How many broods does average backyard bird have?

How many broods does the average backyard bird have?

The number of times a bird nests in one season varies from one bird species to another, and sometimes from one locale to another.

Downy woodpeckers in the north have only one brood, but in the south they may have two.

Cardinals can have as many as four broods between March and August, with the male helping to care for the first one while the female incubates the eggs of the next one.

Other members of the finch family, such as the goldfinch, house finch and grosbeaks may only have one brood.

Bluebirds and robins usually have two broods.

Results of Field Trip on Saturday to the Nicolet National Forest

The field trip to the Nicolet National Forest (Forest County) and other surrounding areas was held Saturday by the Wausau Bird Club and Wildbirds Unlimited. Some Highlights on the field trip included Black-backed Woodpecker (pictured above), Bohemian Waxwing, Evening Grosbeaks, and White-winged Crossbills.

A group of 4 birders left Wausau at 6:30 a.m. and made our way up to Three Lakes to pick up 6 other birders and then made our way into the national forest. But first on the drive up to Three Lakes, the group sighted a road killed Gray Wolf along the shoulder of Hwy 51 just south of the first Tomahawk exit. We turned around and went back to see if the wolf had any kind of ear tag or other banding, but didn't see any.

After picking up the rest of the group in Three Lakes, we drove some back roads in Three Lakes and picked up Pine Siskins, Common Redpolls , and White-winged Crossbills in residential yards. Then it was off into the national forest. After making several stops (picking up more WW Crossbills and redpolls), we made our way to the Pine River crossing on forest road 2182 to try our luck at seeing the previously reported BB Woodpecker. After a few minutes we saw a female Black-backed Woodpecker working on a tamarack. We had great looks at this bird and it was a life bird for several in the group. After this spot, we made our way up to Alvin where we had great looks at a flock of around 20 Evening Grosbeaks. These were also a life bird for several birders in our group. There were also a nice group of Blue Jays present in Alvin too.
After eating lunch in Eagle River, we drove around some of the city streets there to look in crabapple trees for waxwings and possibly Pine Grosbeaks. Just north of the bridge that crosses the Wisconsin River, we spotted a flock of around 30 Cedar Waxwings on the south side of the river. Scanning through the flock, we picked out a single Bohemian Waxwing mixed in among them.

After birding the Eagle River area we returned to the national forest in hopes of adding Gray Jay, Boreal Chickadee, Spruce Grouse, plus a few other species on our wish list, but were unsuccessful at doing so.

All in all, it was a good day of birding and I'm sure if we had a few more hours of day light we would have added some more wish list birds to our daily total. Our next field trip will be on March 21st. We will meet in the parking lot of Wild Birds Unlimited at dusk and head for the Nine-mile Recreation area in search of owls!

BALTIMORE ORIOLES AND RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS

The migration maps for the Baltimore Oriole and Ruby-throated Hummingbird are all set to go. The hummingbirds are usually first seen entering the extreme southern states around March 1st and appear here in central Wisconsin in late April/early May along with the Baltimore Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Indigo Buntings. We are watching the maps and will keep you posted so that you can get ready in time for their arrival.
Watch future e-mails and our website for ways to attract these birds to your yard.

Would you like to get a little oriole fix to chase away those winter blues? Click on the link to see a video put together by fellow store owner Gregory who visits the home of one of his good customers and films her orioles eating mealworms.

Baltimore Oriole's Eating Mealworms

Great Backyard Bird Count - preliminary results

Results To Date of Great Backyard Bird Count (you have until March 1st to get your counts in!)
Well, so far we submitted more checklists than last year for the Great Backyard Bird Count. Last year 18 checklists were submitted as compared to 35 for this year. Keep in mind that participants have until March 1st to enter their checklists. Wausau is tied with Oshkosh for 5th place for the most checklists submitted. Madison, Marshfield, Milwaukee and Rhinelander are ahead of us. So far, in Wisconsin, the Canada Goose has the highest count at 22,394 followed by the Pine Siskin (no big surprise!) at15,715; American Goldfinch at13,080 and the Common Redpoll at 10,145 (no big surprise there either!).

Last year the Dark-eyed Junco was number one followed by the American Goldfinch. Many of us are commentingon the lack of junco's this year so it looks like the GBBC supports that so far. Only a couple thousand redpolls were counted last year and only a few hundred siskins!! We really had a great winter this year for finches. They puton quite a show. Thanks to all of you for participating this year and I'm looking forward to increasing those checklist numbers for Wausau next year!!

If you would like to check out this years' results, click here.

Now that we're experiencing nicer weather (thank goodness!!) it's a great time to get out to the feeders and clean up the proverbial "winter mess". It will be easier to clean up all of the debris from below the feeders before all of the snow melts. Using a shovel to remove those layers of debris along with the snow will be much healthier for the birds than waiting until it dries to rake it away. The debris can become breeding grounds for bacteria and birds are very sucesptible to disease that are caused by this bacteria.We've been enjoying quite a show this winter and now it's time for us pay them back by making sure our feeding areas and feeders are clean and ready for this springs' performance!The Great Backyard Bird Count starts on Friday! Now's your chance to be a citizen scientist. Anyone can take part, from novice bird watchers to experts, by counting birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event and reporting their sightings online at www.birdcount.org. Participants can also explore what birds others are finding in their backyards—whether in their own neighborhood or thousands of miles away. Additional online resources include tips to help identify birds, a photo gallery, and special materials for educators.
The data these “citizen scientists” collect helps researchers understand bird population trends, information that is critical for effective conservation. Their efforts enable everyone to see what would otherwise be impossible: a comprehensive picture of where birds are in late winter and how their numbers and distribution compare with previous years. In 2008, participants submitted more than 85,000 checklists. Let's get Wausau on the map in a big way this year!

Now that we're experiencing nicer weather (thank goodness!!) it's a great time to get out to the feeders and clean up the proverbial "winter mess". It will be easier to clean up all of the debris from below the feeders before all of the snow melts. Using a shovel to remove those layers of debris along with the snow will be much healthier for the birds than waiting until it dries to rake it away. The debris can become breeding grounds for bacteria and birds are very sucesptible to disease that are caused by this bacteria.We've been enjoying quite a show this winter and now it's time for us pay them back by making sure our feeding areas and feeders are clean and ready for this springs' performance!The Great Backyard Bird Count starts on Friday! Now's your chance to be a citizen scientist. Anyone can take part, from novice bird watchers to experts, by counting birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event and reporting their sightings online at www.birdcount.org. Participants can also explore what birds others are finding in their backyards—whether in their own neighborhood or thousands of miles away. Additional online resources include tips to help identify birds, a photo gallery, and special materials for educators.
The data these “citizen scientists” collect helps researchers understand bird population trends, information that is critical for effective conservation. Their efforts enable everyone to see what would otherwise be impossible: a comprehensive picture of where birds are in late winter and how their numbers and distribution compare with previous years. In 2008, participants submitted more than 85,000 checklists. Let's get Wausau on the map in a big way this year!

Activity At Feeders

Been lots of activity at the feeders. Nyger is disappearing fast with all three of the finches wolfing it down. American Goldfinches, Common Redpolls and Pine Siskins. Those darn Mourning Doves are using my heated birdbath as a spa - who poops in their own spa?

A customer sent me this picture of a Pileated right on the feeding system he has on his deck. Incredible that he gets this bird so close!! I think I'll get a nice old dead tree and put it on my deck and see if that works. Wouldn't look as nice as this system though!

Mention this blog when you come in to the store and receive a 2 lb bag of the freshest bird food in town, FREE!

If you have pictures - please share!

Wild Birds Unlimited - Wausau Introduction

I've been blogging on our local newspaper website but the functions are a bit limited so I'll give it a shot here.

I own the Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop in Wausau located across the street from Walmart in Rib Mountain. I'm obsessed with birding - both out in the field and watching the feeders. I not only watch the feeders at home but I have a few at the store that I watch when I'm not with customers.

Birds at the feeders? At home: Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Tree Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco's, American Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, Black-capped Chickadees, Northern Cardinals, Mourning Doves, Common Redpolls, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers. At the store: American Goldfinches, Pine Siskins and Common Redpolls. I was being marauded by European Starlings so we only have Nyger tube feeders at the store. Limits the species but at least those pesky starlings are gone. What are you seeing at your feeders?