Tag: birds

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Cottage Life

How to protect hummingbirds during a spring cold snap

By spencerseesbirds/Shutterstock

However much we want spring to come, it often drags its feet. But no matter our frustration with reluctant above-zero temps, imagine a tiny Anna’s hummingbird, the only species that waits winter out in its territory along the west coast of North America, delighted to return to a favourite feeder only to find that sweet nectar encased in ice and completely inaccessible. Hummingbirds can consume half their body weight in sugar daily and have the highest metabolism of any warm-blooded animals on earth. With most of their food sources unavailable to them in the winter, they need that food.

Cottage Q&A: Feeding hummingbirds

The unpredictable weather this time of year has prompted a few wildlife groups to ask bird lovers to carefully monitor their hummingbird feeders. “These long winters are hard for Anna’s hummingbirds,” says Jackie McQuillan, the support centre manager with the Wildlife Rescue Association of BC on Burnaby Lake. “All of the other hummingbirds take what I would call the easier route and fly south for the winter,” she says, “but these birds, since about the 1940s, have stuck around the Lower Mainland and other areas of southern B.C.” Researchers theorize that various flowering invasive plant species provided food sources into cooler months, which kept the Anna’s hummingbirds from heading south with their avian associates. Whatever the reason, the hardy little birds stay put. And these days, many Anna’s hummingbirds rely on feeders as a winter food source.

How to photograph hummingbirds

McQuillan urges anyone with a feeder to commit to keeping it filled and paying particular attention during cold snaps to ensure that feeders are accessible. The easiest thing, McQuillan says, is to have two feeders and swap them out for each other during below freezing temperatures. You can also purchase a feeder warmer at a bird supply store or online. (It looks something like a lamppost with a feeder incorporated.) Some people attach hand warmers to their feeders. If you’re a truly enterprising DIYer, you can also jury-rig incandescent light bulbs to feeders. Google can guide you to instructions.

How to keep birds safe from Avian bird flu

Cleanliness is crucial too, McQuillan says, as diseases can spread easily at feeders. Once a week, wash your feeder with a 10 per cent bleach solution (nine parts water, one part bleach). Give it a good rinse and then refill it. And McQuillan leaves us with a heartbreaking caveat: avoid feeders with metal parts as the birds’ tiny tongues can get stuck when the metal gets cold.

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This is why the Canada geese will always win

By TheBirdyStore/Shutterstock

It’s difficult to ruffle the feathers of a Canada goose. That’s what researchers from the University of Illinois discovered when they tested the effectiveness of winter harassment techniques to drive Canada geese to leave sites in urban Chicago.

Wildlife harassment is a nonlethal management technique that encourages animals to move on from an area by increasing a location’s sense of risk and danger. It’s used to manage Canada geese in cities where the birds can clash with people for a number of reasons, from fouling green spaces with their droppings to colliding with aircraft.

The study’s researchers harassed Canada geese by approaching the animals on foot and ATVs and then clacking lumber boards together. They expected that the harassment would be more effective at dispersing geese during the challenging winter season. But surprisingly, the researchers found that harassment was ineffective at significantly changing the behaviour of geese and had diminishing returns over time.

10 times geese were the least Canadian animals ever

“Birds never fail to amaze,” says Doug Tozer, the director of waterbirds and wetlands at Birds Canada. Tozer, (who was not involved with the study), adds, “Just when you think you know how they operate, they turn around and do something like this. I find it humbling and fascinating.”

For cottage owners (or home owners) who don’t want to share their space with Canada geese, Tozer suggests making your property unattractive to geese in the first place, regardless of the season.

“Geese pretty much eat only grass, and they prefer large open spaces so they can see predators approaching,” says Tozer. “If you don’t want geese around then get rid of your grass, or, at least reduce the amount of grass you have.”

9 ways to get a beautiful shoreline and a healthy lake

Planting trees and shrubs can also repel geese. This technique is particularly helpful in the summer when geese have a gaggle of young in their care. “Geese with young prefer to be able to run directly from grass to the lake if there’s a threat,” says Tozer. “If you block that path, they won’t come to eat your grass.”

“Birds are really good at what they do,” says Tozer. “They’re smart, they’re adaptive. They often take opportunities when they arise, we therefore shouldn’t get impatient with them when they try their best to survive amongst us.” He adds, “humans are, in theory, smart too. And if true, then we should be able to figure out ways to coexist with birds and other wildlife.”

Don’t do it for the ‘gram: why wildlife photography can be dangerous

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Cottage Q&A: Seagulls fighting loons

By Petr Simon/Shutterstock

Last October, I was out on our dock when I noticed three seagulls, one flying and shrieking, and two others harassing two loons in the water. Every time they dove, the seagulls would do a flap-jump type of lift and then settle beside the loons when they emerged. I have never seen this before. Were they fighting over the same food?—Trudy O’Brien, Lake Newboro, Ont.

Bingo! Well, probably bingo. “This sounds like a feeding issue of some sort,” says Kathy Jones, the volunteer manager of the Birds Canada Canadian Lakes Loon Survey. “Both species eat fish.” Beyond that, “I can’t say for sure what was happening,” she says. “Perhaps the loons were on a particularly good raft of fish and the gulls wanted to use it? Perhaps the loons had wandered into the gull’s feeding territory? Perhaps both species were fishing on their own, but loons and gulls just don’t do well in the same space?” 

Cottage Q&A: Loons attacking ducks

Maybe, except, “I would think gulls fishing on their own are more efficient than them trying to steal food from loons,” says Jones. Loons scarf. A loon could probably easily gobble down a catch before a gull could snatch it away. Then again, gulls are known for stealing food from other gulls, from other birds, even from people. (Try eating French fries on a beach filled with gulls.)

This article was originally published in the September/October 2022 issue of Cottage Life.

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Cottage Life

Canadian results from the 2022 State of the World’s Birds report

By Danita Delimont/Shutterstock

BirdLife International recently released its “State of the World’s Birds” report and it doesn’t look good for our feathered friends. Although conservation efforts have been attributed to the rebound of waterfowl and wetland birds like geese and ducks to the tune of about 150 per cent since the 1970s, overall, half of the world’s bird species are in decline, with one in eight facing extinction.

Birds Canada has been contributing vital data to the report, published every four years, and the information could ultimately save our birds.

“People feel like they can’t make a difference… and they can,” says Andrew Couturier, the senior director for landscape science and conservation with Birds Canada.

Canada also publishes our own “State of Canada’s Birds” report, most recently in 2019, which dials down our domestic bird issues, taking into consideration Canada can’t claim exclusive title to many birds, given their migration to other areas to winter or breed. An amazing 66 per cent of the trends concluded in the report came from volunteer citizen scientists, who populated data for breeding bird atlases, the Christmas Bird Count and eBird Canada checklists. In a world where information is power, it’s the monitoring of the numbers that informs the identification of threats, and where action would be most beneficial. Specifically, the establishment of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs), key spots where birds may breed, feed, winter or gather while migrating, are designated with this species and location specific information.

8 ways to help birds during the fall migration

Those IBAs consider the needs of, and risks to, bird species, according to their specific habits. For instance, birds reliant on Canada’s native grasslands have declined a dramatic 87 per cent since 1970. The biggest reason? The increase in crop agriculture. But what volunteer led data showed was that cattle farmers may provide a solution, at least for some species. “Due to the conversion to agriculture in their breeding grounds, there’s hardly any habitat left. But now we have budding relationships with cattle ranchers, whose pastures mimic grassland habitat,” says Couturier. “When ranching is done properly, there’s a high diversity of other creatures as well.”

Hurricane Fiona’s devastation to Nova Scotia, P.E.I., and Newfoundland, whose intensity may be attributed to climate change, could be an example of what Canada’s shorebirds and seabirds are facing. Canada’s bird report states our shorebirds have declined by 40 per cent, but seabirds have been devastated with 55 of 58 species now of conservation concern. Couturier worries that Fiona may have destroyed vital habitat. “Our shorebirds aren’t there now, but when they come back, they may have no beach to breed on.” Monitoring birds that historically bred in these areas will be especially vital in the next few years.

Excepting species like the evening grosbeak that depend on the seeds and fruit of Canada’s mature forests (forest crop specialists have declined by 39 per cent), the rest of the 20 per cent of forest birds that stay in Canada during the winter have increased by 34 per cent. Unfortunately, those that migrate to South America have declined by 31 per cent. One of the actions Couturier recommends for those that migrate is buying bird friendly coffee. “Most coffee is from clear-cuts.” For birds who winter here, Canadians can advocate to save our mature trees and forests, limit pesticide use, and help to establish IBAs and networks of protected areas.

Help winter wildlife with tips from Hope for Wildlife

Pesticide use is also a big factor in the world’s reduction of insects, including pollinators. Birds like nighthawks, barn swallows, and bluebirds that feed by catching insects while flying, all once so plentiful their names included the words “common”, have decreased in numbers in Canada by 59 per cent since the 1980s. The signal this depletion sends is as relevant to humans as when coal miners used canaries.

But Couturier still believes that since we’ve turned the tide for endangered birds before, we can again, especially since data informs us now of where best to focus are efforts via the IBA’s. “If we make the case to landowners that have been doing something right or special…we’ll be helping landowners to steward. There are so many people that practice bird feeding, that are clearly interested in birds, but only a small proportion join in the programs.”

The IBAs have been so successful, they inspired KBAs, or Key Biodiversity Areas that encompass all forms of biodiversity. “We always knew that IBAs were bigger than birds,” says Couturier.

It’s hard to argue with the facts. According to the “State of the World’s Birds” report, between 21 and 32 bird species would have gone extinct sometime between 1993 and now, if it hadn’t been for conservation efforts.

The rebound of waterfowl and wetland birds, and the increase of about 110 per cent of birds of prey such as bald eagles and ospreys, are also greatly accredited to data led investment in conservation and cooperative stewardship of their habitats.

Why bald eagle populations have bounced back

Canada’s federal government is among many that has set a goal to protect 30 per cent of land and seas by 2030, and are increasingly using Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas and the newer KBA designation to target the areas that will get the best results. According to Couturier, as of now about 17 per cent of that target has been met.

If we put the same amount of effort into saving our shore, grassland, and aerial insectivore birds, as we did with waterfowl, wetland, and birds of prey, what could we accomplish?

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Cottage Life

Amazon Prime Early Access Sale deals for the nature lover

Our editorial team independently selects these products. If you choose to buy any, we may earn a commission that helps fund our content. Learn more.

For bird lovers and wildlife enthusiasts, check out this selection of bird feeders, binoculars, and trailcams from the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale. And since nature gets up early, so do nature lovers, so don’t forget a coffee cup and gear for keeping warm.

 

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Cottage Life

In Fine Form: The human connection to feathers

Illustration by Aliya Ghare

When Victorian naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace referred to feathers as a “masterpiece of nature…the perfectest venture imaginable,” he wasn’t exaggerating. Wondrous in design, feathers are marvels of evolution—derived from reptilian scales—that enable birds to soar. But it is their beauty that has entranced humans worldwide for centuries. “Where else do you find such an obvious example of iridescence in nature? Birds did it up really well,” says Mark Peck, the manager of the Schad Gallery of Biodiversity at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto.

The most valuable commodity (second only to diamonds) on the sinking Titanic turned out to be feathers—more than 40 cases—worth more than $2.3 million in today’s dollars. These extravagantly expensive plumes traveled en route to milliners’ shops as part of the feather fashion craze that had gripped Europe and North America in the 19th century—with disastrous consequences for birds. The harvesting of egret feathers during breeding season, when the gleaming white, wispy plumes are at their most spectacular, drove the species to the brink of extinction. But it wasn’t just egret feathers on hats: exotic species were all the rage, including quetzals, birds of paradise, hummingbirds, parrots, and toucans. Things reached such a fevered pitch that adorning a hat with mere feathers eventually proved insufficient and entire flattened, taxidermied birds would rest atop the ensemble. By the early 1900s, more than five million birds were killed per year in service of the millinery industry.

5 amazing ways that birds use their feathers

Initially, the blame fell on the greatest hat consumers: women. In 1912, in a scathing call to arms, William Hornaday, the director of the New York Zoo (now called the Bronx Zoo), wrote that “The blood of uncounted millions of slaughtered birds is upon the heads of women.” And yet, it was largely thanks to fiercely vocal women conservationists who vehemently opposed the feather trade that legislative change took place. In 1918, the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibited the buying, selling, trading, or bartering of bird parts and brought the hat feather frenzy to an end.

Of course, long before the birth of that feather fad as fashion—it may have been launched (at least in part) by Marie Antoinette, who topped off her coiffures with hats piled high with glamorous ostrich feathers—Indigenous people worldwide had already been putting an emphasis on self-adornment. The Aztecs brought featherwork to colossal heights. The imperial aviary in Tenochtitlán, in present-day Mexico, employed dozens of people to oversee the flocks of arresting, spectacular birds, including coloured honeycreepers, toucans, spoonbills, macaws, and parakeets—all sourced from the furthest reaches of their empire, often by the thousands. The Aztecs plucked feathers from these birds to decorate clothing, battle shields, tapestries, elaborate headdresses, and religious regalia. And they often extracted taxes from conquered lands in the form of feathers or birds. With the conquest of the Americas and colonization, exotic feathers eventually made their way to European courts and, in addition to becoming a hugely popular fashion trend, they also highlighted the power of imperial expansion.

A curious and sordid black market for exotic feathers exists today in the world of fly-fishing among fly-tiers who have revived the Victorian practice of elaborate plume-made flies resembling insects. Not only have there been numerous feather heists from natural history collections in the past several decades—the most famous of which became the subject of the acclaimed book The Feather Thief—the ROM recently instituted background checks for anyone spending unsupervised time among the prized feathers. “The most commercially valuable feathers in the collection are the pheasant and grouse family feathers due to the market for tying flies,” says Mark Peck.

Yet feathers do more than denote status and power; they also tell stories and teach us how to live. Indigenous naturalist Joe Pitawanakwat stresses the importance of learning from birds, and he sees feathers as an “acknowledgement of the teachings that the birds carry.” A member of the Wiikwemkoong First Nation, he says that coming in contact with a bird feather “enables us to tap into the stories that the birds are sharing.” For example, bird species with red eyes teach people about mourning and how to manage grief; a common loon feather reminds Pitawanakwat of the bird’s plaintive call and tells him that “it’s okay to cry—that’s why their eyes are red.”

10 amazing facts about loons

One of the most revered feathers among many Indigenous communities is the eagle feather, for its ability to “relay messages to a spirit world,” says Pitawanakwat. The eagle feather becomes a communicating device. “When we use eagle feathers in prayer, and when we’re smudging, those feathers are responsible for taking the message where it needs to go,” Pitawanakwat says. “Feathers are kind of like a tattoo. There’s a story to each one.”

And yet those very stories and the knowledge, both spiritual and practical, passed down from elders, is currently at risk: how to set traps according to a bird’s moulting season; how to design two types of regalia for powwows, one with iridescent feathers for daytime, and another with non-iridescent feathers for nighttime; how to use owl feathers for fletching to ensure that the arrows fly silently.

“I always say thank you when I find a feather in a forest,” says Pitawanakwat. “It’s a gift and a responsibility that’s presented to me to learn what this bird has to share.”

This article was originally published in the August 2022 issue of Cottage Life.

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Cottage Life

Cottage Q&A: Do loons react to fireworks?

By Dana.S/Shutterstock

During my lake association’s fireworks show over the last long weekend, I heard loons calling back and forth. Were they reacting to the noise of the fireworks?—Duke McGilliam

Yes. “Loons don’t like them,” says Doug Tozer of Birds Canada. “The calls they give are likely stress/alarm calls in response. They do the same thing to any other loud noise, like incoming float planes and big boats.” Loud noise affects their ability to hear properly, and it probably scares them. Okay, so fireworks aren’t good for loons (or other birds, or other wildlife). Obviously. But…just how bad are they?

When it comes to loons, “fireworks are not likely to cause a population level impact,” says Kathy Jones, also with Birds Canada and the volunteer manager for the Canadian Lakes Loon Survey. “But there are growing concerns about the individual pair impact.” For example, do fireworks frighten adult loons enough to make them abandon their chicks? “We don’t know,” admits Jones. “But one would think that the risk does exist, depending on how close the parents and chicks are to the fireworks.”

Now you’re probably feeling torn. You love a good fireworks display. But you also love loons. If your lake association’s on board, there are alternatives to traditional fireworks. Light shows, for example, “have the same brilliance but do not create noise or put pollutants and chemicals into the environment,” says Jones. You could also investigate “quiet fireworks.” Certain communities in Canada—Banff, Canmore, and Halifax, for example—have started using them. (Keep in mind, these fireworks aren’t silent—they’re just not nearly as loud.) Some U.S. organizations have started to use a series of drones outfitted with LED lights as a fireworks alternative.

One straightforward (and inexpensive) way a community—or an individual cottager—can reduce the impact of fireworks on wildlife is to limit how frequently they celebrate with fireworks. Ask yourself: “How often should fireworks be used at a lake?” says Jones. Every day of the holiday weekend? Only certain holiday weekends? Once a year, on Canada Day, ringing in Victoria Day and the New Year with only glow sticks and sparklers?

As with any situation where you’re weighing human interests against environmental impact, “careful thought should be taken with fireworks,” says Jones.

Got a question to Cottage Q&A? Send it to answers@cottagelife.com.

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Cottage Life

Nature Scrapbook: The common loon

By Agnieszka Bacal/Shutterstock

How well do you know the iconic loon? Our favourite and famous cottage-country icon is anything but common. Loons are incredibly agile underwater, propelled by powerful, widely splayed legs, which are placed far back on their bodies. This makes walking difficult, but enables them to out-swim and catch dozens of perch, minnows, and other small fish a day.

With heavy, solid-boned bodies, the diving specialists need lake-top runways of 30 to several hundred metres—depending on the wind—to achieve lift off. Once airborne, however, they commonly clock120 kilometres an hour in steadily flapping flight, often calling while overhead. Loons have excellent underwater vision, but their striking red eyes are believed to be largely for show, highlighting them for friend or foe from across the lake.

A pair of breeding loons claims an entire small lake, or bay of a larger lake, as their exclusive territory. The vociferous waterfowl’s heart-warming wail is most often a beckoning between mates, though it’s sometimes joined in chorus by neighbours. One in five loons switch mates during spring territorial competition.

Loons lay eggs in late May or early June. Mates take turns, about every two to four hours, tending to the speckled eggs atop a concealed, shallow mound of grass and sedge at the shoreline. The nest is perched just above water that’s deep enough to permit a quick dive to safety.

Loon eggs hatch in early summer. Within hours, downy grey loon chicks splash into the water, paddling close to their parents, often hitching rides on their backs for rest, warmth, and protection, especially during their first week. One elder always tends them, usually in a quiet, protective nursery cove, while the other is out fishing. Chicks start learning to catch their own finny food when about a month old.

This article was originally published in the June/July 2022 issue of Cottage Life magazine.

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Cottage Life

Rare bird spotted for the first time in Canada

Photo by DaniloDjekovic/Shutterstock

A small, grey-brown sandpiper spotted in Thedford, Ont. proved that one doesn’t need to be the flashiest bird to catch people’s eye. The first sighting of a marsh sandpiper in Canada brought enthusiastic birders to the region in the hope of catching a glimpse of this unique find. 

The marsh sandpiper stands on long, yellow legs that allow the bird to wade through shallow marshlands in search of food. The migratory species, which can be found in eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, has a distinctive white “eyebrow” marking above its eye.

“The marsh sandpiper is native to Eurasia, and so this is the first time it’s officially been recorded in Canada,” says Natasha Barlow, an Ontario projects biologist with Birds Canada, who made the trip to see the Thedford marsh sandpiper. “Poor weather conditions can push birds off of their flight path, especially during migration when they may be making long-distance flights, and emergency landings in areas where they usually wouldn’t be (like in Thedford) can occur,” she adds.

The vagrant marsh sandpiper was first spotted by birder James Holdsworth at the Thedford Sewage Lagoons, as reported by CTV News London. The exciting find prompted the Ontario Field Ornithologists to arrange access to the property for birders to witness this once-in-a-lifetime sighting. 

One of those birders was Paul Riss, who goes by the moniker “the punk birder” and was featured in the CBC Gem documentary, Rare Bird Alert. Riss earned his nickname thanks to his efforts to break down the stereotypes of old, stuffy birdwatchers; instead, he is a proponent that birdwatching is a hobby for everyone.

Riss made an eight hour trek to see the marsh sandpiper, noting that he was not likely to get this opportunity again in his lifetime. Along the drive he was “praying to the bird gods that it was still going to be there.” He arrived at the site and trained his scope. 

“There it was,” he says, “with that lovely white marking on its back. I couldn’t believe it.” 

He observed the sandpiper walking around in the shallows, stopping to feed and preen its feathers. “It was lovely to see,” he says. “The people I was with, they were so happy.”

For those interested in experiencing the thrill of spotting a new species for the first time, Riss recommends that people connect with the Ontario Field Ornithologists to learn the ins and outs of birdwatching. But he emphasizes that birding as a hobby can be as casual as keeping watch on a backyard birder feeder. “To be a birder, you do not need to chase rare birds,” he says. “If you really enjoy birds, you’re a great birder.”

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Cottage Life

Wild Profile: Meet the chestnut-sided warbler

By Agami Photo Agency/Shutterstock

The chestnut-sided warbler is an easy warbler to identify—despite the fact that North America is home to more than 50 species of the bird. At least, this guy is easy to ID if you know what to spot. In the spring and summer, when they’ve returned home to their cottage-country haunts after the winter in warmer parts of the world, both breeding males and females have a flashy chestnut stripe on their flanks. Chestnut-sided! Isn’t it helpful when a bird’s name just makes sense?

What does the chestnut-sided warbler sound like? 

If you can’t recognize this bird by its looks, you might recognize it by its calls. Beginning in May, males start belting out their love song from open, sunny spots. It sounds like “Pleased, pleased, pleased to meet-cha!” They’ll sing up to 4,000 times per day. Holy dedication—can you imagine doing anything 4,000 times per day? Once they’ve attracted the attention of a female chestnut-sided warbler, they’ll sing a different tune (literally): a territorial chant meant to tell other males to stay away from their home and their future wife.

Is the chestnut-sided warbler rare? 

Although this warbler’s numbers probably have declined in recent years—the same is true for many birds—chestnut-sided warblers are actually more common than they were in the 19th century. Because they prefer open areas, they actually benefitted from human practices such as logging. In some cases, their territories now nearly overlap with the yellow warbler (the two species are closely related). Yellow warblers look different, but their love songs are similar to a chestnut-sided warbler’s: “Sweet, sweet, I’m so sweet.” Family ties and all that.