Back Yard Birding

This morning I helped my dad set up set up beds. Then at about 8:30am I went outside and sat down with Max. Soon I heard a long, uneven rattle coming from a moderate-sized bird with a thick bill, perched on a tree above the an open marsh beside our house. I looked at all the sounds of woodpeckers in North America but none of the sounds compared to what I heard. I heard that same sound but this time I noticed it was a harsh, unsteady clatter. I remembered what a kingfisher sounded like, from a camping trip last year to Cedar Beach. Once again I looked in the Sibley Guide to Birds and found kingfishers. The silhouette I saw in the tree and the sound it made, obviously made it a Belted Kingfisher. Just to be 100% sure it was, I researched it in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. With all of my information it was for sure a kingfisher. Next I heard a call similar to a Song Sparrow but it was clearly different. I looked in Sibley's Book and searched all the similar species for Song Sparrows. There I found the Winter Wren, but as I was reading that page, a sparrow caught my eye, again it was similar to Song Sparrow but there was something different about it's breast. The only bird that matched up to it was a Black-throated Sparrow, but they only live in the Sonoran Desert. How could one end up here, I must have made a mistake, but I can't seem to match the bird I saw with any other birds in Sibley's Book. Anyway, back to the wren, Body, Soul and Spirit (Ruth) and Mon@rch (Tom) had recently seen one of these so there was no point of researching, the Winter Wren migrates through here every spring. Up to northern Ontario to southern Northwest Territory and Yukon. I'd heard this sound only once and it was far away so I couldn't figure out what habitat it was in. I came back in with max at about noon, had a snack and helped my dad unpack (we've just moved last Saturday.) From now on when I write total species of birds and the end of a post I will put a question mark beside if I'm not 100% sure, otherwise the bird was seen for sure.

Total Names of Birds Seen:

Red-winged Blackbird

Northern Cardinal

Black-capped Chickadee

Brown-headed Cowbird?

American Crow

Mourning Dove

American Goldfinch

Canada Goose

Common Grackle

Boat-tailed Grackle? (Check for 2009)

Herring Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Great-blue Heron? (check for 2009)

Blue Jay?

Dark-eyed Junco

Killdeer

Belted Kingfisher (Check for 2009)

Mallard

White-breasted Nuthatch

Eastern Phoebe? (Check for 2009)

American Robin

Black-throated Sparrow? (Check for Life List)

House Sparrow

Song Sparrow

European Starling

Winter Wren (Check for Life List)

Total Number of Birds Seen: 19 species, 7 ? species

Goodbye,

Birdman

Late Night Birding In Damp Forest/Open Field

Yesterday my dad and I decided to go birding in search of the woodcock in display, so we left with a flashlight, a few minutes before it usually gets dark. We walked down the block to a damp, brushy forest with a open field beside it. It was still late evening so many songbirds were making their last song for the day. We kept walking until we found where the forest and field met. There we turned on the flashlight and listened very carefully. Standing there a female Canada Goose came which sounded very similar to the woodcock. We stood there for about ten minutes and then, as soon as the sun had completely gone down we heard a nasal PEENT! Followed by one of them flying up high in the air making twittery whistles and then a loud chirping sound. Then it dived so fast I thought it disappeared. Then both the male and female did their courtship display, covering so much area that I had a difficult time trying to track were the sound was coming. They both did that same thing over again until we left the field. Then we heard a single hoot, which was a Long-eared Owl. We didn't hear it every few seconds because we were talking for the rest of the jog. Then we saw them fly in front of us again, at first we had mistaken them for swallows because of their small size, but then when the second one came, I noticed a completely different flight pattern. On our way back home we found out where a museum was. Maybe that will be my next blog post topic, maybe. Anyway, I think that the mystery bird from my last post is a hybrid between two grebes but I'm still trying to identify it. Thank you for any help you may have given me (I only look at the comments from before, after I do my next post)

Total Names of Birds Seen:

Red-winged Blackbird

Northern Cardinal

Black-capped Chickadee

Brown-headed Cowbird

American Crow

Mourning Dove

House Finch

Northern Flicker (Check for 2009)

American Goldfinch

Canada Goose

Common Grackle

Ring-billed Gull

Blue Jay

Killdeer

Mallard

White-breasted Nuthatch

Long-eared Owl (Check for 2009)

Feral Pigeon

American Robin

House Sparrow

Song Sparrow

European Starling

American Woodcock

Downy Woodpecker

Total Number of Birds Seen:24 species

Goodbye,

Birdman

Loon or Grebe

This picture was taken at the edge of Lake Ontario in Hamilton on Thursday, March 19, 2009 at about 1 0'clock pm. For elevation ask Ruth (Body, soul and spirit.) I previously said it was a Western Grebe, but it also may have been a Red-throated Loon. I'm still comparing the two species but because it was continually diving, I could only get one, slightly poor photograph of this mystery bird. If any of can are able to contact a experienced birder (preferably David Allen Sibley) and ask him to check this out it would be greatly appreciated. I've narrowed it down to the Red-throated Loon and the Western Grebe because it had a; yellow-black, slightly upturned long bill, gray-black crown, bright red eye, black eye-ring, gray supercillium, brown-rufos neck, brown back, white undertail. It may have been a hybrid but that would be unlikely, but if it was the female would have to be a Western Grebe and the male, a Red-throated Loon because it had more grebe plumage features than a loon. It dived for about 1-2 minutes at a time without looking down first and always came up a different spot then would go in alert posture and dive again, repeatedly. It was solitary and away from any other waterfowl, very close to shore and it was silent. Any bird that considered flying where it was would leave immediately as soon as it saw this mystery bird.

If you or anyone you know may have an idea what this is, please comment ON THIS POST or e-mail me at swpsnook@live.ca .

Goodbye,

Birdman

River Bank Trail

Fresh Adult Eastern Black-capped Chickadee Eating Seeds of Cattail
Adult Male Eastern Northern Cardinal Searching for Seeds

Fresh Adult Eastern Black-capped Chickadee Being Territorial

Pair of Purple Finches Perched

This morning I woke up and found sparrows feeding on my platform feeder, then my dad came down and we went to River Bank Trail. On the way there my dad had drove into a dead end and was just about to turn around until I said "Stop, look". A silhouette of a bird that had a plump body and a short tail was perched in a tree nearby, so I got the binoculars and looked at it. It was a meadowlark, I had realised that I had seen that same silhouette earlier before so that wasn't the only one I saw. There must a lot of meadowlarks in the neighbourhood. My dad and I were very excited but it flew away before I could get a picture of it and it didn't sing so it is was very difficult to identify what type it was, it was an eastern because of the white malar. Anyway my dad kept driving and as soon as we arrived there someone started walking their dog. They didn't even clean up after it! We let them walk ahead of us. We sat down preparing for a hike, we entered the meadow part, there was a Purple Finch and a Brown Thrasher which was of course "thrashing" leaves under a bush. Next we walked under a canopy forest, Northern Parulas and Black-throated Blue Warblers were singing. Also, when we came out from under the canopy forest I heard an American Woodcock repeating it's call, but there was something else calling in the background. I got the binoculars and searched, it was a gull-like bird with brownish wings. Now that I've identified it, it was a Glaucous x Herring Gull hybrid 1st winter. Next my dad pointed out than a birder behind us was trying to get pictures to get a picture of the woodcock I spotted, I mumbled sarcastically "good luck with that". Of course he didn't get a picture of it. Next I heard a B-bee gun shot, and a goose flew up in a tree! Then I heard it again and flew away. Later I saw a goose NOT walking properly, someone had shot it's wing! WHY DO PEOPLE SHOT BIRDS FOR NO REASON!!! Anyway, we moved on because there was nothing we could do about it. The same birder from before was feeding chickadees and cardinals. That was the end of the trail so we hiked back and drove home.

Total Names of Birds Seen:

Red-winged Blackbird

Northern Cardinal

Black-capped Chickadee

Brown-headed Cowbird

American Crow

Mourning Dove

Purple Finch

Canada Goose

Common Grackle

Glaucous x Herring Gull (Check for Life List)

Ring-billed Gull

Cooper's Hawk (Check for 2009)

Blue Jay

Mallard

Eastern Meadowlark (Check for 2009)

Northern Parula (Check for 2009)

Feral Pigeon

American Robin

American Tree Sparrow

Chipping sparrow

House Sparrow

Song Sparrow

European Starling

Brown Thrasher (Check for 2009)

Black-throated Blue Warbler (Check for 2009)

American Wodcock

Downy Woodpecker

Total Number of Birds Seen: 28 species

Goodbye,

Birdman

Victoria Park/Wings of Paradise: Butterfly Conservatory

Zebra Finch in Alert Posture
Blue Morpho Sunbathing
Zebra Finch Perched

Ring-billed Gull, Canada Geese, Mallard

Mallards

Chipper Feeding

Mallards

Today my mom asked if we could go birding. She drove to Victoria Park, there were only a few waterfowl species but I watched an Adult Female Domestic Mallard and an Adult Male Mallard x Domestic Mallard hybrid or intergrade court and mate. We soon got a little bored just watching ducks and geese so we went to Wings of Paradise Museum. We paid and went in the Butterfly Conservatory. At first it was very humid, and my camera took very poor pictures because to camera lens had fogged up. But after a few moments it was clear. After that we realised there was several other animals other than butterflies in the conservatory such as birds, fish and turtles. We had a great time, thank you mom for taking me.

Total Names of Birds Seen:

Mallard

Canada Goose

Ring-billed Gull

Zebra Finch

Chinese Painted Quail (Check for Life List)

Zebra Dove

Java Finch

Total Number of Birds Seen: 7 species

Goodbye,

Birdman

Grand River Trail

Red-breasted Mergansers

Adult Male American Robin Courting

Today at 12:00pm, my dad took me to "Tim Hortons". We got 10 "Sour Cream Glazed Timbits" and ate them on the way to a grand river trail. We got out and a European Starling was mimicking various other birds. Notice that they open their beak when they mimic, but they only move their throat feathers when they sing their own calls. Anyway next Canada Geese flew over us honking, followed by robins preparing to court by the male chasing the female robin until she decides to stop. Although I don't know the purpose of flying away. Well, next my dad and I saw our first Song Sparrow and Mallard for 2009. We then went to another part of the trail but there wasn't many birds there so we turned around. Chickadees and goldfinches were fluttering about in a nearby brush pile, and a hawk soaring by the roadside, but what really stunned me was mergansers! Finally, mergansers have come, I've been waiting for a long time. I took a few pictures and just as my dad was about to view them with his binoculars, they dived. I showed him my pictures. Next we discussed the Western Bluebirds we previously saw in Sedona. It was a very exciting moment for both of us. The same year we also saw another new bird for our life list, Eastern Bluebirds. Then we left to pick up Jesse from a friend's house.

Total Species of Birds Seen:

Red-winged Blackbird

Northern Cardinal

Black-capped Chickadee

Brown-headed Cowbird

Brown Creeper (Check for 2009)

Mourning Dove

Long-billed Dowitcher (Check for Life List)

House Finch (Check for 2009)

American Goldfinch

Canada Goose

Common Grackle

Ring-billed Gull

Red-tailed Hawk

Killdeer

Mallard (Check for 2009)

Song Sparrow

European Starling

Total:17 Birds

Horned Larks!

Adult Male Northeast Horned Lark Singing

Today I've seen my second Horned Lark for 2009, when I decided to go birding in my backyard. I grabbed my camera and jacket to go outside, as soon as I opened the back door I heard "reek trik treet tritilititi treet". I'd never heard anything like it. Whatever it was it continuously repeated that phrase several times until I located where the sound was coming from. I put my camera screen on EVF and searched that particular brush pile. I took a picture of it and zoomed in, it was a Horned Lark! Soon I realized it had been calling another lark, so I was a about to get my spotting scope for a better view but I soon heard it's familiar flight call "see tu" and it flew away. Anyway, I still got a good picture of it. "Tune in" tomorrow for a blog post about "March break", unless I'm unable to post tomorrow.

Goodbye,

Birdman

Guelph Lake Nature Center/Riverside Park

Typical Adult Male Red-winged Blackbird Displaying
Adult Male Eastern Northern Cardinal Perched

Adult Female Red-breasted Nuthatch Feeding

Canada Geese

Adult Male Eastern Downy Woodpecker Feeding

Southern Adult Female Common Redpoll Feeding

Today at noon Ruth picked me up and we drove to Guelph Lake Nature Center, we discussed birds we have recently seen. When we arrived there, there was a feeding area with many species of birds feeding like siskins and sparrows and a Red Squirrel. We stayed there for about an hour studying the behaviour of each particular bird. Next we went to Riverside Park, there was also many birds. We brought some seed with us as many birds there are very tame and will feed out of your hand. We started walking on the boardwalk but there weren't many birds there, so we turned around and many birds came. We sat down by a feeding station and watched chickadees, nuthatches and sparrows feed which was very interesting. Anyway it was soon afternoon so Ruth drove me home.

Goodbye,

Birdman