Ruby-crowned Kinglet in blackberry brambles. Did a little birding at Woodhus Slough, just north of Oyster River on Vancouver Island this afternoon. The slough is accessed by either the parking area at the Salmon Point Pub or at the Oyster River Park parking area near the Fisherman’s Pub – hence its popular name the “Pub to Pub Trail.” The trail …
Bird Watching
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 …
Cochise Lake Birdwatching – Arizona Skywatch #6
As the rain continues to fall here in British Columbia, I wistfully return to Arizona for this episode of SkyWatch Friday. Last March, I traveled to Arizona with a pair of naturalists for a week of birding and botanizing. One of the locations that we wanted to hit was Cochise Lake, just outside of Wilcox, Arizona. We arrived late in …
Backyard Birds – November 8-15
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 …
Project FeederWatch
Mark November 14th on your calendars and think about signing up for Project FeederWatch. If you’ve got a yard and a bird feeder you can collect valuable data about birds in your area. As a bonus, it is fun getting to know your regulars. This will be my first winter counting birds that visit our feeder. I’ve done Coastal Waterbird …
American Dipper
I was out scouting locations for International Rock Flipping Day (September 20) and spotted an expert invertebrate hunter hard at work on the Puntledge River in Courtenay, British Columbia. There’s a lot going on in the Puntledge River right now. This American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) was working the river along with a whole host of gulls and other scavengers. The …
Sandhill Cranes Migrating
Watch the skies and listen for the sound of sandhill cranes migrating in the fall! Sandhill Cranes | Grus canadensis It is a distinctive sound and it’s a safe bet that once you’ve heard it you’ll be able to identify it again the next time around. I liken the rattling call of the Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) to that of …
Gray Jay
Gray Jay | Perisoreus canadensis One of the more common and frequently seen birds in the sub-alpine is the whiskey jack or gray jay (Perisoreus canadensis). In Paradise Meadows these social birds gather at places where hikers stop for lunch and commence aggressively begging for food. Unfortunately, many people give in to the begging either to “help” the bird out …
Red Crossbill
Red Crossbill | Loxia curvirostra Red Crossbills (Loxia curvirostra) have been fairly common up in the sub-alpine this weekend. These finches are named after their very noticeable “crossed bill” which is useful for extracting seeds from conifers. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds the “bird’s biting muscles are stronger than the muscles used to open the …