Foam Lake Birding No. 174

 

FOAM LAKE BIRDING

No. 174

            In February I was optimistic about spring being just around the corner.  However, Mother Nature has had other ideas giving us more snow and record breaking cold temperatures.  Even so there are signs of the coming spring.  The large flocks of redpolls have thinned out considerably and the Juncos are back. 

            On April 9, in Saskatoon, I looked out of the window and saw a gopher sunning itself on a sidewalk.  About ten feet away a Robin was on the lawn looking for earthworms and appeared to have found one.  All this was occurring with temperatures well below freezing although the day was sunny.  Both seemed to have had enough of winter. 

           In my last article the location of the bluebird birdhouses was omitted.  The birdhouses are mounted randomly on fence posts on either side of the Yellowhead Highway from Wolverine Siding to the village of Plunkett.  There are not as many bird houses as there used to be as the deteriorated ones have not been replaced.  It would be a good cause for somebody to undertake. 

           I got an email from Dr. Stuart Houston from the University of Saskatchewan asking Saskatchewan residents to report Turkey Vulture sightings to him if the birds carry wing tags or are nesting.  If a tagged bird is spotted note on which wing the tag is located and of course where the bird was seen.  If nesting vultures are seen (usually in abandoned buildings) report the location.  If it is more convenient contact me and I will forward the information. 

           This week's picture of a Robin weathering a late spring snowstorm was taken several years ago but seemed very appropriate this spring.  The White Throated Sparrow was photographed during the same storm.  As of this writing neither bird is here yet but, I do expect both to be here by the time this goes into print. 

            Finally, I will be taking a hiatus of several weeks for surgery and some recovery time.  Hopefully, the spring birds are here by then and perhaps even some surprise visitors.   

Foam Lake Birding No. 173

FOAM LAKE BIRDING

No. 173

            On Easter Sunday, the last day of March, my wife and I decided to go for a Sunday drive.  The weather was nice and I wanted to see some crows before April rolled around.  We were not disappointed.  We saw three of them feeding alongside Highway 35 just north of the TransCanada (Yellowhead). 

            We then drove east on the Yellowhead to the Margo Grid where we turned north.  As we drove alongside the community pasture we came across a  small flock of approximately eight Mountain Bluebirds.  Bright sky blue bluebirds against a backdrop of white snow is a pretty sight to say the least.  Although I had my camera with me I was not able to get a picture of them. 

            In past articles I have been a little remiss in not mentioning bluebirds as one of our earliest spring arrivals that get here about the same time as the crows.  Because bluebirds are more rural and less conspicuous than crows they are not seen as often and, therefore, not associated with the approaching spring the same way crows are. 

            There are three species of bluebirds in Canada: the Eastern, Western and Mountain.  The Eastern and Western Bluebirds are very similar but, fortunately in Canada, their ranges do not overlap so identification is not a big problem.  The males of both species are a bright blue with rusty breasts and whitish bellies.  The one distinctive field mark is that the rust on the Eastern Bluebird extends upward to the throat and the chin; the rust on the Western Bluebird stops abruptly at the top of the breast.  In short the Western looks as if it had its entire head dipped in bright blue paint.  In Canada the Western is a bird of the western slope of the Rocky Mountains while the Eastern ranges from the Atlantic roughly to the Manitoba/Saskatchewan border and south along the American border to the Cypress Hills. 

            The male Mountain Bluebird is a bright sky blue with no other colours at all.  The breast and belly are a lighter shade of blue but still very blue.  Of the three species of bluebirds the Mountain Bluebird is the one truly "blue" bird.  The females of all three species are a pale greyish brown with just a hint of blue. 

            In Canada the Western and Eastern Bluebirds are separated geographically and the Mountain is quite different from the other two so that identification is never a problem.   In the winter the situation is different as all three can be found in western Texas and eastern New Mexico so identification can be difficult - especially among the females.  The three have different songs and call notes that can be used for identification. 

            Bluebirds are cavity nesters and this preference just about brought about their demise.  Before Europeans arrived in the Americas woodpeckers created enough cavities for the bluebirds and their competitors such as wrens, Tree Swallows and Purple Martins.  With the introduction of the very aggressive House Sparrows and Starlings the availability of cavities for the bluebirds was reduced dramatically and the bluebird populations plummeted.  At this point some concerned bird lovers decided to intervene by building and setting out thousands of birdhouses along thousands of kilometres of roadways.  It was discovered that birdhouses that were placed out in the open away from trees were avoided by both the House Sparrows and Starlings but readily accepted by Tree Swallows and bluebirds.  The result was that the bluebird population has rebounded but a constant supply of birdhouses is needed to replace the older decaying ones.  Anybody travelling to Saskatoon  on the Yellowhead can see some of these birdhouses along the road by the Wolverine Siding and west toward Plunkett.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

            This week's photos are of a male Western Bluebird and a male Mountain Bluebird.  The picture of the Western was taken near San Diego, CA while the Mountain was taken along the Dunlop Road  east of Foam Lake.  Although I have seen Eastern Bluebirds I have never gotten a picture of one.  Hopefully soon. 

Foam Lake Birding No. 172

FOAM LAKE BIRDING

No. 172

            Although it seems that this winter will never end, it will.  Soon, I hope.  Before that happens I want to cover one of our very long distance migratory birds, the Swainson's Hawk.  This hawk nests as far north as our area and travels south all the way to central Argentina for the winter where it spends about three weeks before starting the long journey back. 

            As mentioned last week the Swainson's Hawk is one of a trio of large hawks that can be found in our area.  Unlike the Red Tailed and Northern Harrier the Swainson's is more a hawk of the plains but not exclusively as is the Ferruginous Hawk .  It is quite similar to the Red Tailed and is often confused with it but there are differences that can be quite easily utilized in the field.  First, if seen from above or from behind the Red Tailed has a rusty tail the Swainson's does not.  Second, The Red Tailed has a black chin while the Swainson's has a white one.  Third, the Red Tailed has a broad dark breast band while the Swainson's has a dark chocolate upper breast but no band.  Fourth, when in flight and viewed from below the Red Tailed has dark leading wing feathers while the Swainson's has dark trailing wing feathers.  (see a good bird book for a better idea of the differences).  When perched or in flight to me the Red Tailed has a light breast with black chin while the Swainson's looks as if it were dipped in chocolate head first up to its belly leaving the front half of the bird dark except for the white chin. 

            The Swainson's is a relatively weak hawk feeding on small mammals and large insects like grasshoppers.  This food preference for insects almost wiped the species out several decades ago.  What happened is that one of the agricultural insecticides was banned in North America because it did not break down after use but stayed intact on the insects that it had killed.  The manufacturers disposed of their stock by selling it at a deep discount to farmers in South America where it was used extensively.  As the Swainson's Hawks migrated south they fed on the dead and dying poisoned insects thereby poisoning themselves.  The result was a massive kill-off of hawks numbering in the tens of thousands.  A number of wildlife organizations saved the hawks by having the poisons banned world wide.  The good news is that the Swainson's Hawk population , though severely decimated, is slowly making a comeback. 

            This week's picture was taken alongside a dirt road near Coronach, SK. in the Big Muddy Valley.  I was not able to get a frontal view of the hawk but the white chin is visible as is the dark breast - although barely.