Photo by T. Hache
Immature Female Hairy Woodpecker

I can't get over the number of bear sightings I'm hearing about in town this week.  Whatever you do, DO NOT feed your pets outside!!  And please use the bear garbage bins that are all over town (for kitchen waste ONLY), if you cannot secure your garbage at home.  Otherwise, you are just inviting bears to dinner. 
Single bears of all sizes, mother bears with one or two cubs at a time ... they seem to be everywhere.  Sightings have been at the golf course and in most neighbourhoods around town.  I heard a rumor about a possible attack of a bear going after a dog recently but have been unable to get confirmation of this.  It's getting to the point where people cannot let their kids outside to play in their own yards because the bears are coming around so often during the day. 

Please keep in mind:  Bears are omnivores.  They will eat anything ... vegetable matter, meat, garbage ... whatever they can get, especially at this time of year when their natural food sources are  depleted and hibernation is just around the corner.  It appears that we have had a complete failure of the wild blueberry crop in this region this year.  That is the bear's normal food source at this time of year, to help them fatten up for hibernation.  Without the berries, they are coming into town more and more, looking for food.

PLEASE BE CAREFUL AROUND TOWN AND REPORT ALL BEAR SIGHTINGS.  WATCH YOUR CHILDREN AND PETS WHEN OUTSIDE.  Please call the Bear Wise Hotline at 1-866-514-2327 to immediately report any sightings in town.  If there is imminent danger or a bear emergency, feel free to call 911.

The Hummingbirds are feeding even more heavily this week.  The level of nectar in my big feeder actually went down significantly, about 2 ½ inches, for the first time.  Migration is in full swing for them so they need to really bulk up.  Despite its tiny size, the ruby-throated hummingbird migrates more than 1,850 miles from the eastern United States (even further from Northern Canada), crossing 600 miles of the Gulf of Mexico, to spend the winter in Central America.  Before migrating, the ruby-throated hummingbird stores a layer of fat equal to half its body weight.  Impressive for such little tiny birds!  Keep your feeders full and fresh (Remember: 1 part regular white sugar to 4 parts water), especially now that many nectar bearing flowers are dying off for the season.  Hummingbirds will continue to migrate through this area until possibly early October.

I've been getting reports of Sandhill Crane sightings this week.
Two sightings in different areas have reported seeing 4 Cranes at a time each (thank you, Maggie and Marlene!).  One sighting noted a definite size difference in the 4 Cranes (2 larger and 2 smaller), a sign that that group in particular was this year's family.  The other sighting didn't see any size difference among the 4 so they may have just been a group traveling together.  I've seen the resident pair of Sandhill Cranes in the airport field recently but no sign of any youngsters with them.  Has anyone seen them throughout the summer?  What about on the golf course, where there is usually a residential pair?

I saw my first ever immature Blue Jay today.  It wasn't on the platform feeder in the backyard ... I happened to see it fly over my driveway.  What a neat looking critter that is!  Blue Jays are calling more and more now too.  No sign of Gray Jays anywhere in my neighbourhood.  Is anyone else seeing them around town yet? 
Other birds in the yard this week:  Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Black Capped Chickadee, Red Breasted Nuthatch, Chipping Sparrows, White Throated Sparrows (adults and immatures), Purple Finches (mainly immatures), Grackles, Starlings, Ruby Throated Hummingbirds, Crows, Pine Siskins, Evening Grosbeaks, American Goldfinches and Cedar Waxwings.  Considering I have no feeders out (I only put a scoop of seed on the platform feeder during the day in the summer), this is pretty good!  A lot of plants have gone to seed now and that's what they are after.
Please note that my new photo greeting cards and post cards are for sale at The Echo.  Prints up to 8x10 are available also ... call or email me for details.
Happy Sightings!
tammie@theecho.ca   
826-4561

 

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