bird watching

 A New Year for the Birds

Oakland County, MI Government Leave a comment
cedar waxwing bird on branch

WILDER SIDE OF OAKLAND COUNTY

“Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as a bird?” – Nature historian David Attenborough

January 5th was more than the first Thursday of the month. It was National Bird Day, an annual event I was totally unaware of until a few days after the event. After that date passed by, I was politely chastised by a friend of mine who is an avid birder for missing that day as a blog topic. I decided late is better than never, especially after reading the words of David Attenborough’s.

I’ve already made a notation in my 2024 calendar to promote National Bird Day next year; before the fact, not afterwards, and am enthusiastically thinking about birds now with my feeders exploding with activity. Hearing the deep hooting of a Great Horned Owl last night sealed the deal, and so now with a cup of coffee in my hand I sit down and write as the morning sun casts its glow.

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Winter Avian Action

Oakland County, MI Government 4 Comments
Collage of four photos of birds

WILDER SIDE OF OAKLAND COUNTY

As I write these words, I’m watching about a dozen species of birds flitting about my bird feeders, seemingly unaffected by wintry blasts of cold air as the temperature once again slips into single digits in Oakland County. Other wildlife species have different winter survival pathways. Some hibernate, migrate or simply acclimate to the conditions on hand.

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Pileated Woodpeckers on a Whim

Oakland County, MI Government 1 Comment
Pileated woodpecker

WILDER SIDE OF OAKLAND COUNTY

Pileated woodpeckers are North America’s largest species of woodpecker. These beautiful forest birds have a wingspan of up to 30 inches and measure from 16 to 19 inches in length, with a size and shape that’s most noticeable when they cling to the trunk of a tree.

Their eye-catching triangular red crest that sweeps off the back of their heads is a perfect identification clue, even for a novice birder. As for the name “pileated,” it refers to the species’ red crest, and is derived from the Latin word pileatus which means “capped.”

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Wonderful Woodpeckers of Winter’s Approach

Oakland County, MI Government 2 Comments
woodpecker on tree branch

WILDER SIDE OF OAKLAND COUNTY

It goes without saying that if you spend the day constantly hitting your forehead against a tree trunk, you will end up with a severe headache, at the very least. A concussion or brain injury may be more likely, but that’s not so for a woodpecker. Woodpeckers can spend all day pounding their heads against tree trunks at 20 times per second in search of hidden grubs and hibernating bugs and then come back for more pounding the next day. The activity is so fast that the human eye does not even notice that with each successful pounding, a woodpecker’s beak penetrates the bark, and its long sticky tongue zips in and out, snagging hidden insects and larvae.

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Goldfinches Love Thistles!

Oakland County, MI Government 2 Comments
A Goldfinch in Oakland County, Michigan

The American Goldfinch is among the most colorful and musical bird you will find in an Oakland County summer. Even a novice birder, such as myself, can identify Goldfinches with ease. Goldfinches are members of the finch family, as their name implies, and are not “wild canaries” as they are sometimes mistakenly called. The male’s eye-catching, gold and black plumage of summer is unmistakable. With a bit of experience, Goldfinches are recognizable from the distance by both their undulating, roller coaster like flight pattern and flight song. They thrive in the rural, thistle-rich fields of our county and are very much at home in the open spaces of parks, trail edge zones, and many of our urban and suburban neighborhoods.   

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