Apologies for the delay in posting.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • Monk parakeets, like this pair at a feeder in Newland, North Carolina, are increasingly common in North America, but they are not a native species.

One hundred and six years ago to the day, the only native North American parakeet went extinct when the last surviving Carolina parakeet died in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo on Feb. 21, 1918.

This sad historic footnote got me to thinking. What things with feathers are missing from the landscape when birders look back on some of the avian potential lost before Americans became more protective of their wildlife?

Obviously, we lament the loss of birds like the ivory-billed woodpecker or the Labrador duck. Losses of bird life in the Hawaiian islands have been staggering. We also lost tiny birds — dusky seaside sparrow and Bachman’s warbler — that would have gone unnoticed by most people. Other birds to have gone extinct include the heath hen and the passenger pigeon.

Another lost bird was the Carolina parakeet. Many people don’t realize that North America was once home to its own species of parakeet. A few individuals — all that remained of once massive flocks of colorful, noisy native parakeets — made it into the 20th century.

Carolina parakeets once roamed from southern New York and Wisconsin to Kentucky, Tennessee and the Gulf of Mexico, from the Atlantic Seaboard to as far west as eastern Colorado. That’s right – the Carolina parakeet once roamed wild within the borders of the Volunteer State.

As indicated already, the last specimen died in the Cincinnati Zoo on Feb. 21, 1918. That bird, a male by the name of Incas, died alone in the same cage as Martha, the last passenger pigeon.

Martha had died four years earlier on Sept. 1, 1914. The fact that these birds died alone, caged, is not how anyone would like to think of the conclusion of their story.

There are no scientific studies or surveys of Carolina parakeets by American naturalists; most information about the bird is from anecdotal accounts and museum specimens, so details of its prevalence and decline are unverified or speculative.

Although not declared officially extinct until 1939, the population of the Carolina parakeets crashed suddenly and for reasons still not fully understood.

Early American naturalist and artist John James Audubon observed the birds in the wild and painted works inspired by flocks of Carolina parakeets.

For instance, large flocks of these birds still flew free until the final years of the 1800s, but in the first decade of the 1900s, these flocks disappeared.

The survivor at the zoo – Incas – died a year after his mate, who had been named Lady Jane by the zoo’s staff.

The only other native parrot — the thick-billed parrot of the American southwest — no longer flies north of the Mexican border. An attempt to re-introduce this parrot to Arizona in the 1980s ended in disappointing failure.

To look for parrots in the United States, one usually needs to travel to Florida. The Sunshine State has become a place to find exotic wildlife, from pythons to caymans, as well as a multitude of unusual birds that have escaped from captivity and now find the warm climate of Florida suitable for a feral existence.

When it comes to parrots, however, there is one species, perhaps tougher than its kin, that has expanded its range across the country. Called the monk parakeet (or quaker parakeet in the pet trade) this bird is not a native species, but it has proved tenacious in making itself at home in such far-flung locations as Delaware and Michigan, as well as Connecticut and Rhode Island. These green beauties have even made themselves at home in New York City. The monk parakeet has also established colonies in Canada’s British Columbia.

Closer to home, these parakeets have also established colonies in Virginia and North Carolina, although I cannot confirm any such attempts in Tennessee.

I got to see my first monk parakeets in the wild on Feb. 19, 2016, after learning on the Facebook page Carolina Birders that a pair of these parakeets had been found in Newland, North Carolina.

Being only about a 20-minute drive from Roan Mountain, Tennessee, it was not difficult for me to make two trips to Newland to look for these two birds, which were residing at an electrical sub-station. I failed to find them on my first trip on a rainy, windy day. When the weather improved, I tried again and was successful. I saw the parakeets seated on their nest, perched on wires and visiting a feeder at a home near the sub-station.

The origin of feral monk parakeets in the United States dates back to the 1960s when birds brought from their native Argentina for sale in the pet trade escaped and subsequently thrived in various locations in the country.

In researching this bird, I discovered that in North Carolina there are known colonies in Wilmington and Charlotte. Perhaps the pair in Newland are individuals expanding from those colonies. Monk parakeets are most abundant in Florida, but these birds have been found in numerous states, from Texas and Ohio to New Jersey and Delaware. These parakeets have also established feral populations in Europe in Belgium, Spain and Great Britain.

The origin of “monk” for this bird’s name is believed to stem from the gray-colored swath of feathers found on the bird’s breast, throat and forehead. The rest of the bird’s plumage is a bright green in color. The monk parakeet also has an orange bill. The birds are comparable in size to a mourning dove.

Monk parakeets differ from most other parrots, which are almost exclusively cavity-nesting birds. Monk parakeets form nesting colonies and use twigs and branches to build large, bulky nests. Even a single pair of monk parakeets can build a substantial nest. A colony of these nesting birds usually builds a nest featuring several compartments. The pair of parakeets in Newland have already build a large nest among the transformers of an electrical sub-station. The industrious birds create some large stick structures, and nests weighing 90 pounds have been found.

In the wild, these sociable birds form large flocks. In captivity, the monk parakeet can be taught an extensive vocabulary of words. The monk parakeet can live 20 to 30 years, with captive birds usually living longer than wild ones.

I was thrilled to see this pair of monk parakeets, but it also made me somewhat wistful for what might have been.

It would be wonderful to have native parrots still flying free. If only the dawning of a more environmentally aware age had arrived slightly sooner, the Carolina parakeet might have been saved and now keeping company with species like the California condor and whooping crane.

This native parakeet, if it had endured, might today be considered an ordinary backyard bird that flocks to feeders throughout Northeast Tennessee, Western North Carolina and Southwest Virginia.

Tom Koerner/USFWS * An adult Cooper’s hawk, such as this individual, is a crow-sized woodland raptor that breeds throughout much of the United States, southern Canada and northern Mexico.

Barbara Lake, a resident in Hampton, emailed me recently to share a sighting of a large hawk in her yard.

“This hawk was in our yard today and flew up to a tree when I opened the door,” she wrote. “(Its) back and the back of the head are black and the rest appears to be white. He didn’t cooperate by turning around.”

Barbara enclosed some photos with her email. I’ve known Barbara for about 20 years. We first met when she invited me to her home to view some nesting bluebirds on a television screen. She had placed nest cams in some of her bluebird nesting boxes, capturing real-time footage of the nesting activity of these songbirds.

I’ve enjoyed some observations of the region’s larger raptors, including red-tailed hawks and red-shouldered hawks, as winter has settled in for the long haul. I’ve also spotted a few American kestrels.

Based on the raptor’s relatively long tail in the photos provided by Barbara, I hazarded a guess that her visiting raptor was a Cooper’s hawk.

Anyone who travels along the region’s Interstate Highway System has probably noticed hawks perched in trees or on utility lines adjacent to the roadway. The section of Interstate 26 that runs between Unicoi and Johnson City is often a productive area for keeping alert for raptors. The raptor I have most often observed along this stretch of road is the red-tailed hawk, although I have also observed Cooper’s hawk, sharp-shinned hawk and American kestrel. In the time of spring and fall migration, it’s also possible to observe broad-winged hawks.

USFWS * An immature Cooper’s hawk perches on a branch in a tree located in the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

The red-tailed hawk is named for its prominent red tail. However, only adults show the characteristic red tail. The affinity red-tailed hawks demonstrate for roadsides is a double-edged sword. Viewing a large hawk from your car is an easy way to watch birds. For inexperienced or careless raptors, however, roadside living is often rife with the chance for a collision with a car or truck. The red-tailed hawk, which prefers open countryside, is attracted to the margins of roads and highways because these locations also attract their favorite prey, which includes rodents like rats, squirrels and mice and other small mammals such as rabbits.

Human behavior contributes to some of the problems that hawks encounter in the zone that brings them too close for comfort to motorized vehicles. When people toss trash from a car, the scent of the litter will lure curious and hungry rodents. In turn, hunting hawks are brought to the edges of roads in search of their preferred prey, increasing the likelihood of colliding with automobiles.

The Cooper’s hawk is a large accipiter hawk. A smaller relative, the sharp-shinned hawk, is also found in the region. The accipiter hawks are graceful and aerodynamic, designed to pursue prey through woodlands. Buteo hawks, such as the red-tailed hawk and red-shouldered hawk, are more of an ambush predator and not designed for the agile maneuvers that the accipiters can use to capture prey.

Some of the buteo species have adapted to life on islands, including the Galapagos hawk and the Hawaiian hawk. Some of these hawks have quite descriptive names, including the white-throated hawk, gray-lined hawk, zone-tailed hawk and short-tailed hawk. Outside the United States, raptors in the buteo genus are often known as “buzzards.” When the first European colonists came to the New World, they applied the term buzzard to types of native vultures as well as the large raptors like Swainson’s hawk and broad-winged hawk that reminded them of the ones back in Europe.

Accipiter hawks are also widespread. Accipiter is a genus of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. With 49 recognized species, it is the most diverse genus in its family. Most species are called goshawks or sparrowhawks, although almost all New World species (excepting the Northern goshawk) are simply known as hawks.

Most accipiter hawks, including Cooper’s and sharp-shinned, prey mostly on other birds. The website All About Birds notes that small songbirds are usually safe around a Cooper’s hawk. Medium-sized birds, however, are not. Studies list European starlings, mourning doves and rock pigeons as common prey. Other birds that are often targeted by Cooper’s hawk include American robins, blue jay, Northern flicker, quail, grouse and pheasants. Cooper’s hawks sometimes rob nests and also eat chipmunks, rabbits, mice, squirrels and bats. According to All About Birds, mammals are more common in diets of Cooper’s hawks in the western United States.

Some of the more descriptively named accipiter hawks include crested goshawk, grey-bellied hawk, spot-tailed sparrowhawk, plain-brested hawk and little sparrowhawk.

All too often, our large hawks don’t receive the love they deserve from the public. They may even run afoul of misinformed individuals who may regard all predatory birds as “bad.” The reality is that all hawks are valuable components of a healthy, working ecosystem, with each species filling a certain niche.

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To share a sighting, ask a question or make a comment, email me at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com.

TParadis/Pixabay • A male Northern cardinal braves snow and ice during the winter months when these birds are frequent visitors to backyard bird feeders.

Christmas 2023 is almost upon us. As is my usual custom, I want to share my enthusiasm for the Northern cardinal, one of my favorite birds.

Earlier in the month, I became concerned when December arrived with not a cardinal in sight at my home.

We’ve had a couple of cold spells, however, and that seems to have motivated my cardinals to return. In particular, one male cardinal has learned that I’m his easy meal ticket. When I arrive home in the evenings, I always add some sunflower seeds to the feeders so all the birds can have a quick treat before heading off to their nighttime roosts. This particular cardinal is usually waiting on the edge of the feeder even before I can get outdoors with a canister containing the sunflower seeds.

I have always enjoyed watching cardinals. The beauty of both male and female cardinals is undeniable. They’re usually nervous, twitchy birds, so it has been fun watching this particular male cardinal grow accepting of my presence.

The Northern cardinal, especially the brilliant red male, stands out against a winter backdrop of snow white, deep green or drab gray. Over the years, the cardinal has also become associated with the Christmas season. How many Christmas cards have you received this holiday season with a cardinal featured in the artwork? I’d wager that at least a few cards in any assortment of holiday greetings will feature the likeness of a Northern cardinal.

There is a possible reason that male cardinals try to outshine each other when it comes to their bright red plumage. According to the website Tennessee Watchable Wildlife, brighter red male cardinals are able to hold territories that have denser vegetation, feed young at higher rates and have greater reproductive success than males with feathers of a duller hue.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • A total of 15 Northern Cardinals were found the day of the Roan Mountain Christmas Bird Count last month.

The Northern cardinal belongs to a genus of birds known as Cardinalis in the family Cardinalidae. There are only two other species in this genus, and they range across North America and into northern South America. The two relatives are the pyrrhuloxia, or Cardinalis sinuatus, of the southwestern United States, and the Vermilion cardinal, or phoeniceus, a bird found in Colombia and Venezuela.

The Northern cardinal is a native and abundant bird. Cardinals are a widespread species, ranging westward to the Dakotas and south to the Gulf Coast and Texas. The southeastern United States was once the stronghold of the cardinal population. In the past century, however, cardinals have expanded their range into New England and Canada.

The cardinal accepts a wide variety of food at feeders. Sunflower seed is probably their favorite, but they will also sample safflower seed, cracked corn, peanuts, millet, bakery scraps and even suet. While we may get the idea that cardinals feed largely on seed, that is a misconception based on our observation of the birds at our feeders. Cardinals away from our feeders eat insects and fruit, including the berries of mulberry, holly, pokeberry, elderberry, Russian olive, dogwood and sumac.

The cardinal uses its large beak to efficiently hull sunflower seeds or deal with other foods foraged in field and forest away from our feeders. The large, heavy beak hints at the cardinal’s kinship with birds such as tanagers and grosbeaks. In fact, some of America’s early naturalists referred to the bird as “cardinal grosbeak.” Other common names include the apt “redbird” moniker and “Virginia nightingale.”

Photo by Bryan Stevens • Northern cardinals are a favorite for makers of Christmas ornaments.

Even once the holidays are past, there’s nothing like a glimpse of a Northern cardinal to add some cheer to a bleak winter day. It’s not surprising that such a popular bird has also become associated with many trappings of the Christmas season.

“You see cardinals on greeting cards, stationery, paper plates, paper napkins and tablecloths, doormats, light switch plates, candles, candle holders, coffee mugs, plates, glasses, Christmas tree ornaments and lights, bookmarks, mailboxes, Christmas jewelry,” writes June Osborne in “The Cardinal,” a book about this popular bird.

“And the list goes on,” Osborne writes. “Cardinals have become an integral part of the way that many people celebrate the holiday season.”

I can be included among such people. My Christmas decorations include an assortment of cardinal figurines and ornaments. There are other birds — doves and penguins for example — associated with the holiday season, but for me the holidays magnify the importance of one of my favorite birds. The cardinal, in its festive red plumage, appears made to order for a symbol of the holiday season.

Merry Christmas to all the readers of this column and best wishes for 2024.

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To ask a question, share a sighting or make a comment, email me at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com.

Photo by Jake Bonello/USFWS • A ruby-crowned kinglet living up to its name by displaying its cap of red feathers.

Most of winter’s resident birds have settled in for the season at my home.
From red-shouldered hawk to winter wren to dark-eyed junco and white-throated sparrow, many seasonal residents have all become part of the daily backdrop. These winter arrivals join such year-round residents as Northern cardinal, Carolina chickadee, tufted titmouse, Carolina wren and downy woodpecker.
Some other tiny birds are also a little more abundant this season. I’m hearing kinglets almost everywhere I go.

The ruby-crowned kinglet, one of North America’s smallest birds, is typically about four inches long and doesn’t even weigh half an ounce. A close relative is the golden-crowned kinglet, which is typically just under four inches in length, which makes the species the shortest of North America’s songbirds.

Photo by Beth McPherson • A golden-crowned kinglet being held carefully after a window strike.

How is it that the kinglets, among the smallest of North American birds, invariably choose to spend the harsh cold months of winter in our yards and gardens?
Chickadees, titmice and other familiar winter birds eke out an existence by supplementing some of their diet with fare from bird feeders. Although kinglets often associate with roaming flocks comprise of a mix of different species, the kinglets are not usually interested in the offerings at our feeders.

Kinglets are dedicated to gleaning tiny insects and spiders, as well as insects eggs and larvae, from branches and plantings in our yards. They’re so successful at it that they don’t need to turn to even a well-stocked feeder. A kinglet will on occasion sample an offering of suet or peanut butter, but this bird doesn’t make a habit of visiting feeders.

Kinglets are surprisingly tame at times and often exhibit as much curiosity about us as we display toward them. They’re very active birds, however, constantly moving from perch to perch. These bursts of hyperactivity can make them difficult to observe since they so rarely remain still.

In addition to the two North American species, kinglets, referred to in other parts of the world as firecrests, flamecrests or goldcrests, range throughout temperate North America, Europe and Asia, as well as northernmost Africa, Macaronesia and the Himalayas.

It’s the colorful crest of feathers atop their heads that have given all of them their common names. Kinglets belong to the family, Regulidae, and the genus, Regulus. The family and genus names are derived from a Latin word, regulus, which means “rex,”or “king” The name was apparently inspired by the colorful crown patches, often red, orange or gold, that resemble the royal “crowns” of kings.

This year’s bird calendar features a pair of tree swallows on the cover.

Although small in size, these birds more than compensate for it with a feisty spirit that does them well through the harsher weather of the winter months. It’s that indomitable spirit, curious nature and frantic antics that makes them such welcome companions during the bleak, cold months.

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The Lee & Lois Herndon Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society is taking orders for its 2024 bird calendar.

The calendar will feature a photo of a pair of tree swallows on the front cover. The photo was taken by chapter members Eric Middlemas, who also contributed numerous other photographs for the calendar.

The inside pages of the professionally-produced calendar feature dozens more full-color photographs and an informative and educational grid. These calendars sell for $15 plus $2 for shipping. All sales help the club fund birding programs, public park feeders, conservation efforts and other activities in upper Northeast Tennessee. For more information on how to obtain a calendar, email ahoodedwarbler@aol.com.

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To share a sighting, ask a question or make a comment, please email me at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com.