Why Do Birds Flock?

Small flock of White Ibis

 I came out of my hotel in the late evening and immediately heard this ruckus.  A hundred or so House Sparrows coming to roost for the night.  It got me to thinking about why birds form flocks so here is a bit of information about flocking behavior.  Sorry about the sideways video, I must remember this when I film from now on.  Meanwhile, I guess you will have to lay on your side to watch this  :)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGg577MpsfY

Why do birds of a feather flock together? Understanding why birds flock can help birders understand bird behavior and the fight for survival all their feathered friends face.

About Bird Flocks

Many bird species are gregarious and form flocks for different reasons. Flocks may be different sizes, occur in different seasons and may even be composed of different species that can work well together in a group. Flocks are so prevalent in some bird species that these groups of birds have special names, such as a raft of ducks, a charm of finches, a horde of ravens or any other of the names for flocks of birds. But no matter what a flock is called, it always has a benefit for the birds that make it up.
Birds do not engage in any behavior that does not bring them a benefit for survival in some way. There are many advantages to flocking, including:
1) Foraging: Birds often form flocks while foraging, which allows many birds to take advantage of the same food supplies. Feeding in a group also gives more birds the opportunity to find food that one bird has already located. Foraging flocks are often comprised of mixed species that may feed on similar foods but in non-competing ways, such as chickadees that glean insects from leaves flocking with nuthatches that glean the same insects from bark.

2) Protection: A larger group of birds has a better chance of spotting a predator or another potential threat than a single bird has. Furthermore, a group of birds may be able to confuse or overwhelm a predator through mobbing or agile flight, and staying in a flock also presents a predator with more possible targets, which lowers the danger for any single bird.

3) Mating: Some bird species, most notably game birds, form mating flocks in areas called leks where males will show off their breeding plumage and courtship behavior in an attempt to attract a mate. By performing in a flock, these birds make themselves more visible to a greater number of females, increasing their chances of a successful mating.

4) Raising Families: Different types of birds form communal flocks on nesting grounds called rookeries. In a rookery, while each nest is individually tended by parent birds caring for their young, the full group of birds can take advantage of flock benefits against predators to care for their vulnerable chicks. Birds that do not use rookeries may still form family flocks, and juvenile birds from a first brood may help contribute to raising their late-season siblings.

5) Aerodynamics: When birds fly in flocks, they often arrange themselves in specific shapes or formations. Those formations take advantage of the changing wind patterns based on the number of birds in the flock and how each bird's wings create different currents. This allows flying birds to use the surrounding air in the most energy efficient way.
6)Warmth: In winter, bird flocks can share the benefit of communal warmth to survive severely cold temperatures. Many small birds will share the same tiny roost space to keep warm, often in bird roost boxes, hollow trees or other similar spaces that can help them conserve heat. Large flocks may congregate in a single tree to share their body heat as well.

Disadvantages of Bird Flocks

While there are many advantages to flocking behavior, birds also take a risk when they assemble in flocks. The problems with flocks include:

1) Visibility: The more birds there are in a flock, the more noise and motion it makes, and the more visible it can be to predators. Predators may stalk flocks searching for the weakest members, and several predators can be attracted to the same flock, causing a constant threat to the birds.

2) Competition: Larger flocks need greater amounts of food and have more competition for mates, making it more difficult for each bird in the flock to find enough food or a suitable mate. Weaker, slower members of the flock may suffer if supplies are limited and they cannot compete as ably to get the resources they need to survive.

3) Disease: When many birds congregate closely together, the risk of spreading diseases increases dramatically. Many avian diseases are spread through either direct contact or fecal matter, and a larger flock has more potential for a disease to ravage an entire local population of a particular bird species. This can often be seen in backyard flocks with house finch eye disease or avian pox.
Despite the risks, the advantages of flocking are great enough that many different types of birds assemble in small, medium and large groups for different reasons. From a roaming band of foraging finches to a stupendous migrating flock of geese, flocks of birds can be an amazing sight for birders to enjoy, even more so when they understand how important those flocks can be for birds' survival.

I just looked at the odometer on the car and we have traveled 11,223 miles on our trip so far.  We are closing in on Bend, spending the night north of Salt Lake City.  I just went out to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and drove the wildlife drive.  Added two more species to the list that are added at the end here.
i look forward to relaxing at home for a bit and doing some birding on my home turf.  See you soon and happy  birding.

American Avocet in winter plumage

This is the rest of the birds up to tonight.  Sorry I missed a week so this is quite a few birds.  I look forward to seeing the map when I see you next month.

193 Barred Owl, Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, Missouri

194 Winter Wren, Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, Missouri

195 Sedge Wren, Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, Missouri

196 White-throated Sparrow, Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, Missouri

197 Eastern Meadowlark, Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, Missouri

198 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Rural Route 95 Missouri

199 Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Horseshoe State Park, Illinois

200 Great-horned Owl, Rural Route 51 south of Sulfur Springs Texas

201 Great-tailed Grackle, Baytown Nature Center, Baytown, Texas

202 Brown Booby, Baytown Nature Center, Baytown, Texas

203 Brown Pelican, Baytown Nature Center, Baytown, Texas

204 Little Blue Heron, Baytown Nature Center, Baytown, Texas

205 Tricolor Heron, Baytown Nature Center, Baytown, Texas

206 Cattle Egret, Baytown Nature Center, Baytown, Texas

207 White-winged Dove, Baytown Nature Center, Baytown, Texas

208 Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

209 Fulvous Whistling Duck, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

210 American Bittern, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

211 White Ibis, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

212 White-faced Ibis, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

213 Roseate Spoonbill, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

214 White-tailed Kite, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

215 Purple Gallinule, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

216 Common Gallinule, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

217 Black-necked Stilt, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

218 Crested Caracara, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

219 Loggerhead Shrike, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

220 Anhinga, Smith Point Hawk Watch, on the Gulf Coast, Texas

221 Mississippi Kite, Smith Point Hawk Watch, on the Gulf Coast, Texas

222 Swainson's Hawk, Smith Point Hawk Watch, on the Gulf Coast, Texas

223 Chuck-wills Widow, Smith Point Hawk Watch, on the Gulf Coast, Texas

224 Black-crested Titmouse, Warbler Woods, San Antonio, Texas

225 Common Ground Dove, Warbler Woods, San Antonio, Texas

226 White-eyed Vireo, Warbler Woods, San Antonio, Texas

227 Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Warbler Woods, San Antonio, Texas

228 Western Grebe, John Martin Reservoir, Southeastern Colorado

229 Semipalmated Sandpiper, Cheraw Lake, Southeastern Colorado

230 Townsend's Solitaire, Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado

231 Spotted Towhee, Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado

232 Cassin's Finch, Silver Plume, Colorado

233 American Avocet, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

234 Clark's Grebe, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

Bird of the Week 9

Female

I think you will like this bird of the week.  It is one of my favorite birds in this family of birds.  It is the Oklahoma State Bird (big hint:=)  I was very please when we finally found some, the male in the video was on the wires in front of a bank building in a small Texas town. The female was photographed in Baytown Nature Center, Baytown, Texas.   This bird is a semi-tropical bird and only spends the summer in a couple of southern states and as we were finding them they were already migrating. In one refuge in Texas we saw at least 25 of them slowly moving south to Central and South America for the winter.  I think there is one or two records of one showing up in Oregon. 

It's hard to believe that this segment of the Great Bird Race is coming to a close.  We are currently in Colorado and I am having trouble finding any new birds for the list.  Tomorrow as we continue to head home I will be looking for another life bird but I do not have much faith that I will find it.  If I do I might make it a bird of the week.  So watch for my post in the middle of the week and I will post all the rest of the birds from the trip up to that date.  After that the list will be shorter for a while because all the common birds have been seen as well as some pretty uncommon ones. I still do not have very many shore birds or ducks.  I have plenty of birds to share for bird of the week and in January I will be heading back to Texas and then if all goes as planned, spending time on the lower Rio Grande River as well as refuges in New Mexico and Arizona which should add at least another 100 birds to the list.  But that will be next year.  I hope to drop in next month and see  what you have done with the list on the map and take a look at your journals.  Happy birding. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSpwpA2LUmk&feature=youtu.be

More Hawkwatching Fun...

Sunrise at Smith Point Hawk Watch platform on the Gulf of Mexico. Texas coast

The excitement builds

Now that you have been to Green Ridge to take part in the Hawk watch, you have some idea what goes on at a watch and hopefully they told you about hawk migration. Due to the size of the western flyway and the many mountain ranges that the birds can travel, hawk watching never reaches the excitement that is seen in the east and a good day at Green Ridge would be 150 to 200 birds. East of the Mississippi the hawks mainly follow three paths, the Mississippi River, the Appalachian Mountain chain and the east coast. A large majority of the hawks converge on the Gulf Coast of Texas north of Houston and follow the coast to Mexico.

This week I got to do something I have wanted to do for some time but never took the time to be in the right place at the right time. As we head back home to Bend, I couldn't resist a side trip to Texas and a stop at the Smith Point Hawk Watch. I had been watching the reports and realized that this weekend produced counts in the 20,000s for each day with 26,000 Broad-wing Hawks passing over on Sunday.

The conditions were perfect as the birds were bunched up and would come to roost in the area waiting for morning thermals. As the sun warms the air and their wings they rise up by the hundreds and just start streaming down the coast. The hawk watch platform is right on the bay on a point of land with hundreds of acres of woods for the birds to roost in. I was not disappointed.

I arrived just as the sun was coming up and hawks started immediately coming up. The first thirty or so birds were all Coopers and Sharp-shined but about 8:30 Dozens of Broad-winged Hawks started appearing and soon there were kettles of 200 to 500 birds streaming by. I left at about 11:30 and by then I had seen close to 15,000 raptors! 

A beautiful dark morph Broad-winged Hawk

I was watching one kettle just above us and someone had pointed out a Swainson's Hawk in the group so I found it and put my camera on the bird for some pictures. From out of nowhere a Broad-winged Hawk attacked the Swainson's and they locked talons in a dramatic aerial combat. They were both squawking and screeching and all the hawk watchers were oohing and awing as I was firing off shots taking advantage of this great streak of luck. I would have never gotten these shots if I had not already focused on the Swainson's Hawk. 

And off they went like nothing happened.

We will be going to a couple of wildlife refuges close by before again turning back north to head back to Bend. The list should grow considerably and I anticipate some great Texas birds, so I will keep you posted. I hope you are enjoying the bird of the week and you can see additional bird pictures and reports on my facebook page. Happy Birding.

Take a look at this video clip.  This went on for several hours as kettle after kettle circled up and headed down the coast.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=becYv7s0BQc

More birds for the list:

184 Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Calhoun, Georgia

185 Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Gadd Road, Redbank, Tennessee

186 Morning Warbler, Gadd Road, Redbank, Tennessee

187 Cerulean Warbler, Gadd Road, Redbank, Tennessee

188 Magnolia Warbler, Chattanooga, Tennessee

189 Indigo Bunting, Chattanooga, Tennessee

190 Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Chattanooga, Tennessee

191 Hermit Thrush, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina

192 Scarlet Tanager, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina

Bird of the Week 8

We visited Mingo National Wildlife Refuge in southern Missouri last week on two separate days. It is a beautifully diverse refuge with bogs, marshes, fields and forests. We drove the 17 mile wildlife drive through hills, fields and forests and I was going about twenty-five miles an hour when I spotted this lovely falcon (hint:=) out of the corner of my eye. Luckily, he didn't fly immediately even though I had to back up in order to see him. He flew across the road and as you can hear in the video. I had to lay across Mrs. Sutherland to get the shot out her window.

This bird can be found in most countries in the northern hemisphere. Most ornithologists think that the European birds are a separate species. I have included a still shot of another one that we saw feeding on a fence post in Montana. Good luck with what I think will be an easy ID. The list is growing and I intend to bring it up to date with the next post this week. I added bird 200 today!  We were pretty busy last week and did not always have internet. Happy birding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3zmS9M6pTk

Bird of the Week 7

Although this weeks bird does not normally range west of the Rocky Mountains or north of southern Arizona/California, many of you might know what it is because it is one of the most photographed birds in North America and one of the most popular yard birds in it's range. They are very common in the South East and there is a pair in almost everyone's back yard. There have only been a couple of records of this bird straying into Oregon and I am not sure if they have been accepted by the Oregon Birds Record Committee. They do not seriously migrate and many stay in the cold northern climates all winter so it is apparent they could stand most everything Oregon could throw at them, so I always wonder why they have not expanded their range to include the Northwest. I can only hope. At any rate I get to enjoy them while I am traveling here in the east.

This video is of the female, I have also included a still of the male that I took last year in Arizona. In the video at about the one minute point, you can hear her start making her call note. There is also a Blue Jay calling somewhere in the background through most of the video.

Enjoy the bird of the week and I hope you all get to see one someday. We are now starting to turn back west and will wind our way through the mid section states of Kansas and Colorado hoping for some fairly rare birds and maybe another life bird. Stay tuned and happy birding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBPXk4VnklQ

Birding Hot Spots Produce More Birds For The List

Kootani National Wildlife Refuge, Idaho

As you travel around your town, state, and country or the world, you will find birds everywhere you go. Certain areas however, often because of their location and a mix of habitats, are recognized as especially good locations for birds. Birders refer to these as hotspots. Some areas are more productive during a certain time of year, so do a little planning before taking a trip to one of these locations. A couple of local hotspots in Deschutes county are Shevlin Park, the First Street River Trail, and the Hatfield Reclamation Ponds out by the airport. Two state hot spots that are within a days drive of Bend are Klammath National Wildlife Refuge and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

Rose-breasted Grosbeak, I saw the first one when I was 8 years old and consider this my "spark" bird

Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge, North Dakota

As I have been traveling acrouss this vast country of ours, I have been trying to concentrate my birding efforts at some of these hot spots. If you are trying to put together the biggest list of birds, you would of course want to bird in areas that have the most birds. Most national wildlife refuges have concentrations of birds and other wildlife but many of them have specific habitat and only attract certain families of birds. A hot spot usually has several different types of habitat.

On this trip I was fortunate to visit one of the top ten Hot Spots in North America. The mix of coastal woods and marshes along the southeastern tip of New Jersey located on the Delaware Bay makes Cape May one of the hottest birding locations in the country. More than 400 species have been recorded. Spring and fall migrations can be outstanding, with 30 species of warblers possible on a single day. I had heard that a Whiskered Tern, a bird normally found in Europe and wintering in Africa, was being seen regularly. As often happens with this type of report, by the time I got there, the bird had moved on. But it was an enjoyable two days and as you have seen on the list I added several new birds. The list continues to grow as the Amazing Bird Race continues.

Cape May Hawk Watch

Black-throated Blue Warbler eating a spider

New Birds for the list:

167 Snowy Egret, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

168 Laughing Gull, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

169 Mute Swan, Cape May, New Jersey

170 Green Heron, Cape May, New Jersey

171 Royal Tern, Cape May, New Jersey

172 Fish Crow, Cape May, New Jersey

173 Brown Thrasher, Cape May, New Jersey

174 Black Vulture, Cape May, New Jersey

175 Eastern Phebe, Cape May, New Jersey

176 Field Sparrow, Cape May, New Jersey

177 Common Grackle, Cape May, New Jersey

178 Black-throated Blue Warbler, Cape May, New Jersey

179 Chimney Swift, Williamsport, Maryland

180 Tufted Titmouse, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

181 Blackpole Warbler, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

182 Spotted Sandpiper, Bowdoin Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Montana

183 Pileated Woodpecker, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Bird of The Week, Number 6

It's hard to believe we are in week six of The Amazing Bird Race.  I have been away from internet access for a couple of days and the weather was not good yesterday but all in all it has been a great road trip so far.  We are approaching 6,000 miles on the odometer and have seen some wonderful sights and the bird list is nearing 200.

This week features a family of birds that is quite gregarious and they love to sing.  This time of year, most birds are not singing and for the most part, birds sing during breeding season as they use the songs to declare their territory and impress their mates.  Birds do declare their presence the rest of the year through various noises referred to as call notes.  The call note can be heard in this short video.

This particular member of the Mimidae family (hint)  can be tricky to glimpse in the tangled mass of shrubbery, and you might wonder how such a boldly patterned, gangly bird could stay so hidden. The very nature of this behavior resulted in a rather short video this week but I have included some stills so this should be an easy ID.  These birds wear a somewhat severe expression thanks to their heavy, slightly down-curved bill and staring yellow eyes, and they are the only Mimidae species east of Texas. (another hint:=)  These guys  are exuberant singers, with one of the largest repertoires of any North American songbird.  Once you ID the bird you might be able to find a recording of their song on line.  Try http://www.whatbird.com/

Watch for my midweek post on birding hotspots and happy birding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH49f93KPVw