The action at the backyard feeders this week has been interesting. I’ve noticed a significant increase in the number of Pine Siskins visiting the feeders (at one point we had over 80 Siskins at the feeder, on the ground beneath the feeder, and in the trees around our patio). American Goldfinch continue to show up in good numbers with around …
Backyard Birds
Backyard Birds – December 28 – January 3
Some new additions to the regulars at the bird feeders this week. Late last week we had a few Pine Siskins and a couple of American Goldfinches at the feeders. I added a tube feeder with black oil sunflower seeds and some niger seeds and that brought in the finches. We’ve had over 40 Pine Siskins and close to a …
Backyard Birds – December 21 – 27
Pine Siskins (Spinus pinus) feeding on seed scattered on the ground. I cleaned up a lichen covered limb of our lilac tree this week and instead of putting the branches into the city’s yard waste program left them as a brush pile in our garden area. The sparrows seem to like the extra habitat and I’m hoping that it will …
Backyard Birds – December 14 – 20
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens), a regular visitor to our suet feeders. A bit of a roller coaster of a week at the bird feeders as the Mourning Dove failed to make an appearance on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We figured that one of the neighbours’ cats had finally killed it. Fortunately, I spotted the dove yesterday morning so it is …
Bewick’s Wrens at the Feeder
Bewick’s Wren (Thryomanes bewickii) at the suet feeder. With the snowfall last night our feeders have been busy. I actually had to move one of the seed feeders because the branch of the lilac tree that it was on collapsed under the weight of the heavy, wet snow. This large branch is now very popular as a perching area for …
Backyard Birds – December 7 – 13
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) – a regular at the feeders. It’s been a weird week with some periods that were very birdy and stretches that were relatively quiet. Backyard bird watching is like that. Sometimes the feeders were very busy. Other times they were not. The weather has become a little milder towards the latter part of the week and …
Good Morning, Mourning Dove
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) close to the somewhat safe feeding area inside our fenced vegetable garden. Over the past several weeks at least one Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) visiting our feeders here in Courtenay. Although not a rare winter bird on Vancouver Island, it is a bird that is not usually seen regularly in the winter. However, every Christmas Bird …
Backyard Birds – November 30-December 6
One of the regulars, a male Downy Woodpecker, visits the suet feeder. It’s been a quiet week at the feeders this week with the total number of birds visiting way down. Might be related to the clear, cold weather of the past week with temperatures close to or below 0° C in the early part of the day. My official …
Backyard Birds – November 23-29
We’ve added another feeder to the mix this week with bird seed and sunflower seed to replace our back alley row of sunflowers that have finally headed to the city’s yard waste composting facility. The feeder is proving popular with both the sparrows and one of our neighbour’s 8(!?!)+ cats. As a result, it looks like we may have to …
Backyard Birds – November 16-22
As part of Project FeederWatch, I’m keeping an eye on our feeders two days out of the week to help scientists track winter bird activity, abundance and diversity. It’s a great way to spend an hour or two drinking coffee and peering out into the rain. I’ve also decided to start a yard list of all the birds that visit …