The late warm weather seems to have spurred a wave of late nesting here:

   - Young American Goldfinches were using the thistle feeder early this
   week. They had downy tufts protruding from the heads and backs. Adults were
   calling from nearby and joining them at the feeder. Most adults were
   gathering thistle down in mid-July, but a few were gathering it in early
   August. The males were still singing, fighting and displaying courtship
   behaviors during that time (early August).
   - Yesterday morning, two recently fledged Purple Finches (one male, one
   female) were at my feeder. They still had downy tufts protruding from their
   head and back. They stayed for about 20 minutes, eating black oil sunflower
   seeds the entire time.
   - Last week a family of Chipping Sparrows were eating the seeds from a
   stand of poverty grass in my side yard. The adults would jump up, grab a
   stem of seeds, and pull it down, causing the seeds to fall on the ground.
   Then they pecked at the seeds. The young ones watched this several times
   then pecked at the seeds that fell. A little while later, one of the young
   ones completed the entire process without being prompted by an adult.
   - This past weekend a family of Eastern Bluebirds were catching and
   eating grasshoppers in my flowerbed and yard. The youngsters had downy
   tufts protruding from their head and back. A family hung out in the same
   area for about a week in late June. It is probably the same pair of adults
   that successfully raised two broods. (I don't band any more so I can only
   offer an educated guess on this one.)

Has anyone else had similar observations? My guess is that the prolonged
"rainy season" disrupted the breeding cycle and/or caused many failed early
nest attempts. Then the prolonged hot and dry spell provided an opportunity
for late attempts. The gamble seemed to pay off for a least a few local
birds. Thoughts?

Judy Hochadel
(Champion Twp.)

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.


You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]