January 27, 2000 - Meeting of our fine feeder friends6A-• The Suffolk Times -• January 27, 2000
Mee ti n
Let's continue our background check
on the birds that visit our feeders. We
reviewed the chickadee and nuthatch
last week, so let's check out the tufted
titmouse.
When I was a kid my folks always
fed birds and in those days we never
had a titmouse come to our feeders. I
would have remembered it, for the
tufted titmouse
is a handsome FOCUS
bird not easily
overlooked. ON
Today they have
multiplied and NATURE
almost everyone by Paul
has one or two at Stoutenbulgh
their feed.;rs. It
has now become
common throughout our East End.
They, like the chickadee, are friendly
birds and are easily trained to take sun-
flower seeds from your hand. All it
takes is a little patience and know -how.
Do your coaxing when the feeders are
low and demand great. It's like the end
of a Thanksgiving dinner; the urge to
eat more drops off as the stomach fills
up.
Yet this is only partially true, for
some of the titmouse family members
that visit your feeder may not eat the
seeds in front of you but will fly off and
tuck their treasures behind the bark or
limb of a tree for later use. It's some-
thing like the squirrel that hides nuts in
the ground for later use. They're clever
hiders and "squirrel" away seeds so
when we forget to fill the feeders
they'll have a reserve to fall back on.
The tufted titmouse is a relatively
large bird compared to the chickadee.
It's gray above and white below with a
prominent pointed crest and big, black,
beady eyes. I'd call them a handsome
lot. They like our oak /hickory woods
and often are seen or heard in the com-
pany of chickadees and woodpeckers as
they forage in small groups for winter's
delight such as hibernating spiders,
bugs, beetles, insects, eggs, etc.
Like all members of the titmouse
family they seek out natural cavities,
deserted woodpecker holes and even
bird boxes to build their nests in. And
like most cavity nesters their four to
six eggs are mainly white, but theirs are
our fine in
feeder fr F.
Suffolk Times photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh
This titmouse is now considered a common visitor to everyone's feeder.
There was a time when they were considered rare. How fortunate we
are to have this oerkv little bird in most of our back vards.
lightly streaked with brown. Une of the
problems all cavity nesters are facing is
the lack of dead trees where cavities
can be built. It seems people just can't
stand seeing a dead tree. They have to
cut it down so it doesn't look messy.
I remember when we were trying to
save Robins Island from being de-
veloped we took a cross - section of
interested people over to see the island
firsthand. Most of the people couldn't
say enough good about that wonderful
wooded island. That is, except for one
outspoken developer who blurted out,
"All I see is a bunch
of dead trees!" He,
like so many others,
thinks a place is
only worthwhile if it
is manicured and
takes on the
appearance of a
park. Dead trees
are a part of our liv-
ing woods. They die,
fall and decay. Each
step is part of the
cycle of renewal. A
standing dead tree
provides bugs, eggs,
grubs, etc., for birds
to feast on.
Standing dead trees
provide the founda-
tion for nesting cav-
ities. Downed trees
rot and provide
mulch and nutrients
for the forest to
grow. Nothing is
wasted. (My, I do
get sidetracked
sometimes!)
Often around our
house we hear the
familiar soft whistle or song of the tuft-
ed titmouse. Commonly translated it
sounds like "here- here - here - here" or
sometimes like "Peter- Peter - Peter."
Once identified, it is picked up easily.
People are always curious as to how
long birds live. It's really difficult to tell
but as I've often mentioned, bird han-
ders like George Rowsom of Orient
'tell us a lot about these mysterious
comings and goings of birds. By getting
the same banded bird back in their mist
nets (the very fine nets used by birders)
at different times they can tell us its
age. Two records worth noting are in
1949, when a bird lived to seven years
and four months, and in 1975 when one
titmouse lived past 12 years. These ages
a. z impressive when you take into con-
sideration all the adverse conditions
these bits of fluff encounter every day.
Just think about keeping warm
throughout one of the recent cold
spells; that in itself is enough to give us
some idea as to how difficult life must
be for all birds, no matter who they are.
Somehow through time and experience
they have learned to survive. One way
we do know cavity nesters make it
through the cold winter nights is that
they seek out natural or manmade
places to roost. Sometimes they'll share
their roost with others, thereby benefit-
ing from each other's body heat.
I know this method of group survival
works for mice. Years ago when I was
on a winter bird count on Gardiners
Island I came across an old fisherman's
shack on the south end of the island.
The wind was blowing a gale and the
temperature was below freezing. I was
chilled through and that shack looked
good to me. Inside, out of the wind, I
looked around to gain some of the nos-
talgia that once made this a comfort-
able living refuge. There were the
remains of an old iron bedstead, a
wooden sink and broken hand pump, a
chair without legs and a cast -iron cook
stove with oven and all. I'm not sure
why I lifted the lid of the stove, but I
did.
And there, all
curled up on top of
the oven in the neat-
est nest of old mat-
tress stuffing and
strips of paper, were
three or four deer
mice all together in
deep sleep. They
never moved as this
monster stared down
on them. It was as if I
had lifted a blanket
off one of their inner-
most secrets. Without
making a sound I gen-
tly lowered the lid
back in place. I had
been privileged to
look into and see
some of nature's crea-
tures making it
through the cold of
winter. I'll never for-
get that wondrous
scene in that deserted
fish shack on that glo-
rious, cold, windy day
out on Gardiners
Island.
As a change of
pace let's look at the brown creeper,
one of the winter rarities that might
just show up at your feeder. It's a
small brownish bird that has the curi-
ous feeding habit of circling from the
base of a tree upward. Then when it
reaches a certain height it drops down
to the bottom of another tree and
again starts its spiraling feeding agen-
da. What it's seeking is dormant
insects of all sorts, larva and eggs of
insects that might be hiding in back of
the bark of the tree. These little creep-
ers love suet and if one's in your area
it's bound to show up at your suet. The
trouble is there are so few of them. To
add to their scarcity brown creepers
are loners, seldom traveling with their
own on these winter days.
Often this super- camouflaged creep-
er is overlooked as its mottled brown
body makes it almost impossible to see
as it clings to the side of a tree. Only
when it moves or flies are you lucky
enough to spot one.
It's a rare nester here on Long Is-
land. I was privileged to be shown a
nest back in 1972 at Oakdale. It was
built behind a slab of bark on a dead
tree. It was mostly hidden, but we
could see an occasional feather it had
used to line its nest. This little bird is a
real find should you come across one
in our deciduous woods here on the
North Fork, and let me say you'll be
privileged if one comes to your feed-
er.
So, don't be surprised if someday you
see this almost shadow -like creeper
moving 'round and 'round the tree as it
moves upward looking for insects right
,in your own back yard. It's not impossi-
ble but then again don't hold your
breath waiting for the brown creeper to