Feeding birds in the summer features a different cast of characters from the usual winter crew. Nuthatches, chickadees and blue jays disappear, distracted by the duties of nest-building and egg-sitting. In their place, local woodpeckers have become regular visitors to the peanut feeder just outside our window.
Birding on the alvar: Wilson’s Snipe
One of the more interesting birds in our region is the Wilson’s Snipe. Classified as a Shorebird, this species inhabits flooded grasslands, bogs and marshes. They are frequently seen, as this one in the accompanying picture, standing on a fence post scanning the surrounding area and uttering a very loud and weird “tuck-a-tuck-a-tuck-a-tuck” call!
Birding: Mallards galore in Ontario
Mallard ducks are now so common in our area that they can be found just about anywhere there is water. But it was not always so. When I was a small boy living in eastern Ontario, Mallards were seldom seen and when they were, they were referred to as “western ducks”. The most bountiful wild duck we had at the time was the American Black duck, a close relative of the Mallard. Now we see few “Blacks” and lots of Mallards. Both however are very beautiful birds.
Carden Challenge Raises Over $23,000
Nearly 50 local birdwatchers topped off the busy month of May by participating in the 12th annual Carden Challenge, an event that combines skills, tenacity, and friendly competition for a good cause. The combined efforts of eleven participating teams raised over $23,000 in pledges and donations for the Carden Alvar programs of the Couchiching Conservancy.
Songs by the thousand – the Brown Thrasher
Brown thrashers got their name from the thrashing sound they make as they forage for food in dried leaves and other vegetation on the ground. Where the “brown” came from is beyond me, because, in fact, they possess beautiful rufous- or rusty-coloured feathers on their back, wings and long tail.
Bird-watching: Brown headed Cowbirds
Brown-headed Cowbirds are birds of the Western Prairies. They acquired their name from following herds of bison, feeding on the insects stirred up as the animals grazed the grasses. As the forests of Eastern Canada were cleared to provide agricultural farm lands, the cowbirds began to expand eastward, and their range now extends across Ontario.
Bird-Watching: Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
In the bird world, there is a basic premise that male birds with bright plumage leave nest building and incubation duties to the female as their bright colours would attract would-be predators to the nest site. I guess that theory was left out of the young male Rose-breasted Grosbeak’s school curriculum, because they engage, along with the female in all of those activities.
Bird watching: Red-Tailed Hawk
Red-tailed hawks are the most easily recognizable hawks we have. They are rather large, with stocky bodies and broad, rounded wings. They normally have brownish streaks on their white breasts, but their most distinguishing identifier is a short, wide and wonderful russet coloured tail.
In appreciation of the noisy, boisterous bullies
When I first wrote about Blue Jays back in 2012, concentration was on their darker, meaner, rogue side as members of the Corvid family of birds which also includes Crows and Ravens; how they steal eggs and young of other birds to feed their own young and how they bully any other bird or animal in the playground!
Snowbirds come here for the winter
Snow buntings are the most northerly nesting songbird in the world. They are incredibly tough, arriving on their nesting grounds in April when temperatures often drop to minus 30 degrees. Learn more about this incredible bird in an article written by Ron Reid.