BC birds by Hans Klaris

Photos by Hans Klaris

I have recently included several bird photos in my blogs by British Columbia photographer Dave Kemp (www.pictureperfect.nu/gallery).   I was introduced to Dave's work by Don Flucker, an old acquaintance from King City, Ontario, who now lives in the Fraser River delta on the west coast.   Last week, I was introduced to a friend of Dave Kemp, named Hans Klaris, who has also shared some bird photos which he took out west.   I have never seen, heard or met these gentleman but here we are digitally sharing a passion for birds and their images.   Hans Klaris's up-close and personal head-shot above of a Sandhill Crane is remarkably intimate.   You can even seen the mud on its beak from its last feeding foray.   Hans informs me that getting very close to these birds, in the wild, is not difficult but can still be unexpectedly hazardous.   Below is a shot of an elegantly-plumed Great Blue Heron which Hans photographed in Beacon Hill Park, in Victoria, B.C.   Hans reports that this bird will do just about anything for some of your fish and chips!
  

Please comment if you wish.

 BtheB

Meadowlark makes early appearance

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Along the 16th Sideroad ~ near Holly Park

This Eastern Meadowlark is unlikely to find many insects given the weather of the last couple of days, but there's always seeds and berries, although that supply has probably been well-picked-over given the the mild winter we had and the scavenging birds that did not migrate south.   Others birds spotted on this outing included a Phoebe and a Horned Lark. 

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB  

Wet owl

                                                                                                                                                             Photo by Dale Sutton / Rex Features

Well now, if owls had waterproof feathers they'd be ducks, wouldn't they?   This damp little 

owl was recently photographed after getting caught in the rain, in West Sussex, England.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Intrepid Great Blue Heron

Photos by BarrytheBirder

With temperatures hovering just above the freezing mark all day Thursday and a forecast of 2 to 4 cms. of snow overnight, one had to admire this Great Blue Heron's early arrival on the breeding grounds.   It was foraging along a newly-relocated stretch of the Holland Marsh canal, adjacent to Pump House Road.   The physical conditions of the canal environment, after the onslaught of total re-construction, seem barren and unwelcoming but this skilled fisherman was catching fish at the rate of one every minute.   The fish were not big...maybe 10 to 15 cms. on average, but this heron would be quickly filled at the pace he was keeping.   Nearby, where the canal runs parallel to Canal Road, a single Trumpeter Swan (see below), tagged but wild, was taking a time-out from its journey to points farther north.

Please comment if you wish. 

BarrytheBirder

Sandhill Cranes by Dave Kemp

Photos by Dave Kemp

These five photos are from a series of shots taken by my new acquaintance from British Columbia, Dave Kemp.   The photos show a Sandhill Crane coming in for a landing in a river delta marsh, south-west of Vancouver.   I'd never seen views like these of a Sandhill before and their effect on me almost left me speechless.   The shot above could be described variously as amazing, grotesque, spectacular, otherworldly, etc, etc.   Keep in mind, the wingspan of this bird is 6 to 7'.

Dave's bird photos are excellent but he does not limit himself to just avian subjects.   Go to his website to see his other photographic subject matter.   His newest website can be found at www.pictureperfect.nu/gallery.


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BarrytheBirder

I'd like to come back...

At the risk of appearing like some old fart with early-onset dementia, I am back  once again writing my BarrytheBirder blog.   Bear with me folks, as I try to figure out exactly what I'm trying to do here.   This time around, I am going to write this blog on a regular basis, but not on a fixed schedule.   Sometimes, it might appear daily, or every two or three days, or maybe as infrequently as once a week.   The fact is I love producing my birding blog but I can't seem to find the time to do it on a daily basis, as I did previously.   But enough of the pathetic preamble and let's get right to it.

Red Kites over Britain

   Photo by Ben Hall / Rex Features

A kettle of Red Kites circles over mid-Wales in this moody photograph by Ben Hall.   The species has been saved from extinction, in Britain, by one of the world's longest-running protection programs.   Red Kites can once again be seen throughout England, Scotland and Wales.   And a grand sight they are with their distinctive and colourful markings, as seen below.

Photo by M.X.Danish

Photo by Mike Warburton

Long live the Red Kite

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

-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,

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

Google it at cameraonking.com

or go  to  www.cameraonking.blogspot.com/

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,

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

Google it at cameraonking.com

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

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,

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

Google it at cameraonking.com

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

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,

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

Google it at cameraonking.com

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

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

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

Google it at cameraonking.com

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

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,

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

Google it at cameraonking.com

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

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,

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

Google it at  cameraonking.com

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

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,

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

Google it at  cameraonking.com

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