American Redstart

There are a ton of American Redstarts in the park this year, and can be seen (or at least heard) in most of the wooded areas.

The males are mostly black with bright orange on their sides, wings, and tail. The females and juveniles are more grey with the orange sometimes looking more yellow. 

Theses insectivores (bug eaters) have a neat way of catching their food. They flash their bright wings and tails which 'startles' the insect giving the bird a chance to grab it. 

To learn more about these guys visit here. 

Downy Woodpecker

Hello Everyone!

This makes the first blog post of the season and to start off I have a great video of a Downy Woodpecker going at a Basket Willow, right here in the Waterfowl Park. To watch, click here.

Due to their tiny size compared to other woodpeckers, they have a special niche in terms of where they gather bugs - goldenrod! They're small enough to grab onto the stem and hammer away until they reach the bug larvae inside.

To learn more about these Goldenrod Grub Grabbers, visit here.

Black-capped Chickadee

The Black-capped Chickadee is a small year-round resident of the Park. Small songbirds migrating into unfamiliar places will sometimes associate with Chickadee flocks. Because of this, a birder might listen and watch for chickadees which could alert them to the presence of other unusual migrants. The Black-capped Chickadee itself does not migrate but sometimes travels long distances. 

For more information on the Black-capped Chickadee, click here!

Red-Eyed Vireos

These songbirds are in the height of their breeding season, and can be very easily seen around the forested areas of the park. The Red-Eyed Vireo is recognizable by the black stripe across it's eye, and of course, it's red eye if it is visible with the lighting. This vireo has a huge selection of songs (over 12,500 different versions have been recorded), making them sometimes hard to identify by call.

For more information, click here.

Double-crested Cormorant

This recent addition to our Park can be found on both coasts and inland areas. They are fishing birds. These large birds can often be seen standing in the sun with spread out wings. This is because, unlike many other diving birds, they have less preen oil on their feathers, so, standing with their wings spread after swimming helps to dry them off. Having less oil helps them with their underwater hunting. This cormorant has been known to live up to 22 years old.

For more information, click here.

More Shorebirds!

As a follow up to my last post about shorebirds, here's a video if that same group and the noises they make.

Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs

As we get into the height of shorebirds season in the maritimes, the park has seen a huge increase in the number of Sandpipers and Yellowlegs. These pictures feature both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, the most notable difference between the two being the call and size