The top five on each list were easy for me to decide on, the last five of the most wanted were a hard decision there are so many great birds it’s hard to cut it down to ten. It’s not easy to come up with 10 unwanted birds, so I went through the old memory bank and came up with a few complaints about birds that I’ve had over the years.
In reverse order are:
10. Most wanted: Pine Grosbeak, this relatively common visitor goes unnoticed by many people, their numbers seem to cycle and a couple years ago we had a mini population explosion. They are usually attracted to your yard in fall and winter by fruit, apples, high bush cranberries, mountain ash, etc. but they will readily take black oil sunflower. When you get a good look at one of these beauties it will fast become a favoured visitor in your yard too. It’s one of those species that allow you to get within a few feet allowing great views and photo opps. It’s call notes and looping flight pattern are distinctive enough to identify this bird at a distance without binoculars. Early in the fall most of the reports I hear are of gray birds with orangish heads and backs, (these are immature and female birds that will out number males by about 4-1), as the winter progresses there are more reports of the mostly red bird with gray patches as the immature males take on adult plumage. Pine Grosbeaks are such a great sighting that you will look forward to the next “eruption” of the species.
10. Least wanted: American Robin, as I said I couldn’t come up with 10 whole bird species that I wouldn’t want in my back yard, so this was an old complaint from a customer who wanted to get rid of the Robin that nests every year in his yard. It seems the male of the pair was a little over diligent in defending his territory and when all the other suitors where chased off, he resorted to trying to chase away his own reflection in the mirror of the guys brand new black truck. In itself not too big of a deal, but while fighting off the “intruder” he tended to poop down the side of the truck. He resorted to putting a paper bag over the mirror when he parked. I don’t see the problem but then my vehicle is old and white, (the poop doesn’t show as bad).
9. Most wanted: Gray Jay, this extremely friendly visitor will land at your feet for hand outs, some more patient people can get them to come to their hand. Every fall I have a family or two come to the yard for food that they will store for winter. They are very fond of bread and I have them trained to come to a whistle every morning for my wife’s toast crusts; although I mostly feed them peanuts and peanut butter suet, for these guys I cut up a block into Jay sized cubes (about a cubic centimeter) and they spend the day stocking up their “fridge” for winter and entertaining us. I keep a plastic bag of peanuts nearby when I’m working outside, if I’m not right there to throw some down they have no problem with ripping a hole in the bag and helping themselves. I only wish they would come to my yard more often, I never tire of the way they glide in and pull up to a landing only inches away.
9. Least wanted: Northern Mockingbird, not by me, although I’ve never had one in the mating season. From what I hear a male will sing 24/7 in hopes of attracting a girlfriend, and since in New Brunswick the ladies are few and far between, this can go on for weeks. One of the most tolerant people I know had a male in the yard for so long he trapped it and moved it to an area where a female was known to reside. So far the Mockingbirds we’ve had were in fall and winter and other than being quite aggressive at the feeders they are very welcome.
8. Most wanted: Red-breasted Nuthatch and it’s close cousin the less frequent White-breasted Nuthatch, these are the little gray guys that you see coming head first down the tree trunk. They too are very approachable and this is one that I have had eat from my hand. The Red-breasted nest nearby every year and bring the young to the suet feeders to show them the ropes. It’s not uncommon to see 4 young birds sitting on the roof of the feeder, begging, while the mom scurries back and forth with a beak-full of suet. Although they will nest in a bird house, I’ve never had one take up residence in one of ours, maybe it’s placement. I would be interested to know if anyone has ever had a Nuthatch nest in a bird house.
8. Least wanted: Common Redpoll, yes believe it or not, some people don’t like this colourful friendly little winter visitor. Sure they can be a bit if a bully at the nyjer feeder and sometimes they get blamed for driving off the other finch but last year I had equal numbers of Redpoll, Goldfinch and Pine Siskins and they all held their own on the feeder. If you find the are eating too much nyjer, don’t put so much out, they will eat black oil sunflower almost as readily and it’s a lot cheaper.
7. Most wanted: Black-capped Chickadee, if you live in New Brunswick you have to love the Chickadee, it’s our provincial bird, it’s the law. Who wouldn’t love it anyway? Friendly, polite, waits his turn on the feeder and only takes one seed at a time. Named for it’s common chick-a-dee-dee song, it has several others in its repertoire, that are worth learning. For instance, the fee-bee call that we hear almost anytime of the year, but much more in late winter and early spring, is a territorial call, I used to whistle it back when I heard it in our yard, it always got a heated response. I guess the birds got tired of trying to chase of an invisible intruder though, because since I found out what the call meant and stopped doing it, I have a nesting pair every year. The first few years we never had a nesting Chickadee.
7. Least wanted: Brown-headed Cowbird, one reason this smallish bird isn’t so welcome is that it often arrives in the spring in large numbers with the other black birds. They will spend a couple weeks cleaning up the ground under the feeders from the winter’s spillage and then move on. The biggest reason people don’t like these guy’s is, they are kind of lazy, they don’t build their own nest and they don’t raise their own young. They simply deposit their eggs in other birds nests and hope for the best. The problem is these other birds are often a smaller species than the cowbird and the adopted sibling bullies the biological offspring out of most of the grub(s). Usually at least some of the intended offspring don’t survive. Since the Cowbird parents don’t have to expend energy in nest building and brood raising, the put all their energy into egg production and a female can lay up to three dozen eggs a season.
6. Most wanted: Purple Martin and Tree Swallow, the Purple Martin is definitely one of the most wanted birds around, I included the close cousin the Tree Swallow in this section so you at least have a chance of hosting one. Purple Martins are most sought after as mosquito control, but we haven’t had more than singular sightings since 1997 when most of the local colonies were devastated by and extended late snow and cold spell. Also the first paragraph in my Purple Martin book expels the myth that they eat 3-7 times (the numbers change with the story teller) their body weight in mosquitoes each day. They will eat mosquitoes, but tend to feed around 40 feet up where there aren’t many mosquitoes.
The bird that many are attracting to their yards is the Tree Swallow, they eat mosquitoes and will feed in large groups over water, diving down to pick insects off the surface. Since mosquitoes lay eggs in water they become a large part of the Swallows diet. They are also much easier to attract than the Purple Martin, you need only a small single unit dwelling placed on a pole about 6 feet high. In comparison to the multi unit Martin condo, placed above 12 feet, Tree Swallow houses are a breeze.
They can become quite friendly with people they know, I can approach the houses without disturbing them, but if a stranger comes too close they leave the nest and circle around, scolding, until the intruder backs off.
Tree Swallows can’t resist white feathers, they use them in courting and then will line the nest box with them. If I hold one up in the air the male will almost come to take it from my hand, I’m sure with a little more patience I could get one to my hand. They often will catch the feather in mid air, if I time it right, when they circle by. So if you have an old coat or pillow or see a Gull or white Pigeon roadkill, save a bag full of feathers. I have a friend with close to 20 nests on 2 acres, much closer than you’d normally see, and he swears providing white feathers is the secret. A small price to pay, unless your the Pigeon.
6. Least wanted: Crow, there aren’t many people who want crows around the yard. They are noisy make a mess on garbage day. There are a couple areas in Moncton and Dieppe where the crows go to roost at night by the hundreds, I understand the noise is amazing. We have a handful in our yard unless a predator appears, then all the crows within earshot swoop in to help chase it off. Usually it’s a Raven but sometimes it’s something more special, by watching the Crows I’ve seen Barred and Great Horned Owls, Peregrine Falcon, Goshawk, Rough-legged, Red-tailed, Broad-winged Hawks, Eagles and Vultures (and probably more that I’ve forgotten). They sometimes even point out the smaller Merlin and Sharp-shinned Hawk and once, a Bobcat.
I have an arrangement with my Crows, they don’t bother the smaller feeders and I give them all the suet waste they can eat. When you render suet you screen the small non fat bits out, I put this in out for the Crows and they dispose of it for me. As for the house hold garbage, I try to separate anything that might be Crow food and let them have it on the “Crow feeder”, this stops them from tearing open my garbage bags.
The only seed they eat is from the corn feeder and they’re welcome to that. I get a lot of complaints about Crows eating sunflower from small tube feeders, but when I look deeper it’s usually the smaller look alike, the Grackle.
5. Most wanted: Blue Jay, easily one of the prettiest birds in the yard. They will do just about anything for a peanut, and many a feeder has been designed to make them work at it while entertaining the human host. If you want close up views, just put some peanuts in a window feeder or you could leave the door open with some peanuts just inside, they quickly get up the courage to come in for a treat, just make sure no one comes up behind them and scares them farther into the house, it tends to get messy. We absolutely take this bird for granted, I’m reminded of that every time a visitor sees it for the first time. There aren’t any in Europe or on the West Coast, so it’s usually one that birders come here to see. They are awed when one lands a few feet away, our resident Jays have probably been photographed as much as the Queen, (OK that’s pushing it, let’s say Celine Dion).
5. Least wanted: Blue Jay, easily one of the noisiest birds in the yard, they squawk when the feeder’s empty, they squawk when the feeders full. They imitate hawk calls to scare the smaller birds away so they can have the feeder to themselves. They take tons of seed away and hide it where they will never remember and they steel eggs from other birds nests, (although not as much as some once thought, an extensive study showed only 1% of Jays had evidence of eggs in their stomach. Cornell Lab of Ornithology). True omnivores, there is very little that you can put in your feeders that they won’t take advantage of, many a bird feeder has been designed in an attempt to keep this guy away, for those who still don’t like them.
4. Most wanted: Eastern Bluebird, this smallish thrush is closely related to our Robin, but it is more often confused with some of the other blue birds that drop into the yard, like the Indigo Bunting or even the Blue Grosbeak. He’s the one with the brilliant blue back and the breast the colour of the Robin’s. You’re going to want to remember this because if you see one in your yard in spring, and don’t have a bird house out, you’ll want to do so pronto. They don’t eat at feeders and will only stay in your yard if they have proper housing. There are numerous “speciality” Bluebird houses but they will readily take a house meant for a Tree Swallow or Chickadee as long as the hole is large enough (1.5 inches). Bluebirds had been on the decline, but in the last couple decades, thanks to human helping hands and the slow decline of the House Sparrow that very aggressively competed for nest sites, they have been making a slow and steady come back. Some people and groups establish and monitor “Bluebird Trails”, a grouping of properly spaced houses anywhere from 10 and up, sometimes in the 100’s.
If you are ever lucky enough to host a Bluebird family you’ll find yourself wanting to help out with the raising of the brood, this means trips to the pet store for meal worms or raising your own; with the shows these guys put on, it’s totally worth it. You won’t be alone, for the last 2 years North American meal worm suppliers have been running at maximum production during nesting season and have only been able to supply a portion of the demand.
4. Least wanted: Common Grackle, if you’ve never seen one before and took a really close look, you’d think this bird was beautiful. The problem is we see them all the time (except winter) in huge numbers and there table manners aren’t even as good as the Blue Jay. The return of the Grackle, for me, is a true sign that spring is right around the corner. The Robin gets all the credit for foretelling the season, but quite a few of them stay around all winter, so a Robin sighting in February doesn’t mean warm weather is on it’s way.
When Grackles return, they do spend some time cleaning up the winter’s spillage under the feeders, but when that’s done, so is their welcome, as they start looking up, to the feeders and will swarm them until they’re empty. I can even live with this, I have enough land to throw down cracked corn to keep them off the sunflower until they disperse and start nesting. The thing that really gets me about Grackles is the affinity for hulled sunflower while they are nesting. They don’t seem to bother it too much the rest of the year, but take it back to the nest by the pound to feed young, even clinging up-side-down from the small bird only feeders.
Grackles are usually the (bird) culprits that are pooping in your pool. Actually, it’s the fecal sacs of the nestlings that the adults are carrying away and dropping them in water is a great way to hide the nest from predators. They will often mistake other shiny objects for water’s reflective surface, like that new glass top patio table or your freshly detailed car...don’t take it personally, it’s not you, it’s centuries of natural selection.
3. Most wanted: American Goldfinch, this bird is so sought after there’s an entire industry dedicated to attracting it to your back yard. The seed they so desire is grown in Ethiopia and India and brought to North America where it is sterilized, (we don’t want it or the other tag along seeds growing wild). Then take all the feeders that are made just to attract this bird, half of the space in most bird stores that is alloted for tube feeders is dedicate to a single species.
We in New Brunswick often take them for granted, they’ve always been common for us. A few years ago I had a someone from Florida drop in the shop, I lent her a pair of binoculars and she went outside, I got busy and 45 minutes later I remembered this very expensive binocular, I almost ran outside, but immediately found her sitting on the grass watching the nyjer tube. I tried to slow my heart rate and sat down with her, she’d been watching the Goldfinch for that long, I said, “I thought you had them in Florida.” She said, “But not in breeding plumage.” (They only over winter that far south.) She was in her 60’s, fed them most of her life and it was her first time seeing Goldfinch in their yellow plumage.
3. Least wanted: The House Sparrow (actually a weaverfinch) was first introduced to North America in 1851 and hasn’t looked back, they thrive in proximity to humans, benefiting from feeders, nest boxes and buildings. What really aided in the early spread was their taste for the undigested grains in horse droppings (nice).
House Sparrows are credited with the decline of Bluebirds, they aggressively take over nest sights and have been known to kill an adult female who is sitting on eggs and build it’s nest right on top. Horses on city streets aren’t as common, and the House Sparrow is declining somewhat; this and the increased interest in being an Eastern Bluebird landlord is credited with it’s come back.
2. Most wanted: Hummingbird, in New Brunswick it’s almost always the Ruby-throated but on occasion we are treated to a visit from a different species that wanders out of it’s normal range, the Rufus, Anna’s and Broad-billed are some that have been spotted since we moved here. They are usually in the fall, probably getting a little carried away with the “post breeding dispersal”; nature’s way of limiting inbreeding.
I’m sure if Hummingbirds weren’t so easy to attract they’d be in first place ranking on any bird feeder yard and not only birders, anyone with a garden or even a window wants to attract these little beauties. I thought a lot of shop space was given up to the Goldfinch feeders, but, in season, there are more Hummingbird feeders than all other feeders combined in most shops.
Once you start feeding, you’ll be hooked; every spring counting down the days until they return, I start checking the online Ruby-throated Hummingbird Migration Map sometime in March and follow the sightings with the same anticipation as my son with Santa. If one does arrive before I get the feeders out, he will come to the spot on our kitchen window where the feeder was last year and hover around and watch until we get the nectar boiled, cooled and put out.
Last year I had an Oriole type feeder out early (it was Easter, and our power was out, I boiled the nectar on the wood stove mostly out of boredom) to see of any other species would come, some will acquire a sweet tooth and will frequent the nectar feeders. On May 1, a full week before I would have expected a Hummer, my son spotted our first Hummingbird. I spread the word via NatureNB and there were several sighting the next day, early arrivals in a year where most thought things would be late.
If you haven’t fed Hummingbirds give it a try, the rewards greatly out weigh the effort. If you live in New Brunswick you should be able to be a Hummingbird host, I only have a handful of customers who can’t seem to attract them and they live right downtown and are surrounded by concrete.
2. Least wanted: European Starling, another species imported in the 19th century and doing very well, in fact, they’re one of North America’s most abundant songbirds. They’re similar to the other black birds and often travel together with Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds and others and are often lumped together when there is a complaint. At first glance they might be similar to a Grackle but look closer, a Starlings beak is longer, the tail is shorter and they have spots to a varying degree, depending on the season. The spots are quite brilliant white in new winter plumage, and wear off over the course of the season to the more black breeding plumage.
“Who cares,” you say, “they’re all a pain in the butt.” Yes, that’s true, but it’s important to know one from the other if you want to control their consumption at feeders. One big difference is the Starling doesn’t migrate so your “pain” is present year round. It is easier to feed small birds without attracting Starlings though, they aren’t attracted to black oil sunflower seeds, so don’t feed mixes with corn or nuts and those feeders are safe. They also don’t eat millet, so you can feed the Sparrows, Juncos and Mourning Doves on the ground. Where they are the biggest pain, is on the suet feeders, especially peanut butter suet, it wouldn’t be so bad except you’ll end up with a swarm of Starlings on the feeder all the time and the Woodpecker, Chickadee and Nuthatch have no chance to get near. The best solution I’ve found is the up-side-down suet feeder, it doesn’t stop Starlings totally, but maybe 85%, and if they can find an easier food source they tend to follow it. I use both styles of suet feeder and when the Starlings become too much, I only use the up-side-down until they get the hint.
The problem is 10 fold during nesting/fledgeling time, when the young are brought to the feeders where they squawk and beg for the adults to fill their faces.
Another reason the Starling is unwanted is that they compete for nest cavities, making it harder to attract some of the medium sized species of cavity dwellers like Purple Martin (in areas where they nest), Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker or even a Kestrel box will quickly be taken over by Starlings. Because of Starlings, most of the nest boxes I make have no larger than 1.5 inch holes.
1. Most wanted: Northern Cardinal, in New Brunswick I place Cardinals in the number one spot mostly because of the general scarcity of sightings. Although even in places where they are more common they are still one of the most sought after feeder birds. There are special feeders and seed mixes that all but guarantee a Cardinal will come to your yard, but the truth is, if you get one he’ll likely be eating black oil sunflower on the ground under a feeder. To increase your chance without breaking the bank, offer black oil sunflower on a raised ground feeder in a sheltered area near heavy cover (you don’t want to attract one only to be caught by a cat or hawk). Lots of other birds will enjoy this set up and if a Cardinal happens by, he will be likely to stay a while.
Over the last couple decades there have been numerous sightings of Cardinals in the area, they stay a while and sometimes even nest, but these birds haven’t really stayed put as would be expected. The most interesting trend is happening in the Saint John area where Cardinals have been steadily increasing and spreading out farther into the province. Let’s hope these guys get a good foothold and continue to move our way.
1. Least Wanted: Pigeon, yet another European immigrant finishes off the top 3 least wanted birds in your back yard (anyone else see the irony here?). Pigeons are usually limited to yards in towns or beside farms and structures that offer nest sites, so they’re only a problem for some, but can be a huge problem. They’re so big, none of the native species can compete for feeder space, they will totally monopolize a feeder if it’s big enough for them to get a toe nail on. They are creatures of habit and once they learn there’s a free meal in your yard it’s hard to persuade them to move along. The best thing if you’re in a Pigeon area is to avoid attracting them in the first place.
Sure other species can be a problem too, but Pigeons will eat anything and everything, so you can’t get rid of them by only offering food they don’t like, and since they eat so much and the whole seed (they don’t bother shucking the sunflower) they have Schnauzer sized droppings that can cause some actual property damage if their numbers get too high. Don’t give up hope, there are so many tips and gadgets available to keep pigeons away and still let others feed, it’s a column by itself.
Written by Dwayne Biggar at The Bird Garden
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