Spring harbinger???

Now here's a face only a mother could love: the Turkey Vulture. I saw one of these huge carrion-eaters fly over the house today. I wondered for a moment if he had heard of my Kidney Stone attack and flew by to see if my body was lying in the ditch at the front of house. Fat chance Mr. Big Beak -- I'm a tougher old bird than you. I haven't seen a Robin yet, this spring, or a Red-winged Blackbird, or a Blue-bird, or any of the other birds that people normally think of as spring harbingers. I have seen lots of Horned Larks, but they come back sometimes in January so they don't really count. No, it the Turkey Vulture that is my first spring migrant of 2008, here in southern Ontario. What's the world coming to? Another manifestation of global warming? Or maybe it's just that road kill occurs anytime of year, even in winter, so there's always a meal available for some intrepid early-bird. Actually, Turkey Vultures have been extending their range northward for some years now, and are becoming more and more common. Ohhh, to be able glide like one of these big black beauties! Photos from Wikipedia- above by Max Waugh, below by Callie Bowdish

Beware of dog in Kettleby

My sister Denise sent me a cute little story about a friend of hers, named Rita O'Connor, who was visiting the nearby hamlet of Kettleby, in King Township. Rita's story goes like this: I was in Kettleby and went into this little store. There was a sign on the door saying "Beware of Dog". I entered warily, but the only dog I saw was a big old mutt lying down by the cash register. I asked the man at the counter, "Is this the dog you're warning about?" "Yeah" he said "Before I put the sign up people kept tripping over him."

Yes, Kettleby is small and laid-back, and that's the way they like it there. Below is a picture of some kids on a rope-swing over the Kettleby Creek, that I took at last year's Kettleby Fair. This spot was once under many feet of water, as the dammed-up Kettleby millpond. Now, 183 years later, the pond and mills are gone, and the scene looks once again as it probably did in 1825, or thereabouts.

More bluebird stuff

L'Oiseau Bleu Haiku

Bluebirds fly o'er me

Lifting my spirits so that

I too levitate

Bluebirds may be here by mid-March

In this part of Canada, a few kilometres north of Toronto, Eastern Bluebirds usually show up sometime between the middle and end of March. I had to keep reminding myself of this today as I and three colleagues from the Cold Creek Forest & Wildlife Area Stewardship Committee tramped around for 2 1/2 hours, cleaning out bird houses. It was about -2Celsius, with a nasty wind, and snow from yesterday's storm that was often above our knees. We made excellent time and did a did a pretty good job, I thought. The four of us are in our fifties and sixties, reasonably active, but we found carrying tools and step-ladders over Cold Creek's frozen fields and wetlands, rather gruelling. At the end I was describing Cold Creek as 'No Country for Old Men' and my birdbox buddies agreed.

It's hard to imagine how bluebirds can survive in this weather, but there are hundreds of them strung out along the north shore of Lake Erie, existing on wild berries or things put out on bird feeders like suet, raisins or even live mealy worms. There is no guarantee that this diet has or will keep them all alive. But those that do survive have an incredible urge to get on the breeding and nesting grounds early. Being a timid bird, by nature, bluebirds like to occupy nests early, rather than fight for spots later.

They take huge chances by arriving early because the wild berry supply at Cold Creek may not be sufficient to tie them over to the appearance of insects. Once as common as robins are today, these little thrushes were in great decline in the mid-to-late 1900s (blame habitat destruction and competition for nesting sites from house sparrows and starlings), but are making a comeback. The building and placing of bluebird birdhouses has been a big part of the turnaround in numbers.

Here's what Joan Rattner Heilman, in her book, Bluebird Rescue, begins with: "With their radiant blue feathers, soft round bodies, appealing little faces, and gentle manner, bluebirds have come to symbolize hope, happiness, springtime, and love. More songs were written about them than about any other bird in our history, and one famous writer, Henry David Thoreau, said that bluebirds carry the sky on their backs.

It's a joy to help these beautiful, little birds, but my Cold Creek pals and I must get around to cleaning out the boxes in October - not March!

BtheB

Changing people into birds

During my research for writing a family history book, I was warned that what one found, in census records, was not always what it seemed. Being a birder makes me take notice when I run across people named after birds. Now let me bring these two thoughts together.

Old distant relatives of my wife, Swan Pitman and Starling Shanks, show up in the 1881 British Census and the 1911 Census of Canada, respectively. What a beautiful name for a girl: Swan. What a rascally name for a boy: Starling. Indeed, but these were not the names given to them by their parents. They were the names given to them by census enumerators.

Swan was, in reality, Susan. She was Susan in the 1871 and 1891 censuses, but amazingly, in between, she was Swan in the 1881 census. If one looks closely at a copy of the 1881 enumerator's handwritten entry, it quickly becomes apparent that the second "s" in Susan was sloppily squeezed into a single stroke of the pen. When the very narrow, squished "s" was tagged onto the "u" in Susan, the result was an unintentional interlaced letter that looked like a "w", and so Susan became Swan. Take a pen or pencil and write Susan quickly. It's not hard to see how easily this could have happened.

As for Starling, his real name was Sterling. He was Sterling on his birth certificate and all other records and documents I have found. Once again, a look at the original 1911 handwritten census form shows that an "a" was put in Sterling, instead of an "e". I, for one, think Sterling is a wonderfully impressive name for a man, but there's something about Starling. They say that some census-takers were nearly illiterate in the mid-1800s, but still... there's something also about Swan.

Have a great day and please feed the birds.

BtheB

What price common sense?

Science is the answer to our problems, suggested an acquaintance of mine the other day. We share similar concerns about a project we're both involved with. The same day my wife, Linda, read to me a proposition by Aldous Huxley:"Science is nothing but trained and organized common sense." Huxley, by the way, was not a scientist, but rather an intellectual, of the highest order. It got me thinking about common sense, a commodity which I have had remarkably little of, on many occasions. I humbly offer the following, for your consideration :

1. Common sense is the legacy of good potty-training and a parent's watchful eye.

2. Politics is the belief that my common sense is better than yours.

3. Religion is the denial of common sense.
4. Medicine is the assertion that there must be something better than common sense.
5. Crime and anarchy are the destruction of common sense, in the absence of family and love.

Please comment if you wish.
Regards, BtheB

Reb-bellied Woodpecker at our feeder...YES!!!!!

Linda discovered a Red-bellied Woodpecker at the suet feeder in our backyard this afternoon. It was the first time she had ever seen one and she was suitably impressed. It was the second time I'd seen one. The first time was 11 years ago, at Niagara, while on a Federation of Ontario Naturalists field trip. Showing up in our backyard, in King City, just north of Toronto, puts the male we saw at the northern limits of his normal range. Although a year-round resident of southernmost Ontario (north shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario), it is an uncommon sighting. The internet photos above were taken by a fellow named Dick Lock. That's a female on the left and a male on the right. Can you see the difference? It's in the amount of red on the heads. And yes, there is red on its belly, but it's almost impossible to see, even in the best conditions (note the female's lower belly, above). What a great-looking bird. This bird is the 66th species on our backyard list. It's also species #17 at the feeders this winter. Here's hoping he stays around all winter. Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

Christmas Eve, 2007

Merry Christmas, everyone ~ love and peace

What's in a name?

For quite some time, before my first two grandchildren were born, I vowed that when I did become a grandfather, the little ankle-biters would call me 'Grandpa Jupiter'. I wanted them to be in awe of their towering, thundering grandfather. I wanted them to think of me hurling lightning bolts about and ruling the roost whenever I roared. It did not occur to me that Grandpa Jupiter was a 5-syllable mouthful which any small child would have difficulty with under the best of circumstances. I realized that we'd all have to start with something simpler and humbled myself by suggesting 'Jupa'. Well, young William Henry Harrison Bailey (son of Allison and Rob), and bright lad that he is, seems to be saying Jupa very well. Unfortunately, his cousin, Emondine Clare is struggling with my Jupa moniker. My daughter, Auralee swears that her bright little girl says Jupa all the time, but I've never heard her say it. What I keep hearing her say is 'Goonda'. Now it turns out that Goonda is a Hindi and Urdu term with many, many meanings, such as rascal, ruffian, thug, bully, hooligan, bootlegger, immoral traffic offender(???) and even video-pirate. And this is just scratching the surface. Now I ask you, what are the chances of this sweet, 18-month-old princess corrupting the name Jupa into Goonda all by herself. I'm highly suspicious that her father, who is of East Indian ethnic heritage, has a hand in this. His parents, are horrified that Emmy is going around calling me Goonda. But my son-in-law seems highly amused. I admit to having been rascally on occasion, and I may have sold a case of beer to someone, once, and made a buck or two, but I would never pirate a video...I'm too technologically inept. I'll just have to try much harder with Emmy to master Jupa. I much prefer Barry the Birder, to Barry the Goonda. Meanwhile, I owe her father one.
BtheB

Redpolls have returned

We have had eight Common Repolls visiting our bird feeders for the last four or five days. It was predicted they would show up in southern Canada this winter and they have taken their cue. It's been a few years since we have seen them and they are a welcome addition to the gang of usual suspects, at the feeders, which include: Chickadees, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, White and Red-breasted Nuthatches, Juncos, Tree Sparrows, House Sparrows, Starlings, Mourning Doves, House and Purple Finches, Goldfinches, and Sharp-shinned Hawk...16 species in all, now. There can be up to 50 birds at any given time at the 12 seed or suet feeders, or on the ground below. The Redpoll photo is by Pierre Deviche and was downloaded from the Internet.

Leafs and leaves

The wee laddie at the right is my grandson, Will, doing his best Mats Sundin imitation. He doesn't even know what hockey is yet, but his father has obviously decided that he will be a Leafs fan. What a curse. If Will lives to be a hundred, he'll probably never see the Leafs go all the way. Oh, 'tis cruel and unusual punishment to inflict on a dear innocent boy.
I walked the main trail and boardwalk at Cold Creek Forest & Wildlife Area this morning. Everything was covered with 5" of new snow and quite pretty (see photo below). The other photo, below, was taken just two months ago in approximately the same spot. What a contrast! I saw a Pileated Woodpecker at Cold Creek, but no deer, unfortunately. Lots of fresh tracks... but no deer. The operation of Cold Creek has recently been taken over by The Township of King, from The Toronto Region Conservation Authority. King Township has made several long-needed improvements already but it appears now that several kilometres of mountain bike trails are to be introduced, for which I have grave reservations. I see a fight looming if this goes ahead. Stay tuned

More Arizona pictures...

The Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon ~ South Rim

Bell Rock ~ Sedona

Hiking in Oak Creek Canyon ~ West Fork

19 new species added to my Bird Life List

Spending seven days in Arizona, last week, allowed me to add 19 new species to my Bird Life List. I spotted 48 species in total, but the nineteen new ones were: Cinnamon Teal, Avocet, Gambel's Quail, White-winged Dove, Inca Dove, Greater Roadrunner, four new hummingbirds (Broad-tailed, Rufous, Black-chinned and Costa's), two woodpeckers (Ladder-backed and Gila), Chihuahuan Raven, two jays (Scrub and Stellar's), Cactus Wren (Arizona's state bird), Phainopepla, Yellow-headed Blackbird and Pyrrohuloxia. A visit to the Tucson-Sonora Desert Museum in the Suguaro National Park West was a great spot for birdwatching. Linda and I saw many birds in the aviary there plus free-flight demonstrations by some of the captive raptor and predator birds. Below are photos of two of the museum docents (volunteer/guides) with birds. The gentleman is holding a Barn Owl and the lady is holding a Kestrel.

The Grand Canyon...no words can describe it

Linda and I had never been to the Grand Canyon, until last week. Dollar-wise and weather-wise, our timing was perfect. As for the Grand Canyon, I find myself saying to people that no words can describe it and no picture can do it justice. The Red Rock area around Sedona was breathtakingly beautiful and the Sonoran Desert area around Tucson was incredibly interesting. Linda took the picture of me, above, at the south rim of the Grand Canyon and shortly after I got the picture of the mule riders, below, finishing a half-day climb up from the bottom of the canyon. That's Linda, in the third photo, on her trusty steed, Dusty, following our wrangler/guide, Angie, on a horse-back ride in the desert outside Tucson. What a great week!

I've been cutting grass for over 7 months

I started cutting grass on April 15th of this year. It's now October 20th and I'm still cutting grass. I did it at 11 a.m. this morning in a t-shirt and shorts. It's now 2 p.m., sunny, 26 degrees Celsius (in the shade) and we still have roses, sweet peas and hibiscus blooming (see pix below). The hummingbirds just barely got away before the juncos showed up a week ago. If this is global warming, I say bring it on. Linda keeps reminding though, that we will pay for this. Linda and I started Taoist Tai Chi three weeks ago. We have failed miserably at it and have given it up. Who knew you needed a good memory to remember all the moves. Hell, we even forgot to attend the first week, so I guess we didn't help our own cause. Let's see now...there's classes at the R.O.M. in medieval broad-swordsmanship...or maybe yoga at the Y.

IN SEARCH OF A BETTER LIFE

IN SEARCH OF A BETTER LIFE is the title of a family history book I have been writing for the past two years. I have promised a copy to each of my daughters as Christmas gifts this year, so I have to bear down and finish the job. I have one chapter to finish: the last chapter - Chapter 35, plus I have one or two more pictures to insert. It will end up around 300 pages in the current 8 1/2" x 11" format. If it ever made it into a hard cover format (which isn't about to happen anytime soon), it would be close to 490 pages. It's taken a lot of time and effort to research and write but I feel it has been worth it and I've enjoyed doing it very much. While I have dedicated it to my deceased mother-in-law, I have written it for my daughters and my grandchildren. The title page is pictured above, along with two photos, below, which I took this week of the 162-year-old Laskay Emporium (now in Black Creek Pioneer Village in Toronto) and the 148-year-old Laskay Hall (still on its original site in Laskay, on Weston Road in King Township). Both buildings figured prominently in the lives of several generations of my wife's family. The two pictures have already made their way into the chapter on the hamlet of Laskay.

Was Ray Charles really blind?!?!

I got some promotional material this week from the folks at KingFest. They included a piece written by a Don Bird. It seems Don has been a well-known figure in the Canadian music business for many years and he attended last June's KingFest Music Festival at Seneca College, writing a review on it and highly praising the festival. There was a pointer to Don's website in the piece and I looked him up. I went to his Blog site also and read his latest entry, which was a personal tribute to Doug 'Dr. Music' Riley, who recently passed away in Toronto. Don and Doug worked together for several years, ostensibly writing commercial jingles. Don told how Doug Riley had worked on an album with Ray Charles, writing, arranging, playing and living at Ray Charles home in the southern U.S., for a while. Don says Doug recalled Ray Charles' chauffeur taking them home one evening, when he suddenly pulled over, stopped the car, and Ray Charles got behind the wheel and drove the rest of the way home. Doug Riley was freaked out. He found out the Charles also flew his own planes and mixed his sessions in the studio. Go to http://www.birdsong.com/ to read about this in detail. Don Bird calls his blog posts 'Bird Droppings' and there are some interesting entries.
Have a great Thanksgiving. BtheB

Cold Creek Bird List now at 113 species

The Cold Creek Forest & Wildlife Area Bird List now stands at 113 species. The two most recent species added during the second and third week of September were a Philadelphia Vireo and a Black-backed Woodpecker. Not only did I get to add them to the Cold Creek Bird List but they were also 'life birds' for me. I think I'm closing in on 400 species on my life list. I must check it out and see how close I am. An upcoming trip to Arizona may push me over the 400 mark. The internet picture of the Philadelphia Warbler, on the left, was taken by Bryan McClure and the Black-backed Woodpecker, on the right, is an internet photograph by Rob Pavey. I was looking for warblers when I saw the vireo, and I was eating my lunch outside the visitors centre when the woodpecker settled on a tree a few feet from me. Ahhh, the joy of birdwatching. Just when you least expect it: two lifers!

World's biggest inukshuk

What is 11.377 metres tall, weighs 90 tons, and stands on the east side of Hwy. 27, just south of Schomberg? It's 'Little Joe', the world's largest inukshuk. 'Little Joe' is the brainchild of Joe Melo, President of Allstone Quarry Products. The 11 pieces of granite used in this monolith came from the Grenville Mountains on the Canadian Shield, near Sudbury. Joe Melo expects his 'Little Joe' to make it into the Guinness Book of Records. Now that the CN Tower has lost its 'tallest' title, Canada has a new world record-holder to be proud of. Good for you, Joe. That's Linda and me standing at the foot of 'Little Joe', to give it some perspective.

Kettleby Fair revisited

Linda and I revisited Kettleby Fair for the first time in many, many years today. The weather was perfect, everybody and his or her brother were there, and Linda and I arrived just as the parade was starting. We walked into Kettleby alongside the Newmarket Citizens Band and it felt like we were marchers too. Great fun!Walking through Kettleby is like stepping through a time-warp. The hamlet is a throw-back to the 1800s. We met old friends and new (see my new buddy in the photo above). Linda and I agreed it would have been twice as much fun if we had had our grandchildren with us. We'll take them next year when they'll both be just over 2 years...perfect. The picture below was taken from the footbridge above the Kettleby Creek which runs through the wonderful little Tyrwhitt Park. There were kids using the rope swing all day during the fair. It reminded Linda and me of our childhoods. We ended the day by going out for Thai food which was great. What a neat day. Hope you had one also. BtheB