Pileated Woodpeckers, named for the large crest on the top of the head, are the largest of our woodpeckers. They are almost prehistoric much like pterodactyls in appearance, with their deep undulating flight pattern and their weird calls. However they are strikingly beautiful with dark blue/black, white and crimson feathers.
A brush with the bluebird of happiness
The bluebird is doing well in Carden, thanks to two things: first, a local man named Herb Furniss has spent the last few decades building and distributing white bluebird boxes throughout the region, quietly making a huge difference for these little birds; second, Wylie Road rolls through an area where more than 6,000 acres of grassland, forest and wetland has been conserved as natural habitat.
Making a new home for Barn Swallows
Ask any farmer, and they’ll tell you there are not nearly so many Barn Swallows as there used to be. The science backs them up – over the past 20 years, there has been a steep drop in swallow populations across eastern North America. In Ontario, Barn Swallows are now listed as a threatened species.
Bird Behaviour: Survival of the fittest
Bird behaviour, like human behaviour is sometimes very cruel, but nonetheless very fascinating!
Location, location, location: House Wren Nesting Habits
Some of the more popular television programs are those in which a Real Estate agent shows a couple a number of houses from which to select their future home. There are a few such programs, each with their own particular twist, but in every case, the couple selects one house. We have a pair of birds in our yard whose antics remind me of those programs! The birds are House Wrens.
Swallow Houses…If you build it, they will come!
It is a rite of spring for me to build swallow houses– each March getting the urge to build a few from left over’s from wood working projects and from scraps from local contractors who know I would never refuse a scrap of usable wood or asphalt shingles.
Bird Watching: Eastern Meadowlark
Eastern Meadowlarks have declined in numbers recently and are now sadly on the endangered species list in Ontario. Much of the grasslands required for their habitat have disappeared due to development and changing agricultural practices. Fortunately there are still Eastern Meadowlarks in our region and this is the best time of year to spot them.
Bird Watching: The Hairy Woodpecker
I am often asked how to differentiate between a Downy and Hairy Woodpecker, as for many new to Bird watching it seems to be a bit of a challenge. It need not be, even though they do look much alike.
Seeking a Balance Between Farmers & Bobolinks
Conserving species under threat is always difficult, but especially so when their habitats are on active farmland. When a scientific assessment four years ago concluded that Ontario populations of bobolinks and eastern meadowlarks were plummeting, many farmers worried that regulations to save the birds under the Endangered Species Act might threaten their incomes.
Woodpecker: The signs of spring
This winter seems to have been a long, cold, and snowy one with many of us yearning for signs of spring