Folksy

When an Oak Titmouse flew into the water bath this morning, Eric looked up and wondered about the intensity of the blue color of its legs and feet.  I glanced over and a second titmouse landed close by, which made both of us wonder what was going on.  Most of the time, when titmice visit our water bath, they come one at a time.  

 

These two titmice seemed a bit "'folksy"—  very comfortable with each other — and not nearly as skittish and in-a-hurry as titmice usually are.  Given their behavior, we realized that these might be juveniles.

Not long after that, one of them flew to a nearby tree and started wing-quivering and giving insistent begging calls.  Soon an adult flew in with insects and fed the juvenile.

I was struck by how hard it was to tell the juveniles and adults apart by appearance alone.  With very close views, I could see that the juveniles had pale yellowish gapes (the innermost portion of the bill):

 

Then I read that the juveniles also have indistinct (hard-to-see) buffy tips to the upperwing coverts, and more filamentous feathers under the tail:

 

This titmouse family spent quite a bit of time in our yard this afternoon.  It was a fun opportunity to learn more about one of our common backyard birds.

 

The one with the small crest

 

Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus) at our backyard water bath, 31 March 2020

P.S.  The genus, Baeolophus, means "small crest."

 

Spring showers

 

Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus) just after taking a bath.  They've been singing very loudly around our house recently.

Happy Spring!

A busy Sunday afternoon

After Sunday chores, I took a short walk at Sonoma Valley Regional Park (in Glen Ellen).  There was a lot of breeding bird activity, and insects were visible in sunny spots.  [It reached 90°F in Cotati today!]

Here's a selection of images to represent the walk:

 

Juvenile Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii) — note the shorter bill with yellowish color at the gape

 

Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus) with a bright green caterpillar in its bill (it flew into a nest hole with it, likely to feed young) 

 

Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) nectaring on Dichelostemma

 

Mournful Duskywing (Erynnis tristis) — look for the prominent white edges on the hind wings

 

Unidentified robber fly (Asilidae) with amazing metallic orange eyes!  Robber flies are sit-and-wait predators that feed on other insects.  (If you are familiar with this species, I'd love help with the identification.)

Although not from today, here's an older picture of a different robber fly.  It had just captured a butterfly in the Bodega Dunes (photographed 18 August 2010):

 

Festive crest

I've been caught up in a "project" lately, so haven't had much time for taking pictures (sadly).  This afternoon I was working on the computer and noticed quite a bit of bird activity.  It seems the birds especially appreciate some drinking water when the air temperature dips downward — it was a frosty 27°F in Cotati this morning!

 

The lighting was just right to see the tall, brown crest of this Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus).

Happy New Year!  I hope you had a festive (or restive) start to the year.  May your 2016 be filled with inspiring natural history adventures! 

To Catch an Acorn Thief

 

 

This afternoon we watched two striking Lewis's Woodpeckers (Melanerpes lewis) at Crane Creek Regional Park.

They spent some time hawking insects from the tops of trees — providing nice views in flight:

 

We also watched one of the woodpeckers feeding on cached acorns in an oak tree:

 

Then we noticed that someone else was interested in the acorns, too:

 

Did you spot the Oak Titmouse at the top of the picture?

Here's a different view of the two species in one photo.  Can you find the titmouse?

 

(The titmouse is just right of center at the bottom of the image.) 

It was interesting to watch the woodpecker and the titmouse interact.  The woodpecker would remove an acorn from a crevice, then bring it to the horizontal branch to break it into pieces.  Sometimes the woodpecker would fly off before it had finished the entire acorn, and the titmouse would be waiting to sneak out to the branch to steal some "crumbs."  But the woodpecker was vigilant and protective.  As soon as it realized the titmouse was near the branch, the woodpecker swooped down to chase the titmouse away. 

Sure, the woodpecker had done all the work of finding and caching the acorns in the first place.  And the titmouse was behaving like a thief (or kleptoparasite).  But watching this, it was hard not to root for the titmouse, at least occasionally.

Although most of the titmouse's attempts ended in failure, here's what happened at least once:

 

Yes!  The Oak Titmouse was successful in securing a piece of an acorn. 

It made us wonder — How much time does the titmouse spend trying to sneak in for "crumbs"?  How much time does the woodpecker spend trying to defend its cache?  It also made us appreciate how highly valued acorns must be.

P.S.  If you're interested in seeing the Lewis's Woodpeckers, try walking the Creek Trail at Crane Creek Regional Park in Santa Rosa.

 

Barking up the right tree?

 

Can you see the material in this titmouse's bill?

On 7 March 2015, we noticed this Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus) gathering nest material.  We weren't sure what the material was at first, but eventually figured out that she had a bill full of thin strips of bark.

I checked the Birds of North America account and learned a few things about nesting titmice (in Central California):

- They begin inspecting territories from late February-March

- They build nests primarily between mid-March and April

- The female builds the nest, and takes ~4-10 days to complete it

The base of the nest can be made of a variety of materials.  I was curious about how often bark was used.  (I felt the bark on this shrub and was surprised at just how soft it was.)

Of a survey of 188 nests, here's a basic rundown of what percentage of nests contained these different materials:

- grass (65%)

- hair (35%)

- moss (27%)

- feathers (26%)

- shredded bark (13%)

- sheep wool (11%)

- straw (6%)

- twigs (4%)

- plant down/fibers (2%)

- rope/string (2%)

- oak blossoms (1%)

- snakeskin (1%)

- sycamore seed balls (0.5%)

- rootlets (0.5%)

- leaves (0.5%)

- wood chips (0.5%)

The summary didn't say where the nests were from, and if the materials varied by site.  Are some materials more common in certain areas, or do these percentages stay the same wherever titmice are found nesting?

Have you seen titmice gathering nest material near you?

P.S.  Facts above from the Birds of North America account by Carla Cicero (2000).