Top Ten 2010

Are you ready? Project FeederWatch begins Saturday. If you haven't already signed up, there's still time to do so on-line through the Bird Studies Canada website.

Why participate? Because it's an enjoyable way to contribute to our growing understanding of the lives of birds, especially as climate change continues to affect populations in both devastating and sometimes surprising ways. The data submitted by feeder-watchers tells the scientists at BSC and Cornell about irruptive migrations, range shifts, invasive species, and population trends. Citizen Science data from the 2010-2011 Project FeederWatch program identified, for example, the "Top Ten Birds" in the Pacific Northwest last year. Care to hazard a guess?

If you guessed, in this order: Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Flicker, Black-capped Chickadee, House Finch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, American Robin, Downy Woodpecker, Song Sparrow, Pine Siskin, and Steller's Jay - you were right!

Dark-eyed Junco: Numero Uno

Northern Flicker: Number 2

House Finch: Number 4

How does this list compare with your backyard bird population? One difference will certainly be that Black-capped Chickadees, which reside mainly on Vancouver Island and the coast, will be replaced by the Chestnut-backed Chickadees that live here on Gabriola. In our back yard these fearless chattering little bundles of energy are second in number only to Dark-eyed Juncos.

Chestnut-backed Chickadee - common on the Gulf Islands: Number 15!

Speaking of Feeders!
As winter seems to be truly settling in to stay (and many Gabriolans are following the birds that have already migrated to Mexico and other climes south of the border) those of us who are staying put (like the Dark-eyed Juncos and Chestnut-backed Chickadees and even a few Anna's Hummingbirds) need to be vigilant about keeping our feeders CLEAN. Moldy seed and contaminated bird poop can cause disease and death. So clean out the feeders regularly. A solution of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water will do the job. Just be sure to RINSE well.

Keep your feeders clean!

Happy birding!

In the back yard and at the beach

The noise drew me away from the dinner table. (Good thing I’m an adult and this kind of thing is allowed.) At first I thought it was my drummer neighbour experimenting. But the sound was coming from the wrong direction, and really, it wasn’t very musical. I went outside and looked up. Way up. There it was! No, there they were! A pair of pileated woodpeckers (dryocopus pileatus) on the dead tree at the edge of our property. Northern flickers often drummed on that tree but I’d never seen a pileated there. These guys were big – and pounded with amazing force: the wood chips were flying. Unfortunately, they were too high for me to get a decent photo - but here's my best shot. Note one near the top and the other close to the bottom of the photo on the right side ...  

Apparently, pairs stay together year round. But what I like best about the spectacular pileated woodpecker is that it doesn’t drum on the metal down-pipe of our roof, as the flickers do, usually at dawn! The pileated, which has a red crest and black body, is the largest woodpecker in most of North America, and lives in BC year round. It makes deep rectangular excavations in trees as it hunts for carpenter ants and wood-boring beetle larvae. You might have heard it calling its loud, resonant “kuk kuk kuk” from the forest.

Lots of American goldfinch visitors on the island right now
There are a several pairs of American goldfinches (carduelis tristis) at the feeders these days, eating as much as they can in preparation for breeding as soon as the thistles are in bloom. Won't be long now ...



Male American goldfinch (top) and female (bottom)



Red-breasted nuthatch

This red-breasted nuthatch (sitta canadensis) spends hours on end flitting from our big cedar tree -where he scurries down headfirst foraging for insects and seeds - to our feeder, and back again. 

The name "nuthatch" comes from this bird's style of feeding: it wedges seeds into crevices then hammers them open with its beak. The red-breasted nuthatch often nests in abandoned woodpecker cavities after smearing the entrance with sap to keep ants and other insects away.

A family of robins

This American robin (turdus migratorius) and its mother have taken to our new birdbath (thank you RT!) like a baby to water (sorry).  Note the spotted breast, pale eyebrow, and pinkish bill - all marks of a juvenile.   



Mother and baby together

GBH at BYB

A little farther afield, this elegant juvenile Great Blue Heron (ardea herodias) was fishing at Brickyard Beach yesterday afternoon. Note the lack of plumes on the juvenile and its grey body. And if you have a big screen on your computer you might be able to make out the beginnings of the shoulder epaulets.  Unlike other herons, in flight the 'great blue' folds its neck back over its shoulders in an S-shape rather than stretching it out in front.   



A typical toddler stance?



Violet-green swallow nestlings almost visible  ...
And today at Folklife Village, right outside the bookshop, a violet-green swallow nestling started poking its head out of the nest as the mother flew in with food. Within a couple of days we should be able to see them all lined up along the eaves!