Archive for January 2022
Winter Huron Fringe Birding Festival Edition
Welcome to winter and the birds that decided, even at these -14 C temperatures, to stay and give us some interesting bird activity. Many of these small birds are seed eaters and will forage in the weeds that have their seed heads sticking above the snow.
To give them a bit of help, seed feeders put out in the winter will give these birds a variety of food for their diets and some protein they need to keep warm. American goldfinches, Dark-eyed juncos, American Tree sparrows, Black-capped chickadees, Red-breasted and White-breasted nuthatches, Northern cardinals, Mourning doves, and other finches will entertain you if you have a feeder at this time of year. As well as the seed eaters you might also find Sharp-shinned, and Cooper’s hawks seeing the activity and coming to try for a bird snack. Bald eagles and a variety of winter ducks will also be gathering near the open water while inland Rough-legged and Red-tailed hawks as well as the odd Golden eagle, Northern shrike and possibly a Gyrfalcon visiting from the north will show up.
While these birds are keeping us entertained the Huron Fringe Birding Festival program committee has been hard at work getting all the 90 plus birding hikes organized for the 2022 festival that arrives for two 4 day weekends on May 27 to 30th and June 2 to 5th 2022. With Covid being a dynamic issue these past two years it has been difficult to know when to open the registration and post the program. This year we have delayed these initial festival milestones so the programs will be posted on March 1st and the Registration will be active on April 15th at 6:00 am. To keep updated on any changes and for added information on the 2022 festival keep this link handy and visit it a few times even before March 1st.
Huron Fringe Birding Festival – Huron Fringe Birding Festival
With the latest news from the Ontario government things are looking even more promising for a much more normal in-person festival so lets hope things keep improving in respect to Covid so we can enjoy all those migratory birds together and renew acquaintances.
Even now there are a few preparatory things you can do. Even though registration is not presently active, the registration page has links to some documents you should read beforehand in preparation for the festival. The Friends of MacGregor Point waiver can be downloaded and filled out, the “Be Safe” document can be read so you are well prepared. We also follow the OFO Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct and these can also be found to read via the links on the website.
Huron Fringe Birding Festival – Registration
The website also has links to the leader biographies so you can be familiar with faces and qualifications of the leaders you will see when the schedule of events is posted on March 1st.
Also mentioned on the website are two young leaders that will be leading a Big Day event within their “Big Year” where they are attempting to break the Ontario record for the most species seen in one year. You can follow Kiah’s blog at this link to see how this pair is doing in respect to birds they haver seen so far this year.
Chronicles of an Ontario Birder (chroniclesofanonbirder.blogspot.com)
It certainly looks to be a wonderful festival to welcome us back to a more normal lifestyle and at the same time enjoy these very colourful and active spring migrants as they travel through this area heading north to start new families.
Thank you all for staying with us during our online Festival-Lite this past year and hopefully if all keeps improving the Huron Fringe Birding Festival will once again bring birders together to enjoy a wonderful variety of programs to enhance their 2022 birding experiences. We are looking forward to seeing you at MacGregor Point Provincial Park on May 27-30th and June 2-5th to share some stories and sightings. Until then be safe and enjoy these winter birds that are presently making the winter seem just a bit shorter.
huronfringefest 