Category: Jane’s Deck of Birds
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FALL CLEANING WITH BIRDS IN MIND
It’s time to think about cleaning up the garden for fall. While doing this you can create a good haven for birds to help them through the fall and winter months. After raking the leaves, place some in piles under shrubs or bushes for our foraging birds who are looking for bugs. After cleaning up…
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FALL MIGRATION
Days are getting shorter, shadows are getting longer and evening temperatures are cooling. All signs of the approaching season of fall. The birds are also noticing these changes as they prepare for the journey back to their wintering grounds. Natural food sources will also become less readily available which affects the migration schedule. Fall migration…
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Jane’s Deck Of Birds – WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BIRDS?
This is a question many customers ask me during the dog days of summer. The spring and early summer is filled with beautiful bird song and bird activity, from migration, to nest building, tending to nestlings and introducing them to the world. Now it’s time for the next phase, molting. Many of our birds need…
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Jane’s Deck – Busy Days At The BirdBath
‘Every Body into the Pool!’ I feel that this is what the birds are communicating to each other lately. I have two bird baths on the go and they need to be refreshed two or three times a day. The sparrows all get along in the bath, once one jumps in the rest follow. I’ve…
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A DAY ON THE ‘DECK OF BIRDS’
Now that the weather has turned warmer, I was able to sit outside and spend a day observing the different bird behaviors and activity at the feeders. As nice as it was, pollen was raining down turning my note paper yellow. The day starts very early with the Robin singing his wake up call at…
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Jane’s Deck Of Birds – CatBird
Who’s eating your grape jelly? Our Pickering location is keeping track of which birds have been seen eating grape jelly from oriole feeders. So far our customers have reported Orioles, Robins, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Starlings… and the latest, Catbirds. Last week I had a customer come in to tell me about a Catbird at…
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Jane’s Deck Of Birds – Cedar Waxwings
Cedar Waxwings are birds you will usually hear before you see. They fly in flocks serenading us with high pitched whistling sounds that resemble a kettle boiling, ‘tseeee’. I must say it’s not the most beautiful song, but it’s certainly easy to recognize. Waxwings are striking birds with a silky fawn plumage. They have a…
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Jane’s Deck Of Birds – Eastern Towhee
Imagine working in your garden and you hear a bird inviting you to ‘drink your teeeeee’. This is the song of the Eastern Towhee. This striking member of the sparrow family is more often heard than seen. It can be found in forest edges and brushy habitats in the eastern US and southeast Canada. The…
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Jane’s Deck of Birds- White-Crowned Sparrow
True to its name, this sparrow is easy to identify, sporting a bold black and white striped crown on their head. In their western region the crown isn’t as vibrant. White-crowned Sparrows are medium-sized sparrows with a grey face and breast, brown streaked back with white bars and a long tail. Their head feathers can…
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Jane’s Deck Of Birds – Pine Warbler
While enjoying my morning tea on the deck I have been hearing a soft musical trill in the field behind my house. I have come to discover this to be the song of the Pine Warbler. Their song is similar to the Chipping Sparrow but not as long and slightly richer. I have also been…