For The Love Of Birds

As a little kid growing up in Canada ‘must see TV’ for me was weekday mornings watching Mr. Dressup, wedged between The Friendly Giant and Sesame Street. I loved Casey and Finnegan, Aunt Bird and Alligator Al. It was especially exciting to see the Wise Old Owl make a rare appearance as well. The costumes, the parties, the tickle trunk, the dress-ups were pure children’s entertainment at it’s finest. But what always stood out for me were the pictures Mr. Dressup would draw. I always wished I had that talent and he made it look so easy. Silly as this sounds, I felt I had my own version of Mr. Dressup, my dad! He loved to draw and doodle. One of the very first things he taught me was how to draw a bird. It’s not Picasso quality, mind you, but I’m pretty proud of it…even if the bird has “eyebrows”. LOL

As time went by, Dad continued the tradition with Charlotte. Many times when he and mom would come to visit, Dad would pick up one of Charlotte’s drawing pads and doodle. Birds were his specialty. I guess it came from his own love of birds, which of course got handed down to me. After he passed, Charlotte decided to get a tattoo of one of his drawings, highlighting his love of drawing and birds.

As I mentioned previously, Dad was a bird lover and could identify many different types of birds just by their call alone. I used to love showing him the pictures I took of various species and he would always be amazed at how much detail I captured in a single shot. Like I said, he passed his passion on to me! Having said that, here are a few snaps of some of those gorgeous creatures I managed to take over the last little while.

The pair of eagles in Hr. Grace were a little bit of an obsession for me this past summer. They’d often be spotted hanging out on or around the Kyle. Every time I was out I’d drive by with my head on a swivel looking for them. Occasionally, I’d snap a few pictures of them!

These unusual looking birds are cormorants. They’re so big and awkward looking it’s hard to believe they can take flight! Here is a link for some interesting facts about them if you’d like to learn more.

It’s often been said that puffins are known as the “clowns of the sea” but I beg to differ! In my opinion that title goes to the mighty duck! They’re colourful, they love to splash and play in the water and have you ever heard one laugh? I swear, when a group of them get together and start making a racket it sounds like laughter. It always quacks me up…..err, sorry for the bad pun.

Up next is the crow. Many people have a dislike for them but I think they’re just misunderstood. Crows are typically associated with death or an omen that something bad is about to happen. Things couldn’t be further from the truth! Crows are extremely intelligent and will often bring “gifts” to those humans that they’ve bonded with. Also, when another crow dies they’ll converge on the location and hold a type of funeral for the deceased. They’re very keen hunters and can spot a lick of food from a mile away. Case in point last week during recycling day. Our blue recycling bags, which had been placed at the end of the driveway for pick up, contained an item that we can only assume wasn’t properly rinsed. Sure enough, it was detected by the crows and the bag torn open. After a few curse words I thought to myself, they’re not being arseholes, crows gotta eat too.

Onto an old favourite of mine, the blue jay. I’ve been photographing these guys for many years and somehow I never get sick of them. This past summer they were flocking to our backyard, probably not because they liked our company but rather they were feasting on the peanuts I was putting out for them. Every day they’d show up and “knock” on the patio handrail with their beaks, likely trying to get our attention. They became so used to us that they’d take the peanuts from my hand. Another oddity I noticed about them is that oftentimes they’d take a peanut and jump down into the grass burying the peanut and then covering it over with bits of grass to hide and retrieve later.

Another bird type that people have issues with are gulls. We’ve had our fair share of run-ins with them (as well as crows) on garbage day. We’d be on “bird watch”, taking turns looking out the window to see if they had gotten into the trash bags. Thank God for tall plastic garbage bins. One thing that puzzles me is that for creatures who spend so much time scavenging in landfills and other types of garbage they’re amazingly clean looking creatures. I’ve never seen a gull with ketchup or mustard smeared on their feathers in a McDonald’s parking lot!

Crossbills are fairly popular in our area as well. They show up to our yard in spring and early summer. They feast on the buds of the trees. They usually travel in flocks, going from tree to tree in search of the best bud crop.

The northern flicker is a type of woodpecker that has been making itself known around our home over the last few years. Seems like we are getting greater numbers nesting around the yard and nearby woods. It’s always a treat when these guys are spotted in the backyard!

The common tern is an amazing species to watch. Whether they’re gliding, diving or plunging into the water, their sleek appearance and agility is a sight to behold.

Similar in hunting and diving skill to the common tern, the osprey is also very majestic when soaring through the sky with it’s outstretched wings. This past summer I had a chance to watch this bird dive in and grab a fish straight out of the lake. Showoff! 🙂

A very good friend of mine introduced me to the Merlin Bird ID app this past summer. If you love birds and want to discover more about them then I highly suggest you download this app! You can record the sound of a particular bird and Merlin will search it’s database and tell you what’s making that noise. You can also submit a photo for identification right on the app. You can even tell the app your location to allow it to search the database more efficiently. As well, each day it will provide you with a different bird fact. Over all, this is a great tool for anyone interested in birding or even if you want to find out what bird is making all the racket outside your house!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my bird blog as much as I enjoyed snapping their pictures this past summer. As always, feel free to drop a comment below to let me know what you think!

Oh, and just one more thing…if you’re on Facebook, check out the ‘Sweet Tweats’ page and give it a follow. Emily Steele creates the most beautiful bird treats I’ve ever seen. In addition to her creations, which are available for purchase, she provides weekly bird facts along with photos of various birds that come to her yard and feeders!

Until Next Time,

Andrea