WRN Teens - Nest Box Project

29 February 2020

     Leap Year! A day that occurs only once every four years, and I spent part of this special day with an exceptional group of people.

    By way of background, Waterloo Region Nature (hereafter WRN) Teens came into existence as a group just last year. Marg Paré who had been involved for several years with WRN Kids felt the need for an organized group for youngsters who exceeded the age cutoff for the young children, and thus, WRN Teens was born. From its embryonic stage it has been a resounding success, now having matured to about twenty members, due entirely to the hard work and dedication of Marg and Linda Dutka, and the eager participation of these outstanding young people. The encouragement and support they receive from their parents should be the standard for good parenting.

Marg, Linda

     The teens have been involved in a wide range of activities including salamander monitoring, visits to the Ecology Lab at the University of Waterloo for scientific training, invasive species removal, winter tracking, environmental cleanup and other endeavours.

     At SpruceHaven we have been able to allocate six nest boxes for Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) to form a designated trail for the Teens, which they will monitor this year and into the future. As a component of this venture we felt it would be instructive if they could build one of the nest boxes to cement their relationship with the birds; hence a nest box building workshop was organized.

     To facilitate this, Mike and Anita Smith (in the pictures below Mike is the one with the beard!) welcomed the Teens to their home, and Mike's well-equipped woodworking shop. Mike is a superb carpenter and a patient mentor for the Teens. I cannot say enough about these wonderful, friendly people who have done so much to help. Anita, I should mention, is our club's Conservation Director, a baker of sourdough bread and an accomplished tracker.

     The nest boxes had already been cut at a previous session and were ready for final assembly. Marg issued a few final instructions.

     The boards were ready to be transformed into avian homes.

     Ella, Nicole and Megan got to work right away and displayed an impressive level of adroitness around tools that are probably unfamiliar to them.

      Each person cooperates and has a share in the various operations needed to bring the nest box to completion.

      At the other end of the room, Eric, Jonah and Owen are busy assembling the bluebird box that will hopefully house a family in just a few weeks.

     Meanwhile, the all-girl team was hard at work and doing everything just right. Their level of confidence was impressive.

     The largest nest box was for a Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) and concentration was needed. As you may see, Paula and Bennett are focused on the task at hand.

        Everything is going according to plan. The boards are lined up; it all fits together.  Better not let your attention wander, however. 

              Mike was constantly moving from group to group, offering words of encouragement and guidance where needed. It was a joy to watch the interaction between an experienced woodworker and a cadre of enthusiastic acolytes.

     Looks like this team is well satisfied with their finished product.

     The others were equally proud to show off the results of the afternoon's work. You already met Paula and Bennett; that's Cora in the centre.

     A group shot seemed to be just the token needed to memorialize this noteworthy activity.

     I had to leave after the nest building operation but Anita and Mike invited everyone into their home where Anita showed the Teens her skull collection, and served them hot chocolate and sweet treats too. Marg and Linda sent me a few pictures.

     And afterwards, the indefatigable Anita took them out for a winter-tracking session.

Deer Browse

Owl Pellets

     I would be remiss if I did not conclude this account without uttering resounding kudos to the Teens, polite, disciplined, intelligent youth; they give me hope for the future.
     And I take my hat off to Marg, Linda, Mike and Anita. Their commitment and dedication is inspirational. Furthermore their transparent joy in contributing to the future of our youth in this way is palpable. 
     Mere words fail to express my deep appreciation of their selflessness. They are my heroes.
     And one last word, Anita makes sourdough bread, and Mike mentioned that he has some excellent Tequila. Hmmm. Maybe better bar the doors if you don't want me easing my way back in! Sounds too good to pass up, doesn't it?

2nd Annual Christmas Bird Count for Kids - 2018

26 January 2018

     Having inaugurated the Christmas Bird Count for Kids last year we were happy to do it again this year. 

     Our initial plans had to be scrapped due to severely cold weather and it was reorganized for today. Friday is not an ideal day for parents and children but it was a PD day at local schools so we gave it a go. The attendance was smaller than last year, but several enthusiastic children and their parents came out to count birds and learn about nature. It was a pleasure, as always to be involved with the children of today, the naturalists of tomorrow.

     In addition to several members of the staff at the rare Charitable Research Reserve in Cambridge where the event was held, I was happy to be joined by my good friend Fraser Gibson, as fine an all round naturalist as you could ever wish to meet, and a sterling fellow to boot.

     We started at the feeders behind the Eco Centre where the presence of lots of birds gave the children a fine start before setting out to walk some of the trails. The adults were engaged too!

     As might be expected the species at the feeders were common birds, but numerous, with much coming and going, providing great enjoyment for everyone.

     It was an ideal spot to contrast the plumages of male and female House Finches (Haemorhous mexicanus), with everyone especially appreciating the deep wine red of the males.

     Several Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura) seemed to be content to rest in the trees, perhaps waiting for the other species to knock down enough seed onto the ground before descending to feed.

     This one looked like it was taking a snooze.

     White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) gave a textbook display of its head-down feeding strategy.

     Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) snagged seed from the feeders to carry them away to a branch where they hammered them open, holding the seed in their feet. It is safe to say that everyone loves a chickadee!

     It was a perfect winter's day, with the temperature hovering near the freezing mark, and we all enjoyed walking the trails.

     Several times we heard the distinctive chip note of Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) and with a little patience were rewarded with excellent views of this beautiful bird.

     Back at the Eco Centre we all gathered to compare notes and enjoy coffee and hot chocolate.

     The children wrote their sightings on a list, each team taking pride in the birds they had observed and learned about.

     As mentioned earlier the number of children taking part was down from last year, but this did not detract from the enjoyment of the day. I have no doubt that we are all looking forward to the 3rd annual CBC for Kids to take place next year.

     Kudos to Jenna Quinn, Emily Leslie and Marg Paré for the work they did to bring this event to fruition. It was my pleasure to take part.

All species: Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Trumpeter or Tundra Swan, Mallard, Common Goldeneye, Gull sp., Rock Dove, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Northern Cardinal, House Finch, American Goldfinch.    Total: 17.

Inaugural Christmas Bird Count for Children

07 January 2017

     The combined efforts of Marg Paré of Waterloo Region Nature and Jenna Quinn of the rare Charitable Research Reserve brought to fruition our first Christmas Bird Count for children - and a rare (pun intended) success it was.

Marg Paré - Waterloo Region Nature

Emily Leslie and Jenna Quinn - rare Charitable Research Reserve

     Gerrit Kamminga, rare's Educator welcomed everyone and explained rare's myriad activities and research ventures.

Gerrit Kamminga

     To start the programme I gave a short presentation to give the kids (and perhaps a few of their parents too) a few tips on how to bird successfully and covered several common species that we hoped to find as we broke into groups and ventured forth outside. Emily then explained to the kids how to use binoculars and they practiced inside before trying them on the birds of the great outdoors.

     Children of roughly similar age made up each team; our group called the Chickadee Team comprised the youngest children of all.

Stephanie Sobek-Swant (Executive Director rare Charitable Research Reserve), her daughter, Cordelia, Emily Leslie, Krista MacLaren, her son, Hunter

     The weather was perfect, a classic Ontario winter's day, with bright sunshine, little wind and a temperature of around minus 12° C. I think that the adults could have stayed out forever, but the attention span of our little charges was short as you might imagine. Nevertheless, they got exposed to a few birds, and perhaps this will kickstart a lifelong interest in nature. The parents who brought out their children deserve a good deal of credit.

     We started our walk at a couple of feeders strategically located behind the Eco Centre, and they were very active. This engaged the kids for a while and here are the birds they saw there.

House Finch (male)

House Finch (female)

American Tree Sparrow

Mourning Dove

Mourning Dove

Black-capped Chickadee

White-breasted Nuthatch

Downy Woodpecker (male)

Downy Woodpecker (female)

     It was not long before Hunter told his mom that he was cold so she took him back inside. Stephanie, Emily, Cordelia and I carried on; it seemed as though Cordelia found new life and wanted to run and explore forever. She couldn't resit having her picture taken by the Bald Eagle sculpture featured at the trailhead.

      Walking on farther, it was not long before we found fresh Wild Turkey tracks, although we never did see any birds.

     The opportunity to hand feed a chickadee could not be passed up, but the birds wouldn't cooperate and we moved on. 

     We headed back to the Eco Centre where hot chocolate and coffee awaited us. Hunter had been happily playing with his mom while we were outside.

     Cordelia couldn't resist hamming it up a little as she donned her mother's ear muffs and sun glasses. We thought she looked like a movie start trying to travel incognito!

     All of the teams slowly filtered back and tallies were finalized and lively discussions took place.

     It has been a great day, thoroughly enjoyed by all. I am sure this will now become an annual event and I am looking forward to helping out again next year. Maybe Marg was already making the arrangements!

Species seen by Team Chickadee: Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura (12), Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens (2), Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata (1), Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus (13), White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis (2), American Tree Sparrow Spizelloides arborea (2), House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus (5).

Total species seen by all teams:  Canada Goose Branta canadensis (25), Snow Goose Chen caerulescens (20), American Black Duck Anas rubipres (1), Mallard Anas platyrynchos (2), Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula (20), Common Merganser Mergus merganser (15), Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo (2), Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis (10), Mourning Dove (106), Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus (1), Downy Woodpecker (14), Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus (4), Blue Jay (3), American Crow Corvus brachyrynchos (11), Black-capped Chickadee (70), White-breasted Nuthatch (11), Brown Creeper Certhia americana (5), Golden-crowned Kinglet Regulus satrapa (3), American Robin Turdus migratorius (6), Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum (1), American Tree Sparrow (7), Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis (1), Song Sparrow Spizelloides arborea (1), Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis (4), House Finch (15), American Goldfinch Spinus tristis (6).

Total species: 26  Total individuals: 364