PEI HOMESCHOOLERS TALK 6-9

Swallows, sparrows, blue jay, woodpecker,

seagulls, starlings and crows

seen in the Spring, Summer and Fall 2011

Our neighbour has several birdhouses and we do also,

to which these Tree Swallows return every year and

hatch out many young birds.

A favourite perch is the power line going to our house.
They are often seen swooping and diving above us
in our yard feeding on mosquitos!
They also eat small crustaceans and spiders,
berries and seeds.
They lay 4 to 6 white eggs, and care
is shared between males and females.
They are usually polygamous.

A White-Throated Sparrow in the spring in our garden.....

.....scratching for weed seeds and insects.
It has a white triangle under it's bill - hence the name.

On mature birds the white bars on the head, white throat and yellow "lores" are more conspicuous, and
the breast is a smoother grey colour.

A similar bird is the White Crowned Sparrow,
which has the white bars on the head, and a pinkish bill,
but no yellow lores on the head, and no white throat.

Both birds will come to a feeder, where you can
learn to pick them out.

When you go walking near a tree line in spring, you might hear a scratching and rustling in the dead leaves

on the ground, under the trees.

These are White Throated Sparrows
looking for food.

You hear their song often in the spring and early summer -
a clear high whistle that some liken to the syllables of
Old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody-
or pure-sweet Canada, Canada, Canada -
- two single notes followed by three triple notes.

They nest from ground level to about 90 cm,
at the edge of a clearing or tree line.
The female sits on the nest,
and the male helps out with the feeding.

A Song Sparrow - note the dark spot

in the middle of the breast.

It has a very pretty song.

You see and hear them quite commonly

all spring and summer

They nest on the ground or sometimes

in a bush or tree, 60 -100 cm from the ground.

The eggs are greenish-white, marked with reddish-brown.

The female incubates the eggs and the male defends his territory and helps with the feeding of the young.

A Song Sparrow in midsummer,

feeding from daylilies.

They eat seeds, insects, larvae,

berries, and some fruits.

A Blue Jay looking down at me, in the woods.

The official bird of P.E.I.!!

Sometimes they are quite quiet, as here in the woods,

but at other times they are very noisy.

When you hear them calling a lot

it is a sure sign of rain to come.

They have a number of different calls -

a screech like - jay, jay, jay

another like - waddle-waddle,

and several others.

They nest in trees 1.5m to 15 m above ground.

They have several greenish-blue eggs,

with dark brown markings.

The males help to build the nest, to feed the young,

and may also help with the incubation.

When the young are learning to fly

they are very noisy!

They belong to the Crow family.

They eat seeds, acorns, corn, fruit, sunflowers, insects, carrion, eggs and young of other birds, snails, fish, frogs, small reptiles and small mammals!!

A Downy Woodpecker

This is a female -

the male has a red patch on the back of his head.

They drum on dead limbs, tree trunks, power poles,

and buildings, to establish their territories.

The eat insects, their larvae and eggs,

also seeds, nuts, berries, spiders and snails.

They will come to a feeder for suet, peanut butter, sunflower seeds and bread.

They will also nest in a bird box designed for it.

They nest in an empty dead tree trunk or branch.

The nest is built by both male and female,

and they have 3 to 7 white eggs.

A Starling - in the fall.

This bird was introduced to Central Park in New York

in 1890, and thrived so well that it has

spread across the U.S.A. and Canada, and

is sometimes a real problem in

apple orchards and other places.

However, where it isn't a problem, we can admire it.

They change colours according to the season and their age, from a speckled brown to a shiny purple-black with speckles.

They have a variety of calls and whistles

and like to imitate other birds.

If you see a Starling standing erect and

flapping his wings in a display, it is a male.

They eat insects, fruits, grains.

Its bill is unique in that the muscle which opens the beak

is stronger than those that close the beak.

This allows the bird to poke its bill

into vegetation or the ground

and then open its beak to find food.

They nest in tree hollows or openings they find in buildings.

Both male and female incubate the eggs

and feed the young

Starlings flocking in the fall.

They may live in pairs

or also in large groups, even with other species

for the winter, for foraging and roosting.

Herring Gulls

....love blueberries!

Here they are in a blueberry field

after the harvest is finished.

There remain berries for them to pig out on.

As well, they eat worms, insects, larvae, berries,

rodents, and eggs and young of other animals,

as well as fish, fish waste thrown overboard

from cleaning fish, carrion and algae.

They will drop shellfish from high in the air to a hard surface to break open the shell.

The brown gulls are younger;

as each year goes by their plumage becomes

lighter in colour, until they look like.....

....this one at four years of age!

They nest on the ground sheltered by rocks or shrubs,

or in a tree or on a roof.

They have 2 to 3 green, blue or brown eggs

with brown, lavender and black streaks.

Both parents feed the young.

Gulls moving from one feeding site to

another resting site.

You can hear their calls as they fly overhead.

This one is in a potato field after the harvest.

They love to follow tractors plowing land

in the fall to look for worms.

Solitary Sandpiper

I think !!

We saw it along Savage Bay, P.E.I. in shallow salt water.

He likes to stand on one leg.

He wasn't very concerned by our presence.

They eat insects, larvae, small fish, crustaceans.

They nest in conifers 1 to 12 m above ground.

The eggs are olive marked with brown.

We saw a second bird - (on the right) at the same time.

Maybe a Spotted Sandpiper in his winter plumage,
that is - without spots.

A Crow

on a power pole...

....on the top of a spruce tree....

....an evening silhouette.

They are very smart, hardy and gregarious,

living in groups, sometimes very large groups,

especially in the fall and winter.

The will flock together in the fall

and fly as a group using the same path every evening -

this is called a crow corridor.

A large group is called a murder of crows.

They post a sentinel crow to watch for danger,

so they are very hard to shoot.

They know the difference between a stick and a gun.

In spring you can see them doing mating displays in the air -

diving, somersaulting, rolling and I think even mating-

one flies on it's back and the other flies above it.

They are monogamous.

They eat insects, snails, small reptiles, small mammals,

eggs and young of other birds, grains, fruits,

garbage, and carrion.

They will work together to harass a large hawk

or especially owls.

They nest on the ground or up as high as 30 m. in trees.

Both male and female build the nest and share incubation

of 3 to 7 blue-green eggs marked with brown and gray.

Sometimes other crows will help with the

nest building and feeding the young.

Great Black-backed Gulls

In winter we see them near us - they come inland

to scavenge.

They eat carrion, fish, refuse, eggs, young of other birds, mollusks, crustaceans, rodents, berries and insects.

They may also kill cormorants, other gulls and rabbits,

and steal from other birds.

The four year old birds look like this - mating age.

Younger birds are speckled with brown.

They are monogamous, and share the nesting
and care of their young.
They build their nest on the ground, on small piles of seaweed or grasses, in sheltered ridges of cliff.
They have 2 to 3 buff, olive or brown eggs,
with brown spots, 8 cm long!