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Seniors for the Future Winter Visitors by Marion Hogan ne of our winter pastimes is watching the birds that visit our feeders and flit from tree to tree. We enjoy their sounds and have come to appreciate their character- istics and beauty. The most consistent visitor is the Purple Finch. The male is colourful with raspberry red on it’s head, chest and tail, while the female is brown with streaked breast, heavy beak and waving flight pattern. They are about the same size as sparrows, and travel with the House Finch which is slightly smaller and with less red on the male. The female House Finch is plainer than that of the Purple Finch which has a white line behind the eye and a larger beak. We have more of these finches toming to our feeders than we had five years ago. Another bird common to bird feeders in the winter are the Blackcapped Chickadees. These cheerful, friendly little birds flit among our Manitoba maples at he bottom of the garden picking at the branches and trunks. When it takes seeds from the feeder it flits back to the tree, eats the seed and returns to the feeder for one or two more seeds. These little birds which seem to be very active, travel in groups, sometimes with birds of other species. They are about 41/2 inches long, greyish coloured with a black head, white cheek patches, rusty coloured sides and white feather edges on it’s wings. Often they appear to be upside down tapping at the branches. We also have one Downy wood- pecker that visits our trees in the winter, feeding off eggs and grub of insects on the branches and trunk. One minute you will see it, but the next minute it will disappear as it works it’s way around the trunk. However, if you are patient, you The Downy is the smallest and most common woodpecker, and often appears at feeding stations. The Downy and the Chickadee enjoy suet and need some fat in their diet. The Nuthatch and Juncos are often at the feeders at the same time as the Chickadee. The Nuthatch is a large headed, short legged, short tailed tree climbing bird which travels down a tree trunk with it’s head down, looking for grubs. There are two types that might visit in the winter — the White-breasted and the Red-breasted. The Junco, which travels in flocks, is sparrow-like, slate gray coloured on the head, back and breast, and has white outer tail feathers which are noticeable in flight. They are often seen on the ground eating up the fallen seeds. We also see Cedar Waxwings which have come to eat the small fruit off our neighbour’s tree. They appear in late fall when the fruit is ripe and mushy, and again in February if there is fruit left on the tree. These times are probably dur- ing the bird’s migration. The Cedar Waxwing is recognized by the smooth and silky appearance of the feathers, by it’s crest’and red wax- like spots on it’s wings. Their tails Halton Hills This Week, Saturday, September 19, 1992, Page 15 Halton Hills firefighter were TS to extinguish a pickup truck fire ‘Tieaday? The truck was icaneliege on Trafalgar Road south of Highway 7 at about 4:20 p.m. when flames broke out. have a yellow band on the tip, and they are olive green in colour. They travel in flocks and gorge on berries. Our most striking visitor to the feeder is the Cardinal, the male with it’s bright red feathers and black throat, and the yellow-brown female both with pointed crests and red beaks. This bird stays in the same area all year, and because of it s colour is easily seen in the win- “The Blue Jay is also colourful and is a frequent visitor. It’s rau- cous call informs us of it’s visit and also lets us know when the feeder is @ mpty. Although they are not birds, we have frequent visits from the black and gray squirrels which find their way into our “feeders. We used to try various means to keep them out but found them entertaining and amusing to watch scampering from tree to tree, over the shed roof and jumping into the feeder. The squir- rels and Blue Jays love peanuts and hide them for use at a later date. Bird watching is a year round form of pleasure for us and we look forward to having our visitors again this winter. SUBURBAN ete (91) INC. will see it again in a few minutes. i] Carl's Catering Compan eee vompany This lovely almost an ~ Catering Since 1959 ~ acre lot minutes from | = NOW OFFERING Pe a Our NEW Limousine Service ... the hill ak Black ‘56 Rolls Royce & ‘ ris x si ac New Lincoln Stretch g Lovely starter with large eat-in kitchen, wood stove, reno- ae eh peo 9 hill overlook les vated master with semi-ensuite, new bath in ‘91, com- &@ Paid. Only $125,000. most shel Brampton —_ 457-2813 Sa pletely done. 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