Spring birds

Today’s nature calendar task:

Birds to look for this week or soon: Tree swallow, winter wren, sapsucker, ruby crowned kinglet.

On our hikes I have seen the golden-crowned kinglet, and some unidentified swallows and an unidentified woodpecker (probably a downy).

It has snowed here the last three days and there has been a frenzy at our feeders. We have had a flock of at least 30 goldfinches, plus some house finches, mourning doves, house sparrows, a few chickadees, some juncos, a pair of cardinals and the song sparrow. The red-winged blackbird has also made an appearance.

I am especially enjoying the transformation the goldfinches are making, as they lose their drab winter coats and replace them with the gorgeous bright yellow feathers and the saucy black cap.

Some of the female birds are tricky to identify. Your backyard feeders are a good place to really take a close look. The female house finch is a good example, she's all brown with some stripes on her breast. There are a lot of sparrows that have striped breasts, it is easy to get confused. Slightly larger, but looking an awful lot like the female house finch, is the female red-winged blackbird. She has not a speck of red or black and again, is all brown with a striped breast. The female house sparrow does not have the tell-tale black throat that her mate has, she is all brown but without the striped breast. With a little time, these more difficult birds to identify will also become familiar.

Big dipper

Today’s nature calendar task:

Which way is the big dipper facing at 8 pm?

We have had snow here this week, and the skies have been cloudy. When we have a clear night, we'll go take a look. I found a good book about the big dipper from the Let's Read and Find Out Science series. It is called 'The Big Dipper' by Franklyn M. Branley. It is a good book for younger children, ages 3 to 5, although my 6 1/2 year old enjoyed it too. I also highly recommend the books by H.A. Rey, The Stars, and Find the Constellations. They are very good for older children, perhaps ages 6 and up.

Updates on past nature tasks:

April 4: Build a toy windmill

I attempted this yesterday, and since it involved hammers, nails and a handsaw, it was a project for me, not the kids. After getting very frustrated making a rather pathetic looking weathervane (I am too embarrased to post a photo) I decided I either need to develop some woodworking skills or I should leave all such projects to my husband. He suggested that he teach me how to use power tools. The jury is still out on this nature task.

March 10th: The song sparrow is due.

It often takes a little while for the birds that have arrived to find my backyard. I had heard the song sparrow much earlier, and I saw one on a hike, but yesterday he showed up in my backyard.

I was delighted to see that he had chosen the 'feeder' that I had put out just for him. In the book 'Projects for a Birder's Garden', they suggested putting out a shallow rock, and filling it with birdseed containing millet. They also suggested having a shrub for cover nearby. (Page 3, if you happen to have this book).

I put my rock with the millet next to my scruffy brushpile by a shrub. That's exactly where the song sparrow was!

The photo isn't particularly good. You can see the snowfall we had this week. The song sparrow has a stripey breast with a little 'bow-tie' and the black spot in the middle of his chest.

Wren birdhouse

Today’s nature calendar task:

Build a wren's home for your backyard.

We enjoyed building our bluebird house. I think it took my husband an hour to build. It should be easy to convince him to build us a wren house. He is currently working on a bird bath fountain design using the water pump from our pond.

I have noticed the birds taking dust baths on our deck in the mud the kids left behind from making mud pies. Maybe I'll set up a dust bath station too!

The book Molly suggested has a wren birdhouse design, as well as tons of other backyard bird ideas. It is called 'Projects for the Birder's Garden'. I found a copy at my local library. You can also do a google search on wren birdhouse plans and lots of free designs will come up.

April birds

Today's nature calendar task:

Birds to look for this week or soon: Kingfisher, Loon, Flicker, Vesper Sparrow.

We have heard the flicker calling in the small woods near our house a week or so ago. He has a beautiful laughing call.

Last week we saw a kingfisher swooping over the water at the marsh we visited. He has a very loud and interesting call. The kingfisher dives into the water to catch fish. The one we saw did not dive, but he certainly was looking for fish. It was a delight to see him, he is not a bird I see very often.

I just looked at a photo of the Vesper Sparrow. He looks an awful lot like a female House Finch. I'll have to take a closer look at my field guide to find out how to tell the difference.

The links on the birds listed above will take you to the species accounts at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All about Birds pages. They have lots of information about each bird, good photos, distribution maps, habitat and behavior descriptions. Click on their link to hear the songs of each bird.

Spring birds

Today's nature calendar task:

Look for robin, killdeer, grackle, cowbird, heron, brown creeper, phoebe.

We have seen the robin, killdeer, and grackle so far. On March 1st the nature task was to start a 'bird friends return' calendar. We have the calendar up on our fridge, and whenever we see a new arrival we jot it down. I need to print off a new calendar page for April.

Bluebird

Today's nature calendar task:

Our orchard friend, the bluebird, settles in the new home.

Our bluebird house has been available for occupation for 5 whole days. No one has moved in yet. Our postage-stamp size backyard is also missing an orchard.

I suspect that a starling will probably move in this spring. We have had starlings nest in several unwanted locations in our house. It will be a lot of fun to watch if any bird moves in to our bird house.

Meadowlark

We have been following a calendar of daily nature activities that I found at the blog Holy Experience. For my introductory post please click here.

Today's nature calendar task:

It's time for the Meadowlark.

We looked up the Meadowlark in our bird field guide and talked briefly about the fact that they probably live in a meadow. The next time we read the Burgess Bird book I will pick the chapter that has the Meadowlark. I'm not familiar with this bird, it's not one I have seen often.

Updates on past nature tasks:

Feb 28th: Who will see the first robin? We saw our first robin on March 4th. The kids are still very excited every time we see one. This shot is from our walk today.

March 2nd: Grow a clump of moss in a soup plate. Our moss is growing happily. I knew moss would need a lot of water. I watered it and watered it, but it didn't seem any happier than the moss that was still on the ground in the backyard. Finally it dawned on me that what the moss wanted was humidity. So I covered it with a glass bowl, and now it is starting to grow better. A mini terrarium on my table. I suspect that soon we will have lots of these "projects" around our house.

March 5th: Garden shrubs will bloom quickly indoors in water now. Here are our forsythia branches. Aren't they beautiful! The kids were surprised when the buds opened and yellow flowers appeared. They were expecting leaves. Our 'signs of spring' board from March 3rd is in the background.

March 8th: Get books on attracting birds. We did an internet search. One idea we found was to create a brush pile. All I had on hand was the dead stalks from my flowers that I hadn't trimmed over the winter. It looks a bit like a sloppy beaver or muskrat has moved into our yard. When I start pruning our shrubs I'll build a better brush pile. I suspect the gardening magazines will not be knocking on my door any time soon.

March 13th: Make a home for a bluebird. My husband built me a fabulous bird home and mounted it on the tree in our backyard. Now we just have to wait for a bluebird to move in.

As you can see, we have been having lots of nature fun. This nature calendar has been a wonderful tool. Most of the tasks do not take much time to complete, and it has generated a lot of excitement. We have been doing the tasks for a month now, and we are starting to develop quite a collection of projects to observe. I hope you'll join us in our nature calendar adventure!

A home for a bluebird

Today's nature calendar task:

Make a home for a bluebird.

My husband is very handy with tools, so this is right up his alley. I found plans for a birdhouse and passed them on to him. The kids are a bit small to help with this sort of project.

There are a few important points to consider for a bluebird house. They require a certain size hole for the opening. Eastern Bluebirds and Western Bluebirds need different hole sizes. Don't use pressure treated wood, the chemicals are toxic to the birds. This article at the North American Bluebird Society has more information.

Some of the nature tasks only take a minute. This one is a bit more involved. I'll post pictures when we're done.

Red-winged blackbird

Today's nature calendar task:

Watch for the red-winged blackbird swaying on cattails.

We haven't seen (or heard) the red-winged blackbirds yet. We just had a cold spell, but next week is warming up. We'll keep our eyes out for him.

We did have an exciting group of bird visitors to our backyard yesterday. There was a flock of common redpolls. I had never seen a redpoll before. Unfortunately I didn't think to get out my camera until they were gone.

We also took a walk in the forest near our house, something we hadn't done for a while. The damage done by the emerald ash borer was disturbing. Many trees had fallen down because the damage the insects did to their trunks was so severe. We heard the Northern Flicker and a Red breasted Nuthatch on our hike. I was looking for moth cocoons and tent caterpillar eggs but did not find any.

Song sparrow

Today's nature calendar task:

The song sparrow is due.

We haven't seen any song sparrows yet, but it is nice to know what birds we should be looking for at this time of year. The song sparrow has a lovely song, (hence it's name). Listen to the recording at the above link.

The sparrows can be quite tricky to tell apart, since they are all brown and roughly the same size. The song sparrow has a black spot in the middle of his breast (a bow tie!) and his breast has some stripes.

It is helpful to know where to look for birds. I've seen the Song Sparrow in my backyard, and at parks. He likes to be near water.

It is difficult, but very useful, to learn the songs of birds (enature.com has a more comprehensive list). All of a sudden you know what birds are there even though you can't see them. Start with the most common birds. Some birds have a little phrase that goes with their song, for example the Robin says: Cheerily, cheery up, cheerio. Some birds sing their name, like the Chickadee.

Kids can learn the songs too, perhaps even easier than us adults. You probably know a few bird songs already. Pick a few more to add to your repetoire. Listen to recordings, or follow that bird song to find out who is singing on your next nature walk.

Canada geese

Today's nature calendar task:

Watch for the V-shaped flights of Canada geese flying north.

The nature task for February 28th was: "Who will see the first Robin?" When I read that I thought to myself, "It's still February. It's too early for the Robins." On March 4th we saw our first Robin!

We did see the geese flying in a V today. They were making quite a racket.

This photo is from the middle of December when the geese were leaving. Our favorite conservation area has a small lake that was gradually freezing over. They had been sitting on the ice near an open patch of water and were taking off in groups. Only three months later and they are on their way back.

Attracting backyard birds

Today's nature calendar task:

Write to National Parks of Canada, Ottawa, for "Attracting Birds with food and Water" and Bird Houses and their Occupants".

Well, this nature calendar was written in the 1940's, so I'm not sure if the National Parks system of Canada still have these books / pamphlets available. There is no need for them, however, since we have the world at our fingertips thanks to the internet. How to attract birds is a comprehensive site, check out their links too. They have a good section at the end about attracting butterflies as well.

Goldfinch, April 2008

Today's task has me thinking about some changes I could make to our yard. It is already fairly bird friendly, but there are always things you can do. Here are my rambling thoughts on improving our yard:

We have five bird feeders in our yard. Three have black oil sunflower seeds, one has nyger seed for the goldfinches, and we have one suet feeder. Perhaps I could add a peanut feeder, although I suspect it will just feed my resident squirrel population.

A bird bath would also be a nice addition. We used to have a small pond in our yard, and the sound of running water attracted a lot of birds. I had to fill it in when I couldn't supervise the backyard enough with the kids.

Cardinal, May 2008

I have many native asters planted in my yard. This year I didn't get around to cutting them down after they died and I left the dead stalks and flower heads all winter. I actually saw some goldfinches hanging off my asters eating the seeds. It was delightful. I'll do that again next year.

I have one swamp milkweed plant, and I would like to plant more milkweed. I do see monarchs at this plant in the summer.

My garden is sadly lacking in evergreens, which provide cover for the birds in the winter. I have a very small shady yard though, and it is difficult to imagine where I could put one.

Rose breasted grosbeak, May 2008

At one point in the 'How to attract birds' article they mention using splashes of colour to attract birds. Do large brightly coloured plastic ride on toys count?

We don't have any bird houses in our yard, that would be another interesting project.

I also need to think again about the bay window in my yard. We have had a number of birds collide with the glass. Last year a black and white warbler died from crashing into that window.

The article mentioned having a brush pile, which is something I hadn't thought of. It is an easy and inexpensive way to create more bird habitat.

Anyways, those are just a few thoughts from the top of my head. I think I'll have the kids help me create a brush pile right away. The other ideas will get incorporated into my garden plans for this summer.

Backyard Hawk Sighting

In the first place, do not send them; if it is anyway possible, take them; for, although the children should be left much to themselves, there is a great deal to be done and a great deal to be prevented during these long hours in the open air.

Charlotte Mason, Home Education Vol. 1 p. 43

Last week I tried to toss the kids in the backyard by themselves and this was the result:

"My mitten fell off and I can't get up the stairs and why is my Mommy not coming to help me! Why is she standing at the kitchen door taking pictures of me?"

"No one is ever going to help me. Mommy doesn't have her coat or shoes on and she's in the kitchen. I will be stuck out here by myself in the freezing cold forever. No, I don't want my brother to help me!"

Yesterday, after reading the above quote in my Charlotte Mason book, I resolved to go out in the backyard with my children. As an added bonus it was easier to take photos of the kids.

The Nuthatch has learned to make his snowangels first thing, before all the fresh snow is trampled.

As he was lying there he noticed something at the top of our tree.

I ran in to switch lenses on my camera so I could get a picture before he flew away. Then I ran in to get my binoculars. Then I ran in to get the bird field guide. I managed to tramp a lot of snow through my kitchen.

He is a sharp-shinned hawk. We have seen them once or twice before in our yard. His feathers are all puffed up to keep him warm in this frigid cold weather. They eat small birds, of the sort we attract with our bird feeders. He was likely looking for a nice snack. I had the kids look around, and there was not another bird to be seen anywhere. They know better.

The Bluejay even paused from eating snow to bird watch for a moment.

She also mentioned in her quote that "there was a great deal to be prevented" when the kids are outside. I suppose that would include keeping your kids from falling out of trees and landing on their heads.

I even had a moment or two to myself to capture the snow piled high on some of my wildflowers that I did not get around to cutting down in the fall. I think I'll leave them over the winter from now on. They are so pretty.

Preventing bird window collisions

Earlier this week we had a black and white warbler die in our backyard because he collided with our bay window. We made some hawk silhouettes and posted them inside the window. The next day we went out to look at the window and the Nuthatch pointed out that they didn't help with the reflections at all.

I looked around online for suggestions to help us with this problem. Many of them would have cost money or would have changed the amount of light coming into the window. One suggestion was to hang something that would move in the breeze. So, I came up with the idea of putting some ribbon in front of the panes. It was free and easy and it didn't change the amount of light coming through the window.

My husband thought it looked like we were going to have a wedding in our backyard. It does look a little overly festive. Perhaps if I used cloth strips instead of ribbon it might look more decorative and less like we are permanently having a party.

If you look closely at the second photo you can see the bird silhouette on the centre pane. I still might try to go the bird silhouette route, but they will need to be laminated and placed on the outside of the glass.

A warbler's death

This evening we found a bird lying in the grass in our backyard. Unfortunately, it was dead. Even more unfortunately, it was a warbler.

The spring migration has begun and these beautiful little birds are making their way to the boreal forests in northern Canada. They eat insects and as such they are not birds you would see at your bird feeders. Each species has its own specialized niche in the forest. Some stay close to the trunk, others feed at the tops of trees and still others tend to forage in the underbrush.

The boys were quite sympathetic with the bird. "We didn't wanted him to be died, we wanted him to be alive." was the BlueJay's sentiment. It was mine too.

It was a female black and white warbler. They creep along the trunks and branches of trees.

Here is the cause of her death. Birds see the reflection of the sky and the trees in the glass, and don't realize there is a window there. It doesn't help that we have a small tree near this window. A number of birds have met their end at this window.

This happens on a much larger scale with the windows on the large office towers downtown. If the lights are on at night, the birds don't see the glass and fly right into the building. This is a short article about FLAP, the Fatal Light Awareness Program. They have recorded over 41,000 bird collisions in Toronto since 1993.

I suggested to the boys that we could make hawk silhouettes to put on the window, hoping that this would help.

The boys enjoyed the activity. It is always good to feel proactive. I was a little disheartened when I read on the FLAP website that they don't really work. They did have a list of suggestions, (look under the section 'Being Bird Friendly'). I'll talk about them with the boys and we can decide on the best one for our yard. Hopefully we can learn from this and the black and white warbler's death at our window will be the last.

Rose breasted grosbeak

Rose breasted grosbeak Pheucticus ludovicianus

Yesterday we were treated to a visit from a rose breasted grosbeak. This is the second grosbeak we have seen in our yard in the ten years we have lived here. This is the male, the female (which we did not see) is brown and looks quite different.

He came to eat from the new feeder my husband made. He stayed for most of the day, and sat up in our tree and sang his lovely song. All his singing attracted two other rose breasted grosbeaks and by the afternoon we had three of them, all male, munching at our feeder.

The birds were a little crazy yesterday. I had a male cardinal divebomb another male cardinal, the goldfinches were flying circles around each other, the housefinches were crooning songs together, and the house sparrow was collecting material for their nest.

House sparrow Passer domesticus

Here is the grosbeak (centre) with a male and female cardinal near one of our feeders.

Woodpecker Evidence

Holes from a Pileated Woodpecker, Banff, Alberta

When I was on my trip to Banff I came across this tree that had been drilled by a Pileated Woodpecker. At first I thought they were from the three-toed woodpecker because I had seen a sign on the trail that talked about them, but some internet research revealed that the only woodpecker that makes these rectangular holes is the pileated.

Holes from a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Ontario

This week the kids and I were out on a nature walk where we discovered an entire tree covered with rows and rows of holes. Apparently they are made by Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. They drill a row of holes and wait for a bit until the sap starts to ooze out. Then they return to their row and drink the sap of the tree.

Underneath the bark where the sapsucker had drilled.

I peeled off a section of the bark and was fascinated to see that the holes the woodpecker had drilled did not extend into the wood, but were only through the bark layer.

During our walk we heard drilling and then the high pitched laughing of the Northern Flicker, who is also a member of the woodpecker family. He is a summer resident of our neighbourhood forest.

Bird Feeding Update

While we were away for 2 weeks the squirrels became desperate. Not only did they eat all the birdseed, but then they proceeded to eat the bird feeder.

Here is my no melt suet. It appears to be melting.

A fly on the hand is better than an owl on the arm

Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus

We went to Banff because my husband was working at a conference. It was an international programming contest for university students. The students participate in regional contests and those who win travel from across the globe to compete in a grueling 5 hour challenge against the best in the world. It is a great event, with lots of energy and excitement.

As a special surprise one day before dinner, we were treated to a visit from a birds of prey exhibition. There was a Kestrel, a Golden Eagle (who had been blinded in both eyes), a burrowing owl, and a few others that I don't remember.

The star of the show was this Great Horned Owl. The owner had raised the owl from birth, and he was quite comfortable with people. Many many people held this owl that evening. When you watch the video, look for the part where the owl leans in for the photo shoot. You can also hear the Chickadee yell 'Bird!' in the background at the beginning of the video.

My sons were not present at the conference (they were staying with their grandparents) and did not get to hold the owl. They did see the video when we returned, and were disappointed that they did not get a turn. My husband consoled the Nuthatch by pointing out that a fly had landed on the Nuthatch all by itself, and the owl had to be put on Mommy's arm. So it was better to have the fly come to him of its own free will.

So, if you're feeling jealous that I got to hold an owl, you can go in your backyard and hope a fly will land on you, all by itself. You should feel better after that.

Goldfinches in spring

American Goldfinch Carduelis tristis

Today I was looking at my backyard birds and I noticed that the goldfinches were changing their winter plumage for their spring and summer look. In the winter their feathers are a drab yellow-green colour, as you can see on the back of this goldfinch in the picture. In the summer they are a bright yellow, and you can see these feathers starting to appear near the bird's face. On the top of its head the black cap feathers are just starting to appear. Soon this goldfinch will have a black cap that is as dark as the black on its wings. Here's a picture of a goldfinch in their full summer plumage. Note that the female and the juvenile do not have the bright yellow and black colouring of the males.

This picture is not as sharp as I would like. I did not use a flash (I think it would have scared the bird away), and I didn't get out my tripod. The shutter speed was just a little too slow to take a hand held photo. When I take a photo I always try to get the shutter speed up to at least 1/90th of a second, otherwise the picture usually turns out a bit blurry from camera shake. I think this one was around 1/50th of a second.

House finch Carpodacus mexicanus

My husband built me this new bird feeder this weekend. He was so pleased when the birds finally started visiting it. One day I'll do a post on the different types of bird feeders that I have in my yard.

After he built the feeder he became more interested in the birds and squirrels in our yard. Unfortunately, he is starting to become involved in the Squirrel Wars. It is a slippery slope to madness.