JEFFERSON CITY - Birds fluttered back and forth across the screen, clinging to birdfeeders and nibbling seeds.
Austin Lambert, Missouri Department of Conservation naturalist, narrated the scene from behind the camera.
"We can learn about nature anywhere in Missouri, even in our own backyards," he said. "Right now, we're looking out the back window at the Lamberts' family home."
Lambert hosted a virtual winter bird-watching session and class Monday. Viewers learned how to identify several of Missouri's common and not-so-common winter avian visitors and residents, as well as how to attract and protect native birds.
Many species of bird migrate south for the winter, and some stop in or pass through Missouri in search of a milder climate. As snow falls and water freezes, resources grow increasingly scarce, and the birds flock to birdfeeders and birdbaths.
Lambert said some people worry if they take their feeder down during the winter, its visitors will starve. That's unlikely, he said.
"In a harsh winter, a feeder can lead to greater survival rate," he said. "But overall we're not affecting negatively or positively the global population. If I didn't offer food they'd fly off somewhere else."
Hungry birds are especially attracted to food with a high concentration of fat, such as suet, peanuts and black-oil sunflower seeds. Suet may also attract squirrels, but Lambert deters his by buying suet that includes capsaicin - the chemical that makes peppers so spicy. Birds can't taste capsaicin, but squirrels hate the burning sensation.
Water will lure in even those birds that avoid feeders.
"During winter time, food might not be easiest thing to find but water is even tougher, because a lot of the times water ends up freezing," Lambert said.
He suggested using a heated birdbath and replacing the water every couple of days.
Birds like areas with native trees and bushes that provide shelter from the elements and predators. Native dogwoods and viburnum grow tasty berries. Drifts of fallen leaves - which harbor native insects for birds to munch - are also attractive.
To ensure the safety of birds visiting your yard, Lambert advised keeping your cat indoors (or using a "catio" so it can venture out without coming into contact with wildlife).
"Cats are responsible for a lot of bird deaths," he said. "They kill 2.6 billion - with a 'b' - birds worldwide every year."
Take steps to make your windows more visible, reducing the chances of a collision. That could include installing screens, closing your blinds or curtains, or sticking decals or a patterned film on the inside of the window.
Watching birds
Before Monday's class, Lambert loaded up his many feeders with a bounty of seed, nuts and suet, scattering additional seeds on the ground to attract a variety of birds. Some birds - such as sparrows - prefer pecking through seeds on the ground, while others - like nuthatches - happily cling to feeders, Lambert said. Some feeders are even designed specifically to accommodate particular types of bird.
On this particular morning, pine siskins stole the show. At 5 inches long, they are closely related to and resemble the goldfinch, but are much less common in Missouri.
"A lot of us may not get a lot of pine siskins at our feeders, but there's something special about our neighborhood, and I don't know what," Lambert said.
Saturday, he counted 42 of the birds at his feeder. Unlike goldfinches, pine siskins are striped all over in brown and cream; males are dusted in yellow and have yellow and black or dark-gray wing bars.
"They're cool winter birds that are just here for a limited amount of time before going back north," Lambert said.
A lone goldfinch also showed up Monday. In the summer, male goldfinches are bright yellow, with a black cap and black-and-white wing bars. They keep the wing bars into the winter, but their body and cap fade into an even and dull brown.
Both goldfinches and pine siskins enjoy Niger seed and sunflower hearts.
An Eastern bluebird also put in an appearance. Missouri's state bird, Easterm bluebirds have blue backs and heads and blushing breasts. Bluebirds are a type of thrush, like a robin, Lambert said - they share robins' big eyes and small bills. As a treat for bluebirds, Lambert sometimes puts out living or dried mealworms. He'll give a special whistle and the bluebirds will come rushing in to devour the special snack.
One last special treat awaited viewers of Monday's stream: a common redpoll. A type of finch, the common redpoll looks similar to a house finch (a much more frequent visitor), but with only a small red crown and a red-pink brushstroke on its breast. Only a few are spotted in Missouri each year, according to Lambert.
Other birds seen during Missouri winters include the yellow-rumped warbler, cedar waxwing, northern cardinal, dark-eyed junco, purple finch, white-breasted nuthatch, chickadee, downy woodpecker, northern flicker, tufted titmouse and bluejay. For more information about what these birds enjoy, visit this MDC article.
Two frequent backyard visitors, the house sparrow and European starling, are invasive and can out-compete native species.
"Starlings are very pretty, but they take over habitat of native birds," Lambert said. "They're very aggressive; they'll even evict a woodpecker, which is a tough thing to do."
They can be deterred by ceasing to put out food they enjoy: Starlings love suet, sparrows like millet and both enjoy corn. Both can also be chased away from feeders when they show up.
When an unfamiliar bird shows up at your feeder, Lambert suggests making notes about its size, shape, the shape of its beak, its colors, identifying marks (like wing-bars, caps and streaks), the noises it makes and its feeding behavior (does it linger and gobble up as much seed as possible, or dart in and out quickly). Those clues, when put together, should lead you to an identification.
Resources for identifying birds include:
Apps such as Merlin and iNaturalist, both of which allow you to upload a photograph for easy identification
Websites such as Audubon.org, the Missouri Department of Conservation's site and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's page.
Field guides such Stan Tekiela's "Birds of Missouri Field Guide" and those produced by Sibley, Kaufman and Peterson. Lambert suggested looking for guides that focus on the eastern United States.
Lambert keeps a list of "backyard birds" in addition to his "life list" of all the birds he's seen.
"It's a good way to connect yourself with the activity of birding in general," Lambert said. "I get just as excited when I see a new yard bird as a bird that's new to my life."
To view and register for future MDC virtual events, visit mdc.mo.gov/events.