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page 24 NORTH urns uunum BIRDS OF A FEATHER by Marg Hendrick To help you with bird identification you need a good field guide. I recommend either Birds of North America" by Robbins, Golden' Press, 1983 edition, or A Field Guide to Birds (of Eastern and Central America) by Peterson, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1980 edition. Both these books have text and pictures side by side. You can expect to pay between $10.00 and $25.00 depending which guide you choose and whether you decide on paperback or hardcover edition. May is the big month for migration and there is no way I am going to be able to cover all the new arrivals in a monthly column. However, a good place to start is with the warblers. The Kingston Field Naturalists list 38 species which pass through this area including 16 species that nest here. Four on the list are accidentals-birds which have been seen 5 times or less since listing began. So far, I have seen 20 species of warblers in our area this year and doubtless will have more by the time this is printed. By then most warblers that nest further north will be gone and those that remain will be building their nests. In the spring the brightly coloured male warblers are much easier to identify than» the drabber females. By fall, most males have lost this distinctive plumage and identifying warblers becomes quite a challenge! You are then dealing with three dull plumages per species, that of the male, female and immature. Peterson calls them "the confusing fall warblers" and indeed they are! This is where a good field guide is of help, for it will show these plumages. Many of you have been in touch with me this month and I appreciate your interest.Ionly wish space would allow me to mention all your sightings! Margaret Jean Rosewell was the first to tell me about a Red-shouldered Hawk's nest. Looking at it through my telescope I noticed downy feathers on the outside of the nest. This tells me that the young are born. John Goodman has not yet spotted any young in his Red-tailed Hawk's nest. However, if all goes well, some day the young will be big enough to peer out of the nest or to stand on the side to exercise their wings. The Ospreys in the Morton heronry have had bad luck again. They rebuilt their nest early in May only to have it blow down. At present another is under construction in the same dead tree that was used before. Both Rob Capell and Marjorie Jackson reported an Upland Sandpiper which was sitting near Frank's Road. Marjorie also had a puzzling bird which turned out to be a male Scarlet Tanager changing from his winter plumage to breeding plumage - a mixture of bright red and greenish yellow. Jo Shaw saw a Northern Flicker poking around the ground. This behavior in a woodpecker tends to puzzle people. The explanation is that flickers are very fond of ants and other insects, so they feed on the ground as well as in trees. They will also encourage ants to run through their feathers or pick them up and rub them through their plumage. This process is known as anting and scientists differ as to its purpose. Many believe that a plausible explanation is that it helps to control ectoparasites. Joe Langlois showed us a Common Loon's nest. We observed it from a safe distance as loons will often desert their nest if it is disturbed. Joe also let us watch a Blue Jay‘s nest in his yard. It was interesting to watch the male feed the female as she incubated the eggs. Dick Ussher inadvertently flushed a Ruffed Grouse from its nest. The whirring of wings set the dead leaves in motion and as they settled they did «gnu WWWWN mm‘m‘mmm‘mmmx mmm‘mmmm‘mmmmmmmmmmx mm'mmmxxmwa. . mxmmmmm‘mmmmmmx a fine job of covering the eggs. Nature's design perhaps? Hector Capell found a Brown Thrasher's nest and among its eggs was one of a Brown-headed Cow bird. The cowbird makes no nest of its own but lays its eggs in other birds'nests. This parasitism often results in the host raising a cowbird to the detriment of its own young. Our group went to Skycroft on one of our weekly field trips and among other interesting birds we saw a Blue~gray Gnatca‘cher. We aslo went owling one night and though we only heard one Saw-whet Owl, we had another intersting experience. A pair of Whip=poor~wills settled on the road ahead of us, showing their red eye-shine. Then as we watched they flew back and forth, their eyes picking up the light and tracing out their flight pattern until they disappeared in the woods. Ellen Bonwill gave the first report of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Rob Capell had a Northern Cardinal and a Woodcock with young near Lyndhurst. A Kildeer laid her eggs on Rene Waterfield's driveway. They are now protected from human harm by large rocks courtesy of the Waterfields. (f GT Membe': Ontario Nursing HomeAssociation Pat McManus had Whiteâ€"crowned Sparrows at his feeder and Annette Mess had a Yellow-throated Vireo near her home as well as Black terns and a Spotted Sandpiper at a nearby pond. Kathy Lawson gave me the location of a Kingfisher's nest and when we went to see it a pair of Roughâ€"winged swallows were preparing to nest close by. Nesting season is well underway and before we know it birds will be on their way south again. So now is the time, if you are interested, to see what you can find. I am always happy to hear from you, so please continue to call me at 359-5178 GOOD BIRDING A. 8: J. 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