Rockin’ Robin A biome is a community of plants and animals that live together in a certain kind of climate. There are five basic types - aquatic, forest, desert, tundra, and grassland - and these five can be further divided by differences in seasons or animal and plant species. I live in a temperate deciduous forest biome. What’s yours? See:
A couple of years ago I read a book about dinosaur extinction and how birds are genetically similar to the giants who roamed the earth millennia ago. I also remembered being delighted last spring when birds seemed to magically appear in trees and bushes. We’ve got ducks paddling about the Don River, and I know enough about birds to be able to spot cardinals, blue jays and the occasional goldfinch in our backyard. Because I live downtown, the birds we seem to see most often are pigeons. Yes, they’re everywhere and no, I don’t feed them. Other do, and we end up with clusters of them in places we walk, both in our neighbourhood and in the downtown core. They're one of the few birds I seem able to get close enough to to watch carefully, but I've never been inclined to snap their portrait, perhaps because they're so run-of-the-mill (hmmm).
Late last week I was walking home from, well, a walk, when it suddenly seemed to snow. I realized that it wasn’t precipitation but small tufts of down as a hawk in a nearby tree was pulling apart a pigeon. I watched for a few minutes as it’s something I don’t think I’ve seen before. Because it was busy with brunch, I didn’t hear it make a sound, though I’ve been told hawks have a great screech and do voiceovers for eagles in movies because they sound better (really).
I’ve since learned that Red-tailed Hawks have a third eyelid called a ‘nictitating membrane’ that they can close to shield their eyes from wind or for protection when diving for prey. They’re co-parents, and normally quite territorial but live much closer in urban areas (a couple of blocks apart as opposed to two square miles in rural areas). I realized that I’ve spotted a Red Tailed Hawk in my neighbourhood from time to time, but this was the first time I’ve been able to watch one closely. Marvellous, aren’t they, those birds?
A couple of years ago I read a book about dinosaur extinction and how birds are genetically similar to the giants who roamed the earth millennia ago. I also remembered being delighted last spring when birds seemed to magically appear in trees and bushes. We’ve got ducks paddling about the Don River, and I know enough about birds to be able to spot cardinals, blue jays and the occasional goldfinch in our backyard. Because I live downtown, the birds we seem to see most often are pigeons. Yes, they’re everywhere and no, I don’t feed them. Other do, and we end up with clusters of them in places we walk, both in our neighbourhood and in the downtown core. They're one of the few birds I seem able to get close enough to to watch carefully, but I've never been inclined to snap their portrait, perhaps because they're so run-of-the-mill (hmmm).
Late last week I was walking home from, well, a walk, when it suddenly seemed to snow. I realized that it wasn’t precipitation but small tufts of down as a hawk in a nearby tree was pulling apart a pigeon. I watched for a few minutes as it’s something I don’t think I’ve seen before. Because it was busy with brunch, I didn’t hear it make a sound, though I’ve been told hawks have a great screech and do voiceovers for eagles in movies because they sound better (really).
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZzD_c2Lugi/
I’ve since learned that Red-tailed Hawks have a third eyelid called a ‘nictitating membrane’ that they can close to shield their eyes from wind or for protection when diving for prey. They’re co-parents, and normally quite territorial but live much closer in urban areas (a couple of blocks apart as opposed to two square miles in rural areas). I realized that I’ve spotted a Red Tailed Hawk in my neighbourhood from time to time, but this was the first time I’ve been able to watch one closely. Marvellous, aren’t they, those birds?
Yes they are.