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Birds At The Museum
The Danish Canadian Museum is home to a large variety of birds. Watch and listen for birds as you wander the grounds.
Baltimore Oriole
Colours: Males are red and black. Females are an olive brown colour
Calls: Their songs sound like sweet flutelike whistles
When: From May to August
Where: In any type of wooded areas
Food: Seeds, small bugs and spiders
Fun Fact: They are small and fast, so be sharp looking for them
Photo by: J Gill
Canada Goose
Colours: Black head and neck, with white under the chin. Brown wings, with a white chest
Calls: A distinct and loud HONK
When: From May to October
Where: Near water, like ponds, streams and even sloughs
Food: vegetation, aquatic plants, grains, and the occasional small fish
Fun Fact: A Canadian Goose is territorial and can get very aggressive. Stay clear of them if you find one. They lay their eggs on the ground, and will protect their nest.
Photos by: Stephanie Sagmoen, Loreli Madiuk and MacKenzie Richard
Rose Breasted Grosbeak
Colours: Males are black, with bright red breasts, and white under bellies. Females are white and brown
Calls: Rich whistle, and warbling, with a chink added in the call
When: From May to September
Where: Woodlands and parks
Food: Insects, fruit and seeds
Fun Fact: They rarely leave their treetops and are a very cautious birds, and thus are hard to find.
Photo by: Lilian Hiebert
Tennessee Warbler
Colours: Males grey head, and a green body. Females tend to have a yellowish tinge in the green
Calls: High pitched chip in three parts
When: From May to September
Where: Treetops of thin patches of trees
Food: Insects mostly, but also drink nectar from flowers.
Fun Fact: These birds are so small they can gather nectar from flowers, but not like other nectar sucking animals, they drain the flower from the base of the stalk.
Photos by: Michelle Stewart and Frank Crocket
Ruby Throated Hummingbird
Colours: Males green bodies, with red under necks. Females are greenish brown, with a white under belly
Calls: Mostly humming noises. With occasional soft tic-tic sounds
When: to find them: From May to August
Where: to find them: Parks, gardens and small woodlands
Food: Nectar from flowers, flowered trees, and small insects
Fun Fact: When migrating, these hummingbirds can fly over thousand-miles at a time. They are rare and hard to find, so look closely
Photo by: Lilian Hiebert
Western Tanager
Colours: Males have a red head, yellow body and black wings. Females have a greenish tinged backside, yellow belly and black and white wings
Calls: Their loudest call is a pir-pir-pir noise
When: From May to August
Where: Wooded areas and gardens
Food: Insects that live in the trees, and occasional fruit
Fun Fact: The Western Tanager travel the furthest north during mating seasons, they go up as far as Alaska.
Photo By: Leslie Pearson
Black Billed Magpie
Colours: Black body, wings, head and beak, with a white breast.
Calls: Loud squawking noises that can be high pitched or low, they have a wide vocal range
When: to find them: All year around
Where: Cities, countryside, everywhere there is food
Food: Berries, Carrion, and other smaller birds
Fun Fact: If you look closely at the tail feathers, you can see tinges of colours in them. They’ve also been known to mimic other noises, to trick other animals, and people
Photo by: Stephanie Sagmoen
European Starling
Colours: All black, with small yellow beaks
Calls: Loud whistles, to soft warbling noises
When: Suburbs and agricultural zones
Where: Gardens, parks, anywhere they can nest in abundance
Food: Forage food, grain, seeds, berries and garbage
Fun Fact: They are one of the types of Starlings released in New York park, in 1890’s and overpopulated all across Canada and the United States, changing the bird ecosystem.
Photo by: Lynn Knonynenbelt
White Throated Sparrow
Colours: White and black stripped head, grey breast, brown with black spots wings and back
Calls: Usually long and low pitched beautiful notes
When: From May to August
Where: In dense woodlands and forests
Food: Insects, seeds and fruit
Fun Fact: They are the most common birds in the area, and are recognized for their sweet songs.
Photo by: Loreli Madiuk
Red Tailed Hawk
Colours: Brown and white, with a red tail
Calls: Vocal hoarse scree
When: All year
Where: Open fields with patches of trees
Food: Small to medium sized mammals, snakes, birds and carrion
Fun Fact: Can perform spectacular arial manoeuvres, cutting through the sky.
Photos by: J Gill and Lilian Hiebert
Northern Flicker
Colours: Blue and red coloured heads, with brown and black speckles on his wings and back
Calls: Tik-tik or a wik-wik calls
When: From May to October
Where: Open woods and forest edges
Food: Beetles, larvae, berries and seeds
Fun Fact: Flickers are a type of woodpecker, so you can find them pecking at the trees, or more likely hear them
Photos by: Leslie Pearson
Yellow Bellied Sap Sucker
Colours: Red blotch on top of the head, black and white body and wings. Males have red throats, Females white throats
Calls: They do not speak much, but occasionally make dry chattering noises
When: From May to August
Where: Woodlands
Food: Sap from trees, also insects and occasional berries
Fun Fact: these woodpeckers are sometimes dangerous to trees, and can damage or kill a tree by eating too much sap out of it
Photo by Del Spenst
Gray Catbird
Colours: All grey, with black tipped heads and tails
Calls: Rapid and long blasting whistling and chattering noises like a mew, as well as mimicking other sounds
When: From May to August
Where: Agricultural areas, roadsides and woods edges
Food: Insects and small fruits
Fun Fact: They belong to the Mockingbird family. Able
Photo by: Leslie Pearson