I learn so much from John Tschopp's birding emails and photos - and am thrilled to share his holiday greetings, and this announcement of a sighting of the rare seasonal gingerbread owl. Spotted towhee Steller's Jay BC Chickadee Besides the regular winter birds, like Towhee, Steller's Jay, Junco, BC Chickadee, I found these rare Spotted … Continue reading Sighted: the rare seasonal gingerbread spotted owl
A flock of birders descended on Grimm’s Deli, Tuesday, December seventeenth to participate in Pemberton’s nineteenth Christmas Bird Count. This tally of all species seen for the day provides valuable information for conservation biologists and citizen scientists; population distribution and trends for various species can be tracked over the years. The participants in these counts … Continue reading Pemberton Christmas Bird Count
On the birding front, John Tschopp shares that, in wintertime the Woodpeckers in hisyard really appreciate the fat feeders. They are simple containers made out of wood and wire mesh. The fat can be any waste fat from your local butcher. John cuts the fat up to fit down the feeder.
It may be a sign of maturity that at a certain point in your life, on Christmas Eve, instead of casting your eyes heavenward for a glimpse of Santa, you're scanning the horizon for a glimpse of a Short-eared Owl. John Tschopp shared that he's been waiting for some Short-eared Owls since the end of … Continue reading Sighting: Short-eared Owl and Northern Shrike
With the face of an owl and the body of a hawk, the Northern Harrier (or marsh hawk) is a raptor - a bird of prey - are often welcomed by farmers - they eat the mice that damage crops and pose no threat to poultry as some hawks do. This juvenile was a welcome … Continue reading I spy a northern harrier catching a little sun
Yesterday proved to be a good day for our birding correspondent, John Tschopp, with sightings of a portrait-ready snow bunting, a peregrine falcon in a roadside cottonwood, trumpeter swans, northern harriers and even a kestrel. Tschopp had already spied a small flock of snow buntings, the previous week. Rare visitors to Pemberton Valley, snow buntings … Continue reading Birds of November: raptors, snow buntings, and a great horned owl
John Tschopp reports tonight that a blue jay, from east of the Rockies, has taken a left turn to Pemberton this week. John's last recorded sighting of a Blue Jay in Pemberton is from 2009. This fellow has been hanging around a feeder near Miller Creek for a few days. It is rather dominant, reports … Continue reading Blue Jay checking out the local turf
It appears, reports our birding correspondent John Tschopp, that 2018 is an exceptional year for reproduction. At least for the birds. (We'll obviously have to wait a few more months to find out if the prime conditions alter the human population, too.) The berry bushes are loaded. The cherry trees are full of fruit and … Continue reading Baby boom, bird-style
What if your nose was blue? Whenever I look at a ruddy duck, so named for its body colour, of all things, and not its bright blue nose, this is the phrase that comes to mind. Takes me back to my classroom days when it was popular to call out randomly, “you’re a ________” when … Continue reading Blue Nosed Twitchers
The tree swallows were not happy this weekend, when a raptor came in low over the field and landed on a fence, but John Tschopp was pleased that it posed long enough for him to fetch the camera and snap a few pictures. Then the swallows got their message across, and the adult Cooper's Hawk, … Continue reading Sighted: Cooper’s Hawk
The Wellness Almanac 