ALBERTA JULY 2020

Birding News

Showroom Hours: Monday through Saturday 10:00am to 5:00pm

Phone lines are open Monday through Saturday for Delivery and Curb

side Pick up orders.

CURB SIDE PICK UP: when you arrive at the store, please park in the

designated “curb side pick up” parking, phone us at (403) 640-2632, open your

trunk and we will bring your order out and put it in your trunk with your

receipt.

DELIVERY: Deliveries will still be made on Thursdays ONLY. Please

phone the store at (403) 640-2632 by 3:30pm on the Wednesday before your

delivery; place and pay for your delivery. If you have any special instructions

please do not forget to inform us when you place your order.

We encourage customers to social distance whenever possible, but if you find that you are not

comfortable shopping with others, we would encourage you to continue to use our curb-side

pickup or home delivery.

The c-card readers will continue to be sanitized throughout the day and you are welcome to use

Mastercard, Visa, Debit (Interac) or e-transfer. Unfortunately, we will not be accepting cash.

Kris, Dave and all the staff would like to say a big thank you to all of our loyal

customers during the Covid19 pandemic—we are happy to welcome you back

into the store as we return to normal while continuing to social distance and

stay healthy.

Beautiful tiny bird; lovely to have in your backyard. But, be careful what

you wish for! A House wren weighs about as much as two quarters, but it’s

a fierce competitor for nesting sites. Wrens will harass and peck at much

larger birds, sometimes dragging eggs and young out of a nest site they want—

even occasionally killing adult birds. In some areas they are the main source of

nest failure for bluebirds, Tree swallows and Chickadees.

If you do decide to put up a nesting box for Wrens only, then you will have to

eliminate any other nesting boxes in your backyard.

Considering putting up a nest box? Make sure you put it up well before breeding

season. Attach a guard to keep predators from raiding eggs and young.

Predator Guard

Shed Bark Front Wren Nest Box

Recently, Andrew Barnes, a customer of The Wild Bird Store, was

certified by the Canadian Wildlife Federation for his yard, nest boxes,

wildflower gardens and Purple martins.

The photo to the left was sent to us by Andrew with a note saying that

he had two pairs of Purple martins using the Purple martin house he has

installed. Hopefully they will proceed with nesting and raising a clutch

or two.

Andrew lives in the southeast community of New Brighton and is

registered on the CWF website.

House wrens nest inside tree holes and nest boxes. As the season progresses their nests can become infested

with mites and other parasites that feed on the wren nestlings. Perhaps to fight this problem, Wrens often add

spider egg sacs into the materials they build their nests from. In lab studies, once the spiders hatched, they

helped the Wrens by devouring the nest parasites

Male House wrens returning north to breed in the first year are more likely to settle close to an established male

than farther from it. Experienced males tend to settle further apart. Young males may take clues from more ex-

perienced males about what areas are good nesting sites

Wrens occur from Canada to southernmost South America, and are thus the most widely distributed bird in the

Americas

Golden eye with

fledglings which

fledged

Wednesday, June

17, 2020

As of June 22, Andrew has 3

pairs of Purple martins

Birds of the Season

1000 pieces

Northern Oriole

1000 pieces

Spring Birdhouse

1000 pieces

Backyard Blues 1000 pieces

Fallen Willow Snowy Owl

500 pieces

Robert Bateman Puzzle

Backyard Banquet 1000 pieces

Fall Harvest 500 pieces

The CatBib comes as a kit and includes a collar. The elastic insert will stretch if the cat gets caught on something, allowing the cat to slip out of the collar.The CatBib hangs loosely over the cat’s chest. It works by gently interfering with the precise timing, and coordination a cat needs for successful bird catching. It works by using the simple principle of coming between the cat and the bird just at the last moment. It defeats all the cat’s stealth and cunning at exactly the moment it’s needed. It doesn’t interfere with any of your cat’s other activities. The CatBib ONLY affects your cat’s ability to catch birds. A cat wearing a CatBib can run, jump, climb trees, eat, sleep, scratch and groom. If you want to prevent your cat from catching birds, use the CatBib. It’s part of being a responsible pet owner to control your pet and to love it dearly.

Now available at The Wild Bird Store

University Tested – Proven to Stop Cat Hunting & Killing birds

Available with collar in small

(triangle) and large (square)

in all 3 colours turquoise,

purple and groovy

Lots of water and lots of insects translates to greater opportunities to bird watch. This time we headed north along

Deerfoot to McKnight Blvd. and then headed east to 84th Street. But we were in search of Ruddy ducks and there

were none, so we headed further east. That’s when things got really interesting. Finally Ruddy ducks and lots of

them along with Northern pintails, Lesser and Greater scaups, Shovellers everywhere, Avocets and Black necked

stilts and two species we have not seen for many years. Wilson’s phalarope nesting in the reeds and a flock of about

10 White-faced ibis. Now if you have Dr. David Bird’s old edition of Birds of Canada, you won’t find the White-

faced ibis. Due to more frequent recent sightings over the past few years, Dr. Bird’s new edition has added the White

-faced ibis.

We continued further east, but there had been a huge storm the night before and the road we chose was not passable

in our car, so we decided to park on the side of the road and have our picnic and spent the next hour or so trying to

identify the numerous sparrows including Chipping, Savannah and White-throated.

Time for another serious thunder storm so we headed back to Calgary, with fond memories of our afternoon birding

break.

Ruddy duck male “blowing bubbles”

When a female appears, the male

raises his long tail and his head, with

feathers on it that look like horns. He

inflates his neck, and faster and faster,

strikes his chest with his bill. These

blows, force air through the feathers,

causing the water to “bubble.”

The weather prediction was cloudy with rain—but it was the most beautiful Father’s day—slight

breeze to keep the mosquitoes at bay, sunny but not too warm and birds everywhere. Our first

hunt was for the always captivating Mountain bluebird and we weren’t disappointed. Virtually

saw them everywhere, even a male who could not resist being our focus. The search continued—we were searching for

the Red-necked grebe pair we had seen on Mother’s day. We had been told the pair had moved their nest, so naturally we

were curious to see how they had faired—it’s never easy moving! We finally found one of the pair nestled in the reeds on

the side of the pond, but the other never did appear. The one sitting on the nest finally moved (we had watched for about

a 1/2 hour and then decided to move on and come back later in the day) obviously hot from sitting in the sun all afternoon

to take a rather quick, but much enjoyed swim but not too far from the nest which had eggs. Never did see the mate.

During our break from seeing the Red-necked grebe we had moved on and witnessed what we finally named “Grebe

lake” - there were so many pairs of Red-necked grebes building nests. We also saw more Wigeons, Scaups, Bufflehead,

our favourite duck the Ruddy, lots and lots of Swallows and Kingbirds, several Black terns putting on quite a show and

some Cedar waxwings.

But the sighting of the day had nothing to do with birds. We had climbed a dirt road to view the foothills and the valley

below to have our picnic lunch. All of a sudden we heard a sound we knew was a fawn calling to its Mother. The fawn

had climbed through the fence on the side of the road right opposite where we had parked (about 20 feet away) on an

embankment. The Mother was visibly concerned but the tiny fawn was undaunted as though she was saying “here I am—

take my photo.” All the time she kept watching Mother and finally decided to back up and join her and we could hear

them communicating as they walked back into the forest. It was the most precious of moments and one we will

undoubtedly talk about for years to come.

Recently Dave and Kris decided to get together with a couple of their scuba diving

friends, Brian and Giny. They wondered what they could do to enjoy a meal and entertain themselves at the same

time. Brian came up with the idea of “wings and Wingspan” and an evening get together was set in motion. Dave and

Kris’ favourite place to purchase wings is at Mug Shotz in Ogden voted the best place to enjoy wings in Calgary for

the past 10 years. Being a rather small establishment with a huge following, Covid19 has been hard and even with the

relaunch of the dining room allowing for only 50% capacity means take-out is your best option. They have over 50

different choices for wings. Check out their menu at:

https://www.facebook.com/Mug-Shotz-Sports-Bar-Grill-

Official-126805540725404/

We have featured the board game Wingspan before in our

newsletter and it has been a popular family game especially

during Covid19. Easy to learn instructions for beginners to

experts, it offers a great deal of birding pleasure for the whole

family or for an evening with friends while maintaining

social distancing. Available at The Wild Bird Store

May 2020 many of us were still self-isolating, some of you with your children due to the closure of schools. We asked you to submit your ideas for keeping yourselves and loved ones involved during this challenging time. We thank so many of you who took the time to share your ideas—must say, some of you have very creative minds.

The winner is the Roesler Family (Marnie, Tyler & Ivy)

First of all, we feel very blessed to be a family of birders during this time. We are a family of three, with a 9 year old named Ivy. Ivy has always had health issues (immune compromised) and is high risk with asthma, so when she chose birding as our weekly activity, we jumped at it. In a very short time, we all came to love it...and frequent the Wild Bird Store. We play backyard bird bingo, and enjoy spotting the birds who come to our feeders or fly over. We also love the livestream nest cameras, and feel the birds are part of our family. We take one nightly walk as a family with our dog. We go at a time when no one else is out. We have recently been walking past the Rockyview Hospital (we live across the road), as we spotted a beaver on the shore of the reservoir in that location. On one walk, we also discovered, that the feeders at the hospital have been empty. Ivy suggested we start to fill them, and now we feel we have a project. We all feel happy to do this, and it has put a spark in our step. Thanks to the Wild Bird Store for keeping seed and suet in stock, we can keep the many beautiful birds happy. We are grateful for birding and you!

&

Ivy Roesler with Downy woodpecker

Be sure your order is on the truck when we come to either of our

locations by

Texting us @ (403) 701-4571 or emailing

orders@wildbirdstore.ca

With desired location pick-up

PLEASE NOTE: earn and redeem customer loyalty points on

the Bird Seed Truck.

Can’t make it to one of our locations, we

also deliver. Send us your order by email

to orders@wildbirdstore.ca. We deliver

on Thursdays and require your order no

later than 3:30pm on the previous day..

Delivery charge is applicable unless

brought to Crowfoot location on

Wednesdays on The Bird Seed Truck.

Crowfoot YMCA/Arena

(corner of John Laurie Blvd. and Nose Hill Drive)

PLEASE NOTE: If The Wild Bird Store is CLOSED then the Mobile Seed Truck will not

be on location. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Crowfoot YMCA/Arena Wednesdays

2:00pm to 5:30pm

Bird Seed Truck

Local artist, Meagan Ody has a couple of her original paintings on display in the Galler-oom at The Wild Bird

Store which are for sale. The Wild Bird Store prides itself on supporting local artisans and are pleased to have

Meagan’s contribution to our Gallery.

European starlings, Brown-headed cowbirds and Common grackles can become a problem at feeders when their numbers overpower the birds you prefer to host at your feeding station.

Common grackles, Brown cowbirds and European starlings – not just a few, but sizeable flocks dominate the feeders in backyards, but also the entire neighborhood.

First Question: What is attracting the problem birds? Starting with the starlings, they focused primarily on suet. The grackles zeroed in on the seeds and nuts, ignoring the suet.

The Problem: Hairy and Downy woodpeckers along with White-breasted and Red-breasted nuthatches are favourite birds and they utilize the suet. Likewise, American goldfinches and Pine siskins populate the seed feeders, as do the Nuthatches and Woodpeckers. While you may not want to remove any feeders, the starlings and grackles eventually will force the issue – becoming impossible to put up with the flocks of loud, aggressively overpowering birds any more. Plus, the Starlings and Grackles spill a pile of seeds on the ground where favoured birds do not feed, and it becomes obvious the bad guys are eating 10 times the food of the favoured guys.

Solution 1: Remove the suet. This will help somewhat, reducing the starling activity initially, until they eventually switch over to the seeds and nuts even if it is in a squirrel-proof hopper feeder. Even so, by putting up with the raids on the hopper feeder, it will keep the Finches, Nuthatches, and Woodpeckers active at the feeding station for a couple more weeks.

Solution 2: Remove the hopper seed feeder. By that time it was mid-May, and the finches had moved on, along with the Red-breasted Nuthatches. As for the White-breasted Nuthatches and woodpeckers, there was plenty of natural food for them – even though they would be a big loss to our daily visitor log.

Serious problems sometimes require serious action, as well as compromising as necessary. Ultimately, you offer foods that attract the birds you prefer to host, and enjoy their antics in the best possible ways. For now, enjoy the summer feeding season.

Common grackle European starling Brown-headed cowbird

Restrictions FRANK LAKE Day use only. No open fires. The gate down to the lake is

open.. Viewing blind at lake is closed. Livestock may be

present. If you take your dog, kindly keep it on a leash at all

times. Lots of American white pelicans and Double-crested

cormorants, Widgeons, Phalaropes, Ruddy ducks, Black-

necked stilts and Avocets.

Please call Kade McCornick at 403-465-3310 for more

information.

Ellis Bird Farm (EBF) is pleased to announce that the EBF

grounds will open to the public on Tuesday, June 16th at

11:00am. Visitors are invited to visit the site, to enjoy the

birds, stroll the trails, and enjoy their own picnics.

NOTES

The café and visitor centres will remain closed

There will be no goats or other animals for the

foreseeable future

A small curbside gift shop will be set up and bathrooms

will be open

Visitors are asked to follow AHS protocols including keeping

a 2M/6FT distance from anyone not in their household.

No washrooms

on site.

This month: Avoid Pesticides

See how your support enables

our work to improve the

understanding and protection of

birds and the natural world.

Your Impact

The continent’s most widely used insecticides, called

neonicotinoids or “neonics,” are lethal to birds and to the

insects that birds consume. Common weed killers used around

homes, such as 2, 4-D and glyphosate (used in Roundup), can be

toxic to wildlife, and glyphosate has been declared a probable

human carcinogen.

Pesticides that are toxic to birds can harm them directly through

contact, or if they eat contaminated seeds or prey. Pesticides

can also harm birds indirectly by reducing the number of

available insects, which birds need to survive.

Pollinators provide many important ecosystem services, and one

seed coated with this new type of insecticide is enough to kill a

songbird.

Honeybees, Monarch butterflies and native pollinators can be harmed too.

Remember, a native plant garden’s purpose is to harbour insects.

Download this Helping Birds Checklist from Cornell Lab of

Ornithology. Go to

https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/wp-content/

uploads/2019/09/Helping-Birds-Checklist-shadegrown9-23.pdf

This is the last installment of 7 Simple Actions to Help

Birds. We hope it has encouraged you to be a birder/

gardener that can make a difference with a few simple

actions.

We offer a discount if you return your seed

bags (sorry—not the Mother Nature bags which

we cannot re-use), suet ball containers, if you

bring your own container to fill or use a bag from

our re-cycle bin. This discount is in addition to

any other discount offered.

Write a Google review on your experience

at The Wild Bird Store, and as a thank you, we

will give you 100 customer loyalty points

($5.00 value). To get a promo code, kindly

email info@wildbirdstore.ca

(one Google review per customer)

Earn 200 customer loyalty points ($10.00 value) by referring a friend, acquaintance or fellow birder.

Please visit the store to get a promo code.

No need for a card, just give your phone number. You earn $1.00 for every $20.00 spent (excludes “sales” items, books & optics) and can be used in-store and on Mobile Seed Truck. As a loyalty member our monthly promotions and in-store “specials” are automatically given at the cash register.

Combining our Seniors 10% discount with the Loyalty Program. (Excludes “sales” items, books & optics).

Discount for membership 10% discount for members of Fish Creek Park, AIWC, Priddis Golf Club, Nature Calgary, Sandy Cross Conservation and Springbank Garden Club. Must present valid membership card at time of purchase.

Bird Walk BONUS Card Sign up and participate in 9 Bird Walks with either Jim St. Laurent or Gavin McKinnon and receive the 10th bird walk FREE . Cards are available from either Jim or Gavin.

Located at The Wild Bird Store (near the seed

bins). We collect your donations and arrange to

deliver them to Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation

Society. For their wish list please visit:

http://calgarywildlife.org/wishlist/

PLEASE NOTE: The Wild Bird Store is still

taking donations for Calgary Wildlife

Rehabilitation. Please phone The Wild Bird

Store (403)640-2632 to let us know you have

items to donate and we will remove them

from your trunk and make sure they are

picked up by Calgary Wildlife.

Coffee and cookies are once again being served

on Saturdays in the Galler-oom. We have also set up one of many jigsaw puzzles—please feel

free to place puzzle pieces while enjoying your

visit.

Have you been into The Galler-oom? Come see the display of art and home décor for sale, from

local artists and photographers.

The Galler-oom is also for rent for small groups

of 35 people of less that need a meeting or event space. Table and chairs are available as well as

refreshments for $50/hour. For more information

or to book the room, please email info@wildbirdstore.ca.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ed-the-duck-edible-beer-6-pack-ring-1.3608783

A brewery in Florida may have solved the age-old problem of animals being snared and strangled by plastic six-pack beer rings.

If you remember Calgary's Ed the Duck, that's ingenuity the tangled up mallard could have used nearly 30 years ago.

Saltwater Brewery has invented what it says is the world's first edible beer packaging made from beer-making by-products such as wheat and barley.

So, if a turtle gets caught in one of these tasty rings it could theoretically chew its way out.

The green brewers have made a video, which has been making the rounds on social media.

Ed the Mallard duck in 1990

DR. DAVID BIRD

Q: Do Great blue herons build nests in dead trees or do they build in live trees and end up killing them like the Cor-

morants do?

A: I have seen GBH nesting colonies in two main common scenarios. The first is in conifer trees located not far

from a foraging place like a river, lake or seashore. In those cases you do not see much in the way of vegetation

dieoff. The other is in a flooded forest where many, if not all, of the trees have died. But in the latter case, it is not

due to the Heron feces, but to the water. On the other hand, bird feces is quite corrosive and certainly has some im-

pact upon the vegetation, but not to the extent one sees in a Cormorant colony.

Q: Do birds reach an age when they can no longer reproduce?

A: Yes, they reach a stage called senescence, much in the same way that we humans do. I had hoped to study this

in my large Kestrel colony at McGill University, but never got around to it. There is a lot of interest in the subject

by ornithologists. If you google “senescence and Robert Ricklefs” you may find a paper or two on the subject. My

Kestrels were quite productive until about age 12 years. Then one would see poorer fertility and egg hatchability. In

males the sperm would become fewer in number and less motile and in the females, the eggs with thinner shells and

likely less nutrition for a growing embryo. Most birds in the wild do not get to achieve senescence with the excep-

tion of larger species like Geese, Storks, Condors, Albatrosses and the like. Many people are surprised to learn that

the average lifespan for smaller birds like songbirds and even Kestrels is only 1-3 years at best.

- - - - - - -

5901 3rd Street S.E. Showroom Hours: Monday through Saturday 10:00am to 5:00pm

Calgary, Alberta T2H 1K3 Phone lines are open Monday through Saturday

Phone: (403) 640-2632 CLOSED Sundays and ALL Statutory holidays for Faith, Family & Friends

Web: wildbirdstore.ca

Email: info@wildbirdstore.ca

We have added some new videos so check it out by going to YouTube, type in the search bar

“The Wild Bird Store” to watch our videos and to help us become more visible . We are

continually adding more content, so check us out often. Be sure to click on “Subscribe”

before you leave the page.

The Wild Bird Store

Is the warranty & repair depot for:

Squirrel Buster® Bird Feeders

Aspects® Feeders

Droll Yankee® Bird Feeders

And the warranty depot for:

Leupold Binoculars & Spotting

Scopes