Foam Lake Birding No. 168

FOAM LAKE BIRDING

No. 168

            Our feeders continue to be very busy with swarms of Redpolls in our backyard that outnumber all other birds even the House Sparrows.  Although nothing as exciting as a Boreal Owl has come to our yard recently, we were pleasantly surprised by a Pine Siskin at our nyjer (thistle seed) feeder.  In our area Pine Siskins are migratory but are year round residents in the southern part of our province so, seeing one at our feeders in the winter is uncommon but not rare.  How long this particular bird has been in our yard is anybody's guess as Siskins are quite similar to Redpolls and are easily overlooked. 

            The middle of February brings with it our very first summer resident, the Horned Lark, a member of the lark family that includes the pipits and the famed European Skylark among others.  This early arrival of the Horned Larks precedes the arrival of the rest of the summer birds like crows and bluebirds by a month or so.  To me there is something reassuring about Horned Larks twittering on a warm and sunny February day as they fly overhead.  Furthermore, seeing pairs of Horned Larks feeding on the shoulders of our roads while there still is lots of snow in the fields tells me that spring must be on the way.  By the end of March, regardless of the snow on the ground, nesting is well on the way.  In my mind the arrival of the Horned Lark beats the groundhog thing on February 2 hands down. 

            Horned Larks are circumpolar in distribution with birds from different areas having slightly different field marks resulting in at least seven different recognizable subspecies in North America alone.  In Canada all are birds of wide open spaces nesting on either side of the Boreal Forest on the plains and Tundra and migrating a little bit to the south in the winter.  On the rest of the continent they live year round in all of the United States and most of Mexico where there is suitable habitat.  Locally, they are found in undisturbed grassy areas like pastures and roadside ditches but are absent in cultivated fields.   With the decrease in mixed farming and subsequent increase in crop farming the Horned Lark population has declined in the parkland area, however, in the southern grasslands the populations are healthy.   

            The Horned Lark gets its name from the small feathery tufts on either side of its head that vaguely resemble little horns although many of the subspecies do not have any "horns" at all.  All the birds do have broad black "sideburns" or masks that extend from the eye downward to the lower chin and a prominent black breast band much like that of a Killdeer.  Some of the subspecies, including the local ones, have yellow throats.  It has a weak but pleasant tinkling song that it often produces while circling in a slow fluttering flight (larking) although it also sings from a perch such as a fencepost.  Once heard the song is easily remembered and recognized.  Males and females are more or less the same with the females being a bit more drab and not sporting any "horns".      

            This week's pictures, one of a male and another of a female, were taken two years ago near Coronach, Saskatchewan.  Except for the "horns" on the male which are barely visible the field marks are very clear.  (Obviously, the yellow throat markings will not be visible in black and white.)    Now, which is the female and which is the male? 

Foam Lake Birding No. 163

FOAM LAKE BIRDING

No. 163

            I just got a phone call from Weslaco, TX where we have spent the last six winters.  At 10:30 AM the temperature there was 24C compared to the -18C it was here at the same time.  I have to admit to being a little envious.  Not only did I miss the nice temperatures but I also missed the local birds that go with it.  Oh well, maybe next year. 

            Texas birds notwithstanding, we do have quite a nice variety of birds here even in the winter time that are every bit as colourful and enjoyable as the more southern ones.  This year we have had quite a wide variety of regulars as mentioned in previous articles.  Our most recent arrivals, an irruptive (visits sporadically) species, have been the Redpolls that some winters do not show up at all.  Usually when we have Redpolls at our feeders we have about two dozen birds or so; this year only six or seven show up.  Maybe more will come as the winter progresses.  As always they prefer Canola seed something that other birds avoid.  The upside to eating Canola is that the smallish Redpolls do not have to compete with larger birds for food.  There is a definite "pecking order" among birds that in human terms we would label as "bullying". 

            All irruptive birds are not irruptive to the same degree.  Some like the Evening Grosbeak appear once in several years or even decades; others like the Bohemian Waxwing appear several times in a winter.  Most irruptive species like the Redpolls and Pine Grosbeaks often become regulars at our feeders if everything is to their liking.  Others like the Bohemian Waxwings never become regulars.    The only hope is to have some fruit trees with fruit still hanging on over winter to attract them from time to time.  A side benefit is that an occasional summer resident that stays here for the winter instead of migrating south has something to eat.  We have had Robins well into November this year feeding on the fruit of ornamental crab apples. 

            One of the most popular trees for irruptive fruit eating birds is the Mountain Ash or its very similar European cousin the Rowan Tree.  In most years both produce massive amounts of bright red edible berries that birds seem "to die for".  The only noticeable difference between the two trees is that the Ash grow to about 5 - 6 metres while the Rowan Tree grows to about twice that.  I have seen both species in Foam Lake. 

            This week's picture is of a flock of Bohemian Waxwings taking a break between feeding sessions at our neighbour's Mountain Ash trees.  They were sitting in our Poplar Tree like little soldiers all at the same angle facing in the same direction except for the odd nonconformist.  A flock of Bohemian Waxwings can be safely identified by the way the flock lands and sits in a tree.  This week's picture is of a flock of Bohemian Waxwings in a Poplar in our backyard.