Owen Sound Field Naturalists June Column:
Submitted by John Dickson,
Owen Sound Field Naturalists
The following is an excerpt from the June 2023 Owen Sound Field Naturalists June column:
Now into their final week of monitoring until the fall, here is an excerpt from Stephane Menu’s most recent report on behalf of the Bruce Peninsula Bird Observatory, where birds are banded, and documented along with many other avian observations:
Among the late-season migrants, it is always quite a surprise to have Blue Jays in this category! Most of the Blue Jays are sedentary except for the sliver of the population at the very north of their breeding range. A sliver maybe, but that is still a lot of birds: on June 4, there was a flock of about 400 Blue Jays rising up over the trees in the eastern horizon. As they rose and dipped, turned and mingled, it was extremely difficult to precisely count them: it was a 10-bird by 10-bird count done very quickly before they dove down into the woods again. If you ever happen to be in said wood as a large group of jays fall from the sky, the ‘whoosh’ sound they make would have you crouching in sudden fear! At least the first time you hear it. Quite remarkable!
We are now entering the final countdown of the Spring season, with the last day on June 10 fast approaching.
Jody Johnson Pettit and Marsha Courtney were on hand for the Young Naturalists attending the 25th Anniversary Huron Fringe Birding Festival at MacGregor Point Provincial Park. It was a beautiful afternoon for a nature hike, learning from Audrey Armstrong and Norah Toth about pollinator gardens, invasive plants and the various turtles, plants, trees, and frogs that live in the different ecosystems in the park. Always a special time to visit and see such natural diversity right in front of you.
