What a wonderful compilation of videos and descriptions of all the bird visitors you have. Wow! Quite the variety. Love the little piece of heaven you've created in your backyard too. Keep up the good work!
Really enjoyed this article and all of the videos.I will be busy looking up these birds in my bird book.Sounds like you are having quite a lot of fun watching all of these birds in your back yard.I’m going to miss my hummingbirds as I know they will soon be making their migration south.Keep up your great work and writing as I always enjoy it so much.Love aunt,Jeannie
Wait wait what do you mean bird species that would unalive each other were now collaborating and travelling together? like do they really hurt hurt each other in breeding and really collaborate now in the fall? that's bananas
Exactly, it's really wild! At the start of breeding season, you can find male birds dead below windows because they fought so hard with their reflection, which they though was another male.
What does the 'collective' of acorn woodpeckers look like? are they sharing housing and specializing and hierarchical or just friendly neighbors? I feel like the pigeon-looking bird that nests in my Florida patio is a single parent. Woodpeckers live with extended family and such?
I'm so glad you asked, the answer is so interesting. Acorn woodpeckers have one of the most complex social structures in the avian world and some great long term studies have been done on them. A collective is comprised of up to 15 or so individuals, with breeding females, breeding males, and "helpers at the nest" who don't breed but who still help feed and raise the baby birds. Usually these helpers are offspring from previous years, younger adults. Even stranger, all the breeding females lay their eggs in one nest, and they will destroy each other's eggs until they all start laying eggs at the same time, so no one's offspring has an advantage. So it's very egalitarian between breeding females. This whole group also collaboratively gathers, stores, and defends acorns in their granary tree. You could say getting to breeds puts a bird higher up in the social and evolutionary hierarchy than not getting to breed, so "helpers at the nest" will sometimes join a different nearby collective if this allows them the chance to breed. They are such fascinating creatures!!
What a wonderful compilation of videos and descriptions of all the bird visitors you have. Wow! Quite the variety. Love the little piece of heaven you've created in your backyard too. Keep up the good work!
Thank you, Aunt Sherry ❤️ Much love
Really enjoyed this article and all of the videos.I will be busy looking up these birds in my bird book.Sounds like you are having quite a lot of fun watching all of these birds in your back yard.I’m going to miss my hummingbirds as I know they will soon be making their migration south.Keep up your great work and writing as I always enjoy it so much.Love aunt,Jeannie
Thanks for reading, Aunt Jeannie! It means a lot to know how much you enjoy my posts. I will dearly miss my hummingbirds too! ❤️
Wait wait what do you mean bird species that would unalive each other were now collaborating and travelling together? like do they really hurt hurt each other in breeding and really collaborate now in the fall? that's bananas
Exactly, it's really wild! At the start of breeding season, you can find male birds dead below windows because they fought so hard with their reflection, which they though was another male.
AAAAa how do I make my window not reflective??
oo ok actually I found some good ideas: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/why-birds-hit-windows-and-how-you-can-help-prevent-it/
wow what fabulous videos and descriptions; thank you so much for putting this together!!
My pleasure! Thanks for reading, RB :)
You could write two novels from that first paragraph
Hahah thank you, glad you found it evocative.
What does the 'collective' of acorn woodpeckers look like? are they sharing housing and specializing and hierarchical or just friendly neighbors? I feel like the pigeon-looking bird that nests in my Florida patio is a single parent. Woodpeckers live with extended family and such?
I'm so glad you asked, the answer is so interesting. Acorn woodpeckers have one of the most complex social structures in the avian world and some great long term studies have been done on them. A collective is comprised of up to 15 or so individuals, with breeding females, breeding males, and "helpers at the nest" who don't breed but who still help feed and raise the baby birds. Usually these helpers are offspring from previous years, younger adults. Even stranger, all the breeding females lay their eggs in one nest, and they will destroy each other's eggs until they all start laying eggs at the same time, so no one's offspring has an advantage. So it's very egalitarian between breeding females. This whole group also collaboratively gathers, stores, and defends acorns in their granary tree. You could say getting to breeds puts a bird higher up in the social and evolutionary hierarchy than not getting to breed, so "helpers at the nest" will sometimes join a different nearby collective if this allows them the chance to breed. They are such fascinating creatures!!
OMG there's aunties!! that is fascinating!
I'm going to have to pirate a bird book
thanks for the deep answer I appreciate it
I really enjoyed your videos of your backyard birds! Thanks for sharing all your adventures with us!❤️