June Is Bird Month

Written By: William McReynolds - Highlands Plateau Audubon Society | Issue: 2016/06 - June | Photograph By: Rick & Nora Bowers

June is the official Great Outdoor Month in the U.S. while in the U.K. it’s National Smile Month.  June holds Bike Week in the U.K. and Ireland and Labor Day in
the Bahamas.  

In Hungary there’s a Teacher’s Day in June.  Father’s Day falls in this month in Austria and Belgium and scores of other countries including the U.S.  It’s Mother’s Day in Luxembourg and elsewhere.  There’s a Take Your Dog to Work Day in June in what two countries?  Where else – the U.S. and U.K.

Regarding birds, June is the “last hurrah” for most of our Wood Warblers, such as the beautiful Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, Hooded, Black-throated Blue, and Black-throated Green.  The males will still be singing to attract mates on the territories they established in May.  Many of these birds have raised and fledged their young.  June is still a great time, however, to watch carefully for birds carrying nesting materials, such as grasses, mosses, and other downy plant materials with which to line their nests.  Usnea, the gray-green lichen, a Spanish Moss look-alike, which is plentiful on the tree bark in our temperate rainforest, is a vital source of nest material for these warblers.  Fur from dogs, rabbits, and other critters is also used.  

Other colorful birds to watch for in June include Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Indigo Bunting, both of which may visit your feeders.  Scarlet Tanagers prefer well wooded areas and tend to perch and sing high up in deciduous trees.  Their song is very much like the American Robin, but has a rough quality, as if the bird has a sore throat!  In fact, learning the song of the Robin, Grosbeak, and Scarlet Tanager will lead you to many great looks at these knock-out birds.  The difference is in the quality of the song rather than in the tune, with the Rose-breasted Grosbeak having a smoother, whistling quality – you might consider this bird the trained opera star of the three.  At the other end of the spectrum, the Scarlet Tanager song has a burry quality to it.  The next time you see a Robin, stop to listen to it – there are plenty around!  They will be nesting in June too, in large cup-shaped nests featuring sturdy mud walls wrapped in grasses and lined carefully with
finer materials.

June is a bird month here in the mountains.

The Highlands Plateau Audubon Society, focused on enjoying and preserving birds and their habitats, is a Chapter of the National Audubon Society and a 501(c) (3) organization.  For information on all our activities and membership, please visit highlandsaudubonsociety.org.