BirdNote Daily

Wood Thrushes migrate more than 2,000 miles each way, between their summer breeding territories in the US and Canada to where they winter in Central America. During migration, the birds will fly for hundreds of miles at night, then stop for days or weeks to refuel. In the spring, they’ll head north three times as fast as they did during their southbound fall migration.

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Picture this Gadwall duckling swimming slowly across a pond, skimming the water’s surface with its broad, spatulate bill. This behavior is called dabbling. Along with the pond water, multitudes of tiny particles pass through the duck’s bill. Somehow it sorts out and swallows the edible seeds and invertebrates, while rejecting the tiny, inedible bits of grit, mud, and debris. To see how a duck pulls this off, we need to pry its bill open and look carefully inside. 

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A tern or gull plunges headfirst into the water, then bounces aloft grasping a small fish in its bill. But before the bird can swallow its catch, a Parasitic Jaeger swoops in. The jaeger nips the bird's wing, and it drops its hard-won fish. The pirate catches the fish in mid-air and gulps it down. The jaeger (German for hunter) is built for sprinting speed and predatory feats. 

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When young Bald Eagles fledge, the event is the culmination of nearly a year’s work by the parents. Let’s recap how it might have gone: male and female build a nest over the winter. By March, they have two eggs. The female incubates the eggs for about a month, with the male taking an occasional turn. The result? A couple of tiny, three-ounce chicks. At eight weeks, they’re as heavy as the adults — 10 to 14 pounds. Two weeks later, they make their first flights. But it will take another 10 weeks of practice flights and provisioning by the adults before the young birds are ready to strike out on their own. 

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Willistown Conservation Trust in Pennsylvania carries out bird banding to help researchers understand bird populations. Led by licensed bird banders, a team of volunteers catches birds using mist nets — 8-foot tall nets made of fine nylon string that practically disappear when strung out between poles. After carefully untangling birds from the net, volunteers weigh and measure the birds, affixing a small metal band to their legs with a unique ID. Compiling records for many banded birds helps keep track of whole species. 

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For many species of birds, scientists know more about the males than the females. And that’s a problem when making a conservation plan for a species that maps out which habitats to protect. Joanna Wu, a PhD student at UCLA, says that in some species of warblers, males and females live in completely different habitats during the winter. Joanna hopes to study how to better incorporate female birds into conservation efforts and ensure that the whole species is protected.

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By late summer, the male Mallard’s need for fancy feathers to attract the females has passed. These birds have molted, and their bright feathers are replaced with mottled brown ones. Subdued colors help camouflage the male ducks, protecting them from predators. Come fall, the male Mallards will molt again and become the colorful dandies we remember.

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When you think of bird migrations, you might think of a bluebird or a robin first. But some owls do migrate – such as the Short-eared Owl, which flies south for the winter. Northern Saw-whet Owls were once thought non-migratory, but in fact they travel at night, unseen. Snowy Owls breed in the Arctic then wander toward the south, staying wherever they can find food. Some Burrowing Owls spend their whole life in one place. But others migrate every spring and fall with the regularity of a bluebird.

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When courting in spring, male and female Cedar Waxwings communicate with distinctly different calls and, perched side by side, often pass back and forth between them a berry or other small fruit or even a flower petal. Waxwings display a wealth of eye-catching plumage. If you relish the company of Cedar Waxwings, plant fruit-bearing trees and shrubs. Find native plants for your garden at Audubon's Native Plant Database.

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Some birds stash unopened seeds for use later. But how do they know which seeds are worth the trouble, before expending the energy to open them? A team of scientists from South Korea and Poland may have an answer. As part of a series of experiments, the scientists observed the behavior of Mexican Jays presented with peanuts in their shells. The research team documented the birds shaking nuts in their beaks to assess the weight and possibly listening for the nuts rattling. In other words, jays use the same types of sensory cues that humans do when choosing a melon in the supermarket. 

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