Is there any place that's not polluted?

Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo /EPA 

A Great Blue Heron walks near the banks of the Anacostia River in the Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C., U.S.A.   The river is routinely listed, by environmental groups, as one of the most polluted waterways in America.   While there are many species of creatures and plants living here, there are also many invasive species of concern in addition to the pollution.   One of the invasive species is the Snakehead fish...a new one for me...you may want to Google it.

Please comment if you wish.
BtheB  

Ducks protected by Gyrfalcon?

Photo by Tony Margiocchi / Barcroft Media

Now here's a picture you won't see everyday, unless you're visiting a zoo such as the Zoological Society of London's Whipsnade Zoo, near Dunstable 30 miles north of London.   The photo includes a Smew, a Hooded Merganser and a Common Eider   The zoo is using a Gyrfalcon, usually seen as part of the falconry exhibit, to help with seagull control at the penguin enclosure, to keep gulls from from attacking penguins and ducks at feeding time.   Gyrfalcons, in the wild, usually prey on ptarmigans, shorebirds, murres, dovekies, eiders and gulls.   One cannot help but wonder if the Gyrfalcons at Whipsnade ever prey on the Smews, mergansers and eiders at the zoo.   There is also a Zoological Society of London zoo at Regent's Park in London.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB  

Wary Wild Turkeys safe for another year

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Turkey hunting season is over here in Ontario and Canadian Thanksgiving was back in the middle of October, while American Thanksgiving was yesterday.   The turkeys strutting about in the top photo were doing their thing in the fields of the Marylake Augustinian Monastery, just north of the village of King City.   These ever-cautious big birds spotted me immediately and instantly got in line to follow their leader to safety, in the adjoining woods. 

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Plover protection

Photo credit ~ Sandy Selesky / Audubon Photography Awards

As a sometimes donor to the Audubon Society, I am on a email list that receives promotional literature from time to time from Audubon.   Today, I received an American thanksgiving wish and thank-you message from David Yarnold, President and CEO of the National Audubon Society.   The note was illustrated with the photo above, with a credit attributed to Sandy Selesky.   Over the last few years, photographs of Piping Plover chicks, huddled and hidden beneath a parents' wings, have been become popular subject matter.   There is a sensitive and visceral feeling to these images that always charms me.   The photo above is no exception.   I never tire of seeing images like this.   To me, the images personify protection.

Please comment if you wish.
BtheB      

Bird Sculpture at new park

 Photos by BarrytheBirder

A new municipal lakeside park, about 10 minutes from my home, is under construction in the community of Oak Ridges.   Lake Wilcox Park wraps around the north-east corner of the lake for which is named.   It is a multi-use park and sure to be a resounding success with neighbours and visitors alike.   As a birder, I was particularly impressed on a recent visit, to see the many bird sculptures on the shoreline trail.   Above and below are several photos that I took which I thought might be appreciated by visitors to this blogsite.   I do not know who the artist is but there are many, many works on display which also include sculptures of animals and recreational items (see the boat sculpture at bottom).   Overall, the new park is an inspired undertaking.   Kudos to the visionaries and designers involved and many thanks to all those who helped to fund this undertaking when budgets everywhere are so strained. 

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Woodland Trust Photography Contest

 Photo by  Martin Jones/Woodland Trust

A white-tailed Eagle descends to catch a fish on the Isle of Mull, Scotland

Photo by David Hogg/Woodland Trust

A kingfisher nabs a Sickleback at a reserve in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. 

The two photographs above were featured in a recent presentation  by the Woodland Trust, in Britain, of its Wild Summer  Photography Competition.   The contest attracted over 6,000 entries of wildlife and nature images.   

4,000 Canada Geese on the old Forrester farm fields

Photos by Barry Wallace

I counted roughly 4,000 Canada Geese gleaning leftover corn from the harvested fields of the old Forrester farm, on Weston Road north of the hamlet of Strange, on Sunday.   I deliberately underestimated the numbers so as not to dramatically over-inflate the large numbers. The geese I saw were spread across the front fifty acres of the farm.   There were likely thousands more on the back fifty, plus who-knows-how-many-more on the two 100-acre farms to the south.   The huge acreage is to all intents and purposes a factory farm now and Canada Geese have been congregating here for several weeks each fall, for the past several years.   The view of this many geese at one time is sometimes awe-inspiring and humbling at the same time.   There are few ducks here also.   They can be seen in the top photo, in the air.   They take flight readily while the geese are content to ignore distractions like passing photographers.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB 

Kingfisher's perfect piscatory perch

Photo: Jonathon Need/Rex Features

Common Kingfisher

Alcedo atthis ispida

This male Common Kingfisher was photographed by Jonathon Need on a 'PRIVATE FISHING' signpost in Dumfries and Galloway,  in south-western Scotland.

                                   'It was the rainbow gave thee birth
                                   And left thee all her lovely hues...'

 ~ from The Kingfisher by William Henry Davis 

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB  

Supramundane swallow

Photo by Tom Lusk

The overtness of the above Cliff Swallow's expression and the great photographic capture by Tom Lusk has prompted me to write a bit about swallows; the Barn Swallow and Cliff Swallow in particular.   The Canadian Wildlife Federation used Tom's swallow photo to illustrate a press release on the decline of aerial insectivores such as the Barn Swallow, one of the world's most common and widespread species.   In Canada, it appears in every province and territory and tends to inhabit areas close to humans.   They build their mud nests in man-made structures like barns.   They should be welcomed everywhere, especially because of their prodigious appetite for flying insects.   However their decline in my part of the world is causing alarm.   The decline is being attributed to several factors, including loss of nesting habitat (old buildings being destroyed), pesticide/insecticide use, and climate change.   Property owners, sympathetic to swallows, can make sure there is easy access to outbuildings for nest locations.   Creating a muddy spot in an out-of-the-way spot can provide much-needing building materials.   But let me now mention the other swallow species, the Cliff Swallow, which is also under severe environmental distress and declining rapidly, especially over the last 30 years.    This swallow species was recently added to the endangered list in Canada.   Reasons for the Cliff Swallow's decline appear to be similar to the Barn Swallow but much research needs to be done to get a clear picture of the situation.   As an illustration of the Cliff Swallow decline, on a personal level, I am republishing two photos (below) of nests which I took in July of 2012.   I spotted the nests on a tour of country homes in King Township, where I live.   There were 18 Cliff Swallows nests under the eaves of one house.   The owners of the house, the Corcorans, informed me that the year before (2011) there were 63 nests!   I certainly hope this drastic decline was the exception to the rule when compared to observations elsewhere.   

Photo by BarrytheBirder 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

As a final thought on the subject of swallows, I should explain my use of the word supramundane in the title of today's blog offering.   Supramundane simply means '...above or superior to the world".   These swallows are of this earth, however they are also of the sky above.   They are therefore special and we must all do something to prevent the extinction of swallows...and all other birds and creatures.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

2014 Prince Edward Island photo contest

Photo by Jeannine St-Amour

The winners of the Prince Edward Island tourism "2014 Picture of the Island Photo Contest" have just been announced and the winner of the 'Nature' category was won by Jeannine St-Amour for her photograph, pictured above, entitled "Four Eggs".   The bird in the photograph was not identified in the online press release I received, but it certainly appears to be a Piping Plover.   The sandy colour of the Piping Plover often makes it difficult to spot the small bird in beach sand and the same is true for its eggs and downy chicks.   It usually produces four eggs, as seen above, in a shallow depression in the sand.   Mushrooming expansion of beach resorts along the Atlantic Coast in the U.S. and Canada has seen many former nesting sites eliminated.   Recent estimates of the number of these plovers is around 6,500, of which about half are to be found on the Atlantic coast.   The species is felt to be in serious danger and is officially listed as 'Endangered' under the Canadian Species at Risk Act.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Pittaway's predictions for winter finches

                                                                                                                                             Photo by BarrytheBirder

The GBBC eNewsletter for November 2014 popped up on my computer screen on Tuesday and one of the feature articles is on the Winter Finch Forecast 2014-2015 by Ron Pittaway of the Toronto Field Ornithologists..   Ron has now produced this list for 15 years and this winter's forecast was produced with the help of 34 birding experts, located from Alaska to Newfoundland to the Adirondacks.   The good news is that this winter will be better than last winter for finch movements.   2013/2014 was a disappointing experience  but this winter will be an improvement in that half the sought-after species should make it to southern Ontario, but the other half probably won't (no guarantees of course).   Birders in my part of the province (York Region/north of Toronto) should get to see their share of Purple Finches, Red-breasted Nuthatchs, Common Redpolls and some Hoary Redpolls, plus Red Crossbills. We probably won't see much in the way of Pine and Evening Grosbeaks, White-winged Crossbills, Pine Siskins, Bohemian Waxwings, or even Blue Jays.   The selections are governed by many factors, which run the gamut from seed, berry, nut and cone crops, to Spruce Budworm, to specific tree species cycles.   Personally, I have no expectations and will take whatever comes to my backyard feeders.   Approximately 25 hungry Juncos have already been here for a month and they are most welcome.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB     

Crows over King

Photo by BarrytheBirder

"As the many-winter'd crow that leads 

the clanging rookery home".

Locksley Hall ~ Tennyson 1835

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Juncos a joy

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Winter doesn't begin for another month, but we have already had some snow and cold temperatures here in southern Ontario.   But the Dark-eyed Juncos have been here for weeks already and that makes everything alright.   While I am always glad to see these pretty little birds, I have to remind myself to listen for their song.   My Audubon field guide describes their voice as a "Trill like a Chipping Sparrow but slower with a more musical, tinkling quality...also a soft twittering".   Indeed one of winter's pretty birds and pretty sounds.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Common Cranes love Europe's largest artificial lake

Photo by Steve Garvie,Scotland/Flickr

The largest artificial lake in Europe plays host to southward migrating Common Cranes at this time of year.   The lake, Lac Der-Chantecoq, is located 150 kilometres east of Paris. Common Cranes are among the thousands of migratory birds that stop-over while heading heading south to Spain.   The lake was created in 1974 and quickly became a safe haven for avian migrants.   

Photo: roadrunnersmikelinda.blogspot.com

Photo: www.aube-nature.com

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB 

Can this grouse stop oil and gas drilling?

Photo by Dave Showalter/AP

Gunnison Sage Grouse

Centrocercus minimus

This photo of a Gunnison Sage Grouse with tail feathers fanned in classic style was taken by photographer Dave Showalter near Gunnison, Colorado.   U.S. federal officials announced this week that the Gunnison Sage Grouse has been granted protection under the endangered species act, which could restrict oil and gas development and other land use in Colorado and Utah, the only two American states that are home to this grouse.   About 1.4 million acres will be designated as critical habitat for the 5,000 Gunnison Sage Grouse that remain in south-western Colorado and south-eastern Utah.   The Gunnison Sage Grouse is related to the Greater Sage Grouse, which is at the centre of a separate debate over federal protection across 11 western states.   The environmental group WildEarth Guardians which filed suit to force the decision calls the granted protection inadequate and said the bird should have been granted more stringent 'endangered' status. 

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Will birdwatchers become extinct?

Brilliant Turtle Dove photo by Zahoor Salmi/www.pixoto.com

The number of wild birds on British farmlands has fallen 52% overall in the past 40 years, with Turtle Doves in danger of disappearing.   Turtle Doves are now the most threatened farmland bird in Britain and are in danger of being wiped from the landscape entirely.   Their numbers are down 80% over the last four decades.   Also down 80% since 1970 are Grey Partridges, Starlings, Tree Sparrows and Corn Buntings.   In the same 40-year period, the number of Nightingales, Wood Warblers and Willow Tits are down 70%.   Arctic Skuas are down 50% and Kittiwakes down 34%.   Many other species show the same alarming declines.   Yes, many species are increasing but they are gravely outmatched by the decliners.   The basis for these numbers is the latest UK Wild Bird Indicators, published on Wednesday of this week by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and the British Trust of Ornithology.   This is not really new news.   This kind of story is prevalent around the world, including here in my homeland of Canada.   The subject of bird species extinction is on millions of lips.   It hit me today for the first time that if all birds become extinct what would birdwatchers watch?   Will birdwatchers become extinct also?   Fanciful to be sure and quite gloomy, but food for thought.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Canada Warbler losing ground...

Photo by William H. Majoros

The one warbler that Canada could call its own is the Canada Warbler.   Alas, the Canada Warbler has just been added to a protection list by the recent Conference of the Parties to the Convention of Migratory Species of Wild Animals in Quito, Ecuador.   The Canadian government suggests habitat loss and degradation in the wintering grounds of the Canada Warbler, are among the most threatened in the world.   Approximately 90% of these forest have now been cleared for agriculture, fuel wood, or the cultivation of illegal drugs.   Non-selective herbicides have been sprayed to eliminate these drug crops.   Meanwhile back in eastern Canada, habitat loss due to the conversion of swamp forests to agricultural activities are believed to have contributed to the decline in Canada Warbler populations.   In western Canada, road development in the boreal forest may have played a major role.   Moreover, the decrease in spruce budworm outbreaks in eastern forest since 1970 may also have contributed to the decline of the species.   And finally, global warming is sending more and more bird species, including warblers, further into Canada each year where they must face an increasingly anomalous environment.   Five other birds and 25 other animal species were also added to the protection list at varying levels of threat.   The declines of the Canada Warbler are most evident in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes, where the majority of the population exists.

Please comment if you wish.
BtheB  

Royal Penguins ignore seal commoner

Photo by Gunther Riehle/Solent News

This photograph was taken by Gunther Riehle on Macquarie Island which lies halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica   The island is actually closer to New Zealand and was once ruled by that country, before being returned to Australia, as part of Tasmania.   Macquarie Island is now a World Heritage site and is home to the world's entire Royal Penguin population during the annual nesting season.   In the 19th century the penguins were almost hunted to extinction.   Today the thriving penguin population lives at one end of the island and seals live at the other end.   How the Elephant Seal pup, pictured above, became swallowed-up by this flock of penguins is unknown but it certainly seems unperturbed by the encounter.   Perhaps it thinks it can turn the tables on the penguins and swallow one of them.   Actually, the main food of Elephant Seals is fish and squid, and a greater danger for the penguins might be being squashed by seals that can weigh more than 3,000 kilos or 7,000 lbs.  

Please comment if you wish.
BtheB

Everyone should have a wild pet hummingbird

                                                                    Photo by BarrytheBirder

My neighbour and peripatetic birdwatcher, Gerald Binsfeld, sent me the video below of a gentleman who has a wild pet hummingbird that visits him each day through an open window.   The fellow provides a nectar feeder for his feathered friend when it arrives in his kitchen.   Click on the link below to view this charming relationship between man and bird.

http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/10/a-fearless-hummingbird-visits-a-man-in-his-kitchen/

Please comment if you wish.
BtheB 

Iconic Snowy Owl

Photo by Ian Neilsen

One frequently sees, or so it seems, photos of Snowy Owls from the front or from the side, either perched or in flight.   The photograph above however, by Ian Neilson, presents a splendid Snowy Owl wingspan shot from behind.   The photo is the one that illustrates the month of December in the Greenpeace 2014 desk calendar, so I will see the image every day next month.   Greenpeace characterizes the arctic as a refrigerator for the northern hemisphere, that strongly influences weather patterns around the world.   Photographer Ian Neilson is Scottish by origin and Canadian by choice.   His photo (above) was featured in the 2013 Greenpeace Photo Competition before being selected for the 2014 Greenpeace desk calendar.

Please comment if you wish.
BtheB
BtheB      

Bird sculpture in new park

Photos by BarrytheBirder

A community next to the one I live in is opening, in stages, a beautiful lakeside park which offers many amenities, including several pieces of miscellaneous metal sculpture.   Several of the sculptures feature birds.   I have included photos of some of the pieces below.   I regret that do not have the name of the person who created these wonderful pieces of art.   The park is located in north Richmond Hill's Oak Ridges community on the north-east shore of Lake Wilcox, between Yonge Street and Bayview Avenue, north of the Gormley-Stouffville Sideroad.

There were of course real birds at the new Lake Wilcox Park.   In addition to the Mallard Ducks pictured immediately above, there were also Kingfishers, Common Mergansers, Canada Geese, Ring-billed Gulls, and two lovely white domestic ducks.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Sky full of starlings

 All photos by Owen Humphreys ~ in The Guardian

British photographer Owen Humphreys captured these starling murmurations near Gretna Green on the English and Scottish border recently.   These noisy swarms usually begin to take place in November, during the early evening just before dusk.   In Canada, the phenomenon normally begins in October.   The memory of seeing a murmuration for the first can last a lifetime.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB 

A bit of fun for the sharp-eyed

The photos below recently appeared on the One Green Planet website.   The object of this little exercise is to spot the bird in each photo.

Great Grey Owl ~ Photo: List 25

Red-tailed Hawk ~ Photo: AdArDurdan

Willow Ptarmigan ~ Photo: Caters News Agency

Blue Crowned Parrot ~ Photo: Caters News Agency

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB