Bohemian and Cedar Waxwings

The Waxwings Have Come

Bohemian Waxwing

We have a lot of fruit on trees and shrubs this winter in some parts of New Brunswick.  There were not a lot of finches and waxwings seen over the Christmas Count period (Dec 14 to Jan 5).  In years of plentiful fruit on apple, mountain ash, cranberry, etc. trees in winter we expect these birds to come and feast.  And, they have come in some parts of the province.  

Waxwings are usually seen in flocks (sometimes in the 100s) feeding on fruit.  They are voracious fruit eaters, feeding mainly on dried fruit in winter.  In Spring they will also eat flower parts (petals, etc.).  It is a delight to see a flock feasting on mountain ash berries, for example.  They are so busy eating that they pay little attention to us humans who are watching from the sidelines.  Their voice is a high-pitched zee so these flocks make beautiful music as they feed.

Waxwings are easy to spot.  They have a pointed crest and are about the size of a starling.  They have the unique feature of a waxy protrusion from their secondary wing feathers which gives them their name.  This is a beautiful scarlet colour.

We have 2 species of waxwings, the Bohemian Waxwing and the Cedar Waxwing.  The Bohemian is 21 cm long and the Cedar is 18 cm.  Seen above is the Bohemian Waxwing.  It is a little larger than the Cedar Waxwing and is more greyish overall in appearance.  They can be distinguished from the Cedar Waxwing by the cinnamon brown colour under their tail.  The Cedar Waxwing as seen below has yellow on its breast and white under its tail.

Cedar Waxwing [Internet Photo]

The waxwings nest later than any of our other songbirds.  Since they feed their young fruit, they time the hatching of their young with the ripening of our seasonal fruit.  When you see them busy gathering fruit and flower parts in late summer, they are feeding their young.

Bohemian Waxwings Feeding on Fallen Fruit

Bohemian Waxwings are only here in winter (not all winters).  They breed from northern Ontario to Alaska so they are gone in summer from NB.  They get their name from the wide-ranging wandering flocks.  We are fortunate to have them arrive here most winters.

Cedar Waxwing in Summer

The Cedar Waxwings are regulars here.  They breed here in summer and are abundant.  It is unusual, however, to have them here in winter.  Recently there has been a large flock of waxwings feeding on berries at the University campus in Moncton and with them is a large number of Cedar Waxwings.  I wonder if that is because of our mild winter.  I hope so.  

Snowy Owl

Snowy Owls Gather Along East Coast 

Snowy Owl

In winter we are sometimes blessed with the incursion of Snowy Owls.  This has been one of those winters.  There have been reports of many sightings of Snowy Owls along our east coast with reports from Miscou to Cape Tormentine.  They are sometimes seen inland as well but not as often as along the coast.

Why is that?  The Snowy Owl likes open habitat near water.  That is what they find along the east coast.  They feed on sea ducks, rodents, and other birds.  They perch on fence posts, buildings and other solid areas, watching for movement of possible prey.  They then fly down and snatch the unsuspecting rodent or they pluck the duck off the water.  They do not perch in trees.  

Snowy Owl

The Snowy Owl is a large bird, 50 to 68 cm long (20 to 27 in) and with a wingspan of 137 to 167 cm (54 to 66 in).  It weighs about 1814 g (64 oz).  Many people believe that the darker, heavily marked birds are juveniles but research shows that that is not true.  It is unreliable to try to age or sex these birds by plumage.  Many birds come south year after year and some are actually older birds.

Snowy Owls often choose airports for their winter habitat.  That is because airports are open and similar to their habitat in the north.  That can be dangerous for collisions with aircraft.  These birds are usually trapped and successfully relocated.  

Snowy Owls appear reasonably tame because they are not accustomed to humans in the far north.  They are diurnal (they hunt during the day) and thus are easily seen and approached by humans.  Approaching closer than 50 metres is stressful for the birds.  We need to be ethical birders and protect them by educating people to stay well back and watch only from a distance.  Photographers especially need to keep this in mind! 

Snowy Owl

Snow Owls breed in the summer in our far north, Baffin Island and the other islands farther north.  Their distribution, however, is circumpolar.  In the north they feed on lemmings and voles.  They nest on the ground and lay 3 to 11 white eggs.  In years of high rodent populations, nesting is more successful.

Snowy owls are one of our many beautiful birds.

Rare Woodpecker Seen on Christmas Count

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Red-bellied Woodpecker

It is always interesting when we find a rare species on the annual Christmas Bird Count.  Such was the case on the Mactaquac Count.  At one home where there are a lot of active feeders we found a Red-bellied Woodpecker.  There are a few reports of this species in the province this winter but not many.  We have had a few in past years but certainly one cannot count on seeing this species in any year.

The Red-bellied Woodpecker is a large woodpecker (22-26 cm long), slightly larger than our Hairy Woodpecker.  It is striking in appearance with red on the top of its head and down the back of its neck.  The black-and-white pattern on its back and wings is eye-catching.  The belly is white and sometimes beige in colour.  It is striking as it feeds on suet, peanut butter, and sunflower seeds  in and around your feeders.  If you are lucky enough to have one coming to your yard, you will enjoy it.  

Red-bellied Woodpecker

The range of this woodpecker is normally in the eastern US with a little overlapping just across the border into Canada from the prairie provinces, Ontario, Quebec, and into the Maritimes.  In summer it prefers open swampy woodlands but often moves to feeders in winter.  It vocalizes often with a 'chur-chur'.  

Red-bellied Woodpecker

There is a difference between the male and female of this species.  The male has the red all the way over the top of his head to the beak.  In the female the red colour stops before the beak showing a white patch between the eyes and down to the beak.  The individual at the top of this post is a female (with a bit of blush on its face); the rest are males.

The big question about this species is, 'why is it called  red 'bellied' when the red is on the head?  Well, the reason is that when they were naming the woodpeckers, we have an obviously red-headed woodpecker, another species with a completely red head.  The red-bellied actually has a red belly at some seasons.  This is evident in the photo above showing a red-bellied with a red blush over the breast; not all red but a red blush, which accounts for the name.  

I hope you are fortunate enough to see this species this winter.

Mactaquac Christmas Bird Count

Mactaquac Count 1 January 2016

Eleven capable birders braved the winter weather and spent New Years Day surveying the bird population of the Mactaquac area.  The 24-km circle covers the area from Keswick to Granite Hill and French Village to above Kings Landing. 

Thank you to the many loyal people who feed birds in the area for keeping their feeders well stocked.  Also thank you for allowing us to come into your farms and dooryards to tally the birds present.

We had just over 1000 more birds than last year and one species less.  Finch numbers were low in spite of the large amount of fruit and cones present.  It may mean that we will have a finch invasion later this winter.  There were few raptors and the waterfowl numbers were low.  That could be because there was so much open water below the dam on which they could disperse.  

The two most interesting birds seen (for me) were the Red-bellied Woodpecker and the Northern Saw-whet.  The Red-bellied was at a feeder in Mactaquac and the Saw-whet was seen in the Upper Kingclear area.

		Mactaquac Christmas Bird Count			2015
Jan. 1, 2016			Compiler Beverley Schneider
Species	Zone 1	Zone 2	Zone 3	Zone 4	Zone 5	Zone 6	Total
Am Black Duck	30					4	34
Mallard				7			7
Common Goldeneye	22					9	31
Barrow's Goldeneye					1		1
Common Merganser	10					17	27
Common Loon						1	1
Cooper’s Hawk						1	1
Bald Eagle	3		1	1	1	9	15
Herring Gull	4					3	7
Great Black-backed Gull	1					11	12
Rock Pigeon	5	31		162	8	11	217
Mourning Dove	22		20	26	2	9	79
Northern Saw-whet Owl			1				1
Downy Woodpecker	1	1	5	10		1	18
Hairy Woodpecker			5	7		2	14
Pileated Woodpecker			3		1		4
Red-bellied Woodpecker				1			1
Gray Jay			1		1		2
Blue Jay	7	5	16	24	9	10	71
American Crow	20	13	20	25	102	21	201
Common Raven	3	6	6	13	6	4	38
Black-capped Chickadee	14	15	56	60	10	57	212
Red-breasted Nuthatch	3		27	14	1	5	50
White-breasted Nuthatch			4			4	8
Brown Creeper			1				1
European Starling	5		58	32	107	27	229
American Tree Sparrow			1	12	39	15	67
Song Sparrow	4			2	1		7
White-throated Sparrow				1			1
Dark-eyed Junco	15	6	11	53	7	18	110
Northern Cardinal	2						2
Snow Bunting	7			11			18
Purple Finch			4				4
White-winged Crossbill			1				1
Common Redpoll					10		10
Pine Siskin		17			50		67
American Goldfinch	24	7	48	57		40	176
Evening Grosbeak			2				2
					Total birds		1747
					No. species		38