During the long dark days of winter, Canadians look for illumination. The temptation to find more light might be to turn on your TV or iPad. But there is another way to shorten winter, and that is by turning to nature instead. The native birds that stay during the winter in our climate provide a window into something extraordinary.
The great backyard bird count
The Great Backyard Bird Count takes place from Feb. 17 to 20 and is your chance to get in on the action, because there is indeed, “action”. The annual four-day event attracts more than 250,000 participants worldwide — 40,000 of them in Canada.
Participation is simple. Log on to birdscanada.org and click on the Great-Backyard-Bird-Count link. Sign up and you are in. Now all you do is count birds and if possible, name them and record the results on the website. If you are unsure of the type of bird, there is an excellent section on the Birds Canada website that helps you to identify them.
Between the two of us, we have nine bird feeders on our properties and we feed our feathered friends a mixture of quality corn-free seed, pure black oil sunflower seeds, nyjer seed for the little songlets like nuthatches, suet for chickadees and woodpeckers, and bird-quality peanuts for woodpeckers (always salt-free).
How it works
You can count birds from the comfort of your own home, go outside and count them or walk the trails of a park or conservation area. The point is not where you see the birds, but how many and the species.
The information is used to help scientists around the world understand the range of birds, threats like climate change and habitat loss, and it helps Birds Canada demonstrate where conservation action is working to conserve nature.
Engage friends and family in the activity and challenge them to see who can identify the most birds and species in the four days.
Winter will never seem shorter.
Here are our favourite birds this time of year and how best to attract them
Red-Bellied Woodpecker. Known best for its brilliantly coloured red head. The red belly is harder to see but it is there. Feed the same as Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers.
Blue jays. No need to wait for the season opener (Toronto baseball joke) as the Jays are lurking in your nearest cedar hedge waiting for peanuts. In the shell or out of the shell, bird peanuts are like candy to Blue Jays. Black oil sunflower seeds also work well. Members of the crow family, Blue Jays are smart, noisy, and bossy. When they are around, most other birds step aside.
Cardinal. You must love the outstanding colour of the male Cardinal contrasted against the snow. A true winter wonder worth watching. Feed the same as Blue Jays.
Nuthatches. One of the few birds that travel on a tree trunk downwards head-first. It is the kid on the monkey bars that has no fear. Entertaining. Nyjer seed and black oil sunflower seeds.
Chickadees. Cute, friendly (you can train it to take seed from your open hand) and chirpy, the Chickadee gets its name from its song, which is unmistakable from quite a distance. Black oil sunflower seeds are best.
Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers. Downy, the smaller of the two, and Hairys look alike, but have a different stature. Suet is a sure attractant as are raw peanuts out of the shell. Again, salt-free as salt is not good for birds. Look for the distinct red flash on the back of the head of the males and the black and white markings on feathers that look like a black and white TV on the fritz.