W. John
Forum Replies Created
Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
-
[1] The only behaviour that I found to be unusual -- and unnoticed until this course -- is the backwards scratching at the ground of certain sparrows. I still find this fascinating to watch. No other of my birds seems to do this. [2] I have noticed that my black-capped chickadees, much like a great many small birds, take one seed at a time. Sometimes they fly away with the seed, smack it open, eat it, and then return for another. Other times, they sit right at the feeder and eat the seed. Even when there is nyjer on the ground, they seem to prefer to cling to a tube-feeder and eat directly from it. The dark-eyed juncos, on the other hand, seem to eat exclusively on the ground. [3] I have been working on learning to identify bird songs since taking that course in January. I am getting much better at it but still have a long way to go. The song that I lost recently learned is that of the House Wren, which sounds rather like being scolded. I have been trying to learn to distinguish the different chips of various woodpeckers. This will take me some time but I seem to have a great deal of time on my hands these days.
-
[3] The American Goldfinches right now are in the process of exchanging their olive/tan winter plumage for the more enticing brilliant yellow plumage. Their wing-bars remain evident in both seasons although the bill does change colour. I find them at my feeders in both seasons although more frequently in the winter. They seem to prefer nyjer during the winter. I only see loons during the summer when visiting a friend's cottage in northern Ontario near Algonquin Park. During the summer, they are a beautiful black and white with a black necklace and brown head. The pictures of them during the winter that I found on your website show them to be more uniformly grey with a greyer bill. Had I not taken the time to look, I would not have recognised this bird during the off-season.
-
[2] Three birds that I can count on being here all year are the Cooper's Hawk, the Northern Cardinal and the Black-capped Chickadee. The look and sound the same all year, although I find the chickadees tends to be a more faithful visitors to my feeders during the snowy months. At this time of year, they tend to expand their range and depend less on my feeders. This month, I had a pair of new visitors arrive rather early from their migration: a pair of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. They stayed for a couple of days but have not been seen since. The White-crowned Sparrows and the White-throated Sparrows have been here before and can always be counted on to feed under my feeders. Once the Covid situation has resolved itself, whenever that might be, I would like to head to the park by the St Clair River in order to take part in some high-quality birding and to enjoy the arrival of the warblers. Alas, all of our parks have been closed since the beginning of the Covid issue.
-
[4] Right now, my favourite birding location is the abandoned orchard that is a three-minute walk from my house, which is a stone's throw from the extreme southern end of Lake Huron. The area in question is now filled in large part with secondary-growth forest and is a haven for many species of birds, including my faithful friend, the Cooper's Hawk, who likes to visit my backyard frequently. Right now, unless the expected polar vortex hits and drops snow on the area, we are on the cusp of the return of a large wave of migratory birds. Most of my migratory winter birds have left -- I haven't seen a Junco in days -- and I am beginning to see the return of old friends like the White-crowned Sparrow. When fall returns, I expect to see the opposite playing itself out: my summer friends will begin to leave and my winter friends will begin to return. Although I love all of my birds, I do look forward, as I have now for sixteen years, the return of Project Feederwatch in the fall.
-
[1] I paid particular attention to the birds that fly up through Point Pelee in the Great Lakes because I live two hours north of there on the Canadian side of the southern end of Lake Huron. I noted the vast numbers of birds that are funnelled through that gateway to the north. I also noted the large numbers of birds that skirt the western edge of the Great Lakes and head north into the prairie provinces. I was particularly struck by the invisible dividing line that the central portion of the American mainland seems to be for migrating birds. It is as if western birds spread out with some heading into the central portion of the continent and eastern birds doing the same. That likely explains some of the interbreeding that I read about.
-
[2] Yesterday, a large flock of White-throated Sparrows descended upon my yard and happily ate milo/millet that my resident squirrels love to scatter. I immediately noticed that some of the sparrows were of a slightly different colouring than the others. I used Merlin, my Peterson Field Guide (Fifth Edition), and Chris Earley's Sparrows & Finches to learn more about the tan-striped morph of this species. The white-striped WTS much more easily stands out amongst the other beige/brown birds in my yard, including the Mourning Dove, which has a much more uniform colour, and the Brown Thrasher, which has dark streaking on his underparts,
and white wing bars. The photo that I have inserted is of a tan-morph that had the misfortune to fly into a window. Happily, he survived the ordeal.
[3] In looking at birds that are foraging for food, I went to Allaboutbirds to see whether the WTS has any particularly distinguishing characteristics when pecking at the ground for seed, which it does not. This was confirmed by the Project Feederwatch app. The Mourning Dove feeds in a similar manner but is less likely to fly from spot to spot like the WTS. In fact, I note that the dove does not mind sitting/standing in a pile of feed for relatively long periods of time. My faithful Dark-eyed Juncos, being sparrows, act in a similar manner to the WTS. As a bonus, a female Brown-headed Cowbird joined the group of WTS under a feeder and walked from spot to spot looking for seed. Although grey/beige, it is easily distinguished by size and shape of bill -- finch-like -- from the sparrows and Mourning Dove. The PFW app confirmed that the cowbird eats a wide variety of food, although I note that she seems to prefer milo/millet to cracked corn, both of which my posse of squirrels delight in scattering on the ground.
[4] Today's favourite bird is the Dark-eyed Junco (slate-coloured) because most of them have already migrated north, east and south-east for the slowly approaching summer season, and I will soon begin to miss them. They are readily identified before I even see them by their trilling, high-pitched simple song. They are also the only two-toned grey bird in my yard, with the upper part of the body being a darker slate-coloured grey, hence their former name. The flit from spot to spot in my yard looking for milo/millet, although I do see them eating, one piece at a time, safflower. They also fly over to eat bits of nyjer and sunflower hearts that fall from tube feeders. This is a friendly and non-aggressive species that I thoroughly enjoy watching and feeding. -
I became a bit obsessed with the photo of the Downy that was posted by Marlene. At first glance, I tried to use our learning in an earlier part of the lesson by looking at the size of the bill. With the bird being on a bit of an angle, it is tough. My first thought was that the bill seemed rather large for a Downy but then I noticed the black spots on the underside of the tail, which makes it a Downy. I next opened Merlin -- thank you, Cornell, for this great app! -- and swiped through the photos of both birds. The second photo of a Downy was taken on a similar angle to the one that Marlene posted, and the shape of the bill -- more conical and less pointed -- also suggests that it is a Downy. What do others think? And, thank you, Marlene, for posting that photo. It gave me something to obsess over this drizzly morning!
-
I would agree that this is a Downy because I can just make out a few black spots on the underside of the tail, which is a definite indicator of a Downy.
-
What an absolutely wonderful course! I have been thoroughly enjoying everything about it thus far. The video that accompanies the mural of birds is well worth viewing.
and white wing bars. The photo that I have inserted is of a tan-morph that had the misfortune to fly into a window. Happily, he survived the ordeal.
[3] In looking at birds that are foraging for food, I went to Allaboutbirds to see whether the WTS has any particularly distinguishing characteristics when pecking at the ground for seed, which it does not. This was confirmed by the Project Feederwatch app. The Mourning Dove feeds in a similar manner but is less likely to fly from spot to spot like the WTS. In fact, I note that the dove does not mind sitting/standing in a pile of feed for relatively long periods of time. My faithful Dark-eyed Juncos, being sparrows, act in a similar manner to the WTS. As a bonus, a female Brown-headed Cowbird joined the group of WTS under a feeder and walked from spot to spot looking for seed. Although grey/beige, it is easily distinguished by size and shape of bill -- finch-like -- from the sparrows and Mourning Dove. The PFW app confirmed that the cowbird eats a wide variety of food, although I note that she seems to prefer milo/millet to cracked corn, both of which my posse of squirrels delight in scattering on the ground.
[4] Today's favourite bird is the Dark-eyed Junco (slate-coloured) because most of them have already migrated north, east and south-east for the slowly approaching summer season, and I will soon begin to miss them. They are readily identified before I even see them by their trilling, high-pitched simple song. They are also the only two-toned grey bird in my yard, with the upper part of the body being a darker slate-coloured grey, hence their former name. The flit from spot to spot in my yard looking for milo/millet, although I do see them eating, one piece at a time, safflower. They also fly over to eat bits of nyjer and sunflower hearts that fall from tube feeders. This is a friendly and non-aggressive species that I thoroughly enjoy watching and feeding. Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)