FOR THE BIRDS ~ JUNE 2001

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Researching the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada
Recherche sur la Forteresse-de-Louisbourg Lieu historique national du Canada

FOR THE BIRDS

JUNE 2001

Helen O'Shea

Sightings

Victor Anderson had a pair of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds arrive on May 13. He also had two pair of Tree Swallows come on May 4. A pair is nesting at his house and another pair in Vickie Anderson’s yard. He says that May 4 to 6 is the usual time that the Tree Swallows come every year. Last year, Squirrels ate the eggs of a pair of Song Sparrows that nested. The sparrows are not back this year. On May 31, 10 Evening Grosbeaks arrived.

Donald and Margie Cameron reported a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird on June 2. On May 25 Don watched a couple of Crows chasing an Osprey at the back of their property. He also saw a pair of Canada Jays.

Gwenn Lunn fed niger seed to a few American Goldfinch and Purple Finch. A squirrel discovered the seed and proceeded to feast. She also hopes to see a hummingbird arrive at the feeder. June 2 she watched 2 Eastern Kingbirds catching insects in the yard of Blair and Heather Cross.

Pearl Magee has her Ruby-throated Hummingbird. May 22 she watched Tree Swallows in her yard and down by the home of Debbie Mahon as she walked to Piecemakers. May 12 a White-crowned Sparrow was in her yard.

Judy and Manning Burke had 15 Tree Swallows in their yard on May 19. A few went to their feeder. They also had a pair of Evening Grosbeaks. On May 26 there was a Sharp-shinned Hawk swooping past their feeder. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird came on May 30.

Mona and Harvey MacLeod had a colorful visitor arrive May 25 when an immature male Orchard Oriole came to their hummingbird feeder in the backyard. When a couple of bee guards were removed it perched and drank. That feeder was soon replace by an Oriole Feeder on which the perches are larger. After a couple of days the Oriole continued its travels.

( Oriole food is the same mixture as Hummingbird food -four parts water to one part sugar – but the feeder is orange and the perches longer to accommodate a bird that does not hover like a hummingbird.) The Orchard Oriole is about the same size as a large warbler. The MacLeods also have Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, a Hairy Woodpecker, numerous Black-capped Chickadees, a pair of Blue Jays, and Tree Swallows

Florence MacIntyre of Brickyard Road reports the arrival of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in early May.
Joan MacKay of Catalone had a Ruby-throated Hummingbird on May 30.
Bill O’Shea saw two American Bitterns on the gravel road to the Fortress just off the pavement by the first gate on May 23. Their stance, with head and beak tilted upward and a call like a deep chugging sound, made identification easy.
Juanita Paige reported a Chipping Sparrow at the home of her parents on May 18. Her mom saw a hummingbird with brown on it—probably a Rufous Hummingbird.
Kevin & Sheryl Trimm, Hornes Road, had a Pileated Woodpecker in their yard in May.
Kyle Allen had a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak at his home on the New Boston Road for the last week of May.
Carlton Lunn saw a number of Puffins flying past his boat outside the harbour early in May.
Pearl Magee reported a Red Winged Blackbird, 4 Cedar Waxwings and a dozen Evening Grosbeaks at her feeders on June 7.
Cyneth and Gordon Hutt watched a Shrike attack a Kingfisher. They saw a Red-Tailed hawk circling over their house on June 7.

Around the Town

Two pair of Grackles were chasing a Crow on Main Street on June 2. The lawn of Gary and Elaine Carter attracts large numbers of American Robins. May 30 a snowshoe hare dropped by for a mouthful of clover. It’s not a bird but so rare around here this year that I thought I should mention it. European Starlings (often referred to as Blackbirds) are nesting in the eaves of the Royal Bank, the Fortress View Restaurant and in numerous light standards. House Sparrows prefer the eaves of the Grubstake Restaurant. Two Starlings nest in a light standard across our street.

We had a pair of Northern Flickers worming in our yard for a week and a half near the end of May. Both male and female have the patch of red on the back of the neck. The male has a black moustache. June 3 a Gray Catbird fussed and posed long enough for us to see the orange patch at the base of the tail. It was on a tree branch as well as scratching for insects in the shrubbery. June 4 an Eastern Kingbird perched in the same tree as the Catbird.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - the Bird of the Month

The female arrived at my window feeder on Mother’s Day—a very nice gift. The male arrived later in the week. I have three feeders and the birds do not show any preference but move among them freely dining at each one. Each feeder has a spot for the hummingbirds to perch. As reported earlier, these mighty mites have also visited Victor Anderson, Florence MacIntyre, Pearl Magee, Joan MacKay, Mona & Harvey MacLeod, Judy & Manning Burke, Donald & Margie Cameron and Cyneth & Gordon Hutt.

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Facts

1. Weight - a tenth of an ounce

2. Length - 3 ¾ inches

3. Plumage - sparkling and jewel like - special structures in the feathers create the iridescence

4. Amazing flight abilities – it can hover, fly backward, shift sideways, fly straight up and down

5. Metabolism -highest of any warm-blood animal except perhaps the shrew

6. Diet - can consume 50 percent of its weight in sugar each day (without getting fat!) It also eats flower nectar and small insects.

7. The female raises the young on her own.

8. Male hummingbirds usually arrive first after migration and establish a territory.

9. Females defend the territory around their nests against bees, butterflies and other birds.

10. Nestlings - newborn no bigger than peas, dark gray in colour with a few downy feathers. They have short yellow bills. They develop pin feathers after a few days.

11. Feeding the young - one to 3 times per hour. The mother alights on the nest and puts her bill straight down into their gaping mouths, then in a series of pumping motions she feeds them nectar and insects that are regurgitated from her crop.

12. Cleaning the nest - feces of the young are removed by the mother or eaten.

13. Broods - one or two per year.

14. Seasonal migration - in the fall hummingbirds migrate during the day and usually fly singly. They winter in Mexico and Central America.

Stokes Nature Guides to Bird Behaviour, Volume III, Donald and Lillian Stokes

Hummingbird Stories

" It was believed that Aztec soldiers were reincarnated as hummingbirds. This bird was believed to be one of the original creators of the Universe. . . In another legend of the Maya, the Great God was busy making different kinds of birds for the world. When he was finished, he found a tiny pile of scraps left over, and not wanting to waste them, decided to make the tiniest bird of all. He made a pair of hummingbirds… In a Navajo legend, the first hummingbird was big and white and always hungry. In its search for food it destroyed many flowers. The Great Spirit . . . displeased that it cared so little for the flowers, decided to punish this large awkward bird by shrinking its size so it would need less food. . . Most hummingbirds are not even as long as a bald eagle’s middle toe."

Laura C. Martin, The Folklore of Birds, The Globe Pequot Press, Old Saybrook, Connecticut 1993.

North American Migratory Bird Count, May 12

On count day, we were exceptionally lucky to have 3 Chipping Sparrows, a Gray Catbird, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a Northern Goshawk, 2 pair of Red-tailed Hawks, Red Crossbill, Northern Flicker, Merlin, 5 White-throated Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Raven, American Crows, American Goldfinch, 3 pair of Ring-necked Ducks. In total we had Bill and I observed 34 species.

The Cliff Swallows are at the Fortress and at the Administration Building on the park service road. The Barn Swallows are at the Fortress as well. The Tree Swallows have extended their range past the Royal Battery and to the Fortress Barachois where we watched them all hawking insects. The black flies came out with a vengeance the last week of May.

Did you know?

American Crows and Blue Jays belong to the same family. Both birds are numerous, clever and omnivorous. They eat insects, eggs of other species, nuts, berries, small birds, fish, frogs, salamanders, and come to feeding stations for sunflower seeds and suet. Crows also eat carrion (dead things). They also seem to find the bags that contain the best garbage.

In Closing

Thank you to John Willie MacInnis for the copy of A Complete Guide to Bird Feeding by John V. Dennis. This will provide my summertime reading. John Willie writes the weekly Great Outdoors column for the Cape Breton Post.

Have a great summer birding and keep track of your sightings. Call me or stop me on the street. You shall read about all the exciting birds in the September Seagull.

Remember to wear sunblock, a hat, and sunglasses while birding since the ultraviolet light can damage your skin and eyes.

Helen O’Shea

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