More Mexican moments

mmmmmmmmmCOZUMEL SUNSETmmmmmmmmm

I didn't notice anyone trying to shinny up this palm tree (left), and for good reason.   

Right, a Black Vulture takes a time-out from soaring over the Yucatan Peninsula. 

Left, a sun-sunbleached tree trunk is festooned with remains of divers' conch shells.  Right, a Cozumel version of the oldtime cigar store indian stands near an abandoned dive shop on the beach.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB                                                                                           Photos by BarrytheBirder

Hammertown Wood Maple Syrup

This is my friend Gordon Craig, long-time King Township resident, a recent mayoralty candidate, and a man of many talents and accomplishments, not the least of which is organic maple syrup maker.   His King Township property is named Hammertown Wood, which is also the name of his handmade maple syrup.   Hammertown is an  old King Township hamlet nearby to Gordon's woodlot.   Gordon is shown here bringing a trailer-load of tree sap out of the woods and to me he looks like a man who is quite pleased with the job at hand.  The gentleman's hard work will result in about 2,800 litres of sap being boiled down to 70 litres of syrup, a 40 to 1 ratio!   There is a lot of work, knowledge and artistry involved between those two amounts and after many years, Gordon has mastered it.   He takes great pride in the organic, one-man, hands-on aspect of his syrup-making operation.   The scope and scale of everything is designed to be efficient and manageable, from the permanent sap lines, to size of collection pails and storage tanks, to the handcrafted boiler, parts of which were made by Gordon himself.

Keeping the fire properly stoked is a process mastered by practise, and Gordon Craig uses only fallen wood from his own woodlot.   He never cuts down trees for firewood.   A properly laid and tended fire never has smoke coming out of the stack and I can verify this is the case at Hammertown Wood.

Taking on the distinct caramel colour of maple syrup is sure sign that the process is nearing completion and ready for drawing off. Gordon bottles his maple syrup so that  the colour and clarity is readily apparent.   Mass-produced syrup is sometimes offered for sale in coloured or opaque bottles or in painted tins, so that clarity is not necessarily assured.   Gordon states however that all syrup is sterile because of the distillation process, so the odd bits of detritus in commercial products are not really of concern.   Gordon does not sell his syrup.   He and his wife, Judy, enjoy it  themselves and with guests, and much is given away to friends and neighbours.   Some of Gordon's business customers are recipients, as are local charities. 

     

Once syrup has been drawn off into pails for finishing, filtering and bottling, the whole process is begun again.   Gordon lays a new fire, adds fresh sap to the boiling pan, and heads off into the woods to collect more sap.   I tasted the sap and syrup and what a transformation!  As I stood in the clouds of maple-scented steam, I thought of how aboriginal indians acheived this miracle with their primitive methods.   It must have been a hugely tedious process for European settlers also.   I mentioned this to Gordon and he replied that early settlers weren't interested in syrup.   They boiled sap right down to sugar, which was otherwise mostly unavailable and unaffordable.   This was a special morning and I felt I had stepped back in time.   Thanks Gordon for this tasty bit of time-travelling.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB 

Cozumel ~ birds and iguanas

Here are some more pictures of my trip to Cozumel, Mexico, last week.   These birds are smaller and I've included a couple of iguana shots also.   Although the northern Yucatan Peninsula and Cozumel Island do not compare well with more southern areas, they are still naturalists' paradises for those willing to get out there and poke around. 

Great-tailed Grackle
Male (above) ~ female (below)

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher

Just over 4" long, looks like a minature mockingbird

American Redstart

Redstarts were very numerous but other warblers were few and far between: one Northern Parula, one Golden Warbler, one Palm Warbler and one Common Yellowthroat.

Bananaquit

 A very hungry fledgling persistently follows a parent. 

Iguana

The locals call this orange-trimmed 4-footer Pedro.  I called him Mister Pedro.   Below, is another 4-footer named Roberto.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB                                                                                           Photos by BarrytheBirder

Birthdays and birds in Cozumel

My wife and I just returned from Cozumel, along with our two daughters, two sons-in-law, four grandchildren, and another set of grandparents.   We celebrated my wife's birthday and the birthday of one of our sons-in-law.   I'm very happy to report a good time was had by all.   I saw appproximately 50 species of birds during the trip, of which about half were life-birds for me.   I have finally reached the 400-mark on my life list!   Below are  some of the birds I photographed in Mexico.

Black-necked Stilts

Jacana

Jacana ( juvenile )

White Ibis ( immature/1st spring )

Tricoloured Heron ( immature )

Great Egret ( breeding plumage )

Little Blue Heron ( immature )

Snowy Egrets ( plus ibises and heron )

Caspian Tern

My next blog will include pictures of some smaller birds and iguanas.   Please comment if you wish.

BtheB                                                                                        All photos by BarrytheBirder

Hola!

Buenas dias.   Just returned from a family vacation in Cozumel.   I saw over 50 different birds...about half were life birds for me.   Pictures to follow shortly.   BtheB

The seasons are meant to change

BarrytheBirder photo

Winter groans ~ Spring murmurs ~ yet the continuum is

Please comment if you wish.
BtheB

200,000,000 starlings take over

The 2011 Cornell/Aububon/Bird Studies Canada Great Backyard Bird Count has just announced that the most numerous bird counted this year was the European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) - a species that was entirely absent from North American before the late 19th century.   100 birds were introduced in New York's Central Park in 1890 and 1891.   The GBBC says that according to The Birds of North America Online, the descendents of these few birds now total more than 200 million are are distributed across the entire North American continent.   If the picture above is a good example of Starling behaviour, then boldness has a lot to do with their will to survive.   I  recorded only one starling on my GBBC checklist, but I suspect many more will show up soon, as winter lets go.   Below is a photo I took last spring of a Starling at one of our suet feeders.

                                                                       Photo by BarrytheBirder

This phase of the starling plumage is between winter and spring and is quite iridescent and attractive.   Starlings are described as gregarious and garrulous, and have had a substantial impact on several native species, especially for nesting habitat.   Please comment if you wish.

BtheB   

Redpolls love Ontario

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Common Redpoll (Acanthus flammea)

Results are being released for the 2011 Great Backyard Bird Count.   The American-Canadian survey, a joint project of The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon Society and Bird Studies Canada, has received 92,000 bird checklists with more than 11 million bird observations reported.   My own results, for my own little backyard, are consistent with the big picture in Ontario.   I refer to Common Redpolls, in particular.   I have been inundated with redpolls this winter.   The most repolls I saw at one time, at the feeders and on the ground below, was 224.   The next nearest species, at one time, was American  Goldfinches at 61.   According to the 2011 GBBC stats I received today by email, Ontario led all other provinces/states with 27,186 Common Redpolls.   The province of Ontario has reported the most Common Redpolls in five of the last eight years.   The Acanthus flammea showed up on 982 Ontario checklists ( a record) and the total number of birds (27,186) was also a record.   The survey has taken place for the past 14 years.  Please comment if you wish.
BtheB   

Over 215 Commom Redpolls at once!

There are about 190 Common Redpolls in this photo, plus another 26 on the four tube feeders above this spot (pictured left), plus another 20 or so out of the picture frame (click on photos to enlarge and count).   Redpolls do love their Niger Seed and today, as an experiment, after I filled the four tube feeders and re-hung them on the pole, I also broadcast a large scoop of seeds on the ground below the feeders.   Within minutes, there were over 200 enjoying the feast.   Please comment if you wish.
BtheB

                                                         Photos by BarrytheBirder

Coyotes trail White-tailed Deer

Photos by BarrytheBirder

I was watching a flock of about 100 crows near Kettleby this morning, when three coyotes trotted past them.   They were about 300 metres away from me so the photo, at top, is not very good.   You can make out, however, coyotes on each side of the picture.   The coyotes were in single file, not interested in crows, but on the trail of something.   I have been trying to get a good photo of a coyote all winter, without luck.   Here were three of them headed due west  and it occured to me that if I drove over one concession road and looked back, in the direction of where I had been, these coyotes might head right towards me.   Five minutes later, I was in position, but what appeared were 14 White-tailed Deer, seven of which are pictured above.   Once again, the photo subjects are 300 to 400 metres away.   My guess was that the coyotes were on the trail of, and headed right for, the deer, about 600 metres away.   Coyotes (Canis latrans) have a great sense of smell and are the best runners among the canids.   They can run normally at 25-30 mph and up to 40 mph for short distances, but they are also marathoners and have been known to covers great distances - up to 400 miles, non-stop.   Meanwhile, White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) can run at 35 mph, though in flight they do not run great distances but flee to the nearest cover.   If these three coyotes managed to separate one of the straggling deer from a group of 14, it would just a matter of time before the deer was pulled down.   I did not wait around to see any such encounter.  As I have quoted before: 'Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof'.   Please comment if you wish.

BtheB  

Backyard bird count update

A Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus), a female, finally showed up at the birdfeeders today, with just 18 days left in winter.   She brings the number of winter species seen to 16.   The large numbers, on the right, show the total individuals of a species, seen at one time.   Species in red is the most recent species added to the list. 

Common Redpolls   ~ 101

American Goldfinches   ~   61

Dark-eyed Juncos   ~   34

American Tree Sparrows   ~   34

Mourning Doves   ~   19

Houses Finches   ~     8

House Sparrows   ~     6

Northern Cardinals   ~     5

Blue Jays   ~     4

Chickadees   ~     4

Red-breasted Nuthatches   ~     2

White-breasted Nuthatches   ~     2

Downy Woodpeckers   ~     2

Hairy Woodpecker   ~     1

Starling   ~     1

Cooper's Hawk   ~     1

Total species    ~      16

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB                                                                                                                   Hairy Woodpecker photo by BarrytheBirder 

Solar panels at new curling rink a first

I haven't been a supporter of the multi-million dollar curling rink and fitness centre at Schomberg, despite the large grant monies from federal and provincial coffers.   I think it's too costly to build, too costly to maintain, is not served by public transportation, and is in the smallest of the township's three villages.   However, I've have finally discovered something that I like about it: solar panels!   Catherine Purcell, King Township's Director of Parks/Recreation/Culture confirmed to me that the solar panels, pictured above, will be the first operational ones on any King Township facility, ever.   On top of that, there is a rainwater collection system that will support sanitation requirements in the building, such as the toilets.   Catherine says the building will be state-of-the-art in terms of environmental considerations and features.   Well, it's an ill wind that blows no one some good, and seeing how it's almost ready to open anyway, I will rant no more.   It's time to move on and start ranting about a new administrative complex with a community centre, indoor swimming pool, and central library in King City.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB  

Red / Grey / Black ~ a first this winter

It's taken almost the whole winter but here are a Red Squirrel, a Grey Squirrel and Black Squirrel (actually a black phase of the Grey) altogether, beneath the same bird feeder, and no blood is being spilled.   In our backyard we have 5 Greys, 5 Blacks and 2 Reds.   Normally the Grey Squirrels rule the roost, followed by the Blacks, with the manic Reds bringing up the rear.   Although, I did see a Red become so outraged yesterday, that it chased a Black into the neighbour's yard, before returning to his apparent rightful spot.   Now with less than three weeks of winter left, a fragile ceasefire is in place.   As an unofficial international peacekeeper, I guess my job is to not let the birdfeeders get too low.   Please comment if you wish.  BarrytheBirder photo

BtheB

Winter into spring

On the dirt sideroads

the snowploughs begrudgingly
give way to graders

Please comment if you wish.                                       Photo & haiku by BarrytheBirder

   BtheB

Birding for beginners at Jokers Hill

ooBarry the Birderoo

Well, the date has been set: Saturday, May 7, 2011, 9.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., at Jokers Hill in King Township.   I have been asked to host the second Beginner Birding Workshop at the Koffler Scientific Reserve, on the Oak Ridges Moraine.   With forecasts of a late spring, there should be light leaf cover and great views of the spring migration.   I can't think of a prettier of more pastoral place to look for warblers, or any other birds for the matter, than Jokers Hill.   Cost is $60 per person and includes lunch.   Registration opens April 15th .   More info is available at http://www.ksr.utoronto.ca/.   Further details to follow here.  

(KSR Photos below by BarrytheBirder)

Please comment if you wish.  

BtheB

Winter loosens its grip

McEwan's Bridge ~ Vaughan

The Humber River was busy today showing winter that spring was just three weeks away.   Beneath McEwan's Bridge, broad sections of the river were running free from icy bank to bank.   The City of Vaughan is considering restoring McEwan's bridge to its former grace and functionality.   It's hard to imagine anyone opposing such an initiative.   It was built in 1923, which means it has been around for 88 years.   88 is considered a special number to many people.   In Chinese culture, 88 symbolizes fortune and good luck, so maybe this augers well for McEwan's Bridge.   The bridge is described as a bowstring arch type and, in 2011, is the Humber River crossing point for the Humber Valley Heritage Trail.   It is located a few steps east of the Kirby and Huntington Roads intersection, north of Nashville and south of Nobleton.   The City of Vaughan welcomes comments from interested citizens and you can do so online.   For myself this bridge has spanned more than just a river for 88 years.   It has spanned generations and history.   It is part of a people's heritage.

                                                                  Photos by BarrytheBirder

Please comment if your wish.
BtheB