This article was just published in East Cascades Audubon, Spring Calliope Newsletter.

This is part one of a three part series on Spring birds, boxes, and babies. Questions? Facebook us! 
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Bangers, Boxes, & Babies:
Spring Tips for Woodpeckers
By Elise Wolf, Native Bird Care, avian rescue
 
I always get asked what to do about Northern Flickers, or other head-bangers that visit our homes each spring announcing their presence with a tap tap tap or a loud machine gun dddddddd. My answer is always to joke and say – get up at 5 am. It brings a laugh, and some groans. But, in all seriousness, adaptation is one of the best solutions to this issue. When viewed as a puzzle, not a problem, bird’s relationships with us, our homes, and the altered environment we have created for them can be seen with a more congenial attitude.
 
Flickers nest in dead or dying trees, providing homes for other cavity-nesting species – small owls, kestrels, ducks, small mammals, and other songbirds. They are considered a ‘keystone’ species, meaning that their presence is key to the success of other species. According to Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “The loss or diminution of the Northern Flicker would likely have a large impact on most woodland ecosystems in North America.”

For decades there was a bounty on snags in our surrounding forests (and porcupines as well, which help by making dead trees). Logging protocols have historically allowed or even required removal of dead or dying trees. We continue to see these antiquated and tragic policies played out today in forest plans and decisions. In addition to habitat loss and lack of snags, starling cavity theft, pesticides, and window strikes take a toll on these wonderful birds. Only 40% of Flickers survive the winter according to researchers. 

As predominately ant eaters, these birds have to work quite hard to find their foods. Last summer was noticeably short of insects, and that reality showed in our rescue as babies and adults came in low in weight and even emaciated. So, be thrilled that you have someone able and willing to take out carpenter ants on your property (wish they ate piss-ants, but can’t have it all). We can buy new trim; can’t buy Flickers. 

Have I pulled at your heart-strings enough now? So what can you do regarding not just flickers, but all our little bangers? ​

Tip #2: Give them a house!
Ok, not yours perhaps (he he), but one of their own. If Pa Flicker has decided to make a cavity in the wall of your garage or home, then give them an alternate. Flickers will use a bird box…if they want to. They physiologically and mentally need to excavate the cavity. So, pack the nest full of wood chips. Use aspen wood chips from a pet store (not mulch – splinters; not cedar – toxic; not pine – sappy). ​​

Absolutely and always put grooves up all four sides of the inside of the box. Chose a box that opens (which you should do anyway). Remove the side opposite the opening. Use tool of choice to make 1/8th inch grooves. For Flickers, these grooves should be ½ inch apart, bottom to top of box. Flickers begin to perch on the sides of their cavities at about 17 days. Being gregarious, flicker babies need space, so make sure they have use of the entire inside of the box. 

Place box a metal post, like you would a swallow or bluebird box, at 8’-12’ high. This prevents predators being able to climb up and get into the box. Place 10’ from nearest tree, in the shade, facing South or Southeast. Proper siting and location is paramount. Chose the most private, least stressful place to site your planet-mate’s new house. Base decisions on June activity levels and locations, not April’s. Ideally, not above a door, or social gathering areas. Younger birds may not have the experience to know they are making a housing faux pau until it’s too late (one way I get baby birds). Placing the box on the house might work best if you have a small yard and this is the safest, private place for your bird family. Or, if you want to exclude a current Flicker’s hole-building project on your own house, try putting up a box over that hole.

Flickers will tolerate activity and humans till fledgling stage (this is true of most our of urban nesting birds). However, all birds get stressed and once the fledglings are able to flap even a bit, they can get spooked from their nests/cavities before they are ready. Also, birds are territorial, not just among their own species, but sometimes with other species as well (like bluebirds attacking swallows; easily solved by doing back to back boxes). So, if this bird made an awful real estate decision, relocate by exclusion (see www.nativebirdcare.org for a long list of options) and put up the pole box if you want the birds. 

House on a house placement, by the way, is excellent for your smaller tap-tappers, nuthatches and chickadees. These birds will readily take over a box, and you can often simply place a box right over the hole they have embarked on creating. Simply fill hole with a sealant, and place box over it. Put an inch of the aspen bark in the box. Placement and location are same as Flickers. Grooves are far more, spaced closer together, like 1/8th to 1/4th inch apart, just on the front of the box, below the hole. But, put them all the way across so babies can get alongside and push dominant and bigger babies away from the hole. Too few places to hang can lead to the largest baby dominating the hole and the others starving. (Never put perches on bird boxes, unless you want to feed our corvids). 
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Did you know some precocial birds are fed by their parents? Loons, shorebirds, coots for example. Only 2 truly precocial birds exist, and they are not in North America. Anyhoo...will continue this later...

It is super sad for me to read home-made suet recipes because nearly all of them are dangerous for birds, even deadly. 

Reality is fats can get on birds' feathers and harm their ability to stay dry and warm. This is deadly in the winter, and even summer. And it's why feeding soft or liquid fats, or fats that melt easily at low temperatures is very unsafe. Greasy birds are dead birds, as lack of waterproofing, allows water to contact their skin, which then makes them cold - cold birds spend more time preening than eating. Once a bird is very cold, preening is most of what they will do. More preening, less eating = starvation. 

Avian rehabilitators must use a high solvent soap to remove fats from feathers. And actually, in terms of removal, it is often harder to remove suet than petroleum products. However, sadly, we do not get the chance to catch most of these dirty birds. 

About Fats
Melt points matter! All but true suet and peanut butter have low melt points - veg oils, subcutaneous fats, bacon drippings, many fats misnamed as 'lard' or even 'suet' all melt at low temps. Making soft fats hard with ingredients (that birds don't really need like flour and corn) is not a solution. Note, even in winter fats can melt from the heat of the sun on them.

Beef FAT is not suet! This should not be used for feeding birds. Rendered beef fat is not "suet" -its low melt point makes it risky for birds' feathering and waterproofing. (Regions with zero degree weather, 24 hours a day, this can work, like the Arctic in winter). True suet is the fat around the loin of a cow. It is nearly dry, thus it crumbles when you handle it. Bacon grease, drippings from beef cooking, whatever is NOT suet, and is deadly to birds. 

Vegetable oils: Coconut and palm are the only plant fats that are hard at room temperature. Their melting points are 75-77 degrees. This is way too low for a "suet" type of bird food. Also, birds likely do not have the digestive enzymes to digest these oils. 

Peanut butter - Yes, it's safe, when mixed with something else. Melting point is high, 104. Just make sure that it has NO ADDED OILS - no other vegetable oils and no sugars. The best kind is fresh ground kind - where you pour the peanuts into a machine and you get fresh peanut butter, no salts, no oils, no sugar. Added to suet, this makes a "no melt" sort of suet. Peanut butter melts at 104 degrees, so adding it to the suet gives you a solid, low melt, hard 'suet' that is safer to feed birds (whom are landing close to these fats). 

Test: pinch your suet between two fingers. Does it squish? Toss it and go for a no melt beef suet that has no or very little veg oil in it.

Test 2: handle the suet - If it crumbles and is nearly dry - it's suet. Recipes that require a lot of dry ingredients are likely using a soft fat that they have to try to hold together. Melting point 95 degrees - this is why it's safe to feed.

Feeders
Cages only please. Never feed suet in a way that allows the bird to land on the fats. They will preen these fats right into their feathers. Log feeders work if they have a perch only - so drill a hole and put in a chopstick or small dowel. The squirrel proof one that has the suet inside and the cage out away from the suet so little birds can hop around and not on suet. If it's hard suet, it will fall as crumbles. 

NEVER EVER EVER SPREAD FATS OR OILS ON TREEs!!! I cannot express how dangerous this is for birds. And you will NOT notice their demise, unless you are banding and keeping watch for months. What I am saying here is common sense, not that hard to reflect on why this is bad. 

Keep feeders clean by washing in very hot water and soap like Dawn, regularly. 

Time of Year
Fall, winter, spring are main suet feeding times. Late summer too before fall migration. Never over 80 degrees. Not in the sun, shade only, even winter as sun anytime of year directly on suet will soften it. (Partial sun is ok, just monitor to make sure it's not softening). Summer - make sure it does not go rancid! Change out frequently! (by putting in garbage). 

Recipe
Recipe for Favorite suet: No Melt peanut butter & suet. Ground oatmeal, corn flour or finely ground, quick oats with its flour, rendered suet. Add peanut butter if you want a no melt. You can add seeds, nuts, and fruit. 

In sum YES, feed suet...safe, beef suet with good ingredients like seeds, some no melt with peanut butter, Test your suets...they should be hard. Have fun feeding. (Picture is from my friend Jane Tibbetts, songbird photographer extraordinaire! She's made a safe, very neat log feeder for the suet. Thanks Jane!​

This is a nestling Western Wood Pewee. She came in after her nest was blown down after a heavy wind. She was a hoot to finish raising. As an aerial insectivore and eating by catching her insect prey in flight with her feet, she took some extra care getting her ready for release. Babies like this need practice catching their food, so giving her flighted insects was necessary. We do that with bot fly larva and fruit flies (which we make ourselves by...you guessed it...lots of old fruit scraps. Basically we leave a bucket of rotting food out in the aviary with 1/4 inch screen on it so birds cannot get in, but bugs can get out. I would also toss crickets and mealworms in the air for her to catch...she was super adept early on and kept getting better. She learned way faster than her barn swallow buddy who would just look at me from his high perch and shun my attempts. He eventually got it though and both would swoop down to catch what I tossed up. Notably, she caught her bugs with her feet and the swallow caught his with his mouth - both variations on on-the-wing foraging by birds. This little Pewee was surely one of the sweetest birds we have had in care. She got released with a whole flock of other Pewees at Camp Polk Meadows. Birders helped us locate a flock, then we took her to them. She flew directly towards the flock and two came out to greet her. Absolutely perfect! 

American Coots are abundant, that's true, but it doesn't take away from them being a fascinating, beautiful, and unique bird. These cuties navigate inland waters year-round, and they fit in a similar niche as a small grebe (like a Horned or Eared). But they are actually part of the Rail family (along with Virginia Rail). Rather than skirt the shoreline like a Virginia though, these guys are eating small fish, crustaceans, bugs, invertebrates and vegetation along the shore while in the water. They are floaters, not walkers. Like the grebes, these birds cannot take off from the ground due to their feet and the size of their wings (which are small in relation  to their body size and weight, which is an advantage if you are a swimmer). So, these birds wind up stranded in poor winter weather (like loons, grebes, and ruddy ducks). 

This girl rebounded remarkably once we dewormed her, warmed her up, and got her fed and hydrated. In fact, she put on 200 grams in 9 days (its amazing how quickly they can respond once the problem is found!). Like other waterbirds that come through here, we made sure her feathers and waterproofing were in shape, and maintained, and she got a pool. Had we not already put our winter pools away (oops, who knew winter would be in March!), she would have had a bigger pool, but instead she had to do with our large indoor water set up, which is a whole lot more work for us as it has to be cleaned very frequently so she stayed clean. (Note - next year, leave winter pools up in aviary!) 

​Why the red eyes? Lots of waterbirds have red eyes as it helps them see underwater. Note the babies have brown eyes, red eyes happen as they reach adulthood. Their leg color also changes, from more green/olive to more and more yellow as they age.  And while Grebes and Loons have toenails, nothing compares to the talons on these guys. Just check out the first picture. In fact, these feisty birds will flip over on their backs like a raptor and try to slash you with those sharp, hooked nails (yes, we ALWAYS wear gloves with Coots, ha ha!). The boys are another 200 grams on the girls, so they can be a handful (2 handfulls, ha). The lobes on those pretty yellow-green feet are designed to propel them through the water, highly effective paddles, very cool. 

​We had the fun time of raising a baby coot last summer. So for fun I've added a parent and two babies. Notably, like most waterbirds, Coots also feed their babies bill to bill. So, even though they are born "precocial" (born with down, able to move away from nest soon), they cannot feed themselves. This is such a wonderful picture of their colorful, adorable babies. Coots may be one of the few birds that can make the global transition we are experiencing, because they are adaptable, can eat a diversity of food, and are productive. Go Coots!

They look larger than they really are, at only 2 or so ounces. They are tiny really. They live almost entirely on fruit in winter, and today they have moved towards more of our planted species, like the mountain ash. However, they get their name from the Cedar tree, which they ate the berries of historically. 

They are highly susceptible to the insecticides and other sprays with coat our trees and shrubs with. And being so little, it does not take much to make them sick. At least 2 of my intakes were sick from what I think was pesticide poisoning. One did not survive, the other I just released. If you love birds, please do not spray your trees with anything...not even "non-toxic" products like soap (soaps kills the waterproofing on birds and makes them sick too). 

These are not feeder birds, but if you want them in your yard plant serviceberry, mountain ash, cherry trees, crabapple, and raspberries - but be happy birds are eating all your fruit! Know that your fruiting trees are keeping these cuties alive. In rehab, they are eating soaked currents, pear, chopped raisens, raspberries, and blueberries, along with mealworms (at least they are offered). 

Unlike some birds in which we try to return them to their original location and group, with the Waxwings, we release them to larger flocks with abundant resources (if we can). Cedar Waxwings are flocking up at this time anyway and we like to give our rehabs a good chance. There is safety in numbers, and they have night-time buddies to stay warm with on freezing nights and experienced birds that can lead the way to food sources. 

Enjoy these special birds! Keep some small binocs in your car, and take that moment or two just to get close up look. However, never walk up to trees at night and try to get closer looks at birds resting for the night or even on really cold days. 

Once a bird flies, it loses all of its built up heat. Birds can die from having to lose this critical heat upon a flight made late in the day. For the tiny songbirds, they may not have the physical reserves to make more heat for their frigged night. 


Enjoy those Waxwings! See the fb post for video. 

Mountain Bluebirds must be one of the most beautiful songbirds that grace our skies here in Central Oregon. I was blessed this summer to be able to save 4 baby mountains who had sadly lost their parents somehow. The kind home owner who noticed this, intervened after a day and called us. The babies were a bit burdened by parasites and a bit thin, and of course quite hungry, but luckily nothing else was wrong. So, in they came. 

About Mountain Bluebirds
These beautiful birds are in the family as the American Robin - they are thrushes. And of all the thrushes they eat the most insects. This is why we do not see them at our feeders and instead out in wide open meadows and sometimes agricultural lands. They love caterpillars, but eat many flying insects as well. They also glean insects from trees like aphids which makes them good for the forest. 

You will see them perched on fences and on tree limbs on the edges of a forest meadow waiting to flit out from their perch, grab the bug, and land again. They can also hover and dive bomb. Ground insects are not safe either, these expert insectivores will spend some time on the ground hunting beetles and crickets. 

In Central Oregon we get to enjoy these sweet birds year-round, some winter here from northern climates, while others are local migrants moving from different areas for breeding or wintering habitat. 

Bluebird populations are stable, specially now with fires opening up more habitat. They expanded with logging at the turn of last century, then declined with the use of DDT and the overgrowth of our forests (from logging large trees and clearcutting). Now, they compete with House Wrens, House Sparrows, and Swallows. But swallows will happily nest in an adjacent box, so always post two boxes if trying to offer homes to bluebirds. Swallows are in decline, and they need the same size home. Mountain bluebirds are one bird that actually benefits from prescribed burns (unlike a lot of other birds that need shrub cover). 

Mountain bluebirds need wild, native grasses, so our agricultural lands don't really  help them like it does Robins. However, humans can assist these lovely important birds by keeping cats indoors and if offering nest boxes, making sure we do not feed raccoons and other bird predators. Putting a box on a metal conduit post is a great solution for preventing depredation. See the instructions for a great box for this bird at www.treeswallowproject.com. And be sure to post one for the swallow too!

Note: wish I was a skilled photographer, but my phone just doesn't do it. The adults in this post are all stock photos, only the babies are Native Bird Care. ​

Well, we thought she was a Hermit Thrush for a bit, but she does not have a white throat. She smaller than a robin, and makes the most beautiful trill call. Anyone want to gander at who she is? Post comments on fb too if you want. 

Everyone is in consensus! Townsend's Solitaire....just LOVE this little bird. I love all the birds I get (ok, maybe not a couple), but some like this really make this whole project worth it. Thrilled that I will be able to release this beauty right here on our property, and maybe, just maybe, she will stick around and find a mate. 

A huge thank you to the Bulletin and its writers for consistently following this story all the way to its end. Kyle Spurr has done a great job in this last chapter: Hunter to Pay Restitution. 

Hope & Fiona are Trumpeter Swans that were shot at Summer Lake in October 2016. Fiona died on bullet impact; Hope survived, though she had numerous pellets in her and compound fractures in her two wing bones on one side. Hope died in a second surgery to repair her wing. Both were part of the ODFW's swan reintroduction program. Hope was the first cygnet born from wild, migratory birds at Summer Lake who also lived through her first and second winters. 

Why either had to be shot. How the hunter confused 20+ pound birds that are at least 5 feet in total length in flight, and who have 5 foot wingspans with a goose is beyond rational thought to me. And why anyone would want to shoot such a phenomenally beautiful being is beyond me. 

Anyway, Micheal Abbott was charged with 2 counts of criminal negligence, and has finally been sentenced. He is asked to pay $4700 in restitution to the ODFW swan reintroduction program. See Spurr's article for more detail. 

Hope is available for presentations on waterbirds if your school, organization, or company is interested. Thanks to all who have followed Hope and Fiona's story. 

Thanks to those who have remembered us and donated a tree this year. Thanks so much!

​The above picture is of Native Bird Care's 2nd large aviary. Songbirds  and shorebirds use this aviary. They would use this when ready to start the physical therapy part of their rehabilitation, post injury (like hitting a window). Or, if they came is as babies or fledglings, they would use it to start practicing their flight and developing physical stamina and strength.

Birds must go through this stage in rescue. Cold turkey releases rarely result in a bird really thriving or even surviving. Kinda like if you broke your arm and once the cast was off the Dr sent you to the gym to lift weights all day and lift as many heavy things as you wanted. Rehabilitation is no different in animals. A bird dumped into the outdoors without any physical therapy, is likely a dead bird. Atrophy of muscles occurs quickly and is severe in birds. Just a few days or a week in housing like this means that the bird has a chance to build up lost muscle mass, develop strength and agility, and gain endurance so she can get away from predators, fly around all day hunting for food, and stay warm (muscle mass = warmth). 

This little goldfinch is exercising her wings as she perches. 

Baby birds in the wild would fly hop and fly around brushes and trees in the area of their watchful parents. Their parents would continue to feed them as they developed their agility and ability to avoid collisions with branches and gain strength in their feet for hanging on to the tree branches. We mimic this  in care by feeding fledges outside in the aviaries. Our babies get the largest aviaries we can give them (the largest is 16' x 20') so that they can get a few good flaps in across the aviary. 

We will also hide their food in different locations and give them mental enrichment items (like foraging items) so they can develop mentally as well. 

SO... if you would like to contribute tree branches (pine is ALWAYS needed) or a Christmas tree (no sprays), please consider our rescue. We do pick ups, but really appreciate it if you can bring it to us. Text us at 541-728-8208

Have a Happy New Year!

We had a very early start of our usual fall waterbird season this year with several birds coming down with the October storms. These two are grebes, and if you know me, you know I think these kinds of birds are some of the coolest around. This picture gives us an excellent view of the differences between the Clark's Grebe and the Western Grebe. The Clark's is the one in front, and an older bird. The one is the back is the Western and is a young, likely first year bird. Both came down on wet pavement thinking it was a river or lake. Both were very thin, needed worming, hypothermic, and needed a solid rest. For some reason all the birds that came down, including one loon, were extremely thin which indicates they were not finding enough food on their breeding grounds prior to migration. The worms didn't help either. 

These birds cannot fly from a stand-still, they must have water. For the Western at least 20-30 feet of a water 'runway' is needed for them to get into the air. Their legs are set far back on their bodies, like a penguin and for that reason they cannot walk well, much less get a running start to get in the air. Their bodies are heavy and their wings small in relation to their body size - this is because these birds are excellent fishers. A Western can get moving so fast underwater they can spear their fish. THAT is impressive! Its that heavy body and those small wings held flat against their bodies that allows them to dive and stay down to fish. But with these very neat anatomical features comes a heavy price to pay if they are not fit enough for reaching a watery destination. Sadly, these guys in an emergency (hypothermia, fatigue) must choose whatever looks closest to water and make a gamble. If lucky, some kind soul finds them and gets them to a rehabber who can warm them up, worm them, get them waterproof again, fed a bit, and released.  

When they come in as thin as these did, it takes a few days for their digestive tracks to get to fully functioning again and for them to be able to handle fish. Many of these birds' intestinal tracks go through some atrophy prior to migration in order for the bird to be light enough to make their full migration. More on that in another post. This October we have had 4 grebes and one common loon. Wickiup was the destination for release as there is lots of little fish and other grebes for them to gather up with prior to finishing their migration. Western Grebes and Loons all winter on the ocean and head toward the Oregon coast where you can find them at sites like Yaquina Bay. 

The most stressful part of working with waterbirds is their release. These birds absolutely must be 100% waterproof. And weakness, hypothermia, and worms all lead to loss of this critical feature that allows them to survive freezing water temperatures through the winter. If the birds are not waterproof, they will die. These two in the following video were two of the youngest. You can see them figuring out which way to go as they hear the calls of the group of other grebes out on Wickiup. They turn toward the group and as they get close two older birds swim out to them and herd them into the group. It was a beautiful day, and a wonderful release. Good luck little ones, we hope you find lots of fish and make it over the mountains to the coast!

For a VIDEO of the release, see my fb page!