Welcome to
"Boulder Backyards"
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bird watchers (that's us)
Wild Bird Center Saturday Walks:
From 7:30 am (promptly)
to 9:45 am (approximately)
Every Saturday year-round.
Every last Saturday of the month we travel further afield than normal
and return a little later.
Call for more info: 303-442-1322
Birdwalks
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Wild Bird Center
of Boulder
Quick Links
Xcel Energy BirdCams
One fun way to participate in the lives of local birds is by viewing Xcel Energy's
Web Cams
owl cam
eagle cam
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Robin Cam by Dan & Mary Dietrich
Two of our customers, Dan and Marty Dietrich in Firestone, have set up a web cam on a robin nest at their home. If you would like to check in with their robins go to: www.esysdev.com/robincam
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Nature Photography
by
Wendy Marie Stuart
"COLD" - heron
Visit our store to see a gallery of Wendy's matted and framed prints
and greeting cards for all occasions or
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Photo Credits
"Celebrate Birds in Culture" by IMBD
"Mountain Lions at Golden Ponds, Longmont, CO" by Kieth Brunell
"Robin Cam" by Dan & Mary Dietrich
"COLD" by Wendy Marie Stuart
"Robin" by Wendy Marie Stuart
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Ask Steve
Q: I have a robin that keeps trying to get into my house. How
do I stop it from pecking at my window? Do I need to get some hawk decals?
A: The hawk decals help reduce window collisions for birds that
are flying at the window. Your robin is not flying into the window, it is
stopping at the window and attacking it. Hawk decals won't help your situation,
but I know what can.
Your robin
is not trying to get into the house or call you out; it's fighting with its own
reflection. It sees another (male) robin in its territory and wants it gone.
The outside surface of a window can make a great mirror. When the robin sees
its reflection it flies at the window to drive off its competitor and because
it can't figure out the physics involved, it fights with its reflection all day
long.
This
behavior will stop as soon as the female has laid all the eggs and starts to
incubate them. This is the time, at which, extra pair copulations by the female
will not effect the genetics of the clutch (i.e. your mate fooling around with
another robin won't produce an egg that is not yours).
robin
We hear
about this behavior every spring, most often with robins and other thrush
species like bluebirds, but it can occur with a wide variety of species.
Sometimes the birds will bloody themselves fighting so vigorously and long with
their reflections. To curb this behavior you will need to take away the
reflection. The easiest way, I think, to take away the reflection is simply
soap the outside of the window by rubbing a bar of soap on it. Then in a couple
weeks this behavior should be passed so just wash the window and everything is
back to normal. You can also cover the outside of the window with something
like paper to block the reflection. Pulling the curtains or placing things on
the inside will usually not be helpful because the reflection is produced by
the outside surface of the window.
It
may have a favorite window that you could cover and stop it from pecking, but
it may just move to another window. You may not be able to completely eliminate
the behavior, but at least you can reduce it and save the bird from
continuously beating itself
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Thank you!
on our
20th Anniversary
from all of us at YOUR
Wild Bird Center! We couldn't have done this without you! Twenty years is a long time in anyone's book and we owe our success to you -- our customers, compatriots, fellow birders, and friends. A hearty thank you to you all!
Steve, Wendy, Marlene, & Bill
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International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD)
photo from IMBD
Walden Ponds Open Space, May 9th 7:30-11:00am
Cottonwood Marsh Picnic
Shelter
The Wild
Bird Center
and Boulder Bird Club will celebrate IMBD this year on May 9th. This
year's theme for IMBD is 'Birds in Culture' which gives us an opportunity to
reflect on how important birds and bird symbols are to us. We have several
things planned for the morning. As always, we will be providing shade grown coffee
and both wholesome and naughty treats for the morning. Groups will head out
birding about every hour and we will be involved in a big sit at the picnic
shelter. We will also have IMBD educational materials available and sell
coffee, books, and IMBD shirts. Please join us some time during the morning for
this great spring event and please carpool if possible. Call the store at
303-422-1322 if you have questions. To find out more about the significance of IMBD go to the IMBD Website. IMBD is a zero waste event.
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Dawn Chorus Walk
May
9th 5:30-8:00am
Walden Ponds Open Space-Cottonwood
Marsh
Before IMBD enjoy a spring tradition -- a Dawn Chorus Walk.
There are some birding experiences you just can't experience unless you get up
early in the spring. Join Wild Bird Center Staffer Marlene Bruning on this
unique and magical experience. After the walk enjoy the IMBD celebration (and
its coffee). Call the Wild
Bird Center
at 303-442-1322 if you have any questions about Dawn Chorus.
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Mention CODE WBC0507. Call (303) 442-1322 or bring in to redeem. Some restrictions may apply. Not valid in combination with other promotions. Expiration date: 6/06/09.
----- Coupon ----- Coupon ----- Coupon -----
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Our Recent Bird (& Mammal) Walk
I always say that every bird walk is a different experience
and that you can see something new on every one. Some, of course, are more
dramatic than others. Last Saturday the 2nd, we had one of those
dramatic events at Golden Ponds in Longmont.
We have had a lot of great and unique wildlife experiences over the last 20
years, but we have never seen a mountain lion until last week.
About
a half an hour into our walk someone saw the cat stretched out on a willow limb
about 40 feet away. Most of our group of 18 people had already walked past it
when Julie B first spotted it. We watched it for about 5 minutes and then
decided to leave it alone. It remained in the tree all day long despite the
large stream of MS Walkers at Golden Ponds that day. It was a wonderful thing
to see and a little scary to see it in suburban Longmont. Keep those eyes peeled-you never
know what you might see! Mountain Lion at Golden Ponds Longmont - 05.02.09    |
NEW! NEW! NEW!
Wild Bird Center
of Boulder
Catalog Web Site
We have been working hard to launch a catalog web site for
the Boulder Store. We aren't quite finished getting it all together, but we
invite you to check it out at www.wbcboulder.com.
For all you locals who get seed delivered, you can use the site to figure out
an order and delivery charges. Feel free to email us with your product
questions.
Click Here To View Our New Product Catalog!
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The New Neighbors
My new neighbors moved in on April 17, 2004, and they've
been here ever since. I see them almost every day, but I'm still not sure what
to think of them. Sometimes he seems pretty bossy and mean to my other
neighbors, but most of the time he's just in a hurry and doesn't care what
anybody else is doing. She can be a little bit snippy also, but generally gets
along.
My new
neighbors are Eurasian Collared-Doves and they are moving across North America with lightning speed. If they haven't moved
into your neighborhood yet, they soon will. Their historic range is thought to
be India
and its surrounding countries. In the 1900's they began a range expansion that
took Europe and the Middle East by storm,
inhabiting over 2.5 million square kilometers (965,000 mi˛) in 40 years. It is unclear why this
expansion happened, but now it is happening in North
America. Several Eurasian Collared-Doves were released in the Bahamas in
1974. In ten years, these fewer than 50 birds had multiplied into 10,000 and
had made their way to Florida.
It only took them 20 years after that to end up in my Longmont, CO
yard. In 2004, records indicate that Eurasian Collared-Doves had expanded their
range to 22 states. One year later that number was 27 states. Where will they
stop this expansion? In Norway,
they breed as far north as the Arctic Circle so it is not unreasonable to think
that they will soon be a resident of southern Alaska!
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Are
Collared-Doves good neighbors? Introduced and non-native species sometimes have
a competitive advantage in a new environment which they exploit to dominate an
ecosystem. We've seen it in plants like tumbleweed, Dame's rocket, teasel, and
Russian Olive. We've seen it in animals like eastern fox squirrel, bullfrog,
zebra mussel, and moose. Introduced birds like the house sparrow, European
Starling, and rock pigeon have all gained a mostly negative reputation because
of their ecological dominance in their new North American home. Some speculate
that Collared-Doves will occupy the niche left by the exterminated passenger
pigeon and thus not create extensive ecological havoc. Most concern relates to
their impact on mourning doves. One study in Tennessee showed that Eurasian Collared-Doves
were not aggressive toward mourning doves and they did not have a great
negative impact. Conversely, a Florida
study showed that large flocks of Collared-Doves did negatively impact mourning
dove numbers. It appears at this early stage in their expansion that they are
occupying a niche in the suburbs between the city-rock pigeon niche and the
country-mourning dove niche. Most other concerns relate to them becoming a
possible agricultural pest because they consume seeds of most anything. Many
states, including Colorado,
are considering a hunting season on Eurasian Collared-Doves, not only as a new
revenue stream, but also as a means of controlling their numbers.
As we enter
spring, the sounds of mourning doves evoke lilac-scented, gentle, early
mornings. The slow cadence of a mourning doves' haunting song draws you out to
enjoy the splendors of spring. The song of the Eurasian Collared-Dove is
tonally very similar to a mourning dove's, but its cadence is much more
emphatic and faster with fewer notes compared to a mourning dove.
Collared-Doves also have a flight call which I can only describe as the
'barfing dove'. It is a harsh vocalization where the dove seems to strain as it
pours out one big 'blah'. Not a pleasant noise. Mourning doves also produce a mechanical
noise with their wings as they take off. Eurasian Collared-Doves do not produce
this wing whir.
A Eurasian
Collared-Dove is a mostly unpatterned, light buff colored bird about the same
size as a rock pigeon. It has dark primaries which give the wings a contrasting
dark edge when perched. Of course, they have a dark band or collar on the nape
of their neck. In flight, the Collared-Dove shows a large, broad tail with
white corners. They really show off their tails in long, graceful, gliding
display flights. Unfortunately, they sometimes finish these beautiful flights
with the 'barfing dove' pronouncement.
In my yard,
the Eurasian Collared-Doves are a common year-round fixture, but are they
neighborly? They seem to be, but I still worry about them pushing out my
mourning doves. (Maybe they'll push out the rock pigeons!) If they haven't
moved into your neighborhood yet, they will and soon. Just hope they turn out
to be polite.
Visit The Cornell Lab of Ornithology "All About Birds" site to learn more:
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Rock Pigeon
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Contact Info:
Steve Frye, Owner (303) 442-1322
Wild Bird Center of Boulder
1641-28th Street Boulder, CO 80301
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