A Review of the Last Few Days

     Covid-19 keeps us close to home, but we have a wealth of places to explore, and our local scene keeps us well occupied and happy with our local birds.

30 May 2020
Three Bridges Road, St. Jacobs, ON

     The full suite of flycatchers has arrived back in our area, some passing through on their way farther north, others stopping to breed. 
     Two of the most common species are shown below.

Eastern Phoebe, Sayornis phoebe

Eastern Kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus

31 May 2020

SpruceHaven, St. Agatha, ON

     We are not doing nearly the volume of monitoring and bird banding that we normally do at SpruceHaven, but there is a good deal to keep us occupied and sustain our interest.

     A Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) is always a very agreeable sight.

     The principal reason I go to SpruceHaven every Sunday is to check on the activity at the Eastern Bluebird/Tree Swallow trail which was established for the benefit of the WRN Teens club. We had great plans in mind to have the teens monitor six nest boxes, documenting their results and submitting them to appropriate authorities, along the way acquiring a good deal of knowledge about these birds. Covid-19 put an end to that programme!

     I have been checking the boxes and reporting the results back to WRN Teens so that they will know what is happening in "their" boxes.

     Some of you may recall that two of the boxes had full clutches (six eggs each) of Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) eggs. Incubation is a constant activity for the female, with no assistance from the male.

     In one box I witnessed the beginning of the fully developed embryos starting to work their way out of the egg. The eggs were moving as the occupants strained to crack the shell, and at least one was chipping away with its egg tooth, in a long and arduous process to escape from the confines of its "prison". I had never actually seen this activity before and I found it verging on emotional to see this drama of birth and renewal.

     In the second nest box the female sat tight on the eggs, and I did not wish to lift her up to check what was happening underneath her belly. This coming Sunday will tell the tale.

     What provided an additional level of great encouragement and excitement, however, was the fact that a pair of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) have taken up residence in one of the other boxes, and two eggs have already been laid.

     The female left the nest box when I opened it to check inside, but I closed it quickly and before I had walked to the next nest box a hundred metres or so away, both members of the bluebird pair had returned to their home.

     It is not so many years ago that Eastern Bluebirds (and other bluebird species for that matter) had spiralled into a pattern of serious decline, principally due to aggressive competition from our two resident aliens, House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) and Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Fortunately, many dedicated citizens banded together and erected thousands of nest boxes throughout the continent, which are fitted with predator guards and are constantly monitored, resulting in a resounding comeback for this delightful little bird.

     Forty years ago if you had visited and asked me to show you an Eastern Bluebird, I might have been hard pressed to do so. Today, I could virtually guarantee it.

02 June 2020

A tour of the hinterland of Waterloo Region

     Look at the pictures below to appreciate what a truly pleasant area we are happy to call home.

  

     The above images were taken along Martin Creek Road, an area very familiar to us, and there is a large culvert under the road so that the creek flows unimpeded. I cannot begin to estimate how many times we have driven along the road on top of this culvert, but it would number well into the hundreds. Imagine our surprise (and great delight) then when we discovered a whole colony of breeding American Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) there. How we have missed them before is beyond me!

     Anyone familiar with the rapid, zig zag flight of swallows will appreciate how difficult it is to take pictures, but I am including below a couple of shots obtained at other breeding colonies.

     A Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) posed very nicely for a closeup portrait.

     And as further evidence of a healthy cohort of breeding Eastern Bluebirds, at least one pair is breeding in the graveyard on Three Bridges Road. Dedicated parents toil tirelessly to feed their young whose appetites are insatiable.

     Tombstones provide a convenient perch for this American Robin (Turdus migratorius) to scan the ground and pounce on any unwary morsel of food. Beware the beetle that scurries along in the open!

     The Conestogo River intersects with our meanderings at various points along our traverse. 

     We pass a farm with a small pond, occupied every year by a pair of what are colloquially known as "rent-a-swans". They are not wild birds, of course, but this does not detract from their appeal and one was determined to put on a show for us.

     Needless to say, we appreciated this highly engaging performance. Little wonder Tchaikovsky created a ballet based on these creatures.

     A Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) was a first sighting for this species at this location.

     As mentioned earlier flycatchers have taken up residence in good numbers, and there is one spot where we are almost guaranteed to find Eastern Kingbirds lining up along the fences.

     And the Conestogo River flows alongside us still.

     As was the case with bluebirds, the appearance of a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) not so many years ago was a rarity. It is now a fairly common breeding species.

     A Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) was panting in the heat.

     And at the end of any good walk it is always good to be back home.

 

     Birds in the backyard entertain us to no end and we like to believe they are happy to see us return. Perhaps the fact that I fill their feeders influences the welcome we receive!