Village Squire, 1974-06, Page 18This Canada [Or Gray] Jay, like his brethren, is only too happy to drop in for a bite whether or ,got he',
invited. Often called the "Whiskey Jack", it is a wide -spread bird. This one is in the mountains of western
Canada. - [Canadian Government Travel Bureau Photo.]
Travel
Spring a good time
to see
Canadian birds
16, VILLAGE SQUIRE/MAY 1974
BY TONY SLOAN
Over 500 species of birds make their
summer home in Canada. In fact a significant
number are year-round residents and
ornithologists say permanent residents are on
the increase because of winter food made
available from thousands of bird feeders
stocked and maintained by bird lovers.
Summer visitors include the rate and exotic
whooping crane. Standing four feet high, it is
Canada's tallest bird. The whooping crane,
saved from the brink of extinction, nests in
the remote wilderness of Wood Buffalo
National Park. Another visitor, the tiny
calliope hummingbird, from the southerly
mountains of westen Canada, weighs in at
one-tenth of an ounce and is the avian
midget.
Many tundra breeders, such as snow and
Canada geese,•head into the high north to
rest among such year-round .sidents as the
snowy owl and the rare ivory g. 'I. The great
mid -Canada band of boreal for. * is the
warblers' domain. The variety of s.. 'sters
increases in number toward the more yen
tarm lands and deciduous forests south of the
Canadian Shield.
Birders find spring and fall the most active
seasons in Canada. Mid -summer observers
can become frustrated. They are aware of a
wealth of birdlife in surrounding groves and
forested trails, hut the dense leaf cover
restricts the observer to more song than
actual sightings. And nesting activity makes
the birds increasingly secretive and cautious.
Spring and fall migrations offer peak
activity as migrating northern breeders add to
the variety of local birds. Most important,
much of the "wall -of -green" leaf cover is,
absent, allowing unobstructed observation,
and definite identification is further assisted
by the bright breeding plumage of
springtime.
Point Pelee, 35 miles southeast of Windsor
has become a password among serious
birders. Point Pelee National Park, the firsi
landfall on the long overflight across Lake.
Erie, is a natural rest and feeding stop for
northern -hound birds before dispersing into