The weather has resembled a roller coaster ride over the past six weeks. After an all-too-early chilly snap pre-Thanksgiving that made us realize that winter was arriving very early, things warmed up a little. The following milder spell has, however, now skipped off south and we are seeing a return to chillier conditions. After a rain-drenched day yesterday, following brutal weather this past weekend-hopes and wishes, the prospects have dimmed for the upcoming Christmas Bird Counts, which start this weekend on December 14 with the Outer Cape CBC and proceed thru Jan 5. 2015. As temperatures drop further north, most noticeable around The Cape and Islands is the increases in the number of waterbirds in all wetland habitats.
Bird identification can be very difficult if not impossible. An area of controversy among birders, especially goose aficionados came to a head when the familiar Canada Goose was 'split' by taxonomists into two species - now known as Canada Goose and Cackling Goose. In short, the small, High Arctic breeding populations became Cackling Geese, but it's not that easy. The two 'species' overlap greatly in a number of ways - including size - and there remains much controversy as to the true identity of a number of 'small Canada Geese' that pass our way at this time of year.
If head shape, bill size and shape, breast color and scapular patterning can all be assessed accurately, you might be in with a fighting chance of identifying them, but the amount of variation suggests that there could well be interbreeding between the various forms going on. Some if not many of these birds cannot be identified with any confidence to the species level as we still have much to learn.
As December progresses and the winter sets in, I find that the focus of attention at shifts away from the better known locations in the less-populated parts of the region, and into our streets, backyards and bird feeders. Going for a walk around the block during the winter can net you almost as many bird sightings as you might get if you headed out to the well-known birding locations.
Back yards and urban areas in general can be popular with birds during the winter for a variety of reasons. In largely agricultural regions, they can offer oases of cover and feeding opportunities among the fruiting trees and bushes that we plant; our feeders offer sustenance during times of difficulty, while densely populated areas can even be several degrees warmer in winter than the surrounding countryside.
So as the Christmas Bird Counts begin this weekend, keep an open mind about the bundled up observers with binoculars peering into thickets and checking feeders in suburban areas. The birds are where you find them and the counts offer a chance to visit places that birders rarely ever bird.
