Category: Birds

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Tiny Brain, Big Memory

Mountain Chickadee, Poecile gambeli, Courtesy US FWS, Anna Weyers Blades, Photographer
Mountain Chickadee, Poecile gambeli
Courtesy US FWS, Anna Weyers Blades, Photographer
Winter is a season when most of us spend more of our time indoors. But wild animals don’t have that option. Not only must they find ways to keep warm all winter, but they have to work harder to find food. That’s why so many songbirds take advantage of the seeds and suet supplied by us humans at our bird feeders. We do the work for them.

Pine Siskin, Spinus pinus, Courtesy US FWS, Courtney Celley, Photographer
Pine Siskin
Spinus pinus
Courtesy US FWS
Courtney Celley, Photographer

Red Breasted Nuthatch Courtesy US FWS Dave Menke, Photographer Red Breasted Nuthatch
Courtesy US FWS
Dave Menke, Photographer

Clark's Nutcracker Courtesy US Fish & Wildlife Service Dave Menke, Photographer Clark’s Nutcracker
Courtesy US Fish & Wildlife Service
Dave Menke, Photographer

Mountain Chickadee, Poecile gambeli, Courtesy Pixabay, BlenderTimer, Contributor Mountain Chickadee, Poecile gambeli
Courtesy Pixabay
BlenderTimer a.k.a.Daniel Roberts, Contributor

Over many years, I’ve learned which birds to expect at the feeders in our backyard. We host finches, sparrows, magpies, and doves year-round. In winter, we also see a lot of Black-capped Chickadees, American Goldfinches, Dark-eyed Juncos, and Pine Siskins. Those are species that spend the warmer months in the forested mountains near our home, then come down for the winter into town, where they know it’s easier to find food.

But other songbirds we only see a few times a year – ones that seem to survive just fine in the winter woods. That got me to wondering: How are they able to do that while others can’t or won’t? One survival strategy is to nibble all winter on food that they stored in the fall. It’s called seed-caching – that’s c-a-c-h-e, like the valley around Logan.

You may have heard of seed-caching by the Clark’s Nutcracker, well-known for its habit of burying the large seeds of limber pine and pinyon pine for later use. But that approach only works if you can remember where you stashed food a few months ago. Clark’s Nutcrackers are in the same family as crows, ravens, and jays – birds renowned for their cleverness, with a larger front part of their brains than other perching birds. What about smaller songbirds with tinier brains? Do they have good memories, too?

For some northern Utah songbirds that don’t rely as much on feeders, the answer seems to be “Yes.” They gather seeds, dried berries, and dead insects in the fall, and stash them under bark or in crevices in tree trunks for later use. These seed-caching birds include the Red-breasted Nuthatch, Juniper Titmouse, and Mountain Chickadee.

You might be wondering: “Wait, there’s two different kinds of chickadee? How are they different?” Well they’re pretty similar. The Mountain Chickadee’s song and call are a bit higher-pitched, and they sport a cute little white “eyebrow” that black-caps don’t have. And despite having a brain slightly larger than a pea, they have great memories.

Recently, some biologists conducted an ingenious experiment. They put radio tags on Mountain Chickadees, then hung out seed feeders equipped with radio frequency readers that would only open to certain individuals. That meant each bird would have to learn for itself which feeders were food sources for them. Then the scientists tracked how often the little critters would find the right feeders, and how long it took them to remember which ones to visit. For most individuals, it didn’t take long at all.

Then the researchers switched things up, changing the radio frequencies so the birds had to re-learn where they could find seeds. It turned out that the birds who learned fastest the first time had the most difficulty adjusting to the change. The scientists think this shows that it’s memory, and not exploratory foraging, that guides their feeding behavior.

Mountain Chickadees can live up to nine years, a long time for such a tiny bird. Having a good long-term memory helps them do that. I think that’s pretty awesome – even if it does keep them from visiting my feeders every winter.

I’m Mark Brunson, and I’m wild about Utah’s endlessly fascinating bird life.

Credits:

Images Mountain Chickadee, Courtesy US FWS, Anna Weyers Blades, Photographer
Red-breasted Nuthatch, & Clark’s Nutcracker, Courtesy US FWS, Dave Menke, Photographer
Pine Siskin, Courtesy US FWS, Courtney Celley, Photographer
Image Mountain Chickadee, Courtesy Pixabay, BlenderTimer a.k.a.Daniel Roberts, Contributor, https://pixabay.com/photos/mountain-chickadee-bird-animal-9971732/
Featured Audio: Courtesy & © Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections
Text: Mark Brunson, https://www.usu.edu/experts/profile/mark-brunson/
Additional Reading: Mark Brunson, https://www.usu.edu/experts/profile/mark-brunson/ & Lyle Bingham, Bridgerland Audubon Society

Additional Reading

Mark Brunson’s archive: https://wildaboututah.org/?s=brunson

Mountain Chickadee. All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Chickadee/overview

Mountain chickadees have remarkable memories. A new study explains why. Nevada Today, April 24, 2024. https://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/news/2024/chickadee-memory-genetic-tradeoffs

Greene, Jack, Bird Brains,, Wild About Utah, September 6, 2017, https://wildaboututah.org/bird-brains/

Greene, Jack, Clark’s Nutcracker, Wild About Utah, January 7, 2019, https://wildaboututah.org/clarks-nutcracker/

Hutson, Matthew. 2024. The Elephantine Memories of Food-Caching Birds. The New Yorker, Dec. 29, 2024. https://www.newyorker.com/science/elements/the-elephantine-memories-of-food-caching-birds

Where is that bird going with that seed? It’s caching food for later. All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, April 13, 2016. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/where-is-that-bird-going-with-that-seed-its-caching-food-for-later/

Ye, Yvaine, Goda, Nicholas, Mountain chickadees have remarkable memories. A new study explains why, CU Boulder Today, University of Colorado Boulder, April 17, 2024, https://www.colorado.edu/today/2024/04/17/mountain-chickadees-have-remarkable-memories-new-study-explains-why

Cox, Sophie, The brain science of tiny birds with amazing memories, Duke Research Blog, Duke University, via Phys.org/Science X Network, March 27, 2023, https://phys.org/news/2023-03-brain-science-tiny-birds-amazing.html

Cache Valley Winter Backyard Birds, Bridgerland Audubon Society, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/BAS-ChristmasBirdCount-TallySheetV1.1.pdf

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Rough-legged Visitors

Rough-legged Visitors: Rough-legged Hawks, Buteo lagopus Courtesy US FWS Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Illustrator
Rough-legged Hawks
Courtesy US FWS
Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Illustrator
I’m so ready for snow to cover our lower canyons which allows me to ski near our canyon home! I’m not alone on this wish. Thinking of those little furry critters that use snow to protect them from hungry predators- hawks, owls, coyotes, fox, cats, etc. With the grasses lying low to the ground, the small mammals- primarily mice and meadow voles, their cover has been blown and until enough snow falls giving them shelter, they are at the mercy of those with claws, beaks, and fangs.

Rough-Legged Hawk, Buteo lagopus, Courtesy US FWS
Rough-Legged Hawk
Buteo lagopus
Courtesy US FWS

Young Rough-legged Hawk with black belly and lighter head Courtesy US FWS, Tom Koerner, Photographer Young Rough-legged Hawk with black belly and lighter head
Courtesy US FWS, Tom Koerner, Photographer

Rough-legged Hawk on Power Pole Courtesy US FWS John and Karen Hollingsworth, Photographers Rough-legged Hawk on Power Pole
Courtesy US FWS
John and Karen Hollingsworth, Photographers

Additionally, enough snow- 6 inches or more, offers excellent insulation from extreme low temperatures. This subnivean (below the snow) world is alive with activity from those who don’t have the luxury of hibernating in a burrow beneath the ground. The aerial predators, and members of the canid and feline families, would agree with those who wish for a snow-free valley – easy pickings!

A most a spectacular avian winter visitor, the rough legged hawk, spend their breeding season in the far north- Canada and Alaska. With the loss of our Swainson hawks that spend their winters in Argentina, it does the heart good to see their replacement rough legs move in.

The Rough-legged Hawk spends the summer capturing lemmings on the arctic tundra, tending a cliffside nest under a sun that never sets. Found globally across northern latitudes, it occurs in both light and dark forms.

The name "Rough-legged" refers to the feathered legs. Joining them are the Ferruginous Hawk and the Golden Eagle, the only American raptors to have legs feathered all the way to the toes.

“These hawks may take an occasional small bird or two when the opportunity presents itself. But small mammals and birds aren’t the only source of food for these beautiful arctic raptors. Rough-legged hawks will scavenge and feed on leftover duck carcasses if and when the need arises, especially when rodents are scarce.

Rough-legged hawks aren’t really adept at capturing live ducks, especially on the wing, but they will scavenge waterfowl carcasses during the sometimes very cold and brutal winters here in Utah.” From the “Bear River Blogger”, which I highly recommend.

Rough-legged Hawks have been shown to hunt more in areas experimentally treated with vole urine than in control areas. They may be able to see this waste (as American Kestrels can), which is visible in ultraviolet light, in order to find patches of abundant Prey.

Despite a strong affinity for rodents, Rough-legged Hawks were perceived as a threat to poultry up until the early 20th century. Being approachable birds that spend their time in open spaces, they were vulnerable to hunting by farmers. It’s now illegal to shoot raptors and most other wild birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Thus, I’m expecting to encounter some of these glorious raptors who will be taking advantage of our snow-barren fields laced with rodent urine, as I saunter through them during our Christmas Bird Count this Saturday.

This is Jack Greene for Bridgerland Audubon Society, and Wild About Utah and it’s Wild Roughlegs!!

Credits:

Images: Courtesy US Fish & Wildlife Service, All noted with links below:
Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Illustrator: https://www.fws.gov/media/rough-legged-hawk-1
https://www.fws.gov/media/rough-legged-hawk-0
Tom Koerner, Photographer, https://www.fws.gov/media/rough-legged-hawk-soaring
John and Karen Hollingsworth, Photographers, https://www.fws.gov/media/rough-legged-hawk-power-lines

Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright Shalayne Smith-Needham, https://upr.org/,
Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections and
J. Chase and K.W. Baldwin.
Text & Voice: Jack Greene, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading Links: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading:

Wild About Utah Pieces by Jack Greene, https://wildaboututah.org/author/jack/

Rough-legged Hawks Are Scavengers, Too., BearRIverBlogger, October 13, 2023, https://bearriverblogger.com/rough-legged-hawks-are-scavengers-too/

Rough-legged Hawk, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rough-legged_Hawk/id

Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, US Fish & Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior, https://www.fws.gov/law/migratory-bird-treaty-act-1918

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The Christmas Bird Count is a Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Downy Woodpecker Male at Feeder, Courtesy & © Hilary Shughart, Photographer
Downy Woodpecker Male at Feeder
Courtesy & © Hilary Shughart, Photographer

Downy Woodpecker Using Tools? Courtesy & © Hilary Shughart, Photographer Downy Woodpecker Using Tools?
Courtesy & © Hilary Shughart, Photographer

When the winter chill sets in, that’s my cue to start filling the suet feeders, plug in the heated bird bath, and keep the Black Oil Sunflower Seed in stock for the grand variety of birds which visit my home through the Winter. I feed the birds because I know that my visitors will have better success in raising their families next Spring, but also because they are such fun to watch! Just yesterday I was mesmerized by a Downy Woodpecker taking black oil sunflower seeds one by one from the hanging squirrel-proof bird feeder, flying onto the deck railing, and hopping along about six feet to place the seed in a knothole serving as a mortar to the beak pestle, thus gaining access to the tasty seed inside the hard shell. I immediately wondered if this behavior might qualify as tool use, but suspected it would not meet a strict definition. Sure enough, this clever problem-solving activity is not considered to be tool use, but it is no less fascinating!

This is a great time to discover the joy of bird watching and contributing to community science. The annual National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count is hosted by many organizations in many locations, with a single day selected between December 14th through January 5th. The Christmas Bird Count database was established by Frank Chapman in 1900, when holiday shooting parties were replaced with counting parties as a proactive response to the noticeable decline bird numbers.
Cache Valley (Logan) Utah Circle, 126th Annual Christmas Bird Count, December 20, 2025, Sign up to count sectors or from home, for our 69th Annual Cache Valley Count
The Bridgerland Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count is always hosted on the first Saturday on or following December 14th, and we have been contributing Cache Valley, Utah data to the National Audubon database since 1956. You can watch from home if you live within the 15-mile diameter watch circle area centered at Main Street and Hyde Park Lane – that is if you live within 7.5 miles of the intersection of Hwy 91 & 3600 N, which includes all or part of Amalga, Smithfield, North Logan, Hyde Park, Logan, Logan Canyon, River Heights, Providence, Mendon, Benson, and unincorporated Cache County. Check the interactive map on our website to determine if your home is inside the watch circle. There’s limited space available with the wandering watch groups, too.

Even if you only see the occasional American Robin or Magpie, please do consider participating in a Christmas Bird Count near you. We welcome newcomers and beginners, and hope that you will enjoy contributing to the longest running community science program which provides data for scientists worldwide.

For identification assistance you can post photos on our Facebook group. Please don’t forget that Zero is a number – we want your final report even if you didn’t see a single bird outside your home. Consider hosting a cozy watch party, sharing hot chocolate with friends and neighbors while sharpening observation and identification skills, keeping hearts and minds full and growing in wonderful ways.

For more information check our website to register at no cost at BridgerlandAudubon.org – that’s Bridgerland Audubon A-U-D-U-B-O-N dot org.

I’m Hilary Shughart with the Bridgerland Audubon Society, and I am Wild About Utah!

Credits:
Images: Courtesy US Fish & Wildlife Service, Leah Schrodt and Brett Billings, Photographers
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright © Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections/kevin-colver & Friend Weller, https://www.upr.org/people/friend-weller
Text: Hilary Shughart, President, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading: Hilary Shughart and Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional ReadingSupplemental food and water are important ways we can reduce stress for backyard birds
WildAboutUtah pieces by Hilary Shughart, https://wildaboututah.org/author/hilary-shughart/

ChristmasBirdCount.org which forwards to the following National Audubon page: https://www.audubon.org/community-science/christmas-bird-count

Christmas Bird Count on the National Audubon website: https://www.audubon.org/community-science/christmas-bird-count/join-christmas-bird-count

Regional Christmas Bird Counts found on UtahBirds.org: http://www.utahbirds.org/cbc/cbc.html

Bridgerland Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/cbc/

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Winter Birds

Red Crossbill, Courtesy US FWS, David Menke, Photographer
Red Crossbill
Courtesy US FWS
David Menke, Photographer
Fall bird migration is well underway! Our winter residents and migrating dropins are now beginning to populate our feeders and lower landscapes. So what sweet treats will decorate our feeder this year? We’re always hoping for a few surprises like eastern blue jays,
perhaps a gray crowned rosy finch, or green tail towhee. The old standbys never disappoint- juncos, various finch species, red breasted nuthatch, black capped & mountain chickadees.

A Black-capped Chickadee, Courtesy & Copyright Stephen Peterson, Photographer
A Black-capped Chickadee
Courtesy & Copyright
Stephen Peterson, Photographer

A Mountain Chickadee, Courtesy & Copyright Stephen Peterson, Photographer A Mountain Chickadee
Courtesy & Copyright
Stephen Peterson, Photographer

Swainsons Hawk, Buteo swainsoni, Courtesy Patrick Meyers, US NPS, Photographer Swainsons Hawk
Buteo swainsoni
Courtesy Patrick Meyers, US NPS, Photographer

Rough-Legged Hawk, Buteo lagopus, Courtesy US FWS Rough-Legged Hawk
Buteo lagopus
Courtesy US FWS

Snowy Owl, Bubo-scandiacus, Courtesy US FWS, Alex Galt, Photographer Snowy Owl
Bubo-scandiacus
Courtesy US FWS
Alex Galt, Photographer

Our winter birds are primarily seed eaters and berry eaters. Some exceptions are the woodpecker clan that attack our suet block, as do many of the seed eaters, and of course the raptors, who love to eat my feeder birds.

One non-feeder song bird that always brightens our day is the American dipper on our backyard creek. These little bundles of joy, or Rocky Mountain miniture pinguins if you prefer, do fine without our winter treats. They are full of joy swimming in freezing waters to pursue their prey- insect larva, small fish, and crustaceans. I’ve known them to sing their beautiful river song in the height of whiteout blizzards.

Many raptors have headed south, especially the Swainson hawks for which virtually the entire N. American flock winters in Argentina. Others move into our valley from further north- rough legged hawks, occassional snowy owls, snow buntings, and rarely a great gray owl, all raising spirits and engendering excitement by our birding community.

We’ve had but one green-tailed towhee in the 38 years we’ve resided in Smithfield Canyon. This delight acted unsure of where it was supposed to be. Skulcing, timid, it would steal in hesitant of its next move, where its spottoed towhee cousin was at ease, sure of its footing as it gobbled seed from the deck.

Being from the midwest, eastern bluejays elicite a flush of Michigan memories. Haughty and eye popping beauty, they too are less sure of their place and act quite timid and flighty at the feeder, quite opposite from their racous behavior back home.

We were blessed by immature Harris sparrows during our first three winters here. These elegant sparrows wear a striking black necklace, whick disppears with maturity. Will they ever return?

A tiny raptor brought great excitement. We noticed a Northern pygmy owl sitting comfortably 5 feet from our window, hoping to surprise a finch or junco. Fortunately for the songsters, it was discovered and the alarm sounded. Following 15 minutes of waiting, its patience subsided and it disappeared, never to be seen again!

Last winter we saw our first wild turkeys on the deck. Curious and comical, they would gaze in our living room window, wishing they had access to its contents. We learned even turkeys can be quite elegant, as they paraded on our deck railing.

Occasionally, great flocks of evening grosbeaks bless us with their startling beauty and abundance. We have yet to see gray crowned rosy finch or red crossbills. Perhaps this will be the winter!!

This is Jack Greene, for Bridgerland Audubon Society, and wild for Utah’s winter arrivals!

Credits:

Pictures: Courtesy US FWS,Photographers noted below each image
Contains Sound: Courtesy Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections
Text: Jack Greene, Bridgerland Audubon Society/Utah State University Sustainability

Additional Reading:

Jack Greene’s Postings on Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/author/jack/

Black-capped Chickadee, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-capped_Chickadee/id/

Mountain Chickadee, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Chickadee/id

Red-breasted Nuthatch, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-breasted_Nuthatch/id

Northern Pygmy Owl, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Pygmy-Owl/id

Swainson’s Hawk, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Swainsons_Hawk/id

Rough-legged Hawk, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rough-legged_Hawk/id

Gray-crowned Rosy Finch, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gray-crowned_Rosy-Finch/id

Snowy Owl, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Owl/id