Northern Shrike

New Brunswick's Butcher Bird

Northern Shrike

The Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor) is sometimes known as our 'Butcher Bird'.  It is a winter resident and gets its name by feeding on insects, birds and small mammals.  It makes its kill by delivering a heavy blow to the head of the prey with its strong beak.  It has no talons so is forced to kill with the beak.  It then either eats the prey or hangs it on a thorn or other barb, often barbed wire.  This behaviour is for convenience for a future meal or also to mark territory.

The Northern Shrike is 25 cm (10 in) long and appears large-headed.  It is gray on the back and white on the underparts.  The black wings, black mask and long black white-edged tail are prominent.  The base of the primary wing feathers shows a white patch which is very obvious in flight.  The hooked beak identifies this bird as a shrike.  The adult shows very faint horizontal stripes on the breast.  The juvenile bird is much browner with more prominent horizontal breast stripes.  Since this species is a hunter, it often sits on an exposed perch, but not as upright as most hawks.  Its frequent tail wagging is characteristic.

The Northern Shrike breeds in the Canadian far north; Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Northern Quebec, Labrador; and Alaska.  It winters in southern Canada and into the northern US, a bit more southerly in the mid-western US.  We have had reports of sightings of this species here in NB now since early November.  

Northern Shrike

The Northern Shrike is not usually mistaken for another species.  It possibly could be mistaken for a Northern Mockingbird which is similarly coloured.  The white wing patch on the shrike in flight is much smaller than that of the mockingbird.  Nor does the mockingbird have a hooked bill.  Very rarely we get a Loggerhead Shrike here, a vagrant from the south which might appear in summer.  It is smaller, darker on the back and its mask extends over its forehead.  This species would require close scrutiny to differentiate.

The Northern Shrike builds its nest in a tree 3 to 6 metres off the ground.  Its nest is built of sticks and lined with feathers, hair and fine plant fibres.  Four to nine gray or green eggs are laid.  The nest is built so deep that when the female is incubating the eggs, all one can see is the tip of her tail.  The vocals of this species are low-pitched, shrill cries and rattles.  They also make other nasal and harsh sounds.

Snowy Owl

Snowy Owl Makes Quick Visit to Fredericton

Snowy Owl

On Saturday, November 17, a Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) was seen perched on the roof structure of the Brunswick Baptist Church in Fredericton.  When it was discovered by the local crows they began to harass it.  A video was taken and showed them annoying it mercilessly.  We tried to see it a short time after it was reported but it was gone.  We searched other Fredericton rooftops but unsuccessfully.  I assume the bird flew further up or down river where it could rest and feed in peace.  

Snowy Owl

Above is the Snowy Owl that appeared in the late fall in Jemseg a number of years ago.  These are quite likely young birds leaving the north in search of food.  We have had an influx of northern birds in the last 2 weeks, so it probably means that the food supplies in the north are dwindling.  I have seen reports of Evening and Pine Grosbeaks, Pine Siskins, Northern Shrikes, and Snowy Owls.  That is exciting for us because it means we will have more birds around our feeders and possibly an exciting Xmas Bird Count.  

For a long time we believed the heavily spotted Snowy Owls were young birds.  That is only partly true.  Older birds can also be heavily spotted.  Some sources state that females and young birds are more heavily marked.  

Snowy Owls normally inhabit the tundra areas of North America.  They prefer lakeshores, marine habitats, and marshes.  When in town they often perch on rooftops.  They feed on lemmings and voles but here in the 'south' they will feed on whatever they can catch, usually rodents but sometimes ducks which they snatch off the surface of the water.  

Snowy Owl [Internet Photo]

Snowy Owls are well built to withstand the cold.  Note the feathers around the face in the photo above.  Their ears are similarly covered.  Their feet are heavily feathered, too.  Their thick covering of feathers holds in a thick layer of warm air, insulating them from extreme cold.  They are often perched near the ground out of the wind where they can watch for prey.  They are diurnal owls so they can hunt during the day or at night.  This gives them an advantage in the long summers of the far north. 

It is quite likely that more Snowy Owls will appear in the province.  Watch for them in your area.  Be sure to admire them from a respectful distance (at least 50 to 100 metres).  When they arrive they are often exhausted and starving.  Being harassed by humans is very stressing to them.  Stay well back and give them a chance to rest and feed normally.  

Fox Sparrow

Fox Sparrows Visiting Feeders Now

Fox Sparrow

There are several reports this week (in mid-November) of Fox Sparrows (Passerella iliaca) visiting feeders around the province.  We have had one yesterday and today feeding on the ground with Dark-eyed Juncos and a White-throated Sparrow.

The Fox Sparrow is our largest sparrow.  It is a startling reddish-brown colour and shows a rounded head and medium-length tail.  It often shows some gray on its face.  The breast is white but heavily streaked and spotted with reddish brown, in triangles which converge and coalesce to a central breast spot.  It has a large  bill which it uses to feed on seeds.  Being a ground feeder it can be seen scratching with both feet sending a steam of turf and soil out behind.  It feeds on seeds, fruits, berries, insects, spiders, millipedes and small snails.  

Fox Sparrow

The Fox Sparrow is a complex species.  Ornithologists have described four races; the Sooty in the Pacific, the Thick-billed in California, the Slate-colored of the Interior West and the Red (Taiga) of  the east.  We see the Red (Taiga) race here.  This race summers and breeds in Newfoundland westward through northern Quebec, across the northern prairie provinces and through the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Alaska.  It winters in the south-eastern US as far south as northern Florida.  Here we see it in migration as it passes through on its way north or south.  For some reason we seem to see more of them in the late fall.

Fox Sparrow

The Fox Sparrow builds its nest in dense willow and alder thickets or in forests along the coast.  The nest is built on or near the ground and is made of leaves, grass and moss.  In it are laid two to five greenish eggs with brownish spots.  Apparently the adults will perform a broken-wing display to lure predators away from the nest.

The only sparrow that could be confused with the Fox Sparrow here would be the Song Sparrow.  It is also very streaked with the streaks converging to a spot on the breast.  But, the Fox Sparrow is much larger, its streaks are much bolder and very reddish brown, its bill is larger and its tail is proportionately shorter.  If you are in doubt as to which species it is, it is probably a Song Sparrow.  The Fox Sparrow is so striking that when you see one, there is no doubt what it is.  Happy birding!

Wilson's Snipe

Secretive Marsh Bird

Wilson's Snipe

The Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) is a secretive marsh and shorebird.  It is a common New Brunswick bird that is not often seen.  It is a member of the Scolopacidae family which it shares with sandpipers, phalaropes and their allies.  They share the same problem as the rest of the family, loss of habitat.  A few years ago this species was lumped with the European Common Snipe but has recently been returned to its own species.

Wilson's Snipe are generally seen singly in wet, grassy or muddy habitats.  Their bill appears exceptionally long and one wonders how they can manoeuvre it in their deep probes into the mud. They are a stocky bird with a long dark-tipped bill and greenish gray legs.  What is striking is how striped they are.  There are bold stripes on their head and back.  Their breast is brown with fine white streaks.  The belly is white.  The flanks show heavy bars.  They are 26 cm (10.3 in) long.  Their flight is startling as they explode in front of you and fly straight upwards.  Their toes do not extend beyond the tail in flight.  

Wilson's Snipe

We have another species of marsh bird here which one might mistake for the Wilson's Snipe, the American Woodcock.  This species is slightly larger (28 cm/11 in) and appears more heavy bodied.  The head on the woodcock shows cross-barring verses the heavy longitudinal stripes of the snipe.  The woodcock has no bars on its flanks.

The snipe commonly makes a winnowing sound.  This makes easy identification since it is much more difficult to actually see the bird.  The sound is made with its wings in its courtship display.  Snipe probe in the soil for insects, earthworms, crustaceans and mollusks.  They often sink their entire bill into the soil sometimes up to their foreheads.  They swallow prey without withdrawing their bill.  Their bill is very sensitive so they can detect prey by feel.  They can feed on both land and in water but usually stay close to cover.  Their nest is a ground scrape lined with grass where they lay four olive-brown eggs.  

Wilson's Snipe

The word 'snipe' was first used in the 14th century and is derived from the Old Norse word, 'snipa'.  The Old Saxon word was 'sneppa' and the Middle Dutch word was 'snippe'.  In the 1770s the word began to be used as a verb, 'to snipe', in British India.  Since the snipe is a challenging game bird for hunters, 'to snipe' became associated with sharpshooting around 1824.  

The shooting of snipe carries on today.  The Wilson's Snipe and the American Woodcock are the only shorebirds which still can be legally hunted in New Brunswick.  They are often hunted with bird dogs.  In New Brunswick the season is from September 15 to November 30.  The bag limit is 10 and the possession limit is 20.  These numbers vary slightly for woodcock.  

I have never eaten snipe but I can't imagine there would be much on that small bird to eat.  I think they are much better off left in their proper place in the ecosystem.

Bullock's Oriole

Rare Oriole Visits New Brunswick

Bullock's Oriole [Marbeth Wilson Photo]

For the last week in October there has been a rare oriole visiting a bird-friendly home near Centreville, NB.  There it is eating suet and oranges and managing to keep healthy in spite of the rain and cold weather.

What is a Bullock's Oriole?  The Bullock's Oriole is the western cousin to the Baltimore Oriole.  It normally inhabits the western part of North America from southern British Columbia and southern Alberta south to southern California and northern Mexico and east to the mid-western US.  It spends its winters in southern Mexico and sometimes southern California.  It prefers open woodlands, shade trees, parks, and riparian zones.  So what is it doing here?  Well, this individual is undoubtedly a victim of the severe storms recently hitting the US.  It is amazing that a small bird can survive travelling so far off course!

Bullock's Oriole

If you look up Bullock's Oriole in a bird book, it shows a very brilliant orange and black bird.  This present individual is in its winter plumage.  It is either a female or juvenile male so it looks very different from the brilliant orange and black of the male in breeding plumage.  The adult male in breeding plumage looks much like our male Baltimore Oriole, brilliant orange and black.  The Bullock's Oriole does show more white, however on the wing bars and the orange placed in different areas from the Baltimore.  The female is much more subdued with yellow-orange on the head and tail, gray on the back and much lesser white wing bars.  

It is in winter that they are difficult to tell apart.  A dull immature Baltimore is similar to a female Bullock's.  But these Baltimores tend to have more yellow on the underparts which blends  into the gray belly.  In the Bullock's the transition from the yellow to the grayish white belly is more abrupt.  The backs (mantles) are different, too.  In the Baltimore the mantle feathers have dark centres and those of the Bullock's are mostly unmarked gray.  The rump of the Baltimore shows yellow but that of the Bullock's is gray.  Looking at the under tail coverts also helps.  They are yellow in the Baltimore but more often gray but sometimes yellow in the Bullock's.  A more subtle difference is the wing bars.  They are distinct and separate in the Baltimore but seem connected by white edges on the greater coverts in the Bullock's.  None of the aforementioned features are absolute but one must look at all the identifying features to make a true identification.  No wonder we birders often seek expert opinions when faced with such an individual.  (Thanks to Stuart Tingley and others).  

Bullock's Oriole

Notice in the top photo how the wing bars are connected by white-edged feathers from the coverts.  And, in the photo immediately above, notice the mostly gray mantle feathers.  The middle photo and the photo below show the abrupt transition from the throat feathers to the grayish white belly feathers and the grayish yellow under tail coverts.  This individual does not have solid gray under tail coverts.  

Bullock's Oriole

A good description of winter-plumage Bullock's and Baltimore Orioles can be found in National Graphic, Complete Birds of North America, 2006, pp. 624-625.  

Bullock's Oriole is rarely seen in New Brunswick.  According to Birds of New Brunswick:  An Annotated List up until publication in 2004 there had been only 2 accepted sightings, one at Bathurst from Nov. 2001 which stayed at a feeder area until Feb. 2002, and one at Saint John in 2003.  Since then I have also seen one at Hampton in Dec. 2011.  So they are rare, they usually come in late fall or winter and they usually remain at feeder areas for a few weeks.  I think we can assume that they die of our severe winter weather.  They are very unlikely to turn around and fly south to warmer areas.  Given that they arrived here due to severe weather or a disturbance in their navigation systems, they are very unlikely able to return to their normal range or even warmer geographical areas.

 

Bullock's Oriole

Shown above is the Bullock's Oriole which arrived at a feeder in Bathurst 2001-2002.  Notice it also shows winter plumage.  We can see the gray under tail converts and the grayish white belly clearly.  The yellow throat does not show a sharp transition to the breast feathers but the white wing bars are tied together with white edges to the coverts.  Unfortunately we cannot clearly see the rump and back of this bird.

At one time the Baltimore Oriole and the Bullock's Oriole were lumped together as one species, the Northern Oriole.  That was because in the central area of the continent where their ranges overlap, some individuals interbred producing hybrids.  In recent years, the two species were again given full species status so they again became Bullock's Oriole and Baltimore Oriole. 

 

Bullock's Oriole

We are fortunate to have this bird visit us.  It is a delight to see a visitor from afar both for its beauty and for the challenge to identify it.  We hope it does well at the excellent area it has found.