It was one of those perfect late spring evenings. On a whim one June day, I talked my mother into joining me on a post-dinner jaunt to Thomas Francis Regional Park in Victoria, B.C., in search of a reported Western Tanager nest. We arrived in the park at 7:00 pm and...
The call came as my son Travis and I were halfway around our trap line. We often care for injured owls from the Strathcona Raptor Shelter, and to feed the owls as natural a food as possible, we have set up a mouse trap line to collect mice for the owls. Milo S. was on...
One year the students in our school had developed a great interest in birds. All through the winter we worked at a mural depicting a winter scene in which were shown all the birds any of us had actually seen. And if you think the winter bird population is made up of...
In September of one year, while looking out the window of our house, which is located on an acreage near Armstrong, British Columbia, I noted a Pileated Woodpecker eating chokecherries. We see Pileated Woodpeckers frequently, and are close enough to observe them from...
You’ve heard of racing pigeons; how about racing hawks? While the Goderich-Exeter Railway Company’s freight train was passing through a valley near Mitchell, a hawk decided to follow along. The train was traveling at 25 mph and for some time, the hawk was...
Birds are an incredibly diverse animal group. This is certainly reflected in their flying abilities, as you can see in this short list of facts about bird flight. Fastest bird: Peregrine Falcon diving at 117 mph (188 km/h). It is believed this bird may even reach...
Birds are very well adapted to aquatic environments, as you can see in this short list of facts about the swimming ability of birds. Most aquatic bird: the Penguins, who spend 75% of their life-span out in the open sea. Fastest underwater swimming bird: the Gentoo...
Birds are an incredibly diverse animal group. This is reflected in their physiology, as you can see in this short list of facts about the stamina and endurance ability of birds. Coldest average temperature regularly endured by a bird: -50º F (-45.6º C) by Emperor...
Bird banding recoveries permit biologists to determine how long each bird has survived in the wild. While biologists and scientists are more interested in the average life span of a species, it is also interesting to see how long it is possible for birds to live. And...
Here are a number of items you might want to bring with you on a birdwatching trip. They have nothing to do with finding or identifying birds but everything to do with making your day safer or just more pleasant. Water bottle An essential piece of equipment no matter...
You don’t require a huge pile of equipment for a birdwatching trip; the only things you really need are a field guide, a pair of binoculars and some enthusiasm. However, there are a number of other things you may want to bring along, especially once you have...
One of the great attractions of birdwatching is its simplicity. There are no set rules for birdwatching, no minimum requirements to meet and no real expectations other than spending some enjoyable time with the birds and your friends. This simplicity is further...
Often times, experienced birders use a specialized code when taking notes about the various bird species they have seen. This code may seem confusing to novice birders but there really is a logical system at work. The codes are alphabetic (hence the name alpha codes)...
If you’ve spent much time in deep woods or around wetlands, you will know that it’s common to hear many more birds than you can see. And sometimes, when those hidden birds finally do come into the open, it’s only for a brief glimpse before they drop...
Owls are solitary birds and for the most part, do not like being disturbed by humans. So they can be a bit tricky to find. Here are a few tips to help you locate owls. NOTE – Owls are very sensitive to disruptions in their daily routine or the presence of large...
The arrival of a baby entails many lifestyle changes for new parents. Sleepless nights are in; early morning bird trips are out. The sight of endless flocks of shorebirds has now replaced the sight of endless diapers. But fear not, there is definitely birding after...
One of the best ways to nurture a budding interest in birdwatching is to keep a bird checklist. A checklist is simply a list of birds recorded in your area and “keeping a checklist” is using that checklist to keep track of all the birds you have seen....
There are a number of things you can do to make your birdwatching trip more enjoyable. Or at least, less annoying when the weather turns foul or you are just having one of those days. Here are a few tips that seem perfectly logical when we are out in the field but we...
If you start hanging out with birdwatchers, it is inevitable the day will come when one of them bends down to poke around in the grass, comes up with a grey, lumpy thing and declares it to be “a rather nice owl pellet”. The first reaction of most people is...
What are the most common bird species in North America during the winter? Well, there are a lot of people working to figure that out. The Great Backyard Bird Count is a program run jointly by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology (CLO, which is part of Cornell...
