Amazing: Watch a Frozen Wood Frog Come Back to Life

Every winter, wood frogs freeze solid. They have no heartbeat -- their heart freezes too. For weeks at a time.

When he holds one in this video, narrator Robert Krulwich says "it feels like a rock."

But watch what happens next.



Friday will be well above freezing during the day and on Saturday it's predicted to get up to 60 degrees. You might want to check out your nearest vernal pond and see what's going on.

See also : LOOK FOR: Frog and Toad Eggs (and Tadpoles)

Happy Spring!

LOOK FOR: Moths

I suspect those of you who have ever had a hole eaten in a sweater by a Tineola bisselliella are repelled by the title of this post, but stick with me -- we're keeping the moths outside this time. (And, if you like, there's beer involved.)

More than 11,000 species of moth have been recorded in North America -- and there are probably still some that haven't been discovered yet. Here's a challenge: how many different species can you find in an evening?

Photo credit: Cyndy Sims Parr

There several ways you can try to increase your moth census. Many methods rely on the tendency of many moth species to fly toward light:

1. Turn on an outside light and just look for whatever stops by.

2. String up a white sheet and put a lightbulb behind it; this distributes the light and gives you a larger  surface for attracting the moths.

3. String up a white sheet and put a UV light behind it; this will attract even more moths than a normal lightbulb.

4. If you want to get really into this, you can build a moth trap with a light and a funnel and leave it out for a while. Just be sure to let your moths go in a few hours, or at the latest, before the trap heats up in the morning.

Some species of moth do eat, and couldn't care less about your white sheet. For them, you can mix up a concoction of bananas and beer, with some molasses and brown sugar thrown in for good measure. Some people recommend letting this mixture ferment for several days or weeks; others say you can use it immediately. Spread this moth goo on a tree or fencepost (not on anything that can't be stained) in the late afternoon and see who comes in for a snack over the course of the evening.

Once you've attracted some moths, you can either just enjoy them for their diversity and beauty, or you can pick some that you want to identify. There are three amazing web sites that can help with identification if you're so inclined.

• BugGuide.net has an extensive collection of moth pictures organized by family. You can browse through until you find a likely family, then drill down until you think you've found your moth. 
• Or, try your luck with this binomial key from North Dakota State University, which will ask you to look at a series of things about your moth (starting with the shape of the antennae) to narrow down your identification.
• Bob Patterson has photographed over 1,000 moths and listed the pictures on his website Moths of Prince George's County.
  

Happy hunting! Let us know what you find!

Photo credit: David Heise

Five Amazing Facts About Crows

Crows are so common and well-known in our area that I've never bothered to write about them -- or really think much about them. I finally got around to reading a copy of Gifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion, and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans that I received as a review copy, and am blown away.

Here are my top 5 amazing facts:

1. Crows display remarkable teamwork. You may have seen them mobbing a hawk to make it go away. They've also been seen to steal from other animals in pairs -- with one pulling a seagull's tail, say, while the other crow grabbing the tasty mollusk the seagull drops. And they have been seen to come to each other's aid, helping an injured crow walk to shelter.

2. Did you ever learn in elementary school that one of the things that separates humans from the animals is that humans use tools? Well, crows use tools. For example, this one figured out how to bend a wire into a hook to retrieve food.



3. Crows recognize faces, remember the behavior of the people with those faces, and pass on knowledge of the faces to other crows. If a person wearing a certain mask does something to threaten or annoy a crow, anyone wearing that mask in the future will be scolded and harrassed by crows in the area.



4. Crows are very persistent. One Seattle resident spent a day shooing crows away from a robin's nest in his yard (crows steal and eat eggs). For a year, scolding crows followed the man to the bus stop every workday, sometimes dive-bombing and hitting him in the head. When he moved to a new house 20 blocks away, he left at three in the morning to be sure the crows were asleep and wouldn't start pestering him at his new location.

5. A raven saying "Nevermore" is actually possible. Crows and ravens have been known to learn short words and phrases. Some even appear to understand the context of human language: one responded "what?" when its owner called it by name; one would say "Hello, Bob" only to its owner Bob; one would reply to "that's for you" with "that's for me."



There's much more detail on how crows do this, and possible reasons why, in Gifts of the Crow. Have you observed any cool crow behavior? We'd love to hear about it.

LOOK FOR: Migratory Warblers

In the last 2 years, we've had a bunch of migrating warblers come through our yard in mid-May. In fact, we've noted four of the same species two years in a row. I like to think they remember our little pond as a nice stopping-over point (but I'm sure it's just random).

Have you seen any of these birds lately? I'm keeping an eye out to see if this will be the third year in a row for our backyard guests.

Photo credit: Ken Schneider

Blackpoll warbler

Photo credit: Jeremy Meyer

Canada warbler

Photo credit: Kelly Colgan Azar

Common Yellowthroat

Photo credit: Dan Pancamo

American Redstart

Photo credit: Kelly Colgan Azar

Yellow-rumped warbler

Photo credit: Laura Gooch

Northern Waterthrush

For birdsongs, see the warbler list at the fantastic All About Birds.

How to Find a Spring Peeper

Last year I wrote about spring peepers: how it is one of our spring rituals to go out in the evening to listen to their calls, and how unbelievable it is that I couldn't find any when they're so loud.

Photo credit: buckeye98

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, we found a technique that actually worked! We found a peeper, and held it in our hands! See if it works for you.

You will need:

• at least three people,
• a flashlight or headlamp for each person,
• patience, and
• the ability to sit quietly, close to a really loud noise.

Here's what you do:

1. First, go to a spot where the peepers are calling. (Check our previous post.) They will probably stop calling when you get close. Sit quietly until the peepers start calling around you.
2. Pick out the sound of an individual peeper that seems to be on land, in a spot accessible from multiple directions.
3. Divide up your group and move so that you are standing on three different sides of where you think the sound is coming from. (This may take a few more quiet pauses, because when you move, it will probably stop calling again.)
4. When you are arranged around the frog, and it is calling, say "go!" and all at once, shine your flashlights on the ground where it seems like the sound is coming from.
5. Where the beams of your flashlights intersect is your best best for finding a peeper. Rummage around in the leaf litter and see if you can find that noisy little critter.

Then come back here and tell us if it worked!

Photo credit: sfgamchick

LOOK FOR: Bald Eagles

Matt and I were driving down the Beltway not too long ago when we realized a bald eagle was flying overhead. That this is even possible is such a potent reminder of how far these birds have come in our lifetime.

Bald eagle at the National Zoo by geopungo

When I was born, bald eagles were on the brink of extinction. In the early 1970s, there were only about 400 nesting pairs recorded in the lower 48 states. They were one of the original species listed when the Endangered Species List was created in 1973.

With that legal protection from hunting and habitat destruction, plus the banning of DDT in 1972, bald eagles have made an amazing recovery. By 2007, it was estimated that there were more than 10,000 nesting pairs in the continental US -- enough that they were removed from the Endangered Species List that year. (They're still protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.)

Bald eagles like to nest near water (they eat fish). They avoid nesting near buildings and people -- with the exception of a few city slickers, including some who have nested in the District. With these requirements, and with each nesting pair defending a territory of about 250 acres, their nesting options are limited. But there are a few protected waterfront locations around the DC metro area that suit bald eagles just fine. We see an eagle almost every time we go to Jug Bay, for example. Farther afield, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on Maryland's Eastern Shore is reported to have a population of over a hundred eagles.

Photo credit: scorpion23ca

Eagles are the largest bird of prey you're likely to see near Washington, DC: they have a 6+ foot wingspan. They take their name from their all-white head (in Latin, too: Haliaeetus leucocephalus means sea eagle with a white (leukos) head (cephalus)). But for me, what really distinguishes them in flight is the all-white tail. Ospreys are smaller and have a mostly-white head, but not that white tail.

Keep an eye out anywhere along the Potomac or the Anacostia (check out our list of places to rent a canoe) and let us know if there's a spot where you see them!

For guaranteed sightings, Meadowside Nature Center in Rockville has an injured eagle that they care for. The National Zoo normally does too, but apparently their eagle area is under construction right now.

Happy Fourth of July!

Photo credit: InspiredinDesMoines

LOOK FOR: Spring Peepers

Photo credit: bbodjack

It has been a long-time goal of mine to actually find a spring peeper. I hear them every spring, but I never actually see them. I'm convinced they throw their voices: I'll sit for 15 minutes looking directly at where the sound seems to be coming from, and see nothing.

I shouldn't feel that bad: these little frogs are only an inch long, and they spend most of their time hanging out under cover of leaf litter. And they are mostly active at night.

But they are so LOUD! If there were a contest for decibels produced per body mass, I'd put my money on the peepers. At 100+ decibels, they're in the same range as cicadas (and chainsaws), but so much smaller.

And so it can be infuriating: I hear them, I get close, I'm patient enough to wait them out when they stop calling. I get closer. I look, I wait. The sound is coming from RIGHT THERE. I look. And look. And... nothing.

This video gives a good example of a single spring peeper calling:

How can I not find an animal making that noise?

Anyway, regardless of my inability to actually see them, going to listen to the spring peepers is a spring ritual for me and Matt. In an area with a lot of peepers, the noise can be downright deafening. And there's something just awe-inspiring to know that the racket is coming from such tiny little critters.

So, head out to a vernal pond some evening in the next few weeks around dusk, and see if you can hear the peepers. Maybe you'll be luckier than me and actually see them.

Have you heard the peepers this spring? Let us know where! Or maybe you know the secret spycraft to break the spring peepers out of their deep cover? Do tell!

LOOK FOR: Migrating Canada Geese

photo credit: Henry McLin

I've mentioned before that Matt and I keep a nature journal where we write down the dates that we see things. And every year, for the last 3 years since we've been keeping this journal, we've written down that we saw large numbers of Canada geese migrating on March 7-9.

Let's see if the dates hold again this year. Leave a comment on this post when you see your first big flock migrating!

Of course, in this area, you can see Canada geese year-round. They love the combination of mowed grass and water, which you get on the Mall, the C&O canal, and suburban parks, golf courses, and developments. It's believed many of these non-migrating geese are the descendants of geese that were re-introduced after the species was over-hunted in the early 1900s.

But plenty of geese have not been taken in by the city life and remain totally wild, flying thousands of miles every year. They breed in Canada and spend their winters in the southern US and northern Mexico. These are the geese we see in large v-shaped flocks, flying north, at this time of year. Keep an ear out for their honking, so you can wish them safe travels on their journey.

photo credit: Joe Milmoe

LOOK FOR: Chipmunks

Is it just me, or has the chipmunk population in Rock Creek Park exploded over the last couple of years?

Photo credit: Gilles Gonthier (who has many more)

It seems to me like it used to be unusual to see a chipmunk around here. But last week when we were out walking, I was struck by how many of these little critters were scampering around on the forest floor. Well, whether it's a population explosion or I've just become more observant, there are chipmunks to be seen in these parts. And they're adorable.

Chipmunks are known for being able to hold food in their cheek pouches (six acorns at once!) and for gathering large caches of food for winter (often hundreds of acorns and other nuts and seeds). This activity gave rise to their genus name, Tamias, Greek for "storer." Chipmunks also eat insects, berries, and mushrooms when they're available.

Photo credit: Gilles Gonthier (who has many more)

Those cheek pouches can also come in handy for moving dirt around when chipmunks are digging burrows. These dwellings apparently can be quite extensive, with up to five openings and 100 feet of tunnels and chambers (they need multiple chambers to store all that food!). In the winter, chipmunks will go into a hibernation-like state of torpor, but they'll get up periodically and snack on their stash.

The Eastern chipmunk is Tamias striatus, or "striped storer." Look for a pattern of two black stripes on each side, with a lighter stripe in between them, and a fifth black stripe down the middle of the chipmunk's back. Between the puffy cheeks and the racing stripes, you can see why Disney and others have found them appealing.

In the wild, chipmunks don't exactly sing. But they do frequently make warning calls that sound more like what you would expect out of a bird than a mammal. We love to stump people with this! Listen here, and you'll be prepared to spot an alarmed chipmunk on your next walk:



Or, maybe you still prefer this version:

LOOK FOR (and listen for): Dog-Day Cicadas

Those of you who lived in the DC area in 2004 remember all the hubbub about the 17-year cicadas (who were making quite a hubbub themselves that summer). But you don't have to wait until 2021 to see another cicada -- some come out every summer.

Cicada lyrica by DaynaT

The annual "dog-day" cicadas actually spend 2 to 3 years in a nymph stage before coming out to fill your evening with the sound of summer. The nymphs hang out under the ground, feeding on tree roots. Then one day they get an adolescent itch to grow up. The next thing you know, they've come above ground, attached themselves to some handy object (often a tree or fencepost), split open their exoskeleton, and emerged as an adult. They emerge all light green and soft, but harden up over several hours. (This is very cool to watch; I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance!)

Emerging cicada by Anita Gould

Of course, their job as adults is to mate. Toward that end, male cicadas make an enormous racket -- some individuals have been recorded at over 100 decibels, around the same noise level as a lawnmower or chainsaw, and among the loudest insect noises in the world. (The Latin name for the genus suggests something a little gentler -- Tibicen means "flute-player.")

Different species each have a different sound, which helps them to find appropriate mates. Three of the earliest to come out in the Mid-Atlantic area are Neocicada heiroglyphica (sound), Tibicen lyricen (sound) and Tibicen tibicen (aka chloromerus) (sound).

Because they're active mostly at night, and up in the treetops, it's not that common to actually see cicadas. The ones we've seen most have been either a) molting or b) bird food. But keep an ear out and you're sure to hear some soon in the evenings.

Cicada encounter by Oakley Originals

LOOK FOR: Mosquito Larvae

The mosquito population is starting to pick up, and it's enough to drive people insane, or indoors, or both. Looking for mosquito larvae is one way to make life a little more bearable, if you have any control over your outdoor living space.

Mosquito larvae and pupae by Alvaro Rodriquez

All mosquitoes spend their larval stage in water. You'll see them as thin little "wrigglers" in the water. They frequently hang down from the surface of the water; they're breathing air through tiny tubes. When they pupate, they curl up and float at the surface. A few days later, the adult emerges from this pupa.

Our local mosquitoes rarely travel far from where they hatch. If you can stop them from breeding in your neighborhood, it may be a lot more pleasant to go outside. Even small amounts of water can harbor mosquito larvae -- for tiger mosquitoes, as small as a few teaspoons. And the whole cycle from egg to adult can take as little as six days.

Adult mosquito emerging by safoocat

Clogged rain gutters are a primo breeding site. Don't let out-of-sight be out-of-mind: make sure water is draining out of them completely after it rains. Also look around for anything else that might be collecting water: furniture, containers, tarps...basically, anything you're storing outside could easily become a mosquito Club Med if it's got a little pool that stands for more than a couple of days.

If you've got something that you want to hold water, like a birdbath, either replace the water every few days (we do this with our birdbath) or use dunks that include BT to prevent larvae from maturing (we do this with our pond).

Photo by James Jordan: "I sacrificed myself in the name of art"

Talk to your neighbors and get them to do the same, and you may actually see a significant reduction in mosquitoes.

But, when you can't completely beat 'em, just remember: mosquitoes are part of the bottom of the food chain. That blood you donate will be bird food soon.

LOOK FOR: Tufted Titmice

Saturday morning, while we were sitting in a big patch of mountain laurel, we had a real treat: watching tufted titmice come repeatedly to and from their nest to feed their young.

One of the proud parents we saw on Saturday

These birds are in the DC area year-round, and they're fairly common at feeders. But if you can find a nest to watch right now, you'll be in for a treat. Tufted titmice tend to nest in holes in trees, either natural cavities or sometimes abandoned woodpecker holes. We were able to hear the babies chirping inside, and the parents were taking turns bringing in insects for them to eat.

As we do with many birds, we found our titmice from their calls, not because we knew where to look. Have a listen here and learn what to listen for. Many people think it sounds like they're saying Peter-Peter-Peter.

Once you've heard the call, you're looking for a pretty little grey bird with a "tuft" on its head -- feathers that come to a point on top. The breast and part of the face is white, with a big black eye.

Photo credit: Runner Jenny

In the wild: Tufted titmice can be found throughout deciduous woods and suburbs.

In your yard: Titmice are common at feeders; they like sunflower seeds. But most of their diet comes from insects, especially when they are feeding their young. So you can also attract them by planting native trees and plants, which support the insects. We see them frequently in our oak tree, even without a feeder.

LOOK FOR: Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

North America is a summer home to 15 species of hummingbirds, but only one species -- the ruby throated hummingbird, Archilochus colubris -- comes to Washington, DC. These tiny three-inch birds migrate 2,000 miles from Central America every spring to breed here. Have you ever seen one here? They're more common than you may think.

Photo credit: Jason Means

Archilochus is named after a Greek warrior-poet, but hummingbirds don't have a lyrical song, just a little high-pitched chatter. Once you learn to recognize the buzz of their super-fast wings, though, it's a sure tip-off for spotting them. So much so that it's part of the "typical voice" recording for hummingbirds on All About Birds.

Those tiny wings are beating about 53 times a second. They give hummingbirds helicopter-like abilities -- they're one of the only birds that can hover or fly backwards. Which is pretty fun to see. They can also fly really fast -- which makes them hard to see.

Your best bet is to find flowers that hummingbirds like to feed on. In our yard, the sure winners every year are bee balm, cardinal flower, and native honeysuckle. Other flowers we've seen them on in the wild include jewelweed, trumpet creeper, and even common milkweed. Notice anything these flowers have in common? They're all trumpet-shaped, perfect for the hummer's long beak. And they've all got red or orange flowers.

hummingbird on cardinal flower in our yard

But hummingbirds don't subsist on a pure sugar diet -- they'll eat small insects like ants, gnats, and mosquitoes. One more reason to love them!

The biggest treat is when the light catches a bird just right -- its feathers, which may have looked more or less gray a moment ago, will flash bright green in the sun. And the males are even more spectacular, with a ruby throat designed for attracting the jewel-loving ladies. I've seen that flash of red maybe one in every 50 times that I've seen a hummingbird. But it's worth the wait.

In the wild: Sit quietly by a patch of likely-seeming flowers. Keep an ear out for the buzz of the wings. In our experience, hummingbirds are creatures of habit. Once you find an area that hummingbirds come to, they're likely to come back -- several times throughout the day, and from day to day, as long as the flowers are producing nectar.

Photo credit: Jason Means

In your yard: We'd love to hear your tricks for attracting hummingbirds.  Out of the flowers I mentioned above, we love the cardinal flower and the native honeysuckle (it's less aggressive than the more-common Japanese honeysuckle, and has red flowers). Bee balm is also easy to grow, but spreads more -- it's in the mint family. The others are a little harder: jewelweed wants a lot of moisture, and I don't know anyone who's happy about planting trumpet creeper -- it just spreads way too aggressively.

I've heard mixed reviews about whether hummingbird feeders are a good idea. The problem is that if you have one, you need to wash it out every few days. Otherwise, it can ferment, which is bad for the hummers. We've opted to let the plants do the work for us instead.

Do you have favorite way of attracting hummingbirds, or a spot where you see them? Have you seen one yet this spring? We'd love to hear about it.

LOOK FOR: Frog and Toad Eggs (and Tadpoles)

Wood frog eggs by
The Natural Capital

We've been writing a lot about all the flowers that emerge in the spring, but the animals are starting to reproduce, too. And one of the easiest groups of animals to catch in the act -- and to watch the progress of their offspring -- are the frogs and toads.

Even though most amphibians in our area spend most of their lives hopping around on the forest floor, almost all reproduce in the water. At different points throughout the spring and summer, different species will find a suitable body of water and do their thing. Most species want a vernal pond that will have water long enough for the tadpoles to grow up, but that dries up later in the year. That keeps their breeding grounds from becoming a buffet for tadpole-loving fish. (Species that lay their eggs later in the year may seek out more permanent spots.)

There are lots of vernal ponds in our area -- in just about every park we go to regularly, in fact. And most of them have tadpoles in them by now. The only problem is, it's really hard to tell what species of tadpole you're looking at, except by timing and by looking at the eggs the tadpoles hatched from. (Or, we're told, you can look at their mouth parts. Which is apparently even harder than it sounds.) If you pick a pond and keep coming back, though, you may start to get a sense of who's who.

Wood frogs are one of the first species to lay their eggs -- we found some on March 10 this year. They lay their jelly-filled eggs in big spherical clumps -- each female can lay up to 2,000 eggs. They're often attached to a thin stick or other vegetation in the water. The eggs take a couple of weeks to hatch, so the tadpoles are already out and about in the water. In fact, we stopped by a pond along the Northwest Branch last week that was teeming with thousands of them -- this video captures just a small fraction of the action:



Leopard frogs come later in the spring, followed by pickerel frogs. As far as I can tell, they lay similar globs of eggs; if you really want to try to identify what you're looking at you can try these descriptions.

Around June, green frogs and bullfrogs will lay their eggs in flatter, broader masses - more like a huge pancake (up to a foot in diameter for green frogs, and 2 feet for bullfrogs) floating on or near the surface of the water. The theory goes that those black embryos at the center of each egg are capturing heat from the sun, which is insulated by all the jelly in the egg mass. It's more helpful to have ball-shaped egg masses earlier in the spring for the insulation -- the temperature of the egg mass can be significantly warmer than the water temperature. But by June it's more helpful to have all the eggs exposed to the warm air.

American toad, with eggs, by The Natural Capital

Instead of laying their eggs in masses, toads lay eggs in long tubes. Really long -- a strand of several thousand eggs can stretch 20 to 60 feet. A couple of weeks ago we saw American toads mating in a little inlet off the Pinehurst Branch in Rock Creek Park; their tadpoles may have hatched by now. Other toad species will lay their eggs later in the summer.

Depending on the species, eggs can take from under a week up to almost 3 weeks to hatch. Tadpoles generally take 2-3 months to get their legs and switch over to breathing air rather than water. But some species, especially bullfrogs, may overwinter as tadpoles. So, while the next couple months are prime tadpole-viewing season, there are tadpoles to look for year-round!

What's your favorite spot to look for tadpoles? Leave us a comment below!

In the wild: You can get some help in looking for tadpoles if you listen for frogs and toads -- let their calls guide you to their breeding grounds. Some of our favorite spots include:

• Two ponds on the right hand side of the Rachel Carson Trail that runs along the Northwest Branch. (This is where we took the video above.) Start from Burnt Mills Dam across from the Trader Joes on Colesville Road.
• The Pinehurst Branch trail in Rock Creek Park -- we often find tadpoles in puddles along the edge of the stream, and have found the toads we mentioned above two years in a row now.
• Huntley Meadows and Jug Bay have great wetlands that are sure to be full of amphibians at this time of year. The catch is, they're so big, the tadpoles have plenty of room to hide.

In your house/yard: We know from personal experience that it can be really hard to raise tadpoles at home. They're sensitive to water quality (and no, our drinking water doesn't pass their test). And they need plenty to eat. Better to find a good spot and check back on their progress in the wild. If you just can't resist, see this advice.

LOOK FOR: Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers

Photo credit: Beth Fishkind

As we get all excited about the sap running, so do other critters. Perhaps first among them is the yellow-bellied sapsucker, who winters in the south. Around now, the sapsuckers start migrating north, following this rich food source as each successive latitude warms up enough to start the flow.

Sapsuckers make a series of round holes in a tree's bark, usually lined up in efficient little rows. They then lap up the sap that comes out -- sometimes returning to holes over and over as the sap continues to ooze.

In addition to their their distinctive holes, sapsuckers are a distinctive-looking bird. Like other woodpeckers, they've got mottled black and whitish feathers on their back and wings. Both males and females have a red spot on the top of their head; males also have a red throat. The belly has just a hint of yellow that you won't be able to detect without exactly the right light -- the picture above may be the yellowest I've ever seen.

Photo credit: New Jersey Birds

The yellow-bellied sapsucker is considered a "keystone" species by some ecologists because many other birds rely on them. It's a hard time of year to find food, and other species -- including kinglets, warblers, phoebes, and even hummingbirds -- will follow behind the sapsuckers to lap up sap or insects.

But sapsuckers don't subsist entirely on sugar -- good thing, because the sap doesn't flow all year.  The sapsucker may also make rectangular holes that allow them to get to the tree's phloem, which they eat. And, like other woodpeckers, they eat a lot of insects. Even when the sap is running, many insects either get uncovered by drilling into the tree, or are themselves attracted to the sap.

But no other woodpecker in our area makes such systematic holes in the trees. If you see a tidy little row, it was probably a sapsucker.

Photo credit: we'moon in the woods

In the wild: You can find sapsuckers throughout the open woods of our region. If you see some holes actively oozing sap, hang out quietly for a little while and see who comes by.

In your yard: Don't worry, sapsuckers generally do not cause serious damage to trees -- the wounds they make are pretty shallow. Sapsuckers come to the large oak tree in our backyard all the time, and it's going strong.

We read of one photographer who attracted sapsuckers to his yard by drilling holes in an upright log and filling them with corn syrup. Cheating? You decide. It must have been quite a sugar rush for the birds!

Have you seen sapsuckers lately? Let us know.


Like the photos in this post? Mouse over for credits; a click takes you to the photographer on Flickr.

Great Backyard Bird Count

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual event that enlists people to take a massive snapshot of where birds are in North America over the course of four days in February. In 2009, participants reported on a mind-boggling 11.5 million birds (check out the results for Washington, DC here). Scientists could never gather such a broad data set in such a short time without enlisting help from the general public.

It all works because they make it really easy to help. As little as 15 minutes of bird counting qualifies you to report your observations to the GBBC. You can literally observe in your backyard -- or you can go to a park and count birds there. And, perhaps most importantly, you don't have to be an expert to participate. Here's what you do:

1. Look for birds for at least 15 minutes on February 13-16.
   
   
2. Keep track of the species of birds that you see, and for each species, the largest number that you see together simultaneously. (You might find it helpful to use a checklist of the possible birds in our area. And if you see a bird that you can't identify, and you don't have a field guide, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has a fantastic online guide.)
   
   
3. Enter the information on the GBBC website. (Note that if you observe on more than one day, or in more than one place, you should enter the info separately. You'll also be asked to report the times that you were looking, the type of habitat, and some other basic information -- see this form.)

Once everyone has entered their results, the information is available online for researchers to get a sense of how bird populations are faring in general, how they react to specific weather patterns or larger climate changes, and how their migration patterns vary from year to year. These first-pass observations from the GBBC are usually followed up with more in-depth study, but the GBBC can help tell folks where to look.

Let's make sure there's plenty in the database on the Washington DC region -- go count some birds!

Photo credit: That nuthatch is by Christine Haines, via the GBBC.

LOOK FOR: Juncos, Here For Our Warm Winter

Photo credit: ehpien

As we look forward to spring with great anticipation, it's good to remember the junco -- who thinks our winters are balmy. Juncos generally breed further north, coming down to the DC area from about October through mid-March to enjoy our milder weather. Based on reports of the bird from Virginia, early taxonomists gave it the Latin name Junco hyemalis, or winter junco. We have to wonder what Canadians think of that.

Actually, Junco hyemalis is more often referred to as the Dark-eyed Junco, perhaps as a nod to our friends in the north. In addition to their dark eyes, juncos have a white belly and a light-colored pinkish beak that stand out against their otherwise slate-grey body.  They've also got white in their outer tailfeathers, which you may notice especially when they're in flight. That white gives the junco some camouflage in the snow. They may not need it so much here, but their winter range includes places as cold as the Dakotas -- which still beats spending the winter in northern Saskatchewan.

Photo credit: badjoby

Wherever they are, juncos generally hang out on the ground -- they even nest on the ground most of the time (though not until they get to their summer homes). Their plumage is well designed for this habitat and often makes them hard to see. So, it can be helpful to keep an ear out for their songs and calls. They make several different trills and chipping noises. Examples of both are here and here.

In the wild: Look on especially on forest floors as you're hiking, but in the winter juncos can also be in fields and roadsides as they forage for food. Keep an eye out for them hopping around and pecking in the leaf litter, or flying into the underbrush to get away from you.

Photo credit: Jason Means

In your yard: About three quarters of a junco's diet comes from seeds. That makes it a good chance that you'll see them at a birdfeeder -- or, even more likely, foraging among the seeds that have spilled onto the ground. Without a birdfeeder, we've seen them foraging on the ground in our yard in the leaf litter, but not very frequently.

Any other tips for spotting juncos? Have you seen any recently? Let us know!

LOOK FOR: Wild Turkeys

It's almost Thanksgiving, and everybody's thinking of turkey. But long before Thanksgiving existed, turkeys were here in North America.

Photo credit: dracobotanicus

Turkeys are among the largest birds in our area, with a wingspan over 4 feet and weighing up to 24 pounds. The stereotypical Thanksgiving pose -- tailfeathers fanned out, feathers fluffed up -- is a display that males put on to attract mates, but also when they feel threatened. Not so surprising, then, that this is our picture of turkeys at Thanksgiving time.

As another display tactic, male turkeys have featherless heads that can be bright blue during mating season, complemented by bright red  throat, wattles (the floppy part under the beak), snoods (a flap that dangles over the beak), and caruncles (other red growths around the neck and head. Males also have a curious tuft of hairs coming out of the middle of their chests called a beard. If he puts on a successful show, each male typically maintains a harem of several females. Meanwhile, the females can get away with being smaller and less colorful -- in fact, they need to be, as they're the ones that tend the nests.

Photo credit: AndyeMcee

By the early 1900's, turkey populations in North America had been decimated by hunting. But wildlife managment programs have made a concerted effort to bring the bird back through habitat protection and re-introduction of birds where they had disappeared. For example, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources estimates that the wild turkey population in Maryland has rebounded from about 2,000 turkeys in two or three counties in 1973, to over 30,000 birds in 2008, with wild turkeys in every Maryland county.

In the wild: Turkeys are found throughout Maryland and Virginia in a variety of habitats. In the summer, they seek out areas with berries, grasses, and insects, including both woods and meadows.  In the fall and winter, they may increase the time they spend in the woods as they seek out acorns. Many of the times that we have seen wild turkeys have been along rivers; they tend to nest within a few hundred yards of water.

Photo credit: pverdonk

In your yard: Wild turkeys have been known to stray into more urban and suburban areas occasionally, but in general, they're very wary of people. (We have to wonder, though, whether domesticated turkeys will get in on the urban poultry phenomenon at some point.)

LOOK FOR: White Throated Sparrows, Back for the Winter

Photo credit: Ed Gaillard

A few weeks ago, we started seeing white throated sparrows in our yard again. These little birds breed in Canada during the summer, then head south to spend the winter anywhere from Pennsylvania south to Florida, and west to Missouri and Texas.

White throated sparrows often hop around on the ground and forage in the leaf litter, where most of their plumage serves as good camouflage. But their head markings stand out, and lend the bird its scientific name, Zonotrichia albicollis: stripe-headed white-throat. These birds do indeed have white throats, often with a thin, dark border. The stripes on top of the head come in two color variations: either black and white or brown and tan. But perhaps most distinctive is the little patch of yellow just above and in front of the eye (a "lore"). This yellow patch stands out to me so much that this, and not the white throat, is usually how I recognize these birds for who they are.

Some people say the song of the white-throated sparrow sounds like they're saying "Oh sweet Canada, Canada, Canada." I find that helps me remember what bird I'm hearing more than the other mnemonic often used for their song: "Poor Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody." Anybody could say that (though I'm not sure why Sam Peabody is so deserving of pity). No, these little guys are clearly longing for their summer home. Have a listen:

Photo credit: Dave Maher

In the wild: like many birds, white-throated sparrows like the edges of woods, and suburban backyards. In the winter they eat seeds from grasses and ragweed to grape, rose, and dogwood.

In your yard: White throated sparrows will come to feeders, especially for millet and black oil sunflower seeds, but they prefer to eat the seed scattered on the ground. You can make an area extra-inviting by providing cover (like a brush pile or thicket) and water in a birdbath, pond, or fountain.

LOOK FOR: Cedar Waxwings

Photo credit: Kelly Colgan Azar

Cedar waxwings are gorgeous birds. Most of their plumage is muted brownish-grey, which doesn't sound so interesting, I know, but they're so silky-looking that their latin name, Bombycilla, comes from the Greek for silk, bombux.

Adding a little intrigue, their slight crest and black face mask can give them a Donnie Brasco-meets-Batman look. And then, if you can get close enough, you'll see a striking yellow bar on the bottom of their tail, and (on most birds) a few bright red dots of wax on the wings.

Cedar waxwings rely on small fruits and berries for over 80 percent of their diet, though they supplement their spring and summer diet with insects when fruits are scarce. They travel in flocks, and a flock will often completely devour the berries of a tree before moving on to their next spot.

In fact, these birds have quite a reputation for gluttony. Audubon once noted that waxwings “gorge themselves to such excess as sometimes to be unable to fly...I have seen some which, although wounded and confined to a cage, have eaten of apples until suffocation deprived them of life.” Perhaps it's not surprising, then, that their courtship rituals revolve around food: the male brings a berry or an insect to a female, and they pass it back and forth several times before the female finally eats it.

We usually hear cedar waxwings before we see them. Their calls are a soft, high-pitched whistle; in a flock, the noise can be fairly continuous. This video from YouTube has a good example:

In the wild: Cedar waxwings like forest edges. Their numbers are actually increasing, possibly because suburban landscapes offer lots of edge-like habitat. Keep an ear out for their whistling, and an eye out for large flocks of birds eating tree fruits.

In your yard: The best way to attract cedar waxwings is to plant native trees and shrubs that bear small fruits, including dogwood, serviceberry, cedar, hawthorn, cherry, winterberry, holly, mulberry, chokecherry, and hackberry. Research has found that more than half of cedar waxwing nests are in either maple or cedar trees.