Two hawks that were my nemesis for years...

 

Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)

Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)

For the first many years as birdwatcher, my wife and I maintained several birdfeeders on the two  countryside properties where we lived, a few kilometres north of Toronto, above Lake Ontario. 

We loved feeding the many songbird species that visited our feeders, but were always dismayed when Sharp-shinned Hawks and Cooper's Hawks also visited the feeders to prey upon the smaller birds feeding on the seeds.

I have come to appreciate the two small raptors species for all of their remarkable exploits and appearance.

Both of these Accipiters have huge ranges in Canada, the U.S.A. and even parts of Mexico.

While the Sharp-shinned preys chiefly on small birds at feeders, especially in winter, the Cooper's Hawk also eats songbirds but occasionally adds small mammals to its diet.

Fred J. Alsop III, in his 'Birds of Canada Field Guide', says Sharp-shins declined in the 1950s through the 1970s due to pesticides and heavy metal pollutants in their environment, then made some comeback, but are perhaps declining again.  Meanwhile the same writer says that Cooper's Hawks declined in the mid 20th century mainly due to pesticides but are now stable of increasing in most places.

Alsop also states that Cooper's Hawks are are territorial, and will not allow the similar, and ever-so-slightly smaller, Sharp-shinned  in the same woodlands.

Because I was so against these two small raptors all those years ago, I never did get any photos of them.   That was pity, because they are both very attractive creatures.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis)

Photo by Gerrit Vyn / Macaulay Library

Yesterday it was The Eastern Kingbird

...today it is the Western Kingbird.

I didn't know this bird existed until I stumbled across it yesterday while writing about the Eastern Kingbird.

The Western Kingbird  is slightly smaller than the Eastern Kingbird and is found only in the western half of the U.S., plus a wee bit of southern Canada and Northern Mexico.

It is an eye-catching bird with ashy gray and bright lemon-yellow plumage.

It is a familiar summertime sight in open habitats across western North America.

This flycatcher, with the white-edged black tail, sallies forth to capture flying insects from conspicuous perches on trees , fences, or utility poles.

Like the Eastern Kingbird, it will chase away intruders, like Red-tailed Hawks, Crows or American Kestrels, with its snapping bill and flared crimson feathers that are normally unseen beneath their gray crowns.

They have taken advantage of their ongoing habitat development by taking advantage of telephone poles and other artificial structures as nesting sites, and fences and utility wires as perches for hunting.

Their range rapidly expanded during the 20th century as agricultural expansion created more suitable foraging and nesting areas.

This Kingbird is a neotropical migrant, and heads to southern Mexico, Central America, and the Pacific coast of southern Mexico through western Nicaragua in the winter. 

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Wild Turkeys surviving in winter...

Males displaying

All photos by BarrytheBirder

Foraging in winter

Wild Turkeys are found across lower Canada and most of the central and eastern United States and they are not migratory.  They do not fly south for the winter.

In many parts of their range, movement to wintering areas begins with the first snowfalls in mid-to-late November.   These are not great journeys, but more relocations to places with better food access and shelter (see photo below)...

As for keeping warm, wild turkeys are large birds and body mass is itself an advantage.   Larger animals lose heat more slowly relative to their volume, which is why turkeys can handle cold better than smaller birds.   Their plumage provides good insulation over most of their bodies, except for their bare heads and necks.   So Wild Turkeys simply bury their heads under their back feathers when temperatures plunge.

Roosting is when a bird is most vulnerable to wind chill, and turkeys are choosy about their roost trees.   Both stationary and roosting teurkey select conifer forests and avoid open agricultural and residential land covers.

The biggest winter challenge for a turkey is not the cold itself, but food access.   The most nutritious winter foods are red oak acorns, corn, and persistent fruits of shrubs like juniper, winterberry holly or barberry.

Deep powder snow is very problematic because turkeys have difficulty walking through it, cannot scratch down to the ground beneath it, and lose energy rapidly wading through it.   Hard-crusted sno is actually easier for turkeys to walk on, but it also locks food away beneath an impenetrable layer.

These factors explain why Wild Turkeys have a definite northern boundary to their range.   Populations that push into southern Canada or the far northern U.S. face winters that are too long and snowy for reliable survival.

Moreover, predators threats are real, with cyotes and bobcats as the primary killers.

The species' big comeback over the past many decades owes as much to habitat management and reintroduction programs as to this bird's own hardiness.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Red-tailed Hawks don't come around anymore

I have lived in Aurora, Ontario, for just over five years, after having lived in neighbouring King Township for 70 years.   I now live in a retirement residence in south Aurora, several kilometres north of Toronto on Lake Onrtario, and have become accustomed to Swainson's Hawks inhabiting the wooded part of the town that I now live in.

The many Swainson's Hawks that surround Delmanor Retirement Residence where I live in Aurora, have seen to it that Red-tailed Hawks don't come anywhere near to where I now live.

Each year, in October, I think maybe, just maybe, A Red-tailed Hawk or two might show up around Delmanor after the Swainson's Hawks have migrated south.

Alas, Red-tailed Hawks are not as at ease around humans as the Swainson's Hawks are; even though they are found in more habitats than any other North American buteo and are the most common hawk on the continent, (although there is some population decline due to loss of habitat).

Once again, the Red-tails just don't seem to want anything to do with where the Swainson's have been.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

What is the origin of the name Osprey?

Photo by BarrytheBirder

The English word first appeared around 1460, evolving from the the Anglo-French word ospriet, which itself derived from the Medieval Latin avis praedae ("bird of prey").

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

McKay's Bunting (Plectrophenax hyperboreus)

   

McKay's Bunting

(Plectrophenax hyperboreus)

Likely, the whitest

of all North American 

songbirds...

Macauley Library photo...

Yesterday, it was the Snow Bunting...today it is the McKay's Bunting.   the two buntings are the same size, but their ranges are vastly different.

While the Snow Bunting is found across most of Alaska, arctic and lower Canada, and the northern United States, the McKay's Bunting's breeding range is limited to just four Bering Sea islands: Hall, St. Paul's, St. Mathews and St. Lawrence.

It winters on the western end and southeastern coasts of Alaska.

Its song is a loud, trilled flutelike warbling, similar to a Snow Bunting's song.

They forage on the ground, eating seeds, flowers, leaflets, insects and spiders.

This bird has one of the smallest ranges in North America.   Apart from the four islands mentioned above, during the breeding season the McKay's Bunting is uncommon in winter in coastal Alaska.   It is however accidental south along the coast towards Oregon.

This small bird is also seriously threatened by native and introduced predators on its nesting islands.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

 

                               

Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis)

                                                                 Photo by BarrytheBirder

I know it's only mid-October, but I'm already looking forward to seeing one of my favourite winter birds: the Snow Bunting.   A day in winter is always more enjoyable when I am motoring about and come across a small flock of these winter warriors.

Male (above) - Female (below)

Photos by Christoph Moning / Macaulay Libray

Fred Alsop in his Birds of Canada Field Guide says this bird "...can survive temperatures as low as fifty degrees Celsius below zero and often tunnels in the snow in the shelter of grass tussocks or shrubs to keep warm".

They certainly make my winters more enjoyable and shorter when I take the time to watch them frolicking, and even bathing, in the snow.

Males have white rumps and females (non-breeding) have cinnamon rumps and shoulders.

They are fairly common on their arctic breeding grounds where they are found on rocky shores and dry tundra, feeding for seeds, insects and caterpillars, plus small crustaceans and mollusks on coastal shores.   In winter they are found in stubby and grassy fields, on coastal beaches and around sand dunes.

I lived in an large agricultural area north of Toronto, on the north shore of Lake Ontario, for decades and watched the Snow Buntings gleaning from farm fields continuously.   I never heard their trilling musical notes because they only sing on the breeding grounds.

As a bonus, my wife and I would sometimes see these birds in winter foraging with Lapland Longspurs and Horned Larks.

Winter is always shorter when Snow Buntings are around and about.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

World's official national birds

 Around 97 countries in the world now have official national birds, while roughly 34 additional countries have recognized national birds unofficially, which leaves 74 countries without a national bird, officially or unofficially.

Audubon Photo

* The American Eagle is the national bird of the U.S.A.

Photo by Vitali Khustocka/ Macaulay Library

* The Gray Jay (or Canada Jay) is the unofficial bird of Canada.

* The European Robin is the United Kingdom's unofficial bird.

* The Gallic Rooster is the unofficial bird of France.

* The Spanish Eagle is the unofficial bird of Spain.

* The Italian Sparrow is the unofficial bird of Italy

* The White-throated Dipper is the national bird of Norway.

Crimson Sunbird photo by Shirley Hg - Gettry Images

* The Crimson Sunbird is the national bird of Singapore.

* The Steppe Eagle is the national bird of Egypt.

* The Rufous-bellied Thrush is the national bird of Brazil.

* The Himalayan Monal is the National bird of Nepal.

* The Blue Crane is the national bird of South Africa.

* The Indian Peafowl is the national bird of India.

Photo by Getty Images

* The Red-crowned Crane is the unofficial bird of China.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Wood Thrush (Hylocichia musteline)

Wood thrush photo by Fernando Burgalin Sequeria / Macauley Library

While anticipating writing about yesterday's 'Thrasher' blog and today's 'Thrush' blog, I asked Google to tell me the difference between the two species.   Well, did I get more than I bargained for?   Way more!

But, info-overload aside...

Wood Thrushes are widespread across south-eastern Canada and and all of the U.S., except Florida.

As seen in the photo above, they are reddish-brown above, brightest on the crown and nape.   They have a fairly bold white eye ring, conspicuous on a streaked face.   They are whitish below, with large black spots on throat, breast and sides.   They have stronger markings than other the North American thrushes.

My '2nd Edition' National Geographic  Field Guide describes the Wood Thrush as a large plump bird, common in swamps and most deciduous or mixed woods, but seemingly declining in numbers in recent years.

For now...more on Thrashers and Thrushes on another occasion.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum)

Photo by Martina Nordstrand / Macauley Library

There are 8 North American Thrasher species, of which the foxy- brown, Brown Thrasher is the most widespread.   It is found in southern Canada and across the central and eastern United States.

Thrashers are to many the most melodious birds in North America.

The Brown Thrasher is reported to have the biggest song repertoire of all North America birds with more than 1,100 types recorded!

They are fairly common in hedgerows  and woodland edges in their range, but are rare in the west and Maritimes.

According to my 'Kenn Kaufman' bird guide, the Brown Thrasher is declining in may areas.  

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Keeping it in perspective...

 

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Northern Parula (Parula americana)

Adult male photo by Ryan Schain/ Macauley Library 

Arguably, the smallest of the warblers...at 4 1/2" (11 cm), the Northern Parula is a short-tailed warbler, gray-blue above with yellowish green upper back, and two bold white wing bars.   Its throat and breast are bright yellow and its belly is white.

The adult male has reddish and black bands across the breast, but in female and immature male, the bands are fainter or absent.

They range in mixed or coniferous woods, especially near water where Spanish Moss or "Old Man's Beard" lichen grows, which are both used for construction of nests.

Parulas allow close approach.   They are active, acrobatic foragers, sometimes hanging upside down in the hunt for insects on tree trunks, leaf clusters or ends of branches.

They also hover-glean and hawk flying insects.

Being one of the smallest of all warblers, they are frequently dominated by other birds, including some other warbler species.  They are also sadly sometimes cowbird hosts.

They suffer from habitual loss due to logging and clearing of hardwoods.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Warblers have migrated south...

Photo by Barry the Birder

Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petchia)

Most of the 35 warbler species that summer in Canada and Alaska have finished their fall migration south to the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America.    The countries in Central America are Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.

Central American countries are, on average, about 6,750 to 7,750 kilometers (4,200  to 4,800 mi.) away from Alaska in a straight line.  

Photo by Barry the Birder

Orange-crowned Warbler

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Where do Great Blue Herons migrate in winter?

Northern populations of Great Blue Herons migrate to coastal areas of the southern United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America, such as Venezuela and Columbia.

Many birds from Canada and the northern United States fly to warmer southern states including Florida, plus other Gulf Coast regions.

Year-round residents in the Pacific northwest, lower coastal British Columbia, south Florida, and parts of North Carolina often do not migrate and stay put year-round.

Some Great Blue Herons remain in northern areas (such as parts of Ontario and New England) if they can find pockets of open water or alternative food such as mice or other small rodents.

An all-white morph with yellowish legs in southern Florida is called the Great White Heron and was formerly called a separate species.

The large "Great Blue' is the most familiar and widespread heron in North America, flapping slowly overhead even miles from open water, or patiently standing at watersides patiently waiting to spear fish or other creatures.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus)

 

(Photo by Pat Cromie)

Pictured above is me (BarrytheBirder) wearing a new Snowy Owl t-shirt that I recently purchased from Black Maple Trading in Montreal, Quebec. 

Photo by Wayne Comerford

The Snowy Owl (23" / 58 cm.) was adopted as Quebec's official bird in 1987.

This the only all-white owl in Canada and females and juveniles are similar, but show more dusky barring than males...old males may be pure white.

The Snowy Owl is large with a rounded head and yellow eyes.  They are heavy-bodied and breed on Arctic tundra and winter on grasslands, marshes, coastal beaches, and dunes. 

They are active in daylight and darkness, often perching on the ground or close to it on posts, rocks, dunes, ice, hay bales, or even buildings.

They eat primarily small mammals, particularly voles and lemmings on the breeding grounds, but also fish and some birds.

Winter diet includes both mammals and a variety of birds, including waterfowl.

Males defend nests and and young fearlessly, doing a "crippled bird" routine to lure predators away from nests and young.

They will retreat from the nothern-most parts of range in winter.

When lemming populations drop, they may move south into the northern tier of states, wandering in winter as far south as Oklahoma and Virginia, and sometimes to Gulf Coast states.

These birds are fairly common on the breeding grounds, but casual to rare south of the breeding range.   

Their population is considered stable because of remoteness from human habitation and disturbance.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Canada Goose ( Branta canadensis)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Long ago known mainly as a wilderness bird, the "honker" has adapted to life on golf courses and city parks, extending its year-round range.

Basic pattern is unmistakable, with its white chinstrap on its black head and neck.   Different populations vary noticeably in  size and vary in body colour (from white-chested to very dark).

The smallest forms (no bigger than Mallards) might represent a different species, sometimes called "Cackling Goose".   This goose is a Canadian symbol, but is now found in many parts of the world, including North America (including Alaska), Britain, Europe and New Zealand.

(The photo above by Brawley Parekh)

Please comment if you wish.

Barry the Birder

Northern (Baltimore) Oriole (Icterus galbula)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Where do Baltimore Orioles spend the winter?

Most Northern (Baltimore) Orioles spend the winter in the tropics, such as in shade-grown coffee plantations , forest edges and citrus groves in Central America, southern Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula, and northern South America (such as Columbia and Venezuela).

A small number over-winter along Florida and the Gulf Coast.  Some stragglers even stay in coastal California or even backyard feeders in the eastern U.S.

Orange and black, orange and black,

The Baltimore Oriole is in  fact,

Part of nature's art abstract.

Pleasent if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Whip-poor-will (Caprimulgus vociferus)

   Photo by Frontenac Arch Biosphere 

This is a bird named for the sound it makes.  Its song is a loud "Whip-poor-will" (clear and mellow in eastern birds  particularly, with accent on the first and last syllables).

Its overall range is lower eastern Canada and most of the eastern US.  It is uncommon to fairly common, but local and declining in coniferous and mixed woodlands in the east.

Whip-poor-wills are mottled gray/brown overall, wings are rounded, tail long and rounded.

While best located and identified by it distinctive call, it is hard to see because it often sits on the ground or on a long branch.   Its pattern closely resembles the leaf litter of the wood lots it prefers.

These birds have rounded wings which when folded do not reach the tip of the tail.

Males are similar to females, but their their throats are bordered with white and their tail have large white patches.

Obviously, the bird's call is a loud, clear "Whip-Poor-Will". Kenn Kaufman, in his 'Birds of North America', describes the voice as 'a rolling chant:"whip, prrr WEEL"!

Whip-poor-wills have declined in the east in recent decades due to habitat loss caused by forest fragmentation and development.

The species is federally protected in the U.S.A.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Northern Hawk-Owl (Surnia ulula)

Photo by Steven Sachs / Audubon Photography Awards

The Northern Hawk-Owl  (16" - 41 cm.) is a crow-sized hawk-like owl of boreal forests and northern muskegs.   They often perch noticeably at the top of conifers and slowly raise and lower their long, barred, rounded tails in the manner of a kestrel.

They have yellow eyes (like most owls), and no ear tufts or "horns".

Although uncommon to rare and preferring to live remote from human, they often allow close approaches and appear tame.

They are often seen perched high in spruce trees.   They fly close to the ground with rapid flapping and gliding when hunting...sometimes hovering.

The Northern Hawk-Owl eats small mammals up to the size of young snowshoe hares and birds as large as ptarmigans.

They have long tails and falcon-like profiles.   They are easily identified by their black-bordered facial disks.   Underparts are barred with brown.

While rarely seen south of their normal range across the Canadian provinces, they do retreat slightly in winter from the northernmost part of their range.    The photos I have taken  of this owl were taken a few kilometres north of Toronto, above Lake Ontario.

They are monogamous breeders and produce one brood per year.

Because of the closeness one can get to these high-perched birds, they can be very photographable.

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx Californianus)

Photos - Audubon Field Guide

The Greater Roadrunner is a big (l.22" - 58 cm.) cuckoo.   It has a long heavy bill, noticeable bushy crest, and a long, white-edged tail.   Its short, rounded wings show a white crescent on the primaries.

Its song is dove-like cooing, descending in pitch.

It is found round-and-about Texas, parts a few other nearby U.S. states, and northern Mexico.

It is uncommon in its range and eats insects, lizards, snakes, rodents and small birds.

The Roadrunner has a running speed of 20 to 27 mile per hour (32 to 43 kms.) ...much slower than its animated cartoon character.

They do not have a documented flying speed because they rarely fly and can only sustain brief, low altitude glides or short bursts of flight for a few seconds.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrythBirder

Swainson's Hawks heading to Argentina...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Swainson's Hawks that haver spent the summer in Aurora, Ontario, several kilometers north of Toronto on Lake Ontario, have been heading south, although a few stragglers have remained into mid-October.   The long migration south can take all of two months when they journey as far south as central Argentina (a distance of 9,000 kms.)   Other South American wintering destinations include Uruguay, Paraguay and southern Brazil.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Yellow-shafted Flicker (note black moustache)

Red-shafted Flicker (note red moustache)

Northern Flickers (both Yellow-shafted and Red-shafted types) are found from Alaska, across Canada (from British Columbia to Newfoundland), and throughout the eastern U.S., down to Florida.

Notably, Yellow-shafted Flickers have a black moustache stripe, while Red-shafted Flickers have a red moustache stripe.

Flickers are the only brown-backed woodpeckers in the east, and they are the only woodpeckers in North America that commonly feed on the ground, usually searching for ants and beetle larvae.

Red-shafted Flicker (preening)

On the great plains of America, the "Yellow-shafted" and "red-shafted" forms meet, interbreed, hybridize and are considered one species.

Northern birds move south in winter.

No other woodpecker is barred with gray-brown and black, with white rump.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder