Leucistic Black-capped Chickadee

Back in October, during a visit from my mom, we spotted a really strange chickadee at the feeder.  We spotted it again later that  day and got a better look at it.  All we could tell about it from a cursory glance is that it had too much white on its back.  A few days later, I was finally able to snap a picture of it.

Black-capped Chickadee displaying leucism.

The white on its back intrigued me, but I had no idea what it was, so I posted the picture to the Illinois Audubon Society facebook page.  A very knowledgeable individual told me that this chickadee has leucism, which is the lack of pigment in isolated patches.  Later, I found this article from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology on the difference between leucism and albanism. 
Albinism and Leucism in birds.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen this little guy since the above photo was taken.  I don't want to think the worst, but I have a neighborhood Coopers Hawk that likes to prey on small birds, and this guy's white patches makes him a bit more obvious to predators.  Here's hoping I get to see my rare friend again soon.

A suburban hawk

I've had a Coopers Hawk come and visit my yard periodically for the last year or so, but this is the first time he has come this close to the house.  His visits become more frequent in the winter months presumably because the lack of leaves gives him a better view of my finches and doves.  This time he flew directly over to the birdbath and spent some time stalking a pair of sparrows that hang out under our grill.  Needless to say, my cats, my husband and I enjoyed watching him and his antics.

 

Coopers Hawk posing for the camera.

Coopers Hawk looking for prey.

Maybe there's something yummy over there.

Uh oh, I've been spotted!

Neighborhood Birding

While I enjoy watching my backyard feeders, sometimes it's nice to find birds that aren't typical feeder visitors.  Luckily, I have several ponds nearby that always have interesting waterfowl.  Here are a couple snapshots from my walk to one of the ponds today.

There is a Great Egret in this pond, I swear!

Mommy and baby mallards

Spring is here!

My mother-in-law, who shares my passion for birdwatching, was so kind as to give me a bird house that she wasn't using.  It had great bones, but the paint job on it was a little questionable.  It had some bright colors and polka dots that I doubted my backyard birds would appreciate.  Because of this, I determined to paint the bird house a more appropriate tan (to match the trees).  Once I had the house painted, it just looked so dull and lifeless I had to add a little something to it.  I found a few wood pieces that I thought would blend in with nature, and I glued them to the house.  Here is the final product:

Redecorated bird house

Only a week after putting it up I saw lots of activity around it.  Two weeks after putting it up, I saw a few pieces of nesting material sitting inside of it.  Now, nearly a month later, there is a full blown nest filling up the bird house. 

The conversion of the bird house into a family home was no easy task for the House Sparrows that currently inhabit it.  About a week ago, I witnessed the aggressive shewing of a rival sparrow by the male resident.  The resident sparrow persistently held down the invader to the ground while the female watched.  It was quite the territorial display.

Collecting birding data for science at eBird.org

As if I needed an excuse to keep track of the birds I see at my feeder . . .

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is collecting data on birds sighted all over the world.  It's a very easy process to submit your data.  Just go to eBird.org and register.  Once registered, input the location, date, time and species seen.  You can submit as many or as few reports as you like.  You don't always have to report from the same location.  If you're walking in the park and you see some interesting birds, you can submit that location as well.

Some of my interesting submissions for today were a great egret and two canada geese from the marsh less than a mile from my house.  I was driving to Panera Bread for lunch and I spotted them in and around the water, so I was, unfortunately, unable to photograph them.  However, I was able to photograph this pair of mourning doves.



Mourning doves

While these may not be the most interesting or rare of birds, they are still important data for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  They are also extremely interesting for my little cat, Bo.  He goes absolutely nuts whenever he spots them.  Yes, birdwatching can be fun for more than just humans.



Buster keeping his eyes on the feeder

 

The story of a feeder

After spending over three years in North Dakota with no trees in the yard, and nowhere to put a feeder, I am probably a little over-enthusiastic about the feeder I have now in my yard in Oswego, IL.  I've always been an avid birder, but without much opportunity to do so over the last few years, I've gotten a little rusty.  Because I've had to relearn many things about maintaining a feeder and attracting birds, I thought I would share my knowledge with you.  To start off, here is a picture of my feeder setup.



  

I have a traditional feeder with your standard wild bird seed mixed with safflower to keep the grackles and starlings away.  I also have a suet feeder to attract the woodpeckers.  Finally, I just put up a "finch sock" with thistle seed. 

Here is the first visitor I received at my feeder after I put it up this February.

Dark-eyed Junko