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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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Photo by Del Spenst
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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
Mallard
Colours: Males have green heads, bright yellow bills, brown bodies, and light brown wings. Females are all brown, with lighter and darker brown all over
Calls: Quack
When: From April to August
Where: In and around ponds, lakes, and any deep body of water
Food: Aquatic vegetation, worms, snails and water bugs
Fun Fact: Mallards can fly nearly vertical, when required.
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Photos by: Leslie Pearson and Loreli Madiuk