Tag: birdwatching
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Winter Preparations
Brief periods of snow and cold are becoming more regular with each passing week. The birds have noticed it as well because fall migration is over for songbirds. A handful of lingerers include the odd Gray Catbird, Fox and Chipping Sparrow, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and even a late warbler. Birds like the juncos and Tree Sparrows…
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Winter is Coming – What Can I do to Help the Birds?
This fall we have been fortunate to enjoy lovely weather throughout the month of October and now well into November, but we all know this won’t last. So how can we set up our yards to help our feathered friends get through the winter? Let’s think about what seed we should be offering. Providing birds…
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What’s for Dinner?
Variety is the spice of life and when it comes to birds, having more than one type of seed on the menu will increase your chances of appealing to a broader range of species. Topping the list is of course sunflower seed. If you can only have one type of seed, this will appeal to…
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WELCOME BACK JUNCOS!
Fall days continue to be beautiful with colourful leaves and warm weather lasting well into the month. As we continue to enjoy watching migrating birds in the skies and at our feeders as they make their way south, be on the lookout for our ‘snowbirds’ returning from the north. A good friend of mine told…
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It’s Sparrow Time
Have you noticed an increase in activity in your yard lately? If you have, some of thatis likely related to a variety of sparrows that are currently making their way south.They aren’t in a hurry and may stick around for days or even a couple of weeks. There are plenty of White-throated Sparrows, with juveniles…
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How do Birds Know When to Migrate?
Many of us wonder how birds know when to migrate and are concerned that if we leave certain feeders out, such as hummingbird feeders, the birds will be encouraged to stay. This simply isn’t true, so let me tell you how birds that we have enjoyed over the spring and summer months know it’s time…
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Fly by Night
Songbirds are heading south, and in a few weeks, many will have left the province. Already most of the swallows have moved on, Eastern Kingbirds and Baltimore Orioles are on their way. Flycatchers, vireos and many species of warblers like the Northern Parula have begun a mass exodus, with millions of birds heading for their…
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How To Identify Birds by Sound
Your greatest tools for birding might be your ears The essential tools for birding are a field guide, a set of binoculars and a good supply of curiousity about our many feathered neighbours. Since many birds take great pains not to be seen, and some can look quite similar to others, your ability to identify…
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Birding Along the Shore
They are often simply called sandpipers but to birders they represent several families of shorebirds. While the familiar Killdeer and Spotted Sandpiper breed in your area, most of these long-distance flyers head to the Arctic in May and June for a short breeding season and are now winging their way back south. The adults come…
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How To Identify Birds by Sight
Birding is beautiful in its simplicity: all you need to do is go for a walk, or look out the window, and see what you see. Spotting a new bird, however, is far easier than correctly identifying it. The next time you spot a new or unfamiliar species, grab your field guide and use these…