Category Archives: birds

  There has been a slight uptick in recent observations of the Varied Thrush around the region. This orange-coloured cousin of the robin (also a thrush) is a permanent, but sparse, resident of the region. In the winter, a few … Continue reading →

  The Red Crossbill is a colourful nomad. Its bill’s strangely crossed mandibles is an adaptation to enable it to pry seeds from cones. However, Red Crossbills seem to assemble in different groups, each apparently associated with, and probably adapted to, … Continue reading →

  If I see a dipper, I stop to watch it. Yesterday, I was watching a dipper dive from the border ice along the frigid waters of a creek where it hunted along the creek bed for things to eat. … Continue reading →

  Pygmy Owls are altitudinal migrants: high country in the warm months; valley bottoms in the cold months. Although seen, the Pygmy Owl has not been as common this winter as some other years. It may be that this year’s … Continue reading →

  The Ruffed Grouse that visit my yard have long been a staple of my observing, and so is their consistent behaviour: It is a ground-foraging bird. Even with snow, grouse find clearings under trees. In a dozen years of … Continue reading →

  The rowan trees (mountain ash) remain heavily loaded with berries. Often by this time of year, many trees are depleted and birds have spread their seeds widely. A few rowan berries are being eaten by robins, but the many … Continue reading →

  The Great Blue Heron is with us year round. It eats almost anything it can swallow: fish, voles, frogs. But how does it find food in the winter when frogs are hibernating, voles are under snow, and fish are … Continue reading →

  On Saturday, I watched three flying raptors. The closest and most difficult to record, was a falcon: a female kestrel as it left its perch. While I saw four Red-tailed Hawks, this soaring one was the only one that … Continue reading →

  Finches crave salt. To satisfy this, mixed flocks of hundreds of them will alight on salted winter roads and feast. There is, of course, a problem with this: traffic. Indeed, some truckers refer to them as grill birds, owing … Continue reading →