April 22, 2022
Happy Earth Day! |
This week's Musings from Main celebrates Earth Day and just a few of the birds that make South Windsor their home! All of the images used in this Musing, are courtesy of Joe Wojnilo and were taken around town, many in the South Windsor Meadows and the Hartford Audubon Society's Station 43 Wildlife Sanctuary.
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The Cedar Waxwing loves fruit! They can survive on fruit alone for several months. To attract Cedar Waxwings to your yard, plant native trees and shrubs that bear small fruits. Find out more about what different types of birds like to eat and what feeder is best for them, by using the Project FeederWatch Common Feeder Birds bird list. Although all of the birds focused on in this Musing are of low conservation concern, the Cedar Waxwing is the only one of the three that has a stable population and even an increase in numbers in some areas.
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Image above is of a male Kestrel with more blue coloring and the image to the right is of a female Kestrel
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The American Kestrel is the continent’s most common and widespread falcon; it is also North America’s littlest falcon. As a bird of prey the Kestrel commonly eats insects, small rodents, and even other birds. It nests in cavities, and its current decline stems from the clearing of land, and felling of the standing dead trees, that they depend on for their nest sites. Consider putting up a nest box to attract a breeding pair. Find out more about nest boxes on The Cornell Lab's All About Birdhouses site. Pesticides are also contributing to the decline of Kestrels in North America, in that they destroy the insects, spiders, and other prey on which the birds depend for food.
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The first species of bird featured in this Musing, is a fruit loving herbivore and the second a predatory carnivore. The third species, the Indigo Bunting, is an omnivore, dining on small seeds as well as many different types of insects, even live mealworms. There’s more information about feeding birds all different types of birds at the Cornell Lab's Attract Birds pages.
The Indigo Bunting can be found in most wildlife sanctuaries across the state, including Station 43, that have brushy meadows and brushy field edges. Although still abundant and of low conservation concern, the Indigo Bunting's population is in decline. According to the Connecticut Audubon Society, "Indigo Bunting numbers in Connecticut are down because of the loss of early-successional, scrub-shrub habitat the bird requires." Consider providing them with a habitat that contains vigorously growing grasses, forbs, shrubs and trees which provide excellent food and cover.
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Thank You, Joe Wojnilo!
for your beautiful images of South Windsor Birds, and helping us fulfill our mission of bringing Nature alive!
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