The Black -throated Green Warbler visits Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast here in Northwest Indiana in the spring. Easy to identify both by sight and by voice, the black-throated green warbler brings spring, summer, and fall cheer to many birders. Listen for its wheezy-zee zoo zee or zee zee zee zoo zee song. Both the male and female black-throated greens are colorful and easy to identify. This bird often appears in trees high above your head, but even a quick side or belly view reveals important identification clues, such as the bright yellow head framed from below by sharply contrasting black on the breast (and throat on the male) and from above by olive green. The sides are streaked in black and the birds sport two white wing bars. They also have a yellow bar that runs across their white under-tails, or vents. The warbler breeds primarily in coniferous and mixed forest from as far as British Colombia, east through the Northwest, and down into the Appalachians. A few winter in southern Florida but most migrate to Mexico and Central America. During migration black-throated green warblers are among the most conspicuous migrant warblers, actively foraging along woodland edges. While nesting black-throated green warblers eat insects, particularly caterpillars, they capture prey by snatching it from leaves but also by hovering at the tips of branches to locate and grab insects. During migration poison ivy berries are among the fruits eaten. There are plenty here at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast to our dismay but to the warbler's delight! Male and female black throated green warblers share nest building duties, making a cup of grassy stems and twigs, spider webs, and bark which they line with softer materials such as feathers. This construction may take up to eight days and the female seems to choose the nest site, which is frequently between three to nine feet off the ground in a conifer, where two or more branches meet the trunk. Only the female incubates the four eggs, usually for 12 days. The eggs are grayish or whitish drizzled with reddish brown markings. Females feed the young initially, joined after a number of days by the male. Young leave the nest after about 11 days, following one of the parents for about a month. During migration the black-throated green warbler flies in flocks with chickadee and titmouse. We would love to have you come to Songbird Prairie here in Northwest Indiana to see all of these marvelous birds. The apple trees are in full bloom the  last week of April around the windows of the sunroom. Pansy faces greet you as you come up the walk as well as daffodils and bleeding heart. Bring your walking shoes and binoculars!

Ovenbird is “hot” at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast

The ovenbird is a warbler that looks like a small speckled thrush. Thus deep forest bird only thrives where forest remain in large blocks, probably because if clearings are nearby, there are more nest predators and parasitic brown-headed cowbirds. Although spotting the forest dwelling ovenbird takes patience, the bird’s TEAcher-TEAcher-TEAcher-TEAcher song is distinctive and rings through the woods in spring and summer. A good look at the ovenbirds head will help you differentiate it from larger thrushes and same-sized water thrushes. The wide, white eye ring is the first clue. The water thrushes lack this, having instead a white stripe running from above the eye to the back of the head. Several species of brown-backed thrushes have eye rings that are not as pronounced. Thrushes hop and feed at one moment still, then dashing; the oven bird walks methodically. The ovenbird has neat “stripes” or spots running down its breast, while the thrushes are more randomly speckled underneath.
While not always visible, the ovenbird’s black-bordered, orange crown patch is diagnostic field mark.
 Ovenbirds nest in mature deciduous or mixed deciduous and pine forests, but they can appear in any habitat during spring and fall migration. Most winter in Mexico and Central America and on the Caribbean Islands. Forests that host nesting ovenbirds have a thick layer of dry leaf litter beneath them, providing the birds with feeding and nesting opportunities. The ovenbird quietly chugs along the leafy forest floor, walking and looking for insects, spiders, and other invertebrates, such as earthworms and snails, among the leaves littering the ground. This bird is named for its domed nest, which usually sits on the ground, and is so well camouflaged with dead leaves that you can easily walk past with out noticing it. Although leaves help conceal the nest, the female ovenbird constructs the nest structure using grassed, bark and other materials. There is a side entrance for stealthy exit and entry. Inside, the female lays four or five eggs and incubates them for up to two weeks. Both parents, feed the young. They leave the nest after about a week, but they are still fed by the adults for about two weeks afterward.
If you have a well-treed backyard with ample leaf litter, you may spot a foraging ovenbird walking your woods during migration. If you hear the ovenbird’s loud song, watch for it on a low to mid-height perch or foraging on the ground. You will hear the teacher teacher teacher of the oven bird resounding through the woods here at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast Inn and Spa.

Here at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast Inn and Spa, a Valparaiso, IN B&B, you will experience the thrill of viewing baby bluebirds in their nesting boxes. The eastern bluebird is our most famous thrush, even more popular than it’s cousin the American robin. It’s beauty, it’s song and it’s willingness to live close to us has inspired many poets, songwriters, artists, and bird watchers. Bluebirds, according the Audubon Society, will be attracted to your property if you have a large open lawn, especially if you provide housing. Thanks to a concerted effort by bluebird lovers, as we are, the boxes are built  and posted and therefore, the eastern bluebird has rebounded from it’s low population in the 1960s. The sky-blue and rusty breast of the make bluebird are echoed in the females’ more muted tones. There are three bluebird species in North America, but only the eastern in commonly found east of the Mississippi. We see the bluebird here at our Valparaiso B&B all year long.
Bluebirds are often seen perched along fence posts here in Northwest Indiana. They also can be found on wires or high in trees. They may appear all dark in bright sunlight, so many observers miss seeing them. During spring courtship, paired bluebirds can be seen fluttering their wings near a prospective nesting site in the front of the Inn. They utter a song turalee turalay saying, give me some more mealworms please. If I haven’t put them out they will flutter up and down in front of the windows so I will see them, and give them their tasty treat. The two habitat requirements of bluebirds are large, open grassy areas for foraging and cavities for roosting and nesting. In harsh winter weather, bluebirds may migrate short distances to find food or shelter. The bluebirds eat insects and fruits and berries when insects are scarce. Bluebirds visit feeders for mealworms, berries and suet or suet dough.  Here at Songbird Prairie, in Northwest Indiana, we supply nesting boxes. The female bluebird builds the nest inside the cavity using bark strips, grass and hair. The female lays four to six eggs and incubates them for 12-16 days. Both parents care for the nestlings until fledging occurs after 14-18 days. www.songbirdprairie.com

Drink your TEA sings the towhee throughout the brushy woodlands here in Valparaiso, Indiana at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast Inn and Spa.

 
Formerly called the rufous sided towhee this 8 1/2 inch long sparrow is boldly patterned and spends nearly all it’s time on the ground scratching among the leaf litter, looking for food. The name towhee comes from the bird’s call, which has also been translated as chewink. Many people know this bird as the chewink instead of the towhee. This is one of the favorites here at Songbird Prairie. Clean, flashy colors have given the towhee the nickname “Hollywood robin” In flight, the bird’s white wing and tail spots are just beautiful. Female eastern towhees replace the male’s black plumage areas with chocolate brown. Towhees preference for thick cover and brushy habitat make them harder to see than other common species. But not here at Songbird Prairie, you will see them come right up to the feeders, a rare occurrence indeed!

The loud scratching of a foraging towhee sounds like a large animal walking through dry leaves; this is often your first clue to a towhee’s presence. Towhees eat just about anything found on the woodland floor, including insects, seeds, fruits, and even snails, spiders, and millipedes. They prefer to scratch the ground under feeding stations for mixed seeds, cracked corn and sunflower seeds. They nest near the ground in a well-concealed spot. The female weaves a cup-shaped nest out of rootlets, bark strips and grass. She also handles all the incubation duty, which typically lasts about 12 days. Normal clutch size is three to four eggs; young towhees fledge in about 10 days. Both towhee parents feed the youngsters, which allows the female to start a second and sometimes third brood. This is one of my very favorite summer birds. Some and see the towhees at our Inn. www.songbirdprairie.com

 Activities for the Dunes National Lakeshore Chesterton IN    

 

April 9            Friends Native Plant Sale

 May 5-8        Indiana Dunes Birding Festival*

 May 9            Mercury Transit Event

 June 3-5       Glamping/Vintage Camper

Rally Weekend

June 11         J.D. Marshall 100th Anniversary

June 30         Fireworks on the Lakefront!

July 9             19th Annual Sand Sculpture Contest

August 12     S’mores Day Fun!

August 13     10th Annual Perseid Meteor Stargaze

Sept 17          Singing Sands Stargaze

Oct 17            NWI Storytelling Festival

Oct 29           “Howl”oween in the Dunes

Dec 24           Christmas Eve Morning Stroll

  

What a beautiful spring day here at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast Inn and Spa. There was a male red-bellied woodpecker at the suet feeder this morning and he brought his mate. I don’t usually see her except in the spring when she is feeding her young.  He has a bill to nape bright orange-red head.  She has only a small portion of red on her head.  9 1/4 ” long, the red-bellied has a chisel-shaped bill and zebra pattern of black and white horizontal stripes on the back. The red-bellied woodpecker is named for a feature which is rarely seen by birders, a light wash of pink or red on it’s belly. However, here at Songbird Prairie, when they come frequently to the feeders, we see the belly often. The courtship starts with the male drumming on a tree trunk or branch to attract the female’s attention. Both male and female excavate the nest cavity, which is usually located in a dead tree below an overhanging branch. The 8-12 ” deep cavity will accommodate four eggs. Incubation duties are shared and last about 12 days. Nestlings are fed in the nest cavity by both parents for almost a month before they fledge, afterward, they remain near the nest and are fed by the parents for several more weeks. The nestlings have no red on them. This is for their protection. We often see the parents bringing the nestlings to the feeders. When the feeders are empty, the male’s long ringing calls are telling me to “get breakfast on the table”.  Many birds are migrating to the nearby Dunes National Lakeshore.  songbirdprairie.com

The black-capped chickadee travels in noisy little bands and draws attention to themselves with their frequent scolding chatter. The black-capped have black feathers that look like a cap on their head and under their beak, as well as white check patches, gray back, wings and tails and pale under parts with buff-colored flanks. The bill is tiny and dark and the legs and feet are black. Males and females are alike and there are no seasonal differences in plumage.  Their size is 5 1/4 inches lone vocal hues can be helpful. One of their two notes are fee-bee and the common call is chick-a-dee-dee-dee call. Here at Songbird Prairie in Northwest Indiana, we see the chickadee all year long.  Most of their diet is insects, such as aphids, ants, moths, and leaf hoppers. They also eat spiders, weed seeds and the seeds and small fruits of many trees and vines. At feeders they are partial to sunflower seed, suet and peanuts. They take their time in selecting just the right seed at the feeders here at Songbird Prairie. They seek out natural holes in woodland trees, often adapting old woodpecker holes. They readily accept nesting boxes. One year I found a clutch in a bluebird box. Looking in as I always do with the baby bluebird, I opened the box to find the female chickadee had made her nest with moss and the baby chickadees spilled out like water since the moss had almost disintegrated. I picked them up and poked them back into the hole and never opened it until they fledged. One side of the nest is built up higher that the other and can be pulled down like a flap to cover the young when both parents are away. As many as eight eggs are laid and incubated by the female for 11-13 days; both parents then share the feeding of the young until they fledge after two weeks. Come and hear their cheery chick-a dee-dee-dee While you enjoy our artfully presented breakfast here at Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast Inn and Spa here in Valparaiso, Indiana. www.songbirdprairie.com