Doves

Two Mourning Doves were seen on a roof along Meridian Way in Parksville...Neil Robins

CACHING SEEDS Written by Colin Bartlett

Photo: Steller's Jay (R. Hocken)

What a summer we have been enjoying and it looks like it is going for a while. Even though summer looks like it will never end we can see that the seasons will be changing soon. How can we see this, by watching the change in the activity at the backyard bird feeders. With nesting season basically over we have begun to see flocks of chickadees and nuthatches returning to the backyard, and if you watch closely you will notice that these little creatures are hard a work storing seed for the up coming winter. The storing of seed begins around the middle of August and will be part of the bird’s daily routine throughout the winter.

There are a few ways for birds to survive a winter, especially when their food supply has peaked during a different season and then is almost non-existent during the winter. One is to move to where there is a constant supply of food available during that season. This is what we know as migration, the birds heading south to a steady food source. Another is to stay and scrounge for what ever can be found to feed on, avoiding the hazards of the migration but also having to deal with the possible depletion of food. Then there is the storing of food. When the food is at it’s peak the birds will store it until needed at a later date, this is also known as hoarding, and caching.

Not all birds hoard seed. In the backyard the common birds to see doing this are the Steller’s Jay, Chestnut-backed Chickadees and the Red-breasted Nuthatches.

The chickadees and nuthatches are busy right now storing seeds and we have had the pleasure of watching them hide their seeds at the feeders behind the store. They have been storing them in the old stump out back and at home they have been stuffing the seeds in amongst my lumber stack. Also in my backyard I have watched the Red-breasted Nuthatch storing the seeds in the bark of the fir tree. The nuthatch picks a suitable sunflower seed and fly off to the tree then stuffs the seed in the bark of the tree but does not open the shell to eat the seed, instead leaving the seed and returning to the feeder for another. The woodpeckers must have a great time when they are scouring the tree for food and find all these sunflower seeds. Of course, the king of the backyard birds for hoarding seed has to be the Steller’s Jay. The chickadees and nuthatches are continuously hoarding seed one at a time, where the Steller’s Jay moves in and fills it’s grope with plenty of seed. I remember a story of an incident where a Steller’s Jay that had just left a feeder and had an incident with a glass panel on a deck. The jay was o.k. and flew off but not before dropping it’s load of sunflower seed. When they counted the seeds there were 33 black oil sunflower seeds that the jay had dropped and who knows how many the jay still had.

It may seem that the Steller’s Jay scares all the other birds away from the feeder when they arrive but it is just part of the pecking order. The larger the bird the higher in the pecking order they are. Once the larger birds have left you will notice the smaller birds return to the feeders to get their share.

One woodpecker that is not seen around here but is unique in storing seed is the Acorn Woodpecker. These woodpeckers drill out a hole in an old snag and fit an acorn into the hole. The holes are drilled out precisely to fit the nut in tight, so no other animal can steal it. These old snags are littered with holes that are filled with acorns and are known as a granary.

After a winter of birds storing seeds all over the garden it is interesting to see some of these seeds germinating in odd places. It may be sunflowers sprouting all over the garden or on a firewood pile, and peanuts, in shell, that are sprouting. Many seeds are not used after they have been stored. The seeds may have been stolen by another animal or may have gone rotten. It is commonly thought that the birds just don’t know where they stored the seeds. Well, birds do remember where the seeds are stored.  One study that was done at Utah State University, studied the Clark’s Nutcracker in aviaries. They found that the Clark’s Nutcracker used objects or landmarks, such as a rock, to remember where they had seed stored. If the object was moved the Clark’s Nutcracker would go to where the object was moved to, they did not know where the seed was without the object. Also it is natural instinct for these birds to store seed, but the birds really do not need to use their hoards of seed, because the bird feeders are always full for them to feed at. 

A favorite seed for birds to store is good old black oil sunflower seed and skinless peanuts, so make sure you have some available to attract the chickadees, nuthatches and jays, so you can enjoy the marvels of nature and watching them store seed in the oddest places.

Happy birding!!

Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday bird walk, September 19, 2017

The Tuesday bird walk went to the Little Qualicum River Estuary in Qualicum Beach.  The morning was cloudy with calm winds. We saw flocks of Canada Geese, Surf Scoters, White-winged Scoters, Black Scoters, several Common Loons,

Horned Grebes and Red-necked Grebes from the Brant viewing platform. A Parasitic Jaeger was spotted heading up the Strait of Georgia. Four Black Oystercatchers and several Black Turnstones were seen feeding along the shore line. Two Yellow-rumped Warblers, entertained us along the walk to the river. We spotted a Merlin perched in a tall snag near the trail. We saw

twenty Great Blue Herons along the tideline during the morning. A Ring-billed Gull, several Mew Gulls, California Gulls and

Glaucous-winged Gulls were seen along the gravel bars.

Six birders saw and heard the following forty-three species:

Canada Geese

Mallard

Northern Pintail

Northern Shoveler

Green-wing Teal

Surf Scoter

White-winged Scoter

Black Scoter

Common Merganser

Common Loon

Pacific Loon

Horned Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Black Oystercatcher

Black Turnstone

Killdeer

Ring-billed Gull

Mew Gull

California Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Parasitic Jaeger

Belted Kingfisher

Bald Eagle

Merlin

Eurasian-collared Dove

Northern Flicker

Pileated Woodpecker

Steller’s Jay

Northwestern Crow

Common Raven

Anna’s Hummingbird

Yellow-rumped Warbler

American Pipit

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

European Starling

Brewer’s Blackbird

Savannah Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Purple Finch

House Finch

American Goldfinch

The Tuesday Bird walk on September 26, 2017, will be going to the Columbia Beach in French Creek. Meet at the Parksville Community Park (at the parking lot in front of the Lions Club Playground) at 9:00 a.m. or at the parking area off Admiral Tryon Bld. (Turn off highway 19a on at Columbia Drive, turn right onto Admiral Tryon Bld. go about 100 yards to the parking area)  meet at about 9:20 a.m.

Good birding

Neil Robins

THE BACKYARD WILDBIRD & NATURE STORE

314 Metral Drive

Nanaimo B.C.
V9T-2L8

Phone: 250-390-3669

Fax: 250-390-1633

Email: thebackyard@shaw.ca

Blog: www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com

Pine Siskins Written by Colin Bartlett

Photo: Pine Siskin (by Yipp)

It has been a year or so since many of us have seen any Pine Siskins visiting the backyard feeders. In the last month we have received reports of these little finches returning to the area. The reports have been from Parksville, Nanoose Bay, Westwood Lake and Lost Lake area in Nanaimo.

One of the reasons as to why we have not seen any Pine Siskins around is that these birds are known as an irruptive species, meaning they move to where the food is. One possible reason as to why irruptions occur is to allow the food supply to replenish in one area while the bird’s feed somewhere else. With the Pine Siskin they move eastward and not south to find other food before returning to the west and their cycle roughly happens ever two to four years.

Siskins do everything in a colony, so an easy way to describe the Pine Siskin is a large flock of birds, any where from 10 to 100, that all arrive at the same time and constantly argue about who is where on the feeder. The Pine Siskins are part of the finch family and are similar in size and shape to the American Goldfinch, at about 5 to 6 inches long. They have a slender bill, different from the House and Purple Finches that have a heavy conical bill. There is little colour to identify them, with only a little yellow on the wings that sometimes looks white. The rest of the body is a gray-brown, streaky body. Other birds that look similar to the Pine Siskin are the female House Finch, which you can check the bill to tell the difference, and the American Goldfinch in its winter plumage which has no streaking on the chest and underside of the bird like the Pine Siskin does.

Attracting Pine Siskins and finches to your backyard can be done with their preferred seeds of, sunflower chip, black oil sunflower and nyjer seed. Although a majority of birds prefer the black oil sunflower seed, you may notice them tossing a lot of the seed away. To be efficient birds weigh each seed and take only the ones that are heavy in weight and will provide the most energy, instead of opening empty seeds and wasting energy. Also Pine Siskins have a fine bill that is not as strong as other finches, so they sort through more seeds to find ones they can open. To help the birds open more seeds and waste less, pre-crack the black oil sunflower seeds before putting it I your feeder. Another option is sunflower chip that has no shell, just seed for the birds to eat. For the Pine Siskins and the American Gold Finch I find that they prefer the fine sunflower chip over the course sunflower chip.

Pine Siskins do everything in a colony from nesting, feeding, traveling and also lots of squabbling. A problem common to birds that move in a colony is disease. As the birds are so close to each other diseases can pass through colony quickly. The best way to help prevent disease around your bird feeders and water supplies is to clean your feeders regularly, at least once a month. A bleach solution of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water is a good all round cleaner for you bird feeders and bird baths. Also clean up any seed that is under the feeders weekly and move the feeder’s location periodically so the disease is not concentrated in one location.

The return of the Pine Siskin will add some winter colour and a lot of activity to the already busy backyard feeders.

Happy birding!!

Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday bird walk, September 12, 2017

The Tuesday bird walk went to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville.  The morning was cloudy with strong winds off the Strait of Georgia. We heard and then saw a Cassin’s Vireo.  Chestnut-backed Chickadees flew in the bushes just off the trail.  Several Cedar Waxwings flew in and landed in the tall trees near the trail.  A large flock of Canada Geese, several Northern Pintails, Mallards, Green-winged Teal and an American Widgeon were resting along the mudflats.  Large numbers of Western Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plover and Killdeer were feeding along the mudflats.  White-winged Scoters, a Double-crested Cormorant, a Pelagic Cormorant and three Common Loons were seen on the Strait. 

Twenty-one birders including visiting birders from Ontario, Washington and Alberta saw and heard the following thirty-nine species:

Canada Geese

Mallard

Green-winged Teal

White-winged Scoter

American Widgeon

Harlequin Duck 

 Northern Pintail

  Double-crested Cormorant

Pelagic Cormorant

Great-blue Heron

Heermann’s Gull

California Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Common Loon

Western Sandpiper

Semipalmated Plover

Least Sandpiper

Killdeer

Cooper’s Hawk

Turkey Vulture

Anna’s Hummingbird

 Belted Kingfisher

 Northern Flicker

 Hairy Woodpecker

Northwestern Crow

 Common Raven

 Steller’s Jay

Eurasian-collared Dove

Cassin’s Vireo

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

American Robin

 Cedar Waxwing

Brewer’s Blackbird

Spotted Towhee

Savannah Sparrow

Song Sparrow

American Goldfinch

House Finch

 Purple Finch 

The Tuesday Bird walk on September 19, 2017, will be going to the Little Qualicum River Estuary in Qualicum Beach. Meet at the Parksville Community Park (at the parking lot in front of the Lions Club Playground) at 9:00 a.m. or at the Brant Viewing Platform in north Qualicum Beach at about 9:20 a.m. 

Good birding

Neil Robins 

           

                                       THE BACKYARD WILDBIRD &                                                                                                                     NATURE STORE

314 Metral Drive

Nanaimo B.C.
V9T-2L8

Phone: 250-390-3669

Fax: 250-390-1633

Email: thebackyard@shaw.ca

Blog: www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com

Flocking Together Written by Colin Bartlett

It is a fun time of year to watch the bird happenings about the backyard and the bird feeders with the second broods now flitting about. In my backyard it has been the young towhees, chickadees and flickers who have been entertaining everyone in the last week. What you may also have noticed are the birds moving around in groups now, most of which are this year’s young and families together. Now with nesting season basically finished the birds will begin to flock together until nesting season begins next year.

Birds flock together to increase their chances of survival and to find a food source easily. It is usually after the nesting season that birds begin to flock, middle of August, and the size of a flock can range from a few birds to hundreds.

There are a few possible reasons as to why birds flock together at certain times and one of those reasons is safety. Being in amongst a flock of birds will increase a bird’s chance of survival from a predator than if alone. An individual bird is vulnerable to predation as it tries to feed and watch fro predators at the same time. Now if two birds are feeding together the risk is less, as they both will watch for predators. Now if there are fifteen birds in a flock, a predator can be sighted quicker and the flock warned. One problem with a very large flock is they become more noticeable and draw the attention of predators. Birds in these larger flocks have a great chance of predation compared to that of a medium size flock, but still have a far greater chance of survival than if alone. In some flocks, birds such as sea and shore birds are always moving and pushing to the middle of the flock. It’s not necessarily that the food is better in the middle just that it is safer in the middle of the pack compared to the outer edge.

 If a single bird spends time watching for predators it leaves them less time to search for food and valuable energy that is used to survive a cold night. In a flock of birds there is better protection from predators and also more eyes to scan for food saving precious energy, especially in the colder winter months. A flock can move quickly finding food, moving from site to site building up energy to survive the cold nights. At times you may see flocks of different species moving together such as the Northern Flickers and European Starlings. These two species can be seen wandering around the lawn feeding on insects such as Crane Fly larvae. Other species may move around in a mixed flock but do not feed on the same food source, but the food source has something in common for the different species. A common mixed flock of birds to watch for in the backyard is chickadees and nuthatches coming together feeding on suet and sunflower seeds. Another I see in my backyard is the Song Sparrows and Fox Sparrows always arrive together.

Other species that can be seen in flocks around the backyard are Bushtits, California Quail, Dark-eyed Juncos, House Finch and Pine Siskins, if they stay this winter. One species that does not flock is the smallest of the winter birds Anna’s Hummingbird. These birds always seem to be defending territory and appear one at a time to the feeders, with the exception of a really cold winter day when two may appear together.

It is a changing time in the seasons of birds as they flock together and begin to ready for the coming months. It is a sight to watch as thirty California Quail or twenty Bushtits move into the backyard to feed and create an abundance of activity, keeping our backyards alive all year long.

Happy birding!!

BUSHTITS

BUSHTITS

Written by Colin Bartlett

Have you ever looked out at your suet feeder and seen the feeder completely covered by birds that are not starlings? These little feathered friends are Bushtits and are a very social group in the winter. They travel around in flocks of up to 40 plus birds and have one goal and that is food. Typically they feed on insects and you will see them bouncing around in the shrubs and trees checking each nook and cranny. As a supplementary source of food Bushtits will feed on suet and even peanut halves and hulled sunflower chip. Being so social it is common to see ten or twelve Bushtits on the suet feeder at once and then they leave and the next group are in to feed. Once the flock has fed they are off as fast as they came in.

A common description when describing the Bushtits are, a flock of small grey birds without any markings that are always on the move, which is accurate for this bird. The Bushtit is about four (4) inches in size, a bit smaller than a chickadee. It has a long tail for it’s size and there are no distinguishable field marks. The Bushtit is grey with a bit of brownish colour cap with no other markings and has a tiny bill smaller than a chickadee.

As the Bushtits are always moving about they are also chattering to one another constantly calling a short tseep and tsip. Many times you will hear them high in the tops of trees but not see them.

When spring arrives the birds will pair up and become territorial for nesting. Their nest is a unique sack shape that hangs below a branch. They weave their nest from the top down with an entrance hole near the top. The length of the nest is about seven (7) to ten (10) inches long and takes approximately thirty days to construct. They use fine fibers, leaves, grass, and spider web to construct the nest and cover it with moss to help camouflage it. The inside of the nest is then lined with feathers, plant down and hair. The nests are not always well hidden and can be seen alongside trails and paths. Bushtits do get a bit nervous around nesting season and if disturbed while building the nest or incubating the eggs, they often abandon the nest and separate to find a new mate and start again.

Keep an eye on your trees, shrubs and your suet feeder for a visit by the Bushtits, as they are a great joy to watch with their burst of energy.

Good birding!