365 Urban Species. Species #031: Tufted Titmouse

[urbpan]

To those of us who see them every day of the year, it seems unbelievable that the tufted titmouse wasn't a resident of New England until the mid-twentieth century. They are part of the winter birding landscape, among the most common birdfeeder visitors, gathering in mixed flocks with chickadees, nuthatches, and downy woodpeckers. The titmouse is one of many species of birds whose range has vastly expanded with the practice of winter birdfeeding as well as other human changes to their environment. They are bold, but not quite so bold as their relatives the chickadees.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/purplebunnie_/]

Those don't live where I grew up in CA, but I love their call. Glad to know they're here.

(BTW, if I didn't say it before, I love this daily info thing.)

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

"Peter peter peter!"

(or, in the hypothetical urban bird guide: "cheeba cheeba cheeba!")

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

Are they selling, or do they need some? :)

dialects

[marmota-monax.livejournal.com]

One of the first differences I noticed between CT titmice and MA titmice when I moved here was a dialectic difference in their song. The New Haven County titmice had a call that went up at the end of each note, and the Franklin County titmice had a call that went down at the end of each note. I inquired about regional dialects in same-species birds, and the folks on BioMass who are also on MA Audubon confirmed what I was observing.

Chickadees and Song sparrows are two other local species with regional "accents."

[ankhanu.livejournal.com]

We don't have Tufted Titmice here. I've always wanted to see one. Fantastic photos.


I'm going to make a request. If possible, try and get some shots of Black and White Warblers... I'm not sure if they are urban (I've only seen them in suburban and other out-of-urban areas). If they are urban as well, they're a beautiful and fascinating to watch species that would make a good entry :)

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

We do have them here, but only for a couple weeks in the spring as they're migrating. I'll try to get a picture!

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

What she said. They are urban--in Boston anyway--for a little less than a month. Not the easiest bird to get a shot of, but easier than some. Ususally one of the two warblers we're guaranteed to see (with yellow-rumped), during the migration.

[ankhanu.livejournal.com]

Oh nice. Though they breed here, they're not a guaranteed see. I've only (knowingly) seen two or three in the decades I've birdwatched. They're definately around though, they can be heard on almost every bird count that's done, but they're good at staying out of sight.

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

I've definitely seen them the last 2 springs (since I've been paying attention). We're lucky to have the park right in front of the house.