Birding Articles

Tuesday, December 12, 2017


Parksville/Qualicum Beach, Tuesday bird walk December 12, 2017:
The Tuesday went to the Shelly Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in  Parksville. The morning was cloudy with calm winds. The highlight of the morning was the sighting of two Common Redpolls feeding in a tall birch tree next to the trail.  We heard a flock of Red Crossbills fly overhead.  We saw a Golden-crowned Kinglet and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet moving very quickly in the trees along the trail.  A large flock of Brant Geese were spotted on the ocean. Ten Gadwall were seen near the shore line.  We had great views of a Hairy Woodpecker feeding in a tall conifer.  A Brandt’s Cormorant, several Barrow’s Goldeneye, Common Goldeneye and Red-breasted Mergansers were seen just offshore.

Northern Shrike: Ralph Hocken Photo.

Twenty-two birders including two visiting birders from St. Albert, Alberta saw and heard the following fifty-four species:
Canada Geese
Brandt Geese
American Widgeon
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Gadwall
Surf Scoter
White-wing Scoter
Bufflehead
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Common Goldeneye
Red-breasted Merganser
Common Merganser
Hooded Merganser
Common Loon
Pacific Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Brandt’s Cormorant
Common Murre
Belted Kingfisher
Killdeer
Great Blue Heron
Mew Gull
California Gull
Thayer's Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Bald Eagle
Merlin
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Northern Shrike
Anna's Hummingbird
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northwestern Crow
Common Raven
Steller’s Jay
American Robin
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Brown Creeper
Bewick's Wren
Pacific Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
European Starling
Spotted Towhee
Brewers Blackbird
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Common Redpoll
Red Crossbill
House Finch
Pine Siskin  
                                                  Hairy Woodpecker: Ralph Hocken Photo:

Please Note
Check this site (www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com)  early Tuesday and Sunday mornings on stormy mornings to see if the walks have been cancelled!

The Tuesday Bird walk on December 19, 2017, will be going to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River in Parksville. 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 corner of Plummer Road and Shorewood Drive on the oceanside of Highway 19A in Parksville at about 9:10 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
Blog: www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com




Monday, December 11, 2017

Varied Thrush - By Colin Bartlett

Photo: J. Morrison

To me the Varied Thrush is a sure sign of fall and winter as they are usually the last bird to return to the feeders this time of year. Their beautiful bright markings add a splash of colour to the dull winter landscape along with a unique but eerie song.

The Varied Thrush is part of the Thrushes family, scientific name Turdidae, which also includes Bluebirds and the American Robin. They are the same size as the American Robin but have a beautiful orange colour and a few extra markings than the robin. One of the identification markings is the orange eye stripe and the orange coloured breast with a black band similar to that on the Northern Flicker. There are also noticeable orange wing markings on the thrush, compared to no markings on the robin. The colours on the males stand out with the black and orange but the female Varied Thrush is a brownish colour with the orange markings. Sometimes the Varied Thrush can be miss identified with an oriole, as they are both orange and black but the bill of the thrush is a little shorter and blunt at the tip.

The Varied Thrush has a unique call that is sometimes described as eerie, weird and mysterious but it is one that is easy to remember. They have a single whistled note which goes up in pitch and is sometimes followed by another single note that may be a higher or lower pitch. On an early foggy morning the song of the Varied Thrush can seem a little eerie like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

The Varied Thrush is a western bird with a range from Northern California up to Alaska and west to the Rocky Mountains. Varied Thrush can be seen year round along the coast of British Columbia up to Alaska and into Washington State, and they winter in Oregon and Northern California. Their preferred habitat is thick damp conifer forests but move down in the winter to find other food sources.

The Varied Thrush is very adaptable to a variety of food. They feed on berries and bugs the same as the robins but they also feed on seeds whether natural seeds or from your bird feeders. Over the years at my feeders it seemed as though all the Varied Thrush eat was white millet seed. That was in the beginning, now they prefer to feed on the black oil sunflower seed, along with the peanut halves and anything that pleases them. I even had a Varied Thrush taking some of the Steller’s Jays peanuts in the shell and the jay was not to sure as what to do about someone else taking his peanuts. You can also place out apples that have been cut in half or quarters for the Varied Thrush and the robins. Place the apples on a tray feeder or in amongst the branches of a tree, where the birds can easily perch and reach the apples.

Varied Thrush prefers to use a hopper or fly through feeder instead of a tube style feeder. Better yet is to have that feeder mounted on a post so it is stable. You will notice that a post mounted feeder will become your most active feeder, as all birds will use it. In my yard it is the large fly through feeder on a post that the Varied Thrush use along with a little tray feeder wedged in my apple tree. If you are feeding them on the ground or a stump, make sure it is in an open area so the birds have a chance to see predators coming, such as cats and hawks.
  
During the non-breeding season birds are not usually territorial with a few exceptions and one of those is the Varied Thrush. Although localized, the Varied Thrush will defend a territory around a bird feeder or feeding station defending against other Varied Thrush and some other species. Interestingly enough I have only see one thrush at a time visiting my backyard feeders, although there would be others around but not in my backyard.

Another trick for feeding robins and thrushes is to place a tarp, piece of plywood, or over turn a row boat on your garden or lawn. After a heavy frost or snow fall, flip over your object. This leaves a bare spot for the birds to feed on bugs and larvae, other wise covered by the snow. Even turn your garden once and a while during the winter for the birds to feed on the bugs.

The Varied Thrush is a unique species to have visiting the backyard during the fall and winter. As they just begin to wandering down from the woods their numbers will increase around the backyard feeders, as I usually see my first Varied Thrush visitor in December.

Happy birding!

Additional Tip: Varied Thrush also love to eat suet. You can grate partially frozen peanut suet (or tree icing) on the ground and then sit back and enjoy watching the Varied Thrush gobble it up. They will also eat from our Saturn Suet holders if available in your backyard.

Friday, December 8, 2017

Steller's Jays - By: Colin Bartlett


Will they may not be everyone’s favorite backyard bird but they sure are a colourful bird. It is that time of year that the Steller’s Jays begin their visits to the backyard feeders as they move out of the hills. The first to arrive are usually the young jays and are then followed by the adults. The arrival of the Steller’s Jay also lets us know that fall is near. There have been other reports of jays around Nanaimo as early as the first week of August.


Now the Steller’s Jay is not a Blue Jay, they are two different species. The Blue Jay is lighter in colour than the Steller’s Jay and a little smaller, as well the Blue Jay is seen east of the Rocky Mountains and the Steller’s are seen only on the west side of the Rockies. It is easy to identify a Steller’s Jay, usually it is by the load call of shack-shack-shack but are also good mimics of other birds. Other than identifying the Steller’s Jay by it’s call, you can identify it by beautiful deep blue on the back with a black head, chest and a large crest which can be raised and lowered at will.

The Steller’s Jay is one of those birds that you either love or hate and the main reason some may not like this bird is that they always seem to be the dominant bird at the feeders. According to the pecking order of birds, those who get to eat first, the jay’s rank high because of their size and sassy attitude. The smaller songbirds now have to compete with others to use the feeder or find other food sources. To keep the jays from scaring off the other birds and from hoarding all the food, wrap your bird feeder with a 2x2 stucco mesh or chicken wire. It sometimes takes a little time for the smaller birds to get use to the wire around the feeder but they will be able to get through to the feeder and it will help deter the jays. Once you have done this place another feeder out away from the main feeder for the jays to feed at. Giving the larger birds their own feeding area help to prevent the pecking order problem and allows you to enjoy all the birds that visit your backyard


Jays feed on a wide variety of food from insects to small vertebrates, fir cones and other natural seeds depending on the region. As for the backyard bird feeders the Steller’s Jay prefers peanuts, whether in the shell or shelled, sunflower seeds and suet. They will also take table scraps but this is not recommend as it may create more problems than good for the jays. Jays also like to hoard food hiding it throughout your yard and the neighbors. Like other birds that hoard food this is natural to store this extra food for the winter just in case of rough times, and yes they do know where they have hidden the seeds. It seems as though they forget where the seed is and you find sunflowers and even peanuts sprouting in the garden, but because there is always a steady supply of seed in the bird feeders, they never have to use their hidden caches of food.


Birds are energy efficient, conserving their energy and not using more than needed. This can be observed easily by many bird species, like chickadees, nuthatches and also by watching the Steller’s Jay. Simply place out six to ten peanuts in the shell along a deck railing or on a table. When the jays find the peanuts watch carefully as the jay picks each peanut and checks the weight. They are looking for the heaviest peanuts, which should provide the biggest seeds and most nutrients. Although the jays will take the heaviest peanuts first, in the end they will take all the peanuts and store most of them around the backyard.


Although the Steller’s Jay may not be everyone’s favorite bird, these cheeky birds add some beautiful natural colour to a backyard and provide great entertainment.

Happy birding!!