Strictly for the Birds!
Spring Arrives on the Greenway, by Ian Cannell
Many species of birds that breed locally in areas such as the BSG head south for the winter to the southern USA, Central or South America, or even as far away as the South Pacific. Every year as spring approaches, I look forward to the returning migrants, the males in their most attractive plumage, ready to attract mates for the breeding season. Things start slowly, with a few species such as Robins and Red-winged Blackbirds showing up in late February or early March, followed by the odd Turkey Vulture or Eastern Phoebe, the first of our flycatchers to show up. Later in March the pretty little Golden-crowned Kinglets can be seen flitting constantly from branch to branch, and the Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers (really) start drilling their holes in the trees. Without the sapsuckers we’d have no hummingbirds here. When our only Ontario hummingbird, the Ruby-throated, arrives around mid-May, there are few flowers yet in bloom from which to extract nectar, so it depends on the sap from sapsucker holes to survive.
As things start to warm up a little in late March and April, we can expect to see Brown Creepers making their way up tree trunks looking for insects, and to hear the distinctive call of the Northern Flicker (a woodpecker). Seen less commonly are Meadowlarks and the Louisiana Waterthrush. I usually note about seven or eight species of sparrow at this time – yes, there is more than one kind! Song,Tree, Chipping, Savannah, Field, White-throated, White-crowned, House and the beautiful reddish-coloured Fox Sparrow all can be found along the valley. Also look out for the first butterfly Mourning Cloak) and Woolly Bear caterpillars around this time. However, it’s the month of May that I really look forward to, when the incoming migration reaches its peak. The stunning orange and black Baltimore Orioles arrive to start making their hanging nests – and eating the grape jelly that I put out for them. The all-blue Indigo Buntings and the pretty Rose-breasted Grosbeaks drop by for some nyjer and sunflower seeds, respectively.
