Anna's hummer on her nest and feeding

Photos by Dave Kemp

My friend Dave Kemp out in British Columbia has just sent these great photos of a female Anna's Hummingbird on her eggs and in the air.   See more of Dave's photos by going to pictureperfect.nu/phptography/
Please comment if you wish.
BtheB 

Notable birds at Cold creek today

Photos by BarrytheBirder

It was wet and chilly around Cold Creek Conservation Area today but I considered myself lucky to see and hear Bluebirds, Pileated Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Ruffed Grouse and Great Crested Flycatcher.   Not only is Cold Creek a great place to watch birds, but its amenities keep getting better.   It is open Mondays to Saturdays now, from 8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.   The Township of King has made huge strides forward in returning Cold Creek to its former glory days of 20 and 30 years ago.

One of the blessings of this spring's unusual weather has been the incredible blossoming of wild trees and shrubs in King Township, including Cold Creek Conservation Area.   In the photo above (taken June 7th) lane-ways and hillsides at Cold Creek are laden in large white Black Locust blooms that look like a covering of snow, from a distance.   The sound of birds here is wonderful.   Below, Gareth Hussey works at one of the gardening chores he has at Cold Creek.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

West coast photos by Dave Kemp

Rufous Hummingbird

Wilson's Warbler

Killdeers

Birdwatchers in Eastern Canada are quite familiar with the Wilson's Warbler and the Killdeer, but most have probably not seen a Rufous Hummingbird.   In the summer, the Rufous Hummingbird is usually restricted to British Columbia, southern Alaska, Washington, Oregon and northern Idaho.   Once in a blue moon, one will show up up in the east in the fall.   If seen in the east in spring, it is usually an accidental, blown way off course.   Thanks for the photos Dave.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Wren's call delights us

Photos by BarrytheBirder

House Wren 

Troglodytes aedon

My wife and I are completely captivated by the first-ever nesting pair of House Wrens that have moved into the one-and-only birdhouse in our backyard.   Everything about them appeals to us; their appearance, their personality, their tameness and most of all their voices.   Our National Geographic Field Guide describes the sound as: "Exuberant song, a cascade of bubbling whistled notes", while our Audubon Handbook says: "Song a rapid, liquid, bubbling chatter, often given throughout the day".   Our Royal Ontario Museum Birds of Ontario says: "Male sings complex series of rapid, bubbling notes that rise in pitch and volume, then fall toward end.   Calls includes chatters, rattles, and harsh, scolding notes.   Incubating female produces short, low whine."   Above all else, for their size, they are amazingly loud!

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Swallows at Cold Creek Conservation Area declining

Photo by Barry Wallace

TREE SWALLOW

Tachycineta bicolor

I noticed in the recent 2012 Cold Creek nesting report numbers that Tree Swallows seemed to be down a little, while wrens, bluebirds and chickadees appeared up quite a bit.   I went back seven years and compared nesting numbers for 2005.  There were only 33 bird boxes at Cold Creek in 2005, compared with 55 boxes in 2012.   Taking that increase into consideration, one discovers that Tree Swallows occupied 15 of the 33 nesting boxes in 2005 or 45%.   In 2012, Tree Swallows occupied 12 of 55 boxes or 22%.   Other national bird surveys have shown even larger drops in Tree Swallow nesting numbers.   On the other hand, Cold Creek's number for wrens, bluebirds and chickadees are up much more, percentage-wise, than national bird surveys.   Obviously, Cold Creek's nest-box program has been very successful (for many different reasons) with lower rates of declines for some birds (swallows) and higher rates of increases for other nest-box birds.   Let's hope the Cold Creek Conservation Area's Stewardship Committee continues its fine work with its bird box program and that it contributes in its own way to fight the decline of many bird species in North America.

Please comment if you wish. 

BtheB 

First wrens ever, nesting in backyard

For a number of years, but not every year, chickadees have nested in a bird box attached to our garden shed.   This year, for the first time ever, House Wrens have taken over the space and we are delighted.   They are currently filling the box with twigs that will fill the box almost to the top, leaving just enough room for a nest full of 5 to 8 tiny hatchlings, and the parents to feed them.   I have heard wrens before, of course, out in the fields and woods, but I now think one never really appreciates how loud they are until they are right over your head in one's backyard.   

Their song is a rapid, liquid, bubbling chatter and loud, often given throughout the day.   They also give a rapid churring note and rough, buzzy scolding chatter, a sound I have heard quite a lot over the past few days.  

No twig or stick seems to be too big for the House Wren to get inside its new home, once it has decided it is the right spot to nest.   It wiggles and jiggles every stick until one end goes in and rest is academic...a push and a tug and and it's off to get another stick.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

First hummingbird shows up

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Hummers arrive on May 10th - (3 of last 4 years)

It had been raining most of the day today and it was chilly (16C), but at 4.40 p.m. the first Ruby-throated Hummingbird of the season showed up at a feeder, just outside the kitchen window.   May 10 has been 'Hummer-day' for three out of the past four years (2010, 2011 and 2013).   May 3 was the 2012 arrival date.   The weather forecast for the next few days indicates a challenge for hummingbirds with cold temperatures and even a bit of snow in the forecast!
Please comment if you wish.
BtheB

Rose-breasted Grosbeak arrives

Watercolour sketch of Rose-breasted Grosbeak ~ Barry The Birder

Above is a copy of part of page, from a bird list I created many years ago, at a friend's cottage on Clam Lake, just west of Algonquin park.   I am using it here because the photos I took today of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak turned out badly...unusable, in fact.   I can't bear writing about a bird when I can't illustrate it with a photo.   In this case, I'm reduced to using a pen sketch I did,  way back when, with a bit of watercolour paint.   My friend and neighbour Ed Millar emailed me to say that Rose-breasted Grosbeaks had returned, as they always do, to his backyard.   I replied that I hadn't had one in my backyard ever!    I checked my records, and discovered I did see one in 1975, the first ever in the backyard.   My wife assures me we have seen a couple more over the years.   The day after Ed's email, guess what showed up in the backyard: a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak.   I emailed Ed to say I thought I had his bird in my yard and that he should come over and get it.   Ed told me how they always a number of grosbeaks each year the feeders but he had only one this year.   Our village is undergoing huge housing development this year and Ed wondered if the stripped landscape hasn't altered spring grosbeak migration in our little village.   That would be a shame.   Rose-breasted Grosbeaks sound a lot like robins, but even cheerier.
Ps. The Clam Lake bird list (partially reproduced above ) included 32 species, including five warbler species...not bad for a couple of warm May days in central Ontario.  
Please comment if you wish.
BtheB   

Cormorants in the treetops

                                                                                           Photo by BarrytheBirder

When I first spotted the perching birds (pictured above) from a distance, I was sure they were crows.   As I got closer, I realized they were Double-crested Cormorants.and they were, after all, perched over the waters of the Holland Marsh Canal.   But I had never seen cormorants perched in the tops of 40' hardwood trees before.   There were about a dozen in total and they were taking turns at stretching their wings wide to dry them off, after diving for fish in the cold April waters of the canal.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Are these the Seneca College Ospreys?

Photos by BarrytheBirder

After many, many years of supporting a large Osprey nest in a parking lot at Seneca College's King Campus, on Dufferin Street, the parking lot light standard was abandoned by the Ospreys in 2011.   It was a great loss to the many people who passed under the nest each day and observed the Ospreys bringing fish, from nearby Lake Jonda, to their offspring.   Now, only a few twigs remain from the former huge nest.   

  But now, high atop a 100 ft. communications tower, at the south-west corner of the King Road and Bathurst Street, in Temperanceville, a pair of Ospreys have built and are occupying a huge nest.   The nest is about 3 kms. from the Seneca College site, which was only about 30 ft. high.   I have no real evidence that it is the same pair of Ospreys but I am very suspicious that it is.   This means that once again I have three sites in King Township where I can spot Ospreys.

I won't be taking many photos of the Temperanceville site however, unless a can get my hands on a 400 mm lens.   In the meantime, please forgive the out-of-focus shots here.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

First Purple Finch of winter shows up in spring

Photos by Barry the Birder

Carpodacus purpureus

It took the whole winter and then some for a Purple Finch to show up at our  backyard feeders but it finally happened more than a month into spring.   The wait was worth though as it is such a colourful visitor, especially when it perches with the male goldfinches.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

King Township - great place for wild turkeys

Photos by BarrytheBirder

I photographed this male Wild Turkey on the 17th Sideroad of King Township on Sunday morning.   He was accompanied by a female and was displaying his tail for her, every minute or so, while I watched.   Wild Turkeys were extirpated in Ontario during the early 1900s as a result of habitat loss and over-hunting.   It was re-introduced to Ontario between 1984 and 1987, when 4,400 wild-caught birds from the U.S. were released.   The turkeys were released at 275 sites across Ontario and within 20 years their population had grown to 70,000 and despite hunting pressures, the population apparently continues to grow.   The introduced birds adapted very well to being near humans, although this is counter-productive for the turkeys during hunting season.   Courtship begins during March and April and the spring hunting season partially overlaps the breeding season.       Despite the hunting toll and nest predation by wild animals, Wild Turkeys are now locally common, year-round residents in King Township and it is a delight seeing them strut about the forests and fields.
Please comment if you wish.
BtheB     

White-throated Sparrows ~ two colour morphs

     Photo by BarrytheBirder

                                         Photo by Marshall Faintich/Cornell

The birds in these two photos are both White-throated Sparrows.   The sparrow at the top is often referred to as a 'White-striped' and the lower sparrow is referred to as a 'Tan-striped'. The stripes in each case are the stripes that run back from the yellow or gold spots, on the sides of the head, behind the beak.   All of my bird guides mention that there are two morphs (tan and white) but it is only Wikipedia that states when it comes to mating that 'white-stripes' mate with 'tan stripes' and vice versa. I was not aware of the anomalous mate selection these morphs apparently choose.   Maybe my bird guides are so old that this information was not deemed all that important in years gone by.   Maybe new guides do have this information.   Can someone clarify this a bit for me?   The three White-crowned Sparrows in the backyard today were two 'white-striped' birds and one 'tan-striped' bird.   I have no idea which were males or females, or who was mated-up with who.   

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Cormorants on the canal

Photos by BarrytheBirder

At least a dozen Double-breasted Cormorants were on Holland Marsh on Wednesday.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Road-kill to you and me - feast for vultures

Photo by BarrytheBirder

This was one of four Turkey Vultures on Concession 11 of King Township today, picking clean the bones of an unfortunate road-kill raccoon.   Turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) are arriving sooner and sooner each year and continue to extend their range northward in Ontario.   In my 1987 2nd edition of  National Geographic's Field Guide to the Birds of North America, it states the Turkey Vulture's "range is expanding northward in the east".   So, the movement north has been observed and commented upon for at least the past 26 years.   The same field guide  claims that the Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) has also been expanding its range in the north-east.   Here in King Township Turkey Vultures were spotted this year at the end of March, and on April 10th, a Black Vulture was sighted at the Dufferin Aggregates quarry in Milton, Ontario.   These two species are just two of many, many species which are apparently moving further north as a result of global warming.
Please comment if you wish.
BtheB  

Cowbirds and the bunny

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Our resident backyard bunny likes birdseed as part of its diet and seems to enjoy the company of Cowbirds the most, when dining.   If you have Cowbirds at your feeders you will have undoubtedly already seen how agreeable Cowbirds are with each other; not at all like the belligerent Blue Jays and the scrappy Grackles.   Then again, Cowbirds need to appear somewhat magnanimous as they routinely go about laying their eggs in the nests of everyone else.
Please comment if you wish.
BtheB   

Goldfinches start to stand out

Photos by BarrytheBirder

There are still 50 to 100 Redpolls at our feeders each day but suddenly a Goldfinch or two are showing up in their new breeding plumage and they stick out like a sore thumb amongst the Redpolls.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

I've never had so many Redpolls

Photo by BarrytheBirder

I've never had so many Redpolls at the feeders as I have had this past winter and now spring.   50 to 60 birds at a time is the regular count but many days it goes to 100.   Several birders I have talked to are saying the same thing.   It truly has been a remarkable irruption by this charming little bird.   I was also surprised at the great variations in colour and markings.   And don't ask me about how many times I was sure I had found a Hoary!   I have uncharacteristically enjoyed this winter because of these wonderful winter warriors.   Bless 'em.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Ospreys are back

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Ospreys have returned to two of the three nests that I check regularly in their season.   The male pictured above was on the nest at the top of Bathurst Street in King Township, beside the Holland Marsh.   The other one I saw on Sunday was on a nest at the waterski park pond on Keele Street, on the south side of the Holland Marsh.   The third one, at Seneca College, which was abandoned last year, shows no sign of any activity. Pity.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

First Great Blue Heron of the spring

Photo by BarrytheBirder

King-Vaughan Townline (north side) ~ west of Mill Road

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Vultures return sooner ~ leave later

 Photo by BarrytheBirder

Today I spotted many Turkey Vultures soaring over different parts of King Township.   It was cold (-1C) and blustery but the vultures were taking advantage of the wind, at times, and were gliding over fields and forests with very few wing-beats.   I have noticed over the last several years that the Turkey Vultures are arriving earlier each spring and heading south later each fall, which is fine with me as I love to see these birds on the wing.   They are great soaring birds but often display what can only be described as a tendency to teeter and totter in their flight paths.   They are nevertheless quite agile and often are as interesting to see on the ground, as in the air.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

First-ever shrike spotted in backyard

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Things went quiet this afternoon and all the small birds at the feeders disappeared.   As I surveyed the scene I came the cross the bird pictured above: a Northern Shrike.   It was the first one I had ever seen in the backyard.   This one is an immature and and as it matures throughout its first spring, it will take on the much more striking white, black and grey colours of the adult.   It made no sound and barely moved during the time it was in a cedar hedge.   Despite the lack of small birds, Blue Jays, Grackles, Mourning Doves and Red-winged Blackbirds surrounded this silent stranger.   It stayed about ten minutes and moved on to more favourable hunting perches.   Meanwhile, (below) the first female Red-winged Blackbird of the spring showed up and immediately attracted a handful of males.   She toyed with them as they stumbled and fumbled to get close without blocking her way to the seeds.   She was in complete control and finally secured a feeder all to herself.   So, the migrant birds are arriving.   Now if only spring weather would arrive.

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB