Red headed woodpecker storing corn in bark of tree. Photo by Carl R. Sams II.

Do you know that red headed woodpeckers store food in the bark of trees? The red headed woodpecker, one of the birds featured in our new book Tea with Lady Sapphire: Sharing the Love of Birds, is a quite interesting bird that seeks out dead or dying trees and stumps for nesting sites.

The red headed woodpecker is the only woodpecker known to cover stored food with wood or bark. It hides insects and seeds in cracks in wood, under bark, in fence posts, and under roof shingles, according to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology: All About Birds.

Here’s an interesting fact: The Red-headed Woodpecker benefited from Dutch elm disease as the dead trees provided nest sites for the woodpeckers, according to the The Cornell Lab of Ornithology: All About Birds. Listen to the sounds of a red headed woodpecker.

Learn more about red headed woodpeckers.

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Baltimore Oriole photo by Carl R. Sams II.

Audubon’s Ten Ways to Make a Difference for Migrating Birds has great tips to ensure birds stay safe. According to Audubon, perils include bright lights and tall buildings, cats and toxic lawns.

I like tip number 4: Prevent window collisions. Make sure birds can see (and avoid) your windows by putting up screens, closing drapes and blinds when you leave the house, or stick multiple decals on the glass (decals need to be spaced closely together to be effective – no more than two to four inches apart).

Learn more.

Baltimore Oriole Migration
View migration map.

To learn how to share your love of birds with your grandchildren and create memories, view our new bird  book, Tea with Lady Sapphire: Sharing the Love of Birds.

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Have you heard about The Big Year with Steve Martin? It looks like a fabulous birding movie that corresponds well with the recent release of our new bird book, Tea with Lady Sapphire: Sharing the Love of Birds.

The Big Year stars Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson. It tells the story of a group of men, from various walks of life, who decide to dedicate a year of their lives to following their dreams. The movie is loosely based on the book, The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession.

View the short movie trailer below for The Big Year.

Video Link
The Big Year (2011) Trailer

On more fun, short movie trailer from The Big Year below!

The Big Year – The Bridge

Are you planning to see this new bird watching movie? I am! And I hope you read our new bird book, Tea with Lady Sapphire: Sharing the Love of Birds, before you go (get FREE shipping for a limited time when you order $50 or more!).

Read a magnificent review of the movie, “A Birder’s Review of the Newly-released Movie, The Big Year“.

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Pileated woodpecker photo courtesy stock.xchng.

As our new book, Tea with Lady Sapphire: Sharing the Love of Birds, features a pileated woodpecker, I want to share this article, “Woodpecker recovers from collision with window: Animals in the News“, with you. It’s heartwarming to see the photo of the recovered pileated woodpecker in the article.

According to the story, a pileated woodpecker crashed into a window in Independence Ohio, south of Cleveland, and recovered from a head injury at the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center in Bay Village. Bay Village is one of my favorite towns and the science center is wonderful! If you have not been to either, I recommend that you go for a visit. Plenty of parks and a wonderful Lake Erie shoreline.

Cute Photo
In a separate story, view a very cute photo of baby pileated woodpeckers.

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Robin photo by Carl R. Sams II.

With our new bird book coming soon, I thought you’d enjoy these bird feeder tips: “Eric Sharp: Use different kinds of bird feeders to draw a variety of feathered friends“.

The suet cake feeder the author mentions in his article is a good choice. My parents have suet in a cage hanging on wire and the birds love it.

If you are seeking a squirrel-proof bird feeder, one does not exist, according to Sharp. I’d have to agree as contraptions my parents have tried all ended up with the same result: squirrels happily eating the bird seed. If you know of squirrel-proof bird feeders that work, please comment and let us know.

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Chickadee print by Carl R. Sams II. From the book, "Stranger in the Woods", by Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick.

Below are some great bird watching tips for beginners, and experts too, courtesy of Birding.com:

Hint #1:
You need a field guide for your area. A field guide is a book with pictures of the birds and tips for identifying them. The best book for new birders in the United States is the Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Birds or the Peterson Field Guide to Western Birds.

When you become familiar with the birds in your area, you will want the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America 3rd edition. For young birders, we recommend Peterson First Guide: Birds. It describes 188 common and conspicuous birds and it won’t overwhelm them with too many choices. You will also want to look at the new Stokes Field Guides.

Hint # 2:
You need a binocular to see the birds. You will soon discover an ironic fact. The best birders have the best binoculars — even though they can identify a bird 100 yards away by its silhouette. Newcomers with a cheap binocular see a fuzzy ball of feathers and don’t have a clue which bird it is.

There is an unbelievable difference between a $59 binocular and a $900 binocular. For help in selecting the right binocular, at the right price, see the Bird Watching Binoculars section of Birding.com. (You would need four eyes to use a pair of binoculars!)

See all ten tips at “Beginning Birding – Ten Tips for New Bird Watchers“. Hint #10 is my favorite!

We Want Your Tips for Bird Watching!
Please comment to share yours.

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Male downy woodpecker photo courtesy of stock.xchng.

Did you want to learn more about woodpeckers? Here’s an excellent article, “ALWAYS IN SEASON: No matter the weather, woodpeckers stay at work“.

It’s interesting to learn about red-bellied woodpeckers from the article, and woodpecker facts. I learned that the bones of woodpeckers’ skulls are extra thick, and the muscles of their necks extra resilient.

Their feet are fashioned to clasp tree trunks, and the feathers of their tails are especially stiff, so they serve as braces, according to the article. Who would have known?

Remember Woody Woodpecker? Pileated woodpeckers are the inspiration for Woody Woodpecker!

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This preview video below from the hummingbird film, “Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air”, from PBS, is very cool. At times it uses slow motion to show what incredible athletes hummingbirds are.  

They are one of the smallest warm-blooded creatures on the planet, but they are also among the fastest.

Video Link
“Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air”: Preview, PBS

Watch Full Episode
Watch full episode “Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air” (50:08 minutes).

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Not being a coffee drinker, I hadn’t given much though to shade grown coffee, birds and conservation. The article “Bird-friendly coffee” enlightened me to the threats birds face from coffee plantations.

Robert Rice, a scientist with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, says researchers have documented steep declines in migratory bird species in recently, mainly from habitat destruction on coffee farms.

Rice says the declines in songbird populations happened at the same time much of the coffee lands in central America were undergoing a change from traditional farms, in which coffee is grown under a lush canopy of shade trees, to high-yield varieties that grow in full sun.

I was surprised to learn from the article that organic standards don’t include habitat preservation. According to the article, Smithsonian developed standards that encourage the preservation of shade trees.

Learn More
“Coffee & Conservation” (A great website, local too!)

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Wild birds in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska are growing deformed beaks at unprecedented rates according to scientists.

According to the article ”Tweaked Beaks: How Bird Deformities Help Flag Undetected Toxins“, the bird beak deformity is known as avian keratin disorder, which may signal a greater environmental issue. This bird beak deformity is life threatening as it makes it nearly impossible for the birds to eat.

The many bird species that are victims of this disorder include the black-capped Chickadees and the Northwestern Crows of Alaska and the Northwest.

The deformity often appears as an oversized upper beak, making it more difficult for the birds to eat and preen themselves, said wildlife biologist Caroline Van Hemert at the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center, in the article “Biologists ask public to help with deformed bird study“. While the cause is unknown, Van Hemert said initial studies point to environmental contaminants.

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