Cornell calls this bird the “feistiest” of the hummingbirds, which will attack larger hummingbirds at feeders and out maneuver them (which is amazing considering the agility of hummingbirds in general.)

So, what do you do if a Rufous Hummingbird shows up at your house in December or January? Well, the Hummer/Bird Study group has the answer.  Here’s the link to their study and information on what to do:

http://www.hummingbirdsplus.org/winterfeeder.html

This group has been studying and banding winter hummingbirds for over 20 years and have compiled some great findings and recommendations.

It’s easy to do because you can do it from the comfort of your home and it’s a great way to get to know the birds that live in your neighborhood.

Cornell charges a small fee to cover some of their expenses but you get some really nice resources when you sign up.  You can enter your data online too which is nice because then, if you continue year after year, you have a nice repository of information about your backyard birds.

By participating, you’re also contributing to a growing body of knowledge about the birds across North America and you can contribute it to our local effort to document species by signing up for our Loudoun County Bird Atlas project.

Are the birds changing their behaviors? What about their colors and songs?

What about the species of birds – who’s coming through that is “new”?

And the insects, well we have a few still flying but what are they doing? Groundhogs are still out and about a little during the warmer parts of the day but for the most part, I think they’re entering into hibernation mode.

Daylight is getting shorter too. That’s certainly another sign that we’re getting closer to that winter rest.

What do you notice that’s changing? What do you hear? What do you see and smell and fell that’s different? This is such a neat time of year to take it all in and notice natural happenings.

Here’s a quick recap from the organizers:

We want to invite all the friends of the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship (BRCES) to join us for a free picnic celebration on Sunday, Sept 25 from 3 – 5 pm during which time the BRCES will be presented with the Annual Friend of the Mountain Award by the Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Those attending the picnic will also have the opportunity to take guided tours of our natural and historical resources.

I started this when I first saw a Monarch caterpillar transform from caterpillar to chrysalis and was fascinated by what was happening. All the years (and butterfly transformations) later, I’m still in awe by what happens, and it’s nice to be a part of it.

If you planted a Monarch Waystation last fall (or have a nice robust garden with host plants that butterflies will come to), you might want to give a go at raising and releasing a butterfly or two this year. 

Having the host plant (the plant that the caterpillar eats as it matures) is critical – caterpillars eat a lot and you don’t want to run out. The host plant is unique to the butterfly you are raising so keep that in mind too. Our Gardening for Wildlife Plantlist provides information on host plants for Loudoun butterflies.

Here is a link to the fairly new Raising Butterflies website. It provides some very detailed and useful information and techniques for rearing butterflies.  While the focus is on western U.S. butterflies, many of the species and techniques are applicable to the east.

http://www.raisingbutterflies.org/

They’re following the route of the Yellow-bellied sapsuckers that are migrating north, making sap wells in trees, and they’ll be flying over our houses any day now (if they haven’t already started!)

Yes indeed, April 15th may be tax day but to lift your spirits from that, it’s also when we can start getting hummingbirds back in our yards!

So, put away the baking flour and oatmeal – it’s time to put that granulated sugar to use for the hummingbirds. You need a hummingbird feeder (which you can get at any pet store nowadays), white granulated sugar, and water. Forget the special mixes they sell at the pet store – you don’t need that and the red dyes are bad for the birds.

The mixture for the sugar water is 4 parts water to 1 part sugar.  So, grab the measuring cup and add 1/4 cup of sugar then fill it up to the 1 cup mark with water.  Put that in the microwave to warm up the water and stir to dissolve the sugar. 

Put your hummingbird feeder in a place that you can easily view it, then keep an eye out for the hummers! You’ll see the males arrive first as they start to stake out territory for the breeding season.

Be sure to keep your feeder clean and change the sugar water every few days so it doesn’t get moldy since that can make the birds sick.

National Wildlife Federation has assembled some nice ideas for activities to do outside and you can check them out on their website. They have a Family Activity passport, Educator Activity guide, and other useful materials.

National Wildlife Week is a signature event of National Wildlife Federation’s Be Out There™ campaign, an initiative to connect families and communities to nature, raise healthier kids, instill a conservation ethic, and inspire a life-long appreciation of wildlife and the environment.

There are all sorts of great places here in Loudoun where you can get outdoors and explore nature. We have a google map of Loudoun’s Great Places that you can use to find locations near you. You can also join us on any of our local Loudoun nature programs and field trips – they’re free and open to all who are interested.

Held annually since 1938, National Wildlife Week is National Wildlife Federation’s longest-running education program.

The first week in February is the time to make sure that your wood duck nest boxes are clean and ready for the spring season.  The best practices for wood duck boxes include making sure they are mounted on poles (rather than trees) with predator guards – just like we do with our bluebird nest boxes. This keeps the Wood Duck hen and her young safe from being eaten.

If you have a wooded wetland area in your community, check with the property managers and see if you can put up a wood duck nestbox!

 Wood duck nest box plans and cone guards and all sorts of tips can be found on the Wood Duck Society website.  They even have tips for dealing with the starlings that will try to take over the box.

In case you’re not sure exactly what to do on Squirrel Appreciation Day, here are some tips that I came across while browsing online as well as a few of the things that I do on this special day:

1) Give a squirrel a treat!  Get some nice tasty seeds, nuts or suet from a local feed store and put those out for squirrels to enjoy.  Places like Rust Nature Sanctuary Shop or Tractor Supply in Leesburg, or Southern States in Purcellville, or The Bird Feeder in Reston all have great selections.

2) Make a peanut butter pine cone and hang it in a tree. Just find a pine cone and smear peanut butter into the crevices.  For extra goodness, roll it in some nuts. The squirrels will love it.

3) Swap out your computer’s desktop wallpaper for the day with a picture of a cute squirrel. To do this, just find a picture you like online, right-click the picture and select “Set picture as desktop background.”

4) Check out some cool squirrel videos on YouTube. This one is just a minute long and is all about squirrels.  In addition to this, people have posted a variety of videos showing squirrel antics:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8B0qy0vJj0&feature=fvw

5) And don’t forget about our flying squirrels!  Smear peanut butter on a tree for a few nights and you may be able to see them.  Here’s our podcast all about Flying Squirrels and the fun you can have with them.

6) Have a Squirrel Party!  Invite a few friends over, play some scrabble or poker or something, put out some assorted nuts for snacks, find some fun squirrel-themed party favors. I know, you just found out about this and didn’t have time to plan!  That’s ok.  The squirrels won’t mind if you celebrate a few days late — they probably don’t even know about Squirrel Appreciation Day (and your friends probably don’t either unless they read this blog post). 

Anyway, have fun. Squirrels can be silly and silly is good!

But determining if you have a “sharpie” or a “coops” can be tricky since they look so similar.  Additionally, they don’t sit out in the open too frequently – they are the stealth hunters of the forest with agile bodies that can move like lightning through branches in pursuit of prey.

The Coopers hawk in the photo here was eyeing our platform bird feeder and no doubt has had some success there – I was lucky it stayed long enough for a shot.

But how do you tell the difference between a Coopers and a Sharpie? 

My first inclination is to first look at size and then tail shape. If I’m still stumped, then I inspect further.  Luckily, Cornell Lab of Ornithology has put together a nice side-by-side Coopers vs Sharp-shinned tip page on the clues and markings that can help you figure out which bird it is.