Bushtit

“Bushtit” may not seem like an appropriate name for a bird, but in this case it actually does fit the bill.  “Titr” is an ancient word meaning “small”. Weighing in at a whopping 6 grams and standing a colossal 4 ½ inches high, they fall just short of the heavyweight division. Bushits really do like the bush; they prefer brushy, scrubby habitat and do well in suburban settings. Bushtits belong to the long-tailed tit family, another delightfully short yet descriptive name. (I swear that I’m not making this up!)

Bushtits are highly social creatures; you’ll never see just one Bushtit. Even during nesting season, the newlywed pair will recruit several friends and family members to help with the kids. They’ll all build an amazing nest woven of spider’s silk and plant matter, lined with cozy animal fur and camouflaged on the outside with tree bark. The female will lay up to 15 eggs—no wonder the parents need the help! Both parents, plus all their helpers, crowd into the nest at night to sleep.

A Bushtit nest

There is no other bird quite so tiny and blandly coloured, and along with the flocking behaviour these birds are unmistakable. I saw this one in my back yard in North Delta on March 19, along with about 20 of her friends. The nest is just down the road, and it’s possible that it will soon be occupied by her or one of her flock-mates.

Killdeer

How many deer would a Killdeer kill if a Killdeer could kill deer? Killdeer are named for their high, peep-y call that supposedly sounds like their name. They are, however, not known to hunt large mammals. Like other shorebirds, Killdeer eat mainly small invertebrates they dig out of the ground. They blend in to their environment surprisingly well, considering their bold stripes; they catch your eye only when they move.

Killdeer are a common bird anywhere along the coastline, or in fields, parking lots, and lawns all across the continent. Killdeer parents make nests on the ground in shallow scrapes, pretty much anywhere with rocks or gravel—even on gravel rooftops! Baby killdeer have survived a 7-storey drop to the ground. You may never have heard of the Oscar category for non-human actors, but the Killdeer are regular winners for their performances as “poor injured birds” that lure predators away from their nests.

I saw this one with two of his friends near the white rock in White Rock, on March 12.

Ring-billed Gull

Another common gull, the Ring-billed Gull engages in the typical tomfoolery such as stealing your picnic, hanging out in garbage dumps and parking lots, and stealing food from other birds. When garbage dumps and French fries aren’t readily available, they deploy a range of hunting techniques from snatching insects out of midair to fishing in shallow water. Despite being a “sea” gull, many Ring-billeds may never see the ocean; they’ll winter in the southern US and Mexico, and nest on the prairies of Canada. Large colonies of Ring-billeds nest together on the ground, and a small percentage of them will be two-female couples. These gals find male mates but keep them around only as long as strictly necessary (which is to say, not very long). They then each lay one clutch, which they raise together.

Due to habitat loss and hunting, Ring-billed Gulls became threatened in the early 1900s. Protection under migratory bird acts in 1917 and 1918 helped the species recover and resume their role as an endearing pest.

I saw this gull on February 11 at Blakie Spit in Surrey.

Red-winged Blackbird

The aptly named Red-winged Blackbird is one of the more obnoxious birds in the Vancouver area. During breeding season, territorial males spend a good portion of their day chasing away competitors and loudly singing, “Conk-la-REE-ah!” A male will have up to 15 female mates in his territory, but those girls have been going behind his back: a quarter to half of “his” females has a baby daddy other than him.

The female Red-winged Blackbirds have neither red nor black on their body, but are brown and streaky like sparrows. They spend more of their time foraging and hanging out with their girlfriends than the males do, since they don’t waste their time trying to prove to the world how macho they are. Red-winged Blackbirds of both sexes are found year-round in Vancouver pretty much wherever there are freshwater ponds or lakes. I saw this one at Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary on February 26.

Horned Grebe

“It’s a duck!” “It’s a loon!” “It’s Superman!” Actually, it’s a grebe. While grebes are superficially similar to loons, they have shorter tails, weaker flight, and longer necks. DNA evidence shows that grebes are more closely related to flamingos and pigeons (of all things) than they are to loons. You could say that Horned Grebes look like devil-birds, especially in their yellow-horned breeding plumage, but the insult would probably roll off of their backs like water droplets.

Grebes are diving birds that eat whatever aquatic animals they can get their bills on. They’re usually alone or in small groups, but they can be seen in salt water all over the lower mainland in winter. I saw this one on February 11 at the White Rock Pier.

Lesser Gashog

A common resident of Vancouver, the Lesser Gashog is a flight-loving bird that is usually seen soaring overhead on fair-weather days. It announces its presence with a steady, buzzing flight song and it doesn’t seem to shy of human attention. Despite its bold behaviour, the Lesser Gashog will rarely come to land in your local park.

Lesser Gashogs are detritivores, and feed exclusively on the ancient sludge of half-decomposed organic matter. They rest in large groups overnight at established roosting sites called “airports”; I saw this one flying near the Boundary Bay Airport on February 2. They compete fiercely with other species for these roosting sites as well as for food; Delta is a stronghold for the Lesser Gashog, but they are outcompeted by the Greater Gashog on Sea Island in Richmond.

The reproductive habits of gashogs are largely unknown, though there is good evidence for an established nesting site of Greater Gashogs in Everett, Washington.