House Finch Behavior

Garry Budyk has just sent these interesting behavioral notes:

March 3rd: At home in East Kildonan , I observed a male House Finch doing a spirited courtship dance around a female , with the female following his movements carefully and responding by lowering her head and opening her mouth wide . No food was exchanged but the interaction went on for several minutes . It seems much too soon for a serious mating attempt , but it may show how early House Finches begin their pair bonding and courtship rituals .

March 7th: I observed a male House Finch feeding the female

Atlas Launch - April 9 - 11 Schedule

Manitoba Breeding Bird Atlas - Launch and Free Public Workshop:

Location:

FortWhyte Alive, Winnipeg

Dates and Times:

Friday 9th April 7pm – 9pm
Saturday 10th Apri1 10am – 4pm
Sunday 11th April 10am – 4pm

SCHEDULE:
Friday April 9th 7pm – 9pm
Reception with the Minister of Conservation, Silent Auction and "meet the owl" with Nemo, Pepper and their favourite perch, Jim Duncan.

Saturday April 10th 10am - 4pm
All day registration available. View our maps and maybe select an atlas square or meet your regional coordinator

10:00am: Atlassing Presentation: Learn about breeding bird atlases –their history and their purpose and how you can get involved

11:00am: Enjoy the photography and stories of naturalist, photographer and author Bob Taylor as he showcases beautiful Manitoba

2:00pm: An outdoor workshop on how to atlas for birds – bring your binoculars and a pencil and clipboard!

3:00pm: An outdoor workshop on how to use hand-held GPS units – useful for recording the location of birds

Sunday April 11th 10am - 4pm

All day registration available. View our maps and maybe select an atlas square or meet your regional coordinator

10:30am: Atlassing Presentation: Learn about breeding bird atlases –their history and their purpose and how you can get involved

2:00pm: An outdoor workshop on how to atlas for birds – bring your binoculars and a pencil and clipboard!

3:00pm: An outdoor workshop on how to use hand-held GPS units – useful for recording the location of birds

Registration will be available the whole weekend! Workshops will be held in small groups so you can see first hand how to “atlas” for birds. Staff and experienced volunteers will be on hand to explain the project and answer questions. Drop in whenever you can!

Screech-owl pair bonding

In the last few days some Winnipeg Eastern Screech-Owls have been engaged in pair bonding including an observation of a pair copulating on March 1st (probable breeding). With the warmer temperatures, it is worth listening for owls already! Can you tell which is the male and which is the female in the pair of Eastern Screech-Owls in the photo below by atlas coordinator Christian Artuso?