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Hi, Gayle- To pish is to make a soft "Pisssh!pisssh!" sound through your teeth and somewhat puckered lips to attract a bird. I learned it from Charlie Allen (CRK Allen, one of the founders of the NS Bird Society. Charlie would stay in the car, roll down the window, and make very loud "PISH,PISH,PISH" sound, and the birds would come. Phyllis Dobson, another founding member, would roll down the window on her side of the car and ever so softly, say "pish,pish,pish" and the birds would come. However you do it, there are several theories why it works- curiosity, territorial defence, distraction,etc. And many birds will not come to pishing.Please don't go tramping around after a reclusive bird. (Try the next day earlier in the morning.) There are a few "rules of pishing" I would like to suggest for beginners. Others may wish to add or delete: Pish ONLY if you are not going to cause stress to the birds; Pish only until the bird shows itself; Pish on a field trip only if the leader invites you to do so; Stand quietly while someone is pishing; keep hands still; Pish only if you need to see the bird for ID purposes. Try to learn the songs and calls. (I struggle with this) or just wait quietly until the bird shows itself. Happy birding! Joan > From: Gayle MacLean <duartess2003@yahoo.ca> > Date: 2008/07/08 Tue AM 05:32:58 EDT > To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca > Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Margaretsville - Hummingbirds, Butterflies, etc. > > Sorry all, I guess I'm not up on alot of the terms but I give up. What is a "pish"? > > Thanks! > > Gayle MacLean > Dartmouth > > --- On Mon, 7/7/08, Jeff hiltz <4x4play@gmail.com> wrote: > > From: Jeff hiltz <4x4play@gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Margaretsville - Hummingbirds, Butterflies, etc. > To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca > Received: Monday, July 7, 2008, 11:32 PM > > > > I'm a very new birder and have been running the backwoods of the North Mountain from N. Kingston to port George for the last couple months spending almost every evening looking for new "lifers" and trying to get a few photos. > I've also noticed that the Ovenbirds were very elusive in the early months of Spring, I would hear them but could never see one and now they seem to be one of the first birds to come out to see what's making noises. As for the Hummingbirds, I've never seen so many in my life but then again before I became a "birder" I wasn't really looking. Is it common for Hummingbirds to come to a pish? I can't count the # of times that I've been sitting in the Jeep doing a little pishing while swatting black flies and have them appear within' 5 feet of my face, my girlfriend has observed them above my head while I pish...lol > The Pileated Woodpecker that you mentioned, by chance is the Sugar Maple located right on the main shore road coming into Margaret(s)ville from Kingston way? I had thought I saw one fly out of a hole in a SM along that main stetch but didn't have the time to wait around very long for him to come back. > > Another observation this year, I've been taking the kids to Port George for many many years and have never seen a Starfish there until this year and they seem to be everywheres when the tide is out. > > Cheers! > Jeff > > > > > On Mon, Jul 7, 2008 at 11:40 PM, P.L. Chalmers <plchalmers@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote: > > > Hi there, > > I'm back home after five days visiting friends in Margaretsville, where I spent the mornings atlassing and doing point counts in that and several adjoining squares. The afternoons were given over to weeding my friends' gardens. Lovely to be outdoors so much in fine weather - with the Fundy breezes blowing, the heat was never oppressive even on warm days. > > Breeding activity among songbirds was at fever pitch, and some species are so busy feeding young that they are completely oblivious of humans. On the other hand the Ovenbirds in the woods, normally elusive, were so agitated by my presence that they interrupted their food-gathering to come out in plain view and scold me. I particularly enjoyed watching a male Pileated Woodpecker attending a nest in a big old sugar maple, and seeing Bobolinks singing and displaying over the uncut meadows. > > While exploring the back roads along the North Mountain, I was struck by the abundance of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. They were very easy to see, usually perched on telephone wires along the road, apparently basking in the sun, perhaps one every kilometre or so. This was in an area where there were no homes, so no feeders or gardens to concentrate their numbers. I easily saw a dozen or more every morning, without even trying. I have observed this abundance in the area for the last several years. This seems remarkable to me. When I was a child, before hummingbird feeders were a commonplace, it was quite unusual and exciting to see a hummingbird, even though we always had a flower-filled garden which might have been expected to attract them. > > I was also pleased to see a large number of butterflies last week. I wasn't focussing on them and regretted that I didn't have my field guide, as I am a little rusty with ID's, but there were lots of fritillaries of several sorts along these dirt roads, as well as White Admirals, Canadian Tiger Swallowtails, Northern Pearl Crescents, Ringlets, and various skippers and azures. Not many sulphurs. > > There was an interesting article in last Saturday's Globe and Mail about changes to butterfly population and distribution. [ "LEPIDOPTERA: CANADA DAY COUNT:Ethereal, exotic and exceptionally fragile" by Matthew Hart ] which gave a dismal outlook for the long term. This year, at least, some species seem do be doing well in the western end of the Valley. Do others find that is it a particularly good year for seeing butterflies? > > During my visit on the farm I averaged two ticks per day - still a matter of comment there, where ten years ago we never encountered any. I saved a couple to send in to the Museum. > > Cheers, > > Patricia L. Chalmers > Halifax > > > __________________________________________________________________ > Instant Messaging, free SMS, sharing photos and more... Try the new Yahoo! Canada Messenger at http://ca.beta.messenger.yahoo.com/ >
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