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Hi Birders and nature lovers - I have been concerned during the past few years of the impact my birding hobby (especially chasing for my ABA and Nova Scotia lists)has had on the environment. During the month of July following leg surgery to repair a bad break, I was confined to bed with a couple of hours a day in a deck chair here in Halifax. My chair faced several large trees - Maple, Manitoba Maple, White Ash, Paper Birch and Jack Pine- between my view and the houses on South Street. In the yard are Inkberry bushes, a Butterfly bush, some brier roses, Forsythias, and Canadian Yew. Behind my chair were tall Oaks and beyond them the CNR railroad gully. West is the Northwest Arm and East is the Atlantic Ocean and port of Halifax. My daughter put a feeder with good quality mixed seed on the railing outside my bedroom window. I enjoyed wonderful birding and got to know a few species much better. Here is what I saw and heard between July 1st to July 31st: Song Sparrow (feeding young) 1 Boreal Chickadee Black-capped Chickadees (two families feeding young) Starlings Juncos (1 pair with immatures. They nested under the Forsythia bushes) Grackles - (At first these were fun. Two adults took turns at the feeder, then after a few days brought their four newly fledged youngsters, which they fed (a LOT) for about a week, then word got out and anouther couple brought their two noisy young ones also. The feeder was emptied every morning starting at 5:40 am.) Robins - with 2 young - A pair nest in the yard successfully every year. I do not see any "free range " cats in this neighbourhood . American Goldfinch - A pair were feeding young last week -(August 15th)just outside back window. Seems a very late second nest (?) Red-eyed Vireo -(3 were flitting around at the first of the month- two went off and the loner sang all month long from high in the Maple tree) Purple Finch pair with young Am. Crows N.Raven Herring Gulls Greater Black-backed Gulls Osprey N.Flicker *3 Broad winged Hawks* seen at 4pm July 9th, circling overhead. ( It had been a "down day" for me so I think of these beautiful Buteos as a gift.) What were they doing over the city at this date? Ruby-throated Hummingbird Red-breasted Nuthatch ( a daily visitor until the Grackles took over) White-breasted Nuthatch 2 Rock Pigeons 1 Mourning Dove Blue Jays 1 Pileated Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker We have had to take down the feeder as the resident red squirrel were eating constantly, and there are lots of cone-bearing trees in the neighbourhood. I had less impact than usual on the environment in July, saved gas money which I can donate to wetland conservation, and had fun. I have enjoyed all the notes on BirdChat, the Maritimes Breeding Bird Atlas pages and naturens. Thanks, everyone! Joan I urge all of you to check out the BIGBY website and start planning next year's birding activities.
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