Page 7 - Thom Smith News Today

Brown-headed cowbird The adult male brown-headed cowbird is a hefty blackbird living up to its name. The image here is molting into adult plumage. The female is a dull gray-brown all over. They are not fussy at feeders and will take all the common seed varieties, but should be discouraged as they are parasites taking a heavy toll on smaller songbirds, pushing several to become endangered. Centuries ago, they followed the herds of bison. Today, it follows herds of cattle and was confined to the ...

Rene Wendell, captain of the Southern Berkshire Christmas Count, held on Jan. 1, sent me a copy of the count, condensed: “This is the 29th year for this count and we had some notables. Some all-time high-count numbers were: Northern Saw-whet owl -- 4; Red-bellied woodpecker -- 74; Common Raven -- 25; Tufted Titmouse -- 180; White-breasted Nuthatch -- 144; Carolina Wren -- 30; Eastern Bluebird -- 125. “So, we counted 65 species this year! This ties last year for the all-time record for...