Cowbirds and the bunny

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Our resident backyard bunny likes birdseed as part of its diet and seems to enjoy the company of Cowbirds the most, when dining.   If you have Cowbirds at your feeders you will have undoubtedly already seen how agreeable Cowbirds are with each other; not at all like the belligerent Blue Jays and the scrappy Grackles.   Then again, Cowbirds need to appear somewhat magnanimous as they routinely go about laying their eggs in the nests of everyone else.
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BtheB   

Goldfinches start to stand out

Photos by BarrytheBirder

There are still 50 to 100 Redpolls at our feeders each day but suddenly a Goldfinch or two are showing up in their new breeding plumage and they stick out like a sore thumb amongst the Redpolls.

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I've never had so many Redpolls

Photo by BarrytheBirder

I've never had so many Redpolls at the feeders as I have had this past winter and now spring.   50 to 60 birds at a time is the regular count but many days it goes to 100.   Several birders I have talked to are saying the same thing.   It truly has been a remarkable irruption by this charming little bird.   I was also surprised at the great variations in colour and markings.   And don't ask me about how many times I was sure I had found a Hoary!   I have uncharacteristically enjoyed this winter because of these wonderful winter warriors.   Bless 'em.

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BtheB

Ospreys are back

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Ospreys have returned to two of the three nests that I check regularly in their season.   The male pictured above was on the nest at the top of Bathurst Street in King Township, beside the Holland Marsh.   The other one I saw on Sunday was on a nest at the waterski park pond on Keele Street, on the south side of the Holland Marsh.   The third one, at Seneca College, which was abandoned last year, shows no sign of any activity. Pity.

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First Great Blue Heron of the spring

Photo by BarrytheBirder

King-Vaughan Townline (north side) ~ west of Mill Road

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Vultures return sooner ~ leave later

 Photo by BarrytheBirder

Today I spotted many Turkey Vultures soaring over different parts of King Township.   It was cold (-1C) and blustery but the vultures were taking advantage of the wind, at times, and were gliding over fields and forests with very few wing-beats.   I have noticed over the last several years that the Turkey Vultures are arriving earlier each spring and heading south later each fall, which is fine with me as I love to see these birds on the wing.   They are great soaring birds but often display what can only be described as a tendency to teeter and totter in their flight paths.   They are nevertheless quite agile and often are as interesting to see on the ground, as in the air.

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BtheB

First-ever shrike spotted in backyard

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Things went quiet this afternoon and all the small birds at the feeders disappeared.   As I surveyed the scene I came the cross the bird pictured above: a Northern Shrike.   It was the first one I had ever seen in the backyard.   This one is an immature and and as it matures throughout its first spring, it will take on the much more striking white, black and grey colours of the adult.   It made no sound and barely moved during the time it was in a cedar hedge.   Despite the lack of small birds, Blue Jays, Grackles, Mourning Doves and Red-winged Blackbirds surrounded this silent stranger.   It stayed about ten minutes and moved on to more favourable hunting perches.   Meanwhile, (below) the first female Red-winged Blackbird of the spring showed up and immediately attracted a handful of males.   She toyed with them as they stumbled and fumbled to get close without blocking her way to the seeds.   She was in complete control and finally secured a feeder all to herself.   So, the migrant birds are arriving.   Now if only spring weather would arrive.

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BtheB

Cowbird returns - twice

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Two male Cowbirds arrived at the feeders on a cold, snowy Mar. 20 (first day of Spring).   They were still here the next day but then suddenly disappeared...headed back south was my guess. Now, 10 days later, on a beautiful, sunny, warm (10C) Mar. 30, a Cowbird has shown up at the feeders.   I choose to think it is one of the two that were here  back on the 20th.   He is filling himself up with seeds and I wish him well on his migration.

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BtheB 

Dave Kemp's west coast spring birds

Photos by Dave Kemp

My friend Dave Kemp from Richmond, B.C., suddenly has a deluge of spring birds to photograph out on the west coast, including the beady-eyed Bittern above.   Immediately below is his photo of a Rufous Hummingbird and below that is a Marsh Wren.   At the bottom is a Red-winged Blackbird.   Great shots, Dave, and thanks for sharing the images.   Have fun, buddy.

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BtheB

Trumpeter Swans at Kinkyle

Photos by BarrytheBirder

These lovely Trumpeter Swans decided to take a break on Crawford's Lake even though it is still frozen.   They are on the leading edge of this year's spring migration and will undoubtedly find open water as they head north.   The Kinkyle Farm is on the east side of Weston Road, halfway between the 15th and 16th Sideroads in King Township.   The re-introduction of Trumpeter Swans in the Great Lakes area is still a work in progress but seems more successful each passing year.

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BtheB 

Back in the correct nest

www.barrythebirder.blogspot.com

I think I've overcome recent internet problems and once again I am occupying this space...I hope.   Now, when  logging on to my  blog, the word blogspot must be in the internet address.   It means just barrythebirder no longer cuts it.   It has to be www.barrythebirder.blogspot.com or a shortened version such as barrythebirder.blogspot.   Hopefully, I'm back in business.   My wife and youngest daughter got me straightened out on this one.   Bless them.   I still haven't figured out how paper clips work, so I need all the help I can get.

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BtheB  

Spring cleaning

Photos by Barry Wallace

March 20, 2013 ~ first day of spring

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BtheB

Anna's Hummingbird in the snow

Photo by Mary Horton

Yesterday I showed two photos of an Anna's Hummingbird taken by Dave Kemp of Richmond B.C.   Today, Mary Horton, a friend of Dave Kemp, sent along a picture of an Anna's Hummingbird, sitting on snowy apple branches, which she took last December.   This bird is one of three or four hummers that over-winter in Mary's garden.   Mary got the the picture with a little point-and-shoot Olympus camera.   According to Wikipedia, "Anna's Hummingbirds are found along the western coast of North America, from southern Canada to northern Baja, California and inland to southern Arizona.   They tend to be permanent residents within their range...".   "Anna's Hummingbirds are the only hummingbirds to spend the winter in northern climes; they are able to do this because there are enough wild flowers and food to support them.   During cold temperatures, Anna's Hummingbirds gradually gain weight during the day as they convert sugar to fat.   In addition, hummingbirds with inadequate stores of body fat or insufficient plumage are able to survive periods of sub-freezing weather by lowering their metabolic rate and entering a state of torpor.   What a delight it must be to see hummingbirds in snowy weather.   Lucky Mary.
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Anna's 'hummer' in B.C.

My friend Dave Kemp of Richmond, British Columbia, just sent me these wonderful shots of an Anna's Hummingbird he recently photographed in the Richmond Nature Reserve, south-west of Vancouver.   Apparently this hummingbird put on quite a show, especially when it attacked an intrusive and much larger Purple Finch (the finch weighs 8 times more than the hummer).   Dave says there was a consensus that this feisty little Anna's was "...one  mean son of a gun".   Dave did a great job of capturing the Anna's spectacular gorget in the top photo and a very revealing shot of the tail feathers and wings in the photo below.

Thanks for sharing these wonderful pictures Dave.   You can view more of Dave's great photos by going to pictureperfect.nu.photogallery   

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BtheB

Spring blackbirds

Photos by BarrytheBirder

It is St. Patricks Day...three days before the first day of spring.   Two male Red-winged Blackbirds (above) arrived at the backyard feeders today.   It is sunny, windy and a bitter cold -7C.   Arriving first on the breeding grounds in this kind of weather demands a brave heart.

Evil-eyed glossy grackles have been here for several days already.    

European Starlings have been around for many days also and well into their winter moult which shows their speckled coloured markings fading to rich darker feathers and their beaks turning from a dull yellow to bright yellow-white.   Brown-headed Cowbirds will be the next to arrive and join the throng.   With this mixture of blackbirds taking over, the Blue Jays have to turn up their aggressiveness a notch or two, to maintain the pecking order.

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BtheB 

Extinction is not forever

Image - WP Clipart
PASSENGER PIGEON (female)

My Friend Zoreh Zand sent me a link to the TED Talks video below and it is must-viewing for anyone who thinks they will never, ever see a live Passenger Pigeon.   The video presentation by Stewart Brand is about 20 minutes in length.   This is mind-expanding. 
Click on:

http://www.ted.com/talks/stewart_brand_the_dawn_of_de_extinction_are_you_ready.html

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BtheB   

Birds in my brother's backyard

Photos by Nancy and Bob Wallace

My brother Bob (former King City good old boy) and his wife Nancy live in the bush near Nobel, Ontario, which is approximately 200 kms. due north of my home in King City, which is just north of Toronto.   While my wife Linda and I have been watching Goldfinchs, Redpolls, Juncos, etc. all winter, my brother and his wife have been seeing (as pictured above) Barred Owls, Pine Grosbeaks and Rusty Blackbirds, among other species.
And occasionally, a bobcat makes an appearance.

  
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BtheB

A week in Antigua

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Bananaquit

My wife and I just spent a week in Antigua and while I fully intended to do lots of snorkelling, I also saw some birds - 28 to be exact.   It was no surprise that I saw the ubiquitous Bananaquit more than any other species.   I also got two life birds: a Least Tern and a Black-whiskered Vireo.   They brought my life list to 425.   Following are some pictures and the list of 28 birds.

   Green-throated Carib Hummingbird

Antillean Crested Hummingbird

Zenaida Dove

Ruddy Turnstones

1.   Brown Pelican                         11. Sandwich Tern                                  21. Black-whiskered Vireo

2.   Brown Booby                           12. Royal Tern                                       22. Yellow Warbler

3.   Magnificent Frigatebird              13. Least Tern                                       23. Common Yellowthroat

4.   Snowy Egret                            14. Rock Pigeon                                    24. Orange-crowned Warbler

5.   Cattle Egret                             15. Zenaida Dove                                    25. Bananaquit 

6.   Broad-winged Hawk                  16. Common Ground Dove                      26. Black-faced Grassquit

7.   Merlin                                      17. Mangrove Cuckoo                             27. Lesser Antillean Bullfinch

8.   Ruddy Turnstone                      18. Green-throated Carib                         28. Carib Grackle

9.   Least Tern                               19. Antillean Crested Hummingbird                Life Birds

10. Laughing Gull                           20. Gray Kingbird

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BtheB

Feathered friends at our frigid feeders

Photos by Barry Wallace                                                                                                                          Female Downy Woodpecker

                                                                                                                                                                            White-breasted Nuthatch

                                                                                                                                                                             American Tree Sparrow

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BtheB

Volumes 1 to 9 are at King City Library

Yesterday, I made mention of the Handbook of the Birds of the World and the photo contest sponsored by the Spanish publisher, Lynx Edicions.   I should have mentioned that Volumes 1 to 9 of this incomparable series are available to patrons of the local library in King City, Ontario, where I live.   The first 9 volumes were donated to the our library by a patron, a couple of years ago.   Internationally, the series is finally completed at 16 volumes, the cost of which is $160 (Canadian) per volume, or $2,560 for the set.   The price is a bit steep for most birders, which makes the books at the library very appealing.   The volumes at the King City library cannot be taken off the premises, but there are lots of comfy places to sit and peruse what are arguably the finest bird guides in the world.   They are a joy to behold.
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BtheB