14; Blue Jay

• A group of jays is called a; Band / Party / Scold
•  The blue Jay is a busy vocal bird.  It has been known to mimic other birds and even human speech. They are one of the most colorful and easily identified bird.  It eats seeds, nuts and acorns. It is also easy prey for hawks, owls and other birds of prey because of its colorfulness and slow flying speed.  Curious and intelegent it adapts to urbanization.

•    15; Downy Woodpecker 
• This busy bird feeds mainly on beatle larve and seeds during winter.  It is smaller than the Hairy but can be seen with and around them. It loves feeders with tallow or suet base.

•  Travis, Logan and Conner saw these and will do the write up.  Way to go guys.  Mel and Willow saw a seagull and some geese but was not sure what type, later tomorrow.
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Dec. 29th 2012

• A group of squirrels is called a;  Colony / Dray / Scurry.
• Stayed home the last two days with no birds to add to the Big Year.  Tomorrow we head to Alberta into the foothills near Water Valley.  Hope to see Mountain birds and Birds of Prey.  One of the big problems with bird identification is seeing a bird that doesn't fit the area or season.  
• The Squirrel is at our feeder every day.  I went and bought some peanuts for him. He took those and hid them, which was quite a change, he usually eats what he wants and then goes.  I am stocking up my feeders and hoping they last until I get back.

Dec. 27th 2012

• 12; Red Breasted Nuthatch

•  One of my favorite little birds, about the size of a Chickadee.  They live on insects in the summer and seeds in the winter.  They are fast enough to catch flies and like their cousin the white breasted nuthatch travel down trees to find insects. They mate for life and after finding their life partner build a nest in a dead tree near the ground laying 2-8 tiny eggs. They are seen by themselves or a pair.  Very friendly bird.

• 13; Hairy Woodpecker

• A group of woodpeckers is called a ; Descent.
• This midsized bird is identical to the Downy but is larger, has a bigger bill and a distinct coma mark on its shoulder that carries to its breast. It nests in a hole in a tree. The female doesn't have the red on her head.  They like tallow (suet) feeders and seed bells with tallow.  We put out some peanut butter mixed with seeds, not sure if this will work.

Dec 26th 2012

Let the BIG YEAR begin!!!!  Ya Ya Yahoo

• Coldest day so far this year.  -30C went for a walk with the grand kids to do some bird watching  but was froze out.  The wind just bites your skin.

•  Here is the list of birds we saw on day one;

• 1; Black Billed Magpie

• A group of Magpies is called a; Charm / Congregation /  Gulp
• The Eastern American Magpie is an omnivorous, meaning he will eat just about anything. Kind of a scavenger and opportunist. They mate for life and raise their young in a unique enclosed stick built house.  They roost in the same spot at nite but not in groups. He is one of four types of birds in North America with tail feathers making up half the body length.

• 2; Red Poll

•  This little guy, the size of a chickadee, invades the feeder in groups, the female seems to out number the male 4 to one.  They like small seeds like canola over sunflowers but will eat what seeds are there.  Like the chickadee they are very friendly and can be trained to eat from your hand. First bird at the feeder in the morning.

• 3; Black Capped Chickadee

• A group of Chickadees is called a; Banditry / Dissimulation.
• The onomatopoeia bird, meaning it makes a sound like it's name. This playful bird is a favorite of the feeder. You don't have to see it to know it is around.

• 4; House Sparrow

• A group of sparrows is called a; Host / Meinie / Tribe.
• One of the most dominate birds at the feeder. They fight and argue over a seed when the feeder has thousands. Very flighty and will spoke off other birds when you are trying to make identifications.  The grey cap and black go-tee easily identifies the male. The female is easily mistaken for other sparrow species.

• 5; Feral Rock Pigeon

• A group of Pigeons is called a; Kit.
•  Well this is the common name for the birds that hang out on roof tops and grain bins. Interestingly pigeons produce a crop milk to feed their young (squab) a liquid from the cells lining the crop.

•  6; Eastern American Crow

• A group of crows is called a; Murder.
•  Eastern American Crow is all black bird, like the Raven but smaller and has a curved bill compared to the parallel bill of the Raven. Their vocalization is also different a ma, ma, ma. They are also omnivorous.

• 7; Dark Eyed Junco (Snow Bird)

• A group of Juncos is called a; Crew / Ubiquity.
•  Unlike the humans these snowbirds don't go south to Florida for the winter.  Looking at this dark grey bird one wonders why they are called snow birds until they take flight in groups.  The tail and wing plumage is a contrasting white giving them the appearance of a snow storm of birds.  These birds like to follow when a farmer feeds his cows cleaning up bits of fines left by the cattle.

• 8; Ruffed Grouse

• A group of grouse id called a;  Covey / Pack.
• This is a very tasty sought after bird for its white breast meat. These bird are non verbalizing using the beating of its wings making a drumming noise that can carry up to a mile in the woods.  They have a very fancy matting dance to attract a girl.

• 9; White Breasted Nuthatch

• A group of Nuthatch is called a; Jar.
• Like its cousin the Red Breasted Nuthatch, these birds travel down a tree looking for bugs upward traveling birds miss.  They are about the size of a sparrow but are cranky and chase everyone away when they eat.  Very sharp looking bird.

•  10; Pine Grosbeak 

• A group of grosbeak is called a; Gross.
•  This bird is the size of a robin.  When you first see the male you can't believe this pink bird at your feeder. The female is also very striking.  They are very nervous and cautious.   They are fairly slow moving compared to the other birds at the feeder and our cat caught a female on the second day they arrived.  I am very pleased to have them at my feeder.

•  11; Canary

 

•  These are some birds my wife raises. My granddaughter Machaela has a male that loves to sing. The males do the singing, when the female accepts food from the male they are ready for mating.  We love our canaries and they are the 11th bird on day one of the Big Year.

Dec. 25th 2012

• Merry Christmas:  

• One more day to The Big Year.  Pa and the grand-kids are ready.  Christmas brought a multitude of useful aids; binoculars, camera, bird feeder, seeds, bird calendar, bird clothing, bird book, binder for photos and note books for recording and of course this blog.  9/10 grand kids sat down and reviewed the blog and how they can follow from their own home.  The only one missing was Willow in Nova Scotia but her mom will help her follow.

Dec24th 2012 part 2

• Already winter is at full force. The birds in our yard have a hard time finding food, so each day we add a mix of seeds for them.

•  Here we are adding a cup of seed to a stand feeder. The girls are putting out some corn for the Snowshoe Rabbit that came last night.

• The suspended feeder is full of sunflower seeds.

Dec 24th 2012

• This little fellow likes to look in our window. The problem with bird feeders is they attract lots of hungry mouths.  We put out a dish with dog food in it for him but he still jumps across to the feeder a good 4 feet to get some sunflower seeds. 

• Last night just before bedtime we had another visitor.  A jack rabbit came in to clean up all the seeds that the birds had spilled.
• This is really a Snowshoe Hare, he is brown in color in the summer and turns white in the fall.  They are much bigger than rabbits.  Rabbits don't change color in the spring and fall.  
• Hares have very big back feet and can run very fast. 
• Hares give birth to their young with fur on them where rabbits young are naked and blind. 
• Hares are trapped for their very soft fur and make a very tasty stew.  
• They can be a problem, 2 years ago one ringed one of my young apple trees.  
• Hares are semi-nocturnal meaning they like to eat in the evening and at night and sleep during the day.  Kind of like teenagers.

• This is me and 6/10 of my grand-kids reviewing our blog.  Like Pa they all love nature.  Interestingly they are extremely observant.  I wonder if we loose our observation abilities as we get older. We get too busy with our lives to look around and see the beauty in our own back yard.

• Off to Brandon, to meet up with 3 more of my grand-kids. Big Year starts in 2 more days.

Dec 23rd 2012

• Sparrows species are hard to identify, these are House sparrows the males have a neat little go-tee, the Song Sparrow is very close in color and markings to the female House so you have to take a good look at what you have. 
• I am excited to be going out to the foothills of Alberta in a week.  Hope to see some Tree sparrows.  Tree sparrows have a brown cap compared to the grey cap of the House.  
• Sparrows like to flock together. They are very flighty and spook easily, I love to listen to them singing in the trees near my feeder. I keep out lots of feed to help them make it through the winter.  Even though there is lots of feed they are always fighting "that seed is mine".  They don't fight with the other birds, Black Cap Chickadee, Red Breasted Nuthatch, White Breasted Nuthatch and the Red Polls that share the feeder. These are probably brothers and sisters and you know how they get on each others nerves.
• I have noticed the sparrows roosting in the bird houses in my yard. I hope this is a warm place for them.  I haven't noticed this in the past but being our Big Year I am paying more attention.

Pa Lorne's Big Year: Well the Big Year starts Boxing day 2012 and goes ...

Pa Lorne's Big Year: Well the Big Year starts Boxing day 2012 and goes ...: Well the Big Year starts Boxing day 2012 and goes until Christmas day 2013. Today,  December 22nd, Machaela and I saw a Downy Woodpecker....

• Well the Big Year starts Boxing day 2012 and goes until Christmas day 2013. Today,  December 22nd, Machaela and I saw a Downy Woodpecker. Too cool.  It doesn't count but nice to know they are around.
• A Downy is the size of a sparrow, the Hairy is the size of a Blue Jay both are identical in color.  These birds like tallow (beef fat) you can get it from a butcher as waste and then put it out in a net used to keep onions.  You can also buy tallow based seed bells, that is what Machaela has and it works. Good job Machaela.
• The Hairy has a very rapid pecking compared to the Downy and has a larger beak in perspective to size, both like to seek out bugs but this time of the year bugs are sleeping (dormant).  They are loners and fairly curious.