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.
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