Project Feeder Watch

We missed last week due to some travel. Here are this week's totals. We did see all three hawks again. Red-Bellied Woodpecker was missing, but we saw him today.

Checklist for FeederWatch Ontario Birds

Sharp-shinned Hawk	1
Cooper's Hawk	1
Red-tailed Hawk	1
Mourning Dove	35
Downy Woodpecker	4
Hairy Woodpecker	1
Blue Jay	6
American Crow	3
Black-capped Chickadee	7
Red-breasted Nuthatch	1
White-breasted Nuthatch	2
Northern Mockingbird	1
European Starling	4
Dark-eyed Junco	2
Brown-headed Cowbird	30
House Finch	4
American Goldfinch	15
House Sparrow	23

Peanut Feeder

So the peanut feeder I bought with the blue jays in mind has not been visited by a single jay. Instead, we see chickadees (a surprise to us), downy, hairy and red-bellied woodpeckers at it! I wasn't expecting that at all. Maybe it's too much work for the jays compared to just flying in, grabbing a peanut off the well and then leaving. Dave said he watched one jay take a peanut, hide it in the garden and then a minute later saw another jay come in, grab that same peanut and steal it away :)

Red-Breasted Nuthatch

We spent some time over the holidays at my parents' house. Usually their yard is filled with all kinds of bird activity. My mom has noticed that she has had an usually quiet fall and winter at her feeders. In fact, other neighbours have reported a similar experience. On Saturday we were watching out the window and saw a few Mourning Doves, Gold Finch and even a Red-Breasted Nuthatch (a rare visitor for her). Suddenly all the birds flew away, except the nuthatch who froze in place. Nuthatches are usually always on the move, so this was our first clue something was up. Just then a Cooper's Hawk flew into the tree, stopped for a moment and then moved on to a neighbour's yard. So now we are wondering if this hawk has taken up residence in the neighbourhood and this would explain the low turn-out at the feeders. While the nuthatch was frozen to evade the hawk, I took some pictures. We think this is such a nice little bird.

Gender Gap at the Feeders?

Project Feeder Watch is introducing a supplemental study looking at the possibility of a gender gap at the feeders. We have decided to participate in this as well. Just thinking about it, we see more male cardinals than females, and we see the male red-bellied and haven't see the female in ages. Generally, we also see more male cowbirds, red-winged blackbirds, house finches, and house sparrows. However, I would say we see equal numbers of male and female downy and hairy woodpeckers.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/Gender/gender_gap_landing.html

Is there a gender gap at feeders?

In Project FeederWatch, we only report the largest flock size for each species seen at one time. But what could we learn if we counted males and females separately? Let's find out!

We are inviting FeederWatchers to help with an optional study in which the numbers of males and females visiting feeders are counted separately.

Why? In some species, females move farther south in winter; in other species there are differences in feeder visitation between males and females over the course of the winter. To examine these differences, we are asking FeederWatchers to send us counts of males and females for select species in which gender is easily determined.

Quick instructions

Count from your usual FeederWatch count site on one day every week or two, between your normal FeederWatch counts. Keep a tally of the maximum number of males seen at any one time, a separate tally of the maximum number of females seen at once, and a tally of the maximum number of each species (regardless of gender) seen at one time.

It's not too late to participate! Even if you aren't getting any birds, that's significant too. Help them out!!!

Presents for the birds.

On Sunday I went to the Burlington Wild Birds Unlimited Store. I love that place! It has so many great products for bird-lovers. It's a small and cozy space, filled with colourful delights. I was doing some Christmas shopping and, of course, ended up buying something for our feathered friends. I decided to get a new, sturdier niger seed feeder. We have been using two bags, which work fine until the finches get a bit too aggressive with their feeding and tear holes into the bags. Niger seed is quite fine, so it spills out the smallest hole onto the ground. It's also a more expensive seed, so we hate to see it go to waste (although the Mourning Doves will eat it). I have sewn up the holes a few times, but the repairs never last for too long. So I bought a tube finch feeder. The finches quickly discovered it and have been busy at that now.



I also bought a peanut feeder for the jays. We typically put the peanuts on the well for them. I was thinking that this area is pretty open in the winter and exposes the jays to hawks. I thought it might be better to put the peanut feeder in the tree so that they have some coverage while they eat. So far no one seems to have noticed it. Maybe it's too hidden? Or maybe it's more work than just swooping in, grabbing the peanut and flying off? I'll give it a few more days and then maybe I'll try moving it.

Allen's heading to Ontario???

We are going to put the hummingbird feeders back out (and bring them in at night to avoid frozen sugar water) JUST IN CASE!! Dave sent this along to me and I'm sharing it here. Keep watch and have some hummingbird food on hand!

Subject: * TODAY * [Ontbirds] selasphorus hummingbirds
Date: Mon, Dec 14, 2009, 2:26 PM

The first state records for Allen's Hummingbird have been documented by banders in Pennsylvania and Ohio in the past three days. Another Allen's was also banded in one of the New England states in the past month.

I would appreciate it if Ontbirders would ask friends, family, acquaintances, etc. to watch for hummingbirds and report them to the Ontario Hummingbird Project immediately if there is any doubt about the species identification. Maybe with all the CBCs in the next three weeks someone will find one.

We can only hope that Ontario will be next.

Project Feeder Watch: Week 5 totals

We had an unusually high number of Mourning Doves again. In fact, last week we had an email from Project Feeder watch asking us to confirm an earlier submission of 90+ Mourning Doves as that number is 2x the provincial average for the area. We can indeed confirm this. We used binoculars to make sure it wasn't anything else and since the birds were relatively stationary, we didn't get confused by alot of movement. They love to roost in the trees just above the feeders and the rest tend to eat spilt seed on the ground.

We did not see any hawks all weekend long, but just this morning Dave called me over to watch Cooper's perched on the back fence. He then flew down to the ground, watched behind the shed intently and then walked (waddled) his way over behind the shed and out of sight.

Here's this week's totals:

Mourning Dove	79 Confirmed
Red-bellied Woodpecker	1
Downy Woodpecker	4
Hairy Woodpecker	3
Northern Flicker	0
Pileated Woodpecker	0
Northern Shrike	0
Gray Jay	0
Blue Jay	8
American Crow	2
Common Raven	0
Black-capped Chickadee	6
Boreal Chickadee	0
Tufted Titmouse	0
Red-breasted Nuthatch	1
White-breasted Nuthatch	1
Brown Creeper	0
Carolina Wren	0
American Robin	1
Northern Mockingbird	1
European Starling	6
Bohemian Waxwing	0
Cedar Waxwing	0
American Tree Sparrow	2
Chipping Sparrow	0
Fox Sparrow	0
Song Sparrow	0
White-throated Sparrow	0
White-crowned Sparrow	0
Dark-eyed Junco	10
Snow Bunting	0
Northern Cardinal	7
Red-winged Blackbird	3
Common Grackle	0
Brown-headed Cowbird	29
Pine Grosbeak	0
Purple Finch	0
House Finch	5 (0 with eye disease)
Common Redpoll	0
Hoary Redpoll	0
Pine Siskin	0
American Goldfinch	39 (0 with eye disease)
Evening Grosbeak	0
House Sparrow	45

Phainopepla Update

We did not get to see the Phainopepla in Brampton. I guess our timing was just off, the weather was not cooperating and the change in daylight hours worked against us. And reading this posting from ONTBIRDS, it seems he may no longer be with us. Sad news. Please visit this link to read an elegantly written account that sums up the experience and emotions associated with this rare and lovely bird:

http://www.virtualbirder.com/bmail/ontbirds/200912/11/index.html#5

The snow brings the birds out to the feeders

We finally have snow on the ground. With that, we are seeing many birds out at the feeders. I had forgotten how early the Juncos come out to the feeders in the morning. They are out there and busy while it's still dark outside. We have also been observing them being quite busy in the vegetable garden and on the wood pile. We do leave most of the flowers etc alone so that they provide another winter food source. The bok choy still has beautiful yellow flowers out there.

We also saw three male Cardinals this morning- the most we've seen at once in almost a year. There was one male we saw almost every day of the winter last year and he had a bit of a different colouring than the rest, so we nicknamed him "Rudy". I wonder if he's still around and if he'll look the same?

Aside from that, there are still many Mourning Doves, Blue Jays, Chickadees, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, White and Red Breasted Nuthatches and the male Red-Bellied Woodpecker. We have yet to see the female in months and months. I hope this guy is able to find a partner. I don't think there are too many around (based on our own observations and Project Feeder Watch and the Backyard Bird Count findings). I know I've said it before, but the RB is one of my favourites and I worry about them!

Video of the Cooper's Hawks calling

Note that the single peeping is a Downy Woodpecker. You can see the Cooper moving when it makes it's call.

Exciting Cooper's Hawk Activity!

This morning we heard two Cooper's Hawks calling to each other. One was perched in a tree in the front yard and the other was down the street a little ways. This went on for quite some time and then the Cooper in our tree flew off. A few minutes later, we saw the two of them fly back through our yard and then off across the street, over the neighbour's barn. We know there has been a juvenile Cooper around for awhile now, so I'm wondering if he (she?) has met up with a partner? I've been doing some research and it seems like they don't start mating until March, but I'm not sure at what stage they partner up? I've also read that they may pair up for life. Here's some information I've found:


http://www.dcnr.state.al.us/watchable-wildlife/what/Birds/ospreys/ch.cfm:

LIFE HISTORY AND ECOLOGY: Males try to attract females by soaring in broad circles over treetops. The tail is closed and the wings are held high above its back. Pairs of Cooper’s hawks can be seen soaring on thermals together. Cooper’s hawks are monogamous and many pairs mate for life. They breed once a year, as early as March, and have one brood per season. The male selects the nest site but the nest-building is done primarily by the female. Nests are located in a fork or on a limb next to the trunk of a tree. The nest is usually constructed of sticks and twigs in the shape of a cup lined with pieces of bark and down. Many times the nest may be built on top of an old squirrel’s nest. The female lays three to six bluish to greenish-white eggs. These eggs become stained soon after being in the nest. Hatching occurs after a 32-36 day incubation period provided primarily by the female. The male provides food for the female. Young are tended to by both parents until they leave the nest at about 27-34 days after hatching. Parents continue to provide food for about eight weeks.


http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Coopers_Hawk/lifehistory:

Life is tricky for male Cooper’s Hawks. As in most hawks, males are significantly smaller than their mates. The danger is that female Cooper’s Hawks specialize in eating medium-sized birds. Males tend to be submissive to females and to listen out for reassuring call notes the females make when they’re willing to be approached. Males build the nest, then provide nearly all the food to females and young over the next 90 days before the young fledge.

And just because I always find this information so interesting from whatbird.com:

The Cooper’s Hawk was first described in 1828 by Charles Bonaparte, a French naturalist and ornithologist who was the nephew of Napoleon. It was named after William Cooper, who collected the first specimen.

and

A group of hawks has many collective nouns, including a "boil", "knot", "spiraling", "stream", and
"tower" of hawks

Project Feeder Watch: Week 4 totals

We are into December and still no snow. We have yet to see a Pine Siskin or Redpoll. We did see a Robin. We went awhile without seeing any Robins, but we now see one every few days. We did not see the Shrike or the Mockingbird during the count days. At the end of the day on Saturday, the feeders were very busy with Downy Woodpeckers, Chickadees and Nuthatches and we had our highest counts of those birds in quite awhile. The Blue Jays are still out in full force and make quick work of all the peanuts. We also saw our first pair of Cardinals in quite awhile. The male has been around a few times, but we saw the male and female together this weekend. Another note is the high number of American Gold Finches- 22!! They were very busy at the niger seed bags. Other than that, there are still many Cowbirds and House Sparrows and very noisy Starlings.

Here's this week's numbers:

Checklist for FeederWatch Ontario Birds

Ruffed Grouse	0
Wild Turkey	0
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0
Cooper's Hawk	0
Red-tailed Hawk	1
Rock Pigeon	0
Mourning Dove	21
Red-bellied Woodpecker	1
Downy Woodpecker	4
Hairy Woodpecker	2
Northern Flicker	0
Pileated Woodpecker	0
Northern Shrike	0
Gray Jay	0
Blue Jay	12
American Crow	1
Common Raven	0
Black-capped Chickadee	7
Boreal Chickadee	0
Tufted Titmouse	0
Red-breasted Nuthatch	1
White-breasted Nuthatch	2
Brown Creeper	0
Carolina Wren	0
American Robin	1
Northern Mockingbird	0
European Starling	8
Bohemian Waxwing	0
Cedar Waxwing	0
American Tree Sparrow	0
Chipping Sparrow	0
Fox Sparrow	0
Song Sparrow	0
White-throated Sparrow	0
White-crowned Sparrow	0
Dark-eyed Junco	8
Snow Bunting	0
Northern Cardinal	2
Red-winged Blackbird	0
Common Grackle	0
Brown-headed Cowbird	12
Pine Grosbeak	0
Purple Finch	0
House Finch	9 (0 with eye disease)
Common Redpoll	0
Hoary Redpoll	0
Pine Siskin	0
American Goldfinch	22 (0 with eye disease)
Evening Grosbeak	0
House Sparrow	19

Glenorchy Conservation Area

Please visit this link to read up on important issues could have a detrimental impact on a what is currently a beautiful conservation area.

http://www.anothervoice.ca/glenorchy.html

If you would like to have a role in helping to protect the area, please send me a message. Dave and I are looking forward to meeting with a new group, "Friends of Glenorchy" on Thursday to find out how we can get more involved to help protect the land, the air, the creek and the homes of many animals and our beloved birds. Perhaps our birding records from the area will be of service. I'm looking forward to learning more about what we can do to help.

Links to articles

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20091201/LIFESTYLE/912010301
Winter woodland walk offers interesting discoveries


http://www.youralmonte.com/CarletonPlaceCanadian/article/18707
Community bird sightings abound


http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2009/30/c6224.html
More Species Closer to Extinction


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/8386121.stm
Starlings' pier show on display


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8381673.stm
Birdsong helps scientists to count bird populations