A Hobby Is Hatched

By Lisa Bendall

Although my husband and I are ecstatic about the arrival of our first baby in late spring, it does have a bit of an impact on one of our newest pastimes.

At the height of birding season this year on Point Pelee, the southernmost tip of mainland Canada, I’ll be as big as an ostrich and waddling like a penguin. Making a second annual five-hour trip from Toronto to spend a glorious weekend among feathered friends won’t exactly be high on our agenda.

Being new to the activity of birdwatching, Ian and I made our debut expedition to Point Pelee just last year. This very special region of Canada, preserved as a national park, actually marks the convergence of three popular flight paths for a wide variety of migratory songbirds. There is no other place like it in North America. Its convenient south-pointing peninsula is the first outcropping of land these birds spot as they enter our country. Many stay on Point Pelee several days, enjoying its mild, Carolinean climate (rare in Canada), resting up before they set out on the last leg - or wing - of their journey.

Point Pelee, on the north shore of Lake Erie near Leamington, Ontario, is a feast for the nature lover’s eyes and ears. There is something magical about standing at the southern edge of Canada and experiencing the cheerful euphony of dozens of species of birds (a total of 362 species have been recorded here). And if you’re swift with the field guide and binoculars, even the novice can pick out and identify several varieties.

My husband and I became interested in watching birds when we bought our house in 1995. Located close to a ravine, our back yard harbours a wide assortment of species - including bluejays, cardinals, mourning doves, dark-eyed juncos, rose-breasted nuthatches, American goldfinches, downy woodpeckers, chickadees and red house finches. Some birds, like the red-breasted grosbeak, simply pass through in the spring or fall. Others have seasons of high populations, like the cute little red-capped common redpolls that appeared in droves last winter in thousands of yards in North America.

Although their attractive names easily roll off our tongues now, we didn’t start out knowing how to identify all the different birds we see, or which goodies they like us to put out in the back yard feeders - it took us time to learn about them. But birding is fun, it has been described as the fastest-growing "sport" in North America, and it can be an ideal, accessible hobby for many people with disabilities.

My husband, who uses a power wheelchair due to a spinal cord injury, saw the advantages early on. For one thing, birdwatching is an activity you can take up even in the dead of winter - from the warm comfort of your home - and still appreciate.

Many birds are with us throughout the cold months, becoming bolder and moving closer to the house as they search for food, giving us a beautiful display of colour and the opportunity to follow their engaging behaviour. Sometimes the robust red of a cardinal is the only bright spot in a yard of ice and branches. It cheerfully reminds the housebound onlooker that there is life after snow.

In the spring, we observe the mating games. The male northern cardinal likes to court his sweetheart by bringing her a yummy morsel or two, which she allows him to feed her. Who says romance is dead?

And later in the spring, when most other new baby birds leave their nests with a taste for adventure, it is amusing to see the whiny young bluejays squawk and flap their wings in mock helplessness, as though to delay the day their parents give up their vigilant care.

In summertime, with the breeding season over and food in ample supply, the birds seem to agree that living is easy. They happily flit about the trees or hop on the grass, taking care of bird business. Our best summer experiences include sitting so quietly with a book on the patio that chickadees and humingbirds flutter close to our heads. We also enjoyed watching one particular cardinal last summer who discovered the garden sprinkler. He spent many hours in a lilac bush, ducking under the refreshing water every time it came his way, and then shaking and fluffing his feathers as the sprinkler moved back.

To enjoy your own back yard show, you first need to decide what birds you want to attract - within reason, of course. It is doubtful that even with the most tempting assortment of bird seed you will manage to lure a little spotted kiwi from New Zealand to your Canadian abode! But bluejays enjoy peanuts and sunflower seeds, and the northern cardinal cannot resist safflower seed. All types of finches love niger seeds. This you can learn from books, or from pamphlets available free at many bird and seed outlets.

Generic seed mixes from the hardware store may make sense to your wallet, but in the long run it may be smarter to go to a specialty bird supply store and get started on the right foot. Cheap seed mixtures that have been bulked up with crushed corn won’t do much for your birdwatching once the inevitable onslaught of pigeons arrives for the feast.

You may find that, instead of a single feeder filled with a seed mix, several different feeders with only one or two types of seed in each work best and keep different species of birds from competing at the same feeders. Shelled peanuts and sunflower seeds are more expensive than those with shells on but will make less of a mess on your lawn or patio, meaning much less cleanup work - something to consider if you have a disability.

Back yard bird feeders come in all shapes and sizes and cost from five to seventy-five dollars. A bird supply store with knowledgeable staff can help you. You can also make your own feeders. You want a feeder that will keep its contents dry, hold the right type of seeds and accommodate the right birds - some birds need perches, some need larger holes for their beaks.

Birds also love water, especially running water if you can manage it. We have a birdbath set up where we can see it. A small pump keeps the water flowing in the summer, and a heated pan keeps it from freezing in the winter. Last year, on a scorching day, we watched a panting, overheated starling cool itself down by sticking its legs in the flow of water.

Birds are clever creatures. They quickly learn where the best bargains are. Once they have become used to a designated area for their favourite seed, they will come to expect goodies there. A couple of times when we have taken one of our feeders into the house, we have observed finches and sparrows hovering in mid-air at the spot where they would normally find a perch to land on. They look very confused, as if they expect the feeder to rematerialize in front of them at any moment!

While we’re on the topic of birdbrains, squirrels are another crafty type of animal and can drive a birdwatcher up the wall. It took us some doing to protect all five of our feeders. This was learned through trial and error - not all so-called "squirrelproof" bird feeders succeed in thwarting the furry rodents.

One such feeder we have is designed to close when something heavy leans on the perch. We watched a squirrel learn to climb the pole it was mounted on, scale the top of the feeder from behind, hurl itself over the front of it and grab a seed on the way down - all without touching the perch and closing off the feeder! Eventually we had to add a squirrel baffle, a kind of wide collar, around the pole. Other feeders are suspended on wires from tree limbs, and the fifth hangs under the eaves with a squirrel baffle above it (the extra-wide kind - the squirrels easily climbed around the smaller one).

Just so we don’t totally frustrate the squirrels, however, we do remember to scatter shelled sunflower seeds on the patio. Besides, several types of birds in our back yard are primarily ground feeders. (Just make sure you don’t have hiding places nearby, such as bushes, that might get used by neighbourhood cats to stake out feathered prey!)

Surely the most exhilarating part of birding is observing a new species for the first time. It is rare now, after almost four years, that we see a bird new to our yard, but we had a lot of fun naming them when we first began noticing them.

Our prize bird is the gorgeous European goldfinch. This bird, slightly larger than the American goldfinch, has a tan body with black and yellow wings, a white and black head and a bright red face mask. It is truly exotic looking. This species is not native to North America. It was introduced successfully to Bermuda and then to Long Island some time ago, but those seen here are considered escapees. They are not thought to be able to winter over in Canada.

We have seen between one and three of these European goldfinches at the same feeder in our yard, off and on, for over two years. Their presence baffles us. Are they migrating? Are they surviving Canadian winters after all? Despite the mystery, they are beautiful to watch.

Although we’ve seen more serious birders outfit themselves with Tilley hats and camouflage gear and tripod cameras with telescopic lenses, my husband and I haven’t exactly gone all out. Binoculars are about the only significant piece of equipment we use for birding - and a good pair costs under $100.

My husband has tried out several models. The two he likes best are both easily used by someone without good hand dexterity. Our first pair is a Bushnell Powerview, focused by a simple paddle between the eyepieces rather than a fiddly dial. The Jason PermaFocus 1000 we bought last year is completely focus free (your eyes do the work instead). We also know of other people with disabilities who prefer a small, one-handed monocular.

When selecting binoculars, you do not necessarily want the highest magnification; the slightest tremor in your hands will cause your narrower view to jump around wildly. Magnification of seven or eight times is plenty.

With binoculars in hand, Ian and I made our first trip to Point Pelee National Park on the first weekend of May - this is a little early, as the height of migration and best time to be in Point Pelee is mid-May. The middle of May marks the arrival of land birds from as far away as Central and South America. During this season, a hot-line offers a new recorded message daily listing the most recent "arrivals."

Point Pelee was proclaimed a national park in 1918, when it had already been recognized for almost two decades as an important part of the migratory highway. Today, the park engenders a great respect for its resident wildlife, marking many paths off-limits to protect the plants as well as the animals and birds. Many species here are rare or found nowhere else in Canada due to the unique climate.

During migration, whether or not birds descend on Point Pelee and how long they stay generally is determined by the weather. Ian and I encountered drizzly conditions, not as comfortable as sunshine but certainly better for birdwatching. Rather than flying on, birds took the grey weekend to rest.

The nine-kilometre park includes a marsh boardwalk and several woods and nature trails. The Visitor Centre offers displays, free pamphlets, books and CD-Roms for researching the answers to questions, helpful and friendly staff, and of course the inevitable gift shop. Trails, boardwalks, public washrooms and the Visitor Centre are all designed to accommodate a range of disabilities.

The highlight of the park is the "trip to the tip." This area is closed to most vehicles and is reachable on foot (a two-kilmetre walk) or by a shuttle bus, which is the mode we used. The shuttle is actually a large covered trailer towed by a pickup truck. A retractable ramp allows people in wheelchairs to climb aboard, and the driver is there to help.

It is easy to spend a couple of hours at the tip area of Point Pelee. There are several trails to choose from and unquestionably the highest density of birds is found here. The chorus of so many different species together is enchanting. We kept our pairs of binoculars glued to our eyes and passed the field guide back and forth between us. It was exciting to "discover" the kinglet, horned grebe, yellow-rumped warbler, Eastern towhee and yellow-throated vireo.

Although my husband could not navigate his wheelchair through the sand to the extreme tip of mainland Canada, he waited and waved while I dipped my toe into the lake. Interestingly, the shape of the peninsula’s sandy tip changes constantly over time, yielding to the force of the water currents surrounding it.

The park was not as crowded as it would become within two weeks, but still we shared the experience with visitors from all over the world. Not only does birding suit people with different levels of ability, it also attracts people of all ages. Seniors can walk at their own pace. And we saw several babies in strollers who seemed quite awed by the activity and beauty surrounding them.

Many park visitors were advanced birders, of course, but most seemed friendly and willing to share their knowledge with newcomers when asked.

For those who live too far away to do Point Pelee as a day trip, hotels can be found in Leamington, the small town closest to Point Pelee, or forty minutes away in larger Windsor. Several have wheelchair accessible rooms. However, all the hotels tend to book up one or two years ahead for birding season, so advance planning is critical. Pelee Island, an hour-and-a-half ferry ride off Point Pelee, is home to several bed-and-breakfasts and we were told one or two of them might be accessible. We plan to investigate this in future years.

Right now, with a chick of our own about to be hatched, we’re going to be rather busy. But we’re looking forward to the year we can make the trek back to Point Pelee National Park. It will be fun to share some of nature’s magic with our child.

(Lisa Bendall is the Managing Editor of ABILITIES.)


RESOURCES:

A Field Guide to the Birds
Written and illustrated by Roger Tory Peterson
Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA

The Backyard Bird Watcher: The Classic Guide to Enjoying Wild Birds Outside Your Back Door
By George H. Harrison
Simon & Schuster Inc., New York, NY

Everybody’s Everywhere Backyard Bird Book: A Coast-to-Coast Guide to the Birds You’re Already Supposed to Know
By the editors of Klutz Press, Palo Alto, CA

"Songs and Sounds of the Canadian Rockies"
Audio narration includes extensive habitat and other information, designed to be helpful to people with visual disabilities.
Compact disc ($22), audio cassette ($14)
Neville Recording
138 Castle Cross Rd.
Saltspring Island, BC V8K 2G2
Phone/fax: (250) 537-4121

Birding in Canada
http://www.interlog.com/~gallantg/canada/index.html

Birds - A Virtual Exhibition by the Canadian Heritage Information Network
http://www.chin.gc.ca/birds/index.html

Point Pelee National Park
Leamington, Ontario
Phone: (519) 322-2365