How the behavior of wintering birds has changed in the spring. Seasonal changes in bird distribution

Since ancient times, humans have been attracted to birds. The dream of free flight in the cloudless blue sky did not leave the minds of scientists, philosophers and ordinary people. Observation of soaring birds inspired the mythological Icarus to create wings and fearlessly fly towards the sun. Years pass, and people, raising their heads to the sky, look with slight envy after the flying birds.

Wintering birds

With the onset of cold weather, many birds fly away to southern countries, but some remain to spend the winter in their former habitats. Bird watching in winter can be a great experience for inquisitive little ones. Caring parents willingly answer the unthinkable questions that arise in children's heads.

Among the wintering birds, the tit can be especially distinguished. This small bird with a bright yellow breast is a frequent visitor to human-made feeders. She is very interesting to watch.

Also interesting are the important and sedate crows, walking around city parks in search of food. Shiny feathers, cast in resinous shades, shimmer in the sun's rays, giving the birds special pride.

On snow-white snow, like droplets of scarlet blood, scatterings of rowan berries attract bullfinches. The red-breasted winter guest is a real symbol of bitter frosts, fluffy snow and the New Year.

Watching birds at the feeder evokes a touching feeling of caring for the tiny, ubiquitous sparrows. Habitual and native birds flock to them in large flocks in the winter cold in search of food. It seems that only the lively magpie is not afraid of the coming of winter. Filling the space with a roaring sound, she jumps along the tree branches with special excitement.

The tit is a bird familiar from childhood

A winter walk can be interesting, exciting and educational. Bird watching allows you to notice features and habits that are not given much importance in everyday life. The nimble tit, familiar from childhood, is actually a forest dweller. Only with the onset of severe winter is it forced to fly to populated areas in search of food.

Few people know that the usual winter inhabitants cannot be fed. Tits leave part of the food in the crop, where the crumbs begin to swell, causing fermentation. This process can lead to the death of the yellow-breasted warbler.

Features of tit flight

Bird watching in winter will allow you to notice an interesting feature. The tiny tit never eats the whole seed. Pressing it with her paw to the branch, she pecks at the shell and only then begins to eat, pinching off small pieces of pulp. The flight of a tit is a separate topic, as an example of which one can notice the bird’s ability to expend energy economically.

Birds fly very quickly, but rarely flap their wings. Watching the flight, you can see how tiny yellow breasts dive down, then rush into the heavenly heights, performing breathtaking tricks in the air. It is very interesting to watch the flight of a bird during slow motion video playback, but even with the naked eye you can see the characteristic features.

Crow is a smart bird

Crows, contrary to popular belief, are very smart birds, and it is about them that the story will go further. Watching birds of the Raven family can sometimes reveal truly amazing things. Frequent guests of city squares and parks look for shiny objects on the ground. Regular observers tell fascinating stories about how birds collect pieces of foil, candy wrappers, and bottle caps. Having previously made a small hole in the snow, the crows reliably hide their finds, carefully covering secret places with snow.

The crow's dwelling is worthy of special mention. Birds build their nests on the tops of trees, and they do it in such a way that no wind is able to throw the nest from the high crowns. Breaking off thin twigs, sedate crows carefully carry them to the nest. It would seem that there are a lot of old branches on the ground, but they are of no interest to the bird. Last year's sticks may be too dry and brittle and emit an unpleasant smell of rot. Such material is completely unsuitable for building a reliable nest.

Bullfinch - the harbinger of winter

Watching wintering birds is especially interesting when the herald of winter, the bullfinch, arrives. The owner of the red breast has been remembered since the times of the Soviet Union as a frequent character in New Year's cards. The bullfinch arrives with the onset of winter cold from the northern countries, remaining in our area for the winter.

The peculiarity of bright birds is their inexplicable connection. Bullfinches form pairs once, remaining faithful to their chosen partner throughout their lives. The warm relationship between the birds is noticeable in the caring courtship. You can often observe how a bright male feeds his female, whose coloring is much more modest than that of the winter beauty.

The nesting period for birds begins in mid-April. A simple nest that can hold up to 5 eggs is incubated by the female for two weeks. And after 18-20 days, the emerging chicks leave their native nest. In one year, a female is capable of producing two broods of representatives of the Finches family.

The house sparrow is the most common bird

The sparrow is the most famous representative of birds, not only among those who watch birds at the feeder, but throughout the whole. A small bird with characteristic plumage and a chirp familiar to everyone often settles near populated areas. The sparrow that has flown in easily adapts to changing living conditions. In places of human settlement, the feathered inhabitant easily finds food.

Due to their high fertility, sparrows form large flocks living in the neighborhood. Already in early March, the birds split into pairs and begin building a nest. A clutch of 7-10 eggs is incubated by the female for 12-14 days. Already on the 10th day after hatching, young sparrows leave their native nest.

Observation of birds in winter shows that sparrows spend the cold period in permanent nesting areas, in contrast to some breeds that fly to warmer regions for the winter. People who are partial to birds set up feeders, to which more and more birds flock every day.

Autumn bird migrations

Bird watching is especially popular among ornithologists in the fall. Having completed the breeding season, many representatives of birds go on an active search for food. Most begin to prepare for migration at the end of summer. The period preceding departure to southern countries takes several months. During this time period, birds begin to molt and their plumage changes. Abundant food allows the formation of a subcutaneous fat reserve, which helps birds make long flights.

Farewell to autumn

The beginning of the autumn season is the most interesting time for lovers of educational excursions. It is during this period that birds leave their homes en masse, beginning their autumn migration. It is probably difficult to find a person who has never seen cranes fly to warm countries. A beautiful, even wedge, consisting of many birds, sets off for the southern expanses with loud purrs. The farewell song of the cranes evokes a slight aftertaste of sadness for many as evidence of the end of the warm season.

It’s as if nature itself is saying goodbye to the last drops of the passing Indian summer, awaiting the arrival of a cold, harsh winter. With the onset of the first cold weather, wildlife lovers are again looking forward to the moment when they can go bird watching in winter.

In the large bird world there are migratory and non-migratory birds. For migratory birds, the change of seasons is preparation for a big journey, and for non-migratory birds, the onset of the cold season becomes a long and difficult time to survive this difficult time.

Spring

Birds in spring

With the arrival of the first warm days, migratory birds return to their native lands. There is a lot of work waiting for them at home: building nests and hatching chicks.

Wagtails are the first to return to their habitats. They are especially punctual, so they never miss the beginning of ice drift.

At a time when the earth was almost freed from the heavy snow cover, the rooks had already arrived. They are the very first to hatch their chicks, which is why their nests are already built in March.

Also early migratory birds are starlings and larks. The first song of the lark is evidence that the cold will not come again. As a rule, males return first, followed by females. And the last of the starlings and larks to return are those who were delayed or lost on the way.

Birds return home from warm regions not because there is nothing to eat there. It's all about the instincts of birds. They are drawn to their homeland by the desire to reproduce.

The flight of birds to their native lands is much faster than their departure. And the whole point is that they are in a hurry to hatch their cubs, which does not tolerate delay.

It is possible to roughly determine the periods of arrival of birds to their native lands. In mid-March, rooks return to their homeland, and by the end of this month starlings arrive.

In early April, larks, swans, thrushes, finches and kites can be observed. In the middle of this month, geese, ducks, gulls, cranes and waders arrive. And at the end - warblers, redstarts, woodcocks and tree pipits.

But May is characterized by the arrival of swallows, flycatchers, nightingales, swifts and willows.

Summer

Bird life in summer

The main task of each species of birds for the summer is feeding and adapting the chicks to life. If the summer turns out to be rainy and cool, then the life of birds becomes somewhat more difficult. Chicks die from colds and hunger. And the parents themselves are in great danger while it rains.

Drought is also not a favorable state of nature for birds. For birds living in swamps, drought is a disaster. During such periods, wading birds are forced to go out in search of a new habitat. And if the hot days drag on, the vegetation begins to dry out. This situation is dangerous for all types of birds.

The main task of birds for the summer is to teach their chicks to fly, so that in the fall they can fly south with their parents.

As a rule, summer days are accompanied by early dawn and late sunset, so the days of many birds become longer. So, for example, chickadees, they wake up with the first rays of the sun and fall asleep at sunset.

And the songs of the redstart can be heard at any time of the day, because they wake up before sunrise and fall asleep at dusk.

In the summer, birds are especially active and lead their usual lifestyle. Day and night predators hunt in forests and steppes. The familiar inhabitants of crowded places fly along the streets of cities and villages.

Autumn

Which birds fly away in the fall and which ones stay?

Why do birds fly south? Because in winter they do not have enough food, and there is a possibility that their body will not survive severe frosts. Most of the inhabitants of the tundra are migratory birds, and some species in the taiga are migratory birds. The number of migratory species depends on how suitable the habitat is in terms of food - whether there are enough food supplies. Thus, it turns out that half of the forest feathered inhabitants fly south. And fields, swamps and ponds are left to spend the winter without their winged inhabitants.

Migratory birds include finches, wagtails, song thrushes, chiffchaffs and swallows. Lapwings, tree pipits, larks, orioles, robins and redstarts also prefer migrating to warmer lands.

But there are birds that are able to withstand cold days; they are called sedentary. These birds include: woodpeckers, tits, pikas, nuthatches and jays. Cold days are not scary for wood grouse, black grouse and hazel grouse. And the crossbill bird can generally build nests in winter and breed offspring.

It is worth highlighting the nomadic bird species. They do not fly away to warmer climes, but constantly move from place to place. For example, waxwings, titmice, walnuts, redpolls, bullfinches and many others.

Winter

How birds winter

Winter is not an unexpected period in the life of birds. Those who stay for the winter are truly prepared for harsh conditions. Birds stock up on food and seeds. And sometimes they go out in search of fallen earrings, cones and nuts.

So, for example, jays. They can often be seen searching for acorns, even potatoes and grain.

And the hazel grouse grows a special fringe on its legs, so it can hold on to icy tree branches.

Birds that feed on buds, seeds and catkins are more provided with food in winter. These are - white partridges, hazel grouse, black grouse, wood grouse.

But birds that prefer to eat seeds and leaves are always in a difficult search for food. For example, goldfinches, linnets, siskins, redpolls. These birds are saved only by the seeds of spruce and pine trees.

Behavior of wintering birds

flying to the feeders

In the summer and winter holidays I live with my grandparents in the beautiful village of Razdolye. From early spring to late autumn the village is surrounded by greenery. Grandfather's house is located on the outskirts. They grow around him birch, pine, bird cherry, rowan, lilac, viburnum, honeysuckle, raspberry, currant. In summer there are many different birds everywhere, they hatch and feed their chicks. In autumn, the amount of food decreases greatly, and many birds fly away to warmer climes. These birds are called migratory. But some birds do not fly away. These are wintering birds. They feed on buds, seeds and fruits of plants, hidden insects, and look for food near human habitation.

Yet birds often go hungry in winter. It is especially difficult to find food during snowfalls, blizzards, and severe frosts. It is difficult for birds when the trees are covered with frost, since it is almost impossible to reach hidden insects and buds.

In such weather, many birds die of hunger before reaching spring. So, out of every ten tits, only two survive until spring. Without the help of people, they will not be able to survive the long snowfalls and frosts of our harsh winter.

That's why I decided to help the birds.

The birds are waiting for us to save them.

I asked my grandfather to help me make the first feeders from paper milk and juice bags. We made it and hung it on a lilac bush that grows in front of the window. This will make it easier to watch birds even from the window in winter. When everything was ready, I poured seeds into the feeder - sunflower, watermelon, melon, who will like what.

Well, we hung the feeders, poured out the food, I admire it, I invite the birds: “Where are you, birds? The dining room is open!” And they were right there: first one titmouse flew in, then another, they saw a feeder and let’s dive there. Soon there were four or five of them. The sparrows were not long in coming - they flew in and picked up the grains dropped by the titmice. During the winter holidays, every day I wrote down which birds and how many of them came to feed, and then I entered the observation data into a table.

I watched these birds every day. What are they called correctly, and my grandmother and the book helped me describe them "Young Naturalist"

Here they are…

Great tit.

Great tit– the head, throat, longitudinal stripe on the chest and abdomen are black, the back is greenish, the chest and abdomen are white and yellow, the cheeks are white.

Common nuthatch.

Nuthatch- a bird with a short tail, strong legs and a sharp beak. It deftly climbs the trunk and branches of trees and can even climb down the trunk upside down, which other birds cannot do. It has a solid bluish-gray head and back, a white underside, and a black stripe from the eye to the ear.

Field sparrow (village).

U sparrow on the crown of the head there is a brown cap, on the wings there are two light stripes, on the cheeks there are black brackets on a light background, and there is a white collar around the neck. It got its name from the fact that it lives in rural areas.

Bullfinches.

U bullfinches red breasts, bluish-gray backs, black velvet caps and wings, which are clearly visible against the background of white snow. They come to us only in winter. And they are called “Bullfinches” because they appear with us along with the snow. Females are colored the same, only the chest is brownish-gray.

Brown-headed chickadee (puffy tit).

Puffballs belong to titmouses. This is a small bird with a gray back, a black-brown cap on its head, a black spot under its beak and bright white cheeks. Her beak looks like an awl.

Menu for birds.

Watching the birds arriving at the poultry cafeteria, I learned what kind of food they eat more readily and how often they fly to the feeder. For food, I took a wide variety of grains and seeds: sunflower seeds, dried watermelon and pumpkin seeds, compound feed, millet, weed seeds, such as nettles, burdock, white bread crumbs. I hung up pieces of unsalted lard and meat. Watching the birds flying into the poultry cafeteria, I made the following conclusions.

The nuthatch will grab the largest seed and fly with it to a birch tree or picket fence. Then he begins to circle down the trunk with his head, finds a crack, sticks a seed into it and begins to crack the shell, swinging his head high and spreading his wings, and when he flies up to the lard, all the titmice give way to him.

Tits and chickadees do not sit still for a second. They busily inspect the lilac bushes, hang upside down, then fly off for a seed, fly up to a higher branch, squeeze the prey between their paws and begin to knock on the seed with their beak, pulling out the grain. They also love to peck pieces of meat and lard.

Bullfinches flew in every day, but at first they did not sit on the feeder, but fed on lilac seeds and pecked at rowan berries.

Sparrows arrive in whole flocks. To prevent part of the food from being eaten by them, mixed feed (ground oat and wheat seeds), millet and hay dust, which contains a lot of weed seeds, was poured separately on the table for them.

Then I started putting food in the feeders at certain times of the day (breakfast at 10 00 o'clock, lunch at 2 00 o'clock, at 5 00 dinner time). And birds gather around the feeders at these hours of the day. It is clear from their behavior that they are waiting for food.

I also noticed that birds have different beaks. Tits are thin, long, and awl-like. Nuthatches have a stronger beak, similar to a dagger. Bullfinches have a short and thicker beak.

It is very interesting to observe birds; I am doing this work

· When strengthening the feeder, do not break off branches or damage tree trunks.

· Make sure there is food in the feeder at all times.

· Do not throw bags and cans in which you bring food near the feeder.

· Make sure there is no snow at the feeder.

· Do not put pieces of bread, pasta, orange peels, etc. into the feeder. Birds will not eat this food. Remember that birds need sunflower seeds, watermelon seeds, melon seeds, pumpkin seeds, pieces of unsalted lard, and white bread crumbs.

Feed the birds in winter

Let it come from all over

They will flock to you like home,

Flocks on the porch.

Their food is not rich

One handful is not scary

It will be winter for them.

It’s impossible to count how many of them die,

It's hard to see.

But in our heart there is

And it's warm for the birds.

How can we forget:

They could fly away

And they stayed for the winter

Together with people.

Train your birds in the cold

To your window

So that you don’t have to go without songs

Welcome spring.

Kononova Anastasia (7 years old)

Nina Aleksandrovna Volkova
Bird watching in winter on a walk with children of senior preschool age

Volkova N. A. Observations of birds on a walk.

"Forest Guests" (November December).

1. Study of “Tits” - a story about tits.

3. Observation “Forest guests” - introduce the concept of nomadic birds.

4. Research “Who came to visit us?” - a story about bullfinches.

5. A targeted walk around the “Bird Feeders” kindergarten area.

6. Research “How do birds behave near the feeder?” - a story about waxwings

7. Observation "Bird's dining room".

"Wintering Birds" (January).

8. Observation “Birds in winter” - introduce the concept of wintering birds.

9. Research “Why are birds constantly on the move in winter?”

10. Targeted walk to the square (park) “Bird behavior in winter”

11. Study “What do birds do in the evening?”

12. Research “How do birds behave on frosty days?”

13. Observation “Wintering birds”.

"Forest Guests"

November 2 week

Tit study.

Tasks. Develop children's desire to watch birds. Learn to establish cause-and-effect relationships between natural phenomena and the life of birds. Cultivate a desire to treat birds with care and feed them in winter.

Progress of the study.

You know the bird with the yellow breast,

It's called a tit.

Give me an answer, children,

Are tits in town or not?

Assignment: Bird watching. Find out whether there are tits among the birds. Is the task clear? (children's answers).

At the end of the walk, invite the children to talk about their observations. Thank the children who noticed something unusual and interesting.

Conclusion. The tits flew (did not fly) to the city.

Teacher's story.

Today I want to tell you about the tit. The tit is a beautiful bird: yellow feathers decorate it, and the black stripe attracts attention. She got her name for her sonorous songs, reminiscent of the ringing of a bell: “Zin-zin! Hsin-hsin!”

The tit is a curious bird, interested in everything, sticks its beak everywhere, and does not sit still for a minute. She easily jumps on branches and, with the help of sharp and tenacious claws, deftly climbs tree trunks.

The tit is a forest bird that cleans the forest from harmful insects and protects plants. In winter, tits gather in flocks and move closer to people. In winter, tits continue their good work and destroy harmful insects.

Help the tits in winter by making feeders. Tits prefer fatty food; it protects them better from the cold. Place unsalted lard, butter, and seeds in a feeder and feed the tits in winter.

Conversation and reflection “Why do people celebrate Sinichkin’s Day”

Tasks. Encourage children's attempts to share various impressions with the teacher and other children, and clarify the source of the information received. Strengthen children's ideas about birds. Develop an interest in folk signs. Cultivate a desire to take care of birds in winter.

Conversation.

There is a proverb: “The tit bird is not great, but it knows its holiday.”

November 12th is an environmental holiday - Titmouse Day. On this day, residents of different cities and villages prepare to welcome “winter guests” - birds remaining for the winter in our area: tits, goldfinches, bullfinches, waxwings. People prepare food for them, including “titmouse delicacies”: unsalted lard, unroasted pumpkin, sunflower or peanut seeds - they make and hang feeders.

Why are they doing that? (children's answers)

Why do birds need to be fed in winter? (children's answers)

Why did people call the holiday Sinichka's day, and not Sparrow's or Golubin's day? (children's answers)

What can we do with you on Sinichka Day?

Bird feeders are hung in the kindergarten area.

Do you know that prudent tits hide beetles, spiders and midges in reserve in the cracks of the bark and forks of trees. In one day, a tit can make about a thousand such burials. When the cold comes, the tit will find a bug stored in the summer and peck it. By making supplies, these birds do their best not only for themselves, but also for other birds. That is why tits carefully examine, continuously search places where a treat prepared by someone may be waiting for them.

Remember the folk signs.

If birds appear in whole flocks near the house, it means that frost is about to break out.

If a tit whistles, it’s a clear day, if it squeaks, it’s a night frost.

If there are a lot of tits gathering at the feeders, it means a blizzard and snowfall.

Birds jump early in the morning

Along the snow-covered branches -

Yellow-breasted tits

They flew to visit us.

“Tin-shade, tin-shadow,

The winter day is getting shorter and shorter -

You won't have time to have lunch,

The sun will set behind the fence.

Not a mosquito, not a fly.

There is just snow and snow everywhere.

It's good that we have feeders

Made by a good man!

Yuri Sinitsyn

December 1 week

Observation "Forest guests".

Tasks. Develop children's desire to watch birds. Pay attention to the birds that fly from the forest to the city for the winter. Teach children to establish cause-and-effect relationships between natural phenomena and the life of birds. Cultivate a desire to treat birds with care and feed them in winter.

Conversation.

(children's answers)

Birds jump early in the morning

Along the snow-covered branches -

Yellow-breasted tits

They flew to visit us.

Yuri Sinitsyn

Where did the yellow-breasted tits come from? (children's answers)

According to the forest calendar, this is the month of “Winter Guests.” Tits, bullfinches, waxwings, and woodpeckers fly to us from the winter forest. Why do you think these birds fly to our city from the forest? (children's answers)

How can we help forest guests survive the harsh winter? (children's answers)

Here are the funny birds

Yellow-breasted titmice,

They flew from branch to branch

The seeds were collected. //

Red-breasted Bullfinches

From dawn to dawn

We flew in the park

The tree buds were pecked. // Jumping in place, flapping your arms (wings).

The waxwings have arrived

They sang a song loudly, // Spring with rotation to the right and left.

Rowan berries were collected

They flew from place to place. // Bend over, straighten up.

The woodpecker came to visit,

He sat quietly on a tree,

He knocked on the trunk with his beak,

Bark beetles drove everyone away. // They hit fist on fist.

Teacher's story (in a group).

Nuthatch

If suddenly you come across a gray bird that doesn’t think at all about how to move around a tree and walks up and down the trunk, as if walking on the ground, there is no doubt that this is another forest guest, a nuthatch. The nuthatch's back is gray-blue, its belly is light. A black stripe runs along the sides of the head, from the beak and through the eyes.

But a short-haired squirrel flew to our city from the coniferous forests. The gar has gray-crimson plumage and a thick, short, slightly hooked beak. In winter, pike perch, uniting in flocks, wander, gradually descending to the south and sticking to coniferous forests. Shchers feed on seeds of coniferous trees and rowan berries.

Goldfinch.

The goldfinch is a very active bird. It stands out for its red, black and yellow coloration and can hardly be confused with any other bird.

In autumn and winter, flocks of goldfinches wander from field to field, through abandoned meadows and fields, where they collect seeds of thistles, burdocks and other weeds, or they deftly climb the thinnest branches of birch and alder, taking seeds from small cones.

Research “Who came to visit us?”

Tasks. Develop children's desire to watch birds. Learn to note the characteristic features of birds. To instill in children a sense of compassion and mercy, a desire to feed birds in winter.

Progress of the study.

Place food in bird feeders.

We made feeders

Poultry canteens have opened.

Who comes to visit us?

Does he visit our feeders?

Task: watch the feeders. Find out what birds fly to our feeders. Is the task clear? (children's answers).

Let's remember the rules of bird watching. (children's answers).

Ornithologists, start researching.

Conclusion. In winter, it is difficult for birds to find food, so they fly to feeders.

Teacher's story.

I saw a bullfinch today. He has a beautiful black cap on his head. The wings are the same color. The feathers on the back are colored gray, and on the sides the heads and breast are colored red. Bullfinches arrive to us with the first frosts from coniferous forests. In autumn, bullfinches gather in flocks, fly together through forests and parks, pecking at rowan, hawthorn and rose hip berries.

When a snowy, frosty winter sets in, bullfinches move closer to human habitation, fly into gardens and orchards, and look for rowan berries, sea buckthorn, and barberry. They scatter through the bushes and whistle melodiously: “Rum-rum-rum!” If you are lucky enough to see these beautiful birds, admire them quietly, being careful not to startle them.

A targeted walk around the “Bird Feeders” kindergarten area.

Tasks. Remind children that wintering birds really need people's help. To instill in children a sense of compassion and mercy, a desire to feed birds in winter. Develop a desire to watch birds.

Place food in bird feeders.

Feed the birds in winter.

Let it come from all over

They will flock to you like home,

Flocks on the porch.

Alexander Yashin

Why do birds need to be fed in winter? (children's answers).

What do you think, are you the only ones who hung a bird feeder? (children's answers).

Now we will take you for a walk around the kindergarten and take a close look at where the bird feeders hang? What birds come to the feeders?

Let's remember the rules of bird watching. (children's answers).

While walking, draw children’s attention to bird feeders not only on the territory of the kindergarten, but also behind the fence (if there are any). Encourage those children who do not make noise, do not run, but calmly watch the birds.

Why do you think there are so many feeders? (children's answers).

Conclusion. In winter, it is difficult for birds to find food, so they fly to feeders. There are a lot of birds, so you need a lot of feeders.

Fun exercises “Forest guests”.

The study “How do birds behave at the feeder?”

Tasks.

Progress of the study.

Place food in bird feeders.

We made feeders

Poultry canteens have opened.

We will observe the behavior of birds,

We will find out the character of the birds.

Task: observe the behavior of birds. Find out how birds behave near the feeder. How do they peck at the feeder (do they immediately sit on the feeder or are they careful and first sit on the bushes, and only then fly up to the feeder? Do they quarrel or not, do they yield to each other? Is the task clear? (children's answers).

Let's remember the rules of bird watching. (children's answers).

Ornithologists, start researching.

In the group, after the walk, invite the children to talk about their observations. If the child does not remember the name of the bird, ask him to describe it. Thank the children who noticed something unusual and interesting.

Conclusion. Birds behave differently at feeders. Sparrows often quarrel and take food from each other. Bullfinches are calm birds. Tits love to peck lard, swinging on a rope by which the lard is attached to the feeder. When a large bird flies up to the feeder - a crow, magpie or dove - the small birds fly away to the side.

Teacher's story.

I saw amazing birds today. These were large birds, in elegant plumage, with a crest on their heads. They whistled softly, as if they were playing pipes: “Sviri-sviri-svir.” And these amazing birds are called waxwings. Waxwings love ripe rowan berries. In flocks they fly from one tree to another.

Waxwings.

The waxwings have arrived

They played the pipes,

They whistled: “Sviri-svir!

We'll have a feast in the forest!

Let the leaves fall from the branches,

The autumn rain rustles,

We peck the rowan trees -

You won’t find better berries!”

Shorygina T. A.

Observation "Bird's dining room".

Tasks. Develop children's desire to watch birds. Pay attention to the birds that fly from the forest to the city for the winter. Teach children to note the characteristic features of birds. To instill in children a sense of compassion and mercy, a desire to feed birds in winter.

Conversation.

Look carefully around you, what birds do you see? (children's answers)

We made a feeder

We opened a canteen...

Visit on the first day of the week

The titmice flew to us.

And on Tuesday - bullfinches,

Brighter than the morning dawn.

3. Alexandrova

And what birds flew to our bird canteen? (children's answers)

According to the forest calendar, this is the month of “Winter Guests.” What birds flew into the city from the forest? (children's answers)

Why do you think birds fly from the forest to the city in winter? (children's answers)

How do we help forest guests survive the harsh winter? (children's answers)

It is difficult to find food in the forest, so forest birds move closer to people. They wander from place to place in search of food. Therefore, such birds are called nomadic birds.

Fun exercises “Forest guests”.

Encourage the children to watch birds during their walk.

In a group, ask the children to talk about their observations.

Thank those children who actually watched the birds.

"Wintering Birds"

January 4 week

Observation "Birds in winter".

Tasks. Form children's ideas about how colder temperatures and shorter day lengths change the lives of birds. Foster a desire to take care of wintering birds. Develop observation, curiosity, attention.

Conversation.

Look carefully around you, what birds do you see? (children's answers)

...There are different types of birds:

Some people are afraid of blizzards

And they fly away for the winter

To the good, warm south.

Others, those people are different:

In the frost they circle over the forest,

For them, separation from their homeland

More terrible than a severe cold...

K. Muhammadi

What kind of birds are these that are not afraid of frost and blizzards? (children's answers)

Sparrows and pigeons, crows and magpies are wintering birds. They do not fly away to warmer regions for the winter, but remain to spend the winter with us, which is why they are called wintering birds. Forest guests fly into the city from the forest: tits, woodpeckers, and nomadic birds: bullfinches, waxwings.

According to the forest calendar, this is the month of “Fierce Famine.” In winter, it is difficult for birds to find food under the snow, which is why severe hunger sets in. Fierce means very strong. Many birds do not live to see spring and die of hunger.

How do we help birds survive the cold winter days? (children's answers)

Sparrows and doves

They came to visit, // Run in a circle, flapping your arms (wings).

Sad, ruffled,

They sat down on a birch tree. // Sit down, stand up

Paws raised

They warmed us with feathers. //

They were looking for grains,

Didn't see anything //

We made feeders

The birds were invited to visit. // They hit fist on fist.

We welcome wintering birds,

We will give them food. // Imitation, food is scattered.

Encourage the children to watch birds during their walk.

In a group, ask the children to talk about their observations.

Thank those children who actually watched the birds.

The study “Why are birds constantly on the move in winter?”

Tasks. To form children's ideas about the adaptation of birds to their environment. Expand knowledge about wintering birds and the behavior of birds in winter. Develop observation, curiosity, attention. Foster a desire to take care of wintering birds.

Progress of the study.

Why do birds jump, fly,

Don't they play games?

Why do they eat so much?

Perhaps they want to get fat?

We will unravel the secrets of birds,

We learn something new.

Assignment: Bird watching. Find out: why birds are constantly on the move in winter, what they do. Is the task clear? (children's answers).

Let's remember the rules of bird watching.

Bird watching rules.

Birds are very shy, so you need to be very quiet and not make noise.

You cannot run up to the birds; you are preventing them from resting or eating.

You cannot throw stones or sticks at birds, they are alive, they are hurt.

Ornithologists, start researching.

In the group, after the walk, invite the children to talk about their observations. Thank the children who noticed something unusual and interesting.

Teacher's story.

Winter is a very difficult time of year for birds. They are cold and hungry. Because of the cold, birds lose a lot of heat. How can they keep warm? In order to keep warm, birds need to eat a lot, and they need much more food in winter than in summer. “A well-fed person is not afraid of frost,” people say. Therefore, from early morning until late evening, wintering birds are busy with one important task - searching for food. The days in winter are short, it gets dark quickly, and food cannot be found in the dark. So they get up at sunrise and look for food all day long. And whoever did not find food and remained hungry will disappear at night and freeze! It’s easier to find food in the city, so the birds huddle in the cold, closer to people, to warmth and food. People make bird feeders and feed birds to help birds survive in winter.

Conclusion. Birds are constantly moving to find food and stay warm. Birds eat a lot because a well-fed bird will not freeze.

Targeted walk to the square (park) “Bird behavior in winter.”

Tasks. Form children's ideas about how colder temperatures and shorter day lengths change the lives of birds. Expand knowledge about wintering birds and the behavior of birds in winter. Develop observation, curiosity, attention. To instill in children a sense of compassion and mercy.

The walk begins in the courtyard of the kindergarten. Remember the rules of conduct on a target walk.

The purpose of our walk: bird behavior in winter. Only the most attentive and observant children will notice birds in winter. Let's remember the rules of bird watching.

In the park, walking along the paths, draw children’s attention to the birds. Ask the children to tell what they know about this bird, to complement the children’s story. Encourage those children who do not make noise, do not run, but calmly watch the birds.

Remind children that wintering birds really need people's help.

Fun exercises “Wintering birds”.

In the group, after the walk, invite the children to talk about their observations. If the child does not remember the name of the bird, ask him to describe it. Thank the children who noticed something unusual and interesting.

The study “What do birds do in the evening?”

Tasks. Form children's ideas about how colder temperatures and shorter day lengths change the lives of birds. Expand knowledge about bird behavior in winter. Learn to establish cause-and-effect relationships between the time of day and the life of birds. Develop observation, curiosity, attention.

Progress of the study.

In the evening the birds disappeared!

Perhaps the owls stole them?

We will unravel the secrets of birds,

We learn something new.

Assignment: Bird watching. Find out how birds behave in the evening when it is dark outside. Is the task clear? (children's answers).

Let's remember the rules of bird watching.

Bird watching rules.

Birds are very shy, so you need to be very quiet and not make noise.

You cannot run up to the birds; you are preventing them from resting or eating.

You cannot throw stones or sticks at birds, they are alive, they are hurt.

Ornithologists, start researching.

The next day, in the group, ask the children to talk about their observations. Thank the children who noticed something unusual and interesting.

Conclusion. In the evening the birds sleep because it is dark outside.

Teacher's story.

At night, the birds sleep. They gather in flocks, hide in hollows, in dense fir trees, hug each other closely and sleep until the sun rises. The night is especially dangerous for birds; the nights in winter are long and frosty. If a bird goes to bed hungry, it may not wake up in the morning.

The study “How do birds behave on frosty days?”

Tasks. Form children's ideas about how colder temperatures and shorter day lengths change the lives of birds. Expand knowledge about wintering birds and the behavior of birds in winter. Develop observation, curiosity, attention. Foster a desire to take care of wintering birds.

Progress of the study.

Why don't wintering birds freeze?

How do you protect yourself from frost?

We will unravel the secrets of birds,

We learn something new.

Assignment: Bird watching. Find out how birds behave on a frosty day. Is the task clear? (children's answers).

Let's remember the rules of bird watching.

Bird watching rules.

Birds are very shy, so you need to be very quiet and not make noise.

You cannot run up to the birds; you are preventing them from resting or eating.

You cannot throw stones or sticks at birds, they are alive, they are hurt.

Ornithologists, start researching.

In the group, after the walk, invite the children to talk about their observations.

Thank the children who noticed something unusual and interesting.

Teacher's story.

By winter, birds change their plumage to warmer and thicker winter plumage. In cold weather, birds do not fly, but sit with their feathers ruffled. When a bird sits, there is still air between its feathers. It prevents cold from reaching the bird's body and retains heat.

In flight, frosty air rushes towards the bird's body from all sides, and the bird freezes in flight. And in winter frosts you can see birds standing on one leg or the other. It is they who warm their legs in feathers, lifting them from the cold ground. Wintering birds spend the night in hollows, in dense fir trees, they hug each other closely and hide their beaks under their wings for warmth.

Conclusion. On frosty days, birds sit with their feathers ruffled to keep warm.

Observation “Wintering birds”.

Tasks. Summarize children's knowledge about wintering birds. Develop ideas about how colder temperatures and shorter day lengths change the lives of birds. Cultivate a desire to care for birds. Develop observation, curiosity, attention.

Conversation.

Look carefully around you, what birds do you see? (children's answers)

... Winter sings and echoes,

The shaggy forest lulls

The ringing sound of a pine forest.

All around with deep melancholy

Sailing to a distant land

Gray clouds.

And there's a snowstorm in the yard

Spreads a silk carpet,

But it's painfully cold.

Sparrows are playful,

Like lonely children,

Huddled by the window.

The little birds are cold,

Hungry, tired,

And they huddle tighter.

And the blizzard with a mad roar

Knocks on the hanging shutters

And he gets angrier.

Sergey Yesenin

What birds are not afraid of frost and blizzards, but stay with us for the winter? (children's answers)

What are these birds called? (wintering birds)

What have we learned about wintering birds? (children's answers)

In order to survive, birds need a lot of food;

Birds are constantly on the move, in search of food;

In the evening the birds sleep because it is dark outside;

On frosty days, birds sit with their feathers ruffled to keep warm.

How do we help birds survive the cold winter days? (children's answers)

Fun exercises “Wintering birds”.

Sparrows and doves

They came to visit, // B eat in a circle, flapping your arms (wings).

Sad, ruffled,

They sat down on a birch tree. // Sit down, stand up

Paws raised

They warmed us with feathers. // Stand on one leg and stand

They were looking for grains,

Didn't see anything // Bend, straighten up, shrug.

We made feeders

The birds were invited to visit. // They hit fist on fist.

We welcome wintering birds,

We will give them food. // Imitation, food is scattered.

Encourage the children to watch birds during their walk.

In a group, ask the children to talk about their observations.

Thank those children who actually watched the birds.

Autumn-winter excursions

The topics of autumn-winter ornithological excursions are quite diverse. Autumn migrations and molting, invasive invasions of birds, daily flights and concentration on roosting and feeding areas, food diet and methods of foraging, winter distribution throughout the territory, and finally, autumn singing and winter breeding - this is an incomplete list of phenomena and aspects of the life activity of birds that can be study in autumn and winter. Among them, the most striking are the autumn migrations of birds. They are even more noticeable than in spring, since in autumn birds usually fly slower and make longer stops more often.

About autumn migrations

When the birds finish their breeding season, they begin to move around in search of food. In some species, these movements almost immediately develop into migration. This is observed in a number of long-distance migrants who leave the breeding area without even beginning to molt. Their autumn moult occurs during the winter. In other species, and these are the majority, there is a pre-migration period between reproduction and migration. It sometimes lasts for several months. During this time, birds completely or partially replace their old plumage with new ones, accumulate fat reserves, and then begin their migration.

General direction and timing of flight. In the European part of the USSR, the general direction of autumn migrations is southwestern. Moving towards their southern European or African wintering grounds, most birds skirt large bodies of water and fly, as in the spring, sticking to the coastline. Both waterfowl and land birds behave this way. Thus, the main places of concentration again become river valleys, as well as coastal areas of lakes and bays. However, observations now need to be carried out mainly on the northern and eastern coasts.

Birds that winter in Southeast Asia and fly eastward are few in number here. Examples include lentils, dubrovnik, green warbler, garden warbler and some others. They begin their autumn migration very early - already from the end of July. At the end of August - beginning of September, the last individuals fly away. Such early dates of departure are associated with the large length of their migration routes. It is difficult to notice them on the flight path. They fly at night. They are seen mainly during daytime stops. Knowing the autumn calls of these birds makes observations easier. The lentil makes a whistling "twee", the garden warbler clicks dryly, the bunting is characterized by a high-pitched metallic twittering, etc.

Of the birds flying to the southwest, whose migration also takes place in August - early September, we will point out various waders: the carrier, the fi-fi, the black guinea pig, the great snail, the middle and great curlew. These birds are not difficult to notice, since they fly not only at night, but also during daylight hours and accompany their movements with loud, specific voices. Swifts and cuckoos, flycatchers, warblers, crickets and yellow wagtails also fly in August. The timing of their flight is very definite. In the Leningrad region, for example, the peak of the first wave of autumn migration, according to the observations of G. A. Noskov, invariably falls on the period from August 3 to 10. The visible migration stream at this time is dominated by flocks of yellow wagtails. Black swifts disappear from Leningrad every year on August 15-18. Only a few individuals linger until September, sometimes even until October, and once Yu. B. Pukinsky observed several swifts near Leningrad in early November. Such deviations from the norm are also known in other species, but they are rare and their causes are not clear in all cases. Moreover, they are of interest and deserve special attention.

September - early October is the most suitable period for excursions, since the flow of visible migration at this time is most pronounced. In September, you can observe the migration of most birds, both land and wetland habitats. During one excursion you can see representatives of 60-70 species. The migratory picture is especially grandiose at the end of September - beginning of October, when more than a million individuals of different birds can be seen per day on the northern coast of the Gulf of Finland.

The migration peaks of individual species, however, do not coincide. In the first ten days of September, willow warblers and shore martins are numerous, flocks of lapwings and pigeons fly, although the latter two species continue migrating later. In the second ten days of September, near Leningrad there is a massive migration of turukhtans, as well as great snipes. From mid-September flocks of golden plovers begin to appear. These are nocturnal migrants and must be found in resting areas - in coastal meadows and pastures. In the second ten days of September, many insectivorous birds fly en masse - barn swallows, tree pipits, gray flycatchers, and warblers. Of the small insectivorous birds, the chiffchaff lingers longest in mid-latitudes, whose autumn singing can be heard at resting areas until the end of October. On clear, fine days, old male barn swallows also sing on their autumn migration. In the third ten days of September, the last swallows fly away, the nightjar migrates, and the flight of mixed flocks of finches and finches, buntings, meadow pipits and white wagtails, robins, song thrushes and white-browed birds becomes especially noticeable. Wood pigeons, starlings, siskins, and buzzards continue to fly.

In the second half of September - early October, the activity of birds associated with wetland stations increases noticeably. At this time, the last wave of migration of cranes, which have already united into large flocks, is underway. Geese and geese are flying. In the flooded meadows and stubble areas, the number of snipe increases, and spearfish appear. On the coasts of the Gulf of Finland, Ladoga, Peipus and Pskov lakes, as well as Lake Ilmen, migrating flocks of various ducks are visible everywhere: mallards, wigeons, goldeneyes, tufted ducks, loots and others. Black-headed gulls form flocks of thousands of birds resting in shallow waters. Common and herring gulls are also numerous. Sometimes you can see a flying sea gull, distinguished by the presence of a black mantle on its back and wings. It is very similar to the black chickweed, but larger. By this time the Klusha usually finishes its flight. The little gull flies off even earlier, without changing its nuptial plumage. In mid-October, the last wave of migration is observed, which continues until snow falls. Its peak occurs at the end of the second - beginning of the third ten days of October. It is by this time that woodcock rashes become numerous, rough-legged buzzards appear, fieldfare thrushes fly in large numbers, and there is a massive migration of northern ducks - ringing and long-tailed ducks, as well as geese and swans. At the same time, finches, starlings and rooks complete their migration, although some of them remain to spend the winter within the middle zone. The migration of swans, some of the dives, gulls, woodcocks and individual woodcocks is sometimes observed even after the snow has fallen, at the end of the first ten days of November. According to the figurative expression of S. A. Buturlin, at this time the birds are already flying “on the wings of a snowstorm.” The departure of the last migrants usually coincides with the appearance of the first flocks of waxwings, redpolls and snow buntings, whose nesting areas are located in more northern areas. At the beginning of November, the bee-eaters also arrive, but they do not appear in large numbers every autumn, but only during the years of the food harvest. In this regard, they are classified as a group of so-called invasive birds, which will be discussed below.

When observing the autumn migrations of birds on ornithological excursions, you should record not only the calendar dates of flight of each species, but also the hours of the day when birds fly most actively. It has long been customary to distinguish between day and night migrants. During the day, as you know, storks, swans, geese, cranes, raptors, pigeons, and many passerines fly - swallows, buntings, finches. Warblers, warblers, nightingales, robins, many blackbirds, quails, as well as most waders, rails, and dabbling ducks move only at night in the fall. In recent years, however, it has become clear that the division of birds into nocturnal and daytime migrants is very arbitrary. There are a significant number of species that move during autumn migration both at night and during the day.

Studying the movements of night migrants is associated with methodological difficulties. Currently, they are being studied using radar, and flying birds are also being observed through a telescope against the background of the lunar disk or in the beam of a strong searchlight. In the USSR, such studies were carried out by K.V. Bolshakov and S.P. Rezvym. Naturally, recording birds by their calls also helps to identify the species composition of nocturnal migrants flying through the observation post. And despite the use of a whole range of methods for counting birds, much is still unclear in the biology of migration of nocturnal migrants. One of the mysteries is still the mechanism of formation of so-called eruptions.

Diffusions of game bird species."Vysypka" is a hunting term. It is applied to temporary gatherings of some birds in resting and feeding areas during autumn migration. Classic rashes are formed by five species of game birds: quail, snipe, garden snipe, great snipe and woodcock. These are all typical nocturnal migrants. They stop for a day's rest while it is still dark in places specific to each species. Quails concentrate in fields of corn and millet, in weeds and vegetable gardens, and on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus and Crimea on grassy plateaus, in vineyards and gardens. Snipe usually roosts in flooded meadows and damp stubbles, the woodcock prefers swampy places and mud, the great snipe prefers meadows, fields and vegetable gardens, and the woodcock prefers floodplain alder forests. Depending on weather conditions, birds may linger at feeding sites for one or several days. They disappear as suddenly as they appear. Just yesterday the dog was picking up great snipes or snipes one after another, but today the birds suddenly practically disappeared - they flew away.

Eruptions are not flocks of birds settling down to rest, such as are observed in golden plovers, turukhts, lapwings or dunlins. In the rash, each individual behaves independently, regardless of its neighbors. When startled, snipe, snipe or woodcock usually fly out one by one. Rarely do two or three birds rise at once. The rest continue to remain in their places. This behavior of birds allows a good dog to demonstrate his skills again and again, and hunters to shoot, shoot, shoot... until the guns are hot. This is why snipe, great snipe, woodcock and quail have become classic targets for dog hunting, and it is precisely this kind of excessive shooting that has led to a sharp decline in snipe and quail numbers throughout Europe. Snipe and woodcock still retain their numbers. In the middle zone you can still raise 30-40 woodcocks in a day. However, these birds will face the same fate if the number of hunters and gun dogs increases.

In order to preserve stocks of quail and all “red game” - as the group of the above-mentioned waders is called - it is necessary to periodically prohibit autumn hunting. Dogs can be used to count game on ornithological excursions. It is important to pay attention to the degree of consistency in the timing of the appearance of rashes. They may vary from year to year depending on climatic conditions, but the average dates are fairly constant. The snipe flies earlier than others, rashes of which are common in the period from September 8 to September 14. But in some years, the great snipe may appear in the middle zone as early as the end of August. In the second ten days of September, great snipes are extremely rare, although M.V. Kalinin saw individual birds even in the third ten days, when there is a massive migration of snipe and spearfish. The latest sightings of these birds near Leningrad were recorded after snowfall - on November 7 and 8, and of woodcock - on November 10.

The ability to form eruptions undoubtedly makes it easier for birds to find feeding places, but it turns out to be disastrous for them when faced with well-aimed hunters and a well-working dog. Great snipes are the easiest to shoot. When taking off, they emit a low quack and fly straight and close. It is not difficult to catch obese quails. In Crimea and the Caucasus they are even covered with nets. It is much more difficult to shoot at a woodcock rapidly soaring like a candle among the spruce and alder thickets. Snipe is also not an easy target. He flies at very high speed, and not in a straight line, but rushing from side to side. Apparently, the term “sniper” was originally a hunting term and owes its origin to the snipe. Snipe in English is snipe. Someone who shot snipe well was called a sniper.

But how do rashes occur? How to explain the almost simultaneous appearance of dozens of birds in a limited area of ​​land and their simultaneous disappearance? If woodcocks and great snipes flew in a flock, like ducks or geese, then the questions would disappear by themselves. However, no one has yet seen night flocks of great snipes and woodcocks. K.V. Bolshakov, who studied the night migration of birds for several years in a row, only once noted three woodcocks flying together. The vast majority of birds flew alone. However, there are up to hundreds of birds on the rashes! How do they gather in one place? This question essentially remains open. As B. Obydenov rightly notes, it requires special discussion and accumulation of new accurate facts. It is sometimes believed that the formation of rashes can be explained by the ability of each bird to find, independently of others, the best feeding places that come across its path at the end of the night flight. However, there are much more good lands than there are rashes. Birds settle for a day's rest not far from one another. Apparently, they still have some, still unknown to us, means of communication that allow them to keep in touch with each other both on the flight route and at feeding sites.

The vocal signal produced during night migration is characteristic of the snipe. It sounds especially often at the start and before landing. At evening dawns, it is sometimes possible to observe how snipes, one after another, at certain intervals, start in the same direction, guided by the cry of individuals flying above them. Great snipes also emit a vocal signal at the start, but it is quiet and its communicative meaning has not yet been determined. In general, the behavior of snipes is to some extent reminiscent of the behavior of other nocturnal migrants flying alone, for example, white-browed thrushes. We are not aware of the migration signals of cockle and woodcock. This does not mean that they do not have acoustic or other means of communication during the flyover. Special observations are needed of the behavior of these waders in places where they stop to rest, concentrating in a limited area, and regain strength for further movement to wintering grounds. Only new facts can shed light on the nature of the formation of rashes of game bird species.

Bird infestations. Invasions are irregular mass migrations of birds that occur both within the range of a species and outside it. They are not necessarily associated with a specific season, but are most often observed in the autumn-winter period, when, due to the failure of the main feed crop, birds begin to move in search of food. In areas poor in food, they do not linger, but in places where food is abundant, they settle and remain there until food supplies run out. If there is enough food, they stay here all winter and leave the area only before spring. Rowan thrushes often behave this way during rowan harvest years. Crossbills, usually entering the zone of mass fruiting of spruce in the summer, live here for the whole year. In winter they reproduce, and in the spring and summer of next year they begin to wander again with the young. Sometimes some birds remain in the breeding area for another year or two.

A classic example of invasive migrations is provided by the Siberian nutcracker. During the years when the pine nut harvest is poor, she makes long journeys, during which she flies to the European part of the USSR, and sometimes to Central Europe and Scandinavia. Incursions of Siberian nutcrackers into central Russia and the Baltic states are a relatively rare occurrence. According to E.V. Kumari, over the past 25 years, nutcracker infestations have been observed here only twice - in 1954 and 1968. The last invasion was the most significant. The mass appearance of birds is preceded by the arrival of single individuals, which can sometimes be seen as early as the end of July. In August, September and October, nutcrackers are quite common during the flying years, but from November onwards, excursions again come across mostly solitary birds. In our country, nutcrackers feed on the seeds of coniferous trees, nuts, berries, mushrooms, and insects. They visit grazing areas where they peck dung beetles beetles from cow dung. With the onset of winter, many birds begin to suffer from hunger, become exhausted and die. However, those that find themselves in favorable conditions survive the winter and even reproduce in the spring.

Nutcrackers, if they appear, are hard to miss. They constantly make cracking sounds and let you get close to them. The nutcracker is slightly smaller than the jackdaw. The color of its plumage is brownish-brown with white streaks that cover the entire body except the top of the head. When taking off from the ground, it spreads its tail, and then a white border is visible, running along the edge of the tail, like a turtle dove. All data on the behavior of Siberian nutcrackers in the European part of the USSR are of great scientific interest.

Among other invasive birds that can be encountered on autumn-winter excursions, we point out the waxwing and bee-eater, which winter at the latitude of Leningrad and Moscow during the years of the rowan berry harvest. Typically, these birds are observed in mid-latitudes on migration in late autumn and early spring. Invasive attacks are also typical for long-tailed tits and tits, jays, three-toed woodpeckers and some owls, in particular hawk and snowy owls. The specific causes of infestations in most of these birds are not yet clear. We can only say that they arise due to lack of food. But in what part of the range does the invasion originate, how far does it extend, and what is the fate of the birds participating in non-periodic migration - these questions can only be resolved by collecting new facts.

Composition and distribution of autumn-winter avifauna

In winter, most birds live in flocks. Only dart frogs, as well as birds leading a predatory lifestyle (day raptors, owls, gray shrike), prefer to stay alone or at a distance of vocal contact with each other. Corvids and tits tend to form flocks that include representatives of different species. Mixed flocks of tits are often joined by woodpeckers, nuthatches and pikas, which usually lead a solitary lifestyle. All this leads to a very uneven distribution of birds across the territory.

The species composition of birds wintering here is not rich. Approximately two thirds of all species migrate to more southern latitudes. From the north, only waxwings, redpolls, bee-eaters, snow buntings, dippers, and sometimes the rough-legged rough-legged owls arrive. In the absence of food, they do not stay long in the middle and central regions, but pass through them in transit. Among wintering birds, forest species and birds predominate, whose lives are more closely connected with human activity than others. Almost all birds of wetland and open habitats fly away. Only in some places near unfrozen water do individual individuals or flocks of ducks and pochards remain to spend the winter. Sometimes grebes overwinter, dippers and kingfishers appear, and in the years of abundance of rodents, bushy buzzards and long-eared owls linger in the fields until mid-winter.

The total number of birds in winter is also low, especially in years of poor harvest of mountain ash, coniferous seeds and alder. Even among the so-called sedentary species, which are found in the same area all year round, only a part of the individuals settle down, the rest migrate. As a rule, old birds that have already nested here remain in place. The young sometimes move over considerable distances. This was established using banding and turned out to be typical for the goshawk, hoodie, and some tits. Examples of this kind of false sedentary behavior in birds are, apparently, characteristic of many birds of the middle zone. All this makes us treat the concept of a “sedentary” species with great caution. Individuals can lead a sedentary lifestyle, but not all representatives of a species in a particular area. On birding excursions this should be kept in mind when explaining the reasons for the extremely low numbers of birds in winter. Through systematic feeding, however, it is possible to force both young crows and tits to live in one place all year round. Under natural conditions, absolutely sedentary species probably do not exist. Even for such seemingly strictly sedentary species as the house sparrow, magpie, hazel grouse or capercaillie, the phenomenon of autumn settlement of young animals is characteristic.

So, the poverty of species composition, low numbers and uneven distribution of birds across the territory are the main features of the state of the winter avifauna, which must be taken into account when organizing winter ornithological excursions. The weather also plays a significant role - we should strive to go on excursions on clear, sunny days, when birds are most active. In bad weather they are almost invisible and inaudible. The route should be long and cover areas of forest, forest edges, parks and the outskirts of villages or cities. If in the observation area there are ice-free springs or a fast-flowing river with polynyas, then such places should definitely be visited. You can always find something interesting here.

Birds on the outskirts of villages, city dumps and roads. In winter, you can find more birds on the outskirts of villages and cities than in the forest. The concentration is especially felt after snowfalls, when it becomes difficult for birds to get food from under the snow. Near human habitation, they can always find something to profit from. Even such a seemingly wild bird, like the gray partridge, often flies to feed on the outskirts of villages, where it visits roads, weeds and heaps of straw. Where gray partridges have visited, they leave behind digs and chains of footprints in the snow, similar to chicken tracks, but smaller in size. These birds usually live in a flock of 15-20, and their tracks can be very numerous and confusing. At night, partridges fly to the forest edge protected from the wind. Here, gathered in a tight group, they spend the frosty night. In winters with little snow, they do not use snow as a night shelter. However, after heavy snowfalls, gray partridges burrow into the snow, choosing places where it is deepest. In severe frosts, they sometimes sit there during the day. If you are careful, you can ski very close to partridges sitting in the snow. Sometimes they fly out from under your feet with such a crash and noise that an inexperienced person can be scared. Note that the black grouse fly out of the snow holes one after another, but the partridges always fly out all at once. In the holes where partridges spent the night, you can find excrement accumulated during the night - piles of light brown sausages about 2 centimeters long.

On the outskirts of villages and towns in autumn and winter, however, the first things that attract attention are magpies, jackdaws and crows. Their concentration begins already in the early morning, just before dawn breaks.

In villages, they immediately fly to search garbage dumps, where they find various garbage: crusts of bread, offal, pieces of potatoes from poured soup, etc. Magpies fly here one after another from the surrounding groves. Sometimes up to 20-25 birds gather in one garbage heap. In any other season, it is impossible to find such a number of magpies in one place. There is no better time to observe the habits of these birds. Particular attention should be paid to the flight pattern of magpies through open spaces, to their ability from great heights to descend vertically down to a target location, to the function of their long tail and short and blunt wings. The magpie always flies high over the field, demonstrating a type of uneven flapping flight. Her tail acts as a stabilizer and rudder. Sharp turns are carried out using the wings and tail.

Hooded crows and jackdaws are especially abundant in city dumps, near meat processing plants and large pig farms. Tens of thousands of these birds gather here every year. They flock here from a large area, sometimes arriving from other regions. Essentially this is their wintering place. Every morning the birds go to feed, and in the evening they fly to the city to spend the night. Rooks also join the flocks of crows at the beginning of winter. You can also meet a raven here. Crows and jackdaws live in flocks, sometimes very large ones. Crows - in pairs or one at a time. Meeting them is especially interesting. These are our largest songbirds. Their pairs last for many years. They are careful and don’t let you get close. In addition to their large size and black plumage, they can be recognized by their characteristic, usually double cry “kruk-kruk”.

It is most interesting to observe hooded crows and jackdaws in the evening, when they begin their massive flight from the outskirts of cities to the central areas, where it is warmer and the wind does not blow so much. Party after party, in a wide front and greatly stretched out in depth, the birds fly in one direction. Having chosen a group of buildings or some kind of public garden with tall trees, and sometimes even construction cranes, they settle down for the night already at dusk, raising an incredible hubbub. You can simultaneously hear the voices of thousands of birds and record them on a tape recorder. Scrolling through the tape later, it is easy to see that the birds’ calls are subject to great individual variability. Crows and jackdaws spend the long cold winter night huddled closely together, feathers fluffed up and their heads hidden under their wings. As soon as dawn breaks, they fly off to feed again. It is interesting to note that in March and April, when local birds are already beginning to build nests and lay eggs, daily flights of crows, although on a smaller scale, still continue. Thus, there is reason to believe that flocks of crows consist of immature one- or two-year-old individuals. Old, that is, birds that have already nested, spend the night in pairs near their nests all winter from autumn.

An excellent object for autumn observations are seagulls. They demonstrate intraspecific diversity of foraging methods and flight types, age-related variability of plumage, and the phenomenon of daily migrations.

Autumn concentrations of gulls at suburban landfills are now as common as concentrations of corvids. This is especially typical for the Baltic states and adjacent regions. In the suburbs of Leningrad, thousands of seagulls gather annually at landfills and near meat processing plants. This phenomenon has formed over the past decades, as the number of gulls has generally increased. Until late autumn, and sometimes until mid-winter, landfills are visited mainly by glaucous and most numerous black-headed gulls. They spend the night on the coast of the Gulf of Finland, 10-15 kilometers from feeding areas. At sunrise, thousands of birds flock to the outskirts of Leningrad and the Neva. Seagulls fly dispersed, in a wide front, in small groups or alone. The feeding flight lasts several hours, and at the end of the day the return movement to the coast begins. Gulls spend the dark time of the day in the shallows, standing near the water. The next day the same thing is repeated: the birds fly in the same direction and at the same hours, maintaining the strict rhythm of the daily cycle of autumn-winter life.

More than any other birds, outdoor rock pigeons depend on humans to feed them in all seasons of the year. However, as can be observed in the mornings and evenings, they also make regular feeding flights. In the autumn, after harvesting, they fly out of cities and villages to adjacent fields, where they collect seeds of weeds, grain crops and peas. They also flock to granaries and flour mills.

On the outskirts of villages you can always find sparrows, both field and house sparrows. Both species often stay together - feeding or resting. They spend the night in various shelters, and in cold weather they even hide in the chimneys of houses, from where they emerge in the morning very darkened. Tree sparrows have approximately the same winter plumage coloration. just like in the summer. Male house sparrows have a large black spot on the throat and crop, so pronounced in summer, but at the beginning of winter it is almost invisible. After the autumn molt, it is hidden by overlapping light edges of feathers. This example well illustrates that changes in color in birds are not always associated with a change in feathers, that is, with molting. Sometimes the so-called mating signs arise due to the wear and tear of the dull end parts of the feather and the brighter inner parts of it protruding outward.

Tree sparrows are much more mobile than house sparrows. They constantly fly outside the village or town to vegetable gardens and wastelands overgrown with wormwood, quinoa and burdock. Here goldfinches, linnets, greenfinches and bullfinches feed on weed seeds, and in years when the alder seed crop is poor, the redpolls also feed.

Tree sparrows always stay in a friendly flock. After feeding on quinoa seeds and emitting a short “tweet” signal, they immediately take off and quickly fly away. Bullfinches usually appear in wastelands at the end of winter, when the reserves of berries and seeds on the trees are depleted. Then they switch to feeding on the seeds of weeds sticking out from under the snow. At this time, birds often jump in the snow from bush to bush, leaving characteristic tracks. Illuminated by the slanting rays of the January sun, a bright red (below) and bluish-gray above, with a black cap, a male bullfinch in the snow is an amazingly beautiful sight. Goldfinches are no less spectacular. Their plumage has yellow, black, brown, white and red (on the head) tones. Goldfinches usually appear in the outskirts of villages in August. At this time, they like to visit sunflowers and peck seeds from them. Later, when the shells of sunflower seeds harden, goldfinches stop feeding on them, since they are no longer able to clear the seed from the hard husk. In autumn and winter, the main food of goldfinches is the seeds of thistle, burdock, wormwood and quinoa. Goldfinches feed on thistles in the fall, while they eat the seeds of other plants throughout the winter. Feeding on a thistle, a goldfinch sits on its top. From time to time he bends down, takes a seed from the inflorescence, bites off a white fly and floats it in the wind like a soap bubble. At the beginning of summer, he does the same with dandelion seeds.

Among the small birds, you can also find common buntings on the outskirts of villages. They are the size of a sparrow, but have a longer tail cut out at the end. In the color of their plumage, yellowish and chestnut (on the rump) tones are striking. In autumn and early winter, these birds, like male house sparrows, are less brightly colored than in spring and summer. By spring, the yellow color on the head and underside of the body becomes more noticeable due to the shedding of the dull colored tips of the feathers. Buntings often stay with sparrows on heaps of straw and dung or jump along roads, picking up scattered grains. They constantly fly from place to place, emitting a jerky beeping call like “tsk” or “tsk”. In the central and southern regions, along with sparrows and buntings, crested larks can also be found on backyards and roads in rural areas, staying here for the winter. These are grayish birds slightly larger than a sparrow with a crest on their head.

In winter, on the roads near villages, you can sometimes see a flock of snow buntings, and in late autumn, also Lapland plantains and polar or horned larks. All these birds nest in the high latitudes of the Arctic and winter in the central and southern regions of the country. In the middle zone they are usually found on spring and autumn migration. Horned larks (older birds) can be identified by dark markings on the crop, cheeks and crown of the head, as well as the “horns” protruding from the top of the head. The voice is a gentle and melodic very high trill. The Lapland plantain has a large light eyebrow against the almost black background of the head and crop. The rest of the plumage is white (underside) and rusty brown with dark streaks. When flying, this bird makes a dry crackling sound.

Predators wintering near homes."Predator" is an ecological concept. This is an animal that leads a predatory lifestyle. Among birds wintering in mid-latitudes, predation is carried out not only by hawks and falcons, but also by some owls, and among passerine birds, the gray shrike.

Of the hawks, the goshawk is the most common hawk - the largest hawk, weighing up to 1.5 kilograms. Female goshawks are always larger than males. They sometimes even attack hares and wood grouse. Chasing prey, the goshawk flies low, overtaking the prey shortly. Its flight can be extremely rapid, despite its short and blunt wings. Sometimes goshawks rise to quite a considerable height and circle in the air for a long time, combining flapping flight with gliding. They are found near housing only in winter, when hunger forces them to appear on the outskirts of villages and even in cities. Here the hawk is attracted by the abundance of crows and jackdaws, domestic pigeons, as well as chickens wandering near houses. Chasing a victim, the goshawk becomes so bold that it sometimes flies after it into the yard or even into a barn or entryway, where it often becomes a prisoner. In Leningrad, there is a known case when a female goshawk, chasing a pigeon, flew with it into the room of a residential building, breaking through both windows. Old goshawks have a striated coloration on the undersides of their bodies. Young immature birds have longitudinal drop-shaped shading on the chest and belly. In mid-latitudes, mostly old birds winter.

The sparrowhawk is generally a migratory bird. However, individual individuals, finding rich prey in the form of sparrows and buntings on the outskirts of towns and cities, sometimes spend the entire winter in old suburban parks and city landfills. In years with a good crop of rowan berries, when rowan thrushes and waxwings stay in mid-latitudes for a long time, sparrowhawks spend the winter here in much larger numbers than usual. On excursions you meet this predator unexpectedly: it suddenly falls off the roof of a barn or from a pile of manure, on which it was plucking a sparrow or waxwing that had fallen into its paws, and quickly disappears somewhere around the bend.

Buzzards, or rough-legged buzzards, are seen in greatest numbers on excursions in mid-October, during mass migration. In November and December there are already few of them, but in warm winters and in years of high numbers of mouse-like rodents in the fields, some individuals spend the entire winter with us. They sometimes hover over fields adjacent to villages. It's not difficult to recognize them. The white underwings with dark streaks at the carpal fold, the dark belly and the light fan-shaped tail are striking.

During the years of waxwing invasion, the number of merlins wintering in mid-latitudes also increases. They also concentrate near populated areas, where they hunt for waxwings and other small birds - sparrows and buntings. Some individuals even fly into cities, to cemeteries and large parks. Like all falcons, the merlin's flight is swift. It has noticeable longitudinal markings on the underside of its body, pointed wings and a relatively short tail.

On the outskirts of cities and villages, two more small predators live in winter. One of them is nocturnal, the other is daytime. Both are attracted here by the abundance of sparrows. The first of them is the great owl, the smallest of our owls, the size of a waxwing: the weight of males barely reaches 60 grams, females, which are larger, weigh 75 grams. The pygmy owl feeds mainly on mouse-like rodents, partly on shrews, but in the years when there are no rodents it switches to sparrows. When you look at a sitting owl from a distance, you initially think that it is a very large and very fluffy sparrow that has lost its tail. The latter, by the way, sometimes happens to house sparrows in winter if they spend the night in the cracks of buildings, pressed closely against the wall. As you get closer, you will soon recognize this small and stocky bird as an owl by its large head and large yellow eyes. In addition to its small size, the great owl differs from other owls in two biological features: its flight pattern, which is completely different from that of an owl, and its ability to store food reserves in the fall, which it uses during the winter. The owl's flight is swift and very maneuverable. He flies jerkily, now flapping his wings, now pressing them to his body. This is how woodpeckers and many passerine birds fly. The pygmy owl stores supplies in hollows. Up to 80 victims were found in them, mostly voles. In city parks in winter you can sometimes see pygmy owls dragging sparrows into hollows, whose heads they first eat off.

The gray shrike deals with its prey in the same way. It is the largest of our shrikes and is therefore sometimes called the great shrike. This is a rather cautious bird. Usually she sits motionless in a visible place, looking out for prey. When startled, it flies off to the side in a wavy flight. The shrike hunts for sparrows in different ways. As a rule, he catches them short, rushing at his victim suddenly. Lacking sharp claws, like a hawk's, it cannot hold its prey in its paws and strives to tear off its head as quickly as possible. He does this with amazing speed, using a strong beak armed with a special tooth on the beak. Falcons have a similar adaptation, which also kills prey by dismembering its cervical vertebrae with the help of its beak and prong. Sometimes a shrike chases a sparrow for a long time, starving it to death. At the same time, the predator, saving energy, always shortens its path. He flies up to the tired sparrow in a straight line after it, having made a huge loop over the field, returns to the village again. The gray shrike also attacks rodents. He often impales headless animals on a sharp branch or thorn of a bush.

Among other predators that occasionally winter near human habitation, we point out the gray owl, which sometimes lives in empty buildings in the suburbs, as well as the long-eared owl, which is found in years of abundance of rodents.

Birds near unfrozen water. In mild winters, which are not uncommon in western regions, rivers freeze very late. Freeze-up occurs in December and even in January. Large polynyas persist throughout the winter. Common gulls and black-headed gulls stay in such places throughout the fall and part of the winter. Mallard ducks, among which drakes predominate, live on the ice-free rapids of large and small rivers.

At night they fly off to feed in fields, suburban landfills and similar places. In recent years, the number of wintering mallard ducks has increased sharply, especially in large cities, particularly Moscow and Leningrad, where warm industrial waters prevent rivers from freezing. The process of urbanization of mallard ducks has begun. Ducks began to nest even in the central areas of cities.

On the fast-flowing, non-freezing rivers of the North-West, for example on the Vuoksa, flocks of long-tailed ducks, goldeneyes and individual males of the merganser also remain for the winter. In the west of central Russia and in the Baltic states, in clear water you can find wintering red-headed ducks and solitary grebes - grebes, red-necked and little grebes. Whooper swans sometimes live for a long time in the polynyas of the Gulf of Finland.

In early November, when the water in the swamps between the hummocks is already covered with an ice crust and the first snow has fallen, the last flying spears linger at the springs at the non-freezing windows of the water. When startled, the spearfish flies out almost from under your feet. Silently or making a quiet quacking sound, it soars high into the air, and then, spreading its wings, flies for some time, gliding, like a butterfly, you won’t understand in which direction.

It is especially gratifying to meet a dipper on a winter ornithological excursion. In our country, it is rare everywhere and occurs in large numbers only in the southern mountainous regions, where over ten wintering birds can be observed simultaneously in one day. The dipper is the only representative of the passerine order that has mastered the aquatic environment to a certain extent. It is distinguished by its ability to dive under water, move through the water column, flapping its wings, and run along the bottom in search of aquatic insects and their larvae, which constitute its main food. Individuals wintering in mid-latitudes obtain food in water even in severe frosts. Sometimes a dipper dives into one wormwood and emerges from the next one. More often, however, it feeds in shallow, fast-flowing rivers near rifts. Here the bird wanders along the stones, and the water rolls over its back. The dipper is the size of a starling, but more corpulent and with an upturned tail. She is all brown, only her neck and chest are white.

The kingfisher gets its name apparently because it stays near spring water in winter. However, in the middle zone meeting him is a rare occurrence. Flocks of granivorous finches - redpolls, greenfinches, goldfinches and bullfinches - often hang out near ice-free springs and rivers. Solitary robins and blackbirds visit such places and stay until the snow falls. All these birds come here to drink and sometimes bathe.

Feeding forest birds

The life of forest birds in autumn and winter proceeds, in general, monotonously and consists essentially of sleep and searching for food. Long frosty nights are a critical time for many birds, especially small ones. During the short December day, the bird must be sufficiently full to not freeze at night, and it spends almost all daylight hours searching for food. Therefore, it is not surprising that during autumn-winter excursions you most often see birds feeding. Based on the nature of their diet, forest birds wintering in mid-latitudes can be divided into several groups.

Berry consumers. The importance of various berries in the diet of birds is enormous. They feed on many species of birds, even those that are considered exclusively insectivorous, such as flycatchers. However, not all species have been studied well enough in this regard. The timing of the transition of birds to berry nutrition is not clear in all cases.

This usually happens in the summer, when the strawberries ripen. Thrushes especially like to eat strawberries - fieldfare, warbler and white-browed, but in the forest their activity is hardly noticeable, since it takes place in the grass under the forest canopy. At the same time, thrushes always feed on the ground in dispersed groups. By eating strawberries, thrushes undoubtedly contribute to their dispersal into new clearings. All types of blackbirds also eat blueberries, as can be seen by the purple droppings they leave on the ground. However, the main consumers of this berry, as well as blueberries, are grouse birds, whose broods concentrate on blueberries in the summer, and by autumn move to lingonberries and cranberries. In winters with little snow, black grouse feed on lingonberries even in December and January. Snow cranberries are an essential part of the food ration of capercaillie, black grouse and ptarmigan in early spring. In years with a good harvest of cranberries, even mallard ducks fly out into the moss swamps at night in the fall to get the berries. In the swamps, gray cranes feed on cloudberries and cranberries. This is not difficult to establish by analyzing their droppings. Again, various species of thrushes and many warblers feed on raspberry “berries.” They pinch off individual stones from the berry and leave it half eaten. Birds also eat large quantities of bird cherry (song thrush, whitebrow, jay, oriole), elderberries, and honeysuckle (warblers). Many both granivorous and insectivorous birds feed on serviceberry or currant berries at the end of summer. But, of course, rowan is of greatest importance in bird nutrition. During the years of its harvest, the number of rowan thrushes, waxwings, bee-eaters and bullfinches - the main consumers of rowan berries - increases sharply. It is, however, easier to observe these birds near human habitation, and we will tell a story about them in the section “Birds on personal plots and on feeding tables.”

Consumers of seeds and vegetative parts of coniferous trees. Of the birds that feed on the seeds of coniferous trees, the one most often seen on excursions is the Great Spotted Woodpecker. It is found everywhere where coniferous forests grow. There is especially a lot of it in pine forests. On the Karelian Isthmus, for example, as soon as you get off the train at Repino or Komarovo stations, he’s right there. Sits on a tree or telegraph pole and hammers a pine cone, eating the seeds out of it. This is his main food throughout the fall and winter. It is worthwhile to look at the “work” of the woodpecker for a while. The sequence of his actions is strictly defined. A Great Spotted Woodpecker is chiseling pine cones at the so-called forge. This is either a gap in the tree or a special depression made by a woodpecker in the trunk. Having hollowed out a cone and taken out the seeds from it, the woodpecker flies to a neighboring tree for another, which it brings in its beak to the same place. Then, with a sharp movement of his head and neck, he throws out the old cone and inserts the newly brought one into the forge. If there are a lot of cones, then the woodpecker uses the same forge for a long time. In this case, a whole mountain of woodpecker-processed cones accumulates under the tree over the winter.

The life of crossbills is most closely related to coniferous trees. In the middle zone, all three species living in the USSR can be found: spruce, pine and white-winged crossbill. The pine tree is most closely related in nutrition to pine, the spruce tree - to spruce, and the white-winged crossbill - to larch. However, all three species can feed on seeds of spruce, pine and larch.

The spruce tree is the most common and widespread species, but it occurs and hatches chicks here irregularly, only during the years of the spruce seed harvest, approximately 2-3 times a decade. This does not mean that crossbills are less fertile than other passerine birds, which usually breed annually. Having finished breeding, crossbills, together with young birds that usually leave their nests in March, begin to wander again in the spring in search of the spruce fruiting area. At the same time, they sometimes move hundreds of kilometers. During their travels, they were noted even in completely treeless areas - in the steppes and semi-deserts. Having discovered places favorable for food, they settle and begin breeding here the following winter.

Near Leningrad and Moscow, during the fruiting years, spruce crossbills spruce; previously absent, they begin to appear in June. During July, August and September their numbers increase noticeably. At this time, they still lead a nomadic lifestyle, constantly changing their place of residence. Crossbills live in flocks of 15-30 birds. Most often we see them flying over the forest. Their flight, like that of other finches, is wavy. The birds continuously call to each other in high, abrupt voices “tick-tick-tick...”. When the crossbills, having found a spruce tree hung with cones, settle in its crown and begin feeding, their voice becomes lower, clattering: “tsok-tsok-tsok...”. When taking out the seeds, the birds are suspended from the cone itself. Often the cone breaks off under the weight of the bird and flies down. When a flock of crossbills feeds, the cones fall to the ground one after another. If you collect these cones, you can see that many of them are completely intact, while the rest retain a large number of seeds. Thus, crossbills feed very unproductively. However, the seeds located in these cones do not disappear, and, as A. N. Formozov noted, they are food for other animals, in particular squirrels, which use them not only in autumn and winter, but also in the summer of next year, when in the cones remaining hanging on the trees, the seeds are gone.

Crossbills are remarkable birds in many respects, but above all they attract attention with the unusual structure of their beak and their ability to reproduce in the middle of winter at an air temperature of minus 30-35 degrees. The structure of the beak indicates a long and close relationship between crossbills and coniferous trees. The ends of their jaws are curved and crossed. This allows the bird to easily bend the covering scales tightly pressed together and extract seeds using a mobile and strong tongue. Interestingly, crossbill chicks still have a straight beak, the same as the fledglings of other finches. Curvature of the jaws occurs after leaving the nest, according to the observations of T. A. Rymkevich at approximately one and a half months of age.

Mating behavior of crossbills begins soon after the completion of the molt, usually in November. Males actively sing, sitting on the tops of spruce trees, perform lekking flights, and chase females. Sometimes you can see them feeding them. This is one of the elements of the courtship ritual. Pairs are formed in December. Their number is gradually increasing, as more and more batches of crossbills continue to arrive in the breeding area. In this regard, the overall time frame for nest construction and egg laying in crossbills extends over several months. Fresh clutches can be found from January to May. However, the bulk of the chicks appear in March, when the spruce seeds have become the most nutritious, but have not yet spilled out of the cones. Thus, the breeding timing of crossbills is controlled by the food factor, and not by light, as in other birds. Their gonads develop during the darkest time of the year.

The crossbill's nest is built from twigs of coniferous trees, lichens and moss and is most often located on a pine tree at a height of 5-15 meters, but when nesting in forest moss swamps it is much lower. In these cases, crossbills nest on small pines and spruces at a height of 1.5-3 meters from the ground. For regular observations, such nests are naturally more convenient. The female crossbill usually lays 4, less often 3 or 5 bluish eggs with reddish-brown spots in the nest. The chicks hatch with dark down on the head, shoulders, back, elbows, thighs, legs and abdomen. The degree of hairiness of their body is no greater than that of the chicks of other finches. The nature of the location of the fluff is approximately the same. Thus, it is not possible to install special protective devices in their “clothing”. They are protected from frost and snow by the female, who constantly sits on the chicks and warms them with her body until they fledge. The total duration of stay of the chicks in the nest is about three weeks.

When the females sit on the eggs, the behavior of the crossbills becomes less noticeable. At this time, males are busy getting food and sing much less often. They fly up to the nest no more than 2-3 times an hour, but immediately bring large portions of food consisting of peeled spruce seeds. The male gives food to the female, who feeds the chicks.

Of the passerine birds that feed on the vegetative parts of coniferous trees, we point out the bee-eaters. In mid-latitudes they are usually found on migration - in late autumn and late winter, when their spring movement to the north begins. Most often they can be seen in the spruce forest. They always keep in flocks. Birds constantly call to each other with short, quiet whistles “fi-fi” or make louder iridescent sounds “lyuli-lyuli”. It is very interesting to watch the pike-perch during their stops to rest and feed. They are not shy and can let you get close. These are quite large birds, their plumage, like that of crossbills, varies greatly depending on age and sex: old males are crimson-pink, young males (up to two years old) are orange, females are greenish-gray with a yellow bloom. Using binoculars you can see how and what the squirrels feed on. Sitting on the upper or side branches of fir trees, they stretch out from time to time and, bending their necks, bite off a bud from the end of the branch. Before swallowing, the shchur peels it from the husk. Spruce and pine buds form the basis of the bee-eater's diet. However, they very willingly eat juniper and rowan seeds. While feeding a flock of bee-eaters, some males fly to the top of the spruce tree and emit loud melodic whistles. This is the song of the shura. It really brings the winter forest to life.

Pine needles serve as the basis for the winter nutrition of our largest forest bird - the capercaillie. The weight of an adult male is about 4.5 kilograms. Wood grouse live in winter mainly in white-moss forests. However, it is rare to see this extremely cautious bird on excursions. Much more often we have to be content with traces of her activity. First of all, these are trees on which wood grouse have recently fed. Underneath them lie numerous fresh pine branches dropped by birds and wood grouse droppings, consisting of compressed needles that have passed through the intestinal tract. The crowns of the pine trees on which wood grouse fed were usually heavily plucked. There are direct observations by M.V. Kalinin indicating that wood grouse like to visit the same trees day after day.

The capercaillie begins to feed on pine needles in the fall, when there is no snow yet, but cold weather is already setting in. According to R.L. Potapov, it is this, that is, a decrease in temperature and an increase in energy consumption, that determines the capercaillie's transition to feeding on pine needles - food that is significantly more nutritious than berries. During one feeding, he stuffs 200-250 grams of pine needles into the crop. Sometimes wood grouse eat spruce branches, as well as berries and juniper needles, aspen leaves and larch needles. Black grouse also occasionally feed on juniper berries and young pine cones. But mainly in winter it feeds on buds and catkins of deciduous trees.

Consumers of seeds and vegetative parts of deciduous trees. In autumn and winter, birds are usually found on birch or alder trees. The main consumers of the seeds of these trees are redpolls and siskins. Tap dancers are especially common on excursions. They are usually seen flying over a field or small forest. From a distance, a flock of these birds sometimes looks like a dark moving cloud, constantly changing its shape. The birds fly in a crowd, constantly emitting their calling cry “chichichi-chii...” - a sound very characteristic of the winter landscape. Having landed on a birch or alder, tap dancers literally sprinkle the crown of the tree with their bodies. Sitting in various positions, they look for surviving seeds in alder or birch cones, pinch earrings, and tug at tree buds. They are trusting, they let you get close, and when scared, they do not all fly off at once. Some of them remain sitting on the tree. Then a roll call occurs between the birds. They make plaintive calls "pyayi". After the birds are reunited, the flocks fly away. By the end of winter, when there are almost no seeds left in the cones, tap dancers feed on weeds - quinoa, nettle, wormwood. In years when birch and alder seeds are not harvested, they are busy with this activity already in the fall.

Redpolls are slightly smaller than sparrows. The color of their plumage varies depending on gender and age. You can verify this if you look at the redpolls sitting on a tree one by one through binoculars. All birds have a crimson cap and a dark spot on the throat. The rest of the plumage is gray (females and young ones), but some (old males) have a pink patch on the chest.

The siskin is similar in habits and general demeanor to a tap dancer. However, you can always recognize siskins by their voice, even when they fly at a great distance: you can hear the constantly repeated “tili-tii...”. The flight of siskins is swift and undulating. These are very lively and energetic birds, they often fly in flocks high above the forest. They are found in large numbers in September-October and March-April, when they migrate. In mid-winter they are quite rare, but during the harvest years of their main food - birch seeds - they are very noticeable. During feeding, siskins make a lot of noise and attract attention from a distance. From the top of the birch tree on which they are located, their various voices can be heard: sawing, snatches of songs of old males, the crackling chirping of quarreling birds, etc. You need to look at them through binoculars. They are the same size as tap dancers. Males have yellowish-green plumage and the top of the head is black. Females do not have black on their heads. The general color of their plumage is greenish-gray with dark longitudinal streaks.

After the leaves have fallen from the birch trees, large black birds can be seen on them in the morning. These are black grouse, for which buds, catkins and birch shoots are the main food in winter. To see black grouse during their feeding, you need to go on an excursion early and in the early morning hours you will already be among the birch sparse forests, away from the village. Black grouse are very careful, and you have to look at them from afar. In autumn, when males and females still stay in common flocks, the appearance of birds sitting on birch trees is different. Some of them are black, only on the wings and under the tail they have visible patches of white feathers. These are males. Hunters call them braids for their characteristic, outwardly curved long tail feathers. They stand out clearly against the morning sky. Females, which are usually fewer in number, have brownish plumage. The birds fly noisily from one tree to another, and from the way the branches sway violently under them, one can conclude that black grouse are heavy birds. The weight of males is about 1.5 kilograms. Some of them sit motionless, others reach for earrings and buds. Their voices and the sound of their wings can be heard from afar. Suddenly the birds become alert and crane their necks.

A nasal alarm cry of “kookacarrka” is heard, and then one after another the grouse noisily fall from the tree, frightened by the approach of people. The silhouette of flying grouse with short curved wings is very characteristic. When moving, birds alternate flapping flight with gliding, during which, despite their significant mass, they do not reduce their flight altitude. This is explained by the fact that the wings of black grouse, like other chicken wings, due to their convex-concave shape, have a significant lifting force: at high gliding speeds, the air pressure on them from below is stronger than from above.

Like wood grouse, black grouse burrow into the snow at night. In frosty weather, they sit in snow holes for almost the whole day and fly out to feed only once. For overnight stays, areas with deep and loose snow are selected. Knowing the places where black grouse fly to spend the night, you can get quite close to them on skis. They fly out one by one, sometimes from right under the skis, kicking up clouds of snow dust. If you find a large flock (30-40 birds) roosting for the night, rapid takeoffs and loud flapping of wings can be heard from all sides. The flight of a large flock of black grouse from under the snow sometimes lasts several minutes and makes a huge impression. During the thaw, black grouse usually do not burrow into the snow. Wet snow loses its thermal insulation properties and, in addition, birds' plumage may become waterlogged. On clear and warm winter days, even on New Year's Eve, you can hear the muttering of black grouse and see them from a distance in the clearing. Having gathered in a group in one place, the males wander around with their wings down, leaving crosses of footprints and their “drawings” in the snow.

If the snow is deep enough, then the hole abandoned by the black grouse has two holes: an entrance and an exit - with traces of wings. The chamber in which the bird spends the night is under a layer of snow, and at the bottom you can always find excrement - sausages about 3 centimeters long, as well as the so-called cecal emissions - a thick oily liquid that soaks into the snow. In all grouse, the caecum is very well developed. Their purpose is to increase the absorption surface and further process the food extract that enters the cecum after the passage of rough twig food through the small intestine. Digestion in the cecum takes a day or two. Coarse food residues in the form of sausages are removed much faster. Thus, thanks to the digestive function of the cecum, the nutrients contained in twig food are used by grouse to the maximum extent. The study of the function of the cecum in birds is a relatively new issue that is of great general biological interest. The information presented above is based on the results of special studies conducted by O. I. Semenov-Tyanshansky, R. L. Potapov and A. V. Andreev. We refer readers to their works for more detailed information.

Traces of feeding by white partridges should be looked for in river valleys, on the open shores of lakes, in burnt areas and in other places where willow bushes and young birch trees grow, the buds and shoots of which partridges feed in winter. Birds get them from the surface of the snow, running from bush to bush. The thick feathering of the legs makes it easier for them to move through the snow. Partridges are flocking birds, so where they fed, there are many trails going in different directions.

Hazel grouse feed on catkins and buds of alder and partly birch. In winter they live in pairs or alone. It is difficult to see hazel grouse while feeding. More often you have to flush it out of a tree or from a snow hole and watch it in flight. The hazel grouse's hole is smaller than the grouse's, and the excrement on its bottom is shorter (about 2 centimeters) and usually colored rusty brown.

So, the food connections of grouse birds in the autumn-winter period are quite definite. They all feed on twig food, with the capercaillie associated with pine, black grouse with birch, partridge with willow, and hazel grouse with alder.

In autumn, when acorns ripen, you should definitely visit an old park or oak grove. There are usually a lot of jays and nuthatches here, feeding on acorns at this time. The sharp and unpleasant voices of jays are especially often heard. One will scream when she notices a person, and others will immediately join her. There is a roll call. Flashing their white tails, the jays begin to make short flights, and soon they all disappear. Jays flock to the park to visit oak trees from a large area of ​​the adjacent forest. The most intense summers occur early in the morning and before sunset. Having filled its mouth and esophagus with acorns, the jay flies back to the forest, where it hides them in the forest floor as a reserve. She sometimes carries acorns at a distance of several kilometers from oak plantations. Thus, the jay plays a large role in oak dispersal. Hidden acorns are usually found in winter, and jays dig them out from under the snow. Traces of this activity in the form of diggings and prints of feet and wings in the snow are often encountered during winter excursions in a park or oak grove.

The presence of a nuthatch in a park or forest is not difficult to establish. He constantly raises his voice, uttering his characteristic “toot-toot-toot...” or “sit-sit-sit...”. First you hear a cry, and then, based on the voice, you find the bird itself. She always amazes with her ability to quickly climb tree trunks, in all directions, even upside down. Having found an acorn, the nuthatch quickly puts it into a crack in the tree and begins to hammer it with its beak. On excursions you sometimes come across such acorns inserted into the bark and half-eaten. The nuthatch returns to them repeatedly.

Insectivorous birds of the winter forest. In winter, sometimes you have to wander through the forest for a long time before you hear the voice of a bird. Most often these are the voices of tits and wrens. When you hear a subtle squeaking sound coming from afar, you should head towards the sound, as in this case you may have the opportunity to get acquainted with several species of birds at once. A “tit flock” usually consists of various species of tits, as well as yellow-headed kinglets, often pikas, nuthatches and even some kind of woodpecker. These birds are connected by common food - insects wintering on trees and seeds of coniferous plants. The most noticeable are the puffballs, which stay in plain sight and make sounds more often than others. When a person approaches, they begin to cluck and hiss grumpily “tsidi-chsh-chsh-chsh.” Tufted titmice behave more modestly. Usually they jump in the crowns of pine trees, from where their trembling short trill of “trre-trrere” can be heard. Sometimes they go down very low and search the stumps and bases of trees. It is impossible to confuse the tufted tit with another bird: on its head it has a very high, pointed crest of feathers with a scaly pattern. According to the observations of A.V. Bardin, plumes, tufted tits, and chickadees tend to store food. Having found an insect or a pine seed, they hide the food in a new place. The use of reserves is collective. Each flock of tits in the autumn-winter period has a certain territory, which it systematically searches. Supplies are used on days when it is difficult to find food. Tits are especially active in storing food in September and October.

Yellow-headed kinglets usually stay high in the treetops, giving out their presence by incessantly thin whistling “sisisi-sisisi...”. Due to their very small size, it can be difficult to see them among the dense crowns of spruce trees. You usually notice them when they fly in a fluttering flight from tree to tree or, quickly flapping their wings, hang in the air at the end of a spruce tree. Occasionally they go down and feed on the lower branches. In this case, it is possible to examine all the details of their plumage and understand why this bird is called a king in both Latin (regulus) and in Russian - for the gold on its head.

In some years, blue tits are also present in tit flocks, and blue tits roam in deciduous groves along with chickadees.

Flocks of long-tailed tits stay apart. The birds deftly hang with their backs down on thin branches and constantly fly from tree to tree in an undulating flight, accompanying their actions with the calling signal “sisi-si... sissi...”. Sometimes they also make a short "tsrr... tsrr" sound. Their daily feeding migrations have certain routes along which the birds move, following one after another. In winter, flocks of long-tailed tits can most often be found in parks, deciduous or mixed groves, as well as in thickets of willow bushes, along river valleys or in swamps. These tits spend the night in public. Birds press closely against each other, thereby reducing the overall heat transfer surface and mutually heating each other. Without such collective thermoregulation, tits cannot survive a frosty night.

All tits are insectivores, although most of them willingly eat seeds of trees and grasses. From a forestry point of view, tits are of great value. These birds destroy a wide variety of forest pests throughout the year, thereby performing important preventive work.

Other insectivorous birds on winter excursions in the forest include poison dart frogs - various species of woodpeckers, pikas and nuthatch. All our woodpeckers are useful birds. The harm they cause - damage to wood, eating ants, destroying seeds - is negligible, especially in comparison with the benefits they bring by exterminating the most dangerous forest pests. Special studies by A. A. Inozemtsev showed that even in years when there is a poor harvest for spruce and pine seeds, our most numerous great spotted woodpecker, which feeds exclusively on the seeds of coniferous trees throughout the fall and winter, is capable of destroying only a few percent of their total supply. All other species of our woodpeckers are insectivorous. Many of them are, in general, rare birds.

The three-toed woodpecker is common only during the years of its flight from the northern regions of the taiga. You need to look for it in middle-aged spruce forests. During feeding, it sits for a long time on the same large tree, eating various bark beetles (engravers, typographers) and their larvae. The white-backed woodpecker is associated with birch stands in winter. If a birch trunk is heavily infested with larvae of birch sapwood and longhorned beetles, the woodpecker hammers at it almost all day long. Around the tree on which the white-backed woodpecker fed, there is usually wood dust, pieces of birch bark and rotten wood lying around. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is very tiny, and meeting him is always pleasant. He is trusting and lets you get close to him. He often announces his presence with a high, leisurely squeak - repeating “pii-pii-pii-pii-pii” several times in a row. The flight, like that of all woodpeckers, is undulating. In winter, it sticks to deciduous small forests, floodplains, gardens and parks. Sometimes it even flies into large cities. The average spotted woodpecker, living in the zone of mixed forests and oak forests, obtains insects from the surface of trunks, from cracks and folds of bark. He rarely chisels wood. Gray and green woodpeckers are similar in their food specialization. They also rarely chisel trees, but feed mainly on ants, which they get by digging out anthills. Most often, these woodpeckers are found in mixed or deciduous forests, as well as in parks.

The black woodpecker, or yellow woodpecker, is the most colorful of all woodpeckers, attracting attention with its appearance and voice. His presence in the forest always pleases, and not only because when meeting him the thought flashes: “So, there are still large trees in the forests in which he can nest!” The very appearance of this bird, at first glance awkward and unusual, but possessing a unique attractive force, is pleasing. It is difficult to say what exactly makes the black woodpecker so unusual and attractive. Perhaps everything about him is unusual: black plumage, a kind of wild look of almost colorless eyes with a very special shape of the pupil, the habit of peeking out from behind a tree trunk, a huge light beak, which the woodpecker wields like a carpenter with a chisel. People call him the “black carpenter”. In search of insects, it sometimes crushes huge old stumps and gouges large holes in tree trunks. There are known cases when a black woodpecker penetrated inside houses boarded up for the winter, making large holes in thick fresh boards and eating insects wintering in the house, including cockroaches. How, one might ask, could he have guessed that insects lived in the house? It is also unclear what sense organs the black woodpecker is guided by when, by gouging funnel-shaped holes in large spruce trees, it finally gets to the ants living in the rotten wood of a thick tree. Is he examining the wood, tapping, or perhaps sniffing? In a word, not everything is clear in the biology and behavior of the black woodpecker, although quite a lot of articles have been written about it.

Of particular interest are his vocal reactions. They are more diverse than those of other woodpeckers. On ornithological excursions, you quite often hear the intermittent trill of a woodpecker, which it makes on the fly, and always following it, when the woodpecker sits on a tree, a loud plaintive cry of “weaving”, repeated several times. What is the meaning of this cry? Territory security? Or maybe a cry of loneliness? To the human ear it is perceived as a call to others like ourselves. In any case, having issued a signal, the woodpecker listens for a long time, and upon hearing the answer, it flies up and becomes interested. However, black woodpeckers prefer to stay alone throughout the fall and part of the winter. Maybe they still maintain voice contact with each other, but at a great distance? How else can we explain the onset of pair formation in the middle of winter? All these questions still need to be clarified.

Birds in garden plots and on feeding tables

If on a personal plot there are fruit trees, a vegetable garden with potatoes, berry bushes, at least individual bushes of serviceberry, elderberry and lilac grow, and there is a rowan tree near the house, then observations in such a plot can be very interesting. During the summer and autumn here, almost without leaving the spot, you can get acquainted with at least forty species of birds. If you regularly feed the birds on the feeding table, the pleasure of looking at birds can be extended until late winter and early spring. Sometimes it is possible to observe up to twenty species of birds at the feeders from the window of the house.

On a personal plot. A noticeable increase in birds in household plots begins already at the end of July. Nuthatches, pikas, white-backed and small spotted woodpeckers, chickadees, and great tits appear in gardens. In search of insects, they scour the trunks and branches of fruit trees, jump along fences, where they catch spiders and flies. From time to time, flocks of half-molted finches and buntings stop at the garden plot. Forest pipits, yellow wagtails, shore, barn and city swallows, which have begun their migration, constantly perch on the wires. White wagtails are sharply increasing in number. Catching insects, they quickly run along paths and on the roofs of houses. Various warblers, warblers and warblers scurry about in the potato fields, hidden by the tops. Cats watch them there all day long. To the surprise of everyone, they sometimes even bring home rare birds whose presence had not been noticed before - garden warblers, buntings, nightingales. And only the strong love of owners for their cats allows them not to notice the harm that their favorites bring to the bird population.

The largest number of bird species flock to serviceberry or currant berries at the end of July and August. Irga is a typical garden plant. Therefore, observations can be carried out without even leaving the front garden. One currant bush and several days of observation are enough to get acquainted with 10-15 species of birds. They fly in and out. Their composition changes all the time. Some, like the oriole, will grab the berry, swallow it, and on the other hand they will quickly fly to feed the chicks screaming in the distance. Some: lentils, linnet, greenfinch - last longer. They eat the core of the berry and leave empty shells hanging on the branches. Tree sparrows take the longest to feed, arriving in a whole crowd. They will eat the berries, rub their beak on a branch and fly away. All types of blackbirds and warblers also like to visit serviceberry bushes. Warblers, however, are more willing to eat smaller elderberries. Redstarts and flycatchers - pied and gray - also flock to elderberries and shadberry. The latter often picks a berry without sitting on a branch, on the fly, that is, just as it does when it catches a butterfly or a fly.

Ripe cherries attract thrushes, orioles and starlings to gardens. Of particular interest are observations of grosbeaks. These birds feed on the kernels of drupes. Cherry pit kernels are their favorite food. To get to them, you need to free the bone from the pulp and split it, which the grosbeak does with the help of its powerful beak. The grosbeak fixes the bone in a strictly defined position, placing it on the rib and pressing it between two large tubercles located in the back of the horny palate. A clicking sound is heard and the bone splits into two halves along the seam. The pressure that the jaws of a grosbeak can develop, according to the observations of B.V. Nekrasov, is 45-72 kilograms. This bird is able to split even a small plum pit. Under the tree where the grosbeaks fed, you can find scattered cherry pulp and many empty halves of seeds. After feeding on the cherries, the birds usually fly to a watering hole, and here it is immediately clear that they have flown from the cherry orchard: their beaks, as if covered in blood, are stained with cherry juice.

Already from the end of August and in September, when the rowan tree turns orange-red, flocks of rowan thrushes begin to visit the estates. Somewhat later, at the end of September - October, waxwings join them. All autumn and winter, bullfinches come to feed on the remaining rowan trees, and in some years, especially rich in rowan trees, also pike-perch.

Blackbirds and waxwings will usually swoop in in a large flock, feed and fly away. They don't stay in one place for long. The most regular visitors to the estates are, perhaps, bullfinches. They do not form large flocks; they keep together several birds, which can visit a certain area day after day. With a quiet, hoarse whistling, they sit down on a rowan tree and slowly begin to eat their favorite food. If you carefully observe how bullfinches eat rowan berries, you will see that they throw away the pulp and eat only the seeds. Therefore, under the tree on which the bullfinches fed, you can always find rowan berries with the middle eaten out in the snow. Shchuras do the same thing. Bullfinches can also be seen feeding on ash and maple trees. In years of poor rowan harvest, if there are a lot of ash seeds, these birds feed on them almost all winter and only at the end of it switch to the seeds of herbaceous plants.

In contrast to bullfinches, thrushes and waxwings are birds that spread rowan seeds. They swallow the berry whole, but digest only the pulp. The seeds are not digested and are carried along with feces, ending up in the soil and germinating. When we find a single rowan growing in the forest, we can definitely say that it was brought here by birds.

The waxwing is a bird with a crest on its head, slightly smaller in size than a starling. Its coloring is unusual. Through binoculars it is possible to see a dark stripe running through the eye, a black throat and yellow stripes on the tail and wings. At close range, you can also see blood-red horny plates at the ends of the flight and tail feathers, characteristic only of waxwings. Rowan is their favorite food. These birds are extremely voracious and are capable of clearing an entire tree of berries in a short period of time. Field thrushes seem to compete with waxwings. They live in autumn and winter in large flocks, sometimes numbering hundreds of birds. Sometimes they fly into chokeberry bushes and eat them. When in a flock, fieldfare thrushes continuously call to each other with shrill and crackling voices. They are careful and don’t let anyone get close to them. You have to look at them from a distance. During feeding, some thrushes are always at observation points, the rest hastily peck the berries, while the birds constantly change places. The alarm cry of the sentinel birds lifts the entire flock into the air.

At the feeders. Bird feeders on windows and feeding tables in the garden can bring a lot of joy to people and benefits to birds. It is always pleasant to examine birds up close: details of coloration, new behavioral traits, and feeding habits are revealed. Here the birds seem more beautiful and sweeter than from a distance. You just need to remember that you cannot deceive the birds. You need to feed them systematically, without breaks, otherwise you can harm them. Many of them stayed and began to lead a sedentary lifestyle only because of feeding. Accustomed to finding food in a certain place every day, if they don’t find it, they will wait, waste time and energy, and may die on frosty days.

The great tit visits the feeders more readily than others. This is the most common of tits. With her mobility and ringing voice, she immediately attracts attention. Her vocal reactions are quite varied. Some urges can be expressed as “tsi-tsi-fuyt”, “pin-ping-trrr” or “tsiu-zizizizi”. Most often, however, one hears its ringing “ping... ping”, just like a chaffinch’s. On frosty days, sometimes up to 25-30 tits gather at the feeder. There are old males with a very wide black stripe in the middle of the yellow bottom, and females, and young ones with a barely noticeable “tie.” Tits are most willing to peck lard, cheese crusts and sunflower seeds. Each bird does not stay long at the feeder: it will grab a seed, immediately fly to the side and begin to peck, holding it in its paw.

Other species of tits: tufted tit, plume tit, chickadee, coal tit and blue tit - visit feeding tables relatively rarely. Of these, the blue tit is the most spectacular, especially on a sunny winter day, when the blue, yellow and white colors of its plumage are fully revealed. Moskovka does not occur every year. In our area, it occurs in large quantities only during the years of the spruce seed harvest. In size, the Muscovy is noticeably smaller than the Great Tit. Her head and neck are black, her chest and belly are whitish, her cheeks and the spot on the back of her head are white, and the rest of her plumage is greenish-gray.

All tits are restless and do not stay at the feeder for long. The nuthatch is also very swift in its movements. He appears at the feeder suddenly, hastily picks up several seeds at once, puts them in a row in his long beak and just as hastily flies away. A minute later, the nuthatch appears again and, having again collected seeds, leaves. As long as there is food suitable for him, he will carry it all the time and hide it in the cracks of the trunks and under the bark of trees growing at a distance. These are its reserves, which the nuthatch places in different places.

It's always nice to see a blackbird at the feeder. It is quite large, completely black, with an orange beak. You can tame him with dried rowan berries and cottage cheese, and he will visit the feeder every day. Blackbirds are now quite common in many areas, but we are left with mostly males for the winter.

The Great Spotted Woodpecker is also a decoration for the feeding table. In forests, it feeds almost exclusively on pine seeds in winter. Here it eats all sorts of things, demonstrating its potential polyphagism. He even willingly eats pasta from soup. However, among the birds that fly to feeders, the most omnivorous are the magpie and the jay. If you don’t frighten them, they are able to eat everything that was put in the feeder in one flight. The more cautious jay pecks at the food more quickly than the magpie. With each sip, she comically arches her neck and nods her head.

A group of granivorous birds visiting feeders behaves differently. They crush the seeds, first clearing them of inedible shells. This procedure takes time, and they sit for a long time on the feeder in relatively sedentary positions, making quick peeling movements with their beaks. The processed seed is sometimes on one side or the other of the beak, and you can see how the husk falls down. This is the behavior of, for example, greenfinches, which we recognize by their greenish-gray plumage and yellow stripes on the sides of the body, buntings, as well as redpolls and siskins, which visit feeders less often than other birds. A flock of tree sparrows can “occupy” the feeding table for a long time, preventing even great tits from approaching it.

The degree of species diversity of birds visiting the feeding table largely depends on the composition of the food offered to them. All kinds of leftovers from a person's table: crumbs of cottage cheese, bread, rolls, cheese - attract house sparrows, great tits, jays, magpies, great spotted woodpeckers and some other birds. It is also good for jays to lay out acorns. The nuthatch loves sunflower seeds. They are also the main food of great tits. On frosty days, the sunflower should be crushed with a bottle, as it can be difficult for tits to peck at it. Their paws are cold, and they cannot tightly grasp the seed. For great tits, pieces of lard are also hung. Granivorous birds can be attracted to a mixture of hemp, millet, oats and oatmeal. It is also very good to add seeds of nettle, quinoa, alder, pine and spruce, which can sometimes be prepared in advance. Then greenfinches, bullfinches, common buntings, sometimes linnets, redpolls and siskins, as well as small species of tits - Muscovy, tufted, chickadee, chickadee, will appear on the feeders. Many bird lovers in the fall prepare rowan, elderberry, and hawthorn berries for birds, which attract waxwings, bee-eaters, and bullfinches. Berries are also a favorite food of blackbirds. This handsome man is timid and cautious, and one must look at him without waving his hands in delight.

This book should not be treated as a reference book in which you can find the answer to any question that arises on an ornithological excursion. You can always meet such birds and witness aspects of their life that were not discussed in this book. Certain phenomena difficult to observe are not specifically covered in it. Similarly, data on a number of bird species that are very rarely seen is deliberately omitted. The biology of even the most common birds is presented briefly in Ornithological Excursions. All this means that for successful bird observations it is necessary to read special literature. There's quite a lot of it. The list attached to the book could include only some works that were closest in topic.

Reading books, however, will never replace personal experience with birds in nature. To understand the life of birds, it is this that is necessary above all. Only with experience comes the ability to notice new, still unknown things. In this regard, birding excursions offer unforeseen opportunities. We must always remember that in nature you can see more than what is said in any book.