John Peirce has written to ask: I have been surprised by the dozens of robins all around our place at the south end. I’d be curious to hear the birders explain their sudden appearance in great numbers. Does this mean spring is really on the way? (Posted with John’s permission.) What do you think, Gabriola [...]
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From physorg.com: ‘Look at that!’ — ravens use gestures, too. For two years, Simone Pika und Thomas Bugnyar investigated the non-vocal behaviour of individually marked members of a wild raven community in the Cumberland Wildpark in Grünau, Austria. They observed that ravens use their beaks similar to hands to show and offer objects such as [...]
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Your comments on previous hummingbird posts show me that some of you are rather taken with these birds. So don’t miss what the BBC has for you: Hummingbirds shake their heads to deal with rain. They’ve got video and everything. They explain: Slow-motion footage has revealed how a hovering hummingbird is able to cope with [...]
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How often have you stopped to let a flock of turkeys cross the road? As you pause and let the birds go by, remember that other communities have feral turkey flocks, too. [continue] The nerve! Now, by the way: are there any laws that would prohibit the catching and eating of wild turkeys on Gabriola? [...]
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A Gabriola photographer (and blog reader) spotted an eagle sitting in a tree at Drumbeg the other day. She sent us this photo:
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We’ve got several kinds of woodpeckers on Gabriola, including my favourite, the pileated woodpecker. If you’ve ever watched and heard them peck (or listened from your bed as they attack your metal chimney at 6 am), you might wonder how they manage to do all that pecking without addling their brains. The BBC explains: How [...]
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Do we have sets of five wires anywhere on Gabriola? If so, this seems like a fantastically fun thing for local musicians to try: playing the musical score created by birds who sit on those wires.
You’ve read lots about Gabriola owls and local owls. Now on to South Africa for a remarkable account (with photos) of a rescued owl, now all healed up and free to fly, who returns to the rescue to feed another owl, a cat, and a human. (!) From The Owl Pages: The Caring Owl.
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Hummingbirds flit about Gabriola in the warm months, and (I suppose) flit somewhere else the rest of the time. They’re wild, of course, as they should be. Have you ever heard of people catching and smuggling hummingbirds? Now you have. Tai-wiki-widbee has the story and photos: Hummingbird smuggler caught with his pants down.
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When a squirrel gets squished in the middle of North Road, who removes the remains and cleans up the mess? Raven, of course. Here’s Raven in the evening light, having just finished a snack of squirrel.
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Now this is a handsome feather, and I’m wondering what sort of bird it belonged to. Owl, maybe? What do you think?
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Our owl seems to have wandered over to microfishing, where skadhu has a couple of fine owly photos. Skadhu always has fine photos. Meanwhile, Gabriola Bird Blog‘s Owl comes home to Gabriola post tells the story of an injured barred owl who was rescued on Gabriola, bundled off for rehabilitation, and returned to the island. [...]
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How’s this for lovely? Elen took this photo. She posts comments on Gabriolan.ca from time to time, and sent in this for you to see:
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We have a compost pile out back; I suppose everybody on Gabriola does. We don’t put animal flesh or bones in that compost, because we heard that would attract rats and other undesirable vistors. But we do add things like veggie scraps, eggshells, fruit peels, and whatnot. I suspect this has attracted some mice, but [...]
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While wandering in the Gabriola woods at the beginning of June, I found a hummingbird nest with eggs inside. Somehow I wound up in the same area this evening, and here’s what’s in the nest now:
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Have you seen Sharon McInnes’ bird column in the Flying Shingle? (Sample here.) Sharon has now started a Gabriola Bird Blog, which sounds like the perfect thing for those of us who would like to learn more about the island’s birds. I’d like to know more about the birds on Gabriola, but I’m usually too [...]
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Do we have crows on Gabriola, or is it just ravens? I kind of think it’s just ravens, but what do I know? Anyway. Here is more annoyed wildlife news: Angry Velociraptor Crows Terrorize Everett Police: Collectively, a group of crows is known as a murder, and murder is apparently exactly what this particular flock [...]
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In the past when I’ve found hummingbird nests on Gabriola, they’ve been empty. But this one has eggs, and how cool is that?
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