Foam Lake Birding No. 160

FOAM LAKE BIRDING

No. 160

            It has been awhile since my last article but surgery and subsequent recovery have caused me to delay my efforts in this regard.  Things are still going to be sporadic for awhile but I do hope to get into a routine in a month or so. 

            In the last several weeks there has been a flurry of bird activity in our yard.  There have been the usual White Crowned Sparrows, White Throated Sparrows, Pine Siskins, Juncos, Chickadees, Red Breasted Nuthatches and House Sparrows to name a few.  At the same time there have been an unusual number of uncommon (not rare) birds also.  These include Hermit Thrush, Fox Sparrow, Blue Jay, Red Crossbills and Ruby Crowned Kinglets. 

            I wanted to get a picture of the Hermit Thrush but was unable to do so.  My wife though managed to get a couple of decent shots of a pair of Ruby Crowned Kinglets feeding in our chokecherry tree.  The process was quite difficult as the birds were constantly in motion and before they could be zeroed in the range finder they were gone..  To add to the problem the day was heavily overcast which caused focusing problems as digital cameras need good light to get crisp pictures. 

            There are two kinglets in Canada, the Ruby Crowned and its smaller cousin the Golden Crowned, and both are present in our area.  They are related to Old World warblers and are our smallest of birds save for the hummingbirds.  The Golden Crowned is more of a conifer lover and can be seen in our area during spring and fall migration.  On the other hand The Ruby Crowned has nested right in town in the mature spruce trees by the RCMP station.  When my wife and I went on our evening walks we would stop there and listen to the male sing.  What is so extraordinary about its song is the sheer power of it for so small a bird.  Upon first hearing it one would expect to see a bird about the size of a robin.  Because of its diminutive size and green colouration the kinglet is hard to spot in a tree and the song seems to emanate from the tree itself. 

            Although rather nondescript it does have one field mark that readily separates it from similarly coloured warblers and flycatchers.  Overall it has a drab greenish topside and whitish underside but with prominent white and black wing bars.  The white bars are higher up the shoulder immediately followed by a black bar just below the lower one.  No other bird has such wing bars.  During breeding season the male's ruby crown is sometimes displayed further confirming identification. 

            In the two photos a Ruby Crowned Kinglet is feeding in the manner described above,  One photo shows the kinglet flitting ; the other shows the kinglet perched and reaching up the underside of the leaves for gnats and other small insects.  Although the pictures are not that crisp the wing bars are clearly visible in the photo of the perched bird.  Refer to a bird book for further field marks. 

Foam Lake Birding No. 159

FOAM LAKE BIRDING

No. 159

            Finally, our first frosts have come and with the yellowing of the leaves signifying an end to our nice summer.  Not that many are eagerly awaiting the coming of winter but the fall is very nice unto itself.  Thankfully, the frosts have not been severe enough to freeze over any sloughs so many of our water birds are still with us even though a few, like the Blue Winged Teal, have already headed south.  We might as well enjoy them while we still can. 

            One of our most widespread "water birds" on the planet is not exactly the kind that one associates with ducks and geese.  The Osprey, a member of the hawk family, is dependent on water because its diet consists entirely of fish.  Because of this characteristic, to me, it makes it a kind of water bird as it were. 

            The Osprey is a large hawk just slightly smaller than our eagles.  Although there is only one species of Osprey it is found just about throughout the entire planet where there are trees and fish present.  It does not exist in places like the Tundra because there are no trees on which to build its nest.  Their nests are large bulky affairs made of sticks and twigs built atop large trees near streams and lakes. 

            The Osprey is a pure fisher catching rather large fish that are just under the surface of the water.  It does not dive in but drops down on the fish feet first catching the fish crosswise.  Often the Osprey will be completely submerged during the process.  With powerful wing beats the Osprey  rises out of the water and just as it clears the water it turns the fish around in its claws so that the fish is pointing head first in the direction it is flying.  This orientation reduces the amount of drag making it easier to fly with the fish. 

            Some twenty years ago two of our children attended summer camp at Crystal Lake near Canora which happened to have an Osprey's nest nearby.  Needless to say I spent a considerable amount of time watching the parents bringing fish in for the youngsters to eat.  It is too bad that I did not have a camera with me at the time as I could have taken some super pictures of an Osprey flying with a fish.  It is fortunate for the Osprey that it does not often take "game fish" like pike and pickerel thus not incurring the enmity of man.  Rather, it usually takes suckers and mullets which are considered inferior for human consumption.  Bald Eagles like to force Ospreys to drop their fish and keep it for themselves.  Lazy eagles?   

            Ospreys are quite easy to identify.  They are very vocal and constantly make high pitched squealing sounds that do not seem to befit such a majestic bird.  In flight their wings are usually bent backwards noticeably making the bird look like a flying W.  Whether perched or in flight the Osprey is white headed somewhat resembling a Bald Eagle save for the tail which in the eagle is all white.  One other marked difference is the eagle's head is all white while the Osprey's white head has a very prominent black eye line.  When perched Ospreys show a slight crest at the back of the head.  Males and females are the same. 

            I have occasionally seen an Osprey fly over our house but have never been able to photograph one locally.  This week's picture was taken in Carlsbad, CA at the Batiquitos Lagoon.  It is eating a freshly caught fish on a pole that was left there specifically for that purpose.  This arrangement also provides humans with a good vantage point to observe the bird in iits natural setting.  The picture was taken at very long range so it is not as sharp as I would have liked but the field marks are clearly visible.

Foam Lake Birding No. 158

FOAM LAKE BIRDING

            No. 158

            More fall birds have visited our yard with more soon to follow.  Fall warblers, like the Magnolia, Yellow Rumped and Wilsons, are starting to arrive.  In the spring warblers with their bright plumage are quite easy to identify, but in the fall with their drab winter plumages identification is quite difficult.  All are brownish with varying degrees of yellow.  Here, one has to be familiar with subtle field marks.  Another helpful tool is distribution.  For example, Yellow Warblers are gone for the year, therefore, any yellowish warbler has to be something else.  Two such warblers are the Magnolia and the Wilsons.  Both are yellow but the Magnolia has a yellow rump while the Wilsons has a black cap.  This is the time of year to test one's birding skills. 

            With the fall game bird hunting season underway I started to focus on a game bird, in particular, the Sandhill Crane.  While planning the article I remembered something that happened about forty years ago.  It was the time when the crane season had just opened for the first time and bird hunters were eager to try their hand at crane hunting.  Because of their lack of knowledge of birds some hunters shot a similar bird, the Great Blue Heron, by mistake.  Being an illegal act everybody kept quiet about it. 

            The goose sized Great Blue Heron is grey with long legs and neck giving it an overall length of almost four feet - one of our largest birds.  The easiest way to distinguish a heron from a crane is when the bird is in flight.  A heron flies with its neck coiled back so that the back of its head rests on its shoulders; a crane flies with its neck stretched straight out.  Another characteristic is that cranes often feed on grain in fields; herons never do.  Sandhill Cranes are social birds usually seen in flocks; herons are solitary.  During breeding season the reverse is true.  Cranes nest in isolated pairs; herons nest in large colonies called rookeries.  Cranes nest on the ground in marshes; herons nest high in mature trees.  The one and only rookery that I ever saw was one at Marean Lake near Greenwater Lake.  Unfortunately, human development caused the herons to abandon the site.  The good news is that both cranes and herons are plentiful. 

            The Great Blue Heron does not eat plant food but feeds entirely on fish and other water creatures.  It does so by standing motionless in shallow water waiting for something to swim by at which point it strikes with amazing speed to grab the luckless creature.  Because of its feeding habits it is usually found in quiet waters of larger sloughs and lakes. 

            It is actually quite easy to distinguish the Great Blue Heron from the similar Sandhill Crane.  Both are grey but the Sandhill has a bright red bald patch on its forehead; the Great Blue Heron has a white crown with a black eyebrow line that extends backward into a long plume.  It reminds me of a bald headed man sporting a pony tail.  Males and females are the same. 

            This week's photo of the Great Blue Heron was taken several years ago in Carlsbad, CA at the Batiquitos Lagoon.  The Wilsons Warbler was taken in our backyard this past week as it was preening in the morning sun.  The sharpness of the photo of the warbler is not that good as it was in a continual state of motion during its preening, but the black crown patch is clearly visible.