Our tree

By Peter Morris

Our tree sits in a neighbour's backyard, situated between Simcoe and Toronto streets in James Bay.

Five years ago when we moved here from the Sunshine Coast, I could sit in my armchair and see the top branch, now, if I want to see the robin singing his heart out on the top twig, I must move to the window, so large has the tree grown. But it's worth it to see and hear him with beak wide open and declaring in a wonderful tune, his stake on his territory and an invitation to a lady robin to join him in raising a family.

The tree is host to a wide variety of all and sundry in the bird world and a stopover for red-tailed hawks and kestrels, both always heralded and harassed by a bunch of crows, seagulls, and the occasional raven, especially when they have successfully reduced the local pigeon population. The Anna's hummingbirds that use our feeder year-long also use the tree to hunt for bugs. It's fascinating to watch their precise movements as they inspect the fir cones and branches, inching their way like mini robots in their hunt for food, often coming face to face with a colorful northern flicker resplendent in spring colours, hammering away at a spot on the tree in an effort to find a bug of a larger variety. This is a bird not shy in making its presence known with its shrill cackling laughter. In the early summer of 2011 we saw a flock of at least thirty adult and young flickers in the tree; the young had just a trace of colour. I wonder how many we will see this year.                                                             

Chickadees, bushtits, bewicks, and winter wrens, the latter only ten centimeters long, looking like tiny mice as they scurry through the branches. Kinglets, another tiny bird with gold and ruby crown, along with rosy sparrows, will often visit the hummingbird feeder, perhaps for a shot of energy or maybe they just have a sweet beak!                                                                        

Our tree is also close to the flight path of bald eagles and great blue herons as they travel from their nesting site in Beacon Hill Park to the ocean at Dallas Road. The eagles look for fish; sometimes we see them with a salmon, the head facing forward for less wind resistance, clasped in their claws, heading from the sea to the park to feed their mates and soon, their eaglets. The herons, too, head to the beach looking for anything to fill the stomachs of their mates and before too long, the gangly youngsters with their ever-open beaks. They look like cartoons as they grow, hardly able to control their long necks and beaks but ready and willing to receive the feast. The adults may be seen catching gunnels and other small eel-like fish in the shallows. To see them flying back and forth from the beach to the park is to realize that theirs is not an easy way to raise a family! Flocks of Canada geese and swans are often seen en route to feeding or nesting sites.

But back to 'our tree.' The rufus-sided towee arrives and sounds as though he is calling his name 'tweeee' several times and looking handsome in his black hood and back splashed with white, rufus-red on the sides. His cone-shaped beak and deep red eyes make him easy to spot. Sparrows of all shapes and plumage, the ox sparrow with red-brown colouring, song sparrow with a long rounded tail which moves up and down in flight. When this one alights on a branch he gives a lovely song of several loud notes followed by a bubbling call and a high-pitched trilling. The house sparrow is one bird that everyone must see or hear in the parks, backyards, or on any street. Its noisy repetitive chirping may be heard almost anywhere, delivered with the power of an opera singer! A bit smaller than the sparrow is the purple finch which, as his name suggests, has a purple-red head and matching breast. Most of the females in the bird world are somewhat dowdy in their appearance, which of course helps to camouflage them whilst on the nest. The house finch is yet another visitor with red colouring prominent on the head, breast and rump.

These then are just some of the visitors to 'our tree.' Quite often, the security lights will come on and there will be a night visit from the raccoon family, busy cleaning up anything that has been left behind during the day, and not without a deal of argument over who get what and in what order! There always seems to be something worth the visit. Then there are the squirrels, black, grey, brown, a multitude of hues, searching scratching, and at the right time of year, burying a cache of goodies ready for the winter.         

So that is 'our tree.' A wonderful selection of wildlife in full view, year round, and mostly all from an armchair. What a blessing! And with a small pair of binoculars, it's all at your fingertips, but you must remember to look!