WILD BIRD PAGE #3

(Wild Bird Page #1 - The Owl Who Sat Beside Me)

(Wild Bird Page #2 - The Best Mimic?)

GETTING TO KNOW
OUR BIRD NEIGHBORS?

By Sally Blanchard
Illustration by Sally Blanchard

Stopping to smell the roses can also mean taking the time to enjoy the sounds and sights of our bird neighbors. Even if we don’t know much about our local birds, we can enjoy their songs and the vibrancy of their colors and personalities. Within just a few miles of our Loveland homes, we can see birds that are the residents of many habitats. Each of the birds in our neighborhoods becomes a bit more interesting as we learn a little more about them.  

A Built-in Shock Absorber

There are a few species of woodpeckers that live in or pass through the Loveland, Colorado area and if we listen, we can often hear one of them drumming on the side of a tree. Sometimes their beak is tapping out a communication, but most of the time they are examining the tree for a tasty grub. The beak usually hits the tree “rat-a-tat-tat” with a great deal of impact. Why don’t woodpeckers get headaches from repeatedly smashing their beaks into wood? They have an amazing tongue, which starts in its right nostril and goes up over the top of its skull. There the muscle splits and each half circles around the sides of the skull. They join together again underneath the lower jaw and the muscle then goes into the woodpecker’s beak to form the tongue. This long tongue absorbs the shock of the rapid pounding of the beak. Many woodpeckers could also be thought of as flying anteaters. One of our common residents, the Red-shafted Flicker, can often be seen on the ground using its tongue to grab ants. 

Safety in Numbers – the Mob Mentality

If we voted on the local bird with the most personality, I would wager that the little Black-capped Chickadee would win. These delightful little birds flit from tree to tree foraging for food. They keep in touch with their cheery two note whistle. In the presence of a predator, their call changes to one of great alarm. If they find an owl sleeping in the branches of a tree, a group of chickadees will abandon their normal daytime “Clark Kent” persona and turn into a flock of little super birds. During the day even the largest owls are no match for a flock of these little guided missiles flying at them from above. The chickadees are often joined by a few other species of high energy little songbirds and continue their harassment until the owl leaves their territory. If they can chase the owl away, the predator will probably not be around to cause them problems when he comes out at night to hunt.

More to come later ....