Birds of Vernon and the North Okanagan - Birds around Feeders by Chris Siddle (8 October 2016).
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| Male breeding plumaged American Goldfinch |
Mallard – The quintessential park duck may drop in,
especially if you have a swimming pool and scatter feed around, or if you live
next to a lake.
California Quail – A charming addition to any backyard
unless you’re worried about your flowerbeds, for quail do like to dig dusting
holes. Try putting plastic or cloth on the exposed earth around your favourite
plants.
Ring-necked Pheasant – If you live near orchards, fields with a brushy edge or a marsh
pheasants may visit especially in harsh winter weather. Originally imported
from England and China, the first pheasants, native to Asia, were introduced to
Osoyoos in 1911 and by 1942 had become common in the North Okanagan. Presently
numbers are much restricted by human development.
Great Blue Heron – Only if you have a pond with fish. Since
the mid 1980’s Vernon’s herons have been locally well known for nesting in a
tiny stand of cottonwoods along 24 Street north of 48 Avenue. As adult birds
fly over the city heading to fishing grounds at Swan, Goose, Okanagan and
Kalamalka lakes, they are quick to notice ponds along their routes. Netting over the pond will keep them away.
Turkey Vulture – If you’re partial to sun-bathing for long
periods of time, a Turkey Vulture may fly over but not to worry, the Turkey
Vulture depends upon its keen sense of smell to detect carrion worth
investigating closely, so unless you have a serious personal hygiene problem
you’re probably safe. Doesn’t take living prey.
Sharp-shinned Hawk – There are three accipiters – “bird
hawks” – in North America that have evolved to ambush other birds by picking
them off even around thick brush. The Sharp-shin is the smallest of the three
and specializes in hunting sparrow-sized birds not only around open edges but
even in thickets and woodlands. When they are immature, Sharp-shins, like their
two relatives, the crow-sized Cooper’s Hawk and the even larger Northern
Goshawk, have yellow eyes that seem to pierce right through the observer. As
they mature , accipiters eyes turn ruby red, appropriate for a born killer.
Frequent in Vernon backyards.
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| Sharp-shinned Hawk |
Cooper’s Hawk – The medium-sized accipiter (see above) that
can catch birds are large as California Quail. Frequent in Vernon backyards.
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| A Cooper's Hawk carefully watches the yard. |
Red-tailed Hawk – This is the large, bulky hawk seen around
fields and on fence and utility poles around the North Okanagan. Although it is
much more common that either the Sharp-shinned or the Cooper’s hawk, the
Red-tailed Hawk is shy of people on foot and rarely visits normal sized
backyards. It will take other birds but most of its diet consists of voles and
mice.
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| Red-tailed Hawk |
Rock Pigeon – This is the common street pigeon of big
cities. Feral, the Rock Pigeon (formerly Rock Dove) may drop into urban
feeders.
Eurasian Collared Dove – This native of the Old World was
introduced to Bermuda in the 1970s and has since explosively expanded its range across
the United States and southern Canada. It is currently increasing by leaps and
bounds across the North Okanagan and is liable to turn up anywhere.
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| Eurasian Collared Dove - the latest alien avian invader. |
Mourning Dove – Our native dove most common in summer but
small numbers winter locally. Note the long, pointed tail which easily distinguishes the Mourning Dove from the slightly bigger Eurasian Collared Doves. Named for the sad quality of its "song".
Northern Pygmy-Owl – This tiny owl can be recognized by its
round shape and long, stiff tail jutting out from its body at a 45 degree
angle. Most common in small numbers in winter, the diurnal Northern Pygmy-Owl
will prey upon birds as well as rodents attracted to feeders.
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| Northern Pygmy Owl with prey (House Sparrow) |
Black-chinned Hummingbird – In good light the male show a
narrow electric blue band at the base of his black throat. Breeding summer
visitor from mid May to mid August.
Anna’s Hummingbird – Every now and then one hears of a
hummingbird frequenting a feeder during fall or winter. This is the Anna’s
Hummingbird, a year-round resident in Vancouver and Victoria that is currently
trying to establish populations in the Okanagan. When one shows up at a feeder,
it becomes dependent upon humans to keep the sugar water solution above freezing.
Rufous Hummingbird – This, and the next species, are the two
most common hummingbird. Males are light brown with throats that can show
orange, red or even black under certain light conditions. Males will
vigourously defend all feeders within its line of sight against other
hummingbirds. Late April to early September.
Calliope Hummingbird – The smallest bird in Canada, the male
Calliope has a gorget (showy throat feathers) of purple lines.
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| A male Calliope Hummingbird guards his territory near Goose Lake. |
Red-naped Sapsucker – This woodpecker pecks tiny circular holes
in the bark of trees, often birches, and laps the leaking sap with a specially
adapted brushy tongue. Most trees survive a sapsucker’s visits. Summer resident
from mid April – mid Sept.
Downy Woodpecker – A common visitor to suet feeders, though
most people seldom get more than one or two visiting at any one time.
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| Downy Woodpecker |
Hairy Woodpecker – A larger version of the Downy Woodpecker,
the Hairy is found in heavily wooded areas but in severe weather will visit
feeders in open locations.
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| Hairy Woodpecker |
Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker – One of the most common
birds in the Okanagan, the flicker sometimes taps on your siding and if you’re
really unlucky, will drill a hole through the outer wall. Fortunately it much
prefers to nest in snags. Woodpeckers don’t sing to advertise their territory;
they peck out a rapid series of beats against any resonating surface. This is
called drumming.
Merlin – A small falcon that often eats songbirds, the
Merlin has adapted to using old crow nests in suburban areas like cemeteries.
If a tiny bird zooms through your yard like a miniature jet fighter after the
birds at your feeder, you’ve probably just been visited by a Merlin.
Steller’s Jay – Our provincial bird, often mislabeled the
Blue Jay, the Steller’s Jay is deep blue with a black head and white eyebrows.
It’s call is a loud shucka-shucka-shunka. Resident in small numbers. Quite
local: occurs in some areas but not others.
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| Steller's Jay |
Black-billed Magpie – A very familiar resident.
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| Black-billed Magpie |
Black-capped Chickadee – A very popular bird. the chickadee
is a common feeder bird, preferring sunflower seeds and suet.
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| The familiar Black-capped Chickadee. |
Mountain Chickadee – Very much like the Black-capped, but
has a narrow white eyebrow and a rougher voice. Prefers Ponderosa Pine and
Douglas-fir dominated woodlands compared to the Black-caps preference for
deciduous and mixed woods.
Red-breasted Nuthatch – A common feeder bird, the nuthatch
habitually hides sunflower seeds wherever it can find a crack or crevice in
bark or even in conifer cones.
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| Red-breasted Nuthatch |
White-breasted Nuthatch – If you live among Ponderosa Pines,
you might find this larger nuthatch though it is the least common of the North
Okanagan’s three nuthatches.
Pygmy Nuthatch – The smallest of the nuthatches, the Pygmy
has a brown crown instead of black, and is strongly associated with Ponderosa
Pines and adjacent cottonwoods.
European Starling – If you put out suet in winter it won’t
be long before a starling samples it. However, unless the weather is
particularly harsh, starlings prefer to find their own food.
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| European Starling feeds its chicks. |
Bohemian Waxwing – These are the sleek brown-gray crested
birds that seek out Mt. Ash trees for their berries in winter and are a common
sight in dense flocks around Vernon.
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| A Bohemian Waxwing feeding on Mountain Ash berries. |
Spotted Towhee – The male is a rather showy large sparrow
with black upperparts, rufous sides and a white belly. Most frequent at feeders
in April-May and Sept.-Oct. with a few overwintering around the valley bottom.
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| Male Spotted Towhee |
Chipping Sparrow – a slim and delicate sparrow with a
chestnut cap and a dark line through the eye, the Chipping Sparrow likes to
nest in coniferous trees and bushes in our yards.
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| Adult Chipping Sparrow looks a little worn after raising 4-5 nesting. |
Song Sparrow – A dark brown or rusty brown sparrow common in
singles or doubles at many a North Okanagan feeder. Has a characteristic hollow
sounding call note and in flight appears to pump its tail. Resident, increasing
in numbers in numbers in winter.
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| Song Sparrow |
Lincoln’s Sparrow – A slightly smaller, more delicate
relative of the Song Sparrow, Lincoln’s Sparrows appear on migration most
frequently during September.
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| Lincoln's Sparrow |
White-throated Sparrow – Formerly quite a rare transient and
winter resident, the White-throat has become quite a frequent visitor from late
September through early October. Occasionally one overwinters.
Harris’s Sparrow – A rare transient or winter visitor
usually seen in immature plumage. Do not confuse the adult with the much more
common male House Sparrow.
White-crowned Sparrow – in late April and earliest May
White-crowned Sparrows with their characteristics black and white striped
crowns can be abundant. Re-appearing in September, the black and white crowned
adult are not as common as brown and white crowned immatures. A few overwinter
in favoured locations.
Golden-crowned Sparrow – A rare spring and autumn transient,
usually found among White-crowned Sparrows.
Dark-eyed Junco – Once known as the Oregon Junco, most adult
male Dark-eyed Juncos wear a black hood , have a brown back and the flashing white
outer tail feathers. A few males are dark gray instead of black-hooded. These belong
to a slightly different subspecies, and in the past were called Slate-coloured
Juncos. Juncos start to appear in the valley bottom in late September and overwinter
commonly. As spring advances, our local Oregons head into the surrounding mountain forests to nest.
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| Female Dark-eyed Junco - males have black hoods |
Red-winged Blackbird – Liable to visit as individuals at any
time of year, Red-winged Blackbirds most often visit in force during harsh
winter weather. Female, which are smaller and much more sparrow-like in plumage
pattern, are east to spot among the black or blackish males.
Yellow-headed Blackbird – Sometimes in unusually bad weather
during early spring the occasional Yellow-headed Blackbird may show up among
the Red-winged Blackbirds.
Brewer’s Blackbird – The male is the shiny blackbird with
the white eye. The female is brown with a dark eye. These blackbirds favour
certain sites, like roadside cedar hedges, and if a feeder happens to be in the
neighbourhood, they will be regular customers throughout the breeding season.
Winters but only locally at feedlots.
Pine Grosbeak – A quiet fairly drab plump winter visitor.
Usually found in small flocks and often favours berries and fruit over seed.
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| A Pine Grosbeak feeds on minerals in de-icing mix on a Silver Star Mountain driveway. |
House Finch – The common light brown and white finch with
the red on the face and breast. Some variants can be orange-fronted. Females
and immatures lack the colour. Resident. In winter, occurs in flocks.
Cassin’s Finch – A local, erratically occurring and uncommon
summer resident and sometimes winter resident of the Ponderosa Pines,
Douglas-firs and mountain forests below the subalpine region.
Red Crossbill – Usually, but not always, a rare visitor to
feeders, preferring seeds of spruce, pine and other conifer species which it
extracts, clambering about the tree like a little parrot, using its crossed
mandible to draw the seed from between the scales of the cone.
Common Redpoll – A winter visitor, rare some years and
common others.
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| A Common Redpoll feeds on seedheads in our garden. |
Pine Siskin – Another common finch that travels in flocks
and can visit any feeder at any time. Golden flashes in the wings identify the
males from the rather plain brown stripy females.
American Goldfinch – During spring and summer this is the
familiar “wild canary”, the male a bright yellow with jaunty little black cap
on his forehead and black and white wings. The female is a soft gray-green and
white with similarly patterned wings. From mid August until next spring the
males resemble the females, losing their yellow feathers except around the
face. Goldfinches love water. They may be one of the first birds to investigate
a bird bath and will drink there several times a day.
Evening Grosbeak – During the 1970s and 1980s this yellow
and black finch with the big pale conical bill was quite common but has since
declined significantly. Only a few bird feeders will be visited by the Evening
Grosbeak in its hunt for sunflower seeds. However, once a flock establishes
itself at a feeder, it may become resident for months at a time.
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| Male Evening Grosbeak. |
House (English) Sparrow – Introduced into the United States
in the mid 1800s, this member of the Old World Weaver Finch family took about
50 years to spread from New York City reaching Vernon in 1909. It was much more
abundant in the days of horse and wagon and the family farm. Since then, the
House Sparrow makes its home in urban settings and around farm yards.
References -
Campbell, R. Wayne, Neil K. Dawe, Ian McTaggart-Cowan, John M. Cooper, Gary W. Kaiser, Michael C.E. McNall. 1990. The Birds of British Columbia - Volume Two: Nonpasserines - Diurnal Birds of Prey through Woodpecker. Canadian Wildlife Service, Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, B.C.
Cannings, Robert A., Richard J. Cannings, and Sydney G. Cannings. 1987. Birds of the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia. Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, B.C.
Terres, John K. Songbirds in Your Garden, 5th edition. 1994. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, P.O. Box 225, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
