Birding at Wye Marsh

Black-capped Chickadee

The Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) is a very common bird around the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre during the fall and winter months. They are usually the only chickadee species that inhabits the Wye Marsh area. These birds are frequent visitor to our bird feeders and to an outstretched hand.  Visitors have been visiting the Wye Marsh for many years to see this bird up close and on their hands!  That’s right, an outstretched hand full a sunflower seeds can attract chickadees from anywhere along our trails.

How to I know when I am near a chickadee?  Easy. The chickadee makes at least 15 different calls to communicate with its flockmates and offspring. The best known is the chickadee-dee-dee that gives the bird its name. Using this call both male and female chickadees challenge or scold intruders, and send information about the location of food and predators to their partners, their offspring, and members of their flock

If you find one, more will come. In fall and winter, Black-capped Chickadees live in loose flocks of four to 12 birds. Each flock consists of mated pairs that bred locally the preceding summer, plus unrelated juveniles that have immigrated from surrounding populations.

From October to March, the flock flits from tree to tree over an area of 8 to 20 ha, meandering through long-established forest paths at a rate of about half a kilometre an hour. The birds keep in touch with each other by means of soft notes, sit-sit, uttered at intervals. Each flock defends its home range from other flocks using vocalizations and aggressive behaviour.

How do those little birds survive the cold? In the north, the chickadees usually roost in dense evergreen groves sheltered from the wind and snow. At roosting time, some of them disappear into any available hole where they spend the night, one bird to a hole. Others roost in the top branches of evergreens or low down in bushy young spruces. Night after night, the flock may use the same roosting place. To keep warm the chickadee erects its soft, thick feathers to trap warm air close to its body. This serves as good insulation against the cold. Chickadees also drop their body temperature at night by 10 to 12°C below daytime body temperature, to conserve energy.

Why are they always moving around in the winter? It is estimated that chickadees, like other small titmice, need about 10 kcal of energy per day to survive. The birds eat plenty of food which is turned into energy. During the short winter day, the rate of feeding is sped up. Food not needed for the immediate activity of moving around and foraging is stored as fat. The fat provides energy that the chickadee needs to survive while sleeping and fasting through the long, cold night. It is easy to see how important are the foods — sunflower seeds, peanuts, and suet — offered at a feeding station in winter.  A chickadee may cache hundreds of food items in a single day, and can retrieve these with almost perfect accuracy 24 hours later. Some birds can remember the location of their food hoards for at least 28 days after caching. Black-capped Chickadees remember not only where they have stored different food items but also which caches they have emptied.

Next time you visit the Wye Marsh don’t forget to feed the chickadees.  And don’t worry, they don’t bite – they only tickle a little bit.

Resources:  Hinterlands Who’s Who http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?id=29

The land around Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre and the Wye Valley is designated as an Important Bird Area.  But what exactly does that mean? An Important Bird Area (IBA) is a site providing essential habitat for one or more species of breeding or non-breeding birds. These sites may contain threatened species, endemic species, species representative of a biome, or highly exceptional concentrations of birds. The Canadian IBA program was launched in 1996 by the Canadian Nature Federation (now Nature Canada ) and Bird Studies Canada, the Canadian Bird Life partners.

Wye Marsh earned its IBA designation in 2000 because of the variety of different birds congregating in significant numbers when breeding, in winter, and during migration.

Also contributing to the IBA distinction was the success of the Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) re-introduction program.  Trumpeter Swans are restricted to North America, where they occur in three relatively distinct populations: Pacific Coast , Rocky Mountain , and Interior. The Wye Marsh population of Trumpeter Swans is the largest concentration in Ontario , and comprises a significant percentage of the interior population. Historical nesting of Trumpeter Swans in the Wye Valley has been documented through archaeological evidence at the current site of Ste Marie Among the Hurons.

In addition to Trumpeter Swans, a relatively large colony of Black Terns (Childonias niger ) and Least Bitterns (Ixobrychus exilis) reside and nest within Wye Marsh.  Terns, unlike gulls, have long pointed wings and bill and a forked tail.  They plunge into the water when catching fish.  A Least Bittern is a small, secretive heron that lives in dense marsh cover.  When alarmed, it may freeze with its bill pointed up, so it resembles a reed and is very difficult to see.

The west side of Wye Marsh is home to a large population of nesting Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodius) .  They are wading birds with long legs, neck and bill for stalking food in shallow water.  The location where Blue Herons nest in close proximity is called a rookery.  The rookery can be viewed during the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre's Summer Eco-tours. Other significant species within Wye Marsh and surrounding areas include Sandhill Crane ( Grus canadensis), American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginous) , Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola) , Sora (Porzana carolina) , and Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) , among others.

So, beside the obvious benefits to wildlife, what are the benefits of being designated an IBA ? The identification of important bird habitat is a necessary first step in establishing habitat-based priorities in bird conservation. The designation of a network of sites can help decision-makers focus their efforts and protect the most critical bird habitat.  This, in turn, will create more opportunities for the average person to view a variety of common and/or rare birds in these areas.

On an average spring/summer day at Wye Marsh the possibilities are endless.  Having deciduous (temperate) forest and marsh habitat in close proximity to each other, creates an edge effect which increases the potential of seeing a Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus) and a Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) all in the same day.  During the fall, Wye Marsh is a very important staging area for migratory birds such as Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) , Swamp Sparrows (Melosspiza melodia) and Yellow Warblers (Dendroica petechia)

Birding is a pastime and hobby shared by many people around the world.  It has personal and holistic benefits.  It enables one to connect with nature.  From the amateur to the avid birder, any and all can participate.  It is a precision sport.  Knowing about the birds, their behaviours and what they look like can take many years to learn and master.

Other advantages of having the IBA designation are scientific and environmental in nature.  For example, there isn't a history project as well known to so many people in North America as the Christmas Bird Count. A lot of people know only that it is an annual activity of birdwatchers, but many thousands are very familiar with what's involved because they have taken part in this 106 year old project. The counts now provide not only a enjoyable event for the participants, but a great amount of data about the early winter birdlife of this continent - data which illustrates the changing distribution and abundance of birds, and indirectly,  the health of our environment. The count is a day of fun and exploration outdoors, enjoying nature and companionship, and sharing with others.

Whether you are interested in connecting with and enjoying nature through the study of birding or interested in contributing to on-going wildlife research, Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre will provide you with the opportunity to escape, explore, and experience it all. 

You can now make a donation to Wye Marsh on-line. To make an on-line donation, please click on the "Donate Now" button above.