultures roost overnight in tall conifers, mostly in wooded valleys that block cold winter wind.
These winter flock birds generally are noticeable in Lancaster County cropland, if one looks for them a little. And these species of birds are entertaining to see going about their daily business during those cold, bleak days of winter. Those birds can be inspiring.
Several other kinds of adaptable, abundant birds also form big, interesting flocks in human-made habitats where they roost and/or feed, and in the air, in winter. These birds include ring-billed gulls, mallard ducks, Canada geese, starlings, rock pigeons, house sparrows, mourning doves, American robins, horned larks and two species of vultures. All these species shelter at night in different places. All are permanent residents as species here, except the crows and gulls. And all are entertaining, particularly in the air.
Having nested along the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River and ponds in western prairies, ring-billed gulls winter along the Great Lakes, the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts, and along Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, Delaware, Hudson, Potomac and Susquehanna Rivers and many inland, human-made lakes in the eastern United States, including in Lancaster County. Wintering ring-bills also hunt fish, scavenge edibles and roost at night in those watery habitats. And they scavenge from landfills, dumpsters and parking lots.
But flocks of ring-bills are most majestic when flying to or from their feeding areas in winter mornings and mid-afternoons. They fly swiftly in V's, long lines or loose congregations, gang after gang, one after another, along aerial highways, steadily and silently, until they reach a feeding place or their watery refuge for the night. Upon reaching their destination, the various flocks swarm round and round and intermingle by the hundreds, before landing on land or water.
Mallards and Canada geese nest near water in Lancaster County, as elsewhere across most of North America and winter mostly on human-made impoundments, large and small. Through winter, they rest on the still water, but feed in harvested corn fields and winter rye fields. Flocks of these related water birds are most stately when in flight and silhouetted black against red sunsets of winter evenings. Both species take off into the wind from the water, group after group along an invisible road through the sky. The mallards take flight with whistling wings while the Canadas honk noisily and with a slapping of webbed feet on the water before becoming airborne. Upon arriving at a feeding field, flying gangs of both species circle the field to watch for danger. When seeing none, they come down to the ground, angling into the wind, one group after another, until all are on the ground and feeding. Sometimes in winter I've watched these birds dropping to fields into drifting snow at sunset. One second they were visible, the next they were not, then they suddenly reappeared. And, meanwhile, that blowing snow was pink, from the sunset, and looking like the farmland was on fire.
Gatherings of starlings, rock pigeons and house sparrows, all originally from Europe, and native mourning doves, the pigeons' little cousins, all feed on grain and weed and grass seeds in fields the year around, including winter. The brown sparrows and doves are camouflaged on the ground and hard to see.
Starlings move about in great flocks that draw pictures in the sky as they swirl and turn this way and that in unison, without collision. These birds spend winter nights perched on buildings and in planted patches of evergreen trees that block winter wind.
Doves also spend winter nights in coniferous trees, but pigeons perch overnight in barns, under bridges and on ledges of city buildings. House sparrows nestle into dense shrubbery and crevices in buildings during winter nights.
Not all American robins migrate south for the winter. Some groups of robins stay north and feed on crab apples and berries during winter days. And these relatives of thrushes spend winter nights in the protective embrace of coniferous trees in suburban lawns.
Gatherings of horned larks fly low across fields harvested to the ground. Their flight is bouncy as if bobbing over invisible wavelets, then suddenly disappears as the birds land on the ground where they are camouflaged.
Horned larks nest on those fields, and winter on them, when they feed on weed and grass seeds and hunker down overnight among clods of soil or whatever vegetation they find in fields. And larks, and all other birds in this essay, except robins and vultures, feed on bits of chewed, but undigested, corn in livestock manure spread on top of snow in the fields.
Gangs of turkey vultures and black vultures, sometimes in mixed gatherings, scavenge dead chickens and other deceased livestock dumped into the fields, including in manure strips. Turkey vultures are usually the first to notice dead animals because of their good sense of smell, a sense that is not so well developed in black vultures. Vultures roost overnight in tall conifers, mostly in wooded valleys that block cold winter wind.
These winter flock birds generally are noticeable in Lancaster County cropland, if one looks for them a little. And these species of birds are entertaining to see going about their daily business during those cold, bleak days of winter. Those birds can be inspiring.
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