Making Friends with Berks County’s Birding Community (& Beyond)
John Secoges really loves to shoot birds.
In fact, he does it nearly every day.
He entices them to his Spring Township backyard with all kinds of avian yummies — suet, seeds and those oh-so-savory mealworms.
He’ll stand nearly motionless, focus on his subject of the moment and then shoot.
The result is not a dead bird.
The shot becomes one of hundreds of lovely, detailed photographs of the everchanging populations of birds that have made the backyard of John and Judy Secoges and their son, Josh, a haven on the fly.
If you’re a regular Berks County Living reader, you’ve come to know John Secoges over the years through his photographic contributions to many Living in Style articles and other features. The award-winning photographer started his 36-year-long professional career at the Reading Eagle and went on to establish his own business, Secoges Photographics, also based in Spring Township, specializing in corporate, scholastic and event photography.
Like many small businesses, Secoges Photographics experienced a downturn when COVID brought the world to a stop in March 2020 .
A Sense of Intrigue
Primarily stuck at home, John found himself intrigued by the different kinds of birds stopping by the feeder or cavorting in the birdbath on the patio just outside the kitchen door.
Picking up his iPhone and then the various lenses of his professional camera, he began documenting the birds.
He and Josh, then a middle schooler, bought a bird book at the local grocery store to start identifying the different species.
A call followed to Secoges’ former colleague, Reading Eagle photo editor Bill Uhrich. A member of the legendary Baird Ornithological Club and the author of A Century of Bird Life in Berks County, Uhrich was the go-to guy to guide father and son through migratory habits, including stops and feedings.
Soon it became clear that the Secoges’ backyard was visited every day by nearly 20 different species.
How they perched in different trees, shrubs and the arborvitae in and surrounding the backyard became another point of interest.
Seeing their behaviors, John placed a trio of feeders in the open middle of the yard near those perching areas.
Appetizing Treats
“The first thing I learned is that birds feed by sight,” he says.
The feeders, all on poles with baffles to hinder squirrel access, boast a variety of styles, sizes and contents. There is a green-roofed house for suet, which attracts woodpeckers that hang on upside-down to feed. There is a plastic domed flat feeder, a great place for the blue birds’ mealworm feasts. Cylinder feeders are pretty much universally enjoyed by all kinds of birds. In mid-May, John sets up a hummingbird feeder filled with sugar water to catch the fast, tiny birds on their treks north.
It's important, he notes, to rotate the types of foods offered both from seasonal and species attraction standpoints. It’s also kind and considerate to the birds to keep the feeders clean, avoiding mold buildup and other bacteria that could contribute to disease.
A frequent visitor, the Carolina wren, has proven to be John’s favorite.
“They’re so active; they check everything out,” he says. Their signature call, which sounds like “Judy, Judy, Judy,” has a sentimental signature for the family.
Other documented guests include the blue birds, blue jays, northern cardinals, cedar waxwings, robins, a variety of woodpeckers, mourning doves, house finches, sparrows and warblers.
Among the least welcome but most frequent visitors, from John’s perspective, are the omnipresent European starlings, who seem bent on chasing the other birds away and consuming as much feed as possible.
They are unable to gain upside down footing on the woodpecker feeder. Using feeding cylinders made of or filled with safflower seeds also deters because the starlings’ beaks are incompatible with the seeds.
Who’s Come to Dinner
As of mid-May, with a few years of experience in the care and feeding of backyard birds, John has documented an enviable variety taking advantage of his hospitality.
“To this day, I have no idea how 52 species have found their way to my backyard,” says John. “I often wonder how many I’ve missed.”
One of those missed is relatively common around here — the Baltimore oriole. While some of its kind may have stopped by, not one has been “shot” by John.
Among the most fleeting visitors are scarlet tanagers, which maybe spend a day or two in late spring, followed by cedar waxwings, which also make a pit stop. Other elusive visitors have included the eastern wood-pewee, the pileated woodpecker and indigo bunting (more commonly seen at open spaces like Blue Marsh but photographed by Josh on the retaining wall).
Also photographed was a banded homing pigeon, which stuck around for four or five days.
"To this day, I have no idea how 52 species have found their way to my backyard."
“That was in 2020, and the bird was likely disoriented,” John says.
John believes there are some “generational” avian families that have made the Secoges backyard an annual migratory stop.
Carolina chickadees are regulars as are tufted titmouses. Northern flickers seem to nest in a nearby tree every year, and John enjoys watching them fledge.
Nature & Technological Nurture
John’s ability to capture these varieties of birds in detail is a testimony to his talent and the technology he employs.
As Bill Uhrich notes, John’s use of a wireless, mirrorless (e.g. silent electronic shutter), remote camera enables spectacular photos. The birds take little to no notice of the object (camera) near them, but sensors note their presence. John can get the perfect shot simply by focusing with his iPad, even his iWatch from his kitchen table vantage point — or anywhere, really.
“This is the next level of technology,” says Uhrich. “No more sitting around motionless to get the best shot. The detail he’s able to get with birds and small wildlife is no less than spectacular.”
"No more sitting around motionless to get the best shot.”
Both men say expensive equipment is not necessary. Modern cellphones boast amazing quality shots. When using professional cameras, John says 70- to 200-millimeter lenses will be fine.
“There’s no need for real high-end equipment,” John says. “Use what you have. If you’re shooting through a door or window, make sure there’s not a screen there that can hurt your photo.”
Uhrich, who lives in an East Reading rowhome near the foot of Mount Penn and a block from City Park, asserts that no yard is too small to create an avian feeding environment.
“Our backyard attracts all sorts of migratory and foraging birds,” he says, the most common city birds being chimney swifts, house sparrows, cardinals, starlings, robins, wrens and even peregrine falcons. The chimney swifts (up to 10,000 of them) roost annually in the late summer at the Reading High School chimney.
“That’s something to see!” he says.
Landings, Perches & Hideaways
Like Uhrich, the Secoges also live near a hill — the South Mountain — and benefit from its proximity and their own landscaping.
The smallish backyard, made cozier by a stone retaining wall, nonetheless is surrounded by mature trees, arborvitae, bushes like lilacs and annual and perennial flowers. All provide harbor and sustenance for the birds. Indeed, a fallen trunk is part of the landscape, an avian smorgasbord of sorts with a steady supply of bugs feasting on its decomposing innards.
The retaining wall also provides hiding places to protect the birds and small wildlife from visiting Cooper’s and sharp-shinned hawks who find them tasty treats. Indeed, during a recent visit, John noted a pile of likely mourning dove feathers, telltale leftovers.
A favorite chipmunk, nicknamed Stubby due to his short tail, scurries back and forth from the patio to the wall, munching on fallen food and the peanuts John occasionally offers the chipmunks and squirrels.
“I think his whole day job is to avoid being eaten himself,” John laughs.
John sources his equipment and feed from the Wild Birds Unlimited, located in the nearby Shillington Towne Center.
Equipping the Hobby
Owner Heather Peterson and store manager Dwight Schell note 2024 marks the franchise’s (there are also stores in Allentown, Lehigh County and Wayne, Delaware County) 40th anniversary. The local store, which moved to its current location in 2021, is celebrating its 30th year in Berks.
Peterson and Schell say the pandemic created a spiked interest in backyard birding, and a number of new customers began taking the hobby seriously. That families, parents and children are taking collective joy in backyard birding has considerably altered the usual demographics of the hobby.
“We have a 6-year-old customer who really knows his birds,” says Schell, who also noted a mom with her four homeschooled children visited to kickstart their new adventure.
The common queries they pose to the new birders include the kind of backyard space (open or wooded, large or small, rural or more urban), where feeders may be placed (in trees, on a deck, on a pole system or even window boxes) and deterring those pesky squirrels — baffles on the bird feeder posts are very effective.
Some will come in with a whole list of equipment they want; others will just start with one feeder and food.
“We ask, ‘What kind of birds do you want to attract?’” says Schell, noting the 14 varieties of bird seed in inventory are appealing to different species.
Peterson says it’s also important to consider the season. For instance, birds find the least natural food in later winter and early spring, so that’s an important time to provide feed. Summer and fall are prime for birds finding food in the wild, but by late November, filled backyard feeders are again important.
As does John Secoges, Schell stresses the importance of a water source to attract birds. Be it fancy or basic, a bird bath is always a good investment. The movement of water is especially enticing. To that end, wigglers — battery- or solar-powered — have become popular. Providing a heating element in the winter is also understandably appealing to the birds.
The Birdman of Berks
Peterson is enjoying her interaction with the dean of local birding, Jack Holcomb of WEEU radio’s venerable Jack’s Backyard, which runs every Saturday morning from 8 to 10am. Wild Birds Unlimited is a sponsor of the show that hundreds tune in to speak with Holcomb and get his experiential advice.
One might call Holcomb an accidental birder. “The boss (General Manager K. Richard Creitz) called me into his office in August of 1965 and said: ‘You are doing a talk show on birds.’ It was a syndicated program from an ad agency in Baltimore,” Holcomb recalls. “As you know, I played it straight and learned. The Baird Ornithological Club, Hawk Mountain and many good people guided me along the way.”
In 1965, he had already been part of the WEEU staff for nine years, starting when the station was located on Penn Street and manning the 4pmto-midnight slot. His birding show aired Mondays through Fridays for 15 minutes. When the ad agency exited in the mid 1970s, the program continued with Jack and was called Bird Talk.
From December 1979 through January 2001, Holcomb served as host for the mainstay morning Feedback program, weaving bird talk around and through contemporary news topics. Though he retired from full-time employment, he maintained his affiliation with WEEU with the fledging Jack’s Backyard, which continues growing its loyal audience.
“I learn something every week from my listeners and find that we all are concerned about the health of our natural world,” he says.
At 90-something, Holcomb is cheered by a renaissance in the avian avocation. Though the program is about nature in general, he estimates about 85 percent of the calls focus on bird life and listeners’ observations.
“Although the numbers have been increasing on all fronts in recent years, I would believe there are more backyard birdwatchers,” he says. “However, because of this interest, more people are wanting to learn more and venture out to look at more birds.”
John and Josh Secoges, Bill Uhrich and Jack Holcomb all believe the observation of birds goes far in soothing the soul.
“It’s peaceful, just watching the birds eat and identifying them,” says Josh, now 18, a recent Wilson High graduate and incoming Bloomsburg University freshman.
“It does wonders for mental health, especially during the isolation of the pandemic,” says John. “If you have a bad day, the activity of the birds will pull you up. It’s really been beneficial to me, including keeping my camera skills sharp. It’s been a real plus, and now I’m just enjoying it.”
