Chuck's Birding Report #84

19 October - 25 October 2021

Dear fellow flock of birders,

In my opinion there were two trees that really caught my attention this week. They were the Crabapple Trees and the Junipers. The numerous Crabapple Trees in the Crabapple Collection at the west end of Longenecker Gardens produce a variety of colored fruit from yellow and orange to various shades of red. Many birds feed on these Crabapples. Examples are the House Finches, Purple Finches, American Goldfinches, Cedar Waxwings, American Robins, Wild Turkeys and European Starlings. Since the Purple Finches are only here for a short time I really focused on finding them. I had to look at a lot of House Finches to find the Purple Finches often mixed in with the House Finches. I was able to find at least 2 Purple Finches practically every day this past week. I have included a photo of a female Purple Finch and a female House Finch in the same photo so you can compare the two and see the differences. The side of the face of the House Finch is not clear. The large brown face patch with white above and below it on the Purple Finch is very clear. There is definitely a size difference and the breast and belly stripes look much different between the two finches too.

The Junipers in the Pinetum at the east end of Longenecker Gardens have quite a few berries this year compared to last year. The Cedar Waxwings love the Juniper berries and it was fun watching them pluck the berries off the tree today. I saw 80-100 Cedar Waxwings today. They were flying all over the Pinetum and Crabapple Collection. A photo of a Cedar Waxwing in a Crabapple tree is included.

There are still a few Yellow-rumped Warblers around but it won’t be long and they will be gone too.

Our family of 4 Sandhill Cranes, 2 adults and 2 colts, is still here and spend their nights on Curtis Prairie. They seem to always fly off early in the morning, just at sunrise or shortly after. The last time I saw them was on Saturday morning. They should be flying south soon.

This past week I had a couple sightings of Hermit Thrushes. In fact our group saw two last Tuesday. Some of them stay all winter and feed on the berries of the Asian Bittersweet, an invasive plant that is so plentiful in the Lost City Forest. A photo of a Hermit Thrush is included.

There are still many White-throated Sparrows in the woods on the north side of Curtis Prairie. This is the most numerous sparrow of the migrating sparrows that are not in the Arb during the summer.

Saturday was a great day to bird in the Arb. It was a bright, sunny day and some of the birds were even singing. The one species that really got my attention was the Eastern Bluebird. I actually saw 17 and most of them were giving their 2-note call and I mimicked the call. We went back and forth for quite some time. I saw more that day than I had seen in the Arb all summer. I will miss them when they leave. A photo of one is included.

Another Saturday special was the sighting of a Pileated Woodpecker in an Oak Tree on the north side of Curtis Prairie. It was a female and she was pecking away on the trunk. I was able to get a photo but it’s not that great. The photo is included.

Unlike most areas of Dane County a flock of about 20-30 American Robins stay in the Arb all winter. Their feathers keep them warm. They have plenty of water at the various springs in the Arboretum. The most plentiful food for them is a large quantity of crabapples in the Crabapple Collection. They also find food around the springs by turning over the leaves and eating insects and larvae. A photo of one with a crabapple in its beak is included.

The number of Dark-eyed Juncos is increasing daily. I see most of them in the Pinetum. On Saturday I saw 22 on the ground feed on some of the seed of the grasses. A photo of one is included.

At this time of year the ducks begin to migrate south. At HoNeeUm and Lake Wingra today besides Mallards I saw Wood Ducks, Lesser Scaup and Ring-necked Ducks. At the south end of Gardner Marsh and at the eastern end of the waterway near Carver St. I saw 26 Northern Shovelers. In Dane County I’ve seen Redheads, Canvasbacks and Buffleheads. More are coming.

There was a Northern Shrike on Curtis Prairie this afternoon that was seen by Pat Ready and Hiam Garner. I hope we can find it again.

That’s the bird report for the past week.

Good health to all of you and good birding too,

Chuck