tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86383881110814400332024-03-20T19:07:02.610-03:00The BirdmanDwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-2951521706713850052011-10-24T08:34:00.005-03:002011-10-24T08:39:52.963-03:00New "Birdman" Columns<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-size:large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-size:large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-size:large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-size:180%;">Go <a href="http://thebirdgarden.ca/">here</a> for the newest columns.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cc0000;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-size:large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-size:large;">Old columns are archived below.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-size:large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-size:large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-size:large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-size:large;"><br /></span></div>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-67411860561009963692011-10-16T19:38:00.002-03:002011-10-16T20:05:57.955-03:00The Family Paridae<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9gHj8EAwgs1-f3qaPo1fCljvhFxMl3D7U9dhi10xeWIgQsHnTYC1wLVW47zvQ-jYi6FOnGkjto43ZTfk2BDb6Mw67tEH-JGVwHDCGfKSjlsAjrVsKfgVoEaGQGOz1Jd_wEq-n4U43Pmc2/s1600/17665.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9gHj8EAwgs1-f3qaPo1fCljvhFxMl3D7U9dhi10xeWIgQsHnTYC1wLVW47zvQ-jYi6FOnGkjto43ZTfk2BDb6Mw67tEH-JGVwHDCGfKSjlsAjrVsKfgVoEaGQGOz1Jd_wEq-n4U43Pmc2/s200/17665.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664230149688520210" /></a><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Two or three of my all time favourite birds are in the Paridae family, if this doesn’t ring any bells don’t worry, I had to look it up too. You don’t have to have the scientific names of every bird memorized to be what everyone seems to term an “avid birder”. On the off chance you ever need that information it readily available, all my field guides include them and of course there’s Wiki. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Our representatives of this family are the Black-capped Chickadee, Boreal Chickadee and (recently) Tufted Titmouse, I say two or three of my favourite birds because I’ve yet to meet a Tufted Titmouse but from what I see I’m sure I would love to have one at my feeders. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I don’t think I’ve met more than a handful of (grumpy) people who don’t include the Black-capped Chickadee in their most liked birds, being our provincial bird I think it’s required on your New Brunswick citizenship application. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>These tiny acrobats are at home spending much of their day upside down gleaning insects from tree branches and making frequent trips to the sunflower feeder. Any day now we’ll hear more of their territorial <i>fee bee </i>call, as the days lengthen even more the urge to set up territory will go into overdrive. As spring approaches you’ll have fewer visits to the feeders as Black-capped Chickadee have a rather large 10 acre territory, so most feeder yards will be lucky to have even one pair through the breeding season. That their diet changes from 50% seeds in winter to 10% in summer also accounts for a decrease in feeder activity. For now though, chickadees are likely one of the most numerous species at the feeders, enjoying black-oil sunflower, hulled sunflower, suet and occasionally other seeds, they can also be seen hammering open rather large pupae and hovering around window sills and under eaves for spiders and their eggs. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>They’ll excavate their own cavity for nesting, or take a man made nest box, with inside dimensions from 3x3 to 5x5 inches and a hole as small as 1 ⅛ inches. Since they’ll readily take a box also used by Tree Swallows and Eastern Bluebirds, I tend to make my holes 1 ½ inches to allow the larger species while still thwarting the dreaded starling. This increases the odds of getting a bird nesting in your yard. The small hole is a good idea if you live in an area with House Sparrows or want to place the chickadee house on the edge of the woods where squirrels would likely take it over. In this case I use the metal predator guards with a 1 ⅛ inch opening to keep the squirrel from enlarging the hole.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Boreal Chickadee is a close cousin to the Black-capped, but not seen nearly as often. The occasional feeder operator is lucky enough to host a one, but most sightings are made in a spruce forest sending beginners and non birders running for a field guide. Noting the brown chickadee I’ve had some folks mistake this for the Chestnut-backed Chickadee, but a quick check of the range maps and a look at the Boreal’s picture usually confirm what they saw. If you’re on a mission to add this bird to your list, you’d be wise to learn the song, you’ll recognize it right away as a chickadee but it’s more nasal and harsh, with the emphasis on a different syllable. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>A very hardy permanent resident, this tiny bird stays put year round as far north as the tree line, but a true Canuck they rarely venture across the border into the US, you pretty much have to come here to see one. Which may help explain the relative lack of information when compared to it’s more common relative. The Boreal is often left out of beginner guides, and when I checked the usual on line sources the information is so scarce I thought all the white space on the page was a computer error. I even noticed a mistake on my favourite website, <a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/"><span style="text-decoration: underline ; letter-spacing: 0.0px; color:#1b0199;">www.allaboutbirds.org</span></a>, hosted by Cornell University. So I guess nobody’s perfect. Check it out, if you notice the mistake, drop me a line. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>This bird will nest in the same box as the Black-capped (but I can only recall 2 reports locally), and also excavate their own cavity. They also stash food for winter, the seeds are usually from spruce, but mostly it’s insect larvae that get stored. I wonder what happens to these if the bird doesn’t retrieve them? I’d be scratching my head if I came across a hollow tree full of larvae from a variety of species. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I remember getting numerous reports of Tufted Titmice years ago and I always thought they were actually seeing waxwings (especially when there were flocks of them), but never say never, the Tufted Titmouse has been expanding it’s range and is now in New Brunswick, hopefully I’ll live long enough to host one in my own yard. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I’m not sure why they call it the “Tufted” Titmouse, I know you’re going to say because it has a tuft on top of it’s head, but that doesn’t differentiate it from all the other titmice, they’re all “tufted”, although all my guides call it a crest, so maybe I’m missing something. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>They visit the feeders in much the same way as the chickadee, taking one seed at a time, they also nest in old woodpecker nests or a nest box, but Tufted Titmice don’t excavate their own cavity. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Again, the key to first seeing this bird is learning the songs, they have a chickadee like call but also a loud <i>peter, peter, peter </i>song. It’s always a good idea to learn the most common birds songs, if you know the Black-capped’s repertoire, you’ll recognize the difference when you hear a Boreal or Titmouse. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica; min-height: 16.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-60629631702265834462011-10-09T08:42:00.003-03:002011-10-16T20:12:49.385-03:00The rest of New Brunswick's woodpeckers<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqG4bX8lZfamA5S28IUyNujgX7zMJADJfMbaWg7S_LKpbYjkhfc9fH6gC4fv1YiZ0DhMU1LW5qi55tZOhcbB0fkKmBL3ntMvkoRelJcta6UWoHUu_u1pnESvrU7vk9ZpeXReHxdl1TJ3T5/s1600/YellowBellied.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqG4bX8lZfamA5S28IUyNujgX7zMJADJfMbaWg7S_LKpbYjkhfc9fH6gC4fv1YiZ0DhMU1LW5qi55tZOhcbB0fkKmBL3ntMvkoRelJcta6UWoHUu_u1pnESvrU7vk9ZpeXReHxdl1TJ3T5/s200/YellowBellied.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5661457705649631458" /></a><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Last week I talked about the four most common species of woodpeckers in New Brunswick, this week I’ll finish the other five that for most of us aren’t as common. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Although the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker breeds extensively in New Brunswick, it’s not reported all that frequently. I see the odd one around the yard, sipping sap from a small hole it drilled in my maple, I hear them more often now that I’ve learned their drum; unlike our other woodpeckers it stalls part way through and picks up again at the end. Reports do spike in breeding season when they find a resonant spot on your eave, stove pipe or metal ladder. They’re early risers and if one is drumming on your windowsill at the crack of dawn, it’s hard not to notice. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>They don’t frequent feeders either but every now and then one will discover the sweet offerings we put out for hummingbirds or orioles. If you do get one hanging off a small hummingbird feeder you may want to get the larger version meant for orioles so less gets spilled while he’s feeding. Don’t forget to try some grape jelly either, the sweeter the better. They sometimes visit the suet feeders, but I wouldn’t run out and buy some just for sapsuckers, in 20 years I’ve only seen 2 on my suet feeders.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is considered a keystone species, that is they are vital for the maintenance of a community. There are 35 species of birds that benefit from the sap and the insects that are attracted to the sap wells. It’s not coincidence that the our sapsucker arrives a couple weeks before the our hummingbirds, they have some time to set up house keeping, get some trees tapped and the sap running in time for the hummers arrival. Researchers have noted hummingbirds chasing off other larger species, they don’t however, chase away the sapsucker, so the relationship may be mutually beneficial. Although the hummingbird eats a lot compared to it’s body weight (The heaviest hummer weighs less than one loonie and lightest less than a penny or it would take 14 small hummingbirds to equal one Downy Woodpecker), it’s very little compared to the amount of sap a larger species would rob. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I hear suggestions to get your hummingbird feeders out early in the spring so the first arriving birds will have something to eat, and while I’m all for it, the truth is these birds have been arriving before most New Brunswick flowers bloom long, long before anyone ever thought about the small red nectar feeders. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is our most migratory woodpecker, the only one who doesn’t even appear on the NB winter list (going back to 1996) and that makes sense, there’s not much sap running here in January.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Black-backed Woodpecker and Three-toed Woodpecker are the only North American land birds with only three toes, the true rear toe is missing and the outer front toe that faces backwards in all woodpeckers is the only rear toe on these two species. (In the other woodpeckers it’s usually two forward and two backwards, but the outer rear toe can rotate to the side as the bird climbs, the inner hind toe is often hidden by the leg, so if you only see three toes it doesn’t necessarily mean it a three toed woodpecker.)</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Although not commonly reported this woodpecker of the boreal forest can be found across New Brunswick, (I saw my first in Moncton city limits). Look for it anywhere there are dead or dying conifers as it feeds by flaking off the bark eventually removing all the bark from a snag. One of the favourite foods is the larvae of the white-spotted sawyer beetle, this insect can detect the light given off by a forest fire and moves in shortly after to deposit eggs in the dying trees, this in turn draws the woodpeckers. One reference states a Black-backed eats more than 13,500 larvae annually, that’s 40 of these fat juicy grubs daily. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Black-backed is mid sized, with an all black back, the primary flight feathers are spotted white, the sides are barred black and white, white belly and yellow cap on males. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Three-toed Woodpecker is less common than the other three toed woodpecker, he has similar feeding habits but will more readily feed on the sapsucker wells. Slightly smaller, it has white bars on the back, more barring on the sides, white speckles on the head and the males also have a yellow cap.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Red-bellied Woodpecker is one of those species that was named when the ornithologists shot first and made identifications later. Dead, on it’s back, the red on the belly is visible; alive and on a tree trunk it’s not so noticeable. Every few years this woodpecker will move into our area for the winter, like the other woodpeckers that come to feeders they enjoy the suet, but this one will take sunflower more readily and truly loves peanuts in the shell. When they are around I have a spike in peanut in the shell feeders and I always say, this feeder won’t magically attract a Red-bellied to your yard, but if you get one, it’ll be going to this feeder. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>One winter we had one who made it his mission to fill a hollowed out apple tree with sunflower seeds. He made constant trips from the feeder to the tree to drop the seed in and seemingly listen for it to hit bottom, perhaps judging his progress. Unfortunately for him, a red squirrel was making it <i>his</i> mission to remove the seeds as fast as they were being cached. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>This guy stayed all winter into spring and even started his mating call and drum, but after having no success on the girl front, he moved on. There were several females in New Brunswick that winter, but I didn’t hear of any of them hooking up. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>While a lot of woodpeckers have red on their heads, there is only one Red-headed Woodpecker. They are entirely red from the shoulders up to the beak, the black is all black and the white is all white, making this one striking individual. Now considered our most rare woodpecker, (by me at least, as I still don’t have it on my New Brunswick list), it used to breed here. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The same winter we hosted the Red-bellied there was one down the road in Riverside-Albert, I didn’t bother to go see it, we had one on PEI when I was younger and thought if I’d already seen it, then it mustn’t be very rare. I should have gone, as the sightings are getting fewer and farther away. </span></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-17795937586809803712011-10-09T08:32:00.005-03:002011-10-16T20:13:36.514-03:00Woodpeckers of New Brunswick<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh88mzJUTxeyc2KiX2lzgeCcwAQMdC9BPKSFZwVA1gBkrly9OXDpaTog5iFoAEkdL941ovJCDcMFn-HlKN6tz3Hb0JD4yXMckn5QN6v6Erl5rZ2H22-ZuGldBVQL6mzafWR2v4fhtSaXmv/s1600/101_0322.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh88mzJUTxeyc2KiX2lzgeCcwAQMdC9BPKSFZwVA1gBkrly9OXDpaTog5iFoAEkdL941ovJCDcMFn-HlKN6tz3Hb0JD4yXMckn5QN6v6Erl5rZ2H22-ZuGldBVQL6mzafWR2v4fhtSaXmv/s200/101_0322.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5661455857839161154" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOK0lthrK-C80Q7tkG2MpdXcRYSLBOzButXNIMC7_W9hbuE-MznaIdF3EhJgBAJ-qMXy4W8qA4XeyoZEVPsNSUdFZct-1xE2SVrO_4Bmm5uQMmI3lCXd-vYwbV-KoSvTvTjGR6I_JA_7dY/s1600/101_0313.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOK0lthrK-C80Q7tkG2MpdXcRYSLBOzButXNIMC7_W9hbuE-MznaIdF3EhJgBAJ-qMXy4W8qA4XeyoZEVPsNSUdFZct-1xE2SVrO_4Bmm5uQMmI3lCXd-vYwbV-KoSvTvTjGR6I_JA_7dY/s200/101_0313.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5661455523147794194" /></a><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>When a birder comes by and asks what birds I have around today, I run through the list of what I can remember seeing recently and I usually say, “...and both woodpeckers.” I hear others saying that too, we’re referring to the common feeder visitors, the Downy and Hairy but we really should be more specific. Did you know there are nine species of woodpeckers quite possible in New Brunswick?</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Undoubtedly the Downy Woodpecker the most familiar, the friendly little bird frequents feeders and often stays put at the feeder while you approach very close. On several occasions I’ve been startled when I picked up a feeder not noticing one on the opposite side. It’s our smallest woodpecker, weighing about the same as three <i>loonies</i>, so theoretically my wife could have ten of them in the bottom of her purse at any time and not notice. Very similar to the Hairy in appearance, they have black backs checked with white, black and white striped heads and the outer tail feathers are white, on the Downy they typically have black spots, but the easiest way to tell them apart is the bill length when compared to the head. The bill of a Downy is about half the depth of the head while the Hairy’s is about equal. So if you’re taking pictures and want to be able to differentiate, try to get a full on side shot, sometimes when they are looking directly into the camera they’re harder to tell apart and if they are looking on an angle a Hairy may even look like a Downy. The males of both species have a bright red patch on the backs of their heads. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Hairy is quite bit larger, it can weigh up to 13 loonies, (so my wife would notice ten of these in her purse), they are dominant at feeders but in nature the two feed on different parts of the tree, the Downy’s smaller size allowing it access, even feeding on weed stems and the Hairy’s heavier bill allows him to dig a little deeper. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>My next most common woodpecker is all the way to the other end of the scale, I see the Pileated almost every day. They are in my area and make their presence known with their call, drum or noisy foraging that sounds very much like a carvers mallet and chisel. Our only crested woodpecker, they resemble Woody, except where he’s blue they’re black. The gentlemen have a red mustache while the ladies sport black ones. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> I’ve never had one on feeders, (some people have) but I see them routinely on my dead trees and fruit, it’s favourite seems to be alternate leaf dogwood, wild cherry and grapes. He can be quite the acrobat, hanging vicariously off small suet cages, grape vines and saplings. I’ve seen them bend a cherry sapling horizontal, (they weigh 50 loonies or 17 Downy Woodpeckers) hang upside-down and strip the fruit. Even the way they take the fruit in their beak and toss it back into their mouth is interesting to watch. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Pileated will nest in urban areas if there are large enough trees to excavate a nest, there are nests on the Crawley Farm Road, right in Moncton and several others are reported foraging on dead trees in the city. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>For three seasons the Northern Flicker is plentiful, this one migrates in winter, but spring and fall they pass through in large numbers. In mid to late April you’ll see them on bare areas, in ditches and cleaning up any fruit that may be left on trees. During breeding season they’re very conspicuous, although not showing up at feeders very often, you’ll see them eating fruit and picking up ants on the lawn, which by the way, ranks as the number one ID question I get asked… “I have a bird that looks like a woodpecker, but he’s hopping around on the lawn---tan bird, black spots, red on back of head and black bib” or something like that (males have a mustache). They’re larger than the Hairy, about the size of a Mourning Dove, (they weigh 23 loonies).</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If you don’t see flickers very often, try to learn their call, it’s similar to the Pileated but higher and longer, they’ll get on top of a light pole and call all day when they’re trying to define their territory. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I’ll finish up our other five woodpecker species next week.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p><p></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-73859340247175552922011-10-09T08:27:00.004-03:002011-10-09T08:32:40.201-03:00Cameras for birders.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCEq2IPd4-dZ8OiUlS2eKna0eyQ5Py61Zj-V2kMa3DPnCnI2AbviOd3sa1krnePt7MFREA1RPFARVPDLly7r4KMtpPv3WvFOPRqkpBVAGJcd6fO8ErUwAqMY6Encu_R7C2Wb3k8lcfT8E/s1600/%2524%2528KGrHqMOKkUE5VPwybutBOVo%2528jomD%2521%257E%257E48_3.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCEq2IPd4-dZ8OiUlS2eKna0eyQ5Py61Zj-V2kMa3DPnCnI2AbviOd3sa1krnePt7MFREA1RPFARVPDLly7r4KMtpPv3WvFOPRqkpBVAGJcd6fO8ErUwAqMY6Encu_R7C2Wb3k8lcfT8E/s200/%2524%2528KGrHqMOKkUE5VPwybutBOVo%2528jomD%2521%257E%257E48_3.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5661453598616069858" /></a><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I’ve just been asked what camera and lenses I’d recommend for bird/nature photography. I’ve been toying with the idea of upgrading myself and have only recently began looking into the possibilities. I’ve been spending a lot of time on BirdingNewBrunswick admiring the photos of friends old and new and I’m getting the urge to give it another try, when I see photos of this quality from (mostly) ordinary folks I start to think that I may be able to do the same myself. I know it’s not all about the equipment, there are some magazine quality photos of birds I have yet to locate, let alone get pictures of, but I’d like to be able to get decent pictures of some of the birds I see around. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I just posed the question in BirdingNewBrunswick’s Q&A Forum, I suspect you’ll get a lot better advise from the people who are actually using the latest equipment. (There’s already some great advice in response to my initial inquiry and other questions are being asked and answered.)</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I have a great old camera with multiple lenses and huge flash, but it’s 35 mm and I haven’t even had it out of the bag in 15 years. I thought I should try selling it and put the money towards a new digital, I went on eBay and there were several of the same model up for auction. There is one lot with two cameras the same as mine, <i>plus</i> 5 other cameras with all the accessories you could ask for, the bidding is nearly closed and the highest is $25. For the entire lot. I’d likely get more for my equipment if I dumped it out and sold the bag empty, at least that has some use left in it. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I bought the camera in the 80’s with birding in mind, but after hundreds of dollars and very few nice pictures to show for my effort I bought a digital camera. Now at least I could check my picture immediately and possibly take another with different camera settings if need be. With film I took several, as many as I could afford, and had to wait a week to see your results. For me it was common to have no good pictures in the lot, especially when I was trying out some of the cheaper telephoto lenses. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I’ve long ago given up the idea of huge telephoto lenses and opted for blinds, car window mounts, and planning my bird feeder locations so I can approach without disrupting the birds. I found out later that this isn’t such a bad idea as less distance between you and the subject means you’ll be shooting through less “atmosphere” and end up with better pictures. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>With the new digital at least it didn’t cost anything to try, but I soon found out that the delay between pressing the button and taking the picture was a little too long for some bird species. If I wanted a picture of a goldfinch, no problem, they sit contentedly on the feeder until they are full or get knocked of by a flock mate. If I wanted a picture of chickadee, I’d have to watch for him approaching out of one eye and press the button before I thought he’d land on the feeder because if I waited until he landed he’d have his seed and be gone before the camera fired. I have tons of empty bird feeder shots or of a totally blurred gray streak exiting the frame. My inquiry was for bird/nature photography, if your wanting to take pictures of flowers, trees, mushrooms, lakes, rivers, moose... then I have the camera for you. If you want birds, dragonflies or butterflies than you better get something a little newer, (mine’s over 10 years old, they’ve fixed that problem). </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>A few years ago I was leaning towards a very high quality spotting scope for digiscoping, that is attaching a digital camera to a spotting scope to act as a telephoto lens, but from talking to others who’ve gone this route, I think the money would be much better spent on a long lens. Even with the best scope, the picture quality isn’t what you can get with today’s lenses, and you have to constantly be removing your camera if you want to use your scope on it’s own for spotting, then reattach the camera if you want a picture. I still like digiscoping occasionally, you can reach out and get a picture good enough to identify and document. I still just hold the camera up to the eyepiece with my fist, the same can be done with one barrel of your binoculars to increase the power, although it would be hard not to shake without the aid of a tripod. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>So here I am with two, once expensive now worthless, cameras, contemplating spending another couple thousand or more by the time I’m finished. I hope this won’t be obsolete in a decade but at the rate things are changing there will likely be something better come along before I pay off my credit card. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-57585299745935861912011-10-09T08:20:00.003-03:002011-10-09T08:26:10.829-03:00Don't forget the millet<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5I9CoGxzkKEkcbwkyg4_Rh7SAf__y5-i2t24_Uyt7Je_Ja-24SS7eXG0AUdNTVYkLr11x6A3vNJehnZHS2jYSsh9QgEuJF1UybBK2F3RhCjYq3zQuUMQ8miDWWiuK4tnrd-EgFKL35NE/s1600/DSC_8908.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 137px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5I9CoGxzkKEkcbwkyg4_Rh7SAf__y5-i2t24_Uyt7Je_Ja-24SS7eXG0AUdNTVYkLr11x6A3vNJehnZHS2jYSsh9QgEuJF1UybBK2F3RhCjYq3zQuUMQ8miDWWiuK4tnrd-EgFKL35NE/s200/DSC_8908.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5661451735241645346" /></a><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If any of you do take my advice and make the switch from mixed seed to black oil sunflower, make sure you accommodate the little guys who scratch around under the feeder for certain parts of the mix. Millet is that little round off-white seed that is usually a large part of any mix. It’s a good seed and will attract a few visitors that the sunflower won’t, but in New Brunswick anyway, it isn’t eaten in the same proportions as it’s supplied in the mix, so it ends up piling up under the feeders and growing in the flower beds. Most of my customers buy between 5 and 10 pounds of millet for every 50 pounds of sunflower, if you’re only feeding sparrows you’ll only go through small amounts, it’s when the Mourning Doves find you that you’ll likely go through more. Some people exclude the doves by feeding inside a wire cage, this is more common of pigeons are part of the group, it’s difficult but not impossible to feed Mourning Doves without attracting their close cousin the Rock Pigeon. A cage with bars spaced around 2 ¾ inches works, but this isn’t available commercially so you’ll have to gear up something yourself. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If you just want sparrows and none of the dove clan, 2 inch mesh works fine, I sometimes do this to give the sparrows their own little haven away from the larger birds. It’s not that the Mourning Doves (I never get pigeons) are aggressive, it’s that they are more skittish than some of the sparrows I attract. If someone was to approach the sparrows for a better look or photo, they’d usually be able to get quite close. If there’s a dozen doves in the group, they take off and the wing whistle that acts as a warning sends everyone racing for cover. So I feed some millet inside a cage and some on open platforms, broadcast more on bare patches of lawn and on the edge of gravel driveway where they can eat seeds and pick up grit in one convenient stop. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I’ll throw some sunflower on the platforms or on the ground too, but I try to keep them separate, one of the first clues I use for identifying birds at feeders is what was it eating? One day we had two birds eating on the ground, in the distance they looked like finch but they were eating millet. After thinking about this a while I got my binoculars and checked more closely, they were actually female or immature Indigo Bunting. If they had been eating on mixed seed, I wouldn’t have been so curious and checked them out closer, they would have moved on and I would never have known that I had hosted such a special bird. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I often have the similar Song Sparrow and female Purple Finch in the yard at the same time, while guests are busy studying them with binoculars and scope, I know that one is a Purple Finch because it’s eating sunflower seeds from a mesh feeder and that one is the Song Sparrow because it’s eating millet from the ground. I know it’s not always the way, there’s always a bird that will prove you wrong and eat the seeds it isn’t supposed to, but knowing what the bird is eating is a great clue to it’s identity. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Feeding millet in the winter will attract quite a few species, mostly sparrows, junco and bunting, but if you continue through to the spring migration you’ll be amazed at the variety of sparrows you’ll get. This is where you want one of those good field guides and your binoculars to get good looks and identify such beauties as the Fox Sparrow, (one of my favourite birds), White-crowned Sparrow, with a little practice you’ll be differentiating the Song from the Savannah with ease.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>There are several birds that pop up at millet feeders each winter that would be considered fairly rare, last year a Lark Sparrow visited a downtown Moncton feeder for most of the winter, this year there has been a Field Sparrow (photo) and Eastern Towhee, joining the dozen or so species you’d expect at the millet feeder. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>So, it’s not that I don’t agree with feeding millet, it’s just that I don’t think it belongs in a tube feeder or as part of a mix. It’s a relatively inexpensive seed that works best when you control where and how much is offered at once. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>This Field Sparrow, photographed by Steeve Miouse, showed up this fall on the Acadian Peninsula. You can see he’s enjoying the millet from the array of mixed seed on the ground. </span></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-50966340725819354092011-10-09T08:07:00.001-03:002011-10-09T08:08:47.445-03:00Black-oil Sunflower attracts the best birds<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It’s time again to sing the praises of black oil sunflower, at least if the questions I’ve been receiving are any indication. For those of you who’ve recently started reading this column this may help you attract more birds and avoid some common problems associated with bird feeding. For those who’ve been reading since the beginning, this will be a review, hopefully I’ll add some new tips.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>At this time of year people are buying feeders for first timers and they’re looking for the best feeder to attract the biggest variety of birds. They’re usually surprised when I recommend sunflower, saying they were thinking more of “regular birdseed”, whatever that is. If you have a tube feeder with sunflower only you will get more birds than the same feeder with mixed seed. Most birds will come to the feeder look in the hole and if all they see is the less desirable seed, then they will head over to the neighbours house. Certain birds will rifle through the seed to get the ones they want but that leads to another host of problems with unwanted birds and rodents eating the spilled seed. A platform feeder will attract a lot of birds with mixed seed but what to do with all the seed nobody wants, you likely paid good money for things that our birds won’t eat like, milo, hulled wheat, oats and barley. Even though our birds eat corn, it’s not the favourite of many and usually gets spilled on the ground. It’s also quite expensive when it comes as part of the mix. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Think of your neighbourhood as a smorgasbord, think of mixed seed as the tray full of frozen peas and carrots, think of the black oil sunflower as the tray of lobster tails and imagine where the line up is. I hear people (especially my family) say, “Oh, that’ll do, if they’re hungry enough they’ll eat it.” I don’t know if that’s ever been true, but these days with so many people feeding and so many people who take better care of birds than they do themselves, I don’t think a chickadee would ever “get hungry enough” to eat milo seed. Birds have wings and birds have ears, so when they hear all the noisy birds fighting over your neighbours choice sunflower, they simply fly on over and get in on the action. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> I know all mixed seed isn’t created equally, the general rule of thumb is the blacker the mix the better, (As long as the black is from the sunflower). There are two problems with this though, there are still seeds that some birds don’t like and they will end up on the ground. Most of us don’t mind too much as other birds will clean it up, it’s when the clean up crew turns out to be 30 pigeons and they hang out on your roof waiting for the next job to come along that you start having trouble. If you’re getting sparrows and junco eating the millet under your feeder you can put a little millet off by itself somewhere, this way you aren’t depending on the tube feeding birds to spill enough seeds for the ground feeders or maybe they are spilling too much, attracting unwelcome visitors and killing the grass, I like to have more control over how much seed is out at one time. The sparrows and junco will thank you, they’ll be able to eat their millet without getting pooped on from above. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Most people agree with the straight seed over mixed theory, unfortunately not many of them are the ones selling the seed, so when you go into a store and ask for the best seed to attract birds you’ll likely be handed a mix... by the kid who started working there last week. Sometimes stores push mixes because there is much more money to be made, you can add cheap filler and charge as much or more as the higher quality sunflower seed. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I haven’t sold mixed seed for years, and I spend a lot of time not selling it, explaining the benefits of individual seeds in each area. I have many happy converts and I have many people who I catch with a bag of mixed seed hiding under a blanket in their trunk when I carry their sunflower out. They say it’s “just in case.” I smile, nod and wonder if they really needed the $100 feeder to keep pigeons away or if simply stopping the mix would have worked as well. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I keep trying though, especially with first time feeders, you don’t have much time to get them hooked. If they receive a feeder full of mixed seed and all they attract are starlings, pigeons and rodents, they’re not likely to enjoy the experience and continue. If their first birds are chickadee, nuthatch, goldfinch, grosbeak, cardinal (I actually had a customer who’s <i>very first bird </i>was a Northern Cardinal) they’re much more likely to enjoy feeding and make it a lifelong hobby. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>What I recommend for first timers is a decent sunflower feeder, whether it be a tube, mesh or hopper, I’ll usually ask the location it’ll be used, not everyone has to worry about pigeons so they’ll have more options. This gets you started, from there you could add some speciality feeders; if you’re liking the finch that are coming and you want to attract more, you could add a nyjer feeder. If you’re liking the woodpecker, chickadee, nuthatch (or want to attract a few birds that don’t usually eat any seeds), you could add a suet feeder. If you like sparrows and doves, add a ground feeder. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>These guys all eat sunflower and the majority of our birds prefer it, the best part is, it’s one of the most inexpensive seeds you’ll feed. If you never feed anything else you’ll still enjoy visits from most of our feeder birds. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-13448242194325900552011-10-09T08:04:00.001-03:002011-10-09T08:05:39.225-03:00Listing is a fun birding activity, especially in winter.<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It’s that time of year again, bird listing seems to gain popularity in winter. It’s not that there are more birds around, I think it’s because we have more time on our hands and what could be a better way to get through a long winter than adding birds to some of your various lists. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>New Brunswick naturalists keep a winter list, the period for this one runs from the first day of December until the last day of February. This list has contributers from all over the province it doesn’t record numbers of birds, but rather if the species was represented that winter. I particularly like it if I see a bird that I don’t expect in winter, I check the winter list and often it has been noted on several other year’s lists. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Take our robin, inevitably I will get phone calls or hear reports on the radio that a robin was sighted in the winter. People always find it odd and wonder if it means an easy winter or early spring, but if you go to the winter list you’ll see it was checked off every year since 96/97 when the list came on line.(If I knew where to look, I’m confident it would have been recorded every year).</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>You’ll see some species that were spotted occasionally, even the odd swallow, warbler and flycatcher; you’ll be wondering what these guys would find to eat in a New Brunswick December. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>So far this “winter” there were 131 species of birds recorded in New Brunswick, the average is 161. You’ll see this and be thinking, wow, this is going to be an awesome year for birding, only 8 days in (11 by the time you read this) and we’re already at 80% of the yearly average. Hopefully that is the case, but the first couple weeks of the count are the most productive, there are still some stragglers and since birders know this there are many eyes out there trying to find them. The last 20% that will bring the list up to the average will be much harder to tally that the first 80.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>You can check it out at nbwinter.ghnature.com and if you’ve seen any species not already recorded drop and email to Gilles, it would be much appreciated. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The oldest and probably the most well known census is the Christmas Bird Count (CBC), this is the 111</span><span style="font: 8.0px Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0.0px"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"> year for the count that runs from December 14 to January 5. Volunteers go into the field on one day during this period and count as many individual birds as possible, it’s more than just ticking off the species, every bird counts, (even the starlings, who often win the prize for most represented).</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Everyone’s welcome, no matter your skill level, you’ll be placed in a group with at least one experienced birder who also knows all the best birding areas in your circle. You may not be able to identify every bird you see, but more eyes help find birds and the group can put a name to them together. It’s a great way to learn more and make a contribution to conservation. If you don’t want to go into the field you can sign up as a feeder watcher, at times throughout the day you can check who’s at the feeders, you don’t have to stare out the window all day, you simply record the time spent watching, so four stints of 15 minutes each at peak times of feeder activity could tally up some interesting numbers. The results get compiled and are reported as X number of birds per hour of observation. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If you have a rarish bird around your feeders coming up to the count day, you could try to let the local compiler know. If you can’t watch your feeders that day, someone could include your yard on their route and add it to the year. If you have a bird that is seen in the count period but not on count day, it gets noted as being present during the count period. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>All the New Brunswick counts and compilers are on David Christie’s website (it’s a long url, I put the direct link on twitter.com/thebirdgarden).</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>As with the winter list, the counts held early in the period will usually have higher numbers of birds than those held at the end, birds still hanging around and somewhat warmer temperatures are likely the reason. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Project Feeder Watch is under way, it starts in November and runs 21 weeks, taking you into April. You count birds at your feeders for 2 consecutive days in each week. If you miss a week or don’t have as much time each day, it’s OK, you record how much time you’ve spent watching, it’s all important information. You are asked to choose your count days in advance and not alter them because you have a particularly busy day at the feeders, if everyone was to do that it would seem like there were an abnormally large number of birds around in that winter.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Great Backyard Bird Count for 2011 is from February 18-21, you can count anywhere you wish for as long as you want, you tally the highest number of birds noted at one time, (you don’t want to count that flock of starlings every time it circles overhead). When you’re done you enter your checklist on line, anyone can follow the progress as numbers get entered. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>This would make a great activity for a class, group, seniors home or anyone else with an interest. Everything you need to know is on birdsource.org, including a power point presentation, tally sheets (enter you postal code and get a regional checklist you can print) and slide show, along with the history of GBBC, kids page, FAQ’s and previous years results. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I’ll certainly be exploring this site on the long cold winter nights ahead. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-6595671140408247582011-10-03T09:22:00.002-03:002011-10-03T09:27:33.443-03:00The gift of a bird feeder can change a life.<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I know I’m probably bias, but I think the best gift you could give someone is a bird feeder. I felt this way long before I ever got in the business; shortly after my grandfather died we dropped in unexpectedly on my grandmother, it was almost lunch time and we had picked something up and were going to eat with her. It took her a long time to come to the door and when she did she was still in her pajamas, she said she’d been watching TV but it was obvious we woke her. This was a woman who was always up before dawn and had done the work of 2 people complete with a large breakfast on the table when her husband passed through the kitchen on his way to work. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>My father asked her if she was going to get dressed and she responded that there wasn’t much point. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>After our visit we were doing a little shopping, Dad was picking out the customary house coat and slippers for Nana when I said that’s just depressing. He tossed them back on the shelf and we wandered. We ended up in the bird feeder section where he bought a new feeder for himself, I said why not get one for Nana. He started to object but then thought more, she loved the birds when she visited our house, she certainly had lots of time on her hands now and really needed a reason to get up and out. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>So we started with a window feeder, a good steel canister, seed scoop and a bag of sunflower seed. It was the most exciting part of Christmas for me, when we pasted her the small box with the window feeder, she raised an eyebrow, she no doubt was expecting another pair of pajamas and must have been thinking anything that would fit in this box would be a little risque to be opening in front of the kids. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>She wasn’t very enthused with the gift at first, I guess it was like getting a new remote control truck and not having any batteries, but when she opened the seed, scoop and canister she was already seeing this had possibilities. By the time the chickadees started making regular trips back and forth from our identical feeder she was excited, when the grosbeaks started she couldn’t wait to get home. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>When we dropped her off it was dark, but we put the feeder in the window, waited to make sure it would stay on (cold glass isn’t a suction cups best friend). To hurry things along we beat down an area of snow and spread some seed around the lawn. When we came in the house she was rearranging the living room, she couldn’t see the shrub from her favourite chair and she figured that would be where much of the action would take place. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>As usual the season was hectic and we kind of forgot about the feeder, the next time we dropped in, she was up, dressed and rosy cheeked having just came in from filling the feeder. A much nicer picture than what greeted us a few weeks earlier. Her only complaint was there wasn’t enough room for all the birds to feed at once, she didn’t mind filling it 3 times a day she just didn’t like it when the chickadees had to wait for the grosbeaks to fill up before getting their turn. Not a problem, when we finished our visit we headed to the store for a larger feeder, we filled it at the store and snuck back to Nana’s house and hung it in the shrub. When the phone was ringing shortly after dawn the next morning, we had a good idea who it was. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Now we had a new tradition, no more slippers, now it was feeders, I guess in a way we were lucky back then, we didn’t know about the lifetime warranty feeders so we always new at least one thing to buy, replace the old beat up feeder we got her last year. But there were speciality bird treats, books and even a cheap pair of binoculars so she could get better views. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If you’re shopping for someone who you think may develop an interest in bird watching, start with a feeder, not a house. If you hang a bird house Christmas morning they’ll likely be staring at it for 4 months before you see any action at all. A feeder on the other hand could be doing a brisk business by lunch time. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>You can get someone started in a life long hobby for as little as $10, a cheap feeder and some seed. If it’s a gift for someone who may not be able to fill it by themselves, be ready to get them a larger feeder so they won’t have to worry about getting someone to fill it every day. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If the person on your shopping list already enjoys feeding birds you have many possibilities for gifts they will appreciate. There is the larger feeder, species specific feeders like suet, nyjer and peanuts. Even small bird specific feeders if they are complaining about bullies at the feeders. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If they already have enough feeders (although I haven’t met many people who think they have enough, only their spouses), you may want to give a bird house, a different, possibly better field guide, an online membership or subscription to a birding magazine. A pair of binoculars will open a whole new world of birds to someone who doesn’t already own a pair. A better pair will make a huge difference to most people too, try to get a look through the pair they are using, if the image isn’t great this may be a good gift idea. Be ready to spend at least $100 for a good starter pair and you can get a fantastic pair for $200, if this is out of your range consider going together with family members or giving a gift certificate towards a good pair. The really cheap binoculars don’t make the grade for birding and usually deteriorate from use. Avoid gimmicks like zoom, ruby coated optics, built in radios, built in digital cameras. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>There are so many gift ideas for the bird watcher in your family that you never have to worry about what you’re going to give again. </span></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-35517745568378289362011-10-03T09:14:00.003-03:002011-10-03T09:28:26.995-03:00Trying to identify a bird from a description can be a challenge<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Last weekend I had questions about three different species identifications that started out almost the same, “I have a bird at the feeder, it’s about this big (fingers held about 5 inches apart) and all gray.” The only bird I can think of thats all gray would be the Townsend’s Solitaire but even he has a distinct eye ring. Even the Gray Catbird has a darker cap and rusty butt. So there was likely something else about the bird that should stand out and all these people did notice other traits, they just didn’t volunteer them up front. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The first bird had black through his eyes, so I’m thinking maybe it’s a Northern Shrike. I asked what he was doing and if he seemed aggressive with any of the other birds. The answer was, no he was very friendly. I asked where he was eating. The answer was the sunflower feeder. So he has a 5 inch gray bird with a black mask eating sunflower seeds. I asked if he noticed anything else about what the bird was doing, he said he’d come down the tree, on his way to the feeder, up side down. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Ahhh, so now I have an idea where to look in the field guide, I show him a picture of the Red-breasted Nuthatch and we have a perfect match, seeing the picture sparked all kinds of memories, right down to the rusty red breast. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The next 5 inch gray bird wasn’t a nuthatch, no black through the eyes or red breast, it was however white on the breast. He was eating under the feeders and wasn’t noticed on the feeders at all. When spooked he’d twitter all the way to cover, I asked if he noticed any white stripes on the tail when the bird flew. The answer was yes, white stripes appeared down each side of the tail. I showed a picture of the Dark-eyed Junco and got a match. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The next 5 inch gray bird was very aggressive around the feeders, chasing everything in sight. Again my thoughts go to the Northern Shrike, but they were pretty sure there wasn’t a black mask. They did notice the bird had white stripes on the tail that were noticeable when it flew, couldn’t be a junco though, they maybe chase each other but not many other species, especially larger ones. I asked if they noticed any white on the wings. The answer was yes, and the bird would even flick it’s wings when he was upset, flashing the white patches. Again I have a good idea where to look in the guide, and this time a Northern Mockingbird was the subject. Although they aren’t chasing the other birds for dinner as the Northern Shrike would be, they are very aggressive around the feeders, often chasing birds off all the feeders in an area before settling in to feed at one. The hosts did wonder why the bird wasn’t singing like they say they do, but it was likely just the season, if the bird is still around when spring approaches, I’m sure they will get more than their fill of mockingbird song. Remember my friend who played matchmaker for the mockingbird that was singing all night at his place? He caught the songster at his house and released it where there was a known female several miles away. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I find it interesting how much people notice about birds without even knowing it. All three of these birds started out as all gray, but when prompted, other subtle field marks and behavioral traits come to the surface. The other thing I notice is how hard it is to judge the size of a bird when viewed in the field, especially through binoculars. It’s a little easier when the bird is on your own feeders and a lot easier if he’s on a suet cage. The cages are usually make of a wire with half or one inch mesh, so you could count the squares he takes up on the feeders. Without the ruler right under the bird, it’s often more useful to not the size compared to other birds. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Take the time to notice how the common birds compare to each other, often they’ll cooperate nicely by perching side by side on a wire waiting for a perch to open up at the feeder. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I’ve heard birds described as “bigger than a robin but smaller than a jay.” I’m not even sure if anything would fit in that slot (unless they are referring to the European Robin, I got caught on that one once, then I clued in to the persons accent), I usually think of them as being the same size. I just checked though and a Blue Jay is only slightly bigger than an American Robin but has a shorter wingspan. Also falling in that category would be the Common Grackle and Mourning Dove, and the ones that surprise most beginners (myself included), Sharp-shinned Hawk and Merlin are really similar in size to these four birds, although they out weigh them. If you see one of these raptors cruising your yard they seem so big, (the do have a longer wingspan) but when you see one on top of a dove you realize just how close they are in size. I’ve also been amazed at how easy a Merlin gathered up a Mourning Dove and flew off into the woods when I surprised him. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I would describe the size of the three birds in question: Red-breasted Nuthatch as slightly smaller than a chickadee (and that’s because of the shorter tail). Dark-eyed Junco as slightly larger than a chickadee. And the Mockingbird as almost jay-sized but slighter. Again, even these broad comparisons are hard to make if you only get a quick glance, if you see them beside a well known species or on a feeder you are used to seeing common birds visit, these comparisons are easier. Pay close attention to the common birds and you’ll have a better reference point, and you’ll even notice more uncommon birds when they happen along. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-84679525335460450682011-09-21T19:12:00.004-03:002011-09-21T19:18:00.288-03:00There's nothing like a field trip with an experienced guide to increase your birding knowledge.<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If you want to increase your bird knowledge you can find all sorts of information, but I think everyone would agree, no amount of surfing or reading will amount to the giant step up to the next level you’d get from taking part in your first field trip with a knowledgeable birder and good instructor. So much of the frustration is taken out of identification when someone gently guides you to look for certain field marks or point out the subtle difference in similar song. When you see the live bird for yourself, it stays in your mind much better that looking at pictures. A really good leader will add tips and anecdotes that help you remember even more. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The local nature clubs usually schedule field trips to coincide with the highlights of bird activity. For example there are warbler and waterfowl outings in the spring, shorebirds in August, feeder tours in winter. These guys know the best times and places to be looking, and there is usually a member leader with a special interest along those lines. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Some people hesitate to take their first field trip because they fear their lack of knowledge will bring the mood down. I’ve never known this to be the case, helping others and sharing knowledge (especially with beginners), would rank highly in a list of what people enjoy about birding. If there’s a particular bird you want to see, mention it to the leader, they will likely mention it to a few others who will keep an eye out, it’s always fun to help someone add that elusive lifer to their list. It doesn’t have to be beginners who do this either, I’ve heard leaders say something like, “Joe here has 299 birds on his NB list and he hasn’t seen a Goshawk yet, everyone keep their eyes peeled for Joe.” If Joe gets his 300</span><span style="font: 8.0px Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0.0px"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">, he’s expected to buy ice cream or hot chocolate (it’s seasonal) all around. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>A few things to remember before heading out for your first time. Check with the organizer about the level of activity required. If you aren’t up to a hike then certain trips won’t be for you, although you may be able to take part in some aspects and bird on your own near the van with others who pass on the more strenuous leg of the journey. Nobody will mind, as long as you’re still there when they return, missing persons searches tend to put a dent in the trip. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Check weather and dress appropriately, it should go without saying, but good footwear is essential, it’s hard not to whine when you have blisters, wet/cold feet or you jammed a twig in your toe because you wore your Birkenstocks. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>You may want to take along bug spray, sun screen, lip balm, water or anything else you may think you’ll need, within reason. Please note, when spraying bug spray, number one, remove your binoculars from around your neck and walk down wind of them, and everyone else. Nothing eats the coating off your lenses like certain bug sprays, and, wrecking the leaders new Swarovskis will definitely put a dent in the trip. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If you’re not “equipped” for, or skilled at, relieving yourself in the great outdoors, drink less coffee and take advantage of every man made toilet you come across, whether you need to or not. It’s distracting to the leader and everyone if your doing the “I-gotta-pee” dance in the middle of the group. (Sorry, but it had to be said.)</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>You shouldn’t wear anything too loud, in both senses of the word. That is no overly bright colours, apparently white is the worst, as many species flash white as an alarm. They shouldn’t be too noisy either, nothing rattling, flapping in the wind, whistling when you move, sure when you wear corduroys the rubbing of your thighs may call in some birds, but it gets annoying to other birders after a few hours. The worst one I experienced was hearing a constant chirp, it followed us around all day, I didn’t want to call attention to it because I had no idea what species was responsible. Later when I was asked to check someone’s binoculars, I heard it again, even closer this time. The culprit… a metal strap connector rubbing on the metal hook of the binocular. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Cell phones should be set to vibrate and only answered if the call is from the rare bird alert hot line, maybe you can detour and pick up a new bird for everyone. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Just because you are a beginner don’t be afraid to call out a bird, if you’re wrong, remember everyone else has likely been wrong more often than you. If you don’t know what the bird is call out something, literally, “I got <i>something</i> here.” Maybe you’re the only one who sees it and getting more eyes trained on the bird will help identify it. On the other side, if you’re more advanced don’t be so quick to identify every bird, you too may want to call out, “I got something here”, even if you know what it is. If you’re more advanced never disparage another sighting, just because you’ve seen the bird before, others may be excited to see it for the first time.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Don’t monopolize the leaders time, others may have questions as well. If everyone is sharing a couple scopes, take a quick, good look and let the next person see. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If you are car pooling, and you should be, stay behind the leader, chances are he’s scouted the route before the trip and knows the key stops. I remember one year we had a rare bird visiting our feeders, the leader called that morning to see if it was still around. I was watching the bird when the group pulled in, one car went around the leader, sped down the driveway skidded to a stop inches away from the feeder, jumped out and asked “Where’s the bird?” We were able to relocate him about 45 minutes later. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I have a pet peeve, actually I have many, but one is when someone holds their tripod vertically and releases the legs so that they clunk down noisily (6 times), scaring off everything for a 100 yard radius. I’ve seen birders of all levels do this. Hold your tripod horizontal and quietly pull the legs out. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Although you are there for a good time, apparently you should keep the wise cracks to a minimum, but in all fairness, if everyone is listening intently for a distant bird song and an old VW Beetle sounds the horn, “MEEP, MEEP” and you call out “Roadrunner” I don’t think it warrants sending me to the end of the line. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-41648261308068890922011-06-12T08:33:00.002-03:002011-06-12T08:45:14.038-03:00Identifying Birds from Pictures<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpiqUFD1q0lNGkCC1BhMNpRn1NckZDDuATGsGk4Z4Nasmd7wCpya38c6FV2i2upWJIAQuKAQC8hjzHAUJfFm4Z4dWPOrStS3CTutlQvrHakBeCmpJtN_yGcXdrKAEgwE5wrnfl2bxTQuRf/s1600/IMG_0732.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpiqUFD1q0lNGkCC1BhMNpRn1NckZDDuATGsGk4Z4Nasmd7wCpya38c6FV2i2upWJIAQuKAQC8hjzHAUJfFm4Z4dWPOrStS3CTutlQvrHakBeCmpJtN_yGcXdrKAEgwE5wrnfl2bxTQuRf/s200/IMG_0732.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617297954452611362" /></a><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Most birders would agree that a field guide consisting of artists renderings is much more useful that a photographic guide. Except for Kenn Kaufman’s guide, which contains digitally enhanced photographs, the picture is just one representative bird. Bird photographers don’t have the luxury a fashion photographer would have, you never hear one in the field saying, “Look to the left, head down, lift your tail, that’s it, work it, work it, now pout.” </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It’s hard to get all the field marks in one picture, the artists who paint the pictures for field guides are usually excellent birders, who’ve studied hundreds of birds, have years experience and can pull everything together in one painting to capture the feeling of the species. It’s hard to do this with a snapshot of one bird, that is, without the aid of photoshop. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I’m getting a new appreciation for the work that must go into creating a good field guide. I’ve been getting dozens of pictures sent to me, people dropping by the market with them on their cameras or printed off and trying to ID birds in photos on line. The truth is, not many of the pictures look exactly like they do in the guides, I suppose that’s why people are seeking help though. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Mailed and e-mailed pictures are the easiest, people don’t know for how long or how many books I referenced or to how many friends I forwarded it, to come up with the ID. The toughest are the ones that walk by the market with only the digital camera view screen to see the picture. First off, I’m already brain dead from working late the night before and getting up at 4:30 in the morning Saturday, there have been days I can’t remember my wife’s name. Then the small picture held in shaky hands, (good coffee at the Market), all of a sudden 10 people who were ignoring me are now listening to what I’m going to say. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Lately I’ve been using a variation on a tip a professor taught us in Vet Tech school, he would give us tips on how to stall when you are absolutely clueless, without looking so. The first thing he’s say is to listen with a stethoscope, you can’t hear the owner with your ears plugged so they won’t be expecting any wisdom right away. Then he’d say, if you still need more time to think, take a rectal temperature, if the owner tries to ask questions, slightly raise a finger in a “wait one second” gesture and nod towards the far end of the patient with our nose sightly wrinkled. You usually get an “Oh, I’m sorry.” We’d only get caught if the owner was to ever catch us taking temperatures in the back, we’re very few conversations were off limits during the deed. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>So I came up with some stalling techniques for identifying pictures of birds, first, it’s expected that you take a minute to familiarize yourself with the camera, especially zooming in. Then you get maybe 30 seconds before you hear, “Oh, sorry, I thought you’d know.” So use it wisely. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Just before I get waved in from the mound, I’ll ask, “Do you have any other pictures of this bird?” And since it’s a digital camera, and since the pictures are free, the answer is usually, “Yes, I have all kinds.” So you pass the camera back, and this is why you really familiarized yourself with that particular model, you shut it off right before they take it. Now you have time while the camera reboots itself, and the photographer finds the right spot. Maybe even enough time to get a field guide out, you look quick and when they pass you the camera you pass them the guide and ask, “Do you think this may be it?” or if you’re still not sure, “I think it’s one of these, let’s have a look at the other pictures.”</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>This trick works great, but like the professor who taught us the variation said, “It doesn’t work if the dog has an arrow stuck in his butt. You don’t need to take a rectal temperature to tell the owner the dog has been shot with an arrow. In fact, it’s best not to mention it at all, it’s likely they already noticed.” </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>So if it’s a close up of a robin, chickadee or other bird you should know, just say, “Wow, that’s a great picture of a ….!” Even if it’s a starling. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I’ve been finding out though that having a dozen pictures of a bird that’s tricky to identify is very helpful, although they won’t always move around the way a fashion photographer would expect, they do move around. If a photographic guide could include a dozen pictures of each bird and still be able to be carried in the field it would be much more useful. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The same sometimes happens with pictures taken of the same species on the same day in the same tree, they may not look exactly alike. Usually it’s because they are in different stages of molt or there’s a variation in plumage. I like to refer to the introduction in Kaufman’s guide where he shows 10 pictures of what at first appears to be 10 different species, they’re all House Finch showing varying degrees of streaking and colour, (from brown to orange to fairly bright red).</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>This week I was helping identify a Spotted Sandpiper on line, it wasn’t in breeding plumage so wasn’t even depicted in some guides that only show one picture of each species. I thought I remembered that the white from the breast that pointed upwards between the wing and neck was a field mark distinctive to the Spotted Sandpiper. Here’s where there really isn’t a substitution for field experience… years ago in Hillsborough, they let the water out of the big pond on Golf Club Road during shorebird migration. The newly exposed mud was a bird magnet, especially on high tide in the Bay. I remember seeing three different plumages of this sandpiper in one field of view, I wasn’t alone or would never have figured it out. There was one still in breeding plumage with the namesake spots on the breast, one with a light chocolate back and clear breast (adult nonbreeding), and one very similar but with slight barring through the chocolate (juvenile). They all showed the same white wedge up onto the shoulder. I can remember this from 15 years ago, and can’t recall why I went to the basement, no book can teach you what watching the bird will. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I was doubting myself though, because Sibley didn’t point to it as a field mark, so I retrieved my well worn Peterson and there was the arrow pointing out the field mark, (just checked Kaufmann and he points it out too). So one book, even if it’s Sibley (my bird bible) can’t be <i>all</i> things <i>all</i> the time. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 18.0px; font: 13.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Another ID question came on line, a dreaded thrush picture, these guys are easy to identify by sound, quite a bit harder from a picture. There was some discussion, and when it was said they might never know for sure based on this one photo, I chimed in with my stock question, “Got any more pictures of this bird?” Turns out there were 13 pictures, one of them showed the tail lifted high enough to see the top side, clinching the ID as a Hermit Thrush. So what started as a stalling tactic has become a good tool, not many people take only one photo of anything any more, now that it doesn’t cost a dollar a click. </span></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-50540291984109678332011-05-17T16:36:00.001-03:002011-05-17T16:38:16.034-03:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisM9mgt46r3pUhtiprpSE4ghpX4yZ3GP_J0e0cwt8VjKFGp30uKumT-E-8I2TlhyphenhyphennI8EI0BfB3-NUU-YDIQW7NxNDl2WrVrdr4XP9PY7HeZ8yX63kDIvQtn2FJAmoNC2tSaBSCdT9PV6r2/s1600/PeregrineFalcon31.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 152px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisM9mgt46r3pUhtiprpSE4ghpX4yZ3GP_J0e0cwt8VjKFGp30uKumT-E-8I2TlhyphenhyphennI8EI0BfB3-NUU-YDIQW7NxNDl2WrVrdr4XP9PY7HeZ8yX63kDIvQtn2FJAmoNC2tSaBSCdT9PV6r2/s200/PeregrineFalcon31.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607771407425283570" /></a><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Things were sure hopping around the province this week with rare birds, the highlight of the week though would have been Saturday when a the Pink-footed Goose spotted near the Cormierville wharf in Kent County, the word went out quickly and the group in the Nature Moncton field trip were able to divert course and see the bird before dark. It stayed in the area at least until Wednesday when I had to submit the column, so check around it may still be in the area. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>This will be a first Pink-footed Goose for New Brunswick, they breed in Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard, one shows up occasionally in North America but until now not in New Brunswick. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Some time last summer I noticed a photo on the Weather Network that was submitted by a subscriber, when I went back a few weeks later it was nowhere to be found. This week I finally tracked down it’s origin. The picture was of two fledgling Peregrine Falcons eating a Ruffed Grouse, even better there is accompanying video that Kevin Snair of Creative Imagery recently uploaded to Birding New Brunswick, (find it under “VIDEO” tab). Warning though, this may not be for everybody, the gruesome twosome have very poor table manners; they look like two teenagers with the munchies and a bucket of the colonel’s finest. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>One of the birds I mentioned I was especially looking forward to was the Gray Jay, so far they haven’t made an appearance in our yard and I hadn’t heard of any reported. There was a small group of birders milling around the market talking about all the excitement of the week when a someone who was listening said, “I just want to buy some suet for my Gray Jays.” I was a quite excited to hear they were beginning to appear at feeders. It’s not that they’re rare, but usually someone calls to verify what they are seeing and the comment frequently is that it’s like the pictures in the field guide but it reminds them more of a big chickadee than a jay. It’s always interesting to see a bird this size easily navigate the small-bird-only or up-side-down suet feeders, I know Blue Jays can sometimes, but the result wouldn’t be described as “graceful”, Gray Jays can hang on with the ease of a chickadee or nuthatch. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>They are in the same family as crows and jays, but belong to a different group within the Corvidae. Gray Jays are our only Old World jay, which helps explain the difference between them and their cousins. Extremely tame and polite, (except for the lunch stealing) they are welcome visitors in any yard. Once you’ve gotten to know them, you’ll recognize their unique way of gliding from tree to tree until they pull up and land beside you or at your feet, you’ll even recognize the shadow they cast as it passes by, sending you running to the seed bin or freezer for their favourite foods. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>In our yard they’d show up in three’s, we’d get a group from the west and a different group from the east, if there wasn’t food supplied on each side of our yard, fights would ensue. They travel in three’s because the dominant juvenile will chase it’s nest mates off and only <i>he </i>(two-thirds of the time it’s male) will accompany the parents throughout the rest of the fall and winter, benefiting from their teaching and protection. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I can’t think of any bird with more colloquial names than the Gray Jay, still known by their former name, Canada Jay, they’re also called moose-bird, camp-robber, camp-bird, meat-bird, gorby, (I think is a New Brunswick thing, when I first heard it after moving here, I just nodded along and kept quiet, not wanting to admit I had absolutely no idea what people were talking about), whiskey-jack (I just learned, from Wiskedjak, Wisekejack or other variations of aboriginal languages, meaning a mischievous transforming spirit who liked to play tricks on people. Making it the only Canadian bird who has a common name with an aboriginal derivation.)</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>All the other crows and jays show little plumage difference across sex and age, the juvenile Gray Jay however is much darker overall and has a dark gray head and throat, certainly sending birders with less than adequate field guides into a tizzy.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The other corvids have different beak structure with a special flange in the lower jaw to brace it against the scull, when you see a Blue Jay holding a peanut between it’s feet, it’s only pecking only with it’s lower bill. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Gray Jays will eat just about anything a Blue Jay will, I find they don’t have a strong desire for sunflower but will take some if hulled, for some reason they go wild for bread, I save them a couple crusts in the morning, when I go out on the deck and whistle for them, they show up in seconds. I prefer though to feed them something a little more hardy, peanuts, peanut butter suet, plain rendered suet and raw suet seem like favourites and will provide extra calories for winter survival. Left on their own they have a wide variation in diet, insects, spiders berries, seeds, fungi, rodents, eggs, and carrion. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Like other jays the Gray Jay will store food for winter, but they have specialized salivary glands and can coat the food in a mucus making a bolus that it will stick in nooks and crannies throughout it’s winter territory. This mechanism for surviving winter also makes them vulnerable to climate change, they store food in the fridge, if the fridge isn’t cold enough the food will spoil. This is one of the reasons I’m anxiously awaiting Gray Jays in my yard, we didn’t have any last year and this year I’m hearing very little from others. Maybe it’s just me, drop an email if your getting some visits. </span></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-28420707300202856162011-05-16T12:12:00.002-03:002011-05-16T12:14:57.991-03:00Fall Birding in New Brunswick<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtH1k4pzYLH2e1qGAsMx8BgHvcD6xH0vA-zUp0XtGR-k1l6HA24ozV-OvcJCwirXUAmPsR_8JvxT4ZbB9NLrXBwB2V8EbRsQ_2ak7yTs-NHmQs7jndaL_YVFosInKSrUvq2afsr9d8T_qJ/s1600/CattleEgret1_1_1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 164px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtH1k4pzYLH2e1qGAsMx8BgHvcD6xH0vA-zUp0XtGR-k1l6HA24ozV-OvcJCwirXUAmPsR_8JvxT4ZbB9NLrXBwB2V8EbRsQ_2ak7yTs-NHmQs7jndaL_YVFosInKSrUvq2afsr9d8T_qJ/s200/CattleEgret1_1_1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607332656710837106" /></a><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Last week I mentioned it may be a good time to be out birding, as both rare birds and the normal seasonal visitors might be appearing. Well, for once I was right, every time I check emails there is another report of a new bird. With all this increased activity there are sure to be more birders on the prowl which will turn up more interesting birds and draw more birders and so on. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I’d like to think that last weeks column inspired folks to go birding and my readers discovered all these rarities, but neither of you made any of the reports. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Things kicked off last week with an influx of Redheads (better clarify, they’re ducks), the first reports were in the north of the province, then Saint John area, then Salisbury and a local birder thought he should scope out the Moncton area because of all the sightings and was successful. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The week was also marked with reports of Eastern Towhee, starting in Rothsay, then Blacks Harbour (at the feeder yard of a former Lower Coverdale resident, now keeping in touch on BirdingNewBrunswick, where there are great photos posted) and another in Albert County. A Northern Cardinal showed up at a feeder in Sainte-Marie-de-Kent.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>There were several Cattle Egret, first in Hebron, Albert County, then three showed up at the Jones Farm in Upper Coverdale and another on Lameque Island. There were several Field Sparrow reports, as well as Bufflehead, </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I also mentioned some species should be moving into our region for winter or still passing through on migration, Bohemian Waxwings , Lapland Longspur, Horned Lark, American Pipit, Dark-eyed Junco and Snow Bunting were all noted.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>With lots of birds still passing through, like large numbers of American Robins, Double-crested Cormorants, Common Eider, some warblers and plenty of shore bird species, you hardly know where to look first. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Sound like a lot of birds? Well, I’m sure I missed, lost and forgot a few reports, and I didn’t even mention the birds that are here in normal numbers. With all the eyes out looking, I’ll bet next week brings even more interesting reports. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>One constant for spotting birds is the local sewage treatment lagoon, many of the sightings mentioned were discovered in various lagoons, and when my friend went on his mission to spot a Redhead, that’s where he went. At least three different lagoons were mentioned in his travels (White Birch Estates being the winner). Talk to any birder and they’ll tell you they are a consistent draw for not only ducks but many other species as well. Think of me the next time your eating wild duck, I remember my father would alway try to describe the taste of each duck, it might be “fishy” or “muddy” or “wild”, we were young and never thought to ask why. But no matter where you shot the duck, remember they have wings and it’s highly likely he’s “been there, ate that”. Especially during hunting season; since they’ve stopped allowing hunting in our local lagoon it acts as a miniature sanctuary. Yeah, before my time here, people used to hunt in the lagoon, I bet the retriever didn’t sleep on the bed those nights. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>One of the categories on BirdingNewBrunswick under HotSpots is: Sewage Lagoons of New Brunswick: A Birders Guide... because they’re not usually mentioned in the travel brochures. Used to be if you didn’t know any birders in the area you’d have to stop at local businesses and ask for directions, I’d recommend carrying a clipboard and wearing an official looking uniform cap. That way they’ll think you’re an inspector instead of a nut bar who’s going their on purpose... to look at birds. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Soon, when you’re traveling and have a spare hour, you’ll be able to login with your iBerry clone phone and find directions to the local hottest spot. (Then login to the weather network and find out which way the winds blowing.) Often you can scope these gems from higher ground as they are usually in the lowest lying areas of the town, remember the plumbers number one rule of thumb… poop flows downhill. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I’m always wondering what the draw is, for ducks it’s obvious, they’re in for the corn. I suppose grebes, cormorants and herons are there for the gold fish. Swallows, warblers and flycatchers must be there for the insects that are attracted to the warm water. Then the birds of prey are there for all of the above. None of this has any basis in science what so ever, it’s just the product of spending too much time alone with my thoughts. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-64459348154357440562011-04-03T07:16:00.004-03:002011-06-14T06:27:59.276-03:00Q&A Birding in the Area<div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvemcTG_d30GAPAQ927O4HHAziQwXDiAdAsSPAu0UZV2ZdJk2WlGZq980kxrjQ912bV3rSAi8F9WqcjfaJMl_xN_D6qTgGKJiFwc6jlxoydfUZqc4vtgxwegj-eQKcBntc4KsARg8PZmE/s1600/BlackcappedChickadee3b2011348x10LR.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvemcTG_d30GAPAQ927O4HHAziQwXDiAdAsSPAu0UZV2ZdJk2WlGZq980kxrjQ912bV3rSAi8F9WqcjfaJMl_xN_D6qTgGKJiFwc6jlxoydfUZqc4vtgxwegj-eQKcBntc4KsARg8PZmE/s200/BlackcappedChickadee3b2011348x10LR.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591300229742338114" /></a><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Q. I’m new to birding and to the area, what could I expect to see around here and at my feeders throughout fall and winter?</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">A. This is a prime time to be seeing increased numbers of the regular birds and even spot a rarity or two. Birds are on the move for a few reasons, some are migrating south, but this time of year there is also a “reverse” migration: that is some birds that don’t usually come into our range will head north and hang around a while before leaving for their wintering grounds. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Another phenomenon is post breeding dispersal which is natures way of preventing inbreeding, some of these species may overshoot their normal range and show up in your back yard.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">And still others will be showing up in greater numbers now that the stress of nesting and defending territory has passed, and don’t forget all those first year birds. We are seeing chickadees in greater numbers, they’ve let down their guard and are traveling in loose flocks in search of food.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Chickadees are known for their food finding abilities and it’s not just ornithologists who’ve noticed this, other birds have caught on too. Migrating and local birds will seek out and follow chickadee flocks and cash in on their skills. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">So if you’re out birding or in the backyard and hear chickadees, take a moment to check out every bird, Boreal Chickadee, nuthatches, woodpeckers, creepers, warblers, kinglets and vireos hang out in these chickadee flocks. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Some birders will “pish” or even play a tape of chickadees mobbing a Saw-whet Owl</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">to attract chickadees then sit back and watch for what else might come to investigate what they’re scolding. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">There are some finch on the move, I’ve already been hearing and seeing Evening Grosbeaks (they’re part of the finch family) around Albert County, Purple Finch are showing up along with some American Goldfinch and Pine Siskins. The Winter Finch Forecast for 2010-2011 predicts a Common Redpoll invasion, I’m sure they put a lot of science to work to come up with this, but redpolls usually follow the every-other-year visiting schedule, so that’s no surprise. Redpolls eat the seeds from white birch which had a poor crop in the north this year, that means they’ll likely be coming south to enjoy our wild seeds and to take advantage of our nyjer and black oil sunflower feeders. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The Downy and Hairy Woodpecker are two common visitors but we may have five or more other species around and possibly even coming to suet. The Pileated Woodpecker is common; depending on where you live, once you learn it’s call and drum you might be noticing it every day. The American Three-toed Woodpecker and Black-backed Woodpecker are around in winter but unlikely to show up at feeder yards. The odd Northern Flicker stays for the winter, and every now and then we have a mini invasion of the Red-bellied Woodpecker and even more rare and more mini (or is it minier?) invasion of the Red-headed Woodpecker. When these last two occur they do come to feeders, enjoying a bit of everything…. sunflower, peanuts and suet. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Right now we have a very friendly White-breasted Nuthatch and a secretive but predictable Brown Creeper. I smear peanut butter on the side of his favourite tree and he likes raw suet, so when I hear him I know where to look. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I’m anxiously waiting for one of my most anticipated visitors of the fall, the Gray Jays should be showing up soon to begin storing food for the winter. They follow me around the yard because they know I have a bag of peanuts or small cubes of peanut butter suet in my pocket. I haven’t tried to hand feed them, but I’m sure I could. They often land on things I’m holding, like branches or lengths of steel I’m painting.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">A few of the summer sparrows may hang around in winter and maybe even a rarity will show up, but the most common winter sparrow is the American Tree Sparrow, they’ll be feeding along side Dark-eyed Junco and if you’re lucky Snow Buntings.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I’m sure I missed lots of birds, drop me a line to tell me what you are seeing or what you’ve seen in previous late fall, early winter seasons. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Q. I walk along the river with my small dog and I have cats, should I be worried about the eagles?</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">A. I too have a small dog and I never give it a second thought. I watch eagles cruise up and down the shore line and in 18 years have never had an eagle even take a second look at my dog(s). I have heard stories, questions and concerns but haven’t found any evidence of hawks, owls or eagles taking small pets. It’s usually cats that I hear about, I was at a presentation by a New Brunswicker who studies and bands birds of prey. He said he often saw left over skeletons in nests and kept track of what each species was hunting. When I asked if he’d ever seen a cat in any of the nests, he seemed surprised by the question but said he never did. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I hear the concern often, and it’s increasing. If a cat disappears it’s very unlikely an eagle, it’s much more likely that it was hit by car or coyotes caught it (especially if it disappeared over night).</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I know I’ll hear from people who saw an eagle with a dead cat, or who know someone, who was talking to someone, whose cousin’s half sister saw a cat collar hanging out of an eagles nest. If that happened, I’d love to see a picture, but I’d be more inclined to believe it was picked up as road kill, that’s what eagles do. </span></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-45238202486062877792011-04-03T06:57:00.004-03:002011-04-03T07:14:33.926-03:00New Website for Bird Enthusiasts<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kQHefhFi5YL1_799c34gR2CMqiGrv6JZn8Z8vgpWhQcCZWJ4dXrtBleDV4es_97AtVcpeeUzkWzkrNjgWQHY6BsAAzMrOzPMfY81L11IxoLzkJ06Gu4uPVAO806tb85JBvuz_8l2-nXT/s1600/blogbnb.jpg.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 168px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kQHefhFi5YL1_799c34gR2CMqiGrv6JZn8Z8vgpWhQcCZWJ4dXrtBleDV4es_97AtVcpeeUzkWzkrNjgWQHY6BsAAzMrOzPMfY81L11IxoLzkJ06Gu4uPVAO806tb85JBvuz_8l2-nXT/s200/blogbnb.jpg.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591297501539046514" /></a><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>Last week was the launch of a new birding site called Birding New Brunswick, at <a href="http://BirdingNewBrunswick.ning.com/">BirdingNewBrunswick.ning.com</a>. It’s a social network for bird enthusiasts. You can post pictures, video, ask the group questions, promote your favourite birding area, blog, post nature related events, chat and report sightings. You are automatically given your own page, with photo album, blog postings and more.</p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If your Facebook friends are saying, "enough with the birds already", sign up, nobody in this group will complain. I think a site like this is needed to get (and keep) young people involved. When I mentioned this to one geezer he said, “Social networking? Nobody will ever do that.” I said, “Come on Dad, get with the times.” (He doesn’t read my column either.) Sixty years from now, I want the guy changing my diaper to be interested enough in birds to fill the window feeder for me. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Oh yes, it's free, no gimmick that I can tell and there are no advertisements, so I’m not constantly reminded of my “shortcomings”. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I’m a member of a very similar site from the States called WeLoveBirds, this was a spin off of from one of the subscriptions I bought when I was researching hummingbird nectar. It was started by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, it was fun to go on and check out the question and answer section, many consist of a photo and the question, “What bird is this?” It’s a good challenge to see how many you can answer, but the problem is the site is for all of the States and a lot of the questions were coming from the west, birds that I’ve never seen and know nothing about. So when I saw a similar site for New Brunswick I was quite excited, then the first question came across and it was a picture of ducks taken in North Carolina. Oh well, I’m sure that will change soon. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>There’s already one special interest group, the NB ODONATA GROUP, for members with a special interest in dragonflies and damselflies. If you have any questions or pictures it’s a great opportunity to ask Denis Doucet, one of the provinces leading authorities on the subject has volunteered to edit the blog and field questions. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>BirdingNewBrunswick should turn up some interesting sightings, I know since I started this column there have been a few firsts that were sent to me that may have gone unreported otherwise. For example the first Laughing Gull at Cape Enrage or the first nesting Peregrine Falcons on the Assumption Building in Moncton. (Both are pictured and discussed already on BirdingNewBrunswick.) That’s the thing, you never know what will be turned up next, in the age where everyone has a camera on them all the time. You may have a picture of a Starling or it may be a first for the province. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>So instead of surfing around the US site I’ll be spending my time checking out the beautiful pictures that were taken in my own province, at least I recognize most of the bird pictures. Dragons and damsels interest me, especially the pictures, but I can identify only about 4 of our species so far. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>That’s the thing about birds, they seem to be the universal draw, I started hanging out with other bird people who also had and interest in dragonflies, butterfllies, wild flowers, mushrooms and more. We all came for the birds (at least I did), but others would be pointing out other interesting aspects of nature, eventually it starts to rub off. If I live to be very old, I may become a well rounded naturalist. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I picked up a little about mushrooms, there are still only 3 species that I will pick and eat. But, this is shaggy mane season and one of my all time favourite meals is “Cream of Shaggy” soup. I can’t stress enough the importance of knowing what you’re doing. You can’t go to a half hour presentation, pick a mushroom and say, “Yeah, that looks like the one.” You’ve heard the expression, “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing”, well that was coined by a liver transplant surgeon after a guy ate the wrong mushroom. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>OK, you caught me, the saying was around before they were doing liver transplants, but you get the point.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Once you’ve done all the tests and your sure you have shaggy manes, pick them before they open, after they open the spores will blacken you soup, I still eat it but it doesn’t look as good. Dice and cook the mushrooms with garlic and onions, add them to diced cooked potatoes, I leave the potato water for thickener, it drives my mother nuts but it works. Then add cream, the good stuff, at least 18% fat. You can add corn if you like, once I dumped in a bottle of bar clams. It’s quick and delicious. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I love feeding this to the in-laws, while I’m cooking it I make comments like, “This one doesn’t look like the rest.” or “No dear, I don’t <i>think</i> that’s the destroying angle.” When you call them to the table, don’t touch your spoon, leave your hand folded on your lap, give them your best evil smile and tell them to go ahead and try it. I guarantee, nobody’s touching that soup until you take a bite. </span></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-51068910499974891602011-02-23T15:31:00.000-04:002011-02-23T15:32:04.063-04:00A Little on Photography<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">First, I’d like to say that you could write books on what I don’t know about photography. But, if you’re trying to get decent frame filling pictures of birds and don’t have the budget for (or strength to carry) one of those great big honking lenses that look like they’re made for astronomy, you could consider a blind. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>A blind can be made of almost anything, it’s a good idea to make it at least big enough to sit up on a small camp stool and have various openings for camera lenses and viewing. It can be portable or fixed, blinds made for hunting can be bought rather inexpensively but you do get what you pay for. Ice fishing tents are favored by some professional photographers because they have a little more room and are usually better built. You’d be surprised how warm and comfortable a fridge box is and you can easily cut flaps for your camera. You want to leave the floor in place so your weight will keep it from blowing away, but if you cut leg holes and make two handles, you can poke your legs out pick up the box and move to a better location without getting out of the “blind”. If you neighbours ask what to heck that was all about, blame it on the kids, after all one man’s fort is another man’s blind. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>My all time favorite blind is called the Forester, it’s very portable, comfortably seats 4 birders, with individual roll down camera hatches and has room for all their gear. It can be made bug proof with some duct tape (you can even get camo now) and mosquito netting. Depending on the age and model it may have working heaters and air conditioner. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>You can pick one up at the local Subaru dealer, classified adds or junk yard, depending on your budget. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Seriously though, what could be better than your vehicle? Did you ever pull up to a marsh and see a Great Blue Heron a few yards away? They tend to stay put, that is until you open up the trunk to get your portable blind out. I like the Forester for the all-wheel-drive feature, if your going to be driving around your yard from feeder to feeder you don’t want to get stuck, that makes a mess...you’ll have to get towed out, if you’re married you’ll have to fill in the ruts and match up sod before 5 o’clock. If your single, you might just make the switch from a portable to a stationary blind, the conversion kit’s cheap enough, 4 to 8 cement blocks. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If your lens is too powerful to hand hold or you just want to leave it trained on a feeder until something happens, you can pick up a car window mount for a tripod head, these are also used for spotting scopes. You just roll the window down part way and a special C-type clamp screws securely to the glass. There are cheap ones, but if you already have a tripod that you like, I suggest buying just the clamp and using the head from your tripod, it’s likely to be better than the head that’s attached to the low end car window mount. Down the road, the best set up would be a tripod with a quick release plates that attach to your scope and/or camera and a head on the car window mount that accepts the same quick release plate. This way you can go from one to the other with a flick of a switch. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>My goal is a stationary blind/gazebo, I even started on quite a while ago and one of these days I’ll get it finished. The key for you married folks is to not mention the blind aspect of the structure, just say you’re building a little getaway to have a cup of coffee or glass of wine, out of the sun and mosquitoes, I even plan on putting in one of those chess board tables. Mine’s small for a gazebo but luxurious for a blind, I have a solid wall facing north, I tell my wife that’s to break the coldest wind, but I’ll cut camera hatches in it so I won’t be shooting into the sun. The south side will be open and screened in, the east and west walls will have camera hatches, just in case. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Then I’ll set up a few feeders within good shooting range, place some interesting perching sites out of gnarly old wood and drill some holes in the side of dead trees for suet to draw birds in close and still have a natural looking setting. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Where I keep slipping up is when I say I want to plant a shrub here or put up a trellis there for the “approach”, if I see a good bird at the feeder, I want to be able to get in the blind without scaring it away. She keeps wondering why I want to sneak up on our little romantic getaway. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Please remember to always put the bird ahead of the picture, if you’re shooting at a feeder, it’s no big deal if the birds get a little shy for a while. If you want to get pictures of nestlings, it’s crucial that the birds aren’t disturbed. If the parents are away from the nestlings for even a short time could mean the difference between success and failure of the nest. Also, be considerate of birds during other periods of high stress, for example during extreme cold weather in winter, owls may be out hunting in daylight. It’s very tempting to try to get a picture of these magnificent birds, but if you’re chasing the bird around to get a picture, he is unable to hunt, a few unsuccessful attempts at prey could make the difference between getting through the winter or not. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Just exercise a little common sense, if the birds are being unduly disturbed, back off, and if you get some good shots, send them along and share them on our on-line photo album. </span></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-27410888775330008902011-02-23T15:30:00.001-04:002011-02-23T15:30:38.179-04:00Quiz Answers<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Thanks to all who sent in their answers, it was fun for me too. I’ll tally up scores, draw winners in each of the three categories and announce winners in the next column. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Here are the answers to the quiz.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">True or False:</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">1. If you want to attract small birds you should feed small seed. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">FALSE, chickadees eat peanuts, pigeons eat millet. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">2. It takes 36 hours in your birdbath for mosquito eggs can hatch into adults. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">FALSE, it takes around 10 days to go from egg to larvae to pupae to adult. A well maintained bird bath would not be a breeding ground for mosquitoes. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">3. Great-crested Flycatchers, Blue Jays, and Hairy Woodpeckers all use the same size bird house. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">FALSE, Blue Jays don’t use bird houses. I didn’t think this was that tricky of a question, but only about ⅔ got it right. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">4. 7x50 binoculars are 15 times more powerful than 7x35. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">FALSE, they are exactly the same power but the 7x50 have objective lenses 15 millimeters larger than the 7x35. They will let in more light but objects will appear 7 times closer in each pair. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">5. Chickadee, nuthatch, jays, woodpeckers and blackbirds are attracted to peanuts. TRUE, both of our chickadees, both of our nuthatch, both of our jays and most if not all of our blackbirds would list peanuts in their top 3 favourite foods. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">6. A Bald Eagle is bigger than a Golden Eagle. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">TRUE, if you saw a brown eagle that was larger than the nearby Bald Eagles, it is almost certainly an immature Bald Eagle because Golden Eagles are actually smaller. Some hard core birders pointed out that the Golden, although smaller is heavier, but since most of us aren’t ever going to be weighing eagles, the judges ruled the answer is “TRUE”.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">7. It’s impossible to keep squirrels off your feeders. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">FALSE, and it’s easy, tall pole at least 10 feet away from any launching pad with a baffle part way up the pole. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">8. A nesting colony of Chimney Swifts may have 20 nests or more per chimney. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">FALSE, this is one that I haven’t written about, I was searching for ideas when I read on Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s web site that only one swift will nest per chimney, they will allow other swifts to roost. This confuses people watching from the ground. I thought, “I did not know that.” So I put it in the quiz. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">If you knew this without enlisting the help of Professor Google, reach around and give yourself a pat on the back, not many got it right. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">9. To save money, mix white millet in with the nyjer seed, finch love it and it won’t attract pigeons. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">FALSE, even though it’s a part of most of the finch mixes you buy, finch don’t eat millet, it’s a cheap filler that ends up on the ground where pigeons are waiting with open beaks. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">10. Hummingbird nectar has to be dyed red. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">FALSE, I think everyone got this right. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">11. When it’s time for hummingbirds to migrate south, they pick a day when conditions are right and fly nonstop to South America.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">FALSE, hummingbirds take there time migrating, feeding as they go. People in the southern states only put feeders out in spring and fall. Plus, almost all of our hummingbirds overwinter in Mexico or Central America. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">12. Plastic owls will scare pigeons away from feeders but the more desirable birds are unaffected. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">FALSE, fake owls might work for about 5 minutes, then the pigeons are right back at the feeders. What I could never figure out is why people think they would scare pigeons away but not the all the other birds. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">13. Mesh feeders work well for black oil sunflower and peanuts but aren’t a great choice for nyjer. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I had to let either answer go on this one, it is just my opinion, I wasn’t thinking of the half of one percent of people who like mesh nyjer feeders. The other 99.5% of you returned them for a better model. I would have answered TRUE, having seen all the seed that spoils in the nyjer mesh feeders. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">14. New Brunswick eagles migrate south before our rivers freeze over.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">FALSE, we have eagles year round, they frequent such fine dining locations as the Westmoreland Albert Solid Waste Commission, Cardwell Compost facility, as well as roadsides and farms serving up the best in carrion. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">15. Pigeons aren’t able to eat nyjer from the proper feeder if you don’t use a tray. (so at least you can feed finch)</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">TRUE, it has to be the proper feeder though, some people are still feeding nyjer from feeders meant for sunflower. The openings should be just slightly larger than the fat end of a toothpick. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Multiple Choice:</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">1. Woodpeckers drum on your stove pipe at dawn because</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. they want you to fill the suet feeder.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. they think you should be awake too.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. they’re trying to attract a girlfriend. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">“C” is the best answer, although some mornings I can’t help thinking it’s a little “ALL THE ABOVE”. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">2. The best thing you can do to attract waxwings is</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. feed nyjer seed.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. feed sunflower seed.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. feed suet. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. plant native fruit trees.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">“D”, you could also feed fruit, but they don’t eat seed or suet. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">3. Platform feeders attract</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. doves and jays.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. goldfinch and chickadees. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. cardinals and grosbeaks.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. all the above. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">“D”, all birds love a platform feeder, if it wasn’t for pigeons, rain and snow they would be the only feeder you’d need.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">4. In New Brunswick, American Goldfinch </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. hibernate. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. migrate.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. stay all winter in a duller winter plumage.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. both b and c. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">“D”, some migrate, some stay, numbers vary from winter to winter but we usually have some Goldfinch in winter. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">5. All the experts say hummingbird nectar should be</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. 1 part sugar: 2 parts water.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. 1 part sugar: 1 part water.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. 1 part sugar: 4 parts water.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">“C” is the best answer, </span><span style="text-decoration: underline ; letter-spacing: 0.0px">never</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"> stronger than 1:3 and with that only the first of the season. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">6. Tree Swallows require houses</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. with at least 4 compartments.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. placed 2 per pole.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. placed about 100 feet apart. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">“C”, Tree Swallows have a 100 foot territory, other nest boxes placed within the circle could be used by chickadee or bluebirds though. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"> </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">7. A good way to attract more birds to your yard is to</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. use mixed seed.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. use a variety of feeders with the proper seed in each feeder. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. add a feature with moving water, like a fountain or dripper. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. both b and c. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">“D”, spreading out the feeders will allow more birds to eat in peace, Blue Jays want the peanuts so give them a feeder away from the small bird’s feeder. And, almost nothing with feathers can resist moving water. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">8. A Blue Jays all time favourite food is</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. sunflower seeds. (they’ll do anything to get them) </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. millet. (they’ll do anything to get it)</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. corn. (they’ll do anything to get it)</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. peanuts in the shell. (they’ll do anything to get them)</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">“D”, if you answered “a” you haven’t tried peanuts in the shell yet. It’s the only feed they will actually come indoors for. Try a small bag, you don’t need anything special to feed them, just place them around where you can observe. You will want a feeder eventually to slow them down, peanuts are expensive and jays will work non-stop until they are all hidden away. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">9. In the spring, birds repeatedly fly against your windows because</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. they want in your house. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. they see their reflection and think it’s a competing bird.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. Oprah’s on. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">“B”, I think everyone got this right, it would be “c” if they were already in your house. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">10. Suet can be fed year round if</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. the temperature stays below 10 degrees Celsius.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. you don’t have any starlings at your feeders. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. it’s double rendered. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. both a and c. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">“D”, would be the best answer but, where in the world does the temperature not get higher than 10 degrees? Are there birds there (besides penguins)? So “c” is a good answer too. I can’t really let “a” slide and definitely not “b”. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">11. Suet could attract</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. woodpeckers</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. chickadee and jays.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. warblers and orioles. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. a and b.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>e. all the above.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">“E”, warblers and orioles have been known to partake, especially on cold spring mornings. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">12. Unless you are going to feed continuously throughout the winter you should</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. take your feeders in so the birds will migrate.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. hire a service to come by daily to fill your feeders.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. feed when you can, in nature, when a source (i.e. flower or weed seeds) runs <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>out, birds move around and find another. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">“C”, is correct, “b” would be OK too but not necessary. Removing your feeders won’t force any bird to migrate, unless you consider jumping the fence to your neighbours yard migrating.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">13. If you want to get started birding you should have </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. expensive binoculars, a spotting scope with tripod, digital camera, several <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>field guides and bird songs recordings.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. a reasonable pair of binoculars and a good field guide.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. a spouse who is into birding or doesn’t care if you’re never home. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. both b and c. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">“D” is the best answer but so many of you single (and oblivious married) people answered “b”, I’ll let either go. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">14. A good field guide should</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. fit in your pocket. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. list similar species together.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. have arrows to quickly point out the differences between species. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. all the above. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">“D” everyone got this right. I guess it was too easy. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">15. To attract more hummingbirds you should</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. place several feeders that are not in sight of each other. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. buy really big feeders with enough ports so everyone can feed together.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. choose a variety of plants so you will have blooms throughout the season.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. both a and c.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>e. both b and c. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">“D”, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds fight non stop, it doesn’t matter if there are enough feeder ports to go around, one guy will want them all for himself. It’s best to have several feeders spread around and you can never go wrong with flowers.</span></p><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></div>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-46762775585349214722010-12-06T09:35:00.000-04:002010-12-06T09:36:25.751-04:00Cleaning Feeders<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Everybody has a different opinion when it comes to cleaning bird feeders. I’ve read that feeders should be cleaned every 3 weeks, every month, I have a customer who scrubs and disinfects the tube feeders every time they’re refilled. When people ask me when they should clean their feeders I tell them, “When they’re dirty.” I’m not trying to be funny, why clean your feeder if it isn’t dirty? Some feeders need to be cleaned more often, certain designs either catch bird droppings or allow the seed to get wet. So check the feeder for droppings, especially where the birds will be eating. It’s also a good idea to dump out the remaining seed before you refill, you can dump it on the ground for sparrows and doves or if you’re trying to keep your pigeons to a minimum, dump it into a bucket and make sure it is clean, dry and not clumping. Before refilling the feeder, inspect it for the dust and dirt, clumped seed and poop. You may be able to dump this out if you check at every refill and you’ll lengthen the time between major cleanings. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">If things are looking and or smelling a little off, now is the time to break out the brushes and bleach. Remember though that bleach doesn’t disinfect in the presence of organic matter so you have to get all the junk out with soap and water first, then soak feeders in a 1 part bleach to 9 parts water solution. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The type of seed also makes a big difference in the length of time between major cleanings. Seed mixes, especially those containing cracked corn will have to be cleaned more often, cracked corn goes to mush in wet and humid weather and the uneaten portions of the mixes will eventually spoil.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">All the way to the other end of the price list is hulled sunflower, but it too fouls up the feeders in a hurry, same reason as the cracked corn, the waterproofing is removed. I think feeding hulled sunflower in extra large or poorly designed feeders is a waste of money. My favourite feeder for hulled sunflower is the Aspects medium tube, it’s not too big, has a great seed deflector on the bottom to keep the seed flowing toward the holes, is very waterproof and has a quick release base for easy cleaning. (And a lifetime warranty.) </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Feeders with the quick release base will go longer between major cleanings if you remove the base every time you refill and wipe out the dust before it turns to goo. You can do it with one hand, even when you’re wearing gloves. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">There is lots of advice and information on cleaning bird feeders, less however on cleaning the ground under them. The feeders I use don’t get very dirty at all, but the ground sure does. Since I don’t use trays, the hulls and poop go to the ground under the feeders. For the most part the lawn mower bagger takes care of the mess in the summer and the snow blower does a great job in winter but there is still some mess left behind.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">One of the reasons people tell me they feed mixed seed is to give the ground feeders something to eat when it gets tossed out. The problem with this is, unless you mix your own seed, there is likely to be junk filler in the mix that nothing eats. This waste lays under your feeder mixing with the bird poop, breeding all sorts of microorganisms. I think it’s more hygienic to feed the ground feeding birds in a separate area where they aren’t eating off the mess or being poop bombed from above. You can also control the amount of seed, making sure there isn’t too much or too little. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Be careful when cleaning under bird feeders, the danger isn’t from touching the stuff it comes from inhaling airborne spores. It’s very rare to get sick, but it could happen. It may be as simple as not raking when the droppings are very dry and be conscious of which way the wind is blowing, keep up wind from the dust. Even on the lawn mower, it comes second nature to me to blow the junk with the wind; growing up we cut 5 acres of lawn so I spent most of my teen years on a tractor lawn mower. We also had an almost 200 pound Newfoundland dog, when the you hit one of his old dried out bowel movements, it was like hitting a white ant hill. You soon learned to blow the grass with the wind when you were cutting over his favourite place. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Be careful too if you’re brushing out any of you feeders with a dry brush, don’t do it indoors and stay up wind.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">More than a decade ago there was a huge invasion of Common Redpoll, a small percentage of these birds were being found sick around feeders stations. A warning went out to disinfect all bird feeders, I suggested to also move the feeders to a new area but was told by the experts, that wouldn’t make any difference. I still disagree, what would be a greater danger of transmitting disease, the inside of a nyjer tube that has never contacted a bird and it’s droppings or the ground beneath where hundreds of birds have been eating and pooping? What could be easier? When you hang it back out, put it on a different branch. I do it all the time and there is little mess and no dead grass under the feeders. On the iron hangers, I move them closer to the house for winter, but throughout the year I rotate around the yard, leaving one or two stations empty for a while, I have lots of feeders and it’s easier than moving the post. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">When I feed on the ground, I change the location every time I scatter seed. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I often suggest feeding millet within a brush pile to keep pigeons away. A brush pile is a sparrow magnet by itself, but scatter millet inside it and they go wild. The problem with a brush pile though, you can’t always tell how funky things are getting inside and it’s not easy to move to a new location...or is it, I making one now that is portable. I started with a frame 2 feet by 4 feet for the bottom and nailed thicker twigs to make a pup tent like structure over it, then nail smaller branches from the bottom to the top cross piece. If none of the openings are over 2 ¾ inches, the pigeons won’t be able to get inside. With everything securely attached, you can drag it to a new location periodically. Since it has to be a little smaller than some brush piles you may want to feed on a ground tray to keep the seed in the middle, this way pigeons won’t be able to reach the seed from the outside. You may want to make one or two of the twigs removable so you can access the seed. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Last week’s quiz was the most fun I’ve had for a long time, I issued a challenge to New Brunswick naturalists and I proud to say that you readers are ahead of them by about 15%. As of Wednesday, there still hasn’t been anyone with a 100% score, (although one person did come close, the judges ruled that the answers to true and false questions shouldn’t be ambiguous.) If you haven’t done it yet you can find the quiz on line at timestranscript.com or there’s a direct link to the quiz (and my ribbing of the naturalist community) at twitter.com/thebirdgarden or e-mail me and I’ll send it to you. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I wish I knew how to do one of those “answer on line quizzes”, I don’t, but many of you showed me that you could paste it into an email, answer it then send it to me. If you didn’t get 100%, you may try again and I’ll enter each quiz in the draw, so the more times you try, the better odds at the draw. You’ll see that I’ve offered an additional $20 gift card to the first (clear) perfect score and you’ll likely be alone in that category so you could get $40 and believe me, bragging rights. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I’ll take entries up to midnight October 1, as the answers and explanations will be in the next days paper. I’ll announce the winners in the October 9 column. Who knows, maybe we can get a picture of the winners with those giant novelty cheques. </span></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-54110432801466415272010-12-06T09:33:00.001-04:002010-12-06T09:33:52.420-04:00Quiz<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Did I mention there was going to be a quiz?</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">100% - Grandmaster, I’d like to shake your hand. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">85-99% - You should consider making this a career.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">60-84% - You should send me your resume. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Under 25% - Maybe a career as a weather person where this would be considered a high score. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">True or False:</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">1. If you want to attract small birds you should feed small seed. _____</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">2. It takes 36 hours in your birdbath for mosquito eggs can hatch into adults. _____</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">3. Great-crested Flycatchers, Blue Jays, and Hairy Woodpeckers all use the same size bird house. _____</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">4. 7x50 binoculars are 15 times more powerful than 7x35. _____</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">5. Chickadee, nuthatch, jays, woodpeckers and blackbirds are attracted to peanuts. ____</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">6. A Bald Eagle is bigger than a Golden Eagle. ____</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">7. It’s impossible to keep squirrels off your feeders. _____</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">8. A nesting colony of Chimney Swifts may have 20 nests or more per chimney. _____</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">9. To save money, mix white millet in with the nyjer seed, finch love it and it won’t attract pigeons. _____</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">10. Hummingbird nectar has to be dyed red. _____</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">11. When it’s time for hummingbirds to migrate south, they pick a day when conditions are right and fly nonstop to South America._____</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">12. Plastic owls will scare pigeons away from feeders but the more desirable birds are unaffected. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">13. Mesh feeders work well for black oil sunflower and peanuts but aren’t a great choice for nyjer. ____</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">14. New Brunswick eagles migrate south before our rivers freeze over. _____</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">15. Pigeons aren’t able to eat nyjer from the proper feeder if you don’t use a tray. (so at least you can feed finch) ____</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Multiple Choice:</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">1. Woodpeckers drum on your stove pipe at dawn because</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. they want you to fill the suet feeder.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. they think you should be awake too.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. they’re trying to attract a girlfriend. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">2. The best thing you can do to attract waxwings is</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. feed nyjer seed.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. feed sunflower seed.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. feed suet. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. plant native fruit trees.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">3. Platform feeders attract</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. doves and jays.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. goldfinch and chickadees. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. cardinals and grosbeaks.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. all the above. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">4. In New Brunswick, American Goldfinch </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. hibernate. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. migrate.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. stay all winter in a duller winter plumage.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. both b and c. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">5. All the experts say hummingbird nectar should be</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. 1 part sugar: 2 parts water.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. 1 part sugar: 1 part water.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. 1 part sugar: 4 parts water.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">6. Tree Swallows require houses</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. with at least 4 compartments.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. placed 2 per pole.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. placed about 100 feet apart. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">7. A good way to attract more birds to your yard is to</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. use mixed seed.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. use a variety of feeders with the proper seed in each feeder. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. add a feature with moving water, like a fountain or dripper. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. both b and c. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">8. A Blue Jays all time favourite food is</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. sunflower seeds. (they’ll do anything to get them) </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. millet. (they’ll do anything to get it)</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. corn. (they’ll do anything to get it)</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. peanuts in the shell. (they’ll do anything to get them)</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">9. In the spring, birds repeatedly fly against your windows because</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. they want in your house. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. they see their reflection and think it’s a competing bird.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. Oprah’s on. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">10. Suet can be fed year round if</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. the temperature stays below 10 degrees Celsius.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. you don’t have any starlings at your feeders. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. it’s double rendered. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. both a and c. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">11. Suet could attract</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. woodpeckers</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. chickadee and jays.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. warblers and orioles. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. a and b.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>e. all the above.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">12. Unless you are going to feed continuously throughout the winter you should</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. take your feeders in so the birds will migrate.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. hire a service to come by daily to fill your feeders.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. feed when you can, in nature, when a source (i.e. flower or weed seeds) runs <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>out, birds move around and find another. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">13. If you want to get started birding you should have </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. expensive binoculars, a spotting scope with tripod, digital camera, several <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>field guides and bird songs recordings.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. a reasonable pair of binoculars and a good field guide.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. a spouse who is into birding or doesn’t care if you’re never home. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. both b and c. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">14. A good field guide should</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. fit in your pocket. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. list similar species together.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. have arrows to quickly point out the differences between species. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. all the above. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">15. To attract more hummingbirds you should</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a. place several feeders that are not in sight of each other. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b. buy really big feeders with enough ports so everyone can feed together.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c. choose a variety of plants so you will have blooms throughout the season.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>d. both a and c.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>e. both b and c. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">You can find me on Twitter, each Saturday I tweet the link to the Birdman column in the Times and Transcript online. Go to twitter.com/thebirdgarden for all things birdy. </span></p><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></div>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-61277962036449469882010-12-06T09:30:00.001-04:002010-12-06T09:31:46.828-04:00Outdoor Cats<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">When you write a weekly bird column you eventually have to come around to the topic of outdoor cats. It’s a very touchy subject that pretty much divides the population. I admit the disappearance of a favourite cat was the initial reason we had for keeping our cats indoors, we searched for weeks, my wife would get up in the middle of the night to call and rattle the food container in an attempt to lure the cat home. Even years later when we saw a similar looking cat we would stop and check it out. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The fact is though when you let your cats outside they are going to be injured or killed, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">A few months after we lost Bob our new cat escaped from the house. I made posters and offered a $50 reward, people thought I was nuts, “50 bucks for a cat?” For me it was simple economics, if we didn’t get Marble back, I’d have to get my wife another cat. Then I’d be looking at 3 vaccinations at $50 bucks a shot, the neutering at $150 and the sleepless nights that my wife jumps out of bed every time a mouse scratches in the walls, oh yes, and I’d miss the cat. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Indoor cats live longer healthier lives and in my experience make better pets. Marble is 18 years old now, his house mate was also 18 when she died. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Outdoor cats face many dangers, cars, disease, poison, people, dogs, coyotes, fleas, ticks and mites. They say the number one disease in outdoor cats is abscesses caused by a bite from another cat. I can only guess what that costs today to be treated, anesthesia, surgery (although minor still costly), and drugs. Most of these problems are eliminated or at least greatly lessened by simply keeping your cat indoors. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">An added bonus, if everyone was to keep cats in, the second biggest cause of the decline of bird populations (next to habitat loss) would be gone. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Cats will kill anything they can regardless of need; healthy well fed cats kill more than under nourished ones. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I’ve had people tell me that it’s “just nature”, it may be in a cats nature to kill, but they aren’t a native species so our birds haven’t evolved in ways to defend themselves.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I’ve also had countless people stop by to tell me they don’t feed birds because their cat goes outside and they aren’t going to feed birds only to watch their cat kill them. The old out of site, out of mind defense, just because you don’t see them, they’re still killing birds. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">One of the reasons I chose to write about cats was, Sunday when my son came home from riding lessons he was toting a new kitten that was dumped off at the stable. This guy is extremely happy to stay inside, even shying away from outside doors. I can only imagine the terrors he faced in the couple weeks he was abandoned. We’ve also rescued adult cats that were formerly used to going outdoors, every one of them has been content to stay inside and watch the bird feeders from the comfort and safety of the window sills. So it can be done, of course the cat is going to cry at the door for a day or two, that’s what they did when they wanted out. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">There are a few companies that specialize in outdoor cat enclosures, these are accessed from a window or pet door and cats can come and go as they wish. We chose to build a screened in sun room so we can enjoy it with them, when cats want out they meow at that door now, they spend 3 seasons in the sun room and 1 in front of the wood stove. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Enough of the lecture on cats. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Coming up on October 10 is the 16</span><span style="font: 8.0px Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0.0px"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"> annual Big Sit, this “listing” event may be right up your alley. You create 17 foot diameter circle, sit inside and count all the birds you see and hear for 24 hours. Sounds good to me, choose a circle you don’t have to walk to, the mosquitoes should be scarce, maybe I could even work on some bird houses on the quiet times. The big downfall for me is the whole 24 hour thing, but the organizers have that covered too, you have teams, so all I need is someone who can stay awake past 9 p.m. to listen for owls. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The Big Sit makes a great fundraiser for clubs, you can get sponsors for a few cents per species. You don’t have to tally any rare species, counting the common birds on this day during fall migration will, over years, show trends and identify declining or increasing populations. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">It could be argued that events like the Big Sit are more friendly to the environment than other bird-a-thon events like a Big Day or the World Series of Birding that have birders driving here, there and everywhere in search of another species. It’s likely easier on the birds too, that’s my reasoning, as a lazy birder, and I’m sticking to it.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">In closing, I’d like to share with you how my week started--my son comes down stairs Sunday morning (the same day the new cat arrived, I should have stayed in bed and not answered the phone) while I’m reading up on Big Sits and I say, “Hey Buddy, you want to do a Big Sit?” </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">He says, “Just did one upstairs.”</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">“No, I said, ‘sit’ Son, a Big ‘Sit’.”</span></p><p></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-86029933234321954262010-12-06T09:22:00.000-04:002010-12-06T09:23:13.266-04:00Bird Myths<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I’ve been keeping a list of bird related myths for quite a while now, when I first opened the shop I’d hear some of these on an almost daily basis. With so much information and so many people observing birds, most of these myths have gone by the wayside, but some still persist. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">For instance, less than 20 years ago it would be routine for me to hear someone state that hummingbirds didn’t perch. I’m not sure where that one came from, maybe it’s because you can’t see their feet all that well when they fly, or maybe it’s because they belong to the order Apodiformes: “A” meaning without, “pod” meaning feet. Of course hummingbirds do have feet, but they weren’t made for walking, the best they can do is shimmy along a perch if they land too far away from the feeder hole. However they can use their stubby little legs to reach over a wing to scratch their heads. I haven’t heard this for years, but at first I was laughed at when I tried to sell a hummingbird feeder with perches. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Then came the short lived myth that you had to remove the perches to keep the birds flying while they fed. The theory was when a hummer drank cold nectar in the morning it got something akin to a super brain freeze and could die. If hummers had to hover, they would generate heat and wouldn’t drink too, much too fast. The biggest problem for me was that the best hummingbird feeders on the market don’t have removable perches, so people thought they had to buy more expensive, harder to clean feeders, just so they could remove the perches during cold periods. I’m glad this myth has disappeared, I don’t miss it. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Did you hear the one about the hummingbirds migrating south on the backs of Canada Geese? Raise your hand if you’ve ever believed this to be true. This used to be a common myth, often I’d have to politely debunk it several times a day. I don’t think anyone still believes this but just in case, it’s now the first of September and most of our hummingbirds have left, the geese however, (except for our non-migratory imported Ontario geese), aren’t even here yet. I think hunting season starts sometime in October and runs almost until Christmas, when our migrating geese head out, so even if a hummer could hitch one up and ride it south they don’t leave at the same time of the year. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Which leads me to the next myth and the reason I’m writing about myths this week. This one is alive and well, I’m getting a couple calls a day asking when the feeders should be taken down so the hummingbirds will migrate. The answer is you don’t have to take them down, they will migrate on their own even if there is a great source of free nectar, they’ve been doing it for centuries, it’s in their genes. Hummingbirds migrate in response to the shortening day length, and sun light sure does dwindle in August, from the first to the last we loose 1 hour and 45 minutes of light. If that doesn’t send all migratory birds on there way it at least has them packing their bags. So if your neighbour leans over the fence and says, “Yep, you better get those feeders put away.” Volunteer to come over and mow down all his remaining flowers, you wouldn’t want them to keep the hummers from migrating. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">We still have all our feeders out, and all but a handful have left. The next time we clean them we will only put out a few and later only one or two of our most conspicuous feeders so any late travelers coming through from further north can stop a while and refuel. This is also the time to be looking for any species other than the Ruby-throated, as it tends to be quite late in the season when they show up. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">There are still some questions around red food colouring in hummingbird nectar. I think it’s agreed on that the new red colour isn’t harmful, but if you’re using a commercial hummingbird feeder and not the kid’s hamster bottle, it likely has quite a bit of red on it. If the hummers don’t see that it’s unlikely that red nectar is going to make that much difference. The strongest arguments I can come up with for not colouring are: if you spill it in the house or on your deck, instead of a sticky mess you have a sticky mess and a red stain; and if you leave the jug of red nectar in the fridge your kids will drink it. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Probably the most persistent myth ever is the old “birds choke on peanut butter”. Even though there is no evidence of this ever happening the myth won’t die. It likely lives on because at the end of every mention about peanut butter not being harmful to birds they say, “But if you’re still worried about choking birds, mix in some corn meal.” You don’t have to mix it, some birds love straight peanut butter, I’ve actually seen a nuthatch pick the cornmeal out of the mix and drop it to the ground. I wish birds did like corn meal it’s much cheaper than the other ingredients that go into suet cakes. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Last fall I had the bottom of a container break out and about 20 gallons of peanut butter plopped out on my driveway. For the next week a mixed flock of about 200 blackbirds, Blue Jays, (my dog, some raccoons and I think at least one skunk), feasted. Not even one blackbird required the Heimlich, in fact, the only things I noticed that were different were a very soft luxuriant coat and some interesting bowel movements on the part of the dog. The resident squirrel did have a mental break down trying to get all that peanut butter for himself, I don’t think he slept for a week. He still twitches when he walks by the spot. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I still get the “birds feet stick to metal perches” one quite regularly, fact is, they don’t. I’ve found a few reasons for this: birds don’t have sweat glands in their feet (if they did why would they be sweating on a day they’re feet would freeze down?), another reason has to do with birds having natural heat exchangers in their feet to conserve body heat, so the warm foot won’t stick to the cold metal.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Whatever the reason, it’s obvious that their feet won’t stick to metal, you see hundreds of birds perched on uninsulated hydro wires, wire fences, metal railings, etc. I had one otherwise intelligent customer refuse to buy a high quality feeders because they had metal perches but he bought a 4 arm iron hanger. I almost blew it when I asked how he kept the birds from landing on the hanger while awaiting a turn on the plastic feeders.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Here’s a few more quickies: </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Birds explode if they eat rice. Not true, where rice grows, lot’s of birds eat it, if it were true it would be the end to pigeon problems, I’m sure it’s been tried. I still think you should throw bird seed at the bride and groom though...I don’t sell rice. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">If you touch a baby bird it’s parents will abandon it. Not true, if a bird does fall from a nest you can return it. Researchers measure and weigh nestlings daily and return them to the nest where they are still tended to by parents. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Bird seed won’t spoil. Not true, just because there were viable seeds found in the pyramids doesn’t mean the 5 year old seed in your basement is still good. Seed dries out and looses nutritional value, most seed has at least some weevils or meal moth larvae and over time they will eat the seeds and reproduce and eat the seeds and… After a while there is nothing but empty shells and a basement full of moths. I’ve already been selling some feeders that are for Christmas presents. I warn off buying the seed early though, the seed that is available for sale now is close to a year old, there will soon be a new crop harvested and that will be better seed. Now is a bad time to buy a pallet load of seed, even if it seems like a good deal. To keep those insects dormant as long as possible keep your seed in an unheated space for the winter. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-24477326352937579162010-10-27T06:33:00.002-03:002010-10-27T06:36:20.960-03:00New Products?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGJyRt8LeOCbGg_8RT910vXG_p_eudickxMpO4PYrQqCk6jcVoQkSRpRyFdiAjTWerGUiV00GKnF3dz00QRJ6Oz6pu1PO77f_GuRqo-8_9c2Ls89XEXvbnlPtb_gdYixICoD-hEhV-h5Gq/s1600/Birdwatchers+Choice+Fly+Larvae.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 164px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGJyRt8LeOCbGg_8RT910vXG_p_eudickxMpO4PYrQqCk6jcVoQkSRpRyFdiAjTWerGUiV00GKnF3dz00QRJ6Oz6pu1PO77f_GuRqo-8_9c2Ls89XEXvbnlPtb_gdYixICoD-hEhV-h5Gq/s200/Birdwatchers+Choice+Fly+Larvae.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532657122654535202" /></a><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Every month there are new products on then market that are supposed to entice more birds to your back yard or make your life easier. If you subscribe to any birding magazines, most of them have a new products section each month. When you run a shop, you get flyers with what’s new and what’s hot on a daily basis. I have to admit, I don’t read all of these and often rely on a customer’s request it before it comes to my attention, there are a few that I think would be a great idea, if they worked, some that I was pretty sure were duds right from the start, (but I bought them anyway) and a couple that I’d have to file under “if you’d buy this you’re a true bird nut”.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">One of those things that I’ve seen advertised a lot is the Audubon BirdCam, I thought about it and placed it in the “it would be great if it worked” section of my wish list. It’s a motion activated digital camera that you place near your feeders and snaps pictures of what ever comes by. A version of this is used by researchers, for example in Fundy Park where they are trying to get a picture of the elusive Eastern Cougar, a camera like this is set up near scent posts. I thought it would be great to not spend hours in the cold or heat or mosquitoes or even the kitchen window to try to get pictures of my feeder visitors. At about the same time I was going to try one out I had an order from a very good customer who is also my guinea pig for testing new products, I let him buy things, test them out and report back to me. If it’s a dud, it ends up in my yard if it passes inspection I’ll add them to inventory. I’m still waiting to see some pictures taken with the camera, you never know with the shots taken for the advertisement, I imagine they would neglect to say, “It snapped 2 million shots and this is the only one fit to print.”</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">My guinea pig also tested out the Hawk Eye Nature Cam, it’s the one you can place right inside a bird house and watch the comings and goings on a monitor. I still can’t believe the luck, it was set up in one house and all the other houses were removed to “force” the bird to go to the one with the camera, and it worked, I’d be moving it all over the yard for years trying to get the right house. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">They were able to watch a Tree Swallow pair build a nest, lay and incubate eggs then feed young, no doubt the best thing on TV this summer. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Also available is the Timelapse PlantCam so you can record your plants growing if that’s the kind of thing that floats your boat, I’d just like to find out which cat keeps eating ours and throwing it up on the floor. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Last summer, when some Riverview rats were displaced by road work and ended up foraging under bird feeders, I was asked to order some SeedHoops to keep seed from being knocked on the ground. These are 30 inch screens that hang under the feeder and catch spilled seed, unfortunately they catch wind, snow, bird poop and every pigeon in the neighbourhood. Fortunately by the time they arrived from my supplier the rats were back underground...out of sight out of mind, and I still have a case of seed hoops. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Just when you thought you’ve seen it all another gem arrives in the mail, this time from BirdWatchers Choice, the W is a pair of binoculars, clever, but it doesn’t make up for the fact that they’re selling canned fly larvae. That’s right maggots, and a 70 gram can costs me $6.60 US before shipping, that’s $94.29 per kilogram...wholesale...for maggots...and to think, all this time I’ve been throwing them out. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The can reads: soft and moist, easy to handle, farm raised. I wonder if they have many requests for farm tours and what do the owners say when people ask what they do for a living. I thought I had it bad, I usually don’t tell strangers what I do, people think I’m nuts if I say I can earn a living making bird feeders and houses, I can’t imagine the comments when you say you’re a maggot farmer, would you even bother to put it on a resume or would it be easier to say you were in the penitentiary for those last 5 years. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">If you bought a can, where would you store it, you wouldn’t want your teenage kids finding it when they come home late at night with a bad case of munchies. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I’ve been thinking of a new product for a few years myself, and if a maggot cannery can fly then my idea for deer repellant should be a hot seller. It came to me when I heard of a company selling Scandinavian wolf urine to keep deer out of your garden. I thought, “Why would Canadian deer be afraid of Scandinavian wolves.” If you really want to keep them away, (and this is my product), you should use Albert County deer hunter urine, this is a predator our deer are familiar with. If your deer are really smart and know when hunting season is over we’d sell Albert County deer jacker urine, the label would have one of those 4x4’s with enough lighting on the roll bar to land jets. The secret ingredient, Jack Daniel’s, if that doesn’t keep the deer out of the dahlias, nothing will. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Maybe I should do a business plan, now that I’ve put it on paper it looks like something ACOA would really get behind. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I’ve noticed quite a few posts on natureNB lately about earwigs in bird feeders, most seem surprised by this, for those of you who have one of my feeders that were made over a year ago this is likely a common occurrence. Now I make a “new and improved” feeder that is 95% more earwig free (although I don’t actually advertise this fact)...I bevel the top spacer to eliminate the area between it and the roof where the earwigs like to hide. I’m pretty sure that’s all it is, a hiding place, the discussion was weather or not they were attracted to seeds, I don’t think so as they’re in the empty outdoor display feeders as much as the full ones, (don’t worry we tap them out before we sell them). They hide in almost anything we have outside, now I make it a habit of dumping my work boots before putting my feet in, I shake the shirt I wear welding before I put it on, they’ll hide in anything.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">In closing, one last earwig story, warning for those who already have an earwig phobia, stop reading now. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">During the last peak in the earwig cycle I was visiting my parents in PEI, my father was complaining that his shower had no pressure. Thinking it was calcium deposits from their extremely hard water, I got a cup of vinegar and soaked it. It seemed clean though and nothing was bubbling so I took it off, it was one of those hand held jobs and at the beginning of the hose there was a screen, it seemed clogged…(last chance to put the paper down), when I opened the tap with no head attached a 5 inch plug of earwig pieces shot out into the tub, hummm, that’s likely to affect pressure. Then I started to think that the kitchen and bathroom sinks had screens too...and yes they were plugged with earwig pieces as well. I guess the earwigs like it under the dark cool cap on the well and many fall in, are chopped up by the submersible pump and delivered to all rooms in the house; so you decide, should the new product be a flavoured protein drink or the vermin-proof well cap. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-19959222627684306302010-10-27T06:32:00.001-03:002010-10-27T06:36:41.618-03:00It’s going to get worse before it gets better...<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>A question I hear a lot is “How can I get rid of the black birds?” The first thing we have to clarify is which black bird you have. The problem birds seem to be crows, grackles and starlings; with Red-winged Blackbirds sometimes ruffling the feathers of the home owners. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>This time of year the most common complaint is about grackles, and the inquiries have started coming in earlier this year, which makes sense since they arrived about 2 weeks early this spring. I’ve been seeing what looks like like small flocks of grackles preparing for migration for a few weeks, but quite a few people confuse them with starlings, ( and vice versa) and sometimes even with crows. What difference you say.......the big difference is in how you control them. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Grackles are no doubt the hardest one to control because they like almost all seeds and especially seem to like the favourite of most small birds, the black oil sunflower seed. You can limit the access by using only really small feeders, removing trays and shortening or removing perches all together. The mesh feeders seem to work pretty good as well, but not excluding them all together. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The worst thing you can do is feed mixed seed, the seeds the other birds don’t like and fling out of the feeder are like a magnet to grackles (see my past rants on mixed seed).</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If you do this you will cut down the numbers of grackles coming to your yard, hopefully they will move on down the road to someone else’s house with nice large grackle friendly platform feeders. I have a rather large yard and feed cracked corn in large open feeders and spread it on the ground in the fall. When I do this I rarely get grackles on my small sunflower feeders. So if you have the room get the 40 kg bag of cracked corn from your local feed mill ($16 plus or minus $2) and feed the black birds in the far corner of your land. If you don’t have the room, tell your neighbours how great crack corn is at attracting birds maybe even give him a large bag to spread around his yard. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I usually only go through about one bag each fall and I feed a lot. My goal is to attract and identify some rarities that tag along with the large flocks; and I have had success, a few Rusty Blackbirds and one Yellow-headed Blackbird. If you really want to make people take a second look, spread the corn in designs like crop circles, when a couple hundred birds are eating in the grass, you can’t see the corn, only the birds. I use an old 5 gallon water cooler bottle full of corn to “draw” my patterns. Yesterday the circle was all blue with jays, while we watched it turned black with the grackles. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The bright side of the grackle is that they migrate, (crows and starlings are a year round pain). They have already started gathering is large flocks in anticipation of departure, but if you have a problem now and you don’t cut down on the trays and perches, it is likely to get worse before they all leave usually around the same time the leaves drop. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If the black birds that are causing your troubles happen to be smaller with a short tail, longer beak and spots, than you have starlings. I’ve got good news and bad news: Bad news first? They don’t migrate. They will be with us year round, <b>for ever.</b> They are easily one of the smartest birds, well maybe smart isn’t the right term, they are one of the most “adaptive” birds at my feeders. So it can be a little troublesome to “limit their consumption” from your feeders. They wouldn’t even be that much of a problem except they travel in gangs (if that’s not the correct term for a group of Starlings it should be) of sometimes 50-100, bully the other birds and they devour only the most expensive food. The favourite is peanuts and peanut butter suet and they will be attracted to seed tubes with mixtures that contain peanuts and corn as well. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The good news is, it’s easy to feed the small birds and exclude Starlings. They won’t do acrobatics and hang off a small tube or mesh feeders containing only sunflower seeds. So the chickadee, nuthatch, Goldfinch, Purple Finch, grosbeaks and much more can eat in peace. They won’t eat nyjer, so you can feed all the finch, and they won’t eat millet so you can feed sparrows, junco and Mourning Doves. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The biggest problem with starlings is if you want to feed woodpeckers, more chickadees, nuthatch and Blue Jays. If you feed suet you will likely see starlings, you can limit their activity with the up-side-down suet feeder, it doesn’t work 100% but probably about 85%. In my yard, a cake that would only last 2 days in the regular feeder when starlings are at their worst; in the up-side-down it will last over 10 days. The starlings can only hang on for a few seconds as opposed to the whole day on the regular feeder. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If you want to feed peanuts, the quarter inch wire mesh peanut silos work the best, if you don’t use the tray, starlings will have a hard time, the smaller guys cling to the wire. If it’s Blue Jays you want to attract, try the peanut in the shell feeder, starlings don’t bother these and if the grackles become a problem you can move it really close to your house where they are quite uncomfortable to approach, the Blue Jays aren’t shy at all, they will actually come right inside if you let them. Last year I fed peanuts in the shell inside the door of my shop, but the jays got a little carried away, coming all the way in eating out of all the display feeders, that didn’t even bother me too much, it was when they started opening their own bags of peanuts on the shelf that my wife put her foot down. Even if they opened one bag it wouldn’t be so bad, but I guess they wanted only the best nuts and every bag was opened. (not to mention the droppings they were leaving behind on the new feeders). This year the feeder is back outside the window where if I show my face at all the grackles beat it to a more distant feeder, I still can’t fill any display feeders if I want to leave the door opened though, some jays seem to have a long memory. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If crows are a problem, the tricks mentioned above should take care of them. Make sure it is crows you have, it’s surprising the number of people who confuse them with grackles. We have a crow feeder, it’s just a box on a pole high enough to keep the dog out, any left overs and scraps that the crows would otherwise rip out of our garbage bag go into this feeder. We have maybe 6-8 crows that hang around and they never bother the feeders, they rarely even eat the corn that I spread on the ground. </span></p>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8638388111081440033.post-4838196974426381802010-10-27T06:30:00.001-03:002010-10-27T06:31:37.581-03:00Another installment in: Birdy Words You Should Know<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">You might hear: I finally traded in my old <i>porros </i>for a new pair of <i>roofs.</i> </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I’ve never really stopped to think how odd this statement must seem to non-birders, but honestly I hear it or something similar often. They are referring to the prism system in their binoculars, <i>porro prisms</i> are the more traditional type with the large lens spaced wide apart and the barrels take a little jog before the eyepieces to get them close together to match your eye space. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i>Roof prisms</i> have a more straight through design. It used to be considered that you could get a better binocular for the money if you chose porros, but technology has changed and roof prisms are greatly out numbering porros both in purchases and models offered by companies. Roof prism are more compact, tougher and they are able to be made with extremely close focusing options; it’s common to be able to focus at 4 feet, some models even less. (More on why you would want that a little later.)</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Having said this, I still feel that the low end porros are better than low end roof prism, generally speaking, that would be under $195 but there are exceptions, you need to compare for yourself. A good roof prism will have “phase corrective coating”, and just because they say, “fully multi-coated” they don’t necessarily have the phase corrective coating. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">You might hear: I stuffed some<i> suet</i> in a <i>snag</i> and the woodpeckers went wild.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Again, I not lying, I’ve heard this on several occasions, in bird land a <i>snag</i> is a dead tree that is still standing, aka a woodpecker magnet. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i>Suet,</i> technically speaking, is the big chunks of fat around the kidney of cattle. Also a woodpecker magnet, so if you combine two magnets you get one really powerful one. I know more than one person who has a large bore drill bit on a cordless drill to make even more stuffing holes in snags. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">In bird land though suet has become fat with any and all kinds of mixtures added, there is berry, dried fruit, insects, meal worms and all have some seed thrown in to make it look even better to the buyer, not necessarily though to the end user. Remember, if a woodpecker won’t eat the seed on a feeder he is unlikely to eat it in the suet mix either. Most suet mixes have cheap seed like millet or corn added as filler, so make sure the $5 a pound “Premium Insect Suet” you are about to buy isn’t half full of 13 cent a pound corn. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">A little more on suet versus fat. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">You can get fat from almost any source, you can drain the fat off you meat when cooking, lard is the fat around the kidney of a pig, shortening is vegetable fat and all these can be mixed with seeds, peanut butter, corn meal, oat meal even a little flour to stiffen it up. But, you have to watch that it isn’t melting in the summer, the way woodpeckers feed, with their breast pressed against the holder and even up-side-down under the holder to get the last pieces, the melting fat will drip into there feathers and is very hard to get off in the bird bath. It can hinder flight and the insulation value of feathers. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Even raw suet, which is great to feed in winter will drip in summer. If you want to feed suet in the summer it should be real suet and “double rendered”, that is, cooked then strain off all the bits and let it harden. When you heat it up the second time, (the double part) you can add your secret ingredients and pour it into molds. The longer the mix “ages” the harder it gets, so if it’s a little soft, keep it in a cool place for a few days. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">You might hear: It’s just another <i>LBB</i>. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">What they mean is little brown bird, some birders just skip over all little brown birds without even trying. I’ve heard, “It’s just another LBB” while the bird was still scratching up seed 20 feet away, a quick look and there was a striking White-throated Sparrow. There are many LBB’s around, but each species is different and quite beautiful. I’d find it acceptable to say, “There’s an LBB in that birch tree at three o’clock”, if you are calling it to the attention of other birders and I <i>might not </i>push you in the river if you right it off as an LBB if it got away before you had a good look. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I’ve also heard LBJ and I used to think it was American birders confusing the term with their former president, but apparently it stands for “little brown job” which, to me, is even more annoying. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">You might hear: I built a <i>roosting</i> box for chickadees.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The first time I printed labels for my roosting boxes I slipped in an “a” for an “o” and was trying to sell roasting boxes. I was getting weird questions and the odd dirty look until I noticed my mistake. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">A roosting box is a place for birds to spend the night, it’s similar to a bird house but larger, the hole is on the bottom, there is no vent holes at the top and the inside is lined with numerous perches. This design allows groups of birds to safely get into one cavity and share the trapped body heat. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">You might hear: There wasn’t much bird activity in the heat of the afternoon so we decided to do a little <i>dragonflying</i>.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Sound exciting? It is, New Brunswick has enough dragons and damsels to keep you hopping for several summers. I found and incredible website called Odonata of New Brunswick, (there’s a link on our blog) it lists the damselflies and dragonflies found in our province, complete with species profiles and pictures. This is better than the books and you might see some familiar names who have contributed to the many pictures. Get ready for this...New Brunswick has 37 species of damselflies and 97 species of dragonflies. I think I can identify about 4.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Another similar activity to keep birders busy on the hot days when their prime focus are keeping to themselves, is butterflying. Again New Brunswick has a whopping 85 species of butterflies to challenge your identification skills. Once you get hooked on dragonflying and butterflying you’re going to want one of those close focusing binocular I mentioned earlier. Some species require very close looks to get positive identification, but mostly they are just incredibly beautiful and you are going to want as good of views as possible. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">If your binoculars are 8x42 and they have a close focus of 3 feet, that means the object appears 8 times closer or 4 and a half inches away. I don’t know about you but my eyes won’t even focus on objects that close.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">If anyone is interested in New Brunswick checklists for dragonflies and damselflies or butterflies contact me and I can e-mail it to you. </span></p><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></div>Dwayne Biggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545395464473915591noreply@blogger.com0