End of June already?

It's been awhile since my last post. It's been a busy week (including a birthday for yours truly). We have been lucky to observe fledglings and parents hard at work at the feeders. The Red-breasted Nuthatch has been one of the more active visitors, which is a treat for us. Since we moved here, our records show that the RBN sticks around throughout the fall/winter and then we don't see him/her throughout the summer. They must have decided to nest nearby as we've seen the parent feeding the fledgling (there's only one parent and one fledgling observed at a single time).



We also watched an adult Baltimore Oriole feed a young one as well. We have pictures of the young Baltimore hanging out in the crabapple tree. When the adult was feeding it, they flew up into the mature oak and were more or less obscured by leaves.





There have been up to four Downy Woodpeckers at once, with some fledglings in the group as well.





The Red-bellied male has been very active at the suet and orange feeders. I'm really hoping we see some successful RB fledglings soon as we have in past years.

The House Wren is back to it's nesting box, even adding materials to it. He's been singing almost non-stop every day. No signs of a female for quite awhile. I'm wondering if they'll actually use this nesting box for their second round of eggs?











We also have our faithful pair of House Finches and Gold Finches still around, as well as families of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks (at least 4 males, some females and juveniles).


A fledgling (I think, based on the "scaly" appearance of the feathers) Mourning Dove:

Now this is interesting!

Confirmed: Big cats prowl in Ontario Tracks, scat and DNA lay to rest any doubt that cougars exist here

Published On Mon Jun 21 2010

It’s really, truly official: Cougars in Ontario are fact, not fable.

A definitive four-year study by the Ministry of Natural Resources has finally put a rest to all doubt that the big but reclusive cats prowl the province’s wilderness.

“Cougars have been here all along . . . we are collecting additional information about them now,” said Rick Rosatte, a senior research scientist in Peterborough. More than 30 pieces of evidence have been collected, including photos of tracks, DNA and scat samples that verify the big cat’s presence.

Of the roughly 2,000 reported sightings in the province since 2002, very few have been confirmed by track marks or DNA. Ontario’s original population was thought to have been hunted out of existence in the late 1800s. The last cougar shot here was found in 1884 near Creemore, south of Collingwood.

Rosatte says the study begun in 2006 has had three phases: investigating potential sightings; examining tissue, scat or DNA; and setting up cameras across the province — including at Kenora, Lindsay and Sault Ste. Marie, where the last confirmed sightings occurred.

He interviews people who think they’ve spotted a cougar, tries to determine the animal’s size and, when it sounds really promising, sets up trail cameras triggered by motion and heat. Dozens have been set up, but there are no photos yet. “We are hoping for photos, but cougars travel a lot and they travel very fast,” said Rosatte.

The cats, also known as pumas and mountain lions depending on region, can travel up to 50 kilometres a night, within a territory ranging up to 1,000 square kilometers.

But the big question about the natural-born killers with a muscular saunter, is: Where did they come from?

“Were they always here? Are these native cougars? Are they coming from the west? Or are these released captive animals?” said Rosatte. “It’s intriguing.”

He doesn’t think there’s a large population but declined to put a number to it. “I don’t think it’s substantial,” he said.

Stuart Kenn, president of Ontario Puma Foundation, who has been tracking the elusive animal for three decades, estimates there are 550 cougars in Ontario. There appears to be a “cougar corridor” bordered by Ottawa, Peterborough and Owen Sound to the south and North Bay, Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie to the north.

“The best way to study these animals is to track them down with dogs,” Kenn said. “But since the province has listed them as endangered, we can’t do that.”

The foundation, which shares data with the ministry, has already developed a recovery plan that, among other things, encourages protecting large wilderness tracts where cougars prowl.

But while cougars are out there in the wilderness, there’s no need to worry, said Kenn. In Ontario, “There’s never been a confirmed attack on a human by a cougar. It’s very, very rare.”

BSC Holds Ontario-wide Chimney Swift “Blitz”

From the latest Bird Studies Canada newsletter:

BSC Holds Ontario-wide Chimney Swift “Blitz”

18 June 2010 – Each evening as dusk approaches, you may notice small birds chirping overhead, circling tall chimneys. If these birds are cigar-shaped, with relatively long pointed wings and a quick, jerky flight – and if they dive at (and then into) a chimney around sunset – you likely have Chimney Swifts in your neighbourhood.
Bird Studies Canada is inviting Ontario residents to help look for Chimney Swifts next weekend, as part of a province-wide “blitz.” Volunteers in communities throughout Ontario will spend an evening watching a local chimney or similar manmade structure for signs of swifts. The goals are to increase our knowledge of Chimney Swift activity, and to raise awareness of the plight of the Chimney Swift, a federally Threatened species whose population has declined in Canada by 96% over the last 40 years.
You can help researchers investigate Ontario’s Chimney Swift population, and identify critical Chimney Swift habitats, by choosing a single night between June 25-27, and watching a chimney where swifts may nest or roost. Start your monitoring period 20 minutes before sunset, and continue until you see the last bird entering the chimney. Complete the Chimney Swift Record Form and email your results to evanstam@birdscanada.org.
Observations from the Chimney Swift “Blitz” and the Ontario SwiftWatch monitoring and research program will help scientists develop recovery strategies for this species.

Bluebird updates and other nesting news.

After we saw the House Wren checking out the Bluebird nesting box last week, we didn't see the Bluebirds for a few days. Then the male (or another male?) returned. We heard him singing and singing for a few mornings. No sign of the female. Now for the last few days, we see a male sitting on top of the box, poking his head in and checking it out inside and then back to sitting on top. No singing. No sign of the female. So...did the pair that started nest building move on? Did something happen to the female? Is this a new male? But wouldn't he keep singing to attract a mate?

Meanwhile, the Chickadees have left the nesting box. Just one little unhatched egg was left behind.


The Tree Swallows are close to leaving the nesting box. The parents seem to be trying to lure them out of the box, so it should be any time now. We're curious to see what happened in that nesting box. Are there layers of unhatched eggs? It took them a long time to get going in there, so we'll check it out when the box is empty once again.



And this morning we had a male Pileated Woodpecker in the front yard for the first time in quite awhile. He was working on the dead ash tree and then drumming on the nesting box. Nice to see him again!


As far as our work on naturalizing our property, we are still pulling up so much garlic mustard. There are literally thousands and thousands of plants and this is just the second year plants that go to seed. We probably work for about 2 hours each night (on average). It comes up easily enough but the disposal of it is time consuming. The good news is we have found a plethora of cup plants and milkweed!


Now that there's more space for these important and interesting native plants, I hope they will continue to spread and thrive. The garlic mustard battle will continue for some time, but we've had a good start this year. There are other non-natives we need to tackle, but we focused on the garlic mustard first just due to the time sensitivity before they go to seed. There are some other plants that we still need to ID- we don't know if they are native or not and it can be hard to distinguish. We need to connect with a native plant expert and get some help out here!

We also attended the garden tour for Project CHIRP! It was a very interesting and informative morning. Every time I speak with Christina, I learn something new. She's doing some amazing work and we find her very inspiring.

June days in the yard

A male Gold Finch makes a rare appearance. We haven't been seeing too much of these guys recently:


One of the five or so Grosbeaks we are seeing on a regular basis:


A male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird takes a rest on the clothesline.



Way off in the distance, I saw two Herons land in the top of this tree. It was a cloudy, rainy morning so the picture isn't great but you should be able to make them out.




A female Hairy Woodpecker takes a beak-full of suet, likely bringing dinner home to a nesting cavity full of babies:


Our ever faithful House Finch and Grackle in the background:




A Mourning Dove suns itself after taking a bath:

Not to worry, it got up shortly after and went back to eating:


A male Cardinal as the sun sets:

Project CHIRP! Garden Tours

We are looking forward to visiting the Project CHIRP! Garden. Since meeting Christina, we have been inspired to create our own naturalized bird-friendly garden. It's been a long process, but we're enjoying the work so far. In fact, in clearing out the invasive garlic mustard, we were thrilled to find we have many cup plants! Here's the info for the tour:

Project CHIRP!
Gardening for Songbird Conservation
Garden Tour (Etobicoke)

Saturday June 5, 12 and 19 10am - 11:30am
Thursday June 3, 10, and 17 7pm – 8:30pm

Cost: $12 includes Canadian Wildlife Federation guide

Pre-payment is required
www.projectchirp.com 416-236-7234

* Enjoy a cup of certified Bird Friendly® coffee ($1), too!

Nesting Updates

The Bluebirds worked at the nesting box all day Saturday.

Near the end of the day, we saw the House Wren go into their nesting box and then watched him come back out. We weren't around too much yesterday, but we only saw the male Bluebird, so we're not sure what the status is. Did the House Wren chase them off? Is that enough for them to abandon the nesting box? We do have another nesting box that's available to them if they so choose and it's further away from the Wrens. I'll be keeping an eye out today to see what's happening.

We checked the House Wren box and we can't see any eggs in there- it's all nest.



The Tree Swallows have two babies in their box. This is the smallest number we've ever witnessed, but Dave reasoned that these two babies will be very strong as they are basically receiving one on one care from the parents.


Here's ma or pa Chickadee bringing home some lunch for the babies:




And the Chickadee babies look to be almost full grown and ready to head out into the great big world!

Bluebirds are nest building!

The male sung his heart out all day yesterday, staked out a nesting box and found a lady friend! This morning the two of them are very busy! She has been collecting nesting materials and bringing them in to the box and he's been standing guard. What a great way to start the weekend!!

Chimney Swift Training Program- Call for Volunteers

(image from http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Chimney_Swift/id)

For anyone interested, here is the information about the Chimney Swift Training Program from Elisabeth at Bird Studies Canada:


The workshop will be held on Saturday June 5th at the Burlington Public Library in the Frank Rose Boardroom. I do not have a room number for that, but I am sure they will be happy to help direct you at the information desk.

The meeting starts at 9:30 AM and will run until approximately 2 PM. It could end earlier depending on the interests of the group.

Refreshments are not provided so bring snacks/lunch with you for the lunch break.

In the morning I will provide a presentation background on the natural history and status of the Chimney Swift followed by an overview of the protocols required to run a complete SwiftWatch program in your own community.

We will break for lunch and then in the afternoon do a brief walking tour of the Burlington area looking for Chimney Swifts, filling out Chimney Assessment forms, and identifying potential Chimney Swift nest/roost chimneys.