Birds in New Jersey 2014
November 2014 - A great birdwatching month. A new project; tragedy strikes; many visitors; we can count
THIRTY different bird species that we've seen in our backyard.
6 November 2014 - We order birdhouses from eBay. The price is very low, and they're made of cedar. Here, I'm beginning
to convert some of them into winter roosting houses. Step one: take a normal birdhouse (on the left) and rotate the front, so
the entrance is on the bottom (on the right). That way, if any birds sleep inside, the warm air will rise and stay inside the box.
Air gaps, which are essential for a spring nesting box, must be filled to make the box less drafty on a cold winter night. Also,
a perch has been inserted.
The air gaps were filled with some putty, a metal entrance hole was attached (to prevent larger birds and squirrels from
chewing their way in), and a metal hanger (actually a gate latch) was screwed to the back. Ready!
8 November 2014
Tragedy for a rock dove: One was caught, killed, and plucked in our back yard by a red-tailed hawk. After dark, the carcass,
left a few feet away,
was
removed by the hawk.
A migrating visitor: a starling
Relentless. There's gotta be a way to get the food outa this thing.
A little visitor now seen daily: white-throated sparrow
9 November 2014: Eight squirrels. Can you find them all? Recently (25 November) nine were spotted in the backyard.
Always a welcome splash of colour: a male northern cardinal.
