It's Hummingbird Migration Season!

We are about one week away from the official start of Fall, which means it is time for hummingbird migration! In Virginia, the most common hummingbird is the Ruby-throated hummingbird. These hummingbirds can be identified by their distinct color patterns. The female ruby-throated hummingbirds have an emerald crown and back with a white throat, and the males have an emerald back and crown with an iridescent red throat. The iridescent red throat can only be seen in bright daylight, however, due to their structural coloration and  lack of pigmentation. The red color that is seen on these hummingbirds is actually reflected light off of thin layers of air bubbles found between the feathers of the bird, meaning that the iridescent red color can only be witnessed in broad daylight. This is a useful thing for hummingbirds that don’t want to draw too much attention to themselves in forested areas because it allows them to camouflage more into their surroundings. On the flip side, the red throat in the light is useful in attracting a mate. 

Hummingbirds in Virginia, and all over North America, begin their migration in the fall due to the decrease in temperatures. During this period in time they will travel all the way to various locations in Central America. Then in the spring, the hummingbirds come back to their previous locations in North America. Hummingbirds do this because they encounter less competition in North America during the summertime for food in comparison to the heavily populated tropics. 

Nectar is the biggest food source for these hummingbirds. They tend to feed from red and yellow flowers or hummingbird feeders left outside by generous hummingbird lovers. Hummingbird feeders are a great way to provide sustenance to your local hummingbird species if the sugar solution is prepared in the correct way. These feeders are especially crucial during this migration time. It is more healthy for the hummingbirds to sip from a homemade sugar water solution rather than a store-bought red sugar solution. The best way to make the nectar is to boil four cups of water, which allows any impurities in the water to be alleviated, and mix that with one cup of pure cane sugar. Placing this mixture in a red hummingbird feeder will attract the hummingbirds without needing to add the artificial red dye to the actual sugar solution. Hummingbirds tend to feed from feeders more regularly as they make their way down to Central America, so set out your feeders and say goodbye to the last of the hummingbirds until Spring! 

Goatsuckers

Nighthawks and nightjars of the family Caprimulgidae were once erroneously referred to as “goatsuckers” because they flew into barns at night to suckle on goats. Inappropriately named, nighthawks are not as nocturnal as once thought, nor are they related to hawks. They are active at dawn and dusk usually seen swooping and twisting high over fields, rivers, and towns in search of insects.

During the day, they roost on the ground or perch lengthwise on a branch. Cryptic colors aid them in blending in with their surroundings. In flight, they are easily identified by their erratic “bat-like” pattern. A white wing bar and white chin are other distinguishing features. Usually solitary, they form large, loose groups when feeding or migrating.

The birds begin their southward journey in late August and early September to South America where they will spend the winter in the Amazon rainforest and tropical savannas of Brazil. During fall migration, birds travel southeast through Florida, cross the Gulf of Mexico, stop in Cuba, and enter South America through either Ecuador, Colombia, or Venezuela, and then east to Brazil. This fall pattern sends them over the Blue Ridge where we can see large numbers this time of year. Come spring, they migrate back to their nesting grounds to nearly the exact location of the previous year. They return northwest through Brazil, across the Gulf of Mexico, stopping in Cuba, continuing northwest through the United States. This loop style migration keeps us from seeing them on their return flight.

Limited breeding bird survey data suggests a substantial decline in numbers of this species. It has been listed as threatened in Canada -- a decline of about 50% has been noted there over the past 3 generations. The 2014 State of the Birds Report lists common nighthawk as a “common bird in steep decline”. Across North America, threats include reduction in mosquitoes and other aerial insects due to pesticides, and habitat loss including open woods in rural areas and flat gravel rooftops in urban ones. Nighthawks are also vulnerable to being hit by cars as they forage over roads or roost on roadways at night. Creating nesting habitat by placing gravel pads in the corners of rubberized roofs and by burning and clearing patches of forest to create open nesting sites has been shown to have some success.

So, from the last week of August through the first week of September, enjoy the lovely pre-fall evenings outside looking up. How many common nighthawks do you see?

Photo credit: Steven Hopp

Cited Sources:
Brigham, R. M., J. Ng, R. G. Poulin, and S. D. Grindal (2011). Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.213

Cornell University. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Nighthawk/lifehistory

Canadian Journal of Zoology. https://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/10.1139/cjz-2017-0098#.XXFui5NKjK0

Birds... Neighbors? Tenants? Friends?

Each spring when songbirds return to our yards, they do so from epic journeys spanning as far south as South America. The birds that show up like clockwork, are often the very same individuals year after year, and if they are not the same individuals, then they are often their offspring! The very same bird... think about that for a moment. Their feathers molting to refresh, but the very same beak, legs, body, tiny eyes, make that journey thousands of miles just to come to your yard. We refer to this as "high site fidelity."

Now imagine for a moment, if a friend of yours traveled 2,500 miles by his own power with just the clothes on his back, across mountains, seas, rivers, through storms, dodging danger day in and day out, just to come to your doorstep. What kind of reception would you give him when he arrived after such a journey? You would give him a giant hug, immediate shelter, sustenance, and look on in awe as you sit to listen to his harrowing tale!

Granted, some birds do not have high site fidelity, and others in varying degree. The golden-winged warbler is a prime example of a bird with high site fidelity. For those birds that do key in on one location, your property is their home so to speak.

Our relationship with these birds and "nature" in general is complex, to say the least, but, in this particular relationship, can we define us and them as neighbors? I don't think so. No, as property owners, as people that have literally staked our lot out for our lives and presumably our children's lives after us, the relationship with wildlife is much more like the feudal system. One of lord and tenants.  

As property owners, we have complete and sole control over the resources of our property. It is at our discretion (with minor regulations) to build a pond, log timber, establish a farm, plant flowers, etc... The composition of our property is ours to paint.

Now, this is not to draw a picture of helplessness for the songbirds. These birds have evolved over millennia to a place of resiliency and strength through migration, adapting to make the most out of changing seasons and varying food sources. Each species has found its own niche. Some in fact have adapted to thrive in a the human manipulated landscape. Others rely on change, but for the most part, species have evolved to rely on a balanced and slow moving ecosystem.

There are things that humans do that can appear destructive one-hand but be productive on the other, maybe making it easier for one lot and harder for another. This is to acknowledge the differences in needs, opinions, and values that we all have. But with that being said, what I would encourage, as lords of your property, is richness, richness in diversity. A density of life rather than the absence of life. In considering what composition you will paint with broad strokes on your property, consider the individuals and their families, and how you can give them support through shelter and sustenance while making their chances of survival on this earth greater. In return, you will be rewarded with the riches of song, vibrant colors, and the lifelong companionship of our dear friends in nature.

Of all of the challenges that these birds go through on a yearly basis, you have the precious ability to create a safe haven for them on your property. So, when you sit on the porch this spring, crank up the lawn mower, or take a walk through your woods, pause for a moment, and think about their story.

There are some things you can do to help:

• Reconsider having a clean shaven mowed lawn - there is much beauty in the wild hair of an un-kept lawn!
• Ensure that cats are not on the loose outdoors. Feral and house cats have been devastating to bird populations.
• Foster insects. Insects are the foundation of the ecosystem, consider planting a variety of native plants that will not only feed the birds but will also feed the insects that feed the birds.

The dire picture is that the individual bird population has been reduced to 50% over the last 50 years. There is half the birdlife today than there was in the 1960's. That's is a massive loss in a very short period, but, you have the ability to control that destiny on your own property. What picture will you paint on your canvas?

Harbinger of Spring

You may have noticed the great many numbers of American Robins over the past few weeks; massive flocks spread throughout the farm fields of the Blue Ridge, or more recently groups lining the roadside during the recent snow event. These birds are part of a mass annual robin migration that is the dawning of spring. 

Robins, as we all know from children’s books, love some earthworms! During the depths of winter those earthworms move deep into the soil to avoid the freeze. When the soil thaws with warming temperatures and rain, the earthworms migrate to the surface and American Robins follow suit. So, you can imagine a wave moving north across the US following the average ground temperature of 36 degrees as it marches toward Canada. The timing of this can vary year to year, and therefore the Robin migration dates can vary dramatically, but scientist have been monitoring those dates with observations from citizens throughout the country. To learn more and contribute your sightings visit: https://www.learner.org/jnorth/robins

Monarch and Milkweed

The first graders of Grayson County Public Schools are excited to participate in our K-2 Reading program once again this year. For September, we shared the life cycle, habitat requirements, and migration of the Monarch butterfly.

After reading Monarch and Milkweed, the students got to observe and touch, the monarch butterfly, its caterpillar, and its chrysalis. They also viewed and handled the milkweed plant and its seed pod. Further discussion explored the amazing migration of the Monarch and the need to protect its habitat.

At the end of the program at Independence Elementary School, the kids assisted with the release of the Monarch they named "Betty". She flew southward, up and away to Mexico.

Galax Middle School Explores Dunson Farm

On Saturday, September 24th, an enthusiastic group of Galax Middle School students visited Bill and Margaret Dunson’s Baywood farm just a few miles west of Galax. 

The Dunsons bought this farm with the intention of converting it from agricultural use to a wildlife resource, with improving bird habitat as the guiding principle. They have returned fields to a more natural sequence of seasonal grasses and wildflowers with an emphasis on native plants. A series of small ponds dot the landscape, some with fish and some without, to demonstrate the impact fish have on various aquatic insects and to illustrate the contrasts.

Their farm is an oasis not only for birds, but butterflies, and other insects as well. This setting was ideal for a follow-up field trip based upon four in-school classes targeting butterflies, metamorphosis and migration. All of these topics continued to be covered during our day on the farm, with a variety of walks that explored many species of caterpillars and their association with specific host plants. 

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On hand for difficult identifications, Bob Perkins volunteered for the more detailed inspections. The cattails growing along the edges of one fish pond were covered with caterpillars, hundreds…perhaps thousands…eating the green leaves down to mere nubs. The following is a report from Bob:

Caterpillars:
Marsh Dagger, Simyra insularis, on cattails
Snowberry Clearwing, Hemaris diffinis, on coral honeysuckle
Woolly Bear, Isabella Tiger Moth
Pyrrharctia isabella, in field
Hickory Tussock Moth, Lophocampa caryae, supplied by Bill Dunson
Yellow-striped Armyworm, Spodoptera ornithogali, brought from home
Caenurgina sp, Clover/Forage Looper
 Galgula partita, Wedgling Moth

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Many thanks to Bill, Margaret and Bob for a successful outing!

Galax After School Enrichment Kick-off!

Galax Middle School opened its doors to students and their families for the After School Enrichment Program kick-off dinner. Everyone was served a delicious lasagna dinner and then participated in various activities provided by the staff and partners in the program. 

BRDC offered the families a slide presentation, butterfly and moth display and a craft for all ages. The students made origami butterflies and decorated them to resemble Monarch butterflies and then hung them on a tree symbolizing their migration.  

BRDC will provide classes after school and a field trip (or two) each month to enhance the lessons provided during class. Each month, students will discover the wonders of a new element of natural history such as butterflies and moths, trees, amphibians, geology, mammals and birds.  The field trips cover a wide range of locations within the Blue Ridge. Students will explore wildlife habitats and try their luck at capturing and examining insects at the Dunson Farm, press leaves found at Matthews State Forest and share in the riches of White Top Mountain just to name a few. It is going to be an exciting year!

Migrating with the darners!

We are "migrating" north to our VA farm tomorrow from SW FL and the most interesting natural event this morning locally was a virtual swarm of large greenish darners flying around at Cedar Pt park. The only one I could find on the ground is shown in an attached photo- I am guessing it is a juvenile green darner. Those odonatologists out there please let me know if I am wrong. I assume these are migrating from S FL or even the Caribbean, or possibly including d'flies which have just emerged from local ponds? There are quite a few large darner nymphs in local wetlands.

The question is do these dragonflies actually migrate to VA/NC- I am assuming this but wonder if they can over-winter as nymphs in VA? I know that the adult green darners abruptly leave our VA ponds in late Summer (and thus appear to be migrating) and are replaced by equally large shadow darners well into the Fall- I assume they are also migrating south but may be more tolerant of cold than the green darner.

So let us not forget that even "lowly" insects can do amazing things like migrate over long distances.

Cheers- Bill