wordsfromanneli

Thoughts, ideas, photos, and stories.

Category Archives: Birds


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Pintail Duck

At the George C. Reifel Bird Sanctuary in southwestern BC, you can see may different species of waterfowl and other birds. These photos were taken by a friend, Sonia, who kindly allowed me to use them after her visit to this sanctuary. Many kinds of ducks visit this waterfowl refuge. The pintail (Anas acuta) is one of these.

 

I grew up thinking that all ducks were yellow when they were little and brown or white when they grew up. It was an eye-opener to me when I learned, a long time ago,  that there were so many kinds of ducks, each with special features that made each type unique and helped to identify them.

The pintail is obviously named for its long pointy tail, as you can see in the last photo, but another special feature of this duck is its long neck. Notice the long streak of white that goes up his neck to the side of his head. This one has his neck pulled in somewhat, perhaps to keep warm, but if it were stretched up to take a good look around, you would see that he has a much longer neck than most other ducks do.

And have you even seen such a beautiful design of feathers as what this duck has on his back?

 

 

The pintail tips up in shallow water to reach for plant matter in and above the soil under the water. Its long tail helps to balance it as it forages for seeds and rhizomes. It also finds food on land,  in fields where it eats  roots, grains, and other seeds.  In the nesting season it feeds mostly on aquatic insects, invertebrates, molluscs, and crustaceans.

 

 

These photos are of the drake pintail. The hen (female) pintail has a similar shape, without the long pointy tail feathers, and with more muted colours (keeping her safer when nesting).


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The Opportunist

When it’s hard times with cold, wet weather, and not yet warm bug season, birds will take advantage of what’s available and not be too fussy.

See the feeders all refilled,

On this chilly day,

And the suet is replaced,

“Just in time,” I say.

 

Tastes a bit like greasy bugs,

Though not quite the same,

Filler of the feeding place,

I’m so glad you came.

 


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Great Blue Heron

When I first took this guy’s picture, I thought he had hurt his wing. It looked like he had maybe torn the top of his wing where it folds against his body. But when I looked up other photos of great blue herons, I saw that this is a natural colour on their wings. I was relieved to see it and wished I could have all that time back when I worried over his non-existent “owie.”

Mr. Patience, yes, that’s me,

Quietly I stand,

Waiting ’til the frog I see,

Makes a dash for land.

 

 

Then I spear him lightning quick

With my mighty beak,

Savouring his waist so thick,

Tuning out his squeak.


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Q is for Quail and Quince

The quince was beautiful when it was in bloom last summer.

Quentin the quail used to come visit  and hang around under it.

You may remember that he was the last of the many quail that used to live around here until our area got built up and turned into a dog walk for the subdivision about half a mile away. Quail and dogs on the loose just don’t mix, and the quail were the losers.

I last saw Quentin about a year ago, and I’m sure he has gone to quail heaven now.

But I loved having him around for visits now and then while he was still alive.

Q is for Quentin Quail in the quince.


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P is for Pileated Woodpeckers, Pam and Patrick

“Ooh!” says Pam. “I see that handsome Patrick. See his red cheek slash? So manly!”

“Oh, Patrick! Do you like my little red Christmas hat?”

“Meh – it’s not bad, I guess,” says Patrick. “Wanna come down here and get some bugs out of this stump?”

“Actually, I think I see some at the end of this raised bed,” says Pam.

“Hmm. I guess that wasn’t what he wanted to hear. I’m not very good at this dating stuff.”

“Hmpf! Pam is playing hard-to-get. I’ll show her…as soon as I get that pesky bug off my shoulder…. Maybe she thinks I have dandruff.”

P is for Pam and Patrick the pileated woodpeckers. I’m sure they’ll find each other eventually.

 


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N is for Nuthatch

“It sure is a lot of work to pick a hole in a tree and make it big enough for a nest, but I’ve made a good start,” says Nancy Nuthatch.

“Hmm…I wonder if I should go deeper. Can’t make the entrance too big though, or those nasty squirrels will come visiting.”

“Ah, there’s a solution. Nora Nuthatch is making a nest on the lower level. We can take turns keeping an eye out for predators and shriek to call out an alarm if the squirrels come looking for trouble.”

N is for nuthatch, but really we are Nancy and Nora, the Nuthatch Ninjas.

 

Do you see Nora working on the lower level of the tree?

 

 


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G is for Goose

This photo is from February, a few years ago, when we had a sudden snowfall. These Canada geese were probably wintering here, rather than flying farther south, but I’m sure they didn’t expect it to snow.  Even the five or six snow geese in the foreground were probably not expecting snow. I think their name comes solely from their colour, not from any love of snow.

Most of the geese have their head in the snow, trying to work their way down to the roots of the crop that was harvested a few months earlier. They may find some nourishment there, and possibly the odd worm might be lurking just under the ground.

The geese must be finding enough to eat there to make it worthwhile, or they would all be on the other side of the road (from where I took the picture) where there is an estuary that is a bit more sheltered and the water is shallow, providing nibbles of seafood just barely covered by water.

I’m guessing that another reason they’re not in that estuary just at this photo time could be that the tide was out and the mudflats are exposed. When there is a bit more water, the geese can swim  and be safer from predators, and they can dabble in the muck for their hors d’oeuvres.

In the field, they can’t swim and be out of reach, but the field is flat and provides plenty of oversight.  You will always see one or two geese acting as sentries while the rest have their head down, feeding.  Somehow, they manage to take turns at watch duty.

 

See the little bit of black near the tail feathers of the snow geese above.  Those feathers are actually their black wingtips that make the geese so easily identifiable when they fly overhead. White feathers reflecting the sunshine, and black wingtips adding special decoration.

G is for goose, but not Christmas goose for dinner.  Not here, anyway.


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D is for Ducks

At first glance it looks like the farmer grew a crop of mallards.

On second glance we can see that there are widgeons among them.

At third glance, in a close look near the bottom of the photo we can see that the farmer actually grew potatoes. Some were missed and have been unearthed by the ducks to nibble on. It’s not their first choice of food but who knows what other seeds or insects may be hiding alongside the potatoes?

D is for duck, but when they sense danger, they don’t “duck.” They fly!


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B is for the Birds

I have loved birds even when I was a small child. My mother used to tell me that the birds were talking to me. If I listened, I could hear what they were saying. Let’s just say that the power of suggestion worked overtime on me. I imagine the birds talking to me (and to each other) even now in my old(er) age.

Most birds bring us joy with their songs and their antics.

Some bring us a rude awakening when we walk under rows of them perched on overhead wires.

I had to wash my jacket after walking home under these birds.

But the owner of this car had a bigger washing job to do the next morning. He won’t park under the wires again.

Still, without birds, the world would be quiet, and not as happy as it could be.

Enjoy your day, and remember to listen to what the birds are saying. They may be talking to you.

Today they are saying:

B is for birds.


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Good to Eat?

Imagine being known for your good flavour on the dinner table. The godwit was known, several hundred years ago, to be a “god whit,” a good creature (for the dinner table, it is presumed).

It was netted and sold at market, fetching even more than a snipe might have sold for in those long ago days.

These marbled godwits were dabbling around at the beach, poking their long bills into the sand in search of any small invertebrates they might feast on.

Their long legs help to keep their bodies from getting wet unnecessarily, but these birds do swim. For foraging though, they have more luck near the shore in waters shallow enough to walk around in without getting their bellies wet. Their long bills can easily probe the sand or mud there without having to dive for what may or may not be there.

They are no longer considered a target as a gamebird. Luckily for them, it is too much work to hunt and prepare these birds for the small amount of meat they offer for the table.

And like the turkeys that the president pardons each year, these godwits are thankful for their own version of the “Passover” at Thanksgiving.