So get out there and stock those feeders and don't forget to dust off your binoculars!! Don't have any bird feeders ready to go? Don't worry you still have a little over 2 weeks and I have a couple of great bird feeders that you and your family will love to make! Try our:
You can count the birds in as many different spots in your yard as you like but only once each day. Every day plan to observe your feeders for about 15 minutes each, recording the largest number of each species you see visiting at one time. Once you have completed your days count make sure you go over to the GBBC website to enter you information!
If you know a family that would like to participate but doesn't have access to the internet there is a PDF file of what you will be entering on the BGGC website that can be printed out, filled in and mailed. This is really great because everyone can participate then :)
I am so pleased I was able to get a few more good shots of the hummingbirds that we have :) If you have never heard what one sounds like when it is flying you have to listen to it here! Some days they fly very close to us and they can be quite aggressive over territory and food so you will be sitting outside eating lunch and there will be 2 hummingbirds dive bombing each other and just a chattering at each other on high speed around your head! *grin* Listen to this link to hear them chattering :)
Did you know that a Hummingbird is capable of flying at speeds up to 100 km/hr? Amazing isn't it!
When flying they can beat their wings up to 80 times per second and that is why when you watch them their wings appear to be invisible or only partially there. They also have a very high body temperature and heart rate. Their teeny tiny hearts can beat up to 1200 times per minute! All of that flying and flapping takes a lot of food and energy so they can eat as much as 2/3 of their body weight each day. The main staple of their diet is sugar which comes from flower nectar and tree sap but they also need protein to keep and help build their muscles so they also eat insects and pollen.
Did you know that a Hummingbird has a really great memory? Well they do and can remember where there are good food sources from even a couple of years ago! So it's a good idea to keep your feeder in the same spot each year and they will be sure to return there first while they wait for all of the flowers in your garden to bloom :)
We were in Hummingbird heaven today :) There were tons of them in the flower garden this afternoon! I believe that both of the Hummingbirds in the these photos are a Selasphorus rufus or Rufous Hummingbird. I love the above photo because the background is so blurred that it looks like the wings have beat so fast the background smeared *grin*
The above hummer's wings are beating so fast that aren't even visible in the picture!! Look at its beautiful green back. It's catching the sunlight and you can even see a tinge of purple showing up as well.
We had a new visitor to our feeder today ~ A Chipping Sparrow
The bird population at our 'Bird Seed Cafe' is growing!!
We've had lots of new visitors and I've been trying to snap photos of them so that the kids and I can study them and find them in our bird books. This little fellow is a Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina). They are one of the smallest sparrows and quite often nest in ornamental evergreens which we have tons of right around our feeders! They tend to nest at eye level so you can easily observe their breeding and nesting habits. We're definitely going to have to have a peek around and see if we can spot a nest without touching of course *grin*
You can help these little guys build their nests by leaving clumps of your pet hair after you brush them or even the hair from your own hair brush near your feeder and in places around your backyard. They will pick up the bits and use them as they build their nests :)
Want to hear what their call sounds like? Listen to a clip of it HERE. I have heard this exact song quite often outside the door where I sit at my desk, now I know who it belongs to :)
We had a new visitor to our feeder today, a House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) or at least I'm pretty sure it's a House Finch.
My second choice would be a Purple finch (Carpodacus purpureus)but from what I read they have a more red or raspberry back and a white dull underbelly and the above one as you can see has quite distinct white and brown streaks.
He was a rather brazen fellow and wasn't camera shy at all :) Perhaps he's taking the sunflower seed home to the missus *grin*
Did you know that there is no species of bird actually called a "sea-gull" ?
The Glaucous-winged Gull or Larus glaucescens is the most common Gull in British Columbia.
The most easily identifiable characteristic that the Glaucous-winged Gull has is its yellow beak and bright red spot on the lower mandible. Check out THIS website for a detailed picture of a gull's anatomy and listen to a sound clip of what they sound like if you have never heard one before.
Gulls are omnivores and their diet consists of fish, mollusks, crustaceans, baby birds, plants, garbage, & carrion (decaying animals). They are very good scavengers! The above one did not like us invading his space and was quite vocal about it :) They are such beautiful birds!
Nature Notes ~ Regular Guests at the Fruit Bowl Feeder
Last show and tell quite a few of you requested some photos of the birds that have been visiting our fruit bowl feeder so I tried my best to get you some good shots of our little feathered friends :) When I first hung the new feeders out the Steller's Jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) immediately claimed it as their own personal food bowl and guarded it very fiercely which is very much their nature! Those greedy little piggies *grin*
Then the novelty must have worn off a bit and they loosened their grip on total feeder domination letting some of the smaller birds have a taste. The above and below Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) is now a regular visitor to the feeder but is much more skittish than the Jays.
You can see just how low the peanut butter suet is by how far he/she has to lean into the bowl :) The fruit bowl has also attracted some sparrows and juncos but every single photo I took ended up being one big blur :( I guess they are camera shy *grin*
It has been hanging outside now for a little over a week and it is standing up to the elements really well. There are no signs of rot and the butcher's twine that we used to hang it has not started to pull through the rind of the pomelo either. There's a little bit of red staining from the cranberry juice that has dripped on it but that just adds to its character :) The best part to having it located next to our regular feeder is that the Steller's Jays are no longer chasing away the smaller birds and trying to squeeze their heads through the wire covering but are now content to eat in peaceful harmony from the fruit bowl while the smaller birds eat in the covered feeder! The only downfall we have found is that after we got our heavy snowfall the other day it completely filled up the bowl plus some so we had to go out and clear it away. If you have made one of the fruit bowl feeders I would love if you could share photos with me of how yours turned out :)
For more show & tells or to join in check out Canadagirl's blog.
Today we did some bird watching from indoors due to the ugly weather conditions we are experiencing right now :) It wasn't hard to decide on what we wanted to watch since there were 4 VERY cheeky Stellar's Jays accosting our bird feeder this afternoon!
Our feeder is supposed to be Stellar Jay and predator proof but as you can see in the 1st photo he has learned that if he cranes his neck hard enough through one of the little wire holes he can scrounge up some seeds on the bottom of the tray. I think this one was the lookout because he was watching us very intently and if we got to close to the window he started to screech. LOL. If you have never heard one listen to this and then imagine 4 of them going simultaneously at top volume. You can hear them through a double pained window as clear as if you were standing outside!
Here is K's drawing of the jays this afternoon for his nature journal. The Stellar's Jay was chosen as British Columbia's provincial bird in 1987. Did you know that Stellar Jays are brazen scavengers and will even take your picnic lunch if you are inattentive *grin* Around here they love to steal from the geese and chickens and stuff their goodies in our gutters! Not so great during a rainstorm. LOL.
