FOAM LAKE
BIRDING
No. 178
Although we
are experiencing our longest lasting heat wave this year there are sure signs
that fall is underway. Some trees are
starting to shed their leaves and the goldenrod and fall asters are in full
bloom. I always have mixed feelings at
this time of year. Seeing crops being
swathed brings back memories of the feelings of excitement at the thought of
being rewarded for a hard summer's work.
However, with a new school year just around the corner the excitement
was somewhat muted. Not only did we have
to attend school each and every day but upon getting home we had to unload the
grain trucks and trailers that had been filled during the day. As there were no hydraulics this meant a lot
of hard shoveling. Still, it was a fun
time and the closest I come to it now is the picking of cherries and apples in
our yard. Not quite the same thing.
On the
birding front geese are starting to flock and many of the fall warblers that
have nested in the Boreal Forest are in town.
As of this writing I have seen the Palm, Tennessee,
Orange Crowned, Yellow Rumped (Myrtle), Wilson's
and Blackpoll Warblers. Although the
males are quite distinct and easy to identify in the spring they moult into
very drab colours for the winter and look much like the females. Even the differences between species is not
very significant. For those birders who
like challenges identifying fall warblers will provide just that. Binoculars, bird books and sharp eyes are
essential.
We did have
the pleasant surprise of seeing a Blue Headed Vireo in our chokecherries
picking at gnats. The bird is not a
rarity by any means but it is uncommon especially in town and can be seen only
in the spring and fall. One day our
feeder was visited by a mother House Finch with her four youngsters. Now House Finches are common but evidence of
them nesting locally is a first for me. Our
fall flowers have attracted juvenile Ruby Throated Hummingbirds that are
preparing themselves for their winter migration to Central
America. This year they
seem to be more numerous than usual and frequently there are two or three birds
at the flowers at any one time. Nice.
This week's
photo is of an unexpected event - at least for me. We have one male Flicker that actually eats
chokecherries. I managed to get a good
shot of him feasting on said chokecherries.
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