Slow Birding: The Art and Science of Enjoying the Birds in Your Own Backyard is a push against the relentless drive to incessantly add to birding life lists; the book advocates for deep study in one area rather than spotting a bird and moving on to the next one. The quotidian can be just as fascinating as the exotic. The author, Joan E. Strassmann, covers 16 birds, from Blue Jays to Snow Geese, that can be seen in her part of St. Louis. What makes her book particularly compelling is the research she shares on each of these so-called common birds.

*Snow Goose, dark phase, Cambridge, Maryland*
*Walker Golder*

For instance, the author dives into a familiar thrush in the Chicagoland area, the American Robin. Most people can instantly visualize the adult with its distinctive orange breast and maybe even picture it hunting down an earthworm. But how is the robin so good at finding worms? Strassmann brings in the research of Bob Montgomerie and Patrick Weatherhead to provide the answer to this question. The two researchers experimented on four different scenarios: whether the robin could see worm movement, smell the worm, feel it move, or hear where their babies’ next meal was hiding. Insights garnered from this study and other research show just how remarkable the American Robin is.

The author also breaks down the sections based on location, covering her home as well as Flynn Park, Forest Park, Tyson Research Center, and Riverlands which are within a 20-mile radius of home. An example of a neighborhood bird from Flynn Park that she focuses on is the Northern Flicker, also a beloved bird in Chicago. Northern Flickers are woodpeckers, but their diet consists mainly of ants. Because of the abundance of these tiny insects, Northern Flickers do not have a feeding territory that they need to defend. What they may have to fight for is cavity space. Northern Flickers are adept at creating nesting cavities, but they don’t always get to enjoy them. Research by Karen Wiebe, Kathy Martin, and Kathryn Aitken underscores the importance of tree cavities created by birds such as the Northern Flicker, as the homes they make can end up occupied by European Starlings, Mountain Bluebirds, American Kestrels and many others. The author recounts a battle for a nest hole between a flicker and a European Starling, with the former capitulating. In this case it was unclear who dug out the hole, but there’s definitely a chance it was the flicker.

In describing this fight there was a sense of antipathy for the iridescent songbird; European Starlings certainly do not engender the same feelings as flickers or woodpeckers in general. In fact, the first sentence of the starling section starts off with, “Hardly anyone likes a European Starling in America.” A common perception is that they are an invasive species that takes resources from native birds. But is this fair? Walter Koenig and his team investigated whether starlings caused the decline of woodpeckers, such as the Red-headed Woodpecker, and there was minimal evidence of influence at the population level. While another study by Danny Ingold showed there was an adverse impact, the data are clear that it is we humans who are causing the most destruction. Furthermore, starlings would not be in the U.S. if it were not for human actions. As Strassmann points out, “Starlings are our birds.”

With finite resources and the necessity to pass on genes, competition between even common birds can be fierce. Strassmann does not shy away from the viciousness between birds and even between siblings. Siblicide is apparently quite common for Great Egrets. These egrets may lay three eggs, and there is a significant probability that the youngest chick will not survive due in part to violent harassment from its older brothers and sisters. Great Blue Herons also lay too many eggs and have similar rates of chick mortality, but death is caused by food scarcity and not murder. Doug Mock and his team, comprised of Tim Lamey and Bonnie Ploger, wanted to better understand this hostility in egrets and ran experiments to see what, if anything, could change sibling behavior; Mock and Ploger later experimented on Cattle Egrets, who have similar sibling relationships as Great Egrets. The results may affect your view on these majestic wading birds.

Besides research studies, Strassmann also touches upon complications with bird naming, with the Yellow-rumped Warbler to illustrate. DNA testing has shown the Myrtle Warbler, Audubon’s Warbler, Goldman’s Warbler and arguably the Black-fronted Warbler to be different species; however, according to the American Ornithological Society (AOS) they are the same. A key reason for bundling them all under ‘Yellow-rumped Warbler’ is the biological species concept which says that those of the same species should be able to mate and have healthy progeny, and there are existing hybrids of Myrtle Warbler and Audubon’s Warbler. This stance differs from the International Ornithological Committee (IOC), which has already split Yellow-rumped Warblers into the Goldman’s Warbler, Myrtle Warbler, and Audubon’s Warbler based on genetic evidence.

*Yellow-rumped Warbler*
*Jeff Wind/Audubon Photography Awards*

To learn more about these birds you may see in your neighborhood, and to discover many more intriguing facts plus examples of slow birding activities, pick up Slow Birding. It is a highly informative read that helps us better understand our avian neighbors and yearly visitors. In-depth research outlined by Joan E. Strassmann helps highlight the complexity of everyday birds.

Source:

Strassmann, Joan E. Slow Birding: The Art and Science of Enjoying the Birds in Your Own Backyard. New York: TarcherPerigee, Penguin Random House LLC, 2022.