Spring Migration, every day a delightful surprise!

While the Spring weather may not have arrived quite the way we expected (-7 this morning as I write this), the birds have been returning and delighting our senses from the cacophony of calls heard at the river to the flashes of markings glimpsed of another arrival. Birding is the natural high I pursue.

We will have ups and downs in the temperature, the onset of spring storms that will continue to bring sub-zero temperatures along with brief (we hope!) snowfall and through it all, the birds will keep on migrating and populating our region.

Below are pictures of birds I have taken recently (and some animals/insects too) with brief descriptions and links to websites with more information. Learning more about the species that we share this region with, whether they stay or just stop by on their way further north, is a great way to stay connected to all life. The diversity of species and behaviours is astonishing and fills me with awe daily.

Thank you birds, thank you life!

Hooded Merganser (Male)

Tree nesting ducks, the smallest of the mergansers that we get to our region, and almost as small as Buffleheads which are also tree nesting ducks. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/hooded-merganser

Hooded Mergansers (male and female)

Trumpeter Swans in flight

The Trumpeter Swans are so beautiful to see and hear. They are large swans and we are seeing more of them each year stop at the Point and down the Lesser Slave River. This year we have counted 28 at one time. One had a GPS collar that we found out was a female and collared in Oregon in February 2021. The Canada Geese are the first to return, followed by the Trumpeter Swans. You can report sightings here: https://www.trumpeterswansociety.org/what-we-do/trumpeter-watch/report-a-swan.html

Trumpeter Swans

Trumpeter Swans

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagles have to eat too and this unfortunate female Common Goldeneye duck was snatched close to the river’s edge where the Bald Eagle had been perched above trying to catch a meal. This eagle went to the top of the beaver hut on the side of the river and quickly devoured its meal. They are predator birds and the larger predators are not successful often - in many cases, they have a 10% kill rate. Bald eagles will hunt (as this one was clearly doing) but they also rely on carrion - often you will see them amongst a group of Ravens feasting on a highway kill of a deer/moose. They also steal fish from Osprey, easier than catching fish themselves. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/bald_eagle/id#

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagles

Common Goldeneye (male)

Another tree nesting duck, they lay their eggs in tree cavities or nest boxes. They are diving ducks and some can overwinter as long as there is open water somewhere with food sources. The Common Goldeneyes are part of the cacophony of sound in the spring with their many courting moves, my favorite is when they throw back their heads to their backs and make a “beep beep sound”. They are a lot of fun to watch. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Goldeneye/lifehistory

Common Goldeneye (female)

Tundra Swans

These swans are more numerous, flying in big flocks to get to the tundra of the Arctic to breed. They stop along the way to feed and in this case, display/fight as they are in the breeding season. They are smaller than Trumpeter Swans and they typically have a yellow patch by their eye. The North American population is often called the Whistling Swan because of a characteristic whistling in their wings as they fly. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/tundra-swan

Coyote

Where there are birds, there will likely be coyotes. This coyote was roaming the ice probably looking for an easy meal, but it wouldn’t be easy to get a meal when they can fly or swim away.

Greater Yellowleg (I think)

The shorebirds are arriving and in our region, Boreal forest, mosquito-laden bogs, we are a prime area for these large shorebirds to breed. It is hard to tell the difference between a Greater and Lesser Yellowleg until you see them together, the Greater is larger. One more key characteristic is when they are nesting and have young, you will know because of how they start to call (loudly!) and swoop towards you with that long beak of theirs just avoiding taking out your eyes at the last moment. And they will have alerted every other bird to your presence! https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Greater_Yellowlegs/overview

Redhead Duck vs Canvasback

Both male Redheads and Canvasback ducks have red heads. The difference is in size - Canvasbacks are larger and their bills. The Redhead has a black-tipped blue-grey bill. The Canvasback has an all black bill. Interesting fact about the female Redhead, she lays her eggs in another duck’s nest (brood parasitism) and is tops in that category, often laying in another Redhead, Canvasback, Northern Pintail, Ruddy, Northern Shoveler, American Widgeon and even a Northern Harrier (Harriers are hawks!). https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Redhead/overview

Common Ravens

They are here all year round and so delightful to watch as they fly the sky with acrobatic feats in flight. Eagles may be larger, but ravens can harass an eagle until it flies away from its perch. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Raven/overview

Common Merganser (male)

These ducks are tree nesters and diving ducks. They are the largest of the 3 mergansers we get in our region and the males have this wonderful red beak with a black line down the middle. They dive for fish and aquatic insects/invertebrates. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Merganser/lifehistory

Common Merganser (female)

Common Mergansers (female and male)

American Coot

These birds are part of the Rail family and although they swim on the water, they don’t have webbed feet like ducks, they have strong legs with big feet that have separate toes that are lobed and they look like chicken feet. When you watch them on the water they have jerky movements and if you surprise them, they patter across the water, quite quickly. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/american-coot

American Coot

Bufflehead (female)

These ducks are the smallest, are diving ducks and tree nesters. They are small enough to take over an old Northern Flicker tree cavity nest. Their courtship displays include head bobbing and short display flights. They are a treat to watch. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/bufflehead

Bufflehead (male)

Buffleheads (female and male)

Buffleheads (male and female)

Mourning Cloak Butterfly

Birding leads to seeing insects and they are a key part of the cycle for birds. The early-bird gets the worm, in this case, the butterfly that is here already is ready to mate and lay eggs when the first stages of spring are here. These butterflies over-winter in the adult stage in a type of hibernation. They have lived since the previous summer and are about 10-11 months old by the time they die. They emerge ready to mate, lay eggs, die and the next generation will appear in July/August and will be the adults we see in the spring. Impressive! https://blog.nature.org/science/2021/04/06/the-butterfly-of-spring-meet-the-mourning-cloak/

Mourning Cloak

Northern Shovelers (female and male)

The “Jimmy Durante” of ducks with that impressive bill. This bill has tiny projections along the edge (lamellae) that act as a colander and filter out tiny crustaceans and seeds from the water. They are monogamous and stay together longer than most ducks. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Shoveler/overview

Red-breasted Merganser (female and male)

When you see the Red-breasted Mergansers you notice that wild feathers sticking out of the crown of their head - like the punk-rocker of ducks. They are diving ducks but unlike the other mergansers, they tend to nest on the ground, not in tree cavities. Most are likely migrating through heading farther north to breed and have their young. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/red-breasted-merganser

Red-breasted Merganser (male)

Herring Gull

Herring gulls are larger than the Ring-billed Gulls that are much more numerous in our area. They have a red spot on the lower part of the bill and they have pinkish legs. The male will feed the female during courtship and they both rear the chicks which takes up to 3 months after the chicks have hatched. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Herring_Gull/lifehistory

Herring Gulls

Mallard (male)

Mallard ducks are the most familiar and abundant of ducks. They have the telltale “quack quack” for their call. While they may be numerous in parks in numerous cities, we don’t get Mallards until Spring when they migrate. They are fast fliers and will be gone before you have a chance to get that camera focused. Seeing the flash of green and the yellow bill against the blue water is a sure sign that spring migration has begun. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/mallard

Green-winged Teal (male)

The Green-winged Teal is the smallest of the dabbling ducks (Buffleheads are smaller, but they are diving ducks). You will know they are there by their whistle call. Look closely and you will catch a glimpse of the cinnamon-head with a green crescent extending from the eye to the base of the head. The brown females are hard to see and if you look closely you will likely find her by the male somewhere. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Green-winged_Teal/overview

Red-necked Grebe

The Red-necked Grebe has a very unique call and courtship routine. The crest of their heads get raised as they face each other and the call can be heard from quite a distance. They build a floating nest out of vegetation and anchor it to standing plants. They are diving ducks that eat small fish and insects. The very young will travel on the back of their parents. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/red-necked-grebe

American Widgeon (male)

I like to call them the “squeaky toy” ducks, that is what they sound like. They are dabbling ducks and they have a goose type bill which makes them excellent foragers for plant material, easily plucking vegetation to eat. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Wigeon/overview

Snow Bunting

While most birds are arriving, snow buntings will be leaving us heading farther north for the summer. It is always a surprise (to me) what birds consider us their south and wintering grounds. Snow Buntings are one of those birds. The males leave first with the females going 3-4 weeks later to join them in the Arctic when the weather is a bit warmer. The female has to stay on the nest in the high Arctic and the male must feed her every 15 minutes. The males have a lot of work to do! https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snow_Bunting/overview

Kildeer

Kildeers are plovers and are quite noisy making a call that sounds like their name. When predators or humans get too close to a nest/young they use a broken-wing act to lure them away. Their nests are on the ground in open areas and large hoofed animals like cows and horses can step on their nests/eggs. That requires a different tactic so they puff themselves up with their tail feathers above their head and run towards the animal to get the cow/horse to change course. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Killdeer/overview

Satyr Comma Butterfly

This butterfly emerges early in Spring after hibernating all winter. They lay their eggs on stinging nettles. They eat tree sap along with flower nectar. https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Polygonia-satyrus

American Tree Sparrow

Tree sparrows are a sure sign of spring migration, they appear early in the spring on their way to the north to breed as far as the Arctic tundra. They are often seen on the ground foraging for seeds from grasses and weeds and any insects that have appeared. In the summer their diet will mostly consist of insects. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/american-tree-sparrow

Lesser Scaup (male and female)

Lesser Scaups are diving ducks and when their young hatch, they quickly start diving under and by the time they are 5 to 7 weeks old they can stay under for up to 25 seconds and go as far as 60 feet underwater. These ducks are the most abundant of the diving ducks in North America. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Lesser_Scaup/overview

Milbert's Tortoiseshell Butterfly

These butterflies are one of the earliest to emerge in the Spring after overwintering as adults in hibernation. They feed on tree sap and will last about 10 days. They will lay their eggs and the first broods to appear will be in May/June. http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/edu/ViewLoitDa.do?method=preview&lang=EN&id=7204

Beaver

You can’t go birding without seeing the tell-tale signs of beavers, from their huts on the sides of rivers or in the middle of ponds to the dams they create, the beaver is prolific. If you go early enough, you will likely see them swimming by and maybe chewing on a tree. A good slap of their tail lets you know that you are too close! https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/five-fascinating-facts-about-beavers

Spring Migration and a delightful discovery... re-imagining Audubon's art

https://www.audubon.org/magazine/winter-2020/reimagining-canada-goose

The first Canada Goose I saw was on March 6, 2021. My excitement was through the roof knowing it meant that when one goose appears, many are soon to follow along with other migratory birds. When the lake and ponds are frozen it also means that waterfowl will congregate along the open river where they are easier to see and I can delight in every sighting.

Spring migration in the north is a great time to be a birder, especially when you are close to the only river that drains out of Lesser Slave Lake, surrounded by Boreal Forest with lots of muskeg and small ponds/lakes within a 5-50 km radius of our location. Getting outside and exploring will be the norm, a definite boost during this pandemic. Physical distance birding is possible and sharing the excitement with like-minded birders is a great way to make much-needed connections with others.

Birding is also a way to keep learning no matter how common the bird may be in our region. Writing about the sightings I am driven to find something interesting to write about. The bird itself is usually more than enough with so much to say about their life from their mating behaviours, to foraging, to their range, to how they are faring with climate change and loss of habitat. Each bird, like humans, have complicated, fascinating lives.

I ended up on Audubon’s website, reading about Canada Geese and all the amazing things that we know about them. I clicked on the “Learn More” tab and it took me down to other articles, one called “Illustrated Aviary, Re-imagining the Canada Goose” with a beautiful illustration. “For every issue of Audubon magazine, we ask a new artist to reinterpret one of Audubon's original watercolors using their own unique style.” https://www.audubon.org/illustrated-aviary

Luke Swinson, “a member of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island, part of the Anishinaabe First Nation” has re-imagined the Canada Goose “(Canada Goose is nika in Anishinaabe.)” His art is so very beautiful and evokes the Canada Goose in a way that I was drawn to - they may be everywhere in Canada but up in the north they are only here when they migrate. They deserve reverence like all living things, their beauty to be admired, their lives to be respected and for us, as humans, to have that moment of “ah-ha”, we are just one species on this planet and we need to understand that we are a part of, not separate from, life on earth. Canada Geese are not pests, they are adapting to the limited natural habitat that we have encroached upon and eliminated in many places.

Thank you Luke. Your re-imagining of the Canada Goose was a delightful and insightful discovery this morning.

Below are a few pictures of the Canada Geese that I have seen so far.

Evening Grosbeaks sighted during a warm Fall day, delighting in the wanderings of all species

This past Fall I had been hearing the calls of small flocks of Evening Grosbeaks for weeks on my daily walks. Seeing them is another thing. They swoop by high in the sky and land high up in the poplar/spruce trees that are dispersed throughout the area. With leaves still on the trees, a limited zoom lens, harsh sunlight (they never land where the best light is!), I had been wondering if what I was hearing and seeing are the Evening Grosbeaks.

A physical distance visit to friends at their farm, outside on the back deck enjoying a warm and sunny Fall afternoon, surrounded by numerous bird feeders and I was able to confirm that I had been hearing and seeing small flocks of Evening Grosbeaks.

Watching them at the feeders close to the back deck was a real treat as the Fall colours highlighted their beautiful plumage, both the striking males and the females/immature males. Bonus: I managed to take a few decent photos of their bird feeder visits.

Evening Grosbeaks are part of the Finch family. They are stocky birds with incredible beaks that are made for cracking and eating seeds. They eat the seeds from the cones of spruce, balsam fir and pine trees. They eat the seeds from other deciduous trees and shrubs as well as they began spreading from their original habitat of the foothills of the Canadian Rockies as far east as Newfoundland and as far south as Northern Mexico.

Evening Grosbeak was a name given by English-speaking settlers in the mistaken belief that they came out in the evening to sing. The french-speakers, more appropriately, called the birds, “le gros-bec errant, the wandering grosbeak”. They seem to be less migratory in their nature vs wanderers in search of natural food dictating where and when they move throughout their increased range. They have adapted well from their preferred thick coniferous forest habitat to mixed deciduous forest. Further complicating their erratic wanderings is the increase in winter bird feeding stations across their range. They are attracted to the sunflower seeds served, preferably, on a raised platform.

These birds are so adapted to their environment that during early Spring the colour of their beaks change (winter it is bone coloured). “Its new colour matches precisely the green of fresh deciduous buds and leaves and also the new needles that will tip the spruce boughs around the site where the bird’s nest will be built a few weeks hence.”

The more I read about them, the more I am fascinated by their wanderings. Most of us are thrilled to see them, willingly welcoming them to backyard feeders, delighting in their beauty. We don’t impose imaginary boundaries to limit their movements. We are curious about their erratic wanderings, itinerant sightings, and discover how they are very adept at feeding on the spruce budworm which is a pulpwood pest.

I wonder about our own wandering movements as a species and how we can change the narrative from fear of the other to understanding that wandering/migration is a part of us, our adaptation to a world-wide range. Humans have been wanderers since the beginning and no matter where we are, home is not a stationary place, it is a place that we have always carried within our beings like the birds we see every year.

In some cases, birds (and other animals/species) are pushed out of their range due to circumstances beyond their control - loss of habitat, fire, flood, drought, reduced food sources, competition from other species - the list is endless as to what can change in a given year and knock birds off course and have some seeking a new place to perch.

The human story is not any different. Wandering movement is a part of who we are and the reasons we leave our homes are often the same reasons other animals move - our circumstances have changed, often beyond our control and we are seeking food, shelter, safety, opportunity. Birds are at risk when they wander due to the long journey, uncertain food sources, inclement weather they encounter along the way and greater risk of predation. For humans it is similar - and predation happens by fellow human beings.

I join the many millions of humans who delight in learning about birds, sighting them, finding out about their habits, marvelling at their ability to survive and thrive in so many situations.

Delight in learning about our fellow human beings is something we can all cultivate by being amazed at the diversity of our cultures, the ability to adapt to our surroundings and live in all parts of the world and understand that we are all in this together - our lives - the whole human species along with so many other species hang in the balance. We will need to embrace our humanity, welcome each other as we greet each other in the web of life and work like we have never done before to ensure the world can sustain our continued existence.

My wish for 2021 is that we all become kinder to each other, to other species, to the world that nurtures us all and move towards healing our environment for future generations so they too can delight in the diversity of wherever they wander, embraced by life.

To find out more about Evening Grosbeaks, check out these sites:

https://www.hww.ca/en/wildlife/birds/evening-grosbeak.html

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/evening-grosbeak

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Evening_Grosbeak/id

Sparrows everywhere. Keeping my mind spry!

July can be a challenging month for birding. Between the weather (too hot or too much rain), and the growing vegetation hiding all those birds you also have an explosion of juvenile/immatures out of the nest that look like another species entirely. At the same time, you are exposed to a chaotic ensemble of songs and calls everywhere you go. Begging calls, alarm calls, songs, flight calls, you name it, birds are doing it!

Imagine being in a crowd where individuals and groups are speaking different languages, some doing in quiet whispers, others yelling, others putting those words into song and all while moving about throwing the sounds in every direction. Worse, the closer you get to some, the louder they get or they go completely silent indicating you are not welcome here!

Welcome to birding, particularly birding in July.

Larger birds are easier to identify. You are more likely to see them and the larger they are, the less of them you will see or hear all at once.

Smaller birds like warblers and sparrows are more numerous. They tend to keep hidden in the growing vegetation and they look similar unless you get a closer look at the distinct markings they have. On top of that, there are so many calls and songs to know for each bird that it takes many years of attuning your ears to pick out each call/song. Many birds have similar calls with slight variations that can make it even more challenging.

With camera in hand, I do my best to get a picture of the birds so I can go home, download and see if I can identify the bird. On my walk the other day I encountered many sparrows in the shrubs along my route. Their calls had me looking for the source and that is when I noticed one on the branch, relatively unobstructed. My trigger finger clicked away. You have to be quick to get a photo before they move. Seconds are usually all you have.

At home I began my quest of identification. I start with my well-worn “Birds of Alberta” guidebook, go to the Sparrow section and look to see if any seem to be close to the photo I have taken. From there I narrow it down to a few and look further on the internet, going to the “All About Birds” website. I look at their pictures, review the identification and most importantly, listen to the different calls that bird makes.

If I am not sure about my identification, I call in the experts, the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory staff, most notably the bird banders, are my go to source. They know their birds, especially the variations (juveniles, females, males, breeding, non-breeding, yes a lot to know!).

I got confirmation that I was correct in my guess at identification, it was indeed a Clay-coloured Sparrow. This was a first photo for me but as I soon discovered, not the first time I have heard (and likely seen) this bird. Clay-coloured Sparrows are one of the most numerous birds of shrub communities on the northern prairies. They have a buzzy song which I have heard a lot and I have wondered what kind of bird made that noise. Their alarm calls are a sharp chip and for a good reason. Clay-coloured Sparrow young don’t fly when they leave the nest, they hop to the ground, run about 40 feet away from the nest to a thicket where they get fed by their parents. It takes them about 6-8 days before they can fly. Hence the bird perched on the branch, chipping away at me making it clear I am truly unwelcome in that area.

The ID challenge is a daily one for me. But what a challenge to have! There is so much to see and hear that it is like Christmas day over and over again, the presents are overflowing and you can’t keep up to opening the gifts.

Take a deep breath and just enjoy what nature is gifting you, moments of pure joy and a great workout for your mind. When we use all of our senses we keep those neural pathways open and flexible. When you combine that with a sense of wonder, curiosity, joy you will be open to the blessings that life is always giving you. The price? Your attention in the moment.

Happy Birding! (Check out the links on Clay-coloured sparrow, the LSLBO, iNaturalist below.)

Support birds/wildlife in your region. The Lesser Slave Lake region is lucky to have the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory and you can donate to support research and education here: http://www.lslbo.org/support/donations/

Get an ID tool in your pocket, check out the iNaturalist, Seek app, a joint initiative of National Geographic and the California Academy of Sciences: https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/seek_app

More about the Clay-coloured Sparrow: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Clay-colored_Sparrow/overview

Listen to the Songs/Calls of the Clay-coloured Sparrow here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Clay-colored_Sparrow/sounds

Ducks in trees? Yes, indeed!

What got me hooked on birding was the spring migration of all the ducks that come to our area to either stop for a rest or stay and nest. Our region is a haven for many birds, especially waterfowl. We are on the shores of Lesser Slave Lake, the largest lake fully contained in Alberta’s borders, surrounded by mountain ranges (not the Rockies!) and in the thick of the boreal forest. The land is made up of sand dunes, muskeg, and meadows with plenty of ponds and rivers providing rich food and shelter for birds.

The more duck species I saw the more I learned about the variety of ducks that migrate to the North. Learning about birds includes some key points: how to identify males/females/juveniles, habitat, feeding habits, sounds and nesting.

I expected ducks to nest on the ground, similar to Canada Geese. What I discovered was how varied nesting is for waterfowl and the most surprising discovery was that we have ducks that nest in tree cavities.

Many people call them Wood Ducks, but we don’t get Wood Ducks up here (unless a vagrant which is possible). What we do get are several duck species that nest in trees.

Reading about tree nesting ducks had me wanting to see one in a tree and the other day, that happened.

I rounded the corner of a favourite path coming closer to a tree that several years before had Flickers nesting there. I always look to see if the Flickers are back, without any success. So when I saw a head peering out as I came closer, I was surprised and immediately thought it was a Flicker (a type of woodpecker). But the profile didn’t fit and that is when I realized it was a duck. Not just any duck, but the smallest of ducks, a female Bufflehead. Buffleheads are small enough to nest in an old Flicker hole.

At the same time, I saw Female Common Goldeneye’s flying in and out of a patch of dead trees that have lots of cavities. Goldeneye Ducks also nest in trees. This particular spot is one that I have long thought should have tree nesting ducks as it is close to water giving the ducklings a quick access to the water after they “leap” from the nest hole.

Yes, they “leap” from the nest a few days after hatching. The mother duck calls them, they go to the hole, jump, land and make their way to the water.

I didn’t see the ducklings leave the nest that morning. I felt lucky enough to see a female peaking out of the hole and a female Common Goldeneye land on the top of a dead tree.

Tree nesting ducks in our region (from smallest to largest) are: Buffleheads, Hooded Mergansers, Common Goldeneyes, and Common Mergansers. All of these ducks are diving ducks. Cavity-nesting birds are some of the most threatened species in North America, most likely due to the loss of wetlands and old growth woodlands.

Building nest boxes is one way that we can help cavity-nesting birds. The other way is to advocate for respect of the natural environment and protection of wetlands and adjacent old growth woodlands for tree nesting ducks.

Get out and discover the wonderful diversity of our planet and treat nature as a treasured friend. Feed your soul by being a steward of the Earth and starve our collective human dysfunction of dominating the planet.

More about nest boxes here: https://www.ab-conservation.com/downloads/educational_materials/brochures/nest_box_guide_and_instructions.pdf

More about Bufflehead ducks here: http://www.hww.ca/en/wildlife/birds/bufflehead.html

"Dragonflying: The new birding"...They naturally go together.

When I am out birding I run into insects of all sorts, especially when Spring is bursting at its seams. As the birds are often hard to photograph and the insects are exploding out of the vegetation around me I start to point the camera at the wonderful diversity of insects buzzing, hopping, and flying about.

When the dragonflies emerge, dragonflying becomes the new birding.

Watching dragonflies hover, roam, zoom, flit, tilt, reverse, and then mate while one holds on to the other in flight is mesmerizing.

Trying to catch a photo of one in flight is almost next to impossible. Trying to find one perched requires patience as they are great at blending in with their surroundings and often not seen until they fly up as you walk by. That is when I follow one that looks like it will land and with luck, land in a place that getting a photo not obstructed by twigs, leaves and other vegetation is possible.

Once the photos are downloaded the excitement of a learning journey takes hold. The internet and apps hold a bounty of information. Trying to identify a dragonfly is a treasure hunt strewn with a path of golden tidbits along the way.

Dragonflies and damselflies are part of the insect order “Odonata” or more commonly referred to as “Odes”. Dragonflies date back to over 250 million years, they pre-date the dinosaur age!

“You can tell a dragon from a damsel by its wing position when perched: Dragonflies hold their wings straight out to the side, while damselflies partly spread their wings or fold them together behind them.”

While most Odes overwinter in the larval or nymph stage, Green Darners migrate each year from Mexico. Dragonflies are ravenous insect eaters and are great to keep those bugs at bay in the summer. What eats the dragonfly? Birds. Cedar Waxwings and Eastern Kingbirds enjoy a dragonfly meal.

There are so many things to learn about Dragonflies/Damselflies. I am hooked and enjoying the journey! Happy birding, happy dragonflying

The quotes and facts came from this article: https://www.audubon.org/magazine/july-august-2012/chasing-dragonflies-and-damselflies

Another article on the migration of Green Darners is here, a place to whet your appetite and do some more digging: https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2018/12/21/theres-a-huge-and-hidden-migration-in-of-dragonflies-in-north-america.html

The dragonfly in the pictures, I believe, is a Boreal Whiteface, I will let you decide, check out this identification site: http://www.insectsofalberta.com/borealwhiteface.htm

Not great photos, amazing experiences...White-winged Scoters, a first for me.

Birding is an experience that changes daily. Seeing familiar species is exciting and seeing new ones is exhilarating. While it is great to get a good picture when you see a new bird (new to you), the moment is not diminished if you don’t. That is often the case. While you click away with your zoom lens cranked to its max, excited by the sighting you aren’t really focused on focusing, perspective or setting.

Yesterday morning was one of those moments for me at the ponds I frequent. The morning sun was high by then and the first pond on the left has the sun coming from that direction. It seems like the birds favour that side (they must know that anyone coming in on the road will have a hard time seeing them in that bright light, I wonder if anyone has studied that!).

I was trying to figure out the group of birds that were there and I saw larger, chunkier, funny billed ducks. Surf Scoter came to mind right away and I clicked away trying to get some pictures to identify them. They looked like Scoters, but not quite Surf Scoters, which we have seen before and many of them go to the lake by Marten Beach where my friend lives. She gets photos of them far out in huge groups doing their mating behaviour. My sightings have been of a pair that hung out by the weir for a few days last Spring.

After the Scoters headed to the farthest part of the ponds in the reeds, I kept on birding and the day was capped off with the Songbird Festival out at the Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation. A great day!

At home, downloading the pictures, I clicked on the Scoter ones and realized they weren’t Surf Scoters, they were White-winged Scoters, a first sighting for me.

Why is it so exciting? Hard to say, except that our brains are wired for novelty and I am no exception. For me, seeing a new bird takes me to researching about that bird. It helps me learn more about birds and the more I learn about birds, the more appreciation I have for the immense diversity of life and the incredible duty humans have to be “stewards” of the earth. This sometimes leads me to despair when I see our incredible footprint on the planet and how it has impacted all life on earth. Stewards, we are NOT. Pillagers, plunderers, invaders, murderers, rapists we are when you look at how we treat the earth and all its life. Whether by ignorance or design, matters not.

For now, I am keeping the excitement of seeing this new bird and focusing on how I can be a steward.

White-winged Scoters winter on the coast (there are some that winter on the Eastern Great Lakes and seem to be increasing in numbers, may be because of the Zebra mussels). They breed on freshwater lakes and some ponds. They often nest with breeding colonies of gulls even though the gulls may eat their eggs, they nest in dense cover of vegetation away from the water. They are diving ducks and they eat mollusks and other crustaceans. Cool fact: the oldest recorded White-winged Scoter was a female at 18 years of age. Impressive!

Find out more about White-winged Scoters at this site: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-winged_Scoter/overview

Happy Birding!

Common Tern or Forster's Tern? You decide and just enjoy the aerial acrobatics!

The Terns are back! One of the most exciting birding is watching the Terns fly up and down the river or along the lake, listen to their vocalizations and then watch the aerial acrobatics followed by a dramatic drop into the water to catch small fish. The plunge is instant and the emergence quick, dripping the water from their body and the wings working to get airborne. Sometimes they will have a small fish in their mouth, sometimes not.

With all that effort to catch their food, they need a rest. At the weir they have favourite perches on top of the steel posts and on the buoys strung along the entrance (and exit) to the weir.

If you get to the weir too early, there won’t be any Terns to see. Like an early morning rush to work, at a certain time they start to appear until the sky is chattering with their distinct calls to each other. Then the show begins.

Getting a photo of the Terns plunging and emerging from the water requires patience and a whole lot of luck. My one friend, Nelson, came up with a strategy. Instead of focusing on them, focus on the point in the water where you think they are about to plunge and get your trigger finger ready for your camera. The problem: so often it looks like they are going to plunge and just before they do, they swoop and change direction.

Now to identify them. There are many types of Terns. The two that are likely to be in our area are Common Terns and Forster’s Terns. The differences are subtle and I haven’t mastered this one yet! I am having a lot of fun figuring it out, learning so much along the way.

Here is my guess and why. Forster’s Tern:

• I think the bill and legs are more orange than red and the bill is a bit heavier - Forster’s

• I think the wings when folded don’t go all the way to the tail - Forster’s

• I think the body is more white than grey - Forster’s

Here is a site that allows you to compare: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Tern/species-compare/72456071

I could be wrong and just hopeful that it is a Forster’s Tern, a more rare sighting than a Common Tern.

I will let you decide… Whatever you decide, get out and see these amazing birds do their aerial acrobatics, it truly is stunning.

Happy birding!

To learn more about Forster’s Terns: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Forsters_Tern/id

To learn more about Common Terns: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Tern/id

Warblers, warblers, warblers....like being a kid in the candy store! Black-poll Warbler!

It is warbler time! All the small birds are back, many migrating through and the flitting through the underbrush/trees is constant. At the same time you are given a cacophony of bird songs that merge into a soul-filling symphony.

If you are out to get a perfect photo, you will be disappointed. If you are out to get photos that allow you to identify the birds you are hearing and seeing, you will be full of gratitude.

If you get to experience those moments with a dear friend, the moments will be priceless.

All of this lined up for me yesterday. After weeks of waiting for the birds to be back, Ronda and I were exposed to the passing of numerous warblers in a patch of the sand dunes at Devonshire Beach. What seemed like a slow day on the ponds for ducks/geese turned out to be a highly active day for the smaller birds, the warblers.

This morning I am looking at the photos and so excited to know that one of the warblers I saw was a Black-poll Warbler. This is a first photo for me so I could identify this bird. I am sure I have heard this bird in other spring migrations, but until you learn the songs you don’t know what you are hearing.

Black-poll Warblers are amazing little birds. They are the longest distance overwater songbird migrators. The ones that come to Western Canada go the farthest from their wintering grounds and tend to have longer wings than the ones that go as far as Eastern Canada.

They are such small birds (half-ounce), and in the Fall they need to double their weight so they can fly non-stop for 3 days across the Atlantic Ocean to get back to their wintering grounds. WOW!

Their song has one of the highest frequency for a bird, it can reach 10,000 Hz (most birds are between 1,000-8,000 Hz).

Here is a site with more information on Black-poll Warblers: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blackpoll_Warbler/overview

I feel like that kid in the candy store, so many birds, so many choices as I aim my camera and try to get a photo so I can identify the bird. When I get those photos it fills me with excitement as I learn more about the birds I see and hear. Birds are amazing.

Remember them as you are out and about. They need our help in keeping their habitat (home) clean and open. We are the guests in their home and we need to be a “welcome” guest, not one that overstays their welcome.

Happy birding!

It's Spring and breeding season...I can't stop looking fast enough!

When I am out birding I see things I don’t expect to see but when it is springtime, sex is a likely behaviour that you may chance upon. Mostly, I see the birds displaying for each other. Each type of bird does it in a different way with fighting between males a common occurrence. Females are often “chased” around by numerous males until they supposedly decide which one(s) they select. Some birds pair up and help bring up the young. Some females go off on their own to lay the eggs and raise the young. Very rarely, the males incubate and raise the young (cue the Red-necked Phalarope, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-necked_Phalarope/lifehistory ).

Yesterday I was scanning the trees for Northern Flickers (a type of woodpecker) at one of my favourite spots along the Lesser Slave River. They were sitting on branches in a dead tree, a male above, female in a lower branch with a European Starling close by. The Flickers were quiet, it was early morning (6 am) and their tail feathers were spread and up. Before I knew it, the male flew down, while the female moved along the branch. As long as it took me to think, “they are going to have sex”, that is exactly what they did and as any typical actual sex act, it was over sooner than that thought occurred. I clicked away with my camera and got a few pics (nothing great), but enough to see the sequence of events when I downloaded.

What amazes me about all of this is how brief the act is given all the posturing, vocalizing, fighting, that goes into the lead-up for the event. Humans are very similar when you think about it.

This led me back to an article that Janine Schueller posted on her facebook page, “How Chickens Lost their Penises (and Ducks Kept Theirs)”, a National Geographic article. It was fascinating to read and it turns out, most birds have lost their penises, not because they couldn’t grow them, but because of a protein (Bmp), that we all have, that kills off cells during the growth stage of the penis, “This type of ‘programmed cell death’ occurs throughout the living world and helps to carve away unwanted body parts—for example, our hands have fingers because the cells between them die when we’re embryos.”

So how do birds have sex? Good question! Birds that don’t have penises still need to send sperm into the female to fertilize the eggs. And here is how they do that, “males and females just mush their genital openings together and he transfers sperm into her in a manoeuvre called the ‘cloacal kiss’.”

I have learned a lot this morning and all because I couldn’t look away! Happy birding everyone.

Read the full National Geographic article here: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2013/06/06/how-chickens-lost-their-penises-ducks-kept-theirs/?fbclid=IwAR1E7ZyhnUnAnqQKsdyjo73wyIo35HKMOky44AIA9R4H0O5iFX7Drfh6EeY

And to learn more about Northern Flickers (Yellow-shafted are the ones in the pictures), go here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/lifehistory

This is where it began, tail feathers spread, getting ready!

The Starling had the decency to look away for this part, this is the mushing together part!

Okay, me and the Starling are back to looking on, there really hasn’t been much time to look away.

The final act, the male almost falls off the female with a drooping wing, does that remind you of anyone?

The Hermit Thrush..."Achingly Beautiful"

Spring Migration is on! The Hermit Thrush is one bird that I love to hear. John Neville's, "Bird Songs: Western Boreal Forest", describes the Hermit Thrush song as "achingly beautiful". That is the way I identify this bird because usually I don't see the Hermit Thrush, I just hear the song. Yesterday, "eagle eyes Ronda Groom" saw this bird sitting on a branch and we had the pleasure of getting some photos.

Hermit Thrushes are very similar to the Swainson Thrush, the way to identify is the colouring and the eyering. The second picture shows how the tail is reddish which indicates Hermit Thrush.

To hear the "achingly beautiful" song of the Hermit Thrush, check out this site: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hermit_Thrush/sounds

Sharp-tailed Grouse, Spring 2019.

Birds, birds, birds… This is a Sharp-tailed Grouse, the differences between grouse types can be hard to see, but the place you find them, colouring, pattern and tail can distinguish them from each other. Male sharp-tailed grouse gather at a lek to show off and attract females. This happens at the crack of dawn and the females can visit a lek on average, 10 times as well as visit another lek. Males don't participate in the raising of the young, the females have to be choosy! Grouse are like many birds, they "hide in plain sight" and we usually see them after they fly up in front of our faces on the trails we travel. I am fortunate to have some "eagle eyes" on my birding adventures, Pat Potvin, Ronda Groom, Rodney King, thanks for being my spotting scope on our birding adventures. To find out more about these amazing birds, check out a few sites, the first gives you overall information, the 2nd is a video of the lek behaviour - very cool! https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/sharp-tailed-grouse

https://www.audubon.org/news/what-heck-lek-quirkiest-mating-party-earth

Sharp-tailed Grouse, hiding in plain sight.

Female or Male? And what does that have to do with birds!

Female or Male? If you are allergic to Aspen Poplar, you will want to know. It is the male tree that spreads the pollen (what brings on allergy season for many). The female receives the pollen that is blown in the wind and produces the seeds. Ruffed Grouse eat the catkins of poplar trees, it is one of their winter staples. We were lucky to see one feeding on a tree this past weekend. Yes, it always goes back to birds! Ruffed Grouse males "drum" while standing on a log, and as you travel on the forest paths in the spring (and summer, fall), you will hear this drumming.

You can watch a male drumming here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVfiIp3QGs4

For more information on Ruffed Grouse, go here: http://www.hww.ca/en/wildlife/birds/ruffed-grouse.html

For more information about Aspen Poplar trees go here: http://plantwatch.naturealberta.ca/choose-your-plants/aspen-poplar/

Ruffed Grouse feasting on the catkins of the poplar tree.

Ruffed Grouse perched waiting for us to leave so he/she can go back to feasting!

Yellow-rumped warblers, Spring 2019

When you get mooned by a bird, the backside view! The Yellow-rumped Warblers are back and as Ronda Groom said, posing like crazy (although, likely not for us, most likely for the female of the species). Yellow-rumped warblers are the largest group of warblers that migrate to our area and in the Spring, the males are stunning. They are often called Myrtle Warblers and this is because they are the only warblers able to digest the waxes in bayberries and wax myrtles. This allows them to winter farther north than other warblers. As foragers, they have a very versatile diet, another reason for them to be so abundant and wide-spread. The smaller warblers and other birds that migrate to our area are numerous and varied in their calls/vocalizations. Learning to recognize them so you know what you are looking for is a challenge. My impending retirement will have me spending the winter learning bird songs so I am ready for our next Spring! Have a listen to some of their songs here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-rumped_Warbler/sounds

Do you like this side…

Or this side? How is my posing?

Okay, enough pictures already, time for you to go!