What is it about Spring that makes us desire it to come? What's its real attraction? Is it we're fed up with winter and its weather or are we tired of staying in the house and need a change? When is Spring Spring? If we go by the calender Spring arrived March 20-21st but to me Spring starts to arrive when the snowdrops and crocuses start to bloom. The discovery of the first Spring flowers popping up in the garden attracts our attention and starts us thinking about Spring. The awareness of change, but wait,something is missing! The main attraction hasn't arrived yet, that of the wild birds flying overhead migrating to the new destinations to breed. Here in my area (Long Island,New York) early Spring starts with the arrival of the red-winged blackbirds coming to the feeders and the males flashing their intensely vibrant red wing patches The Ides of March has us searching the skies for the familiar wild birds to arrive. It's now past St.Patty's Day and still no symbols in the sky of Spring. Where are they? Then the familiar calls and cries and the attraction we've been waiting for has arrived, The Ospreys! Our eyes are attracted to the sky searching for their whereabouts. Spring has now officially arrived here The wild birds grab our attention. The male cardinals wear their vibrant red coats proudly hoping to attract a mate. Yesterday for the first time I actually experienced seeing a male turkey puff himself up and display his tail feathers to impress the ladies in the flock. He puffed himself up so much he looked twice his normal size and definitly looking to attract a mate. It was really quite impressive.
The attention to wild birds may be in their coloring and songs. Many of the male wild birds have attractive and brilliant colors to attract a mate. For instance the Baltimore Oriole or scarlet tanagers males have beatiful lively oranges and red respectively to attract a mate. To hear a familiar song draws our attention to the treetops to scan for the wild bird who owns the song. The songs are usually sung by the male to attract a mate or for staking out his territory. The songs can range from short and simple to complex and lengthy. The female is searching for a mate who is a better singer. In the wild bird world the more complex the song the better the males chances because it shows maturity and strength to the female. Thus leading to better brooding success.
The real attraction to wild birds is observing their courtship rituals. Many wild birds use different behavior to attract a mate. Sometimes they use a combo of behaviors to achieve this. Besides color and songs some wild birds perform dance routines, head bobbing, wing flapping or bill clicking to get the girls. Many hawks and birds of prey sky dance. Hawks put on a fabulous sky show to attract a mate. They fly high in the sky and then dive to earth as if they were free falling. Once attracting a female they mate in the air also while performing these maneuvers. Western grebes neck bob and then simultaneously dance and skip across the water. Cranes and birds of paradise wing flap and dance on the ground to attract a mate. The albatross bill clicks with its mate to asure pairing. All of these routines displayed by wild birds are fascinating to watch if you ever get to experience them.
Wild birds will also display their colors and feathers to attract a mate in different ways . For instance the peacock will spread his tail feathers displaying the circles of colors on the tail( the "eyes" so to speak). Who would not be attracted. The woodcock will strut his stuff and fan his tail shaking it and doing a little dance. Frigate birds puff out their air sac so a potential mate can see his red sac displayed
and choose him.
Other birds use preening as their ritual. They preen each others feathers and lean into their mate to show there is no aggression towards them and to bond. Sounds familiar . Humans do the same thing . Birds such as cardinals will feed their mates seed by placing it in her beak or mouth to show he is a good provider and would make a good "husbird" in rearing a brood.
Nest building and nest selection can be viewed as a courtship behavior. The male arrives in Spring earlier than the female and starts his architectural expertise in nest building and placement. When the females arrive they check out the nests and its placement. If they like the nest, the male has attracted his mate. Many times the female will add to the nest or select to build a new nest with the Male's help. This can be seen with ospreys and wrens.
Now we can say Spring has arrived and renewal of life has begun again. Some wild birds mate for life while others need to attract a mate. No matter what, all of them partake in their courtship rituals and setting up house Maybe we humans should follow suit though many of us do Spring clean and get our homes in order. Now is the time to attract wild birds to the yard and gardens by turning our attention to what these wild birds need. Set out a bird bath with fresh water. Clean, repair or replace feeders and fill them with the food for the wild birds you wish to attract. Provide nesting boxes or houses for the birds to start their housekeeping and give them shelter and protection. By providing these basic necessities attracting wild birds to the backyard will increase your odds. If you need any of these products please visit my website www.WildBirdSeedMart.com.
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