Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

Sometimes bird watching is really easy. No heavy boots, no mosquito spray or cans of cold ravioli. Just a beautiful day at a lakeside café. Even my subjects were most cooperative this time.

A family of mute swans paddled by in a summer-lazy fashion as I was having my second extra-foamy cappuccino. The five cygnets were very bold and enjoyed their greens right in front of my lens, intently watched by their mother. They were all keeping one leg out of the water by leisurely resting it on their downy backs, which made me feel even more relaxed in my lounging chair. What a great day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This post is a rerun from my old blog, Avian Surroundings.

Snowy Owl (Bubo Scandiacus)

When Linnaeus classified the bird in 1758 he gave her two synonymous names: Strix scandiaca and Strix nyctea. However, reasearch in the 20th century made it necessary to revise the traditional classification, as it was found that the snowy owl had little in common with the Strix family. Instead it was named Nyctea scandiaca and thought to belong to its own family. But in 2003 DNA comparisons showed that the snowy owl is closely related to the eagle owl (Bubo bubo) and was thus renamed Bubo scandiacus.

The snowy owl has big yellow eyes and a wing span of 140-165 cm. Males are smaller and normally completely white, while females are speckled with black. It’s a nomadic bird.  It migrates not only for reproduction purposes, but due to fluctuations in the populations of its prey species. So sometimes sudden invasions of snowy owls are observed by ornithologists in more southerly regions. The winter 1999-2000 saw one such invasion in Sweden, and William Leon Dawson describes large invasions in Ohio in 1926-27 and 1930-31:

In 1926-27, 92, or 67 per cent, of the birds reported were killed or captured while in the recent invasion only 51, or 40 per cent, suffered the same fate. This, perhaps, is largely due to the fact that the height of the migration came nearly a month later in 1930-31 or mostly following and not during the hunting season. Also, in 1926-27 most of the birds reported appeared to be in a somewhat dazed condition and not at all at home in their new environment. Many were absolutely without fear and others appeared sick. Numerous birds at that time were captured by hand, flying into automobiles or attracted by bright lights. A number were struck down by railroad locomotives, picked up while in an exhausted condition or found in some unusual situation which hardly seemed a logical stopping place for a normal bird of prey. Of eleven stomachs examined by the writer at that time, ten were entirely empty while one contained a small quantity of chicken feathers. Nearly all birds handled were considerably emaciated. In 1930-31 records of birds taken under unusual conditions were very few. Most birds captured or observed appeared normal in every respect and not dazed or emaciated but as much at home as our native owls. This undoutedly accounts for a much lower percentage of the birds being killed or captured and leads me to believe that in Ohio, and perhaps elsewhere, the 1930-31 invasion did approach that of Snowy Owl Invasion of Ohio in 1926-27 in numbers much more closely than the figures actually reported would indicate. In 1930-31 a large number of the records listed were of birds reported to have been present in some particular locality for from two to nine weeks, the birds being observed almost daily hunting over stubble fields or bottom lands where meadow mice were abundant. All observers questioned were of the opinion that certainly a large percentage of the birds of this recent invasion did succeed in returning to northern regions in the spring, escaping the tragic fates of most of the owls of 1926-27. Of nine stomachs examined in 1930-31, all but one contained some food, including two Bobwhites, parts of a Ringnecked Pheasant, a sparrow, remains of a Hungarian Partridge, one rat, bits of two chickens, and eight mice.”

This post is a rerun from my old blog, Avian Surroundings.

 

House market boom

And there it is. A small addition to the housing market. Maybe I’ll have to put up a sign: “For rent”.

Attempt at Architecture

I was wrong in my previous post. It isn’t springtime yet, because we just got another load of snow. It doesn’t bother me though. It gives me a little more time to get my housing project under way.

So, how to build a bird house? All birds have different needs and preferences when it comes to nesting and you can tailor your construction to suit particular birds. However, there are a few general guidelines that always apply.

~ Use unplaned wood. The rough surface makes it easier to wedge the nesting material together and helps it stay in place. The fledglings will also need a good grip when it’s time for them to climb out, a smooth surface just doesn’t do the trick. Pressure-treated lumber is not an option.

~ Provide a hinged side with a screw for a lock so that you can clean the house before the nesting season begins.

~ The roof should have at least 5 cm overhang to protect the entrance from predators and wind-driven rain.

~ The sides should enclose the floor to stop rain water from seeping in, and the floor should be recessed from the bottom to further prevent rotting caused by moisture.

~ A few small draining holes in the floor will keep the nest nice and dry and well ventilated.

~ Tar paper makes a good roof cover.

~ Use a rope to mount the house. That way you avoid damaging your tree.

This is my attempt at architecture. Nothing fancy, but with all the required facilities. I’m going to build a house for small songbirds, so the dimensions (given in mm) are meant to suit their taste. Bigger birds need more space.   If you need more tips on how to build a bird house, there are plenty of blueprints all over the web. Some more innovative than others. Click on image for full size.

Green Tip

Bird houses also serve as night shelters in the winter, so you will do your winged friends a huge favor if you clean the box and pad the inside with some dry hay (or hair if you’re going to trim your poodle) when the season is over. Or better still. Build a winter bird house (this will be my project for September).

Spring already?

There’s been a burst of activity on the mountain the last couple of days. On Feb 24th the first chaffinch sang outside, and today we have bees hungrily buzzing around our heads. It’s amazing what a little sunshine can do. Anyhow, A Remarkably Rich Avifauna is the new name and location of my previous bird blog, Avian Surroundings. The content will be mostly the same, with one addition. My bird housing project. Where I live in the Austrian Alps the interest in birds is somewhat unenthused and there isn’t a lot of housing available. I am going to build one bird house to start with, and install it in an easily observed tree here in the village. I’m sure it will please both birds and the people waiting for the bus under the tree. And we will see what comes out of it. Maybe I can recruit a few new young bird lovers.