It's birding season!

2024 Rideau Ferry Bird Count Dec. 14th

I've participated in our local bird count for several years! Dec. 14th, there were 35 people out in the field looking for birds. Also, 21 people (like myself) watching feeders. The final total was 51 birds species, and 7133 birds were spotted.

There aren't that many Northern Shrikes spotted. Keep this in mind!

The bird feeders attract all sorts of birds. Well, not all sorts, it attracts our winter birds! Many birds fly south, as the insects disappear under the snow, in the cold. 

The feeders attract predators, as well. Last month it was a hawk. This week, a Northern Shrike! They catch small birds and mice, and spear them on branches for later consumption. Cool little predators.

 The bird bath has not been used as a bird bath since the starling visited on Jan. 3rd. It came back.  Most of them seem to fly south. Except for this one!

In 2012, I snapped a photo of a juvenile starling! 

Originally, they were an invasive species:

•  All the European Starlings in NA descended from 100 birds released in New York's Central Park in the 1890s. 
• It was a group who wanted America to have all the birds that Shakespeare mentioned. (REALLY...?)
• An estimated 200 million European Starlings now range from Alaska to Mexico. 😱

It was bath time for our lone starling!