Kyle Blaney, an avid birdwatcher from Belleville was the guest speaker at the March meeting of the Tweed and District Horticultural Society.
Kyle is on personal mission to identify 50 species of birds in Canada’s 290eBird regions. Over the years, he has contributed 6500 eBird photographs and 7700 iNaturalist observations. His images have been published in Canadian Geographic as well as in birding magazines in Canada and the United States.
During the presentation, Kyle used his photos to show some birds that might visit our birdfeeders. He also gave advice about their favourite food as well as recordings of their sounds. His presentation included…Mourning Dove, Downy woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Purple Finch Black Capped Chickadee to mention just a few.
According to Kyle, bird migration is fascinating as some birds travel from the Arctic to Antarctica in a zig zag route across the map.
Kyle explained that through citizen science namely, iNaturalist, you can post a photo of any living thing, where you saw it, add some audio if available and amateurs and experts who follow these pages will reply to help with identification. You can use eBird in a similar fashion…note this site is for bird identification only.
By using these two resources, Kyle plans his outings to the various areas. eBird also helps him plan what he might see in an area on the days he plans to visit.
Sewage lagoons are a spectacular place for bird watching since they don’t freeze over during the winter months. Although the Tweed lagoon is not accessible, it does have great bird watching sightings with the trees that surround the lagoon
As Kyle pointed out, it is always a surprise what birds will visit our . gardens. By naturalizing our yards, we are inviting birds to be guests on our property.
Contact info for Kyle…
Instagram at @kblaney
Kyle Blaney (kyleblaney.com)
Upcoming Events:
April 4 Meeting… Aric from Earth Haven Biodynamics in Thomasburg will be the guest speaker. Aric will talk about how their produce baskets can be purchased. He will share how they operate and grow their produce naturally.
April 11…Zoom Executive Meeting
April 29…District 3 Meeting in Bancroft
May 20…Plant Sale
July 21-23…OHA Convention in Kanata
