Osprey

Osprey, the Fish Hawk

Osprey

The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is a common bird in most of Canada.  It is a summer resident and breeds here.  It arrives in mid-to-late April and stays until late summer or early fall.  It winters where there is open water with a population of fish.  Most migrate to Florida, California, Mexico and Central America.  Ospreys occur all over the world except for Antarctica.

Osprey

 The Osprey is an easy species to identify.  It is large (60 cm/25 in long) with a wingspan of 160 cm/65 in.  It holds its wings in a 'W' (or 'M') formation while in flight.  It is mainly white beneath with black carpal marks on the underwings (areas at the wrist).  It looks a bit gull-like in flight.  The upperside is all dark including the rump and tail.  At close range you can see the white cap on the head and the dark stripe through the yellow eye.  It is a conspicuous bird which frequently vocalizes its distinctive whistle.  

Osprey

The Osprey eats fish almost exclusively.  It catches them by hovering over the water or plunging head-first in to catch them.  Its beak is very hooked and it has specialized feet for holding fish.  The talons are hooked and their toes are large with rough, barbed soles enabling them to hold on to slippery, wriggling fish.  They are often seen flying with a fish in their talons.  They always fly with the fish pointing in the direction in which they are headed, making it more aerodynamic.  They also have a large wing proportion for their weight which enables them to carry their large, heavy prey.  

Ospreys became the 'poster child' for the devastation done by DDT-use in the 1950s and 1960s.  Their populations plummeted especially along the Atlantic coast.  The banning of DDT and the establishment of conservation programs like providing nest-platforms resulted in a wonderful comeback.  

Ospreys build large stick nests on platforms, dead trees, power poles or channel markers over water.  Three pink or white eggs marked with olive or brown are laid.  Both adults carry out the 35-40 day incubation.  Not all the eggs hatch at once.  There is usually about 5 days between the hatching of the first to the last chick.  

Osprey on Nest

The Latin name for this raptor is derived from Greek.  'Hals' means salt or sea and 'aetos' means eagle, sea eagle.  It is the only raptor which feeds exclusively on live fish.  An interesting trait of this species is its reversible toe!  It can grasp the fish either with 3 toes in front and one in back or 2 in front and 2 in back.  The outer toe is reversible.  This makes flight with a heavy fish more stable.

Savannah Sparrow

Savannah, a Sparrow of Grasslands and Open Habitats

Savannah Sparrow

 The Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) is a common New Brunswick sparrow of fields and open weedy habitats, as its name suggests.  It is the most likely sparrow to be seen in open areas sitting on the ground or perched on a weed or fencepost.  It looks similar to the Song Sparrow but is smaller, shorter tailed and has yellow lores (area between eye and bill).  It also has a pink bill and a paler superciliary line (eyebrow).  The Savannah has a notched tail and the Song Sparrow has a rounded tail.  Some sources describe 21 subspecies of the Savannah Sparrow that are divided into 4 groups.  These subspecies vary in size, colouration, bill shape and voice.

Savannah Sparrow

The Savannah Sparrow's breeding range is from Alaska, includes all of Canada except the Arctic islands, south to the mid-US states.  It winters in the southern US, Mexico and southward to Guatemala.

The Savannah Sparrow nests on the ground in grassy areas.  Its nest is a cup made of grass and moss and lined with hair, fine grass and roots.  It lays 2 to 6 pale greenish-blue eggs mottled with brown.  Incubation is 10 to 13 days and is shared by both adults.  Savannahs feed on seeds, insects, spiders and sometimes small crustaceans.  They are one of our sparrows that scratch in the dirt to feed.  The Savannah Sparrow is named for Savannah, Georgia where the first specimen was collected.

Savannah 'Ipswich' Sparrow

One subspecies of the Savannah Sparrow that is important in this area is the (Savannah) Ipswich Sparrow.  It is a large subspecies that breeds only on Sable Island, NS and can be seen during migration along our coasts.  It winters along east coast beaches south to Florida.  It is larger, has a larger bill and has very pale plumage.  The photo above shows an Ipswich Sparrow and was taken at Point Lepreau, NB.  One or two of this subspecies are seen every year during the annual Seabird Migration Census done there.

The Savannah Sparrow is a wonderful sparrow, so easily seen as one walks through fields or along marshes.  It is, however, skittish and tends to take a quick look at you before diving into the grass to hide.  It is a good runner and often will run well away so you won't see it again.  Its song is a very distinctive buzzy sound described by Sibley as ti ti ti tseeeeeee tisoooo.

Song Sparrow

Harbinger of Spring

Song Sparrow

The arrival of the Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) is one of the most welcome signs of spring in this area.  And, when it sings for the first time, spring is really here!  Although some individuals spend the winter here sustaining themselves from the food and shelter of feeder areas, the bulk of the population arrives in early April and leaves in late fall when the weather turns.  The summer/breeding range of this species covers all of the southern half of Canada.  It winters in the US mostly in the southern parts.  It has a permanent range in the central US where summer and winter ranges overlap.  

Song Sparrow

The Song Sparrow is very common here.  It is the sparrow of yard, garden, and forest and park edge.  Sparrows are notoriously difficult to distinguish by the beginner birder.  Sometimes they all look like 'little brown birds'.  Let's point out the features of a Song Sparrow.  They are a medium-to-large sized sparrow, very streaked with a long tail.  In this part of North America they are reddish-brown  to medium-brown streaked with a gray face and, most importantly, the streaks appear to converge to a central spot on the breast.  They sport a wide greyish eyebrow and a dark malar stripe (line behind the eye).  The underparts are white under the streaking.  The long tail is rounded at the end and the bird often flips it when landing.  Notice the central breast spot in the photo above, the gray face and eyebrow line and the dark malar stripe.

Song Sparrow

There are 30 + subspecies of Song Sparrows!  This is what happens if you occur all over North America often in isolated areas.  The subspecies vary in size and colouration.  The colours range from grayish, to reddish, to sooty-coloured.  But, they all sing the same song.  The same subspecies return to the same areas each year so if you are visiting the west you will find the Song Sparrows look quite different.  Apparently we have the nominate subspecies here, the 'Eastern' group.  

What other sparrow species are you likely to  confuse with Song Sparrows?  That can be difficult since they are all 'little brown birds' and sometimes hard to identify.  A study of Lincoln's, Swamp, Savannah, Fox and Vesper sparrows will help.  I think the most likely one to confuse it with is the Fox Sparrow.  But the Fox Sparrow is much larger, more reddish and with much bolder stripes.  A field guide is a definite asset in sparrow identification.

Song Sparrow

The song of the Song Sparrow is a must to learn.  Sibley describes it  as 3 or 4 short clear notes followed by a buzzy sound and ending in a trill.  Once you learn it you won't forget it.  It is one of nature's blessings on our landscape.  

Song Sparrows build their nests  close to the ground, in a bush 2 or 3 feet off the ground or directly on the ground near a grassy hummock.  They build a grassy cup in which they incorporate leaves, twigs and bark and often line it with hair.  Incubation is done by the female and she sometimes raises 3 broods per season.  Song sparrows eat seeds, grass, berries and insects; and sometimes crustaceans.  They readily come to feeders and enjoy sunflower seeds.  It is always fun to see them bring their young to the feeder to teach them how to feed.  

Fighting Eagles

Fighting or Locked Together?

Bald Eagles [Internet Photo]

Two weeks ago we had a very unusual scenario on the river by our house.  It was a very rainy, cold Friday and around supper time the rain was coming down in big droplets. We noticed a disturbance on the river bank and saw 5 eagles there in the trees and on the shore.  It looked like 4 adults and 1 immature.  They were screeching and chittering loudly and flying in short bursts from the area only to return.  

Watching from the window we could see a dark blob on the ground and possibly in the water.  The river was still iced over but there was about a half metre of water laying on the ice along the shoreline.  Although it was getting dark with the heavy rain and nearing the end of the day we could see the commotion seemed to be about a moving large dark object in the water.  Getting binoculars on it we could see it was two eagles in the water.  They were either locked together or fighting.  The others continued making a loud raucous from the shoreline or the trees overhead.  I couldn't tell if the bystanders were upset or cheering the eagles on.  

We decided to wait a few minutes and watch what happened.  However, if the eagles were indeed locked together then something had to be done to help.  I was picturing possibly a tangle in nylon rope or netting.  Getting to the eagles was a difficult task.  The snow was very deep and the steep hill covered in wet snow and ice would have to manoeuvred.  After watching them for 20 minutes we donned the heavy raincoats, high boots, sou'westers and leather gloves.  We took along garden rakes to use to bring the eagles into shore so we could check them for tangles.  

As we set out towards the cacophony we slowly picked our way through the heavy rain and deep snowbanks.  As I approached over the last hill, 2 eagles took flight from the trees above the two in the water.  The two immersed eagles were just that - 2 adult eagles completely immersed in the water on their backs at the edge of the river.  They were mostly still but at times would flounder as if trying to free themselves or kill one another, we weren't sure which.  What I saw as I got closer was a large black mass of feathers totally submerged with two white heads sticking up above the water, like a 2-headed monster.  As I drew close a third eagle took off from underneath the bushes on the shore, obviously a ringside seat. Both eagles looked exhausted and hypothermic.  They would just lie there in the cold water with their eyes closed.  I still could not tell for sure whether they were locked together or one was holding the other down. One certainly was not on top of the other although one eagle seemed to have its head put underwater periodically. 

Bald Eagles [Internet Photo]

As I drew close now, they were aware of my presence.  They did not change position but started struggling again.  Within 10 metres of them, they let go of one another and one eagle tried to escape.  After two bounces it extricated itself from the water and attempted to fly across the river ice which had pools of water lying on it.  The eagle bounced in and out of the pools of water as it tried to get air-borne.  It eventually made it to the other side of the river and out of sight.

The remaining eagle was still on its back and totally submerged except for its head.  As I prepared to rake it in for examination with great difficulty it flipped itself over and tried to get out of the water.  I could tell as it exited that it was not tangled so we backed off and let it slowly regain its strength.  It was one bedraggled bird!  It was totally exhausted and obviously very cold.   It shook itself many times and walked slowly down the shoreline to eventually perch on a stump.  After a few minutes it started to preen.  I knew then it would be OK.   We left the area, cold and wet ourselves but very glad we did not have to handle the eagles which we were prepared to do if necessary.  The eagle sat on the stump in the darkness for an hour and a half before flying off.  

We wondered what that eagle had done to warrant that kind of treatment.  One eagle was obviously aggressing on the other, even though that was not immediately apparent.  I felt our intervening saved the life of at least one eagle and perhaps two.  They had ahold of each other by the feet or possibly further up the legs.  They must have been punctured by those talons although we saw no evidence of it.  In all the photos I could find of fighting eagles on the internet the aggressor has the victim by the feet or legs.  That must be their way of fighting.  It certainly would assert dominance.  Doing this in the water and trying to drown the victim is what we had observed.  I had not heard of this before.  It seems a severe way to work out squabbles over territory, mates or food.  But, these are eagles after all.  I am sorry we have no photos of this encounter.  The circumstances were too extreme to carry along a camera.