A dreary month for birdwatchers
April has been one dreary month. There is no escaping this time on a charter flight to a sunny and warm destination. All of us have to sit the spring out in Newfoundland. The persistent northeast and east winds of April have slowed spring bird migration to a near standstill.
The birdwatchers are getting crazy for some novelty. After all, that is what spring is famous for, a parade of new birds returning from the south. In the hard times it is little things that you see in birds that keeps us going.
ALL EYES ON THE FEEDER
Everyone who has a bird feeder gets to know some of their birds individually.
At my house in the Waterford Valley of St. John’s we felt privileged to have a male downy woodpecker daily at the suet all winter. The males sport a red patch on the nape.
Downy woodpeckers are scarce on the Avalon Peninsula compared to the rest of the island. They are most common in the birch forests of central and western Newfoundland. They occur north into the birch woods of Labrador, especially the Churchill River valley.
Two weeks ago I was surprised to see a female downy woodpecker at the suet.
Where did that come from I wondered? Wherever it had been I do not think it had a chance to enjoy homemade peanut butter suet like that available at my feeder. It dug right into to it like there was no tomorrow for the first few days.
What would the male downy woodpecker do when it discovered another woodpecker on its private suet stock? Since it was spring we hoped it would be a happy event for the male to meet a female.
WOODPECKERS MEET
The first meeting witnessed seemed a little hostile as they chased one another around in the branches. For days afterwards they visited the feeder individually, never both present at the same time. Had they rejected each other?
Finally they were seen together in a backyard maple again. Each was excited and raised the feathers on their crown and held out quivering wings. Exaggerated body movements indicated to me that they were dancing and were now interested in each other. Happiness all around.
The suet block was running low. Usually I let it run out over the spring and replenish it in late October. But with Mrs. downy woodpecker in our midst I made up a fresh batch.
The female might like that extra protein in the peanutbutter-rich mix when it comes to egg laying time.
I am jumping the gun.
It will be mid-may before downy woodpeckers dig out a nest hole somewhere in the neighbourhood.
Meanwhile we continue to keep daily tabs on the activities of our special pair of woodpeckers. Hopefully we will see some new young downy woodpeckers over the summer.
WATCHING WEATHER
Birders watch the weather charts daily in springtime. Some famous fallouts of Icelandic shorebirds have occurred in eastern Newfoundland during the month of April because of transatlantic northeast winds.
With all the easterly winds you might think we would be enjoying European bird visitors on the Newfoundland east coast.
However, there was too much east in the wind.
Ideally we need northeast winds coming in from Ireland and Iceland. There are large numbers of shorebirds and waterfowl that spend the winter in Ireland and fly to Iceland in the spring to nest.
It is these birds leaving Ireland for Iceland in spring that we hope to see diverted to Newfoundland by northeast winds. Just a slight detour for the birds.
While here they enjoy celebrity status they never had in Ireland or Iceland! There is still time for this to happen over the next few weeks.
EXOTIC BIRD
The Avalon Peninsula did receive one exotic shorebird called the ruff. It is a Eurasian species but a small numbers visit North America each year by their own choice.
It is unknown what or if any part the east winds played in getting this bird to Third Pond in Goulds. Perry Howlett posted a picture of this unfamiliar bird on Facebook. It was recognized by the birding group as the rare ruff. Unfortunately it did not stay long.
With sunnier weather and west winds in the long range forecast we can expect migration to get back on track.
There is a truck load of new species due to arrive in late April. The first ospreys should be reported by the weekend while you read your copy of this column.
Greater yellowlegs, a familiar sight about the shoreline and inland ponds throughout Newfoundland and Labrador will start arriving on the weekend as well. I am looking forward to hearing the haunting sound of winnowing snipe very soon.
Great blue herons are already arriving in the Codroy Valley.
There is lots of promise ahead. Let’s get the ball rolling.