-30-

Well, here we go again.   After declaring that my BarrytheBirder blog had come to an end early last October, and then immediately jumping back in the saddle to write another 100 blogs, I have once more decided that it is time to make a permanent break from this pastime that has brought me so much enjoyment and satisfaction.   For those of you who did not see my previous attempt to wind things up, the -30- above is an old newspaper writer's code to mark the end of a story.   I was never a reporter/writer in my 40 years in the newspaper business, but writing 700 blogs seemed to satisfy any urge I might have had to put certain experiences and thoughts into print.   My best wishes to all who pursue an interest in our feathered friends.   If you are dedicated to protecting birds, then you are part of the salvation of our planet.   

BarrytheBirder

Great Backyard Bird Count ~ 18 species

Photo by BarrytheBirder

The 2012 GBBC (Great Backyard Bird Count) is over.   I counted a total of 18 bird species at my feeders, during four 1/2 hour periods, spread across four days, from February 17 to 20.


The species were: Cooper's Hawk   
                                 Mourning Dove
                                 Downey Woodpecker
                                 Hairy Woodpecker
                                 Blue Jay
                                 American Crow
                                 Black-capped Chickadee
                                 Red-breasted Nuthatch
                                 European Starling
                                 Snow Bunting
                                 American Tree Sparrow
                                 Dark-eyed Junco
                                 Cowbird
                                 Northern Cardinal
                                 House Finch
                                 Purple Finch
                                 American Goldfinch
                                 House Sparrow


Last year more than 92,000 checklists were submitted and they contained 596 species and 11.4 million total bird observations. Results for this year will be available after March 5th.   The magnitude of this birdwatching exercise is unprecedented in the history of the world.   To learn more about the GBBC, Google it at Great Backyard Bird Count.
Please comment if you wish.
BtheB


                                 

Getting closer to Snowy Owls at Holland Marsh

Photos by BarrytheBirder

I spotted two Snowy Owls in the Holland Marsh today.   One was on Woodchoppers Lane and the other was on Strawberry Lane.   The pictures above of are of the Strawberry Lane owl - a male.   I am limited by most powerful lens(70-300mm) and am always walking that fine line between physically getting as close as possible and not scaring the birds off.   The one above decided I had gotten too close and took off, leaving me with a couple of shots of its rump.   Oh well, it's the closest I've got to one this winter and they do show some action.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

How many eggs do Cowbirds lay?

Photo by BarrytheBirder

I ran the photo above in a blog, over a month and a half ago, when a male Cowbird showed up at the feeders at the end of January.   It was followed by two females a week later.   I've always pretty much taken migrant Cowbirds for granted but these newest arrivals were so early and have become such regulars, along with the other winter birds, that I have found myself becoming more interested in this species.   I have done some reading about the parasitism for which Cowbirds are famous and have come upon some interesting things, some of which are downright unpleasant.   But the information that surprised me the most was the fact that Cowbirds lay from 36 to 40 eggs in the breeding season.   I guess I had always assumed that Cowbirds just laid a few eggs in the spring and moved on to enjoy the rest of the summer at their leisure.   Now I realize that there is a heck of a lot of effort in producing  40 eggs, one at a time, in 40 different nests.   It certainly seems to indicate that the Cowbird has some intelligence about the challenge it faces in propagating it species, when so many of its eggs are abandoned or destroyed, by unwilling hosts.   It also seems this bird understands that it can be indiscriminate about whose nest it lays its eggs in, because Cowbird eggs have been found in hundreds of bird species nests and young Cowbirds have been seen being fed by hundreds of different kinds of surrogate bird parents.   Quite remarkable, all and all.   In the  smaller  photo one Cowbird egg is seen  with five Eastern Phoebe eggs.  (Egg photo by Galawebdesign/Wilipedia)
Please comment if you wish.
BtheB

Euro-birds in a deep freeze

Photo by Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images

Europe's winter-to-remember, weather-wise, persists and takes a deadly toll in many places.   These are recent photos showing the extent of the brutal impact.   Above is a dead flamingo, which succumbed to freezing temperatures, on a snowy lakeshore at Gruissan, France.   Gruissan is in southernmost France on the Mediterranean coast, near the Spanish border.

 Photo by Robin Chittenden/Alamy

Bittern negotiates frozen Norwich wetlands in England

Photo by Dado Ruvic/Reuters 

Gray Heron standing on a rock, in the snow, near the Bosna River, at Lasva, Bosnia

Photo by Kieran Doherty/Reuters

Swans sleeping on ice at Surrey in southern England

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

 Ps.   If  you live in the vicinity of King City or King Township,

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Tree Sparrows change behaviour

Photo by BarrytheBirder

MAmerican Tree SparrowM

Spizella arborea

According to conventional wisdom, American Trees Sparrows are relatively uncommon visitors at feeders.   But in this winter of turnabout weather conditions, tree sparrows have been regular visitors at my backyard feeders all winter.   Furthermore, my backyard is in the village of King City, not out of town and adjacent to meadows or farm fields.   In my copy of Birds at Your Feeder, authors Dunn and Tessaglia-Hymes have this to say about American Tree Sparrows: "Flocks prefer to forage in fields and pasture with few shrubs or trees, belying the species name.   They are "bad-weather birds" that usually ignore feeders unless the weather turns severely cold and stormy".   Yet, I have had trees sparrows around the feeders every day this winter and up to 20 at a time, on many occasions.   On the other hand, this is the first winter ever, that I have seen this level of activity by Tree Sparrows in my backyard.   The odd one, now and then, but never regularly in the past.   Once again, it has been a winter of contrasts and one is left wondering, in this new weatherworld, if this is exceptional or the new normal.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB  

A winter for feathers and down

Photo by Stefan Sauer/EPA

A seagull walks on the backs of swans as both species of birds search for food along the icy Sund promenade in Stralsund, northern Germany, at the southern end of the Baltic Sea.   Waterfowl enjoy not just the insulating properties of their feathers but their feathers also provide a water-tight benefit.   Both qualities are being tested, in the extreme, in Europe this winter.
    Elsewhere...

Photo by Ognen Teofilovski / Reuters

A goose preens in the abundant snow at Skopje, Macedonia, as Europe's 'big freeze' continues.   Down are the light and fluffy, feathery filaments that make up the undercoating against the skin of ducks, geese, swans and other waterfowl.   Other birds to not produce down.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Ps.   If you live in the vicinity of King City or King Township,

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Could you eat a Robin?

"Supped on Robens which my Chum and Wingate killed" ~ 1759

Photo by BarrytheBirder

I took the picture above exactly one year ago on February 15th.   It was the first Robin I had seen in and around King Township in 2011.   This year they have have been around and about all winter and in great numbers.   Three days ago, I was re-reading BIRDS at YOUR FEEDER, by Erica Dunn and Diane Tessaglia-Hymes, and these women had the following to say about the American Robin: "Once hunted commonly for food, it now enjoys a more peaceful association with man".   I don't know why I was surprised to read this, but I was.   I easily found the quote over  the robin picture (above) on Google and realized that robins were probably once a tasty treat for many early Americans.    Even today, although robins are protected by the Migratory Bird Act, one can still shoot robins, with a special permit, if they are shown to be marauding berry and cherry crops.   Apart from the fact that many robins have stayed north this winter, the common practise is for robins is to migrate to the south-eastern parts of the United States in great numbers.   Roosts of more than a million robins have been observed in recent years.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB 

Ps.   If you live in the vicinity of King City or King Township,

you may be interested in my new blog camera on KING.

Google it at cameraonking.com

or go to http://cameraonking.blogspot.com/

        

Polar Bear feeds on eggs

Photo by Jenny E. Ross

A male polar bear climbs precariously on the face of a cliff, above the ocean, in northern Russia, to feed on seabird eggs.   The bear was marooned on land and not able to eat seals, its normal prey, because of melting sea ice that had receded far to the north because of global warming.   Jenny E. Ross of the USA won first prize for this photo in the Nature Singles category of the recent World Press Photo Contest.


Meanwhile...

Photo by Claude Paris

Pink  flamingos try to forage at a partially frozen marshland, in the Camargue region of southern France.   The France Bird Protection League says the prolonged European cold snap has killed-off several of the birds.

Please comment if you wish

BtheB

Ps.   If you live in the vicinity of King King City or King Township,

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More Snowies from Boundry Bay area

All photos by Dave Kemp

My friend Don Flucker, in Ladner, B.C., sent me these Snowy Owl photos which were taken recently by photographer Dave Kemp of Richmond B.C., in the Boundary Bay area, south of Vancouver.   I  had previously used a  photo, by another photographer, of Snow Owls at Boundary Bay in a blog last Monday.   This series of great photos show a Snowy making a landing in front of another Snowy, that seems to offer a rebuke and then totally ignores the new arrival.

My gratitude goes out to Dave Kemp for his permission to use his wonderful photos here.   To see other photos by this excellent photographer, Google him at Dave Kemp's Picture Perfect Photo Gallery.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Ps.   If you live in the vicinty of King City or King Township,

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Robins, Bluebirds & Flicker at Grammy G's

Photos by Grammy Grace

One of the very pleasant blogs I follow is called Grammie's Rambling.   It is written by Grammy G in Maine.   Grammy G puts lots of her photos in her blogs and they are beautifully natural and charming.   Above is a photo that captures five of the 22 robins to which she  recently played host, and below the robins photo is one of a bluebird (one of three) that joined the robins at the berry bushes.   Below the bluebird pictures is a shot of a Northern "Yellow-shafted" Flicker that also made an appearance!      

It seems that Grammy G has a plethora of riches when it comes to unexpected sightings...but it's been that kind of a winter, hasn't it?   You can reach Grammy G's blog by Googling it at grammie's rambling.    Great photos, Grammy G...and good birding.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Ps.   If you live in the vicinity of King City or King Township

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007 and the Red-billed Streamertail

Photo by Dick Daniels

MRed-billed StreamertailM

Trochilus polytmus 

Ian Fleming, in his 1960 James Bond book, For Your Eyes Only, writes in the very first sentence of the book: "The most beautiful bird in Jamaica, and some say the most beautiful bird in the world, is the streamer-tail or doctor humming-bird".   The movie, of the same name and starring Roger Moore, was released in 1981.   The Red-billed Streamertail is indigenous to Jamaica and shares the island nation with the Black-billed Streamertail (Trochilus scitulus).   My younger daughter, Auralee, sent me the short film clip, below, of author Ian Fleming during an interview in which he explains how he stole the name James Bond for his master spy, many years ago in Jamaica.   Click on the link below...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_IzoKbNktY

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Ps.   If you live in the vicinity of King City or King Township,

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February continues to amaze

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Now it's the female Cowbirds that have arrived at the feeders.   The first male Cowbird arrived a few days ago approximately five to six weeks ahead of schedule.   Meanwhile, outside of the village and along the sideroads, raptors, like the Red-tailed Hawk below, continue to look well-fed and healthy, as they find easy pickings in the snowless landscape.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Ps.   If you live in the vicinity of King City or King Township,

you may be interested in my new blog camera on KING.

Google it at cameraonking.com

or go to http://cameraonking.blogspot.cam/

Thrushes have to be hardy

Photo by Darek Delmanowicz

I came across these recent photos of two thrush species today and pondered on their similarities; in particular, how both birds are handling the winters of 2012 on their respective continents.   The picture above shows Fieldfares eating berries in  Przemysl, Poland, while the photo below shows American Robins sipping melting snow, from a vehicle, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.   Here in King Township, in southern Ontario, robins have been evident in large flocks all winter.   The mildness of our winter is in direct contrast to the harsh, brutal European winter. The Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) and the American Robin (Turdus migratorius) are members of the same family and genus but are separated by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. 

Photo by Ingrid Taylar

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Ps.   If  you are in the vincinity of King City or King Township,

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Sunday afternoon wanderings

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Sunday afternoon past saw Linda and I feeding the ducks at Lake Wilcox again and Linda had a pair of Wheaton Terriers watching her every move.   The dogs didn't join the ducks in the water but sure looked like they wanted to.   

A few feet from the open patch of Lake Wilcox water, where the ducks congregate, three intrepid folks were actually having a picnic in the +2C temperature.   They even had a small barbeque cooking up some grub.

   

Despite the mild, open winter we have had so far, the ice at Lake Wilcox is thick enough for Ice fishermen, on foot, to try their luck.   Many were making the effort, but we did not see any hauling in a catch.

Feeding the ducks at Lake Wilcox was followed by a walk part-way around nearby Lake St. George, then it was off to the Pine Farms Orchard, back near King City, to get some MacIntosh apples and freshly baked ginger-and-molasses cookies.   The Muscovy Ducks, above, are named Elvis and Costello and are well-known fixtures at Pine Farms.   Today was just so 'un-winter-like' that the boys had to get out of their coop and take a walk-about. 

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Ps.   If you live in the vincity of King City or King Township,

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Google it at  cameraonking.com

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February fly-past by Tundra Swans

Photo by Denny Mott

Jane Busby, who lives on a farm north of Kinghorn, emailed me on the weekend to report that she and her daughter, Lynn, were watching a small herd of deer, browsing near the old barn, when Lynn spotted a pair of Tundra Swans flying over the house.   Jane was surprised, needless to say, and commented that she doesn't usually see swans until March.   Ah, but this is an unusual year.   Down in Lambton County, hundreds of Tundra Swans are showing up at least six weeks earlier than usual.   According to the Sarnia Observer newspaper, Alf Rider, a local well-known local birder, said he's never seen the swans this early in his 42 years of living near Kettle Point, at the south end on Lake Huron.   Thedford Bog, near Pinery Provincial Park, is a popular stopover for migrating Tundras and can attract 20,000 of the huge birds in March and April - but never in the first week of February...well, hardly ever.
Please comment if you wish.
BtheB

Ps.   If you live in the vicinity of King City or King Township,

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Lots of Snowy Owls elsewhere

Photo by Sandy Milliken

In the previous blogspot, I posted a rather pathetic picture I had taken of a Snowy Owl in the Holland Marsh.   No sooner had I done that, than I came across the remarkable photo above.   It was taken by Sandy Milliken, of Post Falls, Idaho, when she was visiting Boundary Bay's driftwood beaches, south-west of Vancouver, British Columbia.   There are actually eleven Snowy Owls in this picture and it illustrates powerfully what is being called by birding experts an 'unbelievable' irruption of Snowies this winter, in southern Canada and the northern American states.   Thousands of these grand-looking birds are being seen from coast-to-coast.   One writer has called the irruption an 'owlapalooza'.   Reports say that recent previous irruptions occurred in 2005, 2006 and 2007, in different parts of the continent, but they were nothing compared to what is happening in 2012.   The question I find myself asking is this 'big year' a fluke and future irruptions will return to normal levels and patterns, or is this the 'new normal' as global warming changes our climate.   The irruptions are caused by failed lemming populations ( the owls favourite food) in the far north which force the  Snowies to head south in the winter.   Below are two more  recent pictures of Snowy Owls.   The upper one was taken in the American mid-west and the lower one was taken in Michigan. 

Photo by Reuters/US Fish and Wildlife Service

Photo by John Dykstra

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Ps.   If you live in the vicinity of King City or King Township, 

you may be interested in my new blog called camera on KING.

Google it at cameraonking .com

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Elusive Snowy Owls

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Try as I may, I just can't seem to get close to the one or two Snowy Owls that are calling the Holland Marsh home for the winter.   The Snowy Owl in the picture above was about 150 metres away and although I waited, it would not turn around.   Nearby,  a Red-tailed Hawk (below) was similarly reluctant to allow me a close-up photo.  Ah well, any day seeing owls and hawks is a good day.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB 

Ps.   If you live in the vicinity of King City or King Township,

you may be interested in my new blog called camera on KING.

Google it at cameraonking.com

or go to http://cameraonking.blogspot.com/

                                                                                                               

Red-bellied Woodpecker's red belly

Photo from juliezickefoose.blogspot.com

I mentioned in a blog a couple of days ago that David and Ann Love have a Red-bellied Woodpecker visiting their feeders regularly this winter, up on the King Ridge.   I also referred to the fact that this woodpecker's red belly was usually difficult to see.   Today, I came across this photo of a Red-bellied Woodpecker in Julie Zickefoose's most recent blog, which she pens in the Appalachian foothills of Ohio.   Her blog is one of the most highly regarded bird blogs in the USA.   The photo shows quite well how non-obvious that red belly is.   Fortunately, this bird's other visual characteristics make it almost impossible not to recognize.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB  

 Ps.   If you live in the vicinity of King City or King Township

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Winter's half over ~ what winter?

Photo by BarrytheBirder

It's February 2nd, 2012.   Winter has reached the halfway mark.   Here in Southern Ontario, just north of Toronto, a traditional snowy and blustery winter has been almost non-existent.   Snowfall, or the lack thereof, and high temperatures are the talk of the town. Records are being set.   I have pictured hundreds of crows and starlings, in earlier blogs this winter.   These birds seem to have chosen to stay around and tough it out.   But it hasn't been that tough so far, and there are only 46 days to go before we reach spring.   God forbid I should sound like I'm complaining!   Plus, two of those three famous groundhogs did not not see their shadows today, so we will not be having six more weeks of winter, as legend predicts.   For the record, Canada's gophers, Wiarton Willie and Shubenacadie Sam did not see their shadows, while the Yankee groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, did see his shadow.   Maybe that means winter will be shorter here in Ontario and down in Nova Scotia, but 2 weeks longer in Pennsylvania.   
Please comment if you wish.
BtheB

Ps.   If you live in the vicinity of King City or King Township 

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World's smallest bird ~ Bee Hummingbird

Photo by Jonatas Cunha

mBEE HUMMINGBIRDm

Mellisuga helenae

It's the first day of February and I need to distract myself from the Canadian winter.   The world's smallest bird is the Bee Hummingbird.   It is found in Cuba.   I'd never seen a good photo of a Bee Hummingbird until today when I came across this one above.   This bird is 2" or 5 cm. long.  The Bumblebee Hummingbird from Mexico, at left, is 2 3/4" or 7 cm. long.   In Cuba, the Bee Hummingbird is known as "Zunzun".   It weighs as much as a Canadian copper penny.   My neighbour, Frank, visits Cuba a couple times each year and has seen this bird.   Vagrants occasionally show up in the southern Bahamas.   There...I feel much better about this dreary February day having shared this little bird story.
Please comment if you wish.
BtheB

Ps.   If you live in the vicinity of King City or King Township

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Dove loses tail feathers to hawk

                                                                                                 Photo by BarrytheBirder

Anyone familiar with Mourning Doves will notice that the dove pictured above has no tail feathers. That's because its tail feathers are scattered beneath one of the backyard feeders, after a 'close encounter of the Sharp-shinned kind'.   Or maybe it was a Cooper's Hawk that almost got this very lucky dove.   Whether it was Cooper's Hawk or a large Sharp-shinned Hawk (both kinds are around and about the backyard feeders) the dove was extremely lucky, as the hawks almost never miss such easy pickings.   The tail feathers were scattered on the ground below the feeders and the dove has rejoined its mates and is tempting the fates once more.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Ps.   If you live in the vicinity of King City or King Township

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