9.6K
Downloads
144
Episodes
Backyard bird feeding is one of the most enjoyable and rewarding hobbies on earth. Join Cheryl and Kiersten as they talk all about bird feeding in the desert Southwest area of the United States. They talk birds, seed, feeders, and dealing with those pesky unwanted visitors!
Episodes
Monday Jan 23, 2023
Tube Feeders vs Cylinder Feeders
Monday Jan 23, 2023
Monday Jan 23, 2023
Summary: There are so many types of bird feeders on the market and you may be asking which one is best! Join Cheryl and Kiersten as they discuss the differences, pros, and cons of tube feeders and cylinder feeders.
For our hearing impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.
Show Notes:
Tube and Cylinder Feeders: www.wbu.com/mesa
Background bird song: Naturescapes Backyard Birds www.naturescapes.com
Our email address, please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions: thefeathereddesert@gmail.com
Transcript
Host Voice: Welcome to The Feathered Desert’s What’s That Bird? A three-minute glimpse into the birds we share this amazing desert landscape with.
Cylinder Feeders versus Tube Feeders
Kiersten: Intro: Welcome to the Feathered Desert. Today we’re talking bird feeders. There seems to be two camps in the backyard bird feeding world when it comes to preferences of feeders and that is cylinder feeders and tube feeders. Sometimes people prefer one or the other and sometimes people use both. So, we’re going to talk about the differences today!
Cheryl: Let’s start off talking about what each feeder actually is. The cylinder feeders hold seed cylinders that are cylindrical in shape, are made of various seed mixtures, and are held together with unflavored gelatin. At Wild Birds Unlimited store, you can find feeders that hold cylinders of three different sizes, the stackable that looks like a hockey puck, the small cylinder which looks like a pillar candle and is 1.75 pounds of seed, and the large cylinder that is four pounds of seed.
The tube feeder is what you use loose seeds in and those are the feeders with the clear tube and perches for the birds to sit on. There are typically two types of tube feeder. One will have larger ports for seed mixes with larger seeds such as sunflower seeds and peanuts. The other tube feeder is aimed at finches and will have a tiny port that allows only Nyjer seed to come through. You don’t want to get these two mixed up because the seeds cannot fit through the port properly.
Kiersten: Okay now that we know what each feeder actually is, let’s talk about each one in a bit more detail. I know when we are working at the WBU in Mesa we often get customers who ask which is better. The best answer for that is whichever fits easily into your lifestyle, but there are a few pros and cons to each type of feeder.
Looking at cylinder feeders.
Pros:
- Very easy to replace the food. No messy seed you are scooping. Just open the top of your feeder and plop a new cylinder inside.
- You can change up the type of seed mixture very easily. Just buy a new flavor of cylinder. No need to use up a 20 lbs bag of seed before you try something new.
- Less seeds fall on the ground to attract unwanted larger birds that will remain nameless.
- Seed cylinders can last longer than one full tube feeder. Sometimes, depending on which birds you are feeding.
- Most cylinder feeders are a grid design or open to give birds access to the food, so cleaning these feeders is much simpler than a tube feeder. Although you still need to make sure you are cleaning them.
- The gris design is also helpful for cutting back on larger birds getting to the food because only smaller birds are good at clinging. Not 100%.
Cons:
- Buying cylinders can be more expensive than buying loose seed.
- The seed cylinder will dissolve in heavy or all-day rain.
- It may take the birds a little bit longer to try out this kind of feeder if they are not used to it, but once they know what it is they’ll be all over it.
Cheryl: Now let’s look at the tube feeders.
Pros:
- You can buy four different sizes at WBU stores and that lets you determine how much food you wish to give the birds access to at a time.
- You can mix your own seed blends if you like. If you don’t like a pre-made seed blend you can custom make your own.
- The style is pretty universal so birds may be attracted to it a bit faster than a cylinder feeder. Although remember that any new feeder can take the birds a little while to use.
- More nuisance animal deterrent options available.
- The tube offers better protection against the rain.
Cons:
- It is typically easier for larger birds to use the perches. Depending on how you feel about that you may not like this feeder as well.
- It can be a bit messier with the seed falling through the ports when a heavy wind blows or a large bird jostles the feeder.
- Birds can typically eat through the food faster because they don’t have to work at getting the seed off of a cylinder of seed.
- Can be more difficult to clean, but you can use a bottle brush to get down the tube and into the port holes.
Kiersten: Those are some pros and cons to both cylinder feeders and tube feeders that will hopefully make choosing a style easier for you. When you go to your local Wild Birds Unlimited or bird feeding hobby store look at both styles and see which one you like. Ultimately, the best feeder is the one that fits into you lifestyle and is the easiest for you to clean.
Thursday Jan 19, 2023
What’s That Bird?: Yellow-breasted Chat
Thursday Jan 19, 2023
Thursday Jan 19, 2023
Summary:A three-minute podcast from the hosts of The Feathered Desert about individual bird species found in the desert Southwest.
For our hearing impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.
Show Notes:
Bird song provided by Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology recorded by Paul Marvin.
Transcript
Host voice - Welcome to the Feathered Desert’s What’s That Bird? A three-minute glimpse into the birds that we share this amazing desert landscape with.
Kiersten: The yellow-breasted chat is the only bird in the Icteriidae family and is found only in North America. As the name implies, they have a bright yellow breast and chin with a white belly and undertail. Their head, back, wings, and tail are a dark olive green. They have a white eye ring and two white stripes on the face. Males and females look similar. The juveniles will have a dusting of gray on their breast. This is a small warbler sized bird that can be found throughout North and Central America. They will be found all over Arizona in the summer time. This is a migratory bird that will spend spring and summer in NA and fly to Central and South America for winter. Occasionally some do show up in the Northeastern United States in fall and will over winter in the New England area.
Yellow-breasted Chats eat mainly insects including bees, wasps, ants, grasshoppers, and beetles. They will also eat berries and wild grapes and are often found foraging in shrubs and trees.
The best time to see a yellow-breasted chat is during breeding season at the beginning of spring. To win a mate, males will perform display flights that entail swooping down from a high perch while singing, waving their wings in an exaggerated wingbeat with their tail and legs drooping beneath. At the conclusion of the flight, they will make a thumping noise, presumably with their wings.
Males typically mate with one female per season, but some males have been known to take two mates per season. They choose new mates every year. The female remains on the nest during incubation and DNA testing has shown that quite frequently the chicks are fathered by more than just her chosen mate.
During this time of year, the males are extremely chatty, which is where they get their name, producing an eclectic song that includes croaks, whistles, and repeated phrases. (song) Listening for their call during breeding season is often the best way to find them as they are quiet and hide in foliage during the rest of the year.
Bird song provided by Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology recorded by Paul Marvin.
Monday Jan 09, 2023
Interview with Richard Cachor Taylor author of Birds of Arizona
Monday Jan 09, 2023
Monday Jan 09, 2023
Summary: Join Cheryl and Kiersten as they talk birding with Richard Cachor Taylor and discuss his new Arizona bird field guide! He’s been birding for a long time and he talks about his love of the activity and his love of Arizona.
Show Notes: Birds of Arizona by Richard Cachor Taylor
***Follow Wild Birds Unlimited, Mesa on Facebook and Instagram for updates on when Rick will be signing his book in February 2023.
WBU, Mesa is also currently carrying Rick’s book. Call or stop by to get a copy! 480-507-2473, www.wbu.com/mesa
Desert Rivers Audubon – www.desertriversaudubon.org
Monday Jan 02, 2023
Rewilding Arizona
Monday Jan 02, 2023
Monday Jan 02, 2023
Summary: What happens after a wildfire burns through our desert? Volunteers help restore it! Join Cheryl and Kiersten as they discuss some great volunteer programs helping the Arizona desert rewild itself.
For our hearing impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.
Show Notes:
www.naturalrestorations.org/lower-salt-river-restoration-2022
https://www.friendsofthetontonationalforest.org/projects
Background bird song: Naturescapes Backyard Birds www.naturescapes.com
Our email address, please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions: thefeathereddesert@gmail.com
Transcript
Host Voice: Welcome to The Feathered Desert’s What’s That Bird? A three-minute glimpse into the birds we share this amazing desert landscape with.
Cheryl Intro:
I picked up a wilderness/wildlife conservation magazine the other day, and found it filled with amazing people doing amazing things to help their wilderness areas in their states, especially after the wild fires we have had in the west in the last few years. Without reforesting and replanting of our wild areas after intense fire storms well birds and people would be in trouble. So, I wanted to know what was happening in my state of Arizona? I was pleasantly surprised by what I uncovered when I went looking for the unsung heroes/heroines of restoration.
Kiersten: Let’s start with the Lower Salt River Restoration project. Now we have talked about the restoration of the Verde River up by Cottonwood, (Earth Day Podcast), shared information about the San Pedro River, and the actions being taken to protect it (Southeastern Region of Arizona Podcast) now it is time to give some notice to the Salt River.
The Salt River is about 200 miles long and it flows through eastern Arizona starting at Roosevelt Lake. It makes it way through the mountains to Apache Lake, then Canyon Lake, and finally Saguaro Lake. Then lower Salt River weaves it way through Mesa, Tempe, and then south Phoenix. The Salt River provides metropolitan Phoenix area with up to 60% of its irrigation and drinking water needs. The Salt River is home to wildlife and bird life and wild horses. It is known for the outdoor activities like kayaking, fishing, hiking, and tubing.
In 2017, a fire burned the lower Salt River on the Tonto national Forest. The fire lasted 4 days and burned 800 acres. It was spurned on by invasive plant species such as tamarisk, which had been established in the area for decades. Seeing a need a volunteer organization called Natural Resources.org was started in 2017. With the help of U.S. Forest Service staff this volunteer group has removed 1,489 million pounds (744 tons) of trash, removed 41,950 square feet of graffiti off of rocks and boulders from the lower Salt River wilderness areas. This group launched a replanting program in 2020 and they have planted more than 27,900 tree & cacti in the Salt River wilderness areas.
Cheryl: There are erosion and soil mitigation projects going on in the Tonto National Forest starting in spring. Boyce Thompson Arboretum-near Superior has a replanting program within the property around it to help with erosion after the fires in 2021. I did find one reforesting project that is in its final phase in the Tonto National Forest. The U.S. Forest service is continuing a project to plant 500 Southwestern White Pine Seedlings on the Pleasant Valley Ranger District. The U.S. Forest Service says the 25-acre project is part of a management plan to treat dwarf mistletoe, a parasitic plant native to western forests. It’s been infecting Ponderosa Pine Trees within the Colcord Campground area. 150Ponderosa Pines are lightly to moderately infected and 350 trees are severely infected. Dwarf mistletoe survives only on living trees by taking water and nutrients from them often leading to the tree’s death. The newly planted southwestern White Pines aren’t susceptible to the mistletoe infection.
Ponderosa Pines’ can not catch a break between fires, drought and dwarf mistletoe…what’s a pine tree to do? Alright, I found a group that has some truly outstanding projects going on and they are always looking for volunteers.
Kiersten: Friends of the Tonto National Forest, is a volunteer organization that truly works hard for our wild life and wilderness areas.
One of the projects they have under their organizations watchful eye is Milkweed for Monarchs. The project’s goal is to assist the Tonto National Forest staff create habitat for monarch butterflies. A key element in the life of Monarch Butterflies is the milkweed plant. This project focuses on the cultivation of native milkweeds in designated areas.
The plan is to help Monarchs (and other butterflies) by planting native milkweed plants. Monarchs have an international migration from Canada to Mexico, so Arizona is a small part of a much larger picture. In order to establish monarch breeding habitat and support migrating monarch butterflies, friends of the Tonto National Forest work with forest service staff to plant milkweed in select locations.
These plantings started in 2016 and they currently have nearly 200 milkweed plants growing in the Mesa and Cave Creek Ranger districts of the Tonto National Forest. Milkweed seedlings are grown each summer by the volunteers, planted on the Tinto National Forest in November and are watered during their first year. Every spring and fall trained volunteers monitor the milkweed for butterfly eggs, larvae, pupae and adults (Monarchs). The findings are reported to the Monarch Larva Monitoring project, a national database used y scientific researchers from many fields.
Cheryl: Riparian Photo Point Program
The first riparian specialist, hired by the Tonto National Forest knew the value of repeat photography in documenting resource conditions so 33 years ago he had the fore sight to initiate a riparian photo point program in 1988-finding important reaches of streamside vegetation and streambanks, annually, if possible, at the exact same sites each year. Forest staff and researchers have come to depend on the information these photos provide-impacts by livestock, or improvement conditions through live stock management, wildlife impacts, results of flooding, firs and drought. These photos provide documentation for resource conditions, which is used for natural resource management decisions. While data is important, it’s true that nothing tells a story like a good photography. Friends of Tonto National Forest runs the programs now is looking for volunteer photographers between the months of April to the end of June 2023.
Kiersten: Invasive Plant management is one many Friends of the Tonto National Forest support and help the U.S. Forest to reduce the fire risk in the Tonto National Forest. This is done by mapping and removing plants that are not native to the Tonto National Forest, and monitoring the removal areas.
This project focuses on two prevalent species-Fountain grass and Buffel grass. These plants are commonly found along roadsides and in home and business landscaping. Seeds are easily transported by wind, water, animals, vehicles, hikers, bikers, and equestrians. By removing invasive plants, the volunteers are reducing the threat of wildfire to nearby communities.
Historically, the Sonoran Desert portion of the Tonto National Forest was considered a low fire risk environment; lightening, and other natural causes could ignite a fire, but the natural spacing of the native plants generally carried low intensity fires and for short distances. Most plants native to the Sonoran Desert, including the iconic Saguaro, are not fire adapted. They do not recover from the effects of a fire.
Cheryl- Closing:
When I stated my research for this podcast, I did not know what I would find. What I found was quite a few hard-working people who are working with each other, and governments on all levels to protect our amazing wilderness areas. When we protect wild places, we protect the wild life and bird life we so enjoy. We benefit as well. Please check our show notes for the links to these volunteer organizations if you would like to participate or donate. I know that I will be out there doing my part in 2023.
Thursday Dec 29, 2022
What’s That Bird?: Gila Woodpecker
Thursday Dec 29, 2022
Thursday Dec 29, 2022
Summary:A three-minute podcast from the hosts of The Feathered Desert about individual bird species found in the desert Southwest
Show Notes:
Bird song provided by Kiersten Gibizov
Monday Dec 26, 2022
Listener Questions 2022
Monday Dec 26, 2022
Monday Dec 26, 2022
Summary: In this episode we tackle some listener questions at the end of 2022.
For our hearing impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.
Show Notes:
Liberty Wildlife: https://libertywildlife.org
Wild at Heart: https://wildatheartraptors.org
Parrots as pets: https://naturalencounters.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/companion-parrots-final.pdf
https://avalonaviary.com/is-a-parrot-right-for-you.aspx
High Quality Bird Food: www.wbu.com/mesa
New Podcast: tenthingsilikeabout.podbean.com; or search Apple podcast and Spotify for Ten Things I Like About...
Background bird song: Naturescapes Backyard Birds www.naturescapes.com
Our email address, please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions: thefeathereddesert@gmail.com
Transcript
Host Voice: Welcome to The Feathered Desert’s What’s That Bird? A three-minute glimpse into the birds we share this amazing desert landscape with.
Kiersten - Hello everyone! We thought we’d end the year with a listener questions episode. These are some questions we’ve heard several times from different listeners. We’re going to jump in feet first with Cheryl and our first question.
Cheryl – Can I buy an owl as a pet here in Phoenix?
We know it sounds crazy but we have had more than one person ask us this. You cannot legally buy any bird protected under the Migratory Bird Act as a pet in the United States. That includes Barn Owls, Screech Owls, Great Horned Owls, or any other owls naturally found here in Arizona. It is a federal offensive to own the birds or house them in your home without proper permits from Arizona Game and Fish and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. If you are seeing advertisements or have heard from people that it’s legal, you are being misinformed. People who are trying to sell them to you are breaking the law and have most likely taken them out of the wild illegally, as well. Besides being illegal, it’s also a great disservice to these beautiful animals to take them away from their homes.
Beyond this being illegal, we don’t really know why someone wants an owl in their house as a pet. You have to feed them mice, baby chicks, and ground up horse meat to provide them a well balanced diet. If you do not, they can develop metabolic bone disease which makes their bones brittle and is a terrible way to slowly die. We know this is a harsh topic but we want to make it very clear why having an owl as a pet is a bad idea.
Remember these birds are also called raptors for a reason. They have large, sharp talons on their feet that they use to catch prey. Those don’t stop being sharp or dangerous just because you decided to keep them as a pet.
There are so many other reasons why they make bad pets. Basically, we wanted to let you know that owls as pets are illegal and are an extremely bad idea, as well as unfair to the bird. If you see advertisements for owls for sale here in the Phoenix Valley, please report it to Arizona Game and Fish so they can get these birds back to where they need to be. If you are interested in working as a rehabilitator for owls you can help at organizations such as Liberty Wildlife and Wild at Heart and become a licensed rehabber. We will list contact information in our show notes.
Kiersten – Do the wild lovebirds found in the Phoenix Valley make good pets?
The answer to this is definitely no. Our resident lovebirds do descend from pet birds but they have lived in the wild for many generations and have re-wilded themselves. They are now wild birds that have no interest in living in our homes nor do they need our help to survive. They know just how to make it on their own out there in the desert. It is completely okay to offer supplementary bird feeding stations in your yard as many WBU customers do.
We have had some reports that people may be capturing wild lovebirds and selling them as pet birds. There is no law against this as there is with the owls because these lovebirds are not native to North America. They are native parrots of Africa that were released in small numbers about 35 years ago here in the Valley. But they are still wild animals that do not deserve to be taken out of the wild and forced to live out the rest of their lives in a cage in someone’s house.
If you are interested in lovebirds as pets, please seek out a reputable breeder who breeds captive born lovebirds responsibly. These will make better pets because they are used to people interacting with them closely and have never experienced life in the wild. Capturing wild individuals will stress them to the point that it can impact their health, leaving them open to disease and shortening their lives. To make sure you are purchasing from a breeder on the up and up, ask to see their breeding setup and the parents of the birds you will be purchasing. You should see obvious signs of the birds pairing with each other such as living in a cage together, making their own nests, and even raising the young themselves. If the person you are buying from refuses this request move on to someone else. Also, if the price of the birds is too good to be true, it probably is someone who is capturing them from the wild and wants to sell the birds as soon as possible.
Choosing to have a bird for a pet is something that is not for every household. I know there are a ton of social media videos that make it seem like it’s easy and super fun to have birds living in your house, but it’s not for everyone. Please do your homework before you chose this animal as a pet. We will post some links in our show notes to a few insightful websites that can help you make an informed decision.
Cheryl – What should I do about my bird feeders when it rains?
This is a great question but not often one we have to think about outside of monsoon season here in the Phoenix Valley. If the day calls for light, passing showers you don’t have to do much of anything. Both tube feeders that hold loose seed and cylinders that are exposed to the rain will be fine, if it is only light rain. After the weather has settled, go out and shake your tube feeders with the loose seed. If the seed shakes and does not clump, no moisture has gotten inside and the seed will be fine for the birds to continue to eat. If you have clumping seeds, you need to throw those seeds out, clean your feeder and put fresh seed in. This will help prevent the growth of mold that can be detrimental to the bird’s health and yours.
If we have a heavy rain or rain that lasts all day, cylinders made with seeds and gelatin will dissolve. Plan ahead and take those feeders in or you will have a messy, goopy clump of food on the ground the next day that no one wants to eat. For tube feeders, it depends on where you have them hanging. If they are under a tree or awning that gives them some shelter from the weather, they will probably be fine. Just check them once the weather calms down as we discussed before. The same advice goes for your suet feeders. If they are in an area where the rain will get to it, the suet will crumble out of the feeder. Purchasing a weather guard for use during monsoon season can also be a great way to shelter food if you have a pole system in the middle of your yard.
Do not worry about the birds during the rain. Most often they are hunkering down in a tree somewhere waiting out the rain themselves.
While we are on the subject of cleaning, after a rain you should also clean out and refill your bird baths. In case something has washed off a roof or trees that might have chemicals in them that are bad for the birds, you don’t want them drinking that or bathing in it.
Kiersten – What is the difference between Wild Birds Unlimited seed and seed I find at the grocery store or hardware stores?
Cheryl and I have gotten this question a lot over the years. We both use seed from Wild Birds Unlimited and as many of our longtime listeners know we are both currently employees of a WBU store. Having said that, we both used seed from WBU before we began working at a store because they have a no-waste guarantee and use human grade seed in their mixes.
So, the difference is that WBU does not allow any seed that will not readily be eaten by songbirds in the seed they sell. Other stores, and by other stores I mean stores that do not focus on outdoor bird feeding, because there are other specialty stores out there besides WBU that carry excellent seed as well, other stores do not care how much inedible seed is in their mixes. Seeds such as milo, cracked corn, wheat, and canary seed are all items that the songbirds we want to attract will not eat. They will just sit at the feeder and toss it to the ground digging through the mix for the handful of seeds they will eat.
Then this attracts doves and pigeons which most of us do not want flocks of in our yards.
The seed at WBU will be more expensive but you are paying for seed that they birds will eat and not filler they will not eat.
Let’s talk specifically about Nyjer seed, now. This is the small black seeds that fit in finch feeders and are often sold inside socks already at other stores. Is WBU Nyjer better than other stores? Without any bias on my part, the answer is yes. WBU imports Nyjer from India which is where this aster plant grows natively. The plants are healthy there and abundant which makes their seeds robust and full of nutrients. Some farmers have figured out how to grow this seed in NA in large enough fields to make it worth their while and birds will eat these seeds but the aster plant does not grow as well here, so the seeds lack some of the nutrients of the India seeds. If you give the finches a choice between the India seeds and the NA seeds they will pick the India seeds. I’ve seen this in my own backyard!
Cheryl – Why do the birds in the city eat French fries and potato chips but the ones in my yard leave that stuff alone and only eat the seeds I offer in my feeder?
This was a question from one of our co-workers and such an insightful one we thought it demanded a bit of discussion. We believe there are two reasons for this difference. One is that many of the birds that have adapted to living in the city are grain eating birds such as House Sparrows, Grackles, and Starlings. In the wild, these birds will eat different types of grains as well as seeds. French fries and potato chips are only a hop, skip, and jump away from a grain.
Many of us do have house sparrows at our backyard feeders but why would they eat poor quality food, like French fries, when they have the high-quality stuff, like black oil sunflowers seeds, that is in the feeder.
A second reason is probably cultural. The city birds learn to eat French fries and potato chips from their parents, while the backyard birds learn to eat from our native plants and our bird feeders.
Kiersten – Closing – We hope this episode has answered a few questions for all our listeners and as we say goodbye to 2022, we hope you’ll keep enjoying the birds in 2023 by getting outdoors to watch our feathered friends, maybe join a citizen scientist group or two, and keep listening to The Feathered Desert.
Before we sign off Cheryl, do you mind if I make a shameless plug for the other podcast I started at the end of this year?
For those of you who like learning new things about all types of nature, I’ve started a podcast called Ten Things I Like About…and it’s all about unknown or misunderstood wildlife. I’ll be talking about the pangolin, the vaquita, and many other animals you’ve probably never heard of. Each topic consists of ten-episodes that are ten-minutes a piece and Cheryl occasionally co-hosts with me! So, check it out in 2023.
Monday Dec 19, 2022
California Condor: Giants of the Sky
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Summary: Have you ever wondered what the largest bird in North America is? If you live in AZ, CA, UT, or Baja you might have seen it, the California Condor. Join Cheryl and Kiersten as they take you on a flight with this majestic bird.
For our hearing impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.
Show Notes: Ornithology by Frank B. Gill
Birds of The World: The visual guide to more than 800 species, covering the entire range of bird families by Colin Harrison and Alan Greensmith
The Book of Eggs: A life-size guide to the eggs of six hundred of the world’s bird species edited by John Bates and Barbara Becker
Background bird song: Naturescapes Backyard Birds www.naturescapes.com
Our email address, please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions: thefeathereddesert@gmail.com
Transcript
Host Voice: Welcome to The Feathered Desert a podcast all about desert bird feeding in the Southwest region of the United States. (Various bird calls play)
Kiersten: Welcome everyone to The Feathered Desert. I felt it was about time we talked about the largest bird in Arizona, actually the largest bird in North America, the California Condor. So this episode is titled: California Condor: Giants of the Sky.
Cheryl: That’s a good title.
Kiersten: Thank you!
Now, of course, this is not a bird we will be attracting to our backyard through bird feeding but it is one amazing bird that I think we can all appreciate.
Cheryl: Let’s start off with what this condor looks like. They have a featherless head and neck that is pink to orange in color. Juveniles have grayish-black heads. The skin on the head of adults will turn a deep red-pink during breeding season or during times of alarm.
Huh! I don’t know that.
Kiersten: Yeah!
Cheryl: Their beak is black and hooked at the end. The majority of their feathers are black with large, white wing patches that can be seen in flight. Their legs and feet are large and gray with small black claws. They come in at a height of just about 4 feet tall when standing with a 9-foot wingspan in flight. They can weigh up to 25 pounds!
These are large birds; although, based on wing span they don’t even make it into the top ten largest in the world, but they are the largest land birds in North America. (I know you’re going to ask! The largest flighted bird based on wing span is the Wandering Albatross with a 12-foot wingspan and the largest bird in the world is the ostrich.)
I knew that but I didn’t know the albatross has a larger wing span.
Kiersten: What exactly is a condor?
The California condor is in family Cathartidae. Their scientific name is Gymnogyps californianus.
Cheryl: I’m so glad you’re saying this part!
Kiersten: (laughs) Gymnogyps is Greek from the word gymnos meaning naked and gyps meaning vulture. Californianus is Latin and refers to the birds’ range. The word condor comes from cuntur, the Inca name for the Andean Condor. Cathartidae Family contains the New World Vultures. So, yes! The California Condor is technically a vulture.
Cheryl: Okay, I have a question. Are the California Condor and the Andean Condor basically the same except for the range?
Kiersten: No.
Cheryl: Is there a size difference?
Kiersten: Yes. The Andean Condor is MUCH larger and they cannot interbreed, so they are a different species all together.
Being vultures means they do eat carrion, or dead animals, as their main diet. They prefer larger animals such as deer, elk, pigs, sea lions, whales, and domestic cattle.
Being a four-foot-tall bird, you certainly aren’t eating mice all day! (laughs)
Cheryl: (laughs)
Kiersten: Because they like domestic cattle, this is what got them in trouble with ranchers and put them on the Endangered Species List. Since they are such large birds, when people saw them on a dead cattle carcass they thought, incorrectly, that the condor had killed the cow and then began to eat it. When, in reality, they were only attracted to the cow after it was dead. Just like other vultures they are the clean-up crew of the planet. Keeping dead animals from rotting in the environment helps contain the spread of disease, so the condor’s job in extremely important to the health of the environment, which, by the way, includes us.
When a condor come across a food source, they will gorge themselves on the carcass because they never know when they will find food again. They can hold up to 3 pounds of meat in their crop, which can help them survive from one to two weeks before they need to find more food.
Cheryl: How do they find their food?
California Condors are considered soaring birds. Their large flight muscles are not anchored to a correspondingly large sternum and this limits them to mainly soaring. This means that once they are in the air, they catch the warm thermals with their vast wingspan and do not need to flap their wings to stay aloft. They tend to perch on high outcroppings so they can open their wings and catch the wind with as little flapping as possible. When it is a cold windless day, they are restricted to their perches.
Soaring allows them to search wide swaths of land for food without using a lot of energy. They mainly find their food through sight. Unlike their cousins, the Turkey Vulture, they do not have a keen sense of smell. Once they have spotted an appropriate carcass, they use their hooked beaks to tear it into small enough pieces to easily swallow. They use their large heavy feet to help hold the carcass down. When other scavengers are around, they give way to the California Condor because of their large size, with the exception of Golden Eagles. California Condors get out of their way because of their large powerful talons.
I was just running that through my head because they don’t use their feet to intimidate. They use their size ad don’t need to be assertive.
Kiersten: Yes! They just use their feet to hold the carcass down.
Kiersten: What happens during breeding season?
California Condors will reach sexual maturity at the age of six. That’s quite a ways into their life, considering our little verdin becomee sexually mature at six months! That is when they will begin looking for a mate. To attract a mate the male will puff up his neck feathers and redden the skin on his head. He will then open his wings and hold them out as he slowly approaches the female. If she accepts him by lowering her head, they mate and seal their life-long pair bond. The courtship may also continue in the air with the couple flying in tandem.
The female will lay one egg in a cave near a cliff or on a cliff side with nearby trees and open spaces for easy landing. No discernable nest is made, the female just lays the egg righton the ground. The egg is a light bluish-white color and is about 4 ¼ inches in length, 2 5/8 inches wide, and weighs about 280 grams. Eggs are laid as early as January to as late as April. Both parents will share incubation duties which last almost 2 months. The parents bring food home to the nest for 5 to 6 months until the chicks are able to fly. The offspring will commonly stay with their parents for almost 2 years. Because of this, condor couples will only lay eggs every other year.
Cheryl: Two questions? Is the females larger than the male?
Kiersten: None of the information I came across indicated that there was a large difference in size, so I don’t know for sure. But I don’t think so.
Cheryl: How can the chicks learn to fly if they can’t flap their wings?
Kiersten: They can flap their wings a bit. They do have to build up their flight muscles but it’s not something they are doing a lot of. Flapping, I mean. They are not like out little gold finches that flap a lot in flight, but they can flap to get up and when landing.
Cheryl: Where are they found?
California Condors are currently found in only three places in North America, the arid foothills of southern California near Big Sur, a small area in Northern Baja Mexico, and the border of northern Arizona and southern Utah in the Grand Canyon Area. Historically they were found all across North America from California to Florida and Western Canada to Mexico. Illegal shooting due to misunderstanding their behaviors, as mentioned above, and lead poisoning from eating carcasses riddled with lead bullet fragments was the cause of their decline.
By 1967 they were listed as an endangered species by the federal government and by 1982 there were only 23 individuals left alive world-wide. This included captive and wild condors. In 1987, we made the very tough decision to capture all those left in the wild, approximately 17 individuals, and keep them all in captivity. This began the California Condor Recovery Program.
Kiersten: The California Condor Recovery Program
This program was a bit controversial in the beginning. Two sides argued about how much intervention we should provide. One side said none at all, just let the condors be free and let whatever happens happen even if that is extinction. The other side said we need to keep them alive at any cost even if that means they survive in captivity only, since we were the ones who led them to near extinction. The goal of the program that was officially approved by the United States in 1987 was to establish two geographically separate breeding populations, one in California and one in Arizona, each site with 150 individuals including 15 breeding pairs.
A captive breeding program was the approved way to accomplish that goal. The captive breeding program was slow going at first due to the mating habits of the condors. They need space and the ability to fly to successfully chose mates and that was not something that could be offered in a captive situation. But with some patience things got moving. In the wild, if a couple losses an egg they will lay another. This is called “double clutching”. The captive breeding program used this to their advantage by removing the first egg from the nest and sending it to be raised by humans, while the mated condors laid a second egg that they would raise themselves. The chicks raised by humans would be exposed to puppets made to look just like adult condors to keep them from imprinting on humans. The whole goal of the captive breeding program was to release these animals back into the wild.
You certainly cannot release a 4-foot bird that has imprinted on humans back into the wild. That would be a BIG mistake.
Cheryl: (laughs) True!
Kiersten: In 1991 and 1992, California Condors were released back into the wild at Big Sur, Pinnacles National Park, and Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge. In 1996, more were released at Vermillion Cliffs in Arizona near the Grand Canyon. In 2003, the first chick fledged in the wild since 1981. I think that’s amazing!
Cheryl: That just makes me excited!
Kiersten: With the success of reintroduction in California and Arizona, a site in Mexico was chosen near Baja California, Mexico. In 2007 a California Condor laid an egg in Mexico for the first time since the 1930s.
Cheryl: It gives me chills!
Kiersten: I know! It’s amazing!
In 2010 the California wild population was 100 individuals with 73 individuals in Arizona. A milestone was reached in 2015 when more condors were hatched in the wild than ones that died. In 2021, the total world population of California Condors was 537 with 203 in captivity and 334 flying free in the wild.
Cheryl: Wow! How awesome is that!
Kiersten: Absolutely the coolest thing ever!
Cheryl: What can we keep doing to helping California Condors?
The biggest threat to these majestic birds now is lead poisoning from lead bullets. What happens is that when hunters hunting in the condors’ territory kill animals with lead bullets and do not retrieve the entire carcass, condors will do their jobs and end up consuming the fragment of the lead bullets still in the carcass. So, please use non-lead ammunition when hunting in the condors’ territory. This type of ammunition is readily available. In 2008, the Ridley-Tree Condor Preservation Act was passed which requires the use of non-lead bullets by hunters hunting in the condor’s territory and it seems to be helping. The levels of lead in blood tested by scientists in resident birds has gone down.
Another thing we can do is when we go camping, be clean. Take all of your trash with you when you leave. Small bits of plastic, glass, and metal have also been found in the stomach of some dead condors.
Kiersten: I think those are easy things to do.
Cheryl: Those are definite two things we can do.
Kiersten: The California Condor is an amazing conservation success story and we are so lucky to have this awe-inspiring bird in our state. When we put our minds to it we can make a positive difference in the world around us.
Monday Dec 12, 2022
Bird Irruptions
Monday Dec 12, 2022
Monday Dec 12, 2022
Summary: Have you ever thought where did that bird come from? Join Cheryl and Kiersten as they talk about irruptions in birds which could explain why you are seeing an unfamiliar bird in your yard.
For our hearing impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.
Show Notes:
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-crowned-kinglet/overview
www.birdsandbloom.com/birding/birding-basics/irrutions-forecast
www.donnallog.com/winter-bird-migration-and-irruptions
Background bird song: Naturescapes Backyard Birds www.naturescapes.com
Our email address, please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions: thefeathereddesert@gmail.com
Transcript
Host Voice: Welcome to The Feathered Desert a podcast all about desert bird feeding in the Southwest region of the United States. (Various bird calls play)
Cheryl: Welcome to the Feathered Desert. Today we’re are taking about irruptions in birds.
Perhaps, you wake up one morning and there is a flock of unexpected birds gathered at your
backyard feeder, what?! This is exactly what happen to me last week, I looked out my window in the morning and I saw 3 Ruby-Crowned Kinglets eating seeds from my feeder. This is not one of our typical winter visitors, so I asked the question why? Kiersten is my go-to for that and she has the answer!
Kiersten:
I do! But first I want to be clear we are talking about irruptions with an I not eruptions! We have no exploding birds here! (laughs)
Well, occasionally a sudden surge of unexpected birds can wander outside their typical winter range. This is called an irruption, I-R-R-U-P-T-I-O-N. An irruption is unpredictable mass migration of birds. An irruptive event is called a flight year.
Cheryl:
Usually, this type of event happens in the winter with generally non-migrating birds. See when food is plentiful populations increase and birds remain in their normal winter ranges. Birds can tell in late summer or early autumn that food production is not what they need to survive the winter. So, they evacuate when they decide the time is right. These birds move to areas where food is still available.
Kiersten: I think that’s a solid plan!
Cheryl: Yes!
Kiersten: It’s not just food supplies that can cause a bird species to leave its winter home, unpredictable weather
Can play apart in the decision to relocate. A sudden cold spell or unseasonably cold weather in area that is generally has mild winters can push a bird species to move further south from their northern homes. I think this is what’s happening now, right? In our 2022 December?
Cheryl: Right.
Kiersten: Okay! Sometimes migrating birds are pushed off course by unexpected bad weather putting these migrants in areas that they normally don’t visit.
This happens all the time off the coast of Texas. There is a small island off the coast that birds love during hurricane season. It’s a great site for seeing birds thrown off by bad weather. It’s a birders paradise!
Cheryl: Isn’t that how we got the Rosette Spoonbill at the Gilbert Riparian area?
Kiersten: Yes, I think so. He got thrown off a few years ago and now he comes back ever year because it’s so nice here!
Cheryl: These irruptive events don’t happen every year but on average every two to three years. It is not always the same birds that have these events. The most common are seed eaters such as Pine Siskins, Red Polls, and Red-breasted Nuthatches. These irruptions can be difficult to predict ahead of time. The reasons behind these surprising sporadic migrations aren’t straight forward it varies from species to species.
Kiersten: I think it happens a lot more with the seed eaters because they lay more eggs per clutch and when every chick survives the population skyrockets. Many of the individuals will leave the area.
Cheryl: Yes. I think so. Last year we had an irruption of Pine Siskins.
Kiersten: Raptor (birds of prey) which feed on small mammals and small birds may also have to leave their winter ranges to find food. Those raptors that eat small birds may follow their food source to a more southern location. Some raptors are known for their own irruptions like the Snowy Owl.
This one is so weird. One day you’re in Maryland and there’s a Snowy Owl! It’s crazy seeing this bird where it’s usually not found!
Then there’s the Short-eared Owl which has been known to show up just before there a over abundance of mice in a field. It kinda makes them seem omniscient, but they’re not it just goes with the season.
Northern Goshawks and Great -Horned Owls don’t usually leave their territories but on occasion these birds have given up their territories in the northern forests when the snowshoe hares are few and far between. That makes a lot of sense. These hares are big lagomorphs, so if you can catch a few you’re good to go but if not, you won’t survive the winter.
Cheryl: Yes. And they can’t compete with the lynxes that also hunt the hares.
Food was scarce for the Northern birds of the mountains across the west and some of them are wintering with us like the American Robin, Juniper Titmouse, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Cedar Waxwings and Western birds, plus the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. All these northern forest dwellers had to move south this year in a multiple bird species irruptions.
Now, Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a tiny songbird with an equally tiny tail and bill. Its olive green overall with a prominent white eyeing and white wing bar. The adult male when excited displays a flash of brilliant red of feathers on the top of his head. It’s a treat to see this bird and others unexpectedly this winter in our backyards.
Kiersten: We will be posting the All About Birds link for the Ruby-crowned Kinglet in our Show Notes so you can check out what they look like!
Saturday Dec 10, 2022
What’s That Bird?: Christmas Bird Count
Saturday Dec 10, 2022
Saturday Dec 10, 2022
Summary: This is a special What’s That Bird? episode about the long-running citizen scientist project from Audubon called the Christmas Bird Count. Listen and find out how you can make this one of your holiday traditions!
For our hearing impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.
Show Notes:
Audubon Christmas Bird Count Maps: https://audubon.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html
Audubon Christmas Bid Count Home: https://www.audubon.org/science/christmas-bird-count
Phoenix Valley Christmas Count Sign-up:
Kathy and Rowyn Balman nerdyforbirdies@gmail.com
Nerdy for Birdies:
https://educatingchildrenoutdoors.com/nerdy-for-birdies
***Due to unforeseen personal matters Mo Walters will be handling The CBC for Phoenix Area this year. You can reach her at Molina.Walters@asu.edu.*****
Transcript
Host Voice: Welcome to The Feathered Desert’s What’s That Bird? A three-minute glimpse into the birds we share this amazing desert landscape with.
Kiersten: Hello, Feathered Deserts listeners. This is Kiersten and I wanted to talk to you about the Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count. It’s a citizen science project that you can participate in right here in the Phoenix Valley!
The Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count is the nation’s longest running community science bird project. It began in the late 1800’s as an event called the Christmas “Side Hunt”. Groups of participants would choose sides and whoever came back from the hunt with the largest pile of feathered, or furred, animals won. This was the time that conservation was in its infancy but naturalists were already beginning to understand that populations of some animals were in decline in the wild. So, in 1900 an ornithologist named Frank M. Chapman, an early officer of the Audubon Society, proposed a different holiday tradition, a Christmas Bird Census! Instead of shooting birds, they would count them!
Thus began the Christmas Bird Count! Each Year this project runs from December 14-January 5 and is open to anyone that wants to help count bids! When you participate in this bird count all the information you gather about the birds you are seeing in your chosen locations goes to Audubon to be compiled. This data provides ornithologists and scientific researchers with information about the long-term populations of birds in North America. According to the Audubon website, “To date over 300 peer-reviewed scientific papers have resulted in analysis done with Christmas Bird Count data.”
That’s a lot of papers and that’s a lot of research about birds!
This season the 2022-2023 Christmas Bird Count in the Phoenix Metro Area will be coordinated by Educating Children Outdoors, Nerdy for Birdies, and the Maricopa County Parks Master Naturalists. There is a 15-mile circle that has been chosen for the count including Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, and Tempe. They will be offering three zoom meetings about how and where to count before the count officially starts and will also offer a Question and Answer day. Kathy and Rowyn Balman are in charge of distributing information about how to participate in our area and can be reached via email at nerdyforbirdies@gmail.com. If you do not live in the area but would still like to participate, you can always take a day trip to one of the sites in the radius or check out the Audubon Christmas Count Website, go to the maps page, and look for a radius near you. There are active sites all over the Phoenix Valley.
Check out the show notes for this episode for a list of all the websites. We have perfect winter weather for birding in Arizona so grab your binoculars and get out there!
Monday Dec 05, 2022
Family Corvidae: Episode Four: Jays
Monday Dec 05, 2022
Monday Dec 05, 2022
Summary: In this final episode of Family Corvidae join Cheryl and Kiersten as they talk about what makes jays so interesting and learn about the five different jays found in Arizona.
For our hearing impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.
Show Notes:
Ornithology by Frank B. Gill
Https://corvidresearch.blog/catergory/jay-behavior/
Transcript
Host Voice: Welcome to The Feathered Desert a podcast all about desert bird feeding in the Southwest region of the United States. (Various bird calls play)
Corvidae Family Part Four: Jays
Kiersten: Intro – Welcome to the Feathered Desert, everyone! This is part four of Family Corvidae, our final episode on this amazing bird family. In part four we are discussing Jays. This is my second favorite bird in the Corvidae family. My first is Ravens and I know Cheryl is extremely partial to crows.
Cheryl: Yes, I am!
Kiersten: If you have listened to the previous three parts you know that this bird family is celebrated for its complicated behaviors and problem-solving skills. Jays are no exception to this and the one attribute they are most well-known for is their spatial memory capacity.
First question is, what exactly is spatial memory? Spatial memory is a form of memory responsible for the recording and recovery of information needed to plan a course to a location and to recall the location of an object or the occurrence of an event.
Cheryl: Something that humans need more of! (laughs)
Kiersten: Spatial memory is necessary for orientation in space. In layman’s terms, it means you can recall where you put your car keys or remember the route to the grocery store. Without this kind of memory, you just stumble through life coming across things randomly.
The part of the brain that processes spatial memory is the hippocampus. The hippocampus of both mammals and birds are functionally identical, meaning they both process the same kind of information in the same way. Birds that rely heavily on seed-caching, like our Jays, have an enlarged hippocampus. Their enlarged hippocampus helps jays remember all the places they’ve hidden seeds for future use. In general, they have an 85% retrieval rate. The size of the hippocampus in jays was quite a surprise when scientists discovered it, but has led to a whole variety of questions about bird memory and social relationships.
Cheryl: Birds! The never-ending amazing facts! How I marvel at them!
Canada Jay
We’re going to start off with the Canada Jay and I’m kinda excited because I didn’t know we had them in Arizona. My first experience with a Canada Jay was when I was up in Yellowstone National Park.
We are lucky to have five different jays in Arizona and we’re going to talk about one that is found in only a small portion of Northeast Arizona first, the Canada Jay. There are several subspecies of the Canada Jay that range across the northern North American continent. The one we will see most commonly in Arizona is a medium sized bird at approximately 11.5 inches with gray wings and tail, white chest, and pale gray underparts. The head is white with a gray stipe that circles the head from eye to eye. The beak and legs are both black. The Canada jay has no crest and a short, small beak. Juveniles are all gray. This jay is also known as the Gray Jay, Camp Robber, and Whiskey Jack.
I have a story to go with the Camp Robber!
They are found mainly in coniferous forests in Arizona. They eat insects, berries, seeds, carrion, bird eggs, and fungi. They forage in trees, shrubs, on the ground, and can catch insects on the wing.
As we talked about before, this jay caches food but they have something that sets them apart from other jays. They have super sticky saliva! When they find food that they want to cache, such as seeds, they coat it in their sticky saliva and they deposit it on the sides of a tree trunk or the bottom of a tree branch. Once the saliva dries, it hardens around the food and keeps it safe for later use. The reason they place it on tree trunks is to keep it available when the snow covers the ground, especially in the northern regions where they are found. They are a non-migratory bird so they tough out the winter where ever they live. Placing their caches above the snow allows them to survive the winter and awards them the most northernly jay on the continent.
When we were in Yellowstone we were cooking outside at the fire and had a run-in with Camp Robber! We were cooking chicken kabobs that you would cook over the campfire and these birds began to collect over our campsite. One swooped down and snagged a piece of un-cooked chicken off the cutting board! By the time we organized to get everything covered them took green pepper, potato, carrot, a few chips, and a roll! Talk about a Camp Robber!
Kiersten: Mexican Jay
Next, we’re travelling down to the Southeastern corner of Arizona to talk about the Mexican Jay. Once again, there are several subspecies of this jay and their coloration can vary by population. The one found in Arizona ranges between 11-13 inches in length. The face, head, neck, back, wings, and tail are a bright sky-blue color while the throat, chest, and belly are white. They have no visible crest. The beak is long and wider at the head tapering down to the end. It is black, as are their legs. They prefer pine, oak, and juniper woodlands. They eat fruits, insects, seeds, carrion, bird eggs, and acorns. Acorns are especially coveted and are often cached for later use. They find about 85% of these cached acorns, but the ones they forget about are extremely important to the environment because those will grow into mighty oaks.
Mexican Jays are very family-oriented jays and can live in groups of 5-25 that often contain parents, siblings, and other relatives in the same territory or in an adjacent territory. They can live up to 20 years surrounded by family. With the warming temperatures brought on by Climate Change, Mexican Jays in Arizona now lay eggs 10 days earlier than they used to back in the 1970s.
Cheryl: Pinyon Jay
Our next amazing jay is found throughout most of Arizona except the southwestern portion of the state. The Pinyon Jay is approximately 10.5 inches in length and is a lovely azure blue from head to tail. They have no visible crest. The beak and legs are both black. Clear leg feathers can be seen giving them the look of pants. The beak is thin but great for cracking open seeds. They prefer habitats with ponderosa pines, pinyon-junipers, and mixed forests of oak and pine. They eat nuts, pine seeds, grass seeds, berries, fruits, insects, and eggs. They forage in trees mostly but will go to ground for something worth their while, and have been seen searching for food in coniferous forests at elevation of 3,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level.
Unlike other jays, the pinyon jay does not have feathers that cover their nostrils. This is because they probe deep into pitch-covered pinecones to extract the seeds and if they had feathers covering their nostrils, they would get goopy. It is also why this jay’s beak is so slender compared to other corvids. Breeding season in pinyon jays is closely correlated to the seeding time of the pinyon pine and when green pinecones appear it can trigger their breeding hormones. These birds can live in flocks up to 500 and they often stay in that flock their entire lives.
So those aren’t necessarily family groups?
Kiersten: Definitely! I’m sure there is some family but this is a big enough group you’ll find someone you’re not related to.
Cheryl: They have a strict dominance hierarchy that they abide by that is decided through observation alone, not direct interaction. For example, if Jay H sees Jay T, a dominant bird to Jay H, respect Jay F’s dominance, Jay H will also concede to Jay F’s dominance without having to physically interact with him.
That’s like mutual respect.
Kiersten: It is and it makes a whole lot of sense! If you are living in a group of 500 and are constantly jostling for position, you’d be fighting all the time and never get anything done. It’s so amazing!
Cheryl: We could learn something from birds there. They get more done than we do!
Kiersten: Steller’s Jay
Our next jay is our most strikingly colored jay, in my opinion. The Steller’s Jay is approximately 11.5 inches in length with a black head, face, neck, and back and light blue underbelly and dark blue wings and tail that have black striping. This jay has a prominent black crest that they can raise or lower. In Arizona they are found in the eastern portion of the state with some residents in the northwestern areas, as well. We are in the eastern half of their North American range and our populations often have thin, white stripes on the face above the eye and on the forehead. Like most of our other jays they prefer wooded forests as their chosen habitat. They eat nuts, seeds, acorns, small invertebrates, and bird eggs.
The crest on the Steller’s jay is used to communicate with other jays. When the crest is raised to 90 degrees this can indicate an imminent attack, but if the crest is lowered flat the jay will most likely retreat. The length of the crest will vary by population and it is determined by the openness of the vegetation in their habitat and the effectiveness of the crests as social cues. There are several subspecies of this jay ranging somewhere between 15-17 different subspecies but all are found in the western portion of the US. They get their name from Georg Steller, the European naturalist who discovered the species in 1741.
Cheryl: Okay. I have a question. It has to do with subspecies. What exactly is that?
Kiersten: A subspecies is usually a population difference. Different regions will have slightly different versions of the species. It is most often determined by isolation. Coloration or size will differ in the entire population and scientists will determine whether they are considered a subspecies or not. They are all Steller’s Jays but with slight regional differences that are common enough in a population to make them a subspecies.
Cheryl: Thank you!
Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay
Our final Arizona jay is Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay. Their approximate length is 11.5 inches and they have a blue head with a thin, white eyebrow stripe and gray cheek patch. Their neck, wings, and tail are blue. The upper back is dark gray. The throat is white and the underparts are light gray. Beak and legs are black. They have no crest. They are found in the majority of Arizona with the exception of the southwestern corner. They are found only in the Southwestern region of the United States and Central Mexico. It prefers pinyon pines and juniper forests but can also be found in oak woodlands and mixed forests. They eat insects, grains, small lizards, frogs, fruits, and bird eggs. They have been seen picking ticks off the backs of Mule Deer.
The Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay used to be lumped together with other species of scrub jays all called the Western Scrub Jay, but as time has gone by and populations of birds become more isolated scientists have broken the Western scrub jay into different species such as the California Scrub Jay and the Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay. When these birds ranged across the entire United States the Florida Scrub Jay was also included in this group and all were just called Scrub Jays. There is also the Island Scrub-Jay that lives only on the island of Santa Cruz off the coast of California. This particular jay is helping scientists replant trees that were burned from wildfires.
Kiersten: Replanting forests is actually one of the most important jobs that all jays across the continent have. When the birds cache their nuts and seeds, they don’t just cache any nuts and seeds, they must be just right, kind of like Goldie Locks. These birds look for the perfect nuts by shaking their heads after they’ve picked up the nut with their beaks. This motion helps them determine the weight of the nut. The weight of the nut can tell them exactly how many seeds are in the shell and whether it’s worth their effort to cache it. This also means these are healthy seeds that, if left buried, will grow into new trees, and as we mentioned before, jays have great memories but they always miss a few caches. I think that’s by design!
Cheryl: Yes!
Kiersten: Researchers on the Island of Santa Cruz have put the Island Scrub-Jay to work replanting the island’s lost trees by offering them acorns to cache. For a more in-depth look at this project check out our Groundbreaking Women of Ornithology Part 1.
We hope you’ve learned some new things from our Family Corvidae series. I know we both learned a lot as we researched and wrote each episode. This family of birds never stops amazing us!