World Migratory Bird Day
… with Vultures and a scientific joke
After a successful trial last week, at the other end of this and future posts there is a new section labelled “What we are reading”. This contains links to articles and images that we think readers who get that far might find interesting.
I want to start this week's newsletter with a quotation from a fascinating book that I have just finished reading and with which I wholeheartedly agree. The book is "Where the Falcon Flies: A 3400km odyssey from my doorstep to the Arctic” - published by Penguin, and a great read.
"... if you should happen to paddle and hike several thousand kilometres across the country, an abundance of parks comes in handy. If my journey taught me anything, it’s that no matter where you go in Canada, you can’t fail to find fascinating natural spaces, even under the Burlington Skyway or below the bluffs of Toronto. These little nature oases further offer a place for kids to play, to fall in love with nature, to cut school to build forts and learn life skills ... Personally, I think there ought to be a policy whereby at least one nature park lies within a ten-minute walk of everyone’s residence. Besides providing habitat for migratory birds, these natural areas on our doorsteps remind us of our connection to those vast, untrodden wild places that lie beyond the horizon, faraway lands of enchantment for the mind to dream over."
Garden Birding
The Global October Big Day is an opportunity for birders to unite around our shared love of birds. According to eBird, the event last year encouraged nearly 35,000 people from 185 countries to submit 80,000 checklists to eBird, an example of the powerful pull of birds to bring people together everywhere in the world. By participating, you are also celebrating World Migratory Bird Day, an educational campaign that aims to connect people to bird conservation.
Even more relaxed birders than we are, will probably know what a BIG DAY is by now … but so everyone is on the same page, I will remind you that a Big Day is any 24-hour period in which birders go out and try to see as many different species as possible. Some will wonder why anyone would do that, and I suppose it’s mostly just between “It’s fun” and also because “I can”. You know, like climbing Everest. There are also Big Years, which speak for themselves – and yes, an element of friendly competition does creep into these events. You can do them anywhere - by travelling to as many varied habitats as possible in the day (definitely not green birding at all), you can go for a town, or provincial or state BD or one in your local nature park. Many years ago with a small group of friends we took a stab at the Quebec BD record and came within a whisper of taking it … but my, did we emit some embarrassing greenhouse gases on the way.
Being a “bit” older these days, perhaps the wide-roaming BDs of yore are behind us, but we do participate in the October Global BD and focus simply on the birds we see in and from our garden. In this case, on Saturday 14 October. Our garden is in leafy suburbia, does not have a lawn, has plenty of trees and a pond and we have seen, over the years we have lived here, 120 different species. Most years we easily see something in the region of 80 species - even nicer. Anyway, mid-October is not a date that is likely to break any records but for what it’s worth, on this year's’s October Big Day we saw a gratifying … 20 species visiting or flying over the garden. Not that that is anything to really boast about because a friend in NS reported 30 garden species in about an hour and a half on the same day - mind you, he lives very close to the shore and that would bump anyone’s numbers up a bit.
So – we saw one or two of the not very common at all around here Carolina Wrens who are currently living with us. One feeder is inside a cage that allows small birds in but keeps out the bigger Blue Jays and Grackles and most of the Cardinals, although one and rather scruffy youngster has discovered that if she scrunches up her wings she can just about wriggle in and get a proper square meal. The other Wren is much smarter and more glossy but hides from the camera.
And – we also laughed at a very smart, very wet Blue Jay. We had decided to relocate this bird bath across the garden and within ten minutes it was being utilized. Nothing at all rare or unusual about this species, but if you have read this far, then you are the sort of person who will enjoy the photographs below.
Our complete list of the 20 species of birds seen in the garden during daylight hours were as follows:
Canada Goose, Mourning Dove, Ring-billed Gull, Turkey Vulture, Cooper's Hawk, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, White-throated Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal
A very enjoyable day - plus we got in some productive gardening hours while keeping a look out.
Lazily Circling Vultures …
This week’s species to draw attention to is the Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura). Recently, they have been heading southbound in quite large groups, some of which have been kettling* over the neighbourhood before slipping across the river. Last Saturday there was a group of at least travelling directly over our garden. The birds in passage were frequently being hurried along by noisy Crows in the vicinity and being told to “Keep going, don’t stop”. Behind the houses on the other side of the street is an old cemetery – snacks for the weary circling traveller. I assume not, though I like to think it so.
*”Kettling” - large numbers of birds, circling, and rising to gain height in a thermal before slipping away to glide into the distance. This is usually done during migration when the birds are gathering and travelling together. The word is believed to come from the supposed similarity between those groups of birds, all tightly, circling together, and water boiling in a pot or a kettle.”
That distant soaring bird you just noticed could have been a Hawk or an Eagle, but if was soaring and circling with its wings held in a shallow V shape, there’s a good chance it was a Turkey Vulture riding thermals in the sky and to help them smell out fresh carcasses. Close up, vultures are far from attractive birds but riding the sky they are something else - often staying aloft for long periods without troubling to have to flap their huge wings. In this part of the world, they are here from spring to fall, heading south for winter. Look up and you won’t have too much trouble seeing them, but it’s when they are in passage that we get the benefit of them travelling in lazy groups. At other times, keep an eye out as you drive – after all, where are the chances highest of finding a freshly killed meal waiting than beside a busy road. Another reliable location is along the banks of rivers where rotting fish are very attractive - at least, Vultures find them so.
Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology points out that “The Turkey Vulture’s stomach acid is extremely acidic, so Turkey Vultures can digest just about anything. This also allows them to eat carcasses tainted with anthrax, tuberculosis, and rabies without getting sick. By taking care of the carrion, vultures provide an essential service for the health of our ecosystems. Without them, carcasses would accumulate, and diseases would spread from rotting flesh.”
Eastern Phoebe
And here we have visiting Phoebe perched on a convenient sallying point. There are two metal Herons beside the garden pond who go by the names of ‘arold and ‘ilda (what, you mean you don’t anthropomorphize your garden ornaments by giving them names?)… who are placed just right if you are a small, insectivorous bird.
Coming Soon …
As discerning readers will have surmised by now, and heavens I have repeated it often enough, the premise behind 1001 Species is to encourage appreciation of nature near to our homes. Sadly, it looks as if that book I was going to write will no longer be needed as a "professional adventurer" has beaten me to it. I can't review the book as it won’t be published until the new year and only in print, there being no indication of an e-version. Anyway, suffice it to say that the title is LOCAL: A search for nearby nature and wilderness by Alistair Humphreys.
The pre-publication blurb says this, “Can this unassuming landscape marked by the glow of city lights and hum of busy roads hold any surprises for the world traveller or slake his wanderlust? Could a single map provide a lifetime of exploration? Learning more about nature and wildness than in all his years in remote environments, he discovers a newfound appreciation for his neighbourhood once he slows down enough to really observe it for the first time. Local is a celebration of curiosity and time outdoors, and a call to arms to protect the wild places on our doorsteps.”
One of my favourite authors on this sort of subject (- Robert Macfarlane) has obviously seen the text and says it is "Agile, wryly funny and wise." That whets my appetite for a good read and I have pre-ordered a copy - you might find it interesting too. I will do a review if I think it worthwhile.
Aha ha
Scientific humour …
Aha ha is the scientific name (really, I am not joking) of a species of Australian wasp, named by the entomologist Arnold Menke in 1977 as a joke. Menke described several years after its discovery how, when he received a package from a colleague containing insect specimens, he exclaimed "Aha, a new genus", with fellow entomologist Eric Grissell responding "ha" doubtfully. The name of the insect is commonly found in lists of bizarre scientific names. The name was also used as the vehicle registration plate of Menke's car, "AHA HA"
From Wikipedia
This is a piece I happened upon that is simply about walking with Crows… a short, but rather interesting note that is accompanied by a quite wonderful photograph of a Crow that at first I thought was a painting. Have a look, you will see why. The photo is gorgeous.
Next, you might find yourself an old spoon and get down to some sciency delving in cowpats and other detritus. Plenty of interestingly nature-related good things to discover there … with the big plus that this is something that kids can thoroughly enjoy if only they are encouraged. Checking what’s in owl pellets is sort of related too.
Quote: This is a nursery for new life. We quickly find a juicy, translucent dung beetle larva, gorging itself on poo, in what looks like a semi-conscious stupor. “It’s pretty, isn’t it? It’s folded over – that’s a classic shape,”
"There's only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing." -Aristotle
