Beached Birds at Brickyard?

Once a month I walk the shore of Brickyard Beach checking for dead birds. No, I don't have some kind of avian vampire streak that raises its head with the new moon. I do the monthly beach walk as a volunteer participant in The BC Beached Bird Survey, a research project of Bird Studies Canada.

What's a Beached Bird Survey?
The BC Beached Bird Survey collects baseline information on the causes and rates of seabird mortality. Volunteers do monthly beach walks along selected beaches (such as Brickyard) looking for seabird carcasses that have washed up.



Dennis walking the wrack line at Brickyard Beach

Causes of Seabird Mortality
Seabird can die from oil spills, entanglement in fishing gear, predation and because of habitat loss and climate change. Good indicators of marine ecosystem health, they can serve as an early detection system for changes in ocean conditions and oil spills. You can read more about the program here: http://www.bsc-eoc.org/volunteer/bcbeachbird/index.jsp?targetpg=index&lang=EN

Sometimes Dennis accompanies me on the walk. I was glad he did last month because we found a dead female mallard just at the shoreline. (It's very helpful to have two people on the survey when you find a dead bird; one person does the measurements and photos and one records the data.)

Dead female mallard

After taking measurements and photos we tagged the bird's wing. The tag tells us that this particular bird has already been identified so we don't count it again next time, skewing the data. If we do encounter the same bird again, we submit data on the rate of deterioration and scavenging to Bird Studies Canada.

Tagged mallard

If you happen to see a dead bird at Brickyard Beach with a tag attached to it, you'll know it's been identified and is being tracked by the BC Beached Bird Survey. If you have any questions feel free to comment below. And for more information about the Beached Bird Survey in general, please email bcprograms@birdscanada.org or call 1-877-349-2473.

A Bevy of Bathing Birds

This morning as I sat in the living room eating my Granola and looking out the window, a flurry of activity erupted at the bird bath in the front yard. I got up, went to the window, tried to make out what all the commotion was. Good grief! Two flickers, seven starlings, and several robins -- all fighting for space in one bird bath! I grabbed my camera and tried to take some photos from inside the house. (I didn't want to scare them off opening the door.) But I was so astounded I could barely focus. The pics didn't turn out well because of the distance and lack of light but the one below will at least (hopefully) give you an idea of the scene ...

If you look closely (and especially if you have one of those devices that lets you enlarge
the image indefintely!) you'll see five starlings IN the birdbath, one on the ground, one robin waiting in line and another robin standing slightly back of the bath, watching. Two flickers had just left. 

Until today I don't remember seeing more than 2 or 3 small songbirds or a robin in the bath at once. So this was pretty extraordinary. There hadn't been any starlings around the yard for over a month so I suppose these young guys were on their way somewhere, saw the birdbath, and decided to fly in for a quick visit because it's been so dry lately.

Certainly both our birdbaths have been well-used, much more so than usual, over the past couple of weeks. So I'm refilling them every morning with the water we collect in a bucket as the shower water warms up. I kind of like the idea that I'm passing on my shower water to the birds for their shower during this October dry spell.

Now for a few other birdbath photos from around the yard:

 

Young robin in the backyard bird bath this spring



 

Dark-eyed junco mid-bath - not a very flattering shot

 

Three finches drinking



If you have a bird bath, please remember to keep it full and clean right now.

Wondrous Woodpeckers

For some reason (that I have yet to figure out) I associate the beginning of autumn with woodpeckers. So, since the season is almost upon us, I thought I'd share some photos of woodpeckers I took in our yard over the last year or two.

 

First, the Colaptes auratus, better known as
Northern Flicker, lovers of ants and suet:

 

Such a big stretch - I hope it's worth it!
 

 

Female Northern Flicker at suet feeder, the easier way
 

On watch at twilight



Who's that hiding behind the branches? See the red shaft on the tail?
That's why he's known as the "red-shafted" Northern Flicker. 

Male (note the red moustache) Northern Flicker on suet feeder



A Northern Flicker and Steller's Jay vie for the suet. The flicker won.
(His beak is longer and much sharper!)

  

From the Piocides genus

 



A pair of Piocides villosus aka Hairy Woodpeckers. Note the the male's red cap.



Mama feeds suet to baby. So sweet to watch.

 

In contrast to the Hairys above, 
this Downy woodpecker (Piocides pubescens) has a short stubby bill
perfect for poking into tiny crevices. 

 



Sharing is always good.

 

The Dryocopus pileatus - in a class all its own
(on Gabriola, at any rate)



The Pileated woodpecker is the sixth largest woodpecker in the world. When they
start hammering on trees looking for carpenter ants, the chips fly!
Sometimes a little suet is nice too.  

 

Hanging onto the homemade suet ball

 



The striking silhouette of a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers from a distance. 

 

 

The lovely Sphyrapicus ruber!



This beautiful Red-breasted sapsucker is unmistakable whether you can see it or just hear it.
If the woodpecker is in sight, the all-red head is unmistakeable.
But even if you can't see it (but can hear it) its unique irregular drumming pattern is a giveaway.  

 

 

Thanks for tuning in. ... That all (for now), folks! 



 

Bird Traffickers Busted

The illegal bird trade between Latin America and Europe is alive and well (well, not well, but thriving). Read about it here: http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/120801.html

And here: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/roundrobin/2012/08/23/wildlife-trafficking-bust-highlights-problems-in-caged-bird-trade  

Welcome Back Western Bluebirds!

Western bluebird
Photo by Dave Menke courtesy of US Fish & Wildlife

My August Just for the Birds column in The Flying Shingle is about Western bluebirds and the efforts of The Nature Conservancy of Canada and The Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team to reestablish them on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Read all about it here: http://www.flyingshingle.com/cgi-bin/coranto/viewnews.cgi?id=20120903032698430317

If you should see this rare beauty, please record the location and, if possible, note the colours on its leg band. Then email GOERT at bluebird@goert.ca or call 250-383-3427 to report the sighting.  

Drilling for Oil in the Boreal Forest

Please click here to read my recent Flying Shingle column on the devastating effects of tar sands development on birds: http://www.flyingshingle.com/cgi-bin/coranto/viewnews.cgi?id=20120806203169434824

Birds and Oil Tankers: A Deadly Mix

In spite of the fact that at least some of Enbridge's oil tanks are decorated with illustrations of Canada Geese in flight, oil tankers and birds are a deadly combination.

Almost all the largest oil companies are currently mining and drilling in the Boreal forest and wetlands where more than half of the birds of North America nest. According to the National Resources Defence Council's December 2008 report, Danger in the Nursery: Impact on Birds of Tar Sands Oil Development in Canada’s Boreal Forest, over the next 30 to 50 years between 6 million and 166 million birds will be lost as a result of tar sands development.

The report highlights the following six concerns:

• when birds land in tar sands tailing ponds, they become covered in oil, suffocate, and die
• oil sands drilling = loss of bird habitat that could harm up to 14.5 million breeding birds
• fragmentation of bird habitat could result in the loss of as many as 76 million birds
• water withdrawal to support tar sands projects could negatively impact hundreds of thousands of birds dependent on the wetland habitats
• tar sands air and water pollution, which causes the accumulation of toxins in tissues, can lead to weakened birds, problems with reproduction, and, ultimately, death
• global warming (the tar sands are Canada’s fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions) affects migratory birds that may arrive too late to find food because insects emerge earlier in the spring. And birds that hoard food to get through the winter so they can start feeding their young in the spring may find that the food spoils before the first freeze.

I will be writing more about the relationship between bird mortality and the oil sands in August's Just for the Birds column in The Flying Shingle. In the meantime ...

PLEASE HELP STOP OIL TANKERS IN BC.

It's easy – just add your name to the Dogwood Initiative's NO TANKERS petition

RIGHT HERE ... http://dogwoodinitiative.org/no-tankers/petition

Dogwood has mounted a massive campaign to stop oil tankers in BC waters.

Every name on the petition will help.

Thank you. Please tell your friends too!