What birds are in our gardens: Winter Part 1

What birds are in our gardens Winter Edition Part 1

My bird table setup at townhouse (January 2018)

This is the first in a series of articles highlighting what birds can be found in domestic gardens or around parks in the Cape Fear Region. This list includes common bird table visitors, as well as other birds that live or visit our homes readily. The guide covers bird groups that are common or notable from November through February. 

The end of summer and the first chills of autumn usually means the end of the "bird season" in northern regions. For the Carolinas, autumn and winter can be one of the busiest seasons for birds. Many northern species winter in the Carolinas, especially from the Cape Fear Region southward, while many birds will remain with us all year. After migration wanes and the flocks of transient or passage species thins out, we are left with our resident species (like cardinals, chickadees, and mockingbirds), and the birds that spend only the winter months with us (such as siskins, and most of our sparrows). Gardens are also busier this time of year as many birds are looking for food and shelter when leaves fall away, and the first frosts kill most of the insects and herbaceous growth. Aside from bird tables, and other supplemental food sources, flowering plants, evergreen shrubs, hedges, and even nooks and crannies in our homes can draw in birds that would otherwise be found in more naturalized area or overlooked entirely. This list includes the resident (nonmigratory) species that live or visit our gardens and feeders during the winter. A second list will include winter residents, and notable surprises. 

The Residents 

Northern Cardinal in hedgerow

Northern Cardinal: First on our list of familiar residents is the cardinal. Cardinals are among the group of birds that truly stay in the same place all year. These birds will come to bird tables and feeders daily, nest in our dooryards and hedges, and once you learn their loud song, they seem to be everywhere there are trees (which might explain why they are the state bird of seven states). During the winter, cardinals form flocks that can number 50 or more and will gather around feeders, fruit bearing shrubs such as holly, and make themselves known on snowy days. Cardinals will even sing during the winter with males in the Carolinas beginning their songs around Christmas. They love sunflower seeds, safflower, and most staples, and can learn how to use most birdfeeder designs. However, scattering seed on the ground or using a table feeder or tray will make the food more assessable to large flocks. 

Carolina Chickadee

Carolina Chickadee: The members of the Paridae family (known as titmice or tits) are sedentary residents in most of the temperate regions of North America, and Eurasia. Our two species stay in the same area all year, and like the cardinal, they will form flocks and gather around persistent food sources. Despite its tiny size, the Carolina Chickadee is quite hardy and will ride out the coldest winters, switch its diet from insects to seeds (which they stockpile in crevices), and join mixed hunting parties with other small birds. Like its larger cousin the Black Capped Chickadee, Carolina Chickadees will roost in tree holes, manmade structures, or dense evergreens and can huddle together on the coldest nights. During the winter, chickadees will visit feeders all day and might bring followers like woodpeckers, nuthatches, warblers, kinglets, and even bluebirds and sparrows. They also nest early in the year with birds in our area nesting as early as February, and the whistled "Car-O-Lina" or "Feebee Feebee" song might be the only birdsong from Mid-December to February (aside from cardinals and wrens of course). Chickadees use birdhouses for nesting and roosting and might select potential nest sites as early as November. At the bird table, they will eat a wide variety of food but prefer sunflower seeds, shelled peanuts, lard, peanut butter, and other foods. They carry off seeds one at a time and hammer them open in bushes or trees. Expect anywhere from a half a  dozen to upwards of 20 chickadees to visit your garden, but you might only see one or two at a feeder at once. 

Tufted Titmouse 

Tufted Titmouse: The titmouse is the larger cousin of the chickadee and its European counterpart  and also looks very different (like a miniature Blue Jay). Titmice are also year-round but are mostly solitary or in family groups during the spring and summer, and roam a larger territory than chickadees. During the winter, titmice associate with chickadees and nuthatches and will form groups of 5-15 birds. Their habits are similar to chickadees and seeds and nuts are stored or eaten when insects are gone. However, titmice are more likely to feed on the ground, and are not as nimble as chickadees. As with the chickadee, titmice are loud, and will begin singing during the winter with a loud "Teacher Teacher Teacher" or "Peter Peter" whistle piercing the silence of winter. They nest later than chickadees but will still look around for nest sites and might spend the night in a shed, porch, or a birdhouse (and will end inside homes at times). Titmice eat the same foods as chickadees but because of their larger size they can open items as large as peanuts (even in the shell), and love shelled nuts. They carry off food to store or peck open and always dominate over chickadee. 

Carolina Wren

Carolina Wren: The Wren is the perfect example of a homebody as they rarely stray far from their territory and will only associate with woodland flocks when they pass through their area. Carolina Wrens sing all-year and will defend their small patches of land from other wrens. While their habits are similar throughout the year, Carolina Wrens are far more likely to visit bird tables during cold or rainy days, and like the chickadees, they will supplement their diet with fruits, seeds, and even acorns, once the insects, snails, spiders, and small isopods (i.e. sowbugs, pillbugs) are driven into hibernation. You can find wrens feeding under shrubs or in flowerbeds, near fruit-bearing plants like hollies, privets, Virginia Creeper or Hawthorns, or around buildings. Wrens shelter in dense evergreens like juniper, holly, and camellia, or will use garden sheds, nooks in stonewalls, and objects such as boxes, lawnmowers, and mailboxes for sleeping spots. Wrens will even build nests for sleeping. At bird tables, wrens love suet, mealworms, sunflower seeds, peanuts, and peanut butter but will take anything from grape jelly and raisins to meaty tablescraps or bread. While the Carolina Wren feeds mostly on or near the ground, they are brave enough to come up to tube feeders, window feeders or take items from your hand (which chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches will also do). There are also two other species of wrens that can be found in our area during the winter, with both the Winter Wren, and House Wren being very tiny, and drab brown (or sooty colored).

White Breasted Nuthatch, male

Nuthatches: Nuthatches are another bird that many birdwatchers become acquainted to during the winter months. We have three species of nuthatches that live in our area with the White Breasted, and Brown Headed Nuthatch being nonmigratory residents. The Red Breasted Nuthatch is a winter resident that will be included in the second guide about winter birds. During the winter nuthatches will follow flocks of chickadees and other woodland birds and can visit feeders throughout the day. As their name implies, nuthatches are adapted to hack open seeds and nuts and look a little like woodpeckers with stubby tails and the "most unusual body". They also stockpile seeds to get through the winter with the seeds of pine, elm, maple, alder, birch, and oak being fairly important. The White Breasted Nuthatch is mostly a solitary bird that roams a very large territory and there is usually no more than one pair per neighborhood. The Brown Headed Nuthatch lives in colonies and may form flocks of 15-30 birds (with Pine Warblers, chickadees, and treecreepers mixing in), and they are rarely seen alone. Both nuthatches are early nesters with the Brown Headed Nuthatch excavating cavities in the autumn and winter, and may nest as early as February, while White Breasted Nuthatches use existing cavities, and may already have eggs in the first week of March. Nuthatches are easily satisfied at bird tables and love sunflower seeds, peanuts, tree nuts, and lard/peanut butter. They will also chuck out other seeds just to get the peanuts so it might be wise to give them a feeder of their own. If you have Brown Headed Nuthatches, expect no fewer than a half a dozen at once (I had seed cakes and suet feeders with 6-7 nuthatches on  it), although they usually carry off their seeds. As for the White Breasted Nuthatch, you will get one at a time, and it may be several days or weeks that you won't see them at all.  Nuthatches make unusual calls with the White-Breasted making  crow-like "ank ank" sound, or a loud chatter, while the Brown Headed make twittering calls and a squeaky call like a dog toy. Gardens that have pines and oaks are more likely to host nuthatches, while gardens with out large trees may miss out. 

Downy Woodpecker, male

Woodpeckers: There are eight species of woodpeckers in the Carolinas with seven of them routinely visiting or living in parks and gardens with appropriate habitat. The Sapsucker and the Common Flicker (a ground feeding species) are generally only found during the winter, while the rest are nonmigratory. Red Bellied, Downy, and Hairy Woodpeckers are the most likely woodpeckers to visit gardens and each of them have different preferences, and habits. The giant Pileated Woodpecker also makes a regular appearance in most  areas but these birds roam very large territories and are easily overlooked until they make their loud "Wakakaka" call (which sounds like a jungle bird from Tarzan). The smaller woodpeckers often follow chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches and most flocks will have at least one or two species. The Downy and larger Hairy Woodpecker are faithful to mixed flocks and will move around with their smaller group mates, while the Red Bellied Woodpecker might join a flock but pairs generally will not leave their cluster of trees. Woodpeckers are often easy to find during the winter as most trees are bear, and they are attracted to fruit bearing shrubs, and nuts. The Downy Woodpecker even excavates insects from dead plant stalks, saplings, or decaying fencerows. Downy, Hairy, Red Bellied, and Pileated Woodpeckers start working on their nest holes in the autumn and may even drum as early as October. At feeders, the Downy, and Hairy Woodpecker will come for suet, lard, peanut butter, and might sample seeds or nuts, while Red Bellied Woodpeckers (and the Red Headed Woodpecker) almost always goes for peanuts or tree nuts before anything else. They also love meat bones, mealworms, grape jelly and certain fruits. You might also be surprised to find a Pileated Woodpecker on your suet feeder or carrying off peanuts from a table feeder or the ground. The top three woodpeckers generally visit feeders faithfully throughout the year, but they will come nonstop during the winter. 

Eastern Bluebird 

Eastern Bluebird: Bluebirds are the only  species of thrush that truely remains in our area year-round. This colorful songbird of the countryside, suburbia, and city parks is unmistakable and is best described as a miniature robin (about half the size at 15cm or 6" long) with a blue back and head. It also somewhat resembles the unrelated but similar looking Eurasian Robin (which has no genetic connections to the American Robin at all), leading to many people to call this bird a "robin". We are most familiar with bluebirds during the spring and summer when they move into birdhouses placed in our front gardens, along pastures, or in organized "Bluebird Trails". However those same birds stay with us during the winter but are found in flocks of 25-50 birds and gather around hedgerows, woodlands, and home gardens with holly, dogwood, hackberry, or cherry laurel (or other fruits), They still feed on lawns, playing fields, and roadsides, except with dozens of birds, instead of just a pair or family group. Bluebirds will also follow flocks of sparrows, finches, Pine Warblers/Brown Headed Nuthatches, or might come with chickadees. Bluebird flocks are nomadic and may travel across large distances each day before going back to a roost site. They will sometimes visit bird tables for mealworms, jelly, peanut butter, and shelled sunflower hearts or peanuts. Bluebirds can be inconstant visitors (often arriving during rainy or snowy days) but they may become daily visitors. Bluebirds start looking for nest sites in autumn so they may already have a birdhouse, tree hole, manmade crevice in mind before winter (so keep birdhouses up year round). They nest as early as February, and will use birdhouses for shelter if it is really cold.  

Mockingbird

Mockingbird: The Northern Mockingbird is a ubiquitous songbird that is in virtually every garden, hedge, parking lot, or pasture in the Carolinas. These birds like the Carolina Wren, the chickadees,  and cardinal rarely leave their home territory. Mockingbirds, however do adjust their territories for their needs. During the breeding season, males will guard shrubs, hedges, or small trees adjoining open areas or fields (often front gardens, roadsides, or a pasture), and select nest sites for their partners. After the nesting season, mockingbirds abandon their summer homes focus only on defending fruit or berry sources, and places for shelter. Pairs may stay together or break up although both male and female mockingbirds will sing during the autumn and winter and guard tiny territories. Since they supplement their diet with fruits from trees, shrubs and vines, a bird may take up residence in a dooryard if there are plants like dogwood, hawthorn, hollies, privet, pyracantha, persimmon or beautyberry present. Otherwise the birds disappear into the hedge and remain quiet by late November, except for "chak" calls and occasional bursts of song. Mockingbirds will aggressively defend their sites from other fruit-eating birds and may claim a suet feeder or bird table. They like suet, mealworms, fruits, and most table-scraps but ignore seeds and nuts. While mockingbirds do not nest until late March at the earliest, they bond with partners during the winter. 

Brown Thrasher perched in copse/hedge

Brown Thrasher: Brown Thrashers can be among overlooked garden residents in our area and aside from their musical song of paired notes that is heard for hours on end from March to June, these birds stay hidden. Thrashers are relatives of the mockingbird and are mostly terrestrial. They resemble a Wood Thrush with a long tail (a summer resident that is noticeably smaller) and are a surprise to most people who have just begun to learn about birds. Thrashers do migrate in northern parts of their range, although it appears that most of our birds stay in the same spot all year. They live in pairs or small groups and stick to hedges, woodlands, and copses although they will readily come out onto lawns or visit shrubs along a house. In the winter, thrashers are quite hard in the wild, although with less vegetation they can be seen more easily. Look for these birds near fruit bearing trees where one or several might visit daily. Shrubs or trees like dogwood, holly, persimmon, hawthorn, and Virginia Creeper are among their favorites. They also eat acorns, seeds, and non-insect prey and will often come to bird tables for corn, peanuts, grain, or various table scraps. Suet, mealworms, lard, and fruits are also taken. Evergreen shrubs and brushpiles provide the best cover for thrashers.

Pine Warbler, male 

Pine Warbler: The Pine Warbler is the only Parulidae Warbler (Wood Warbler) that is truly a resident  in its range. This sparrow-sized bird is often mistaken for a goldfinch as it is yellow but its longer bill is its best distinguishing feature. Additionally, Pine Warblers are larger than goldfinches and often move like a nuthatch. These birds are always found in or near pines and are almost a certainty in any neighborhood that has at least a few pine trees. They sing year round (giving a metallic trill or twittering call that is quite loud), and eat a combination of insects, seeds (mostly from Pine) and fruits. They come to bird tables year round for sunflower seeds, suet, mealworms, or other items and may take to handfeeding. During the winter, Pine Warblers are often seen in pairs or small groups with chickadees, nuthatches, wintering Yellow Rumped or Palm Warblers, Bluebirds, and Chipping Sparrows. Look for them on lawns, under trees, or creeping up tree trunks. Pine Warblers may nest as early as February, giving them a head start over other insectivorous birds that do not arrive until April or May.  

House Finch male 

House Finch: The House Finch is the "default finch" in the Carolinas and is the only one that occurs year-round in our area, although goldfinches are expanding their breeding range towards the coast. These finches are described as sparrows dipped in red wine or cranberry juice and are told from the House Sparrow by its streaked body, and the male's red or pinkish throat. House Finches are with us all year but are nomadic and move around to find food. Like the Goldfinch, House Finches nest near seed sources and could nest anywhere from April to September. Also like its smaller relative, the House Finch may be present at a feeder or garden for days or weeks at a time, before moving on to another site. When they come to bird tables, you may get anywhere from a few birds to flocks in dozens that can overwhelm most feeders. They also land on plant stalks, sunflower heads, and grasses to eat plant seeds, and gather around pines or junipers. Look for House Finches with flocks of Chipping Sparrows, Bluebirds, Pine Warblers, Siskins, or Goldfinches, although they may also mix with Juncos, and chickadee-led flocks as well. Evergreen shrubs or manmade structures (eaves in such) are important elements for roosting finches. There is a similar looking finch that also visits the Carolinas during the winter called the Purple Finch. This bird has a larger bill, is almost all magenta (the female is streaked) and has a metallic call. 

Blue Jay

Blue Jay: Blue Jays are the only corvids that routinely visit gardens as crows are generally seen as flyovers or periodic guests. Jays remain with us year round but northern populations will migrate and intermix with our resident birds. During the autumn and winter, jays are mainly seen in oaks, beeches, hickories, or chestnuts where colonies gather nuts and stockpile them. After those trees are depleted by late November, Blue Jay groups may visit gardens for fruits, other types of seeds, or to catch prey on lawns or amongst shrubbery. They may visit bird tables although it is not always consistent. Jay colonies often come to the feeder at the same time each day and like the White Breasted Nuthatch and Downy/Hairy Woodpecker, you may not see jays for days or weeks at a time as they have large territories. Jays love peanuts (shelled or whole), tree nuts, meat or fruit-based table scraps, sunflower seeds, and peanut butter. Jays normally take food on the ground, on table feeders or hopper/tray feeders although I had them come to window feeders and tube feeders (often hovering or hanging in place). Jays are hard to miss once you recongize their screaming calls (which sounds like a hawk or seagull) and loud mechanical rattles. Jays are normally seen in groups of 10-30, although larger flocks can be seen during the winter.  

Mourning Dove

Doves: There are four kinds of doves in the Carolinas with additional escaped species occurring around urban centers. Mourning Doves are ubiquitous and are found in almost every rural, suburban, and even some urban settings with hedgerows/copses, open land, and reliable seed sources. The Rock Dove or Pigeon is mainly found in cities or near farms and live in sizeable colonies in barns, urban high-rises, industrial complexes, or billboards. The Collared or Barbary Dove is an uncommon and nonnative species (so is the Rock Dove) that is only found in a few localities within Wilmington,  Southport, and a few rural communities. These doves live in or around gardens and give owl like "hoo hoo hoooo" or "cuckoooo hooo" songs year-round and are whitish. The last species is the sparrow-sized Ground Dove which is quail-like and around 14cm (5.5") long which is no larger than an average House Sparrow or Song Sparrow. 

Collared Dove 

None of the doves are migratory and all of them feed almost exclusively on seeds. During the winter, Mourning Doves travel in large flocks numbering into the hundreds and gather around cropland, pastures, and meadows. In town, Mourning Doves routinely visit bird tables or tray feeders for cereal grains, corn, and sunflower seeds. Doves will also clean up seed that falls off hanging feeders. In the winter, expect anywhere from a few to a dozen or more Mourning Doves. Rock Doves often visit in groups of 10-20, while Collared and Ground Doves visit in pairs or small groups. Dense evergreens like juniper, cedar, or hollies are important for roosting sites. Flowerbeds and meadow gardens also provide ample food for doves. Mourning and Rock Doves can breed anytime of the year and often nest during the winter if food is abundant. 

A Sparrowhawk (likely a Cooper's Hawk)

Predatory Birds: Most birds of prey stay with us as year-round residents and remain in the same territory. Red Tailed, Cooper's Hawks, and in wooded areas Red Shouldered Hawks are the most likely hawks to be encountered in our gardens. The Cooper's Hawk is primarily a bird hunter and will even visit bird tables to prey on unsuspecting birds, similar to other sparrowhawk species. All four of our owls are also nonmigratory although the Great Horned and Barred are the most likely to be noticed as they often vocalize during the day or night, and are common in residential areas and parks. Both owls (as well as the Barn Owl) nest during the winter and often have young by December or January. During this time, you may see owls hunting during the daytime (often on overcast days). The tiny Screech Owl is our least commonly encountered owl and is most likely to be found roosting in Bluebird or Starling boxes during the winter. Predatory birds have large territories and are mostly seen as flyovers or special guests in gardens.