Summary

The article describes the frequent avian visitors, particularly the Downy Woodpecker and the American Goldfinch, to a garden in Southern Ontario, Canada, throughout the seasons.

Abstract

The text provides a personal account of birdwatching in Southern Ontario, detailing the seasonal visits of various birds to the author's garden. The Downy Woodpecker and the American Goldfinch are highlighted as the most regular visitors, with the former attracted to the Hummingbird feeder and the latter favoring the garden's Catmint and Echinacea. The author notes the transient nature of some birds during spring migration, with special mentions of the Baltimore Orioles and Hummingbirds that visit the garden's feeder. The article also touches on the challenges of photographing these birds, particularly the elusive American Goldfinch, and the joy of observing their interactions with the garden's flora, such as the Sea Buckthorn berries and Catmint flowers.

Opinions

The author expresses a sense of anticipation and excitement for the return of birds each spring, particularly the Downy Woodpecker and the American Goldfinch.
There is a hint of disappointment in not being able to spot the Hummingbirds as frequently, despite providing them with a feeder.
The author seems to take pleasure in observing and photographing the birds, despite the challenge of capturing clear shots of the lively and quick American Goldfinch.
The article conveys a sense of respect and admiration for the Baltimore Orioles, who are known to nest nearby but remain elusive for most of the year.
The author appears to enjoy the company of these feathered friends and takes pride in creating a garden environment that supports a diverse range of bird species.

Image courtesy the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

Our Feathered Friends

Frequent Avian visitors

This article is in response to Dennett’s writing prompt for bird stories.

We live in Southern Ontario, Canada. This year we have had many feathered friends dropping by, but the two most frequent visitors seem to be the Downy Woodpecker shown in the lead image, and the bouncy, noisy American Goldfinch, shown below.

We get lots of transient birds in the Spring, but both the Downy and the Goldfinch are in our garden from early Spring until late fall.

I usually put on the Hummingbird feeder in April to feed the early Hummingbirds as they rush from their southern Winter homes to up North for the Spring and Summer. We rarely see the Hummingbirds, so if they do take advantage of the feeder we don’t know — but — the Downy Woodpeckers come swooping in as soon as the feeder appears.

Other Hummingbird feeder visitors are the Baltimore Orioles. We know they nest somewhere close, but we haven’t figured out where. They come to the Hummingbird feeder pretty much as soon as we hang it up. Once the Orioles have their eggs hatched we do not see them again until the following Spring.

Below is a not-so-great shot of the female Oriole getting ready to have a drink.

Female Oriole on the Hummingbird feeder. Photo by Louise Peacock.

Downy Woodpecker about to take drink. Photo by Louise Peacock

The Downy continues to visit the Hummingbird feeder all through Spring and Summer, although later in the summer he spends more time looking for bugs in dying or sickening trees.

Downy Woodpecker in our poor old Maple. Fuzzy photo by Louise Peacock

The American Goldfinch zoom about the garden in the early spring, chattering and landing in big flocks. As soon as they see one or both of us, off they go again. It is almost impossible to get an actual photo of them.

They forage around in the garden, getting the remaining fallen seeds of Rudbeckia and Echinacea. However, as soon as the Catmint produces flowers, the American Goldfinch are all over it.

Goldfinch hiding in the Catmint. Photo by Louise Peacock

The Catmint flowers from early Spring until late Fall, and there is no time during that period when those little birds are not in the plants, foraging noisily. As Summer continues, they get very keen on the Echinacea and tackle any seedhead they find ripened. I did manage to get a long shot of this activity

2 Goldfinch tackle the fresh seedheads on the Echinacea. Photo by Louise Peacock

Goldfinch perches almost upside down trying to get seeds. Photo by Louise Peacock.

This year they were thrilled to find that our SeaBuckthorn was loaded with berries, and until a significant lot of Echinacea had gone to seed, this became their second favorite snack station. Naturally, they never stayed in one place long enough for me to grab a decent photo …

I noticed other visitors to the Sea Buckthorn were the Cardinal pair. They were enjoying those berries very much indeed and would twitter angrily at us if we came outside. Again — no chance at a photo!

Sea Buckthorn berries. Photo by Louise Peacock

The American Goldfinch go off somewhere during the coldest and snowiest part of winter, but they are back usually February-March. The Downy Woodpecker hides away somewhere during the worst Winter weather, but can be seen mid-Winter on a sunny day attacking tree trunks for bugs.