Over the past few weeks, I’ve been fielding the same question over and over again here at The Lookout, “Where are all of the birds?” Many of our regular customers have expressed concern that the number of birds they are seeing at their seed feeders has dropped off significantly.
I can attest to this, as we have experienced a drop-off in seed sales here at the store over the last month or two. However, I feel there is no cause for alarm. What customers are witnessing in their yards in a natural phenomenon that occurs every year during this time of year.
Why are there fewer birds at seed feeders this time of year? There are two simple explanations. One is the simple fact that a lot of seed-eating birds are migratory.
It is not uncommon for customers to have twenty to thirty white-crowned sparrows and dark-eyed juncos in their yard in the winter and spring months. These winter residents are seed eaters—but they aren’t here during the summer months. When they leave, seed consumption slows down.
However, the bigger reason why seed consumption goes down in summer has to do with a change in bird behavior. Seed-eating varieties of birds switch their diet seasonally. During breeding season, when seed-eating birds are feeding their babies, they are not feeding them seed—they are feeding them insects!
This time of year, it is not uncommon for our daytime temperatures to get up into the 80’s and 90’s. You might wonder, “How do baby birds, sitting in a nest, get the water they need to survive?” The answer is simple—it is through the food their parents bring them. Insects have a very high moisture content. Consider what happens when a bug hits your windshield as you are driving down the road—splat!!
This seasonal shift in foraging behavior persists until seed-eating varieties of birds are done rearing their young. Then you will begin to see the parents bringing their babies to seed feeders where they teach them how to feed on seeds.
The natural rhythms of nature are cyclical, and what you are experiencing is perfectly normal—and is as it should be. You should never expect the bird behavior in your yard to be the same from one month to another. The ebb and flow of bird behavior is dynamic, not static.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve spent a lot of time out in nature. When I’ve been out in nature, I have been seeing a lot of bird species in their natural environment. They are doing what birds do normally and naturally—finding food out in nature. Insects are an abundant, renewable, nutritious food source this time of year.
I did two short bird watching outings this past week. I drove to Paulden to see burrowing owls. I made another short trip to the cottonwood peninsula on the west side of Willow Lake to see Willow flycatchers. I have no concern about bird numbers—the birds are out there, but they’re just not taking advantage of your seed feeders as much as they do in the colder, winter months.
If you want to see birds—I’d suggest going out on a bird walk with us. We’ve just posted the bird walk schedule for our free weekly bird walks for July, August and September. Come by the store to sign up.
This past week, I finally saw my first family of quail with a host of babies. They were so tiny they couldn’t have been more than a day or two old.
Until next week, Happy Birding!
Eric Moore is the owner of The Lookout, in Prescott, where you will find a Hallmark Gold Crown Store, wild bird products, and Vortex and Swarovski optics. Eric has been an avid birder for over 55 years. Eric can be contacted at eric@thelookoutaz.com.
