Do you know this bird?
Every year around this time there are inquiries about an unfamiliar brown bird showing up in the back garden. Even people experienced with birdwatching are sometimes stumped momentarily. The brown birds are often with the all too familiar starling. They resemble the starlings in size but their smooth brown plumage is unlike the dark glossy blackish starling. What is this bird?
Every year around this time there are inquiries about an unfamiliar brown bird showing up in the back garden. Even people experienced with birdwatching are sometimes stumped momentarily. The brown birds are often with the all too familiar starling. They resemble the starlings in size but their smooth brown plumage is unlike the dark glossy blackish starling. What is this bird?
The answer is a juvenile starling! Yes, it is every bit as much of a starling as the birds beside it. The only difference is the smooth fawn-brown colour of the young starlings. They look this way until late summer when they start to acquire the dark glossy plumage of the adult. By September and October you cannot tell the difference between the young birds of the year and the adults. The juveniles have the summer to earn their glossy black coats. The adults they flock with are their survival teachers. The adults and young gather in small groups or large flocks and feed together. All the young have to do is watch how the adults to see how it is done.
Summer is a time of plenty for the young starlings to learn. Starlings specialize in cleaning lawns of grubs and other pests that live unseen beneath our feet. They also attack and devour spanworms and other insects living in our trees. Starlings are experts at living in the urban setting. Part of a young starling’s learning is acquiring street smarts. No matter how busy our streets the starling will not pass up an opportunity to pick up a stranded earthworm or injured insect lying on the pavement. They have quick reflexes and can launch themselves at a steep angle from the ground. Very rarely does a starling make a fatal mistake while playing in traffic.
The young starlings have a gruff harsh sound different from the musical squawks of the adult. Once you recognize it you will hear it all around. For now you can take up the challenge of picking out the young starlings from the adults in the flock grovelling about your lawn. Impress your friends!
Frounce is back
Unfortunately the parasite frounce has come back to life on the island of Newfoundland. In the last week it has suddenly shown up at least five bird feeders from Corner Brook to Clarenville. This parasite affects birds only. When it appears it is usually at bird feeders. Last summer was the first time we saw it in Newfoundland. The tiny parasite lives in a bird’s throat causing an infection making swallowing difficult and eventually impossible. Visible symptoms are a white sticky substance around the mouth, wet feathers around the head and the bird being generally lethargic. The sneaky little parasite knows that when the bird tries to clear the build-up of mucus in the throat it leaves infected mucus in the area where other birds are feeding thus spreading the parasite to new hosts.
It is strongly recommended that we stop feeding birds for the summer. This will greatly slow down the spread of the frounce parasite and save the lives of finches and other feeder birds. Finches are most prone to contracting the parasite because of their habit of feeding in flocks, but juncos and sparrows are also vulnerable. Last year, with advice from the provincial veterinary, it was unanimously decided to stop feeding birds for the summer and wait until the first prolonged freeze in the fall before putting up feeders again. The parasite cannot stand freezing temperatures. Though apparently some of the frounce parasite survived through the winter for it to start
up again in the summer or perhaps new birds brought it from the mainland. We do not know all the answers. It is also a good idea to wash and disinfect your feeders with bleach. It is also advisable to rake up any seed on the ground and put in plastic bags to dispose of with your weekly trash. Last summer frounce was known in Newfoundland from late July and
through August but there were no reports from September 2016 to June 2017. We can keep this parasite under control with everyone’s help. The birds of course can look after themselves in the summer. On a positive note there is a very good outlook for finches this fall and winter. A significant crop of cones is developing on the balsam fir and white spruce trees. This means there will be lots of wild finch food fall and winter.
Meanwhile there are other aspects of bird watching to entertain us. We are on the edge of our seats waiting to hear about the caplin. Rumours have caplin reaching parts of the Burin Peninsula, but nothing yet on the Avalon Peninsula. Lots of caplin means good seabirding from land. The humpback whales are at St. Vincent’s waiting. They know the caplin are coming.
It is strongly recommended that we stop feeding birds for the summer. This will greatly slow down the spread of the frounce parasite and save the lives of finches and other feeder birds. Finches are most prone to contracting the parasite because of their habit of feeding in flocks, but juncos and sparrows are also vulnerable.