The Gleaners

The Gleaners by Millet

Bit by bit, gleaners gather what has been left behind. With care and patience, they find just enough among the overlooked pieces to subsist on for another day.  

Female dark-eyed junco

In my backyard, these gleaners are the dark-eyed juncos, small slate-colored birds that gather near the feeder after the larger birds have had their fill. Quiet and unassuming, they move slowly on the ground as they forage through the grass for tiny morsels.

Male dark-eyed junco

Juncos are common throughout most of North America. They make their nests on the ground, often on the borders of woodlands or ditches. They’re usually located in slightly raised areas, safe from flooding, and tucked behind grasses.

Juncos will make a ‘tsk tsk’ sound as you approach their nesting area. I’ve been able to find many nests over the years by listening for their warning sounds.  One time, I accidentally stumbled right next to a nest and several baby juncos ran out towards me at once with their wings and mouths open. I don’t know if they thought I was a predator or their mother returning with food.

If you would like to attract juncos to your yard, they are very keen on white millet and will enjoy a bird bath. However, they will also be content with gleaning whatever seed is left behind on the ground by the larger birds.

Hey, I was gleaning here first!

By spring, little is left of the previous fall’s seeds on grasses, flowers and trees. Birds returning from migration south are likely to be hungry after their long journey, especially as they begin to look for mates and build their nests. You don’t have to put out loads of bird seed to stave off their hunger. Just a handful a day will help until more insects are available for their dining enjoyment.

Read Full Post »

A Fistful of Seeds

Winter is beginning to overstay its welcome. The barren landscape at this time of year in Nova Scotia can seem so void of life. However, with just a fistful of sunflower seeds, you can liven things up by attracting a variety of birds to your backyard.  You never know who’s going to fly in for a nibble.

Blue jay fluffing its feathers to stay warm

Blue jays, chickadees, finches, nuthatches and mourning doves are all potential visitors at this time of year.  Despite the February cold, I’ve often noticed several species of birds waiting nearby for their turn at the feeder.

Mourning dove patiently waits for its turn at the feeder

The black oil seeds are easier for birds to crack open than the thicker-shelled striped ones and provide more nutrition for their weight. All you need is a fistful. If you put out too much at a time, it may not be eaten and get moldy or attract rodents.  A fancy bird feeder isn’t necessary.  Just a flat surface that is easily cleaned is ideal.

Black oil sunflower seeds are also a favorite of red squirrels.  If you don’t want them to get the lion’s share,  you might want to put seeds out for the birds before mid-morning when the squirrels begin to make their rounds.

Finch eating sunflower seed

Some of the birds you attract to your feeder in late winter may decide to nest nearby come spring.  In the meantime, you never know who’ll show up to take advantage of your hospitality and add some color to your backyard landscape.

Ring-necked pheasant looking for breakfast

Read Full Post »

A Chickadee Never Forgets

Winter storms like the one that’s beset Nova Scotia the past couple of days provide the ultimate test for chickadee memories.  When food supplies become scarce due to snow cover, they must rely on their memories to retrieve food that they hid when supplies were more plentiful.

A chickadee may have up to a hundred bits of food (seed, insect or berry) hidden in nooks and crannies in the forest.  Each piece is stashed in a different place.   Just before the storm peaked yesterday afternoon I noticed a small flock of chickadees coming and going non-stop from a pile of sunflower seeds I had set out for them.  They weren’t eating the seeds but hiding them in the bark of trees and coming back for more.   They had good reason to be working so quickly.  In about 15 minutes, the pile of seeds I had put out was buried under snow.

During winter nights, the body temperature of chickadees drops about ten degrees as they enter a state of torpor, enabling them to survive the cold.  Still, they need to eat during the day.  If a chickadee couldn’t remember the location of its stashes, its chances of survival would be slim.  I wonder if older chickadees are subject to memory loss like humans as they age. 

This morning I shoveled the driveway while listening to a flock of chickadees cheerfully calling out to one another in song.  The little chickadee in the photo below appears to be doing a dance of joy.  Happy as a bird, it’s probably celebrating making it through yet another winter storm.  Perhaps we should do the same

For more information about chickadees, see my previous post about The Private Lives of Chickadees.

If you’d like to learn how to feed chickadees by hand, see my previous post about How to Handfeed Wild Birds.

Read Full Post »

Birds Keeping Their Cool

The past few days have been hot, hot, hot!  We could learn a thing or two from the wild birds.  They know how to keep their cool in hot weather.  They hydrate at the local watering hole …

Take the kids swimming…

And even risk looking silly by taking a refreshing plunge themselves.

If there isn’t a pool or a shore nearby, other options are always available.  This young male pheasant was photographed moments after enjoying a quick dust bath in the ashes of an old fire pit.  Apparently such baths can be quite cooling.  Who knew!  I was wondering what those little depressions in the dust were.  Birds hunker down in them before they fluff dust into their feathers.

Doesn’t he look cool and relaxed despite the fact that there was a cat on the prowl nearby?  A cat, I might add, that I’ve already caught twice having a dip in the bird bath.   I guess we’re all desperate to keep cool these days.  But I don’t think I’m desperate enough to have a dust bath.  Not yet at least.

Read Full Post »

Spreading Your Wings

You’ve been standing still for far too long with your feet in one spot … turning the same possibilities over and over again in your head. The days aren’t getting any longer and you’re not getting any younger.

The time has come for you to spread your wings.  Others may not approve and may even scowl at your need to do what moves you.  

Don’t let yourself be distracted by their expectations.  Be brave enough to ask yourself what expections you hold for your own life.   Be prepared for the unexpected.  

Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered — either by themselves or by others.
~ Mark Twain

You may have felt the need for some time to stand on the rock and show the whole marsh world who you are.

I’m no angel, but I’ve spread my wings a bit.
~ Mae West

On the other hand, your wing-spreading may be spurred by a growing desire to explore and employ your talents.  How better than by using them could you express gratitude and praise to the One who gave them to you?

Fear not.  Don’t get rattled by the sound of the wind blowing through your feathers as you begin to spread them.  If you dare, others may even take your lead and follow with a little wing-spreading of their own. 

Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another.  It is the only means.
~ Albert Einstein

Read Full Post »

The Bluest Blue

Young Blue Jay

It’s not easy to get near a Blue Jay.  Though they’re common visitors to bird baths and feeders, unlike Robins and Chickadees, they’re reluctant to let humans get too close.  Perhaps it’s because they’re fairly slow flyers compared to other birds their size and need more lead time to flee from predators.   However, this week we had the unique opportunity to see a young Blue Jay up close.  It had flown into the front window and lay on the grass recovering for a few minutes before flying off to the woods.  Its plumage was spectacular.

Blue Jay Tail Feathers

Blue Jay Wing Feathers

 

Blue Jays are strikingly beautiful birds to see at any distance, but up close, their feathers are remarkably awesome.  Their tail and wing feathers are the bluest blue. 

Blue Jay Back Feathers

There are four sub-types of Blue Jay in North America, but the ones we see in Nova Scotia are among the brightest in color. 

A Blue Jay’s feathers appear blue due to light refraction.  This process depends exclusively on the integrity of the feather’s structure.  If a feather is crushed, it cannot refract light and consequently will lose its blueness.  A dull grey feather is the result. 

It wasn’t long before this little creature was on its way.  Though we feared it may have broken a wing, it had no problem flying off on its own to the safety of the woods.

For more information on Blue Jays, see  last year’s post on Blue Jay Feathers

Read Full Post »

The Flying Anteater

The ants are already active in the yard after such a mild winter.  So, I’m glad to see that a couple of Northern flickers have made a nest nearby.  They are the ants’ worst enemy.

Flickers may not be easy to spot in the morning mist, but their calls to one another are strong and lively.  They’ve been working on their nest in an old tree for the past week.  I’ve also spotted them looking for ants in the lawn. 

These migrating members of the woodpecker family have an unusually long and raspy tongue, not unlike that of an anteater. After digging holes in the ground with their sharp beaks, they use this sticky tongue to gather numerous ants, pupae and eggs quickly and efficiently.  Ants and other insects are the flickers’ primary food. 

Flickers make their nests in old trees, also known as snags.  After a 3 inch diameter hole is made, a large cavity about 15 inches deep is created by both parents.  Six to eight eggs are also incubated by the pair.

At this point, the cavity is still being excavated as I frequently see the birds flinging wood chips out of the hole.  Although they are known to re-use old cavities, this nest is a new one, and there’s much work to be done to create such a deep nesting hole.  The fungus seen growing next to the hole in these photos was removed by them yesterday afternoon.  They’re busy all day long, and the harder they work, the more ants they eat.  Imagine how many ants this entire family will consume over the summer months!

Read Full Post »

November’s Wild Game

 In the past week, pheasants with a death wish crossed my path twice on separate occasions while I was driving.  The first time, the corner of the vehicle caught a female who continued her flight into the woods after leaving a flurry of feathers in the air.  The second time, an enormous male came within inches of the windshield as he flew to safety across the road.  

Female Ring-necked Pheasant

There is an amazing wildness to the look of these large ground birds when seen up close.  Feather patterns are strikingly beautiful and eye and beak colours assumed to be a dull grey from a distance, are anything but.  

Although pheasants are visible year-round in Cow Bay, and are often seen crossing the roads in a leisurely manner, they seem even more out in the open at this time of year.  I don’t recall seeing so many females along the side of the road in years past.  I’m either getting better at spotting them or they’re getting bolder.  Maybe they’re just trying to get out of the woods where hunting season is in full swing for their species until December 15th.

Earlier this week I noticed a male working very hard at directing a female’s movements in the front yard.  I’m not sure what that was all about.  Mating season is over and males usually congregate by themselves as the winter approaches.   Maybe he was trying to tell her to stay here where it was safe, instead of wandering into the more dangerous woods.

Yesterday a ruffed grouse that didn’t want its picture taken suddenly appeared in the yard.  They are much more secretive than pheasants and quick runners.  Their feathers certainly help them stay well camouflaged, so it may have been hanging around for some time before I managed to see it. 

November’s shorter daylight hours bring about a change in the colour of snowshoe hares, making them easier to spot on the landscape.

Snowshoe Hare in November

A favorite resting area for them during the day is under the spruce and fir trees.  Although they’re visible year round, their lighter fur in the fall is more eye-catching than usual, even on grey rainy days such as this one. 

This particular one looks quite rounded and ready for the winter.  But if the snow doesn’t fly soon, it will have to be extra careful to keep itself hidden from predators.

Snowshoe hares, ring-necked pheasants and ruffed grouse are all hunted in Nova Scotia at this time of year. 

For more information on regulations regarding hunting small game in Nova Scotia, see http://www.gov.ns.ca/natr/hunt/smlgame.asp

 Receive by email or subscribe in a reader

 

Read Full Post »

Marsh Raptors

Walking through the salt marsh, it’s easy to get distracted by the flowers growing along the trail and the small birds that flitter past.  Your eyes follow the sandpipers and kingfishers until they fly out of sight.  Even the changing color of the marsh grass can take your focus until suddenly you see them:  the raptors of the marsh.

Ospreys are unmistakable, even at a distance, by the manner in which they hover in one place as they target their prey in the water.  There are many fish here, some even breaking the surface of the water with their movements.  Once a fish is sighted, the osprey will dive head first into the water to get it.  They’ll do this again and again until they are successful.  They hit the water with such force that they can break a wing in the process.

Bald eagles have a more varied diet but still rely on fish for 90% of their diet. Unlike ospreys, they don’t dive into the water, but instead use their talons to catch fish that are swimming close to the surface.

Eagles are also known to steal fish from the smaller ospreys. Snowshoe hares, red squirrels, voles, snakes and ducks may also find themselves on an eagle’s breakfast menu.

This year I’ve seen as many as four adult eagles flying at the same time in the marsh.  I also saw four flying together last fall.  Immature eagles are brown speckled with white and do not have the characteristic white head and tail until they reach their fifth year.  There are probably some juveniles in the marsh as well.

It is not uncommon to see eagles in flight around the Salt Marsh Trail.  Unlike the gulls, crows and sandpipers, they are very quiet and will patiently sit on a roost for long periods of time.  It’s also quite easy to get distracted by the flowers and simply walk by them, unaware of their presence.

Receive by email or subscribe in a reader

Read Full Post »

Nesting Ospreys

Ospreys are nesting once again this year at the entrance to MacDonald’s Beach near Eastern Passage.  Nova Scotia’s provincial bird is found on all continents except Antarctica and its appearance remains the same, regardless of its home. It often nests near fresh lakes and rivers. Fresh fish make up 99% of its diet.

With a wingspan of between 4.5 and 6 feet, Ospreys are attractive raptors, and are often mistaken for eagles. Locally, they are frequently seen hunting along the salt marsh and Rainbow Haven Beach. They are remarkable for their ability to hover in the air and then plummet into the water at high speeds that can reach up to 80 mph during a dive. With talons that have two claws facing forward and two facing back, adults are able to grab hold of fish that are equal to them in size, sometimes diving 3 feet underwater to reach their prey.

Ospreys can live for up to 30 years in the wild.  They usually mate for life and will often return to their original nest year after year, rebuilding it as needed.  These nests can be up to 5 feet wide and 3 feet deep.

Two to three eggs are usually laid in a year.  The young hatch one at a time and are constantly watched by at least one of the parents.  The older, stronger chicks are fed first and will sometimes throw younger siblings out of the nest if food is scarce.

In the fall, Ospreys migrate to warmer climates in Central and South America.

Receive by email or subscribe in a reader

Read Full Post »

How Couples Build Nests

It’s not uncommon to find birds’ nests in my yard.  A few years ago, I took an inventory and managed to count ten.  I’ve found them resting on branches, in tree cavities and on the ground.  Many last long after the nesting season is over, sometimes into the following year.  They are sturdy and surprisingly well hidden.  In order to take the above photo, I had to extend my arm above my head while reaching into a tree.

Different species of birds use a variety of techniques to build nests.  What is most interesting is how different couples work together to get the job done.  Here are some of the many ways that couples share the task. 

• Males and females work together equally, ie. woodpeckers.  (Thelma, would you hold this for me while I drill it?)
• The female selects and completes one of several sample nests made by the male, ie.wrens (I’m not 100% sure George, but I think this one will look best after I spruce it up a little.  What do you think?).
• The male gathers nest-building materials and brings them to the female who builds the nest, ie. mourning doves (Here’s another piece of thread, darling).
• The female gathers the materials and builds the nest all by herself , ie. hummingbirds(Just get out of my way John.  Can’t you see I’m working here?  There’ll be time for that later).
• Both gather the materials but only the female builds the nest, ie. American robins (Ok Roger, the twig I found should fit, if you get me a smaller one to place beneath it).
• The female gathers the materials and brings them to the male who builds the nest (Nice lichens Dorothy.  Are there any more where those came from?)
• The male gathers the materials and builds the nest all by himself, ie. some shrikes (You know what a perfectionist Mark is.  He likes to take his time and get everything just right).

Regardless of ‘how’ the task is completed, nests are built annually, providing a stable shelter for offspring during inclement weather and safety from predators.    Not all couples may share the task equally but all being results-oriented, they manage to get the job done on time and within budget.  If only human couples could work so well together!

The above techniques are from The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of American Birds.

See here for a classified list of nests that may still be on the market this season.

Receive by email or subscribe in a reader

Read Full Post »

Pheasant Feathers

Male Ring-necked Pheasant feathers provide a striking contrast against our Canadian landscape.  Along with the bird’s loud crowing, they call attention to the male so that the more camouflaged female can scurry off to safety when danger is sensed.  Imported from China in the 1800s, pheasants have made themselves right at home here in Nova Scotia.

For years I’ve been collecting the feathers that have fallen from both male and female pheasants in my yard in Cow Bay.  I’ve yet to find one of the emerald green ones that are present in their neck area, but I did recently find a couple of tail feathers, probably left as thank-you gifts for the seed they’ve enjoyed at my feeders over the winter months.

Receive by email or subscribe in a reader

Read Full Post »