tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44444178250627939882024-03-12T18:04:03.755-07:00The Secret Lives of BushtitsEver wondered about bushtits and their mysterious little lives? I have been studying bushtits for 36 years now and continue to do so.
In this blog I will try to keep a diary of the many interesting things we find day to day in the field
as well as fill you in on some of the other exciting things I have found out about these amazing little birds over the years!Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-40295984219909534702023-08-12T19:19:00.001-07:002023-08-12T19:19:16.419-07:00<p> Ok....I'm on a roll! Let's see if I can can keep it up....</p><p>Today I'm going to post a short excerpt from my book which is a natural history narrative about all my years studying bushtits. It has plenty of science in it, but fun stuff as well. I've already shared some other excerpts in earlier posts. The following belongs more or less to the "fun" category. Enjoy! </p><p><b>Caging bushtits 1989</b></p><p class="notelevel1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; text-indent: 0px;">I have several plans for the season this year that will give me information beyond what I have already collected in the field. One of these plans involves mist-netting bushtits and studying them in captivity. I have heard that bushtits are exceptionally difficult to keep in aviaries as they require live food and do not take kindly to cages. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="notelevel1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; text-indent: 0px;">This year I have two completely different plans in place to safely provide me with caged bushtits. The first is to capture adults relatively early in the day and late in the season -– adults unassociated with a nest -- and to provide them with an abundance of live waxworm larvae as soon as I have them safely in cages. These larvae best mimic the soft-bodied caterpillars that bushtits adore. Instead of holding the birds overnight no matter what, I plan to release the adults before dark if they don’t eat in the cage so that they can forage and survive on their own. I don’t want to be responsible for the deaths any captive bushtits. I really care way too much for them to see that happen. </p><p class="notelevel1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; text-indent: 0px;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="notelevel1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; text-indent: 0px;">To temporarily house the bushtits that I catch I fashion three 1m x 1m x 1m cages out of hardware cloth. I‘m not concerned about the size of the cages because bushtits are not strong fliers and I reason that they will be perfectly happy in these temporary digs while we build a larger aviary. And I expect I’ll only be housing perhaps four in each cage anyway. </p><p class="notelevel1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; text-indent: 0px;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="notelevel1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; text-indent: 0px;">One morning, on a lark and feeling a bit lazy in my pregnant state, I string a mistnet right outside our little stone cottage where I have been seeing fairly predictably a small flock of bushtits foraging on most mornings. Because the speakers and the begging fledgling tapes are being used in the field to colorband on the main study site as usual, I don’t have access to them. Consequently if bushtits do end up in the net at all, it will be a bit of a surprise. But I give it a try anyway….. </p><p class="notelevel1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; text-indent: 0px;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="notelevel1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; text-indent: 0px;">…..and catch the entire flock of eleven birds on the first day around 4 PM. After carefully removing each bird from the net, I place them all in the same cage.....so they will be together and happy....with a little vegetation for perching and masses and masses of waxworms for eating – I hope. In fact, there are so many waxworms in the cage, there is no way they can move without stumbling over one. And I wait. I stay a respectable distance from the cage at first so as not to disturb the birds, but I can see that they are frantic. Being in the enclosure is not making them happy and, instead of settling down and eating the abundance placed so conveniently there for them, they are flying about and smashing into the hardware cloth walls, clinging to the sides, spitting loudly, and attempting to force their little heads through the holes in the hardware cloth which are thankfully way too small to cause any damage to the little birds. </p><p class="notelevel1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; text-indent: 0px;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="notelevel1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; text-indent: 0px;">I let them struggle like this for about 2 hours, feeling quite sorry for them, and beginning to think that it will soon be time to release them. I can’t imagine they are ever going to settle down and eat and I know that their metabolism is too high for them to survive this much energy expenditure and loss overnight without eating. Releasing them is clearly the kindest thing to do. </p><p class="notelevel1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; text-indent: 0px;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="notelevel1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; text-indent: 0px;">It seems unlikely that my presence will change anything so I move to sit next to the cage. They don’t seem to notice me – that’s not really a surprise – and their behavior doesn’t change. I watch for awhile as they continue their frantic attempts to get out of the cage. Finally I’m feeling frustrated and ready to do anything. I really want this to work. Without any expectation that a wild bird will take food from my hand, I pick up a wiggling waxworm and hold it out near a perch through the wire. Remarkably and quite magically one of the birds notices, hops over, looks quizzically at the larvae I am holding in my fingers, and then grabs it and hops off with his prize. It takes him a bit of time to process it before he can eat it. But in that time the others notice his fortune and (hallalujah!) suddenly become aware that the cage is full of delectable and delightful and delicious waxworms. Now all the activity changes dramatically. Now everyone is single-minded as they gorge themselves on waxworms. After 15 minutes, they are all stuffed and sated and very happy little bushtits. As the sun goes down they huddle together in row, quietly spitting and chirruping, and dramatically fall asleep – every single one of them with one or two waxworms still hanging from their beaks. It’s as if they couldn’t quite believe their luck and couldn’t eat more, but gave it a valiant try. I wish I had a camera! And so I leave them to sleep it off and to see what the morning brings, happy in the knowledge that they will at least survive the night. </p><p class="notelevel1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; text-indent: 0px;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="notelevel1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0in;">Dawn comes and I open my eyes with some trepidation to a relatively quiet room. To my great surprise, I see no frantic activity in the cage just on the other side of our room. I hear no frantic spitting. Instead all 11 bushtits are either hopping about the cage quietly spit-spitting their contact calls and foraging or perched and preening. In other words, they seem perfectly happy. Not a single one is trying to go elsewhere. I move slowly as I dress, but I needn’t. Just as bushtits are nonchalant about our presence in the field, so they seem to be even so in this unnatural situation. I can approach the cage, reach in and clean it, and move around the room perfectly naturally and the little flock simply goes about its business. They seem to have adapted overnight to their caged existence and don’t even mind the large primates in the room. They even happily perch on my hand to eat. This couldn’t be better. Bushtits are born cage birds as long as they have food. The little darlings.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpFirst"><span style="font-family: -webkit-standard; font-size: medium;"></span></p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style>Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-56306612873014277972023-08-07T08:10:00.002-07:002023-08-10T06:27:45.384-07:00<p> I promised more about 2023 and so I will deliver. We'll see how long that lasts. </p><p>This year the bushtits made a liar out of me. I am convinced it was a plot. In Arizona, young females, as far as I could tell because finding them was hard, left their natal flocks in small groups and then settled in different flocks nearby. They didn't move far. But they did move out and to new areas. </p><p>This year in Portland, I had the good fortune of finding all the nestlings from one of the nests that fledged late last summer -- now, of course, full grown and breeding age. BTW, both the parents of these guys nested successfully together again this year...sweet.....but that's another story in itself. </p><p>Anyway. We found all 5 kids on Reed campus near where they hatched and could identify the sex of them all -- keeping in mind that bushtits all hatch with dark down eyes and only after a few weeks morph into the striking yellow/cream eye that distinguishes females. Lo and behold, there were 3 males and 2 females. The females were still not far from where they had hatched when I recaptured them early in the season. Within weeks two of the males and one female built nests not far from where they hatched. That was a surprise. At least the female was. I expected her to be long gone given what I thought I knew about bushtits. That'll teach me. </p><p>And then there was another female hatched last year who nested -- twice -- just 25 yards or so from the nest she hatched out from. That was even a bigger surprise. </p><p>Honestly? Annoying. So now I need to rewrite that part of the bushtit story. Females may not be leaving their natal flocks in Portland. At least some females seem to be hanging out with their bros. Sigh. </p><p>I do wish they'd be consistent!! But, alas, that appears not to be in the cards. Once the DNA gets analyzed, things may become much clearer. At least one can hope. </p>Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-46696897794152876132023-08-03T10:07:00.005-07:002023-08-12T19:33:22.639-07:002023 in a nutshell<p>I've said all this before, and I'll say it again: I am a bad blogger. I admit that. The problem is during the bushtit breeding season I am (surprise!) busy out in the field finding nests, banding birds, and watching birds all day long. I come home ready to eat dinner, relax, plan the next day -- not an easy task if there are competing priorities. Which nests desperately need watching because we haven't watched them in a long time? Which nests desperately need watching because there's something odd and interesting happening there? Which nests have birds that need banding -- now? Which nests have babies that need banding -- yesterday? Where are we certain there is a nest but we haven't found it yet? <i>Ad nauseam.</i></p><p>You get my drift. It's a job in itself just figuring out what takes priority the next day. And then, of course, I need to organize the various assistants and myself around that plan for tomorrow. And, finally, sleep. </p><p>Repeat. Day after day from March and at least through June. In fact, I have the reputation of thinking a day off involves strolling around and looking for new nests or banded birds. Obviously, I like what I do. But that does mean I have little time to blog during the most exciting part of the year and so......I am a bad blogger. Apologies to those who have dipped into my blog, found it interesting, and been disappointed with the rarity of my posts. </p><p>But now I am back in Maine and trying to find a publisher or agent for my book about my 37 years of bushtit research. It's a frustrating and odd process. I somehow have to convince an agent (preferred) that this tiny, boring-gray bird is actually interesting and, even more important, there are people out there who would buy a book devoted to this tiny, boring-gray bird. I have no doubts, given what I know about bushtits and the interest I see in the public about them. But convincing an agent or publisher is another story. </p><p>So I am going to try to step up my blogging both because I would like to prove there is an audience and because there are parts of the bushtit story, especially the Oregon story, that haven't been written and this seems to be a good place to do that. Rather than write into the certain void that is my computer, I'll write into this uncertain void that at least has the potential to reach some curious readers. </p><p>I'l start with a brief recap of 2023 and move onto some fun stories in future blogs. </p><p>Recap: Well, it was an odd year in some ways. The bushtit built their nests at about the same time of year that they usually do, beginning in March and "finishing" sometime in early April. But what stood out this year was the lateness of egg-laying. First egg dates were about 3 weeks later than in most previous years. It's easy to assume that was the result of a cold and wet spring. But last year was a cold and wet spring as well and egg dates were as expected. So...a mystery to be solved. How do bushtits decide when to lay their eggs? I have no idea. Moving on......</p><p>Because eggs were laid so late, there were no fledglings at all until almost the end of the season. I verified that this was weird by looking at past year's field notes. In June we usually see fledgling flocks all over the place. This June we saw very few. And these few were "accounted for" fledglings. In other words, they were fledglings from known nests. That verified that we hadn't missed a bunch of earlier nests. They just didn't exist. </p><p>Late nesting also meant that no nests were reused for a second brood. Which means only one brood of kids was added to the population. But all was not lost! Maybe because they nested so late, predation on nests was relatively (relatively) low and those kids that did hatch fledged successfully at a higher rate. So a trade-off. </p><p>Ok. That was the boring update. As in previous seasons, there are some fun stories to tell about the little guys and I will (try!) to post those over the next few weeks. </p><p>So, stay tuned!! </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-3825343481812391452022-03-07T18:03:00.003-08:002022-03-08T19:20:20.343-08:00The first nests of 2022!!<p>I've been back in Portland for about a week and have encountered only flocks -- foraging and behaving un-interested in nesting. No chases. No little wing-flutters of romantic interest. Nothing but food, food, food albeit in smaller flocks than those found in the winter. We've found some old banded friends hanging out together. That's been rewarding, but no nests. </p><p>This is typical of March in these wet and raw climes. Who wants to build a soggy nest on a soggy day? Better to wait for a nice sunny one. Which is what we had this afternoon. On a sunny day, even when it's cold, food is easy to find. A nap can be taken in the warm rays. I have found that sunny early afternoons are prime bushtit nest-building time during this unpredictable time of the year. </p><p>And so it was no big surprise when my assistant, Amit, found the first nest of the year around 1PM. It's a loose hanging sack -- somewhere between a Stage 2 and a Stage 3 -- entangled in the lower branches of a very large juniper and only about head high. Nice! The unbanded pair was building rapidly, but quit around tea-time when all good bushtits without completed nests return to their flocks to forage and prepare to find a cozy, safe place to huddle together for the evening. It's one reason early bushtit nests take so long to build --- the work day is short. </p><p>The next nest was only a Stage 1. It was a thick and sloppy tangle of spiderweb fixed to the small fork of a branch hanging on the very lower branches of a hemlock. If it survives, it will be an easy nest to watch and to band at. If it survives. Already the goldfinches were there pilfering spider web. The bushtits were annoyed and tried to chase them off but, unfortunately, the goldfinches made off with about half the load. Only time will tell if this means the nest-site will be abandoned. Even if it is, it's likely the pair (also unbanded) will build nearby. </p><p>Fingers crossed!! </p><p><br /></p><p> </p>Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-16270673409684394272022-02-22T21:15:00.001-08:002022-02-23T06:55:25.302-08:00Interlude......San Juan Island bushtit story (2014 and earlier)<p> I thought it would be fun to insert a draft from the book I've been writing that chronicles my research (and parts of my life) on bushtits beginning in 1986. I began my research in the Sky Islands region of southeastern Arizona, briefly tried to study long-tailed tits in Spain, and then finally settled in the Pacific NW, beginning with the San Juan Islands. This excerpt is about my short time on Shaw Island. Just for fun:</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Many years ago, in 1997, when I was contemplating moving my bushtit study to the Pacific NW where I, as a redhead, wouldn’t have to deal with the heat and the sun, I explored the possibility of the San Juan Islands in Puget Sound near Seattle.</span></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">These islands are beautiful and have the advantage of having a far lower yearly rainfall than the coastal areas of Washington, which deserves its reputation for being wet. The islands are also relatively undeveloped so that there was plenty of land for bushtit habitat and little “suburb” to negotiate. And there was a field station, albeit primarily for fish researchers, conveniently situated on the largest island of San Juan. Having lived at SWRS for so many years, I recognized the advantages of having colleagues and meals provided, leaving the days free to follow bushtits. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">So my husband Drew and I, dragging our then 1 year old Ellie and 6 year old Hannah, across the country (again) settled into a modern and comfortable apt within Friday Harbor Lab of the University of Washington. Unfortunately, it was too early for the fish folk and so the dining room was closed. But we had our own full kitchen which also made for a convenient bathtub for the baby. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">One of the things I learned about bushtits in the San Juan’s is that they are relatively new immigrants to the area and that they inhabit only a few of the larger islands. In fact, they were observed on San Juan for the very first time in 1935. (Coincidently, the same year Alexander Skutch described them as having helpers at the nest in Guatemala.) Before then….no bushtits. In retrospect, that makes sense. Bushtits are pretty bad fliers. They certainly can’t make any kind of distance easily. Flights are usually confined to kind of weak, wave-like movements from tree to tree. During the nesting season, pairs collect nesting material and often fly a great distance (for a bushtit) in a beeline to the nest. But I can’t imagine any bushtit thinking it was less than suicide to cross a large body of water. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">On the other hand, it’s relatively easy to imagine one being blown off-course in a violent storm. But you need more than two birds to make a flock, or even a nest. So one bird would be a dead end. Literally. <o:p></o:p>(It’s even possible, I suppose, that early bushtits somehow clung to the ferries that made their way from island to island. But that’s a little far-fetched.) </span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Females, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, are the primary dispersers and so I imagine the first group of bushtits making it to the islands were female bushtits in small groups. They must have arrived with great hope, only to find no males. So no nests. And they died lonely spinsters.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">In any case, since 1935 some brave or unlucky or stupid bushtits did eventually make it to San Juan, Orca, and Lopez and established themselves as breeding flocks. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">But my greatest hope in the San Juan islands was an outpost of the University of Washington on the smaller Shaw Island. It had a cottage specifically reserved for researchers and two full-time caretakers. There were no facilities (shopping and such) on the island, so shopping trips had to be made to one of the larger islands every two weeks or so. But it was university property and plenty big enough for my research, especially if I included the convent property next door. And my understanding was that the sisters were quite bird-happy and would welcome a project on their farm. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">So we headed out to Shaw Island with great hopes for a new research site. After all, the distance between Orca and Shaw was a miniscule 2000 feet so. Surely, since 1935, they must have made their way to Shaw! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">But they hadn’t. What we found was perfect bushtit habitat everywhere (brambles, old farms, etc) …..but not a spit. Not a feather. No bushtits at all. A call to the local Audubon confirmed my fears. I had the perfect new study site without any study animals. Very disappointing. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">So we looked over the other islands as well, mostly as hikers and tourists, and found the bushtit densities weren’t particularly high and there was enough private land to make things difficult. So I scrapped the idea and planned to head back to hot and sunny Arizona for yet another year (which turned into thirteen). Oh well. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Fast forward to 2014. A good eighteen years later. Arizona is no longer viable for me or for bushtits. Not only are there unpredictable and potentially dangerous drug-runners in the Chiricahua Mountains, the droughts have decimated the bushtit population in these already desert mountains and so, if I want to study bushtits in any numbers, I really have to go elsewhere. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">And so I remember the San Juan Islands….beautiful and cool and possibly, eighteen years later, swarming with bushtits. Or so I can hope. The 1935 invasion was just the beginning and perhaps they have managed a bigger foothold by now. In fact, it’s possible Shaw now has bushtits. What a wonderful thing that would be! I make a few quick calls to local birders who think here are bushtits on Shaw now, but they aren’t entirely certain what the population looks like. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">So, in 2014, Ellie and I settle into the “cottage” on Shaw Island, navigating a narrow one-lane road along the edge of the island and then a rather harrowing muddy dirt road to get to the cabin which sits right on the water. This “cottage” is nothing I ever expected. It’s just one room, but that one room has a full wall of floor to ceiling windows attached to a wide mossy deck over-looking the sound. From here we can watch fishing boats, sea otters, whales, and all the other watery goings-ons in Puget Sound. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">The rest of the cottage is pretty bare-bones and smells strongly of mice. It hasn’t been inhabited in awhile. After our first night there, that is verified. The kitchen counter, although cleaned the night before, is covered with mouse turds. So….mouse wars begin. I don’t like killing the little guys. They aren’t just house mice. They are <i>Peromyscus</i> (wild white-footed mice) and actually belong here more than we do. As happenstance would have it, we accidently find the perfect solution. At the bottom of the plastic trashcan our second night there is a trembling wide-eyed little rodent. He’s been able to get in, but not out. Perfect. At night we store the trash in the refrigerator and turn the plastic trashcan into a mouse trap: a bit of tempting peanut butter at the bottom with a paper towel for cover. The first night, we catch 3. The second night 2, then one, then…..none. We are mouse-free. Each of the little creatures is gently released far from our home near a dumpter that looks to me like mouse heaven. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Ok. Back to the bushtits and the solution to the mystery I am sure you (all three of you) are dying to hear about. Are there bushtits on Shaw Island? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Well……the first foray Ellie and I take out “into the field” is a success. We find a fairly large flock of bushtits foraging on the edge of the field near the main House where the caretakers live. <span style="color: red;"> </span>Very exciting! We decide to follow them for as long as we can. That turns out to be easy. They stay ---- for the entire day --- foraging in the brambles on the edge of the field. Ellie and I take turns napping. Six solid hours of nothing. But at least we have bushtits. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">The next day is the same. And I should point out that this seems odd. Most bushtit flocks move large distances each day. This flock seems perfectly happy to stay in one spot. At one point they stray into the brambles in the middle of a large field nearby. But that’s it……..<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">………until the next day. Full of optimism (but not looking forward to another day of naps alternating with boring foraging bushtit observations) we head over to the brambles and, lo and behold (or rather not behold), there are no bushtits. So we search. And search. And search. We search the entire university property. We get in the car and search the entire island by road (discovering that there’s a rather ritzy section at the other end -- Bill Gates lives there.) And we find nothing. No bushtits . That goes on for a couple of days during which we are alternately mystified and supremely frustrated. Where the hell are they?? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Finally on day three we find them (although without banded birds we can’t be certain they are the same birds) on the university property, but at the other end and near an old bunkhouse that is infrequently used by university classes. The setting is beautiful. Lovely old gnarled and flowering trees. The gorgeous blue sea with the other islands on the horizon. Seals. Grassy lawn-like open areas. Sun. A convenient and clean outhouse (!!) in the woods. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">It’s a change from both our bushtit-less existence over the last few days and the long, boring days watching the flock live a sedentary existence in the brambles near our cottage. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">I don’t want to dwell on Shaw Island for too long because, honestly, it wasn’t too exciting. We frequently lost the birds for days on end and then they would mysteriously reappear in an unexpected place. Over the weeks that we were there (which seemed much longer) it began to dawn on me that we were probably watching only one flock with a very, very large home range: the entire island. That would explain why they were so hard to find. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">The other odd thing about this flock (if it was the same one) was the ratio of males to females. There were far more males than one would expect in the usual bushtit flock. And, when they finally began to nest, we found only two nests. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">So it dawned on me: what we were likely looking at was a founding flock. Shaw Island, just 17 years before, had no bushtits. Somehow bushtits had made their way here and successfully bred. But bushtits have one major flaw that makes it difficult for them to successfully and rapidly colonize an island. Only the males are philopatric and stay with the natal flock. Females, on the other hand, migrate out at the beginning of the spring to find a new flock to join and find a mate in. But…….these females had nowhere to go. There were no other flocks to migrate into. They likely searched and searched to no avail, eventually succumbing to the elements as lonely spinsters. Sad. And not a good way to increase a population. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">In the meantime, speaking of sad, I was succumbing myself to a kind of melancholy lethargy. I began to mutter things like “Maybe I should just stop studying bushtits.” and “This is discouraging. Let’s go home.” I began to loose my enthusiasm. But Ellie, wise Ellie, wouldn’t have anything of that. “Why are we staying here, Mommy? she said one day. “You know there are bushtits in Discovery Park in Seattle. Why don’t we go there?” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">I had dug my heels into Shaw because of the lovely living conditions and the large university property but I had to finally see the reason in Ellie’s words. We should at least look at Discovery Park even though it was in the middle of a city and really wasn’t a very appealing place to work. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">So we went. And we found bushtits. We found lots of bushtits. We were tripping over them (not quite literally, but certainly figuratively). In a few short days we found and watched six active nests. Six happy nests with spitting and active bushtits. Every block in the developed areas had at least one breeding pair. It was bushtit heaven! And my sprits rose --- as Ellie had predicted. Bushtit, ho! I had found my new study area. Whew. </span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"><br /></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: times;">So that's bit of the Washington story. But.....but.......I'm in Portland! So, Discovery Park wasn't my new study area, was it? To learn more about that story, you'll have to read the book..... <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"><br /></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpMiddle"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="NoteLevel1CxSpLast"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style>Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-65598157234126254422022-02-19T14:50:00.000-08:002022-02-19T14:50:15.927-08:00Valentine's Day.......<p> ......and, I'm guessing, bushtit love was in the air. At least I'm guessing nest-building was already under way in Portland. I'll be there in a little over one week to see for myself. </p><p>The bushtit nest is one of the most remarkable features of bushtits and is, as all nests are, a physical and permanent (sic) manifestation of a behavior. If you haven't seen one, take a look at my entry on March 6, 2020. That was a lovely nest. </p><p>The bushtit nest is a major feat of engineering with a combination of lichen and spider web serving as the stretchy scaffolding. You wouldn't know it just by looking at them, but the combination is magic. Spiderweb and lichen both have velcro-like properties such that they stick together and become extremely malleable. Together they are material of choice for many other species as well: hummingbirds, vireos, goldfinches, etc. </p><p>Although in the 1930s, Evelyn Addicott described two modes of nest-building in bushtits, I've only seen one. I suspect she interpreted different states of completion during what I call "Stage 3" (see below) as different building methods. In fact, "Stage 3" is a broad category and encompasses several substages. It's also possible she was observing nests that were also being pilfered by nest-material thieves. These can appear very holey and thin and are often abandoned. </p><p>So what are the nest building stages? I'll describe them here. I'll find pictures and post them here another day. </p><p><b>Stage 1 </b>is barely visible at first. It consists of a hint of spider web and lichen on a branch or in a fork between two branches. You'd never notice it on your own. The only way to locate an early Stage 1 nest is to see the birds carrying material repeatedly to the same area in a tree. If you see that and can't make out anything in the area they are going to, you have found one! Sometimes you can see them placing the material and even stretching it and securing it with their beaks. But it can certainly seems almost imaginary. As the nest progresses, though, a late Stage 1 nest becomes a thin platform of lichen and spider web that stretches between two tiny branches or, sometimes, just a blob of spider web and lichen in, say, a clump of mistletoe. BTW, this is often a "trial and error" stage. At this point the bushtit builders are still gauging (in whatever mysterious method they are using) the suitability of a particular nest site. Consequently, Stage 1 nests may appear and disappear....and even reappear. It happens. </p><p><b>Stage 2</b> is when you finally see something resembling a nest -- although not a bushtit nest. A Stage 2 nest is a simple cup. The birds have completed the platform (Stage 1) and are now bringing in more material and are sitting in it and moving about to stretch it downwards so that the cup hangs. This is were the strength and flexibility of the spiderweb/lichen combo becomes so important! As it stretches longer and longer is gradually morphs into a...</p><p>....<b>Stage 3</b> nest which is a long hanging sack without a hood. Stage 3 nests can vary a great deal. They can look quite flimsy if the birds stretch more than they bring in new material. If they are experienced breeders, they will be careful to bring in enough material so that holes never appear and the sack, although thin, seems pretty substantial. During <b>Stage 3 </b>the nest reaches its full length and material is added to the bowl at the bottom of the sack to strengthen it as the "true nest." </p><p>Once the sack area of the nest is substantial, the birds begin to fashion a hood and work primarily on that and the outer parts of the nest. This is a <b>Stage 4</b> nest. It's not finished but it finally looks like a bushtit nest with its characteristic gourd-like shape and a hood near the top with a side-facing entrance. But it looks rough and the entrance is barely complete. Once the nest is at a Stage 4, the adults will sleep in it; if there are more than 2 building, they will all crowd in. </p><p><b>Stage 5</b> I reserve for that "perfect" finished bushtit nest. It's tightly put together with a substantial hood and a clearly defined entrance that has been lined and tightened so that only a bushtit can enter. Sometimes, the entrance even extends a bit out from the nest like a short tunnel. It's festooned with moss, spider egg cases, and other material from the environment to camouflage it as mush as possible. At this point, there is little building activity. Feathers are the primary material brought in now as they fill the nest with hundreds they find in the area. I can never figure out how they find so many!! </p><p>The final product is truly beautiful and a masterful structure that has taken up to 3 weeks to finish. Which is all the more annoying when it's torn to shreds by a predator! For me and for the bushtits. </p><p>So that's the overall process. This can vary in some interesting ways which I'll elaborate on in future posts. In the meantime, that's a start. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p>Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-13073975533405905652022-02-12T08:50:00.000-08:002022-02-12T08:50:06.422-08:00Do helpers really help?<p>Bushtits have the distinction of being one of the very first birds described as having "helpers at the nest." That was in a paper by Alexander Skutch in 1935 in which he described this unusual behavior in only three species. And the bushtit was honored to be among them. </p><p>A helper at the nest is a nonbreeding (so we think) feeder of the nestlings. Sometimes they also defend the nest and, in the case of bushtits, also sleep in the nest at night. The bushtit helpers Skutch described in Guatemala were young birds who were helping their parents raise another brood in the same season. Since then, it's become abundantly clear that "helping behavior" is far more complex and confusing than Skutch had imagined. I won't get into the details here. </p><p>One of the most enduring questions about helping behavior is: do helpers really help? After all, more birds feeding at a nest may attract predators. Young birds feeding nestlings may be bad at their job. There are many reasons to believe "helpers" may be detrimental. Or maybe their "help" is neutral. Maybe they help but their help really doesn't do anything positive or negative. Maybe they do it just for their own reasons too numerous to be listed here. </p><p>This whole issue is very complicated, especially now that we have DNA to figure out if maybe there are even more complications to this interesting story. So I'll stick to one interesting observation in April in Arizona that provided me with, I think, one possible answer for bushtits. And I mean just one! This is just the tip of a huge iceberg. </p><p>One relatively cold day in Arizona, I had 4 nests that were ready for banding; the nestlings were all about 10 days old and the nests were easy to reach. We had been watching the nests almost every day and knew that one was attended by 3 birds (two adult males and one adult female). The other three had only 2 birds: one male and one female. </p><p>The night before banding had been exceptionally cold for the season. My recollection (without checking my notes which are buried in a box in my office) is that the evening low dipped well below 25 degrees. That's very unusual for early April, even in the mountains. Still, I expected nothing out of the ordinary. Bushtit nests are nice, warm, down sleeping bags and the attendants sleep in the nest at night. I fully expected all would be well. </p><p>But it was not to be so. The first nest contained a sad surprise: 5 cold, dead nestlings. They were otherwise perfect. They had obviously died overnight. The parents were no longer in attendance, but that wasn't surprising as we were there mid-day and they must have had the morning to figure out that their kids were no longer hungry. Very sad. </p><p>We carried on and opened the next nest....with the same sad result. A lovely brood of, you guessed it, 5 cold and dead nestlings -- all banding age and healthy-looking --- but dead. And the same was true of the third nest. </p><p>But the fourth nest was a different story. This nest was the one nest with 3 birds attending. At this nest, the nestlings were alive and well and we could carry on with our task of banding the little guys. The attendants actively fed while we did this --- as I always remove only half the brood at a time to process so the attendants don't get upset by an empty nest. (Fortunately, they can't count.) </p><p>So why did this one brood survive the cold night? I can think of some possibilities...all of which may be true and all of which involve the 3rd bird. </p><p>The first possibility is that 3 adults sleeping in the nest during a cold night kept everyone warmer than in the nests with only two adults. So these nestlings spent the night in relative warm and safe comfort. They weren't cold-stressed and that was due to the extra warmth provided by third bird. </p><p>Another possibility is that 3 birds provisioned the nestlings the evening before and perhaps even in the early morning hours with more food --- and therefore energy --- giving them plenty of energy to deal with the unusual overnight cold. </p><p>The final benefit the 3rd bird may have provided was extra food on a daily basis. It may be that the surviving nestlings went into that cold night with greater reserves because they had been fed at a greater rate than the others with only 2 attendants. (These are actually data I can look at once I extract those notebooks from the box!!)</p><p>Regardless of the mechanism and the small sample size, I am willing to suspect that this extra bird was indeed "helpful." His actions may have saved the lives of the nestlings he was helping to feed. And for him, sleeping in a warm nest most certainly saved his life as well. </p><p>So, in this case, the helper was actually helping. Chalk up one point for "helpers do help".......at least sometimes. </p><p> </p><p> </p>Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-37124631087049430382022-02-09T12:52:00.001-08:002022-02-09T13:02:46.972-08:00Toilet paper bushtits<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am posting an amusing (and somewhat disgusting) video taken by Amit Gordon in 2020. It's exactly what you think it is: a pair of bushtits gathering toilet paper for their nest. Ugh.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Bushtits build their large, pendulous nests using spider web and lichen as the brick and mortar. But they do add other elements they find in their environment --- twigs, leaves, moss, etc. Unfortunately, if toilet paper is available --- and it is in Oaks Bottom in some areas --- they will also gather that and incorporate it as well. We call these nests "toilet paper nests" as it's pretty obvious when they add the stuff. They look a bit white and fluffy. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When I first saw one festooned in such a manner, I worried that it would dissolve when it rained. I mean, that's what toilet paper is designed to do, right? Eventually, anyway. But the first TP nest surprisingly survived to fledging and was even reused in the same season. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Not so the nest of this little pair. I think they used so much toilet paper, the nest only progressed to a loose hanging sack. And then it simply fell out of the tree. There just wasn't enough of substance to keep it together. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My guess is these were first year birds. Maybe they learned their lesson. Maybe not. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxihtv1zxEkHPPSCbFX8n4Nd29Qfb9MO7jdst7dpqlj6OOEVlvDbRAXjuTqlj8h1jD0HscWTJ0yWmFhuE4qxw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /> <p></p>Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-26981312204757260862022-02-08T19:55:00.000-08:002022-02-08T19:55:00.635-08:00Do bushtits grieve?<p>This is really part of a much larger, controversial, and more philosophical conversation that should be had at some point....but most certainly won't grace the pages of this blog. Nonetheless I do think it's worth a brief mention here: </p><p>There's a fine line between empathizing with your study species and out-and-out anthropomorphic interpretation of animal behaviors. It's a line that's not easily drawn when you've spent as many years with one species as I have ---- even if that species is only a tiny drab-grey bird. </p><p>But I do think it's important to point out that, as a behavioral scientist, I firmly believe that animals have emotions comparable to our own. Why do I think so? I do so for a variety of reasons. First, we share the same functional responses internally to similar external stimuli. Danger releases adrenaline, causing us to behave appropriately to that lion we've just encountered. Run! (or fight!) Prolactin is released at the sight of babies.....or nestlings. It's why my hollering baby didn't get thrown out with the bath water. And it's why birds feed their begging nestlings. I could go on and on. Suffice it to say that we all share the same chemicals causing us to behave appropriately -- thereby surviving and, eventually, reproducing. </p><p>That's the functional angle. But what about feelings? I have always tried to convince my students that feelings are what we feel when we are flooded with those chemicals. They are what cause us to react as we do. If you get injected with adrenaline, you feel fear or anxiety. If you are injected with prolactin, you feel a warm glow.....nurturing and patient. I'm being simplistic, but I think you may get my point. There is no reason not to believe that a bushtit loves its nestlings any less than I love my own children. Love causes us to put up with parenting. And parenting passes on our genes. </p><p>Which brings me to the subject of today's blog: Do bushtits grieve? </p><p>I believe they do. And, of course, I have a story to illustrate my point. </p><p>One of the nests in 2018 on Reed campus was found in March --- early in the season. It was just on the water's edge deep in "The Canyon" and was found by Gary Granger. By the time I saw it, it was almost finished and stood out starkly against the sky and water. It was built well into some very tall grasses and reeds, but was not cryptic at all. In fact, it was a very obvious nest. </p><p>Being obvious doesn't seem to doom bushtit nests. Many that I feel are fated for destruction because "how in the world could that jay over there not see that ridiculously obvious bushtit nest??" survive just fine. Others that seem carefully hidden -- so much so that they are practically impossible for us to watch -- are torn to shreds within hours of hatching or even earlier. So being out in the open couldn't predict this nest's final fate. </p><p>The attendants were an unbanded female and a banded male (LGXL). They seemed a happy couple, bringing feathers to the nest fairly frequently and not nearly as noisily as some. I had fond hopes the nest would survive and produce a batch of healthy fledglings. </p><p>Eventually it was clear that they were incubating eggs. The unbanded female and LGXL had became furtive and silent around the nest, exchanging incubation duties with only a quick "spit" to alert the incubating bird to its replacement's arrival. A quick, almost imperceptible, exchange and then silence. (This is why watching incubating nests in positively maddening.....they switch so quickly, it's hard to read bands.) </p><p>One day, however, I arrived for a watch only to find the nest in tatters. Feathers were everywhere. It had clearly been someone's lunch and the contents were now digesting in someone's belly. In most cases, when I come across a destroyed nest, the parents are no longer in sight. They have taken off to begin a new nest or to try to kick a neighbor out of theirs. But that day was different. LGXL was there alone --- there was no sign of the unbanded female. The sky was dull and the gentle wind ruffled the scattered feathers, sending them further from the now defunct nest site. </p><p>LGXL seemed listless. He was silent and hopped slowly around the area. Several times he dropped to gather a small feather and bring it up to what remained of the nest. Once there, he hopped slowly about a bit and then discarded the feather only to try again a few minutes later. His entire aspect can only be described as "dejected." He spent some time perched on a nearby branch, puffed and silent, and then began his random and pointless feather-gathering once again. </p><p>It was hard to watch, what can only be described as, this sad, little bird. He seemed so lost and lonely. Usually when a bushtit gathers feathers, they are quite animated and noisy. I would describe it as a "joyful" time. Not so this quiet, listless gathering of lost feathers and bringing them to the lost nest. </p><p>I thought at the time that LGXL was just there soon after the predation had occurred and that this might explain his unusual behavior. I also wondered if he had lost his mate as well to the predators. That does happen, although rarely. I watched for awhile and then left him to continue in solitude. I fully expected him to be gone the next day. </p><p>But he wasn't. He was still there. He wasn't quite as focused on the nest as he was the day before, but he was still hopping about slowly and occasionally picking up a feather only to set it down almost immediately. After awhile, he seemed to give up and fly across the canyon to join a known pair who were foraging on the other side and whose nest I hadn't located yet. It was just the 3 of them, making me even more certain LGXL's mate had perished along with the nest. </p><p>Over the next week, I saw him near the destroyed nest site a couple of times, but for only brief periods. It was as if he returned once in awhile in the vain hope that the nest and his mate was still there. </p><p>As far as I knew, he never found another mate. For the rest of the season, I saw him rarely and only alone or in the company of a small flock. The following year, he was gone -- presumably he had died over the winter. </p><p>So that's the story. Make what you will of it. It's hard not to imagine LGXL wasn't grieving his loss -- and for more than a single day. Imagine his plight. One day he was incubating a clutch of eggs in his warm, safe nest, switching incubation duties with his mate, and cuddling up with her and the eggs every night. Then suddenly it was all gone. No eggs. No nest. No mate. It makes sense to me that he would be grieving --- and his grieving behavior wasn't particularly productive. It didn't help him. It was depressive. He didn't find a new mate. He didn't rebuild his nest. </p><p>For what it's worth, I think he really was a sad little bushtit. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><br /></p>Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-87678438934698342762022-02-04T12:20:00.003-08:002022-02-04T14:56:04.269-08:00If at first you don't succeed......<p> ......try, try again...and again, and again....<i>ad nauseum</i></p><p>In Arizona, a nest failure often resulted in intense competition for neighboring nests within the same flock. Sometimes the interlopers were successful at booting out the residents. Sometimes they weren't. When they were, the original residents were faced with their own nest-less dilemma and went off in search of a handy nest nearby to try to takeover. When competitors weren't successful, they tried elsewhere or finally built their own nest. Sometimes they reached an uneasy truce with the residents and joined the nests as "helpers." But in almost every situation in which a nest was lost, the homeless pair would at least try to take over someone else's nest first. </p><p>Not so in Portland. Although I do see competition for neighboring nests on occasion, most pairs who have had their nest torn to shreds by a predator and the contents devoured, seem to move right into building their own real estate. </p><p>One, rather extreme example from 2021 immediately springs to mind. It involves a female on the Reed campus banded as RREX (roar-ex) who now holds the record for number of nests built in a single season. We suspect she was a SY female (hatched in 2020) based on her behaviors and choice of nest sites early on....none of which served her well! A supremely inexperienced bird perhaps. </p><p>RREX's first nest (RD-3) was in the same place as a 2020 nest in a pine over-hanging a busy walkway on campus. It wasn't very cryptic. Nonetheless, she and an unbanded male (UnbM) managed to hatch a brood of chicks....which were eaten and the nest destroyed only 4 days after hatching. Ah well. </p><p>Just a day later, RREX and UnbM were pilfering nesting material from the remains of a neighboring nest that had also met the same fate and were well on their way building a new nest (RD-29) just a few yards from the one supplying nesting material (thrifty birds!) in the same tree high in the lofty branches if a huge pine. Dumb move, RREX. Um......maybe the destroyed nest should have been a clue???</p><p>Only a few days into that rapid build, RD-29 was destroyed, likely containing eggs given that it was almost complete and RREX and her mate were ready to go, so to speak. </p><p>Score ---- RREX 0: Predators 2</p><p>But RREX was not deterred! On the day we found RD-29 in tatters, RREX was again building yet another nest (RD-34). This one was built in record time, reaching an almost ready state in just a day. It was small and shoddily put-together, but seemed to suffice because -- you guessed it -- 3 days later it was also history. </p><p>Score --- RREX 0: Predators 3</p><p>Was RREX done yet? One would think so. But, no, she was wasn't. Her 4th nest nest was found that same day. This time it was up against a building in a small deciduous tree and was very well-concealed. Maybe she had learned a lesson? Nope. Four days later, it was nothing but a lump of spiderweb, feathers, and lichen on the ground. </p><p>Score: RREX 0; Predators 4</p><p>At this point we were in wonder at this plucky little bird. She seemed determined to build a nest that would survive the season, no matter how many tries she had to make. And so that same day.....</p><p>.......we found RD-40, which progressed very rapidly. This time she had placed the nest in one of the most least cryptic places imaginable. It was in the top of a bush right next to the entrance to the Psychology building. It was extremely obvious but, perhaps somewhat protected by its people-heavy location. Or so we (and she?) hoped. But, alas, it was not to be. After a few inactive, but hopeful, nestwatches, I discovered a hole near the top of the nest. Apparently predators had come in and removed the contents without destroying the nest. It happens. </p><p>Score: RREX 0: Predators 5</p><p>That's a record. I have never seen so many rebuilds, and so rapidly begun, by the same bird (we assume the same pair even). It not only emphasized the dramatic predation rates we were seeing in Portland in 2021, it also flew in the face of my early assertion, based on Arizona birds, that failed breeders attempt a takeover if they can. RREX apparently never did. </p><p>So what happened to her eventually? Well, just a day or two after I ascertained that RD-40 was toast, I did see her in the vicinity being actively chased and courted by 2 males at the same time. So she was still a hot commodity and still interested in nesting. There even might have might have been a Nest#6 (or even #7) somewhere. But we will never know. </p><p>But I do know she was still around in the fall. I found her in a massive flock one day among many other banded birds on Reed campus. The next day she was the only banded bird in a flock of about 10. They were making a leisurely loop taking in some of the nesting areas RREX had used that spring. Could it have been RREX and her (finally) kids? </p><p>We'll never know. </p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-6801298032229983092022-02-03T08:56:00.001-08:002022-02-03T16:43:38.119-08:00TOTX<p>Sometimes someone sends me a photo so stunning, I can't help but share it. Today I'd like to post this beautiful photo of TOTX (tots) taken by Tony Freixas. Thank you, Tony! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9qXC_Rw-M_lMOTC5menNT5BS55OJpLkosVcJX1jdqsMafnkiQPSJDaXluQ_4uorrxzj5tQMI2LL-hRNATe_TqoO7RPnKjzw634ZyULrY8iohn5bOCjv6qkJOuO45y7AMaPsGHBprKSy3bVQikAFfOh16taTyQ3heQiz7nMuxc4XlxV9CQ-rK-PYamIQ=s1500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9qXC_Rw-M_lMOTC5menNT5BS55OJpLkosVcJX1jdqsMafnkiQPSJDaXluQ_4uorrxzj5tQMI2LL-hRNATe_TqoO7RPnKjzw634ZyULrY8iohn5bOCjv6qkJOuO45y7AMaPsGHBprKSy3bVQikAFfOh16taTyQ3heQiz7nMuxc4XlxV9CQ-rK-PYamIQ=w433-h288" width="433" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Since we have his picture, I'll tell you a bit about TOTX and his life this year. It was a difficult one but also very interesting and intertwined with the lives of his neighbors. </p><p>TOTX originally had a lovely nest (RD 2) in a backyard immediately adjacent to Reed campus. It was found during the last week in March in a very early stage and was low-hanging fruit, nestled in a thick vine just a few feet off the ground. Nonetheless, it was hard to watch because a tangle of thorny berry bushes grew up along the border of the garden and campus so that short people (me) had a very hard time seeing over and into the yard. Fortunately, the owners of the yard generously allowed us in to watch the nest and all was well. We even had a chair to sit in. A nice perk. </p><p>But TOTX was a bit of a pain. He was a very noisy bird. Not only was he noisy near the nest, he was noisy no matter what. We could always tell he was in the area and exactly where he was with his mad spitting. And he wasn't just spitting at us. He was spitting at the world. The female (who remained unbanded) was much more discrete when she arrived alone. But TOTX was often found following her about noisily, during nest-building, egg-laying and even after the kids had hatched. I don't know how she put up with him. </p><p>TOTX's loud personality eventually got him in trouble about 10 days after his eggs had hatched. Predators finally got the hint and found his nest, ripping it to shreds and undoubtedly feasting on the contents. End of RD 2. But not the end of TOTX (and, we assume, the female he was with). </p><p>Just 2 days later he was seen visiting at the nest of his closest neighbors (RD 24) only 50 meters south of his destroyed nest. The residents, PXPW (female) and ERYX (male) had built their nest also unusually close to the ground...about 6 feet. It was pretty obvious hanging in the dense shade between two very large pines. Its saving grace, however, was the vines and low branches that also hung around the base of these trees so that the bird's comings and goings were not too obvious. During this visit, TOTX just hopped about and peered in. PXPW and ERYX seemed unperturbed. No fuss. Just a friendly and quick perusal of the neighbor's real estate. </p><p>However, only two days after TOTX's first visit to the nest he was found visiting again. This time things were very different. ERYX was nowhere to be seen. TOTX, an unbanded female, and an unbanded male were all there making a fuss around the nest where PXPW was incubating eggs. The unbanded female was ripping nesting material from the nest and the unbanded male was trying to court poor PXPW. It was all very puzzling. Where was ERYX?</p><p>Well, it turns out that, unbeknownst to us at the time, ERYX had found an unbanded female (perhaps the nest-material thief at RD 24 and even perhaps the female at RD 2) and had been building a new second nest (RD 41) not far away. In fact, it was almost complete by the time we found it that very day. ERYX had apparently abandoned PXPW to incubate on her own while he established a new nest with a new female. Yet another bushtit cad! </p><p>Important note: We don't know who the female at RD 41 was as she was unbanded. She may have been TOTX's mate from RD 2. Or she may have been just another unbanded female. We will never know in part because......</p><p>.......just 2 days later TOTX was visiting RD 41. In fact, TOTX, PXPW, ERYX, and an unbanded female were all there together. This time TOTX and ERYX were aggressively chasing each other and TOTX was observed entering the nest repeatedly. Just two days after this TOTX and an unbanded female were clearly victorious and were the proud new owners of RD 41. ERYX was now back at RD 24 with PXPW, vanquished and again a dutiful dad, helping her incubate and feed once the nestlings hatched. </p><p>All seemed well for TOTX and the unbanded female at RD 41 as well. They finished building the nest which was well-hidden in a hanging branch of a very high deciduous tree about 15 feet over a sidewalk. Both birds were very careful in approaching it. TOTX seemed to have learned his lesson and was not the noisy idiot he had been at his first nest. The nestlings hatched and we were anticipating getting up to them soon for banding and blood for DNA until......</p><p>.......disaster struck in the form of the heat dome. RD 41 was one of the casualties -- all the nestlings perished. It was sad for us and undoubtedly sad for TOTX as well. </p><p>But, happily, he survived. The picture above that was taken in the winter attests to that. Hopefully we will see him again this spring with a brand new nest. </p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p> </p>Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-31703044144823647352022-01-31T14:09:00.002-08:002022-01-31T14:22:52.323-08:00Thoughts on bushtit numbers after the heatwave<p>I've noticed quite a bit of conversation in OBOL re the heat dome and resulting bushtit numbers. Rather than comment in OBOL, I thought I'd offer my thoughts here so that a larger audience can see them if they want. These are just thoughts. I have no answers! </p><p>First, every single banded adult at the eight nests survived the event. So, at least from that small sample, there wasn't any adult mortality. In addition, many other banded birds have been seen since. I'll have a better idea of adult mortality when the breeding season begins next month. But even then, I won't know the cause if the % survival is lower than usual. </p><p>We have found about 100 nests/year over the last 4 years in Portland. I have never had a nest with dead nestlings before. The only other time was just once in Arizona after a freak cold spell: 3 out of 4 banding-age nests contained dead nestlings. The only surviving brood had 3 adults feeding at (and sleeping in) the nest. </p><p>On the other hand, predation rates were exceptionally high this year in Portland. Personally, if there is a dip in bushtit numbers, I would expect that had a greater effect on the population than the heat dome, given that the heat came very late in the nesting season. </p><p>Bushtit numbers in the winter are hard to come by. As they are in large and mobile flocks, you either see them.....or you don't. Many CBCs miss bushtits. But that doesn't mean they aren't there! I think the best way to get an indication of the robustness of a population is to count flock size. Not estimate. Count. That means catching them as they cross a street or from tree to tree and counting them as they cross. Big flocks in winter=healthy population. </p><p>The problem is the occasional small flock doesn't mean much. This November and December, I found the same bird in both a monster flock of >50 and messing around for over an hour in a smaller flock of 10. So....she's was doing both. I think if you go out often and see only small flocks of <15 birds, that may indicate a problem. </p><p>The heavily-feathered bushtit nest is great at insulating against cold. But it also serves to protect against heat. I did a short study in AZ several years ago and found that the interior of a bushtit nest stays at a reasonable temperature even in full sun on a very hot day when the exterior nest surface temp rose above 120 degrees. In Portland this year, WT 12---the 3-bird nest that lost all 6 nestlings during the heatwave---was a small nest with very little insulation. It was mostly in the shade, BTW. The one nest with eggs during the heatwave was a pretty bizarre nest (the 3rd nest for the pair that year) with uncharacteristically thick sides and many feathers. Perhaps that saved it? Who knows. It was also partly shaded as were most of the nests at that time. </p><p>One more point: Nests that survived were significantly closer to water. Water is essential to prevent dehydration which is the primary cause of death in the heat for birds. We (Amit Gordon, Ian Connelly, and I) wrote all these observations up for publication and it is currently in press in The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. </p><p>Hope all that is of some interest! Comments and additional ideas welcome. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-19643748972975204332022-01-30T19:18:00.003-08:002022-01-31T10:16:31.605-08:00What is it about bushtits??<p>I am often asked "what's so interesting about bushtits?" The answer to that is "it would fill at least one long book." And I am in the process of writing it. In the meantime, I thought some of you may be interested in seeing a very brief list of some of the odd, uniquely bushtit, behaviors I have seen. </p><p>First you need to know that bushtits live in tightly knit family flocks of from 10 to 15 birds that combine with other flocks as the breeding season winds down. During the winter, flocks became hard to find because they travel over several flock home ranges. Combined winter flocks may be huge.....even this year after the heat event, we often ran into a flock on Reed campus that had at at least 50 birds, some of whom were old friends of ours. </p><p>The family and extended family flocks are maintained throughout the breeding season. And that's what makes bushtits truly unique. Although pairs (or more than a pair) maintain a weakly defended area around the nest, flock members frequently visit each other's nests and hang out when not at their own nest. They all know exactly where all the flock nests are and who is where and what they are up to. They even seem to have "best friends" or birds they are seen with frequently and nest near. </p><p>That's the skeleton version as there's much more complexity to the story! But it's enough for now. Here's some of the fun stuff I have seen over the years. Teasers, as you will. BTW, none of these observations would be possible without color-banded birds. </p><p>1. Musical nests (nest ownership exchanges -- and back): One day XXXX and YYYY will be building at nest and the next day they are nowhere to be found. Instead it's ZZZZ and WWWW. Sometimes XXXX and YYYY may return, and ZZZZ and WWWW will be building a new nest elsewhere. I'm not the first one to observe this. Steve Ervin did as well in CA in the early 70s. But he wasn't focused on that aspect of bushtit behavior so he didn't follow up on it. </p><p>2. Bushtit cads: Males who cavort with a neighboring female even while he has a nest elsewhere. I've detailed one situation like this from last year. There are more. </p><p>3. Deadbeat dads: Males who not only cavort, but takeover a nest while their first mate handles incubation alone (both male and female usually take turns). They then desert the 2nd female to return to being a dad at the first nest, leaving the 2nd female to fend for herself. </p><p>4. Extra birds ("helpers"): These are usually males and usually there's only one. But it varies; in AZ I did have one nest with 6 males and one female. There's a good story in that re how and why this happens! Hint: is it really helping.....?</p><p>5. More than one pair at a single nest: two males and two females have been observed. More on those complicated stories later. </p><p>That's a smattering of the convoluted shenanigans bushtits can get up to. They seem a cheery and cooperative little bunch, don't they? But I believe it's actually competition that drives the system. At least that's what I think as I learn more about them over the years.....stay tuned! </p>Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-82021348603465290332022-01-29T08:53:00.001-08:002022-01-29T17:05:00.576-08:00The deadly heatwave of 2021<p>No recap of the 2021 bushtit field season can fail to omit the effects of the unprecedented heat wave on bushtit nestlings. And it wasn't good news. It was, in fact, quite sad. And informative. Unfortunately. </p><p>In late June, a "heat dome" settled over the Pacific Northwest for 3 interminable days. It was record-setting and completely out of the range of normal for the area. Completely. Each day the temperature climbed. By the 28th of June it was 116 degrees in the shade. Walking to the grocery store from my house -- only a 5 block trek -- felt risky. My daughter, her partner, and their cat joined us in my 800 sf house which we tried to cool to barely acceptable with 2 ACs. Even so, we had to partition the house into one small space, leaving the rest of the house to bake. We all became vampires...avoiding the day and going out only at night for "fresh" 100 degree air and short strolls around the neighborhood. </p><p>But what of the bushtits? How were they faring? It was the tail end of the field season and we had only 8 active nests. One of them was close to fledging age. One was still incubating. The other 6 had nestlings....some very young, some older. One of these was a nest (WT 12) we were particularly interested in as there were two males and one female. All three birds had built and incubated and were now feeding. We were, understandably, anxious to get blood samples from the nestlings once they were old enough. Were both males co-dads?? It seemed highly probable. So that was the only nest we kept tabs on for those 3 days. One of us would head out at dawn, watch it for 30 minutes in the 90 plus heat, and then crawl back into whatever cool cave we had devised for ourselves to wait out the day. </p><p>By the 29th the heat had abated somewhat so we set out to check the 8 nests we had. I won't get into the all the sad details of what we found. I'll just summarize: </p><p>One nest had been torn apart by predators, the contents most certainly devoured. That's not unusual. Another had fledged prematurely and a grisly fledgling corpse was hanging from the entrance -- sans eyes and brain -- apparently entangled in the artificial poly the parents had used to line the entrance. Ok. Gross, weird........and huh???</p><p>Two others were silent and when we opened them, contained dead nestlings. The adults were no longer even in attendance. (We did, I might add, relocate every single adult with an active nest during the heatwave and could verify none of them had perished from the heat.) </p><p>Happily, 3 nests had survived: one still had eggs and the other 2 were feeding kids, although we were to later discover that only some of the nestlings had survived in each. And only one egg hatched from the nest with eggs. So even those nests had not survived unscathed. </p><p>By far the saddest result of the heatwave was at WT 12 -- the nest we had such fond hopes for. When I arrived to watch it at 6am on the 29th, all 3 adults were bringing food to the nest. That was encouraging! But it didn't take long for me to discover the sad reality. Yes, they were bringing food in, but they were also bringing it out. It was clear that whoever was in there was no longer capable of eating. But could they still be alive? I rushed home to get some sugar water thinking that a bit of that might revive the nestlings and save their lives. (Bad science, but sometimes I just can't help it.) But, alas, when we opened the nest we found 6 tiny dead perfect nestlings....smaller than they should have been for their age. They must have died not long before given the behavior of their parents. So sad. We collected the little bodies to take samples from the livers for DNA. </p><p>As we encounter more of these catastrophic heating events, most certainly due to human-mediated global climate change, local birds and other animals will no doubt be affected as were the Portland bushtits. In fact, it's highly likely that other breeding birds were impacted in a similar way during the 2021 heatwave. It was only the fact that we were already closely monitoring bushtit nests, and have been for many years, that we were able to observe the effects of the heatwave on them and compare that to previous years. </p><p>A sad end to the season and an ominous warning for the future. </p><p> </p>Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-356056815793869742022-01-27T21:41:00.001-08:002023-08-12T19:29:56.854-07:00Blogging woes and bushtit funny business<p>I am a bad blogger. I will readily admit that. I start the field season fresh and enthusiastic and fizzle out as the season progresses. I have a pretty good excuse: as I find more and more nests (about 100 each year the last 3 years) I get side-lined into my research and am too exhausted at the end of the day to sit down and write about all the cool things I saw. If I could clone myself, I'd be in business. But that's not happening. </p><p>So, once again, the bushtit breeding season looms and, once again, I am faced with the excitement of sharing the excitement----and the reality that I will do a pretty bad job of it. Ah well. </p><p>In this lull before my 2022 research in Portland and during my sojourn in the New England winter, I'd like to share a few highlights from last year's bushtit research that never made it into the blog. </p><p>The first is what was happening at Nest 28 and Nest 20 near the border between Sellwood Park and Oaks Bottom. </p><p>Nest 20 was in a monster pine tree on a very (very) steep slope. When we first found it, it was being built in the "lower" branches (30 or so feet up) in almost the exact location as nests in 2018 and 2019. Same branch. Same awkward position for watching. The builders this year were W-X -- a male who hatched nearby in 2019 and was rebanded as WUUX -- and an unbanded female. WUUX had been around in 2020, and we assumed he had a nest somewhere, but we never found it. His sister (also originally W-X) nested that year in a tree not far from her natal nest as well. (That throws a bit of a monkey-wrench into my assertion that females don't hang around, but disperse. I'll just ignore that for the moment...).</p><p>[BTW, both W-X female and WUUX were kids of PYLX who, if you've read some of the earlier posts, you may recognize as the second male at Nest 11 in 2018.] </p><p>A week after finding Nest 20 we found Nest 28 in a pine over-hanging a very steep slope just on the edge of Sellwood Park near the parking lot. It was almost finished and was being built by an unbanded male and a female (eventually banded as XYYY and XEEE). It was about 200 meters east of Nest 20. Not far. But not all that close either. </p><p>Neither nest was in a particularly favorable position for climbing up and banding the nestlings, so we put them both in a low priority category and watched them infrequently until.......</p><p>......very interesting stuff started to happen. On several watches (which later turned out to be during egg-laying when the female mates) WUUX showed up at Nest 28 chasing and following the female relentlessly while her male sort of fluttered around after them. WUUX even visited the nest several times...peering in and then taking off again after the female. This would go on for over an hour and seemed to be almost a daily occurrence for a week. WUUX was still seen at his own nest on and off, where that female was also laying eggs. (It certainly does beg the question: what was the female at Nest 20 doing while WUUX was off dallying with the female at Nest 28? Huh. Interesting. While the cat's away....??)</p><p>After a week of this foolishness, WUUX was back at Nest 20 behaving as a dutiful dad: sharing incubation duties with the female until the eggs hatched and they began to feed the nestlings. Which is when Male #2 (banded as RRRX) showed up and began to help. Because of the difficult position of the nest, we weren't quite sure when he arrived but by the time we did see him, he was merrily feeding as if he belonged there. And WUUX was perfectly fine with it. </p><p>Because of WUUX's frequent visits Nest 28, in particular, suddenly became a nest of great interest. Was it possible that the nestlings that eventually hatched were not just those of XYYY? Was it possible that WUUX has also managed to mate with XEEE and was therefore also a dad there? It seemed very possible. And now that it was possible, we needed to get to those kids and get blood samples for DNA as well as blood from both XEEE and XYYY. Remarkably, we already had WUUX's blood from when he was a nestling. I say remarkably because in most cases where there is an interloping male chasing a female at a nest, he is unbanded and we have no idea where he came from. And we never get his blood for paternity analysis. So this was a golden opportunity. We think we know what WUUX was trying to do. We know when he was trying to do it. And, most importantly, we know who he is and we have his blood already. </p><p>Perfect. As long as we can also get blood samples from the parents at Nest 28 and from the kids we would know if he had been successful. </p><p>But that nest.....Nest 28.......it was a challenge. It seemed a risky business to climb up to it. Nonetheless, we were determined. We dragged in a long, heavy ladder and found 2 limbs close enough together to lean it against at an awkward angle of maybe 20 degrees. I crawled up very cautiously and looped a rope around the branch the nest was on and pulled it carefully towards me. This is when a hanging, enclosed nest is a big help. No matter how much it swings or tilts, those kids can't fall out. </p><p>No problem. We got to the nest. But the kids were a few days too young. In the end we had to wrestle the ladder back down and up again twice before the nestlings were "ripe." Then it was a simple matter to band them and take blood samples. </p><p>That same day we successfully banded the kids two of us stayed behind and set up a net to get samples from mom and dad. This was also a bit of challenge because there was no good place to set up the net. My assistant finally sat under the net with tape of begging nestlings and the male magically hopped right into the net and we had him. Right before the nest fledged, we got samples from the female too. Eureka! A "complete set!" (says the vampire). </p><p>Now I also think it's very possible that RRRX was a father at Nest 20 along with WUUX, especially since WUUX was frequently absent and misbehaving at Nest 28. But we'll never know because that nest was truly impossible to reach. We did, however, get a blood sample from RRRX and hope to find out later if he is somehow related to WUUX. That's yet another possibility......that males who show up to help are helping close relatives. </p><p>We shall see....only the DNA holds that answer. Until then, the mystery remains a tantalizing mystery. </p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p> </p>Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-20700817308715276742020-05-24T23:05:00.004-07:002020-05-24T23:07:32.742-07:00The Attack of the Killer GoldfinchesOk. I admit that's bit dramatic and over the top but, honestly, there is something up with goldfinches and bushtit nests this year. Let me explain:<br />
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Goldfinches don't build quite the elaborate nests that bushtits do. Goldfinch nests are basically a cup fashioned with sticks and grass stitched together with.... spider web. Unfortunately bushtit nests are a handy source of spider web since it (along with lichen) is the primary building block of the bushtit nest, allowing it to be stretchy and strong at the same time. Every year I do get goldfinches attempting to pilfer material from bushtit nests. Often the bushtits fend them off. But sometimes they just can't. Usually this interest by goldfinches is short-lived and peaks around the time bushtits are building their first nests so they can repair the damage. After that, goldfinches have usually lost interest and are minding their own business. Usually. <br />
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I already knew that goldfinches can have quite a dramatic and negative effect on a bushtit nest. Once, in Arizona, I found a bushtit nest (after a laborious and exhausting search of several hours) in the building stage that was being constructed by a happy little pair. The next day I came back to find a goldfinch ripping off material faster than the poor bushtits could bring it in. And they didn't even seem to notice. By the following day nothing remained of the nest and the pair had disappeared -- presumably to find a safer neighborhood. <br />
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Here in Portland I have seen goldfinches removing nest material from bushtit nests, but it rarely seems to effect the integrity of the nest. Sometimes the nest looks a bit "fluffy" afterwards, but it survives. <br />
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Not so this year. This year the goldfinches have gone mad. I don't know if the unseasonably cold and rainy May has forced them to be more aggressive about stealing spider web from bushtits or what. Perhaps they are rebuilding lost nests in record numbers? Regardless, they have caused devastating consequences to some of the nests I've been following.<br />
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One nest fledged a first brood successfully and was incubating a second when the goldfinches removed enough of the neck of the nest to cause it to be abandoned and then fall to the ground. Another nest with only 10 day old nestlings (they fledge at 18 days) is just hanging by thread and a hole has been torn into the neck such that the poor nestlings are essentially in a hanging cup nest -- open to the elements. I expect it to fall and the nestlings to disappear any day now. <br />
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Still another nest was close to fledging their first brood and the goldfinches removed enough material to cause it to fall, leaving the nestlings on the ground and easy pickings for the predators that doubtless devoured them that night. Finally, I have far more bushtit nest starts that get to the "hanging sack" stage and then are abandoned as threadbare and forlorn wisps. They have been stripped of their material by.....goldfinches. <br />
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I thought nest predators were the bushtits' worst enemy. Who would have guessed that this year it would be goldfinches?<br />
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Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-26185017119598698412020-05-03T09:53:00.003-07:002022-01-27T12:29:23.535-08:00The carnage beginsNests are hatching already in spite of the cold and wet spring. Interestingly, by far the greatest percentage of nest with nestlings is in Westmoreland Park. Next is Reed campus.<br />
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But that's where the carnage is happening. Alas, we may be following the same pattern I observed last year when the percentage of nests lost at Reed due to predation was about 80%. In comparison, Oaks Bottom and Westmoreland nests were relatively safe at 12% losses. In 2018, Reed also lost few nests at 11%.<br />
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So what's up with Reed? Well, my working hypothesis is that crows, being exceptionally smart and opportunistic, figured out that bushtit nests are lovely little parcels of protein and cue in on them just as they hatch and activity increases as the parents go to and fro with food for the kids. In 2018, they were relatively clueless. It was last year that some individual crows figured it out. I was hoping they would have forgotten. But, so far, it appears they may have long memories. <br />
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Of course crows are not the only predators on bushtit nests. All the corvids (jays, crows, and ravens) as well as squirrels and other mammals that can climb trees are happy to enjoy a meal of baby bushtits. Owls may also pick off nests at night. <br />
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So it may be that Reed has a habitat that encourages populations of other predators besides crows. But that doesn't explain the difference between 2018 and 2019, does it? Only a predator that has learned about the delectability of bushtit nests would explain that. <br />
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My money is on the crows. <br />
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Regardless of the perpetrators, Reed campus is a frustration as nests that were lovely and easy to watch and reach eventually to band babies at are found torn and useless. In every other way, Reed campus is the ideal study area this year. Because of the current pandemic, there are few students and visitors on campus. Campus security is out in force. I can walk around, for the most part, without a mask. It's really an ideal research site in these unusual times. The rest of my study areas are crawling with people on nice days. And, since nice days are unpredictable, I can't depend on being able to be out safely. This is particularly true of Oak Bluff trail where joggers and walkers are impossible to distance from. Consequently, those nests (and there are plenty!) have become very low priority. This is extremely sad because that's the most "natural" area I have and I have always enjoyed my interactions with the people I meet there.<br />
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Oh well. This too shall pass. In the meantime, we are doing the best with what we have and are keeping our fingers crossed that a few Reed nests survive the season. Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-38728669479285166032020-04-22T15:38:00.000-07:002020-04-22T15:38:10.719-07:00LLRX loses and a surprisePoor LLRX. Remember him? He was the male that cruelly abandoned his mate to raise the kids on her own in 2018 while he did who-knows-what. <br />
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Well, the first nest lost this year to predators was his. We found it early in March on Reed campus not far from his nest last year (also lost to predators). High in a tall cedar, it was fairly cryptic although a bit hard to watch because of the distance. LLRX and the unbanded female he was with were dutiful in their nest-building activities. Things seemed to be going well. The nest looked finished. But, alas, the area is crawling with cawing crows and I believe (not know) that they were the culprits. <br />
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At first we thought our eyes were deceiving us and we just couldn't see the nest. But 30 minutes of searching and finding no nest where it used to be along with hearing no bushtits, and we were sure it was gone. We did finally find the remains (how gruesome that sounds!) on the ground near the tree. It was torn to shreds with no evidence of what it contained: no eggshells, for example. <br />
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Worried about LLRX (sometimes adults are also taken) I played my favorite bushtit tape and he came roaring in right away, sptting like mad. He may have lost the battle, but wasn't going lose the fight! I expect to find his new nest soon. <br />
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On a more cheerful note, a nest we had given up as abandoned mid-build, has been re-occupied! We found a pair madly building there the same day we lost LLRX's nest. A nice surprise. <br />
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Lose one. Gain one. An even exchange. Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-75981650285768799822020-04-19T22:21:00.001-07:002020-04-19T22:21:03.499-07:00Bushtit crazy timeIt's that time of year. Nests are mostly complete. Some birds are egg-laying and incubating. But it's not nearly that simple. It's time for the friendly little bushtit to become not so friendly to their flock mates. <br />
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Today I saw a couple of good examples of bushtits mis-behaving: <br />
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The first was at a lovely nest over-hanging a creek. It was finished quite some time ago, being built by an unbanded pair. Soon after the nest was finished we began to see chases around the nest when we visited. Apparently someone (we couldn't see who!) was interloping and perhaps trying to take over the nest. That happens. Without color-banded birds in that area, I can't be certain what the outcome was. <br />
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Today I was watching that nest again. First an unbanded male showed up with nothing in his beak. This was suspicious because both male and female bushtits continue to carry nesting material into the nest after it is finished and through incubation. Soon after, an unbanded female arrived and went right to the nest. Also with nothing. Instead of going into the nest as the "owner" would, she peered in and then hopped about the nest, cocking her head as if to inspect the real estate. The entire time the unbanded male stayed in a branch above as if keeping a look-out. <br />
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They left quietly to the north after a few minutes, neither one ever entering the nest. Immediately from the direction they took and nearby I heard the sound of chasing bushtits (loud spits!). I couldn't see what was happening, but I could hear it. Then suddenly, a pair shot past me heading south, followed by a lone male. It must have been the presumed nest-owner chasing off the interlopers. <br />
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I can't wait to have these birds banded! Then things will become much clearer as they always do.<br />
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So why the fuss from the owner (assuming that what was happening?). Well, sometimes owners are booted from their nests. And sometimes neighboring females secretly lay an egg in a nearby nest -- usually while her mate stands guard.<br />
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So there is good reason for neighbors to keep neighbors away!<br />
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The second instance was a banded male (RCRX), nowhere near his own nest, chasing an unbanded male near that male's nest. This went on for quite awhile while a female entered the nest several times with feathers. What RCRX was doing is anybody's guess. But last year another male (RXRG) did take over a neighboring nest while his own nest was being incubated by the female alone (not the usual arrangement). After taking the other nest over and ensuring there were eggs present and being incubated, RXRG returned to his first nest to help feed the kids, leaving the female at the second nest to raise her kids alone. <br />
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There's a quite a bit more to THAT story. It's very complicated. But I'll save it for another day. <br />
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<br />Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-83788430088019661362020-04-14T00:10:00.002-07:002020-04-14T08:50:32.862-07:00It's been a long time...........and much has happened. I've been cautiously going in the field as have my two assistants and we have already found 56 nests.<br />
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Fifty-six nests!! I believe that's some kind of record for this time of the year. Last year I found a total of 97. I'm guessing, based on what we have so far, we'll find over 100 by the end of the summer. Wow. <br />
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Nests are in all stages. Some are complete and I believe incubating. In fact, we may have a few hatching now. Others are in the very early stages of building. They are are either loose sacks or just a whisper of spider web and lichen on a branch. There have been a few false starts: nests begun and abandoned for a better site nearby. Nest material thieves (likely goldfinches or other bushtits) have decimated a couple. But most are going strong. <br />
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This is banner year for bushtits. It's too bad it's not a banner year for bushtit researchers. I have had to confine my searches to areas where I can maintain distance and wearing a mask is a problem because my glasses fog up. But I go out anyway --- with an abundance of caution when I can't maintain 20' or so distance. I have two fabulous field assistants who have been absolutely essential. And Gary on the Reed campus has been keeping me up-to-date on the banded birds he sees at his feeder on campus. So all is not lost. <br />
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But the season has one big challenge: Banding and collecting blood for DNA analysis will be limited to only those nests without much traffic because of the need to social distance. I always say that every year is different. Usually I'm referring to the birds. This time I'm referring to the fieldwork and the challenges we need to face to keep ourselves and others safe. Sigh. <br />
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A cute story:<br />
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Three days ago I came in for lunch and sat by my big picture window looking out over the front yard. The window has a bush in front of it which I like because it's open enough to let in light but also shades a bit and provides some privacy. Occasionally a pair of bushtits who are building about 2 houses down bop through the bush and then out in a minute or two. <br />
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So I was surprised and enchanted when a lone male joined me for lunch one day. He hopped about in the bush and then made his way to a new branch that was right up against the window only a few inches from my face. He seemed to me to be just coming over to say "hello." He hung out long enough for me to eat and was then gone after I got up to put my things away. Magical. <br />
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It happened again yesterday and, again, he left after I was done with lunch. How sweet!<br />
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Or so I thought. Of course there was a rational explanation rather than some "mystical bushtit coming to commune with the lone bushtit researcher" reason. Today he showed me why and it was exactly what many of you are thinking: he was investigating his reflection in the window. Today, instead of just coming to the branch and looking at me (or so I thought), he was much bolder. This time he pecked at the window repeatedly as if pecking at another bushtit. Then he'd take a short break, hop around the bush, and come back to do it again. After doing this for a bit, he huddled up to the window (I am not kidding) as if he was huddling up against another bushtit (they do this often) and....fell sound asleep. In the sun and leaning against the window. It was absolutely adorable. He was so sleepy, he even began to tilt back and hang sideways. I got a little worried about him and tapped on the glass whereupon he woke up and began to hop around energetically and even came back to peck at the window again. Quite the little character. <br />
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So what was going on? Why as he alone? I strongly suspect this little guy is an unmated male who is "lonesome" for flock members that are now associated with nests. Bushtits are very social but as nests are completed, pairs do take up residence and spend less time in flocks. That leaves lone males vulnerable and....lonely. Because of this they often join a pair at a nest and earn the privilege of spending the night there. Sometimes they even feed the kids (and maybe a few of their own...only DNA will tell). Such is one of the interesting traits of bushtits, but from the perspective of this little lone male. <br />
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I couldn't help but hope he has somewhere safe and warm to sleep tonight. Perhaps he will even join the pair I see so often and I will soon have 3 bushtits joining me for lunch. Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-87749974899651248782020-03-19T11:44:00.000-07:002020-03-19T11:44:08.722-07:00More nests.....The weather couldn't be better! I love this cool spring, especially on sunny days and it looks like we have at least a couple more in store. Next week, alas, looks rainy. But you never can tell. <div>
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I didn't get out yesterday as I was waiting for food deliveries. But I had bushtits all around my house again and happy little birds they were as I now have a restocked suet feeder. A pair seems to be hanging out more than the others and I have fond hopes I will have a nest here in the yard. We'll see! </div>
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I did get out the day before yesterday to Oaks Bottom and made three new discoveries:</div>
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1. I found a nest being built by an unbanded pair in a rose vine on someone's porch very near Sellwood Park. This would be unremarkable except for the fact that this is the 4th year in a row bushtits have built in that very vine. Last year's nest is still there....looking a bit forlorn, but almost usable. The even-older nests are gone only because the owner trimmed back the vines last year. Otherwise, 3 old bushtit nests would be hanging like soggy Xmas ornaments. </div>
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2. Remember the first year female W-X "rebuilding" at a nest that was built and used last year? Well, that is happening no longer. Instead, she and an unbanded male are building in the same tree but about 20' higher. It's a very early stage nest so we'll see if they stick with it or if someone else takes over. I did find the pair hanging with another pair near there later in the afternoon, suggesting the second pair in eying the nest site. </div>
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3. I found a very early stage nest (just a ring of spider web and lichen) along the Bluff trail that, if completed, will be so obvious to anyone on the trail that I am loath to reveal its location. I find that nests that are that close to the trail often don't do well if people find out about them and stop and watch too much and too closely. Crows are crafty and learn pretty quickly that bushtit nests are lovely hanging sacks of protein. Sad for the bushtit families. </div>
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Which brings me to.......</div>
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Reed College! My amazing field assistant, Amelia, who was with me last year, has started searches for nests on campus and so far she has seen banded birds (GYYX and another banded male) with an unbanded female hanging out around an old nest site. More on that later.......time to go find my birds! </div>
Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-91674573402505184062020-03-16T11:12:00.000-07:002020-03-16T11:12:16.038-07:00Bushtits......and the pandemic....A cheerful flock of bushtits just appeared in the bushes out my front window and made their way around to the back of the house, a bit disappointed that my suet feeders aren't up, I'm guessing. They are a reminder to me that they are still hanging out in their flocks even as late as 10AM and so are not entirely serious about nesting.....yet. <div>
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But that doesn't mean nests aren't being built. It doesn't even mean some nests aren't finished already. It just means no one is incubating yet. </div>
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In all probability these these little flocks (tintinnabulation's, twitters, or whatever we will decide) will break up into subgroups of pairs and contenders for females and nests later in the day as it warms. That's really what I'm seeing now. I am rarely running across a single pair building solo. There always seems to be one or more bushtits hanging out with little chases and even courtship around the nesting areas which are, not surprisingly, about where nests were last year. </div>
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As I watched the flock from the safety of my house, I contemplated what this year's season will look like given the current and future state of the pandemic. I think (so far) I'm pretty safe heading out by myself and finding nests in the open air. I have two assistants who (so far) seem ok with that scenario as well. My plan, as an elder, is to do most of my searching alone to avoid exposure as much as I can. My two assistants (both in their 20s) can work together if they like as their risk of complications is much lower and and I think they would enjoy the company. But I'll leave that up to them. </div>
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I think we are all safe watching nests in the field. That's a solitary endeavor no matter what. Solitary except for the bushtits, of course. </div>
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The big compromise I think I will have to make this year will be catching and banding birds. Although I can do that alone, I need help setting up the net and that involves less personal distance than recommended. Taking blood is even worse because I need to be in very close contact with my assistant. </div>
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And so I am faced with a dilemma: Do I take the risks I will have to take to continue my study this year? Or do I stay at home as I have been instructed to and lose this field season and all the interesting information I would get from birds I already know ---- birds that may not be around next year at all ---- to stay as safe as possible. </div>
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I don't know yet. </div>
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But my problems are nothing compared those who are ill or who don't have the luxury of self-isolating. My heart goes out to all those people who, because we didn't take a strong enough stance on this virus early enough, will suffer and even die. It is my hope that in the next day or two, Oregon and every other state will close all but essential businesses and "flatten the curve" so that our health care system does not get over-burdened and we weather this very real storm in relative safety. </div>
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Stay well everyone.....and stay tuned. If I do continue to find and watch nests (at the least) you may find this distracting as you stay home and stay the distance. </div>
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Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-12411056949233896912020-03-11T19:36:00.001-07:002020-03-11T19:36:28.773-07:00Mar 10-11: Four nests and a puzzle.........alreadyYesterday I returned to Oaks Bottom and walked all the way from the southern end to the north and back. Today I returned to just the southern end and found nests......<br />
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This is a quick recap (joined today by a student from PSU);<br />
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1. PPRX is building a nest with an unbanded female very near to his nest in 2018 and right next to the nest he briefly took over last year. It's also very near where I saw him with the flock on 9 March. This nest is just a hanging sack so far, on the outer edge of a very large cedar. Lots of little chases and such with at least one other bird in the area could mean that, on closer inspection, this nest isn't really PPRX's at all. We'll see!!<br />
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2. A young birder extraordinaire (who will remain nameless until I get his permission) found a nest yesterday that is almost finished on the slope about half-way between the southern field and the mortuary building. Both birds are unbanded (so far). <br />
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3. We found another new and barely there nest hanging over some brambles that had a very successful nest last year. This new one is being build by an unbanded pair and is just a ring of spider web and lichen. It's in the lower branches of a giant pine on a slope along the Bluff Trail. <br />
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4. And finally the puzzle....actually TWO puzzles. W-X (this time a female) and an unbanded male are apparently refurbishing a nest we had last year on the edge of the southern field of Oaks Bottom. Two things are a puzzle. First, this is W-X, but not the male I saw with PPRX two days ago. This is a female. Now, both of these W-X birds hatched last year in a nest on the edge of this field (dad was PYLX) and are siblings. The big puzzle is I have never had a first-year female breeding in her natal flock! They usually disperse out. So this is "first #1." "First #2" is really not a first. It's a "second." But it's very, very rare. Only once before have I ever seen a nest reused in another year. A very rare event! And the last time (in Arizona) it was also a young first-year pair and not the original owners of the nest. Interesting.<br />
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Last, but not least, I found RXRG (RexRug) with a flock very near his nest from last year. Also with him was NUNX (Nuns) who was banded as an adult visitor at RXRG's nest last year. This was all near the juncture of Bluff Trail and Springwater. I am certain RXRG (who has a very, very complex history which I will detail here soon) has a nest near here. <br />
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Stay tuned for more! I realize that, at this point, it all seems a bit confusing. But as the season progresses, you will get to know these birds and their nests and shenanigans and be as excited about what they do next as I am. I think :-)Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-33897154282828822020-03-09T21:39:00.001-07:002020-03-09T21:39:36.884-07:00Day 1: Who and what did I see??Well today was the first day of the real season for me. I drove in from Olympia by 2pm and headed out to the southern edge of Oaks Bottom for a quick look at what the bushtits were up to. I only had an hour, but the weather was so clear and pretty, I couldn't resist. <br />
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And what were they doing? They were messing around in small flocks of 5-10 birds that divided and coalesced seemingly randomly, although I'm certain it wasn't random. I'll know better when I have more birds banded. <br />
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Which deserves a quick explanation: <br />
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In Arizona, my study area in the Chiricahua mountains was well within Coronado National Forest and so my study area was, literally, boundless. The lovely result was that I could be certain I had every bird in a flock (or whatever we'll call it) banded and every nest found. I didn't have to worry about roads or fences or people's backyards or sensitive wetlands. I could go anywhere. Consequently, I could be certain I knew what every single bird was doing from day to day. Every spring, flocks were full of old friends with just a few new unbanded birds that had dispersed and joined up over the winter or early spring. <br />
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Not so in Portland. The flocks I am finding now are most certainly as cohesive and tight-knit and closely-related as those in Arizona, but I am constrained by the urban-ness of the terrain. I can never find every nest in a flock because some of these nests are unfindable. I had one last year that was well out in the wetlands at Oaks Bottom. Some nests are in backyards. Others are in areas that are otherwise off-limits. So I do what I can. Every year I find as many nests as I can within the constraints of Oaks Bottom, Sellwood Park, Riverfront Park, Westmoreland Park, and Reed campus. Many of these nests are nests of old friends and I am always delighted to see them. But every year I have nests with unbanded members of the same flock whose nests the year before I couldn't find. It is only the observations I make during the breeding season and especially near the beginning and end that verify who belongs to which flock. <br />
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I should also mention that every year I see banded birds early in the season and never find their nests! I know that they are still around when the season starts to end and they show up with fledglings in tow.Very frustrating! <br />
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Ok....that's a bit about urban bushtit research! Not particularly easy, actually. <br />
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Back to my short afternoon: I ran into a conglomeration of bushtits --- perhaps 10 -- near the northern end of the big field. Most of the birds I saw were unbanded, but I was excited to find PPRX and W-X among them. W-X is a first year male whose father was PYLX -- I'm hoping I'll find PYLX who was the "helper" in 2018 at Nest 11 and had his own nest last year. The same year PYLX was a "helper," PPRX had a nest very close by that was successful twice. So PYLX and PPRX are clearly members of the same flock...perhaps even related. <br />
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Now PPRX is a male who has been a very successful breeding male for the last two years and he is a real character! Last year he booted PYLX out of his first nest after finishing a clutch of his own at another nest and leaving the female to incubate alone (a no-no and the same thing LLRX seems to be capable of). Then he himself gave up on PYLX's nest (never knew why --- someone else eventually rehabbed it and moved in) and became the doting father at his original nest where he and the female raised two broods successfully.<br />
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Poor PYLX, in the meantime, seemed a bit lost although he continued to hang out in the area. He finally nested late in the season in a small tree at the opposite end of the big field and successfully raised a brood of four -- W-X was one of them.<br />
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So....not much to report yet, but two banded birds in just an hour and verification that nest-building is imminent based on the loose nature of the flocks and some chases I saw, was better than nothing and a nice start to the year! I'm sure there are already nests out there just waiting to be found :-). And more of my banded friends. <br />
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. Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444417825062793988.post-84062001055707819472020-03-08T11:21:00.002-07:002020-03-08T12:08:51.614-07:00What to call a flock of bushtits?While I await my return to Portland (I'm in Olympia with friends) I think I'll post a very interesting thread from OBOL. We are all familiar with various names for flocks of other species: a gaggle of geese, a murder of crows, etc. But, as far as I know, there is no "official" name for a flock of bushtits. Perhaps we can rectify that with a contest.<br />
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It started with a query: What do you call a flock of bushtits? And there was a cascade of responses from OBOL list serve members. I expect more will come. <br />
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I'll list the suggestions people have emailed on OBOL and then we can take a vote. I'm open-minded! I'll keep names off the list, but include explanations if needed. When there is a consensus (that would be nice) or a majority in favor of one, I'll declare the winner and that is what will go into my book. I suggest "Ranked-choice voting:" Choose your top 5 favorites and rank them in order of preference. <br />
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Here we go. If you'd like me to post your name with your suggestion, just let me know. Some are silly, but most have some interesting descriptive character. <br />
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<i style="font-family: "times new roman", "new york", times, serif; font-size: 16px;">1. Psaltriparus minimus</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif; font-size: 16px;">glosses as 'smallest harper-tit.' A collection of harpers is a melody. The smallest significant part of a melody--beyond a note--is a motif. QED: a </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "new york" , "times" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Motif of Bushtits.</span><br />
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2. Swarm of bushtits<br />
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3. Tinkle of bushtits<br />
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4. Tickle of bushtits<br />
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5. Mob of bushtits (this is probably the most commonly used to date)<br />
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6. Flash mob of bushtits<br />
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7. Flurry of bushtits<br />
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8. Bundle of bushtits<br />
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9. Lint-trap of bushtits<br />
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10. Bale of bushtits (as in a gathering of collection such as hay-bale) <br />
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11. Invasion of bushtits<br />
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12. Bushel of bushtits<br />
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13. Bustle of bushtits<br />
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14. Business (or Busy-ness) of bushtits<br />
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15. Blizzard of bushtits<br />
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16. Buzz of bushtits<br />
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17. Collective of bushtits<br />
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18. Sharing of bushtits<br />
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19. Arrival and departure of bushtits<br />
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20. Gathering of bushtits<br />
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21. Togetherness of bushtits <br />
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22. Cloud of bushtits<br />
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23. Passage of bushtits<br />
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24. Gang of bushtits<br />
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25. Bully of bushtits<br />
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26. Scatter of bushtits<br />
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27. Myrmiration of bushtits (not a typo: derived from beetle taxonomy)<br />
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28. Frenzy of Bushtits<br />
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29. Twittering of bushtits<br />
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30. Bell choir of bushtits<br />
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31. Tintinabulation of bushtits<br />
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32. Cascade of bushtits<br />
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33. Titillation of bushtits<br />
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34. Shower of bushtits<br />
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35. Spit of bushtits (because they say, very clearly, "sspt.") <br />
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36. Spray of bushtits<br />
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Ok! I think that's QUITE a list! In the Comments below, vote for your favorite. And if you have yet another suggestion, I will add it tomorrow and we can include it as a possibility as well. <br />
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Enjoy!!<br />
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Just for fun, here's a link to <span id="goog_513583577"></span><span id="goog_513583578"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a>my favorite video of a flock of bushtits:<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXsN2Ly59JM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXsN2Ly59JM</a><br />
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<br />Sarah A. Sloanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638855669303280670noreply@blogger.com20