I must preface this article, by stating that I am NOT a Birder. I have been around enough real Birders to realize that this is a title reserved only for select individuals. Birders are the dedicated few who willingly get up at 4:30am with simply a pair of binoculars and hiking boots to search for spring songbirds. I would much rather be in be in bed. Birders are the people who skip work during the migratory season to trek to frosted wetlands to get a glimpse of migrating waterfowl. I’d rather take a vacation day and head to the outlets. No, you wouldn’t see me flying to the swamps of the Gulf Coast to hunt for the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker just so I could check it off my life list. I’d much rather be drinking hurricanes in New Orleans. Nor would I voluntarily live on an uninhabited volcanic island off the coast of Alaska for 3 months with nesting arctic birds like my sister Erin did.
Although I come from a family of Birders, I am not one. Perhaps because of my complete lack of musical ability, I’ve always found it impossible to ID bird songs. At least for me, it’s so much easier to ID a stationary tree than a bird that’s zipping around in the treetops making all sorts of crazy noises. Nevertheless, coming from a family of Birders has certainly made me appreciate birds and nature.
About two weeks ago, I came home from the gym around 8:30pm to my condominium complex in Commack. As I gingerly walked my already sore legs up to my front door, I hear a muffled, “Who! Who-who whooo!” I turned around and wondered if I could have imagined such a strange sound on a quiet night. I stood there and listened to the cold stillness. As the moon shined down on the hard, frozen snow, I held my breath. “Who! Who-who whooo!” Again I heard it! I hadn’t imagined it! The low call of an owl eerily pervaded the silence that had enveloped the condo complex. I looked around, but the mysterious owl was hidden in the darkness. I felt its large, piercing eyes staring at me as I unlocked my door. Once safely inside, I recalled the experience to my boyfriend Kevin. “Well,” he asked me, “Did you answer the owl with a ‘YOU!’?”
Photo: A Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
Photo Source: www.allaboutbirds.org
The next day, I told Sally, my Birder co-worker, about my avian encounter. Needless to say, I was shocked to learn from her that what I had heard was a Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus), an enormous, predatory bird. With a wingspan up to 57 inches, the Great Horned Owl regularly kills other owls, osprey, peregrine falcons, and even skunks! Apparently it is found in a wide variety of habitats, but prefers open and secondary-growth woodlands and agricultural areas. I never thought a Great Horned Owl would make its home in our condo complex, but the dense brush around the complex’s perimeter and the empty 3 acre lot behind it, probably has made our home more attractive. Trees and shrubs that provide good sources of food and/or shelter are great for attracting birds to your home. The following trees and shrubs are recommended by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for attracting certain birds to your backyard. With luck, you might even hear an owl too!
Photo: Native plants such as the vine, Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), are great for attracting birds to your backyard.
Deciduous Trees:
· Serviceberries (Amelanchier species) Robins, waxwings, cardinals, vireos, tanagers, grosbeaks, others.
· Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) Robins, bluebirds, thrushes, catbirds, cardinals, tanagers, grosbeaks, many others.
· Crabapples (Malus species) Robins, bluebirds, thrushes, catbirds, cardinals, waxwings, Pine Grosbeaks, finches, many others.
· White Oak (Quercus alba) Woodpeckers, jays, Wild Turkeys, grouse, Wood Ducks, others.
Coniferous Trees:
· Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) Waxwings and others
· Spruces (Picea species) Crossbills and other seed-eaters in fall and winter. Migrating warblers search for insects in spring.
Vines:
· Wild Grape (Vitis species) Robins, bluebirds, thrushes, catbirds, cardinals, orioles, Wild Turkey, Pileated Woodpecker, mockingbirds, thrashers, many others.
· Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) Robins, bluebirds, thrushes, catbirds, cardinals, starlings, Wild Turkey, vireos, warblers, Pileated Woodpecker, many others.
Shrubs:
· Northern Bayberry (Morella pensylvanica) Tree Swallows (especially wintering), catbirds, bluebirds, many others.
· Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) Robins, bluebirds, thrushes, catbirds, cardinals, chickadees, starlings, Wild Turkey, Pileated Woodpecker, many others.
· Red-osier or Gray Dogwood + others (Cornus spp.) Robins, bluebirds, thrushes, catbirds, vireos, kingbirds, juncos, cardinals, warblers, Wild Turkey, grouse, others.
· Arrowwood (Viburnum species) Robins, bluebirds, thrushes, catbirds, cardinals, finches, waxwings, others.
· Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) Robins, bluebirds, waxwings, others.
