NatureWILD Magazine for Young Naturalists in British Columbia
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Volume 15 Issue 1 2014
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The Marbled Murrelet
THE jALL-BIRD ISSUE
The Gull and the Mussels Odd-Bod Birds
A Black-capped Chickadee. Photo by Mark Belko.
It’s a NIGHTHAWK!
Feathers
www.ync.ca
“Young Naturalists Observe and Conserve”
Inside...
3 Odd-bod birds 4 NIGHTHAWK! 6 Friend to Birds 7 Decode the bird 8 Feathers 10 Marbled
Murrelet
12 Gull and Mussels 14 Ask Al NEWS 15 16 Raptor Wordsearch NatureWILD
Questions? Comments? Ian McKeachie, President info@ync.ca Kristine Webber, Executive Director kristinewebber@ync.ca
Hello,Young Naturalists
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I hope you enjoy this all-bird issue of NatureWILD, bringing you stories of birds from all over, plus ways to help the birds in your garden over spring and summer. And – as always - fun activities and puzzles.
If you took part in the Christmas Bird Count or the Great Backyard Bird Count, send your name to YNC at info@ync.ca and we’ll send you the I COUNT button. And PLEASE – fill in your Passports to Nature and mail them in to the office, so we can send you your YNC cap, T-shirt and other rewards for your excellent participation. Daphne Solecki, Honorary President YNC is an exciting nature discovery and environmental action
program that invites young people ages 5-12 years to have fun discovering nearby nature on Explorer Days with local experts, learn about native wildlife and plants in NatureWILD Magazine and take part in environmental actions to protect their habitat with the Action Awards program. For more information: www.ync.ca.
Tammy Keetch, Clubs Coordinator coordinator@ync.ca
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supporters who share our vision that all children be connected with nature.
Rebecca Baker, Membership and Office Coordinator info@ync.ca NatureWILD Editorial Committee Content Editor: Daphne Solecki Production Editor: Monica Belko Editorial Assistant: Ruth Foster Contributor: Al Grass
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ISSN: 1492-7241 NatureWILD is printed on SFI certified paper by Benwell Atkins an RR Donnelley Company,Vancouver.
Magnificent FrigateBird
A Tawny Frogmouth. Photo by Guerin Nicolas.
(tropical sea coasts)
This is a fork-tailed black bird with a wingspan of over two metres. An agile flyer, it snatches food off the surface of the ocean and steals food from other birds. In breeding season the males inflate their red throat patches to attract a mate.
A male frigatebird with an inflated thoat patch.
Tawny Frogmouth
A Magnificant Frigatebird. Photo by Andrea Westmorelnad.
(Australia)
This bird really does have a froggy A California Condor. Photos by snowmanradio (left) and Cszmurlo (above). looking face. It is a nocturnal bird California and doesn’t move around in day time. Condor If it feels threatened (USA) it will cock its head, This is the largest North American land bird blending in with the and definitely the ugliest. A scavenger that feeds trees and looking primarily on carrion (dead stuff) this big bird has like a stump or a three-metre wingspan and can soar for almost broken branch. five kilometres without flapping its wings.
Greater Sage-Grouse (Canada and USA)
This grouse has long, sharp spiky tail feathers and a royal looking chest, with magnificent white ruff. Each spring males congregate in leks and perform a “strutting display”. Groups of females observe these displays and select the most attractive males to mate with. The same lekking ground may be used by grouse for decades.
Odd-Bod Birds Unusual Looking Birds from Round the World A male Greater Sage-Grouse. Photo by snowmanradio.
A Brown Pelican. Photo by Monica Belko.
Pelican
(North America and Australia) “A wonderful bird is the pelican, His bill will hold more than his belly can”. This wellknown verse is almost accurate. The pelican actually uses its bill to catch fish, then stores them in its throat pouch before swallowing them. Indeed, on a busy fishing day, the pelican can hold up to 13 litres of fish suspended below its bill.
Brown Pelicans.
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It’s a Bat! It’s a Falcon! It’s an Owl! No, It’s a NIGHTHAWK!
Jamie sneaks up on a wild nighthawk that thinks it’s invisible against the lichencovered rock!
by Jamie Bastedo Just what is this thing they call a Common Nighthawk? If you see this brown speckled bird on the ground, you might mistake it for a rock or a stick or a crusty piece of lichen. If you see one zipping through the air, you might mistake it for a wobbling bat or a high-flying hawk or a dagger-winged falcon. If it silently zooms past your nose on ghostly wings, you might think you’ve just been brushed by an owl. Or - if you see the flash of a nighthawk’s snow-white wingbars, as it dips and dives through the dusk - you might even mistake it for a UFO! But you could never mistake the sound it makes when it plunges out of nowhere and gets the whole sky shaking. No other creature on Earth makes the weird booming sound that buzzes from a male nighthawk’s wings when it nosedives full-speed out of the sky to impress its mate or defend its territory.
To left and on facing page - A female Common Nighthawk enjoys a sunbath on the rocks behind Jamie’s cabin north of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories.
It’s no wonder the nighthawk has such strange names: Bullbat, Moth-owl, Mosquito-hawk, Will-o’-wisp, or my favourite, crapau volans which is French for “flying toad”! Even the official family name for nighthawks is a little goofy – “goatsucker” – which refers to the old belief that nighthawks would sneak into pastures at night and use their big wide mouths to suck milk from goats instead of catching flying bugs, which is something they are really good at. Because of its hair-raising booms and the crazy way it flies, the nighthawk catches the attention of people who normally might have no special interest in birds. When you’re outside in the summertime, just about anywhere in BC, keep your ears open for its deep whooshing sound – as if a truck just screeched past you – or its raspy ‘peent’ or ‘beerb’ flight call which it can do for hours, especially in the evening. Keep your eyes open for a robin-sized bird, slicing and dicing the air, this way and that, with long knife-like wings.
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A Common Nighthawk.
Your chances of seeing a whole bunch of nighthawks are best in the evening when they may flock together above lit billboards or streetlights to catch bugs on the wing. In late summer you might see a big restless gang of them swirling above you as they gather for their journey back to the bug-filled jungles of the Amazon. That’s right, I said the Amazon. Would you believe that nighthawks follow one of the longest migration routes on Earth – from the tropical rainforests of South America to the tundra fringe of Canada’s boreal forest, and back each year. Sometimes they show up in really odd places like the north coast of Greenland or way over in Scotland! As an Arctic biologist and author living at the northern limit of the nighthawk’s range, I got inspired to write a storybook about this strange marathon migrator with a spooky name. I called the book – guess what? – NIGHTHAWK! It features a feathered young hero named Wisp (after Will-o’-wisp) who insists on following his very own flyway all the way from the Amazon to the Arctic! The book gives a true “birds-eye view” of his migratory adventures, like in this scene where he and his sister Willo are practicing forbidden flying tricks over a bubbling volcano in Mexico. Willo spins tight circles around me. “Nighthawks just don’t do that!” “Do what?” “Like, soar.” “Says who? Come on and try it.” “No way.” Willo’s got it wrong this time. I shoot out my wings. I let go. I close my eyes and surrender to the hot rising air. Gravity dissolves. A powerful beam seems to drop from the sky, magically drawing me higher and higher into the air.The normal whistle of the wind through my wings fades to a whisper, a sigh, then...nothing. I can hear hissing and rumbling from the volcano now far below. Anything I once called “me” shrinks and disappears. All I am is a fleck of ash, a leaf, a flower petal, floating in the thermals. I soar, actually soar. Weightless. Without a flap. Without a thought. Without effort. I’ve never felt so free…
A nighthawk in flight. Photo by Daniel Berganza.
As I was writing about nighthawks, there were many nights when I dreamed I was actually flying and talking with them. I wish the same for you when you read about them in my book!
Jamie Bastedo is a biologist turned storyteller who intimately connects readers of all ages with the magic and mystery of nature. Besides NIGHTHAWK! (published by Red Deer Press, 2013) his children’s titles include Tracking Triple Seven, On Thin Ice, Sila’s Revenge and Free as the Wind. Jamie lives in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories – he is our first author from the Arctic.
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Food: Hummingbird feeder tips:
Nests: In spring, birds are looking for nest sites and nest building material. Some birds use nest boxes. Depending where in BC you live you might find chickadees, creepers, swallows, woodpeckers, wrens or bluebirds occupying nest boxes. There are many patterns available on the internet for suitable nest boxes. (You can also order a no nails/ no glue nest box from the YNC website – www.ync.ca).
1. Put out more than one feeder as hummingbirds are very territorial and won’t share; they waste a lot of energy fighting off other hummingbirds. 2. Change the nectar at least once a week, more often in hot weather, and clean the feeders each time, using only vinegar and hot water. Put out a couple of seed feeders with sunflower chips and black oil seed. Once the baby birds have fledged, the parents will bring them to the feeder.
A Tree Swallow in a nest box.
Other birds don’t use nest boxes, but may use a handy ledge under the eaves or the branch of a large tree to build their nest on.
i A Rufus Hummingbird on a nectar feeder. Photo by Ciar.
Three Evening Grosbeaks in a bird bath.
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Nesting materials:
You can help small birds by putting out nesting materials. Collect soft stuff like dog and cat fur, sheep wool, human hair, dried moss, dried grass, cattail fluff, short lengths of wool (about 10 cm). Put it in a mesh bag and hang it high where birds can easily see it but away from prowling cats. Pull a few fluffy pieces out through the holes to catch the birds’ attention. (Don’t use dryer lint, it packs up hard after it’s been wet).
d s er
riend to F a g B n i i n e a d r g S n u i B pr mm S n Water: More than anything, birds need water. Keep the birdbath full and keep it clean. A slow drip from a hose pipe will keep the water moving so it doesn’t get stagnant and attract mosquitoes. The sound of water dripping will bring the birds to your garden.
If you can, arrange the water to drip from the bird bath onto some mud. A squashy mud puddle can be used by birds like robins and swallows that need wet mud to construct their nests.
Larger birds prefer dried leaves and small twigs so you can leave a heap in a quiet corner of the garden. Special note: Tree and Violet-green Swallows love feathers. If you see those swallows in your garden, collect some feathers (from a barnyard or a pillow) and from your deck - let them go in the breeze. The swallows will swoop down to catch them and take them to their nests. This is so much fun! An American Robin nest. Photo by Laslovarga.
Decode the Bird Solve this birdy-puzzle by unscrambling the bird names in the space provided. Then, draw a line from the bird names to the matching photo (Answers on page 15). Photos by Mark Belko.
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IMECARNA BIRON _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ LDLMARA _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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LTRLSEE’S AJY _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ‘S _ _ _
BCKLA-EPPCAD EHECKIDAC _ _ _ _ _-_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ WODNY OORDKECPEW _____ __________
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TRAEG ULBE ONRHE _____ ____ _____
DNAACA OGOES _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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Feathers Are Amazing! Feather Facts... ...The bird with the least number of feathers is the Ruby-throated Hummingbird with only 940 feathers. The bird with the most feathers is the Whistling Swan which can have as many as 25,000 in winter. ...Feathers do many things for birds. First of all, they keep birds warm. In fact, scientists believe this was the primary reason feathers evolved. Secondly, having feathers is how birds developed the ability to fly. Feathers gradually became longer and stronger and better shaped for flying.
...Basically, all feathers grow the same way – a central shaft called a rachis with barbs coming off each side. The barbs are hooked together with ‘barblets’. This clever design gives feathers extra strength. It is also the reason birds spend so much time preening – it is very important that all the barblets are doing their work, keeping the feathers smooth and efficient.
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Feathers don’t last for ever. They become quite worn and tattered and have to be replaced. Old feathers falling out and new feathers growing in is called moulting.
...While they are preening, birds also coat the feathers with an oil that they produce themselves to make them waterproof – that’s why ducks can dive and not get soaked through, and little birds like chickadees and sparrows don’t get drowned when it rains.
...Feathers also decide what a bird looks like – brightly coloured to attract mates or camouflaged to hide from predators.
...Feathers evolved from reptilian scales and in fact birds still have scales in the lower parts of their legs and feet.
...Feathers are made from keratin, just like your hair and finger nails. It makes them light, flexible and strong – perfect for flying.
...A bird has several different kinds of feathers, most of which are attached to muscles which move the feathers to keep them in place.
Feather Types
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1. Flight feathers are found on the wings and tail. They are long and have stronger barbules which give them more strength for flying.
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2. Semiplumes are half-way between a contour feather and a down feather. They grow between the contour feathers for extra insulation and also make the bird look rounder and plumper.
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3. Down feathers are soft and fluffy with very little shaft and no barbules. They keep the bird warm by trapping air. These are the feathers that humans collect to put in quilts and parkas.
4. Filoplumes are very small and have only a few barbs at their tips. They are attached to nerve endings and send messages to the brain which help birds keep their feathers in order. 5. Contour feathers are found everywhere except the beak, legs and feet. They give shape and colour to the bird. They are coloured at the ends (the part we see). At its base, a contour feather becomes downy which helps keep the bird warm.
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Parts of a contour feather
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Feather Tip
Feather Parts 1. Vane 2. Rachis 3. Barb 4. Afterfeather 5. Hollow shaft, Calamus
5 When you find a feather hold it up against a dark background with the light coming from behind you – this helps you see small details clearly. Next, study it with a magnifying glass and identify what kind of a feather it is, and – if you can – what kind of bird it came from.
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The Marbled Murrelet Little Lord of BC’s Fiords (based on the book of the same name by Gary Kaiser, adapted with permission)
Imagine a seabird that lays eggs in a tree! Flies through the air and under water! Gary thinks the Marbled Murrelet is one of the most fascinating birds in the world. After studying them for 30 years, he still has many questions – for instance: How does a murrelet find its way back in the dark to the right branch in a forest of branches? Why does it lay such a big egg? Why are some nests more than 1,000 m above sea level? Why are nests so far from the sea? How does it carry food all that way to its nestling? Why does it fly so fast? How does it fly underwater?
The Marbled Murrelet
(Brachyamphus marmoratus) is a small plump bird, only 25 cm from beak to tail. It has a short pointed bill, short pointed tail and small webbed feet. Its wings are long and narrow with strong muscles and large bones. It is called ‘marbled’ because in summer its feathers are mottled brown and grey – a bit like the streaks in marbles you play with. The eyes are very large and each of them takes up about as much space in the skull as the brain. The murrelet needs large eyes because it does its fishing underwater where there is little light and because it often flies in the dark. The eyes also send information about the bird’s location to the brain where it is stored on a mental ‘map’. This map tells the bird just where it is fishing and how to get ‘home’ to its nest, even in the dark.
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Two adult Marbled Murrelets. Photo by Norman Holmes.
Flying in the air and underwater
The murrelet’s wing beat is very fast, up and down about 12 times a second - not as fast as a hummingbird but much faster than most other birds. The murrelet can keep this up for hours at a time. With deep strokes and rapid wing beats it speeds over the waves as fast as 154 km per hour. Underwater it goes slower, slower than fish, but fish get tired quickly. The murrelet just keeps on ‘flying’ under water until it catches up with the exhausted fish.
Catching fish
Murrelets often work in pairs. They attack schools of fish by spiraling up from below and driving them into a ball, herding them up toward the surface of the water or Fledgling Marbled Murrelet with fish. Photo by Norman Holmes. against a convenient rock wall. As the fish get tired, a murrelet picks off the weakest ones. Its bill is strong enough to crush gills to stop the fish struggling. Then the murrelet brings it to the surface and tosses it into the air to swallow it or carries it away to feed its nestling.
Breeding
Marbled Murrelet egg. Photo by Gary Kaiser.
One of the strangest and most interesting things about these seabirds is that they nest in old growth forests where big trees have wide mossy branches. The birds land on the branch and with their webbed feet press a small hollow into the thick moss. Here the female lays one large speckled egg. Every day, one parent keeps the egg warm and the other flies to the sea to feed. After a month the chick hatches and then the parents really have work to do. Two or three times a day, at sunrise and at sunset, each parent flies between the sea and the nest carrying a fish in its beak to feed the waiting chick, travelling as much as 100 km each trip! Two weeks before it is ready to leave the nest, the chick starts exercising its wings, flapping them vigorously. The wings need to be strong because this little creature must leap from the nest and fly, by itself, all the way to the sea, never to return to the nest. How does the chick know where to go without its parents to show the way? That is yet one more mystery! Once the chick does reach the sea it can fend for itself – it is just about adult size and can catch good sized fish. Gary Kaiser is a Royal BC Museum research associate, fossil bird expert and author of the e-book The Marbled Murrelet– Little Lord of British Columbia’s Fiords. He has written for NatureWILD on such topics as the Secret Life of Eggs and Convergent Evolution.
Marbled Murrelet sitting on a nest. This photo is slightly blurry because it is taken at long range in low light. It’s very difficult to photograph a murrelet on its nest without disturbing it! Photo by Gustavo Londono. 11
The Gull and the Mussels “Fish, fish, fish!” said young Herring Gull as she dived over the waves with her flock. “I’m fed up with fish. There must something tastier to eat. What’s the best food you’ve ever tasted?” she asked her friend.
“At last! Something to get my beak into!” She tried cracking one in her beak. She tried stabbing it with her beak. She tried forcing it open with her beak, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t get into the shell.
“Fish,” said her friend.
“I can’t do it,” he told the Old Gull.
“Besides fish,” young Herring Gull sighed. “Well they say the Old Gull on the cliff has eaten all sorts,” said her friend. “But I don’t know what’s wrong with fish, myself.”
“I said it wouldn’t do you any good,” he replied. “Only gulls who are clever and quick to learn may grasp the secret. Learn to find foods that aren’t fish, young gull, then you too may learn the secret.”
The Wise Old Gull
The Young Gull Learns
Herring Gull flew to the cliff where the old gull stood watching the flock out at sea.
So Herring Gull flew inland, away from the flock, away from the sea and away from fish.
“What’s the best food you’ve ever tasted?” asked Herring Gull.
“But fish is all I know how to catch,” she said, “How will I learn to find new things to eat?”
“I can tell you, but it won’t do you any good,” said the Old Gull. “But I want to know,” said Herring Gull “Very well, said the Old Gull.
“Mussels.” Herring Gull flew down to the rocks. They were covered in clumps of black shells. “Mussels,” she said.
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She came across a flock of starlings chasing a swarm of flying ants. They were catching them and eating them in the air. An American Herring Gull. Photo by Alan D. Wilson.
“I can do that” she said. So she did what they did and soon learnt to catch her first mouthful of ant. “Hmm. Crunchy and tangy,” she said. “But at least it’s not fish.” Then she saw crows in a field. They were pulling pink things from the ground.
Home Again “I can do that,” she said. So she did what they did and soon learned to tug a worm from the soil. “Hmm, chewy and gritty,” she said. “This clearly isn’t fish.” On her way back to the ocean she saw turnstones on the shore. They were flipping over stones with their beaks and eating the insects underneath. “I can do that!” she said. So she did what they did and soon learnt to gobble up the little creatures. “Hmm, tough, but tasty,” she said. “A nice change from fish.”
She flew back to the Old Gull and told him what she had learnt. “Very well, said the Old Gull. “You have learnt from others. Now learn from me.” They flew down to the rocks. Herring Gull watched as the Old Gull picked up a mussel in his beak. He flew high up over the rocks and dropped it. The mussel shell broke open on the rocks below and the Old Gull dived down to enjoy the meal inside. “So that’s the secret!” said Herring Gull. “I can do that!” So she did what the Old Gull did and she was soon enjoying her first mussel. But it wouldn’t be her last.
Mussels on the beach. Photo by Monica Belko.
From WILD TIMES, a publication of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, adapted with permission.
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4 - Some ducks specialize in catching fish, but other ducks like the Mallard also eat fish and fish eggs that they find. In fact, ducks eat almost anything – slugs, worms, snails, seeds, roots, grass. Observe them carefully, you will learn a lot!
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5 - When you watch a hummingbird feeding at a flower, its wings flap so fast that they’re just a blur. In the time it takes you to blink your eyes a hummingbird’s wings may go down and up as many as 100 beats per second. This speed makes hummingbird wings buzz or hum which is how they got their name.
c 4 - I saw a mallard duck eating a dead fish. Do all ducks eat fish?
5 - How fast can hummingbirds flap their wings?
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send me more Al says “Please ur question is questions. If yo ill win ureWILD you w at N r fo n se o ch ncil! otebook and pe a Rite-in-Rain n a ns to info@ync.c io st e u q r u yo d Sen r Road 1620 Mount Seymou V7G 2R9 North Vancouver, BC
n 3 - The two black birds (probably three) are the crows (Northwestern, American) and the Common Raven. The Northwestern Crow is a coastal species, while the American Crow is found in the rest of the province. The Common Raven is a very adaptable species also found in all regions of BC. I am going with the raven.
3 - Which large black bird is found in every region of BC?
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2 - The Bald Eagle builds the biggest nest, starting at 1.5 m across and 1 m deep; they can get really huge, up to 6 m deep, as eagles add to them each year.
1 - They have very special brain cells for remembering. However, every fall they cleverly ‘forget’ last year’s hiding places so their brains aren’t cluttered up with old (useless) information, and only remember the new hiding places.
1 - How do chickadees remember where they’ve hidden their food?
Just for a change, Al is asking YOU questions. What do you know about birds in British Columbia?
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ASK AL Have a Nature Question?
2 - Which bird builds the biggest nest?
Al Grass has worked as a career park naturalist and ranger throughout BC. Now he is a well-known nature tour leader and photographer. Al especially likes birds, insects and spiders.
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W r e I D u t a N NEWS
The Coulter family of Campbell Valley used the hollow portion of the tree they were cutting down to make a bird house. June is a member of the Eastern Fraser Valley YNC
Poem by Henk Vanryswyk, Alexis Creek (in the style of Margaret Wiseman Brown) The most important thing about a Red-naped Sapsucker is that it eats sap, pecks trees and has a very pretty red head. It also flies very fast and may peck you if you get too close to it. It is very fun to watch. The yellow on its breast is only noticed when you are quite close. But the most important thing about a Red-naped Sapsucker is that it eats sap, pecks trees and has a very pretty red head.
An adult Great Horned Owl. Photo by Greg Hume.
Decode the Bird Anwers (top to bottom) American Robin Mallard Steller’s Jay Black-capped Chickadee Downy Woodpecker Great Blue Heron Canada Goose
Bugs R Us, Celista At our November meeting we learned about owls. Janice Smith brought pictures of Great Horned Owls. They were in their nest. There were five owls, a dad and a mom and three chicks. Janice told us that the father went to get food and the mother kept the eggs warm but when a crow came along the father came back and protected the mother and the eggs. One of the chicks fell out of the nest and stayed on the ground for a few days and the mother brought him food as well as the chicks in the nest. Janice also brought owl pellets and an owl that had been caught in a trap. It was stuffed. (by Anna and Katie)
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Raptors are amazing! BC is very fortunate to be a home to many different raptors. Find more in this wordsearch...
Raptor Wordsearch
BIRD EAGLE FALCON GOSHAWK GYRFALCON HARRIER HAWK MERLIN OSPREY OWL RAPTOR VULTURE
Next issue... INVASIVE SPECIES
What are they? Where do they come from?
All About Water
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Hidden raptor: KESTREL
There’s one more raptor hidden in the puzzle – can you find it?
Have any comments or questions? Email the YNC at info@ync.ca