There were much better pickings elsewhere in the thawing garden, so many of my avian familiars had disappeared. But yesterday the landscape turned white again, the snow was blustering and they were back in force – aided and abetted by newly arrived, extremely boisterous American Tree Sparrows in greater numbers than I have seen here before.
Juncos, Goldfinches and Chickadees mingled with the newcomers – which included female Brownheaded Cowbirds. The latter huddled together on the feeder ledges, looking miserable and ignoring the advances of the males that have been here for a week.
Across the county, people took note of a feeding frenzy outside their windows. Some logged on to the S
imcoe Nature Board to report Fox Sparrows, Song Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, Purple Finches, Cardinals, Evening Grosbeaks, and many more.
Feeders add layers of meaning to the world outside the warmth of our homes. But
in this internet age, we are not limited by geography. The magic of the webcam allows us to enter the lives of creatures far-removed from us.
Each year, my spring is marked by the return of the
Hamilton Peregrine Falcons to a ledge on the Sheraton Connaught. Madame X has raised a family here every year for 14 years, and her mate Surge replaced another male in 2006, and has been there ever since. I have been following these birds since 2004 when I stayed at the hotel and found out about the project.
This is not a video feed; instead, the still images from two cameras refresh every 10 seconds. For some reason I prefer this to video cams; one advantage is that if you miss something, you can go back into the archive to find out what happened at any time on any day. I also like the sensible commentary from the Hamilton Falconwatch group that always provides timely information but never intrudes.
When Madame X laid her first egg on April 5, I was thrilled – I had checked the site early in the morning and noticed she was moving around a lot. I refreshed my browser mid-morning and clearly saw an egg under her. But when she flew off and the egg was left exposed for long periods of time that day, I started to worry. Fortunately Falconwatch stepped in with information. "As is normal for the first eggs in a clutch, the adults will spend significant time away from the nest during the day, so that the eggs are slightly cooler, develop at a slower rate, and will likely hatch at the same time as the eggs laid later in the week." Worries allayed.
Normally there are three or four eggs, and things get really exciting after they hatch in June. There's nothing more heartbreakingly ungainly than a fluffy white peregrine chick, nothing more beautiful than the sleek blue-grey adult we watch them grow into.
Here's the June 25 entry from my journal last year, when there were just two hatchlings, spaced well apart:
Peregrines very sweet. The oldest, Laura, is getting her wing feathers, the younger, Brock, is growing apace – the difference in size means you can immediately distinguish them, which makes the watching interesting. Two siblings, older and younger, so much can be read into the relationship. It's 9:25 pm and they're being fed. It's interesting to see how the one waits and watches while the other gets a turn, and then eagerly reaches forward when the food comes its way. Same good manners this morning when I checked in on them. Oops, it's over, 9:28, the parent has gone, no scraps left on the ledge, two chicks hopefully replete for the night.They fledged in July last year, and it used to be that once they left the nest the show was over - but the beauty of the Hamilton site is that they have upgraded their cameras and can now follow the birds off the ledge as long are they are in the vicinity. It was wonderful to see how the siblings' relationship continued after they learned to fly.
I think understanding and tolerance increases as technology allows us to learn ever more about animals. I wish that we could have a camera in a Black Bear den so we could all learn more about the relationships of that species.
I did some research when the resumption of the spring bear hunt was proposed and became convinced that it is not an effective way of achieving its stated goal of reducing human-bear interactions. Jim Johnston, who runs a Bear Wise program in Elliot Lake, and Mike McIntosh, who operates
Bear With Us, a Black Bear rehabilitation centre between Huntsville and Parry Sound, were among those who provided me with information. I wrote to the Toronto Star about my conclusions. I wasn't the only one, here's a
link to the page. It is very disappointing that the hunt is going ahead because there will be orphaned cubs this spring. They are born in January and typically stay with their mother for two years.
Yesterday, I checked in on the Hamilton peregrines to find that the pair were on the scrape (nest) most of the time, doing regular exchanges to allow for respite. Snow was not settling there, although it looked quite sleety at times. There are two eggs now, no news of another. Madame X is getting old, perhaps we will not see a full four-member brood again.
Looking out this morning, still reeling from the shock of reading minus 20 on my thermometer, it's strange to remember how, until yesterday, the past week has been a pleasant progression into spring. The pots of seeds that went into a snow bank in February for their cold treatment were finally released from an icy grip a week ago, later than I would have liked. I've bought some inside and the Butterfly Weed has germinated already and gone under lights.
Elsewhere, the Blue Flag Iris at the edge of the pond was off to a flying start with sword-like green shoots headed up out of the water. Some non-native bulbs – snowdrops, crocus and Iris reticulata - burst into bloom. This weather is not a setback for them. Already the Iris reticulata is popping its head above the snow. The petals, frozen solid this morning, have now relaxed and are back to their pre-storm beauty. We're headed back in the right direction - plus 20 predicted for Sunday.
