Notes From a NW Ontario Backyard – August 2016

Hello again!

It has most definitely been ‘juvenile bird’ season around here.  My yard has been full of an assortment of juveniles:  Hummingbirds, Purple Finches, Chickadees, Red Breasted Nuthatches, Grackles, Starlings, Crows, a few Sparrow types, Eastern Bluebirds, Downy Woodpeckers ……

The Downies surprised me, actually.  I had only been seeing the adult female …… alone … no partner that I knew of.  Suddenly in late July, she shows up with a daughter!  The juvenile female was with her for quite a few weeks.  Still, I never saw the adult male.  One day, a juvenile male shows up but still, to this day, no adult male Downy to be seen.  She certainly had a boyfriend somewhere nearby but I still haven’t seen him.

I have to wonder if the juvenile male Downy had different parents ….. I never saw this adult female feeding him at all.

One evening when I was outside, a juvenile Purple Finch was begging ….. and begging ….. and begging some more at an adult female, following her from tree to tree and only getting louder when the adult would give her/him a seed.  That juvie was the cutest thing to watch tho’.  🙂

It has been a spectacular summer for Ruby Throated Hummingbirds in my area!  I’ve never had more than 2, maybe 3 Hummers in my yard at once before but this season, it’s common to have 4 and a few times, even 6!  They are in constant motion with juveniles and adults battling over the abundance of flowers in the yard and the 2 feeders.  It’s been an exceptional season for gardening for me so my yard is loaded with things in bloom:  lilies, daylilies, monarda, hosta, heliopsis, maltese cross, rudbeckia, mountain bluet, colmbine, gladiola, purple liatris, dahlias and others …. plus potted plants.  The number #1 favourite flower for the hummers, once again, is the monarda (bee balm).  They go NUTS for this flower!

I was lucky enough to have an entire family of Eastern Bluebirds in my neighbourhood for most of the summer.  They didn’t nest in my yard but they were coming here daily to catch insects.  They are still around but not coming to my yard so much now.  They successfully raised at least 3 young that I’m sure of.  🙂

Grackles are returning in fair numbers once again.  They are looking pretty rough tho’!  Some, like this fellow, are molting their head feathers so they a.) look partially bald … b.) have a mix of blue & brown on the head … or c.) they are partially leucistic on the head with some white thrown in.  Also, some have dropped their tail feathers during the molt so they have the new short stubs coming in but still have 1 or 2 old tail feathers left.  Messed up!

I haven’t seen too many Common Nighthawks yet this summer.  Last night was the most so far for this summer, with a flock of 35 or so flying about the neighbourhood.

The Hummingbirds aren’t the only ones enjoying then nectar-rich flowers.  My yard has been loaded with bees all summer too.  This one is looking a little beat up with tattered wing tips.

That’s about it from my yard for this month.  Hope you’re all enjoying your summer!  Thanks for reading ….. ‘see’ you next month!