Al is explaining the hawk migration to the students from Our Lady of Lourdes school in Delaware. They got to see first year sharp-shinned, coopers and a red-tailed hawk. The students were attentative and really enjoyed seeing the birds up close. Thanks to Russ, Al, Bob and Jim members of the Hawk Cliff raptor banders for capturing the hawks for the presentation.
In cooperation with Cornell Labs, the cam in Manitouwadge (400 km north of Sault Ste Marie) is now online. Tammy and Ben graciously allow us to watch their backyard visitors which include the ruffed grouse (video seen in link below). A good reminder that it is time to get the feeders ready for this winter season.
“http://new.livestream.com/accounts/1407609/events/3488757/videos/65151560/player?autoPlay=false&height=360&mute=false&width=640”
Developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, this smartphone app available on Apple earlier this year is now available for Android devices which run OS 4 or higher. The app covers 400 of the most common birds. By answering simple questions such as What size was the bird? or What were the main colours? or types of activities of the bird Merlin will come up with the answer based on results of more than 70 million sightings submitted to eBird. This free app has more than 1000 bird photos, ID text, range maps and you can listen to the birds song. Beware though that with all these features the app is 443 MB in size, now version 1.0.60.
Paid apps include iBird Pro is the best digital app in my opinion and many birders like The Sibley eGuide to Birds and last but not least National Geographic Birds app. The three paid apps are also available in the Windows Store.
For all that would like to join the St Thomas Field Naturalist Club for the Baillie BIRDATHON you can meet us at 9 AM on Saturday, May 10th at the corners of Rose Beach Line and Kent Bridge Road, on the outskirts of Rondeau Provincial Park. All are welcome, the more eyes and bins the merrier. Supper at Rondeau Joe’s.
Hope to see you there.
The Baillie is the oldest sponsored bird count in North America, raising money for bird research and conservation. Insectivores like swallows, swifts and flycatchers are in steep decline and the early warning signs of problems in the birding world. For more on this please read Plight of the bug eaters from Ontario Nature. The long cold winter will make this years sightings possibly quite unique. Certainly the foliage in the trees will be less and the sightings easier, hopefully.
Al Hurst is leading this clubs annual fundraiser. Please sign a pledge sheet at the May meeting and pay in cash or by cheque. When you pledge please include your email address to receive an income tax receipt for all donations of $10 or more. Thank you for all your support in funding bird research and hoping spring gets here shortly.
We had over 20 people for the potluck. The park road work was finished and the weather cooperated. Good food was enjoyed by all. A walk around Lake Margaret followed during which we saw spotted sandpiper, cedar waxwing, an osprey heading back to Doug Tarry Park and finally night hawks with their beep beep sound.
Attached are two more pictures by Geoffrey Pereira taken of the two osprey and one bringing food back to the nest. Thanks Geoff for sharing.
The decline of osprey due to the use of pesticides in the 1960’s is slowly correcting itself. The birds have developed a liking for light towers over ball diamonds. This picture was taken by Geoffrey Pereira, a casual with the city Parks Department and a hobbyist photograper on May 10th using a 200mm lens at the Doug Tarry ball complex. You can see the nesting material in the talons. Note the two toes pointing forward and two toes backward and the pale yellow eye. Very nice picture and thank you to Geoffrey for sharing it with us.
It is truly amazing times when a 12 year old can learn this much in such a short time. Liron Gertsman became interested in birds at 5 years of age. Here is his blog with amazing pictures. Oh, he was also the 100,000,000 poster on eBird. Here is a video of him on CBC’s Only in Canada. Enjoy his pictures when it is rainy outside. This really shows the need to get the young involved in the club.
Eighteen years in the making Bird Studies Canada releases The Great Lakes Marsh Monitoring Program.
This 12 page report concludes that most marsh breeding birds are in decline. No real surprise with loss of wetland habitat and human population growth surrounding coastal marshes. The population of frogs remains stable except for chorus frog which shows decline. The program helped to increase the public’s awareness of the importance of wetland conservation.
Two or our club members deserve special mention for being citizen scientists who volunteered their time to collect data. Diane and her mother Norma have been going to Corner’s Corners since 2006 to record their frog and bird sightings. They start in April with frogs and add the birds after May 20th. The survey runs till early July each year. They were able to see pied-billed grebe’s and hear Sora. They heard spring peepers, chorus frogs, American toads, bullfrogs and green frogs. The mosquitoes were never a issue at Pete’s place and their most memorable event was watching a raccoon try to squeeze its way out of a wood duck box. Thank you Diane for sharing this with us.
