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Daily Bucket - Early birds of 2025 [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-01-17

Why catch worms when sunflower seeds are available? The birds in my yard are eager to fatten up before temperatures drop. Lots of species will huddle together at night to fight the cold and will even tolerate different species as “snuggle buddies” if needed. The Cardinal and Sparrow in my title photo seemed quite content together on the Magnolia limb.

There will be more after the page break.

The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns. We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the phenological patterns that are quietly unwinding around us. To have the Daily Bucket in your Activity Stream,visit Backyard Science’s profile page and click on follow.

I don’t claim to have an oasis, but lots of birds and small creatures come to my feed site and water puddles. Squirrels and Cottontail rabbits shuffle through during the dawn and dusk hours. The whitetail deer clean up the scraps at night if they need an extra treat. I try to accommodate all that arrive.

Most of the regulars wait their turn to grab a morsel. Some, like Junco, browse regardless of who else is there. Here are a few birds that showed up on Wednesday (Jan. 15th).

White-breasted Nuthatch ready to launch to the seed pile

One small group of Cedar Waxwings dropped in for a drink. The single sentry, shown below, held a vigil while others lined the puddle. There was a quick dip and sip party before the flock fled.

Cedar Waxwing

Three years ago (January 3rd, 2022) a larger flock of Waxwings arrived and took advantage of my puddle. I want to revisit the short video of those birds enjoying a respite.

16 second video

I heard tapping from the same Oak the Nuthatch used as a “way station”. I saw this little female Downy flitting up and around during her search for a different meal. The Downy and Hairy woodpeckers or Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers don’t indulge in the free seed buffet but will join the crowds aloft because the festive mood is contagious.

Downy Woodpecker

Other woodpecker species will consume the seeds from my driveway. Red-heads and Red-bellied will all come for those free treats.

I thought it was a little early for a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker to move “upland”. Most will still be hunting nutrition from the lowland trees that have more liquids available.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (pre tap)

In the blink of an eye, after I took the first photo, the male began to drill the lichen coated limb. I caught the moment before impact when the eye is covered with it’s protective film.

nictitating membrane over it’s eye as drilling begins

It wasn’t long before the Sapsucker moved on to another location. My guess is the limb was dry or the sap too thick to harvest.

It occurred to me that protecting the eye of a woodpecker is a fantastic adaptation of the bird’s structure. More amazing to me is how many times the rapid process must happen when a woodpecker is feeding or creating a nest site. The following short video was taken Thursday (Jan. 16th) in the swamp area near my home. I titled it correctly.

28 second video

A surprise fly-by of a Northern Flicker caught me off guard. I was lucky enough to catch the parting shot before he shot away.

The red nape of a male Flicker shines like a beacon.

I spotted motion over the neighbor’s security light as the evening light faded. I watched the nest being built in the summer but wasn’t expecting it to be of interest so soon. An Eastern Phoebe seemed to be intent on finding a home site. I hope to see progress as the year continues.

Eastern Phoebe exploring an old nest

Animals are moving around as the days grow longer. It is early in the year and this amount of action is encouraging, but I am pensive about the numbers I am seeing. I hope all the factors that are pressing populations to decline will be altered and new lives will enter the scene.

Let me know what early sightings you have observed.

In the mean time, Curtis will oversee our participation.

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