Review-Mirror

By Maggie Fleming For The Review-Mirror The North American Breeding Bird Survey shows steep declines of Evening Grosbeaks in recent decades, especially in the East (2.3 per cent decline per year since 1966, cumulative drop of at least 68 per cent). The cause is unknown. The most obvious pos- sibility is that Evening Gros- beaks may not be moving as far south during the winter due to warmer winter temperatures. The declines might also be related to food availability. Hardwood tree seeds, a favorite natural source of food, may be less common due to broad-scale changes in forestry practices in Canada. Finally, Evening Grosbeak numbers in the East may be stabilizing after their colonization of the north woods east of the Great Lakes. Prior to the late nineteenth centu- ry, the Evening Grosbeak did not occur east of the Great Lakes; since then they have expanded rapidly across Ontario, Michi- gan, Quebec, the Canadian Mar- itimes, and New England. Evening Grosbeaks are song- birds without a song—that is, it does not seem to use any com- plex sounds to attract a mate or defend its territory. It does have a small repertoire of simple calls, including sweet, piercing notes and burry chirps. It is a plump, sturdy finch. Its body is about the size of a robin's, but its neck and its slightly forked tail are much shorter. Its thick cone-shaped bill can exert over 100 pounds per square inch— they can crack cherry and olive pits with these bills! Its bill is bone coloured during winter, but it undergoes a dramatic change in pigmentation in early spring. Its new colour matches precisely the green of fresh deciduous buds and leaves and also the new needles that will tip the spruce boughs around the site where its nest will be built. The plumage of the adult male is gorgeous with golden yellow body feathers and a gold band across its forehead. The under- parts are yellow, and the crown and neck feathers resemble glossy, rich brown velvet. Tail feathers are jet black, as are the wing feathers except for a snow- white shoulder patch. Juvenile males may be identified by dark areas on the shoulder patches. Adult females have subdued plumage. Their bodies are smoky silver-grey with areas of yellow on the sides, nape, and rump. That part of the wing lining near- est the body is bright yellow. The black tail and wing feathers have distinct white patches, and the underparts are lighter grey with undertail coverts and chin usual- ly buffy and silvery white. In courtship, male "dances" with head and tail raised, wings drooped and vibrating, as he swivels back and forth. The male frequently feeds the female. In another courtship display, both members of a pair may bow alter- nately. Very few successful stud- ies of its nesting activities have been reported. Some nests have been found, usually 6 to 12 m high, in spruces or deciduous trees. Loosely constructed of small twigs, and lined with grass, fine rootlets, or moss, the nest usually contains three or four greenish eggs lightly splotched with brown or olive. The male may feed the female during incu- bation but both parents feed the nestlings. Young leave the nest about 2 weeks after hatching. Evening Grosbeaks have 1 or 2 broods per year. Other birds like to eat wild cherries, but only Evening Gros- beaks target the pits. The slippery seeds are held firmly with special pads on the "gross beak" and are simply crushed. So favoured are cherry pits that Evening Gros- beaks sometimes seek out the pits voided by American Robins! • • • For information about joining the Rideau Lakes Birding Group please contact Group Leader Ethel Green at 613-273-4712. Please fol- low our outings in our weekly report at http://www.twprideaulakes.on.ca/r ec-birders.html the review-Mirror november 9, 2017 – 13 Good birding... Its thick cone-shaped bill can exert over 100 pounds per square inch – they can crack cherry and olive pits. 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INGREDIENTS 1 can of cream of mushroom soup 1 package of onion soup mix ¼ cup water or beef broth 2 carrots, diced 1 lb boneless stewing beef, cubed PREPARATION Combine the soup, onion soup mix and water and pour into the crockpot. Stir in the beef and carrots. Cover and cook on the low set- ting for 6 hours or until the beef is tender. Serve with mashed potatoes. • • • Gail Marshall is a cook and baker with an interest in fast, healthy and low cost recipes. Gail Marshall gailmarshall58 @gmail.com Westport Lions' newest member Robert "Bucky" Merkley By Bob Reddick Robert "Bucky" Merkley says he prefers to be called Bucky, "because there is another Robert Merkley in town and it is less confusing." He laughs when he says he often gets calls to power wash some building, and him and Rob Merkley sometimes exchange each others mail. He came to Westport eight years ago to escape the hassles associated with any big city. Bucky was familiar with the beauty of Westport and surrounding area because his family had a cottage on Crosby Lake, and had many fond memories of the area from his youth. Bucky's career path was always communication and public relations. He started out in broadcast radio in Cornwall, and then moved to Ottawa where he spent time in educational T.V. and fourteen years at CJOH, which is now CTV as a video engineer. Bucky joined the Westport Lions because he has always been interested in public relations and the com- munity, in which he lives. In Ottawa, he sat in on vari- ous community Boards and he thought the Westport Lions Club was a good community organization. Westport Lions Roar Bob 'Bucky' Merkley

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