Hometown Living

[ 2 ] Hometown Living Articles What Is That In My Backyard? Star Attraction

What Is That In My Backyard?? Some Unusual Feathery Friends Could Flock To Your Backyard by Jean Redstone One of the everyday pleasures – and for some it’s a downright joy – of living in South Jersey is the variety and multitude of birds likely to stop by your backyard or hedgerow for a visit. People put out feeders and houses in welcome and keep bird guides handy. But lately residents are wondering about birds they’ve never seen before, or heard whistling, or whining or warbling before. It’s not your imagination. The past couple of years really have seen a rise in the number of sightings of birds not normally seen around here this early in spring and, yes, the influx may well be a symptom of warming global temperatures. Just as likely, the unusual bird, or the unusual behaviors of birds, some people are reporting are symptoms of other, less dramatic happenstance. You might see some birds you never saw before because down the block a new house went up and you’re the only one left with a backyard where these birds can forage. Or, for the lucky, you may be witnessing a major success story every time you spot a bald eagle. Once upon a time, not our time but your grandparents’ time, eagles were common sights here in South Jersey. Farmers, awed at their power and beauty, nonetheless hunted them to protect their livestock from predation. Last June the bald eagle was taken off the federal endangered species list after a hugely successful effort to reintroduce the nation’s symbol to every state where the bird used to thrive. Because of loss of habitat, hunting, and, especially, DDT pesticides, eagle numbers had dropped to a frighteningly low point. By 1963 the lower 48 states hosted only 417 nesting pairs. But as of last year, there were an estimated 9,789 nesting pairs, and about 60 of those are in South Jersey, mostly in Gloucester, Salem and Cumberland counties. Since early spring is breeding season for eagles, you may see the magnificent birds scouring for prey or nesting material further afield than customary. While no longer an endangered species, bald eagles are protected under other laws. Eagles are permanent residents in South Jersey, but this time of year they are not the only uncommon treats to visit our skies and our fields, yards and woods. It’s also the time of the spring migration, an event just as fascinating as the much more ballyhooed fall migration. Our region, according to Betty Lemley of Beckett, a member of the New Jersey Audubon Society and the Cape May Bird Observatory, lies along a major migratory flyway for birds of all sorts. Lemley said this year she has seen unusual flocking behavior from several species, including the beautiful snow geese, that frequently winter in South Jersey. “I recently found 12 different groups in the open fields around Pilesgrove,” Lemley recalled. “I have never seen groups this big before and there must have been several flocks banding together, though usually they are seen in smaller groups and more towards Salem. The numbers were huge. By the time I finished my count, I was up to 175,000 geese – and that was just in two hours!!” Lemley speculated the geese were enjoying the fruits of the warmth and wet of late winter. “Not only has it been warmer, but some farmers began turning fields earlier than before.” Snow geese, it seems, enjoy a freshly-dug worm or bug as much as the next bird.
She has heard reports of robins, too, in huge flocks. While some robins spend their winter here, most migrate back in the spring. “Every once in a while they form huge flocks and I’ve seen them by the thousands in this area.” Such large flocks may be more common as the weather in the Mid-Atlantic becomes more and more mild, earlier and earlier, explained David Bonter, an ornithologist with the Cornell University Ornithology Laboratory. Ornithologists study birds. “There are studies to the fact that birds are arriving earlier in spring, probably due to (global) warming,” Bonter said. “Robins have this habit in the winter of coming together in large flocks and eating the fruits still on shrubs.” If they migrate to the area earlier than usual, they could meet the flocks that over-wintered and may sometimes form even larger groups.
	THE TRADITIONAL FIRST HARBINGER OF SPRING, the robin, can be seen in large flocks.

	Other migratory avians showing up about now and causing heads to turn are the osprey. “They are coming back from Florida,” Lemley said, and following the rivers north to breeding grounds.” These are a large hunting bird with a raucous cry and Cornell’s Bonter is delighted to hear of their early return to South Jersey. “The osprey used to be stressed and were declining. They now are doing quite well, but not everywhere in New Jersey.” Some birds migrate south, but not to New Jersey, and seeing one of them is cause for excitement. When she learned that a pine grosbeak was spotted in nearby Salem County, Lemley called it “a rare sighting” while Bonter expounded on the “irruptive behavior” that might have sent the flyer this far south.
OSPREYS are being seen more and more in this area.

“Irruptive” means a bird moves out of its normal range. Bonter said the songbirds of the boreal forests in Canada and Northern New England, such as the pine grosbeak and others in the finch family, “came south in really big numbers this year, even as far south as Pennsylvania and New Jersey, though I hadn’t heard of one as far south as South Jersey.” It seems the forests up north hit a cycle where most fir and pine failed to fruit so the finches had no choice but to forage more to the south. Other birds are showing up where they hadn’t been seen before because their home or food source has been destroyed by development. Lemley said she saw a purple finch, a fairly common South Jersey bird, for the first time last year, probably because of a housing development built in her area. “As sources of food dry up, birds will move to another source,” she said.
Bonter turned the equation around. “People are beginning to notice they are not seeing birds they used to see and that’s generally because they’ve (the birds) moved to a more hospitable place,” he said. So what birds are likely to fly into the region as spring migration concludes? Bonter said the early birds like robins, ducks, and osprey will be followed by “millions” of sparrows moving north, then the warblers and the blackbirds. As the migration continues deep into May, keep your eyes to the sky, the shrubs, the trees and the grass of your own yard. There are creatures out there with more frequent flyer miles than most of us will see in a lifetime of flying.
	THE PINE GROSBEAK is a rare visitor here.
For more information about the spring and fall migrations in South Jersey, about the identification of birds and about the history and habits of eagles, visit these Web sites, few of the many fascinating bird sites available: for laws and the status of different birds, including eagles, visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: www.fws.gov then use the search feature for specific issues; www.baldeagleinfo.com is a very educational Website that also has postings and comments by state from citizens who have seen bald eagles in their area. You can post, too; The Audubon Society and its Cape May Observatory can be accessed at: www.njaudubon.org and http://birdcapemay.org/wsob.shtml; Check out one of the best bird information sites at www.birds.cornell.edu, but be prepared to stay awhile. Cornell also offers a bird sighting page at www.ebird.org
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Star Attaction

WHEN 5-YEAR-OLD Ashton St. John was asked by his kindergarten teacher at the Walnut Street School in Woodbury to bring something in for “Show ‘n Tell”, he naturally turned to his grandfather, Jim Thornton, to bring in the Woolwich Sand & Gravel tri-axle dump truck he drives and explain how it works. The children got to climb into the truck, sit behind the wheel of the big dump truck and ask questions.