The Birdhouse Banter

In this episode, Bryn Griffiths along with Ian Sprague and Janine Couture discuss the fascinating world of hummingbirds, bird feeding, and bird identification, sharing practical tips and fun facts to enhance your birdwatching experience.

Key Topics
  • Ruby throated hummingbirds in Alberta
  • Bird migration and long game strategy
  • Feeding and attracting hummingbirds
  • Bird identification and field guides
  • Using apps for bird watching and identification
  • Bird behavior and territoriality
  • Seasonal bird feeding tips
  • Story of Luna the bird and bird rescue
  • Changing bird songs and dialects
Sound Bites
  • "Hummingbirds remember where they eat and map it in their brain."
  • "They migrate all the way down into South and Central America."
  • "Hummingbirds are like gladiators at feeders."
Chapters
00:00
Introduction to the episode and guests
00:25
Overview of ruby throated hummingbirds in Alberta
01:11
Migration patterns and how hummingbirds find feeders
02:09
Playing the long game with plants and feeders
03:31
Migration distances and bird memory
04:30
Circadian rhythms and juvenile learning
05:48
Timing for putting out feeders and planting for hummingbirds
07:16
Feeding locations and attracting hummingbirds
08:10
Hummingbird territoriality and competition
09:02
Building a backyard for hummingbirds and other birds
10:00
Feeding different bird species and diet variety
12:35
Overfeeding and bird nutrition
13:55
Managing seed and food spoilage
15:04
Routine and care in bird feeding
15:46
Story of Luna the bird and bird rescue
18:42
Reflections on Luna's story and bird care
19:47
Using field guides and bird identification tools
23:33
Apps and technology for bird watching
27:08
Fun fact: Changing bird songs and dialects
29:06
Closing remarks and contact information

What is The Birdhouse Banter?

Welcome to The Birdhouse Banter — brought to you by Meika's Birdhouse.

Join host Bryn Griffiths and co-founders Ian Sprague and Janine Couture as we talk birds! Our team brings over 100 years of combined experience and a whole lot of passion for our feathered friends — whether they're soaring wild or perched right at home with you.

We are Alberta's trusted destination for bird lovers. From quality products and expert advice to supporting bird rescue right here in our community — Meika's Birdhouse has you covered.

Bryn:

Welcome to Birdhouse Banter brought to you by Meika's Birdhouse, Alberta's trusted destination for bird lovers. Hey, everybody. It's Bryn Griffiths. Ian and Janine are with us. We're at Mica's Birdhouse today.

Bryn:

Yeah. How are you two doing today?

Ian:

We're doing real well. Good.

Bryn:

Fantastic. Hey. I wanted to talk about ruby throated hummingbirds. K. And because I've heard a few other people talk about them.

Bryn:

So what do we need to know about these birds?

Ian:

So so ruby throated hummingbirds here in in our area are, ruby throats are basically the only hummingbirds we get. There is every now and then, you'll hear about a rufous hummingbird or or something else that's in here, but that's that's that's like an anomaly. It's not something that we normally see around here. Super cool little birds.

Janine:

What do they look like?

Ian:

They look like little birds with ruby throats, mainly green, emerald green. And they're hovering. Yes. Exactly. Per second, Janine.

Janine:

6,000,000. Oh, no. It's not our fun fact.

Bryn:

So let's just put this up. One second. This is the only one we have here in the province of Alberta or at least in the central part of the province?

Ian:

Area. So there's there's there's you could like I say, in in the South, you'll maybe see the roof is closer to the mountains. Okay. But for where we are, chances are if you're gonna see a hummingbird, it's gonna be a ruby throated hummingbird. Wow.

Ian:

Yeah. So things that we need to know in this area, again, is the same stuff that we we we always talk about. You need to you need to be ready for them when they're when they're migrating. So that for us, we would always say, well, get your feeders out right away in in in the beginning of May, the very beginning of May. Make sure your feeders are out there for the hummingbirds and, of course, the nectar eaters.

Ian:

And and and so yeah.

Bryn:

So how do you know how do you know when you have them in your neighborhood? Do you just put the feeder out and wait and wait and wait and maybe they'll show up? Janine, like, what what do you figure?

Janine:

Well, I've only ever had one little hummingbird that came to visit me, and the reason why we got it is because we had we had scarlet runners planted in our garden, and it found the scarlet runners first

Bryn:

Right.

Janine:

In the fall when it bloomed. And then, in the spring, we put our hummingbird feeders out. And I think it must have been the same little one because it found, it found our hummingbird feeder and started eating until and then it migrated through to the north. Yeah.

Ian:

So that's that's that's what I always when I talk to people here in the store, always call it the the hummingbird long game. Yeah. Yeah. If you don't have them coming to your yard, like, on a on a on a normal basis Right. Then you need to to play the long game with them.

Ian:

And so in the springtime, instead of worrying too much about your hummingbird feeder, start thinking about plants that are gonna attract hummingbirds. So going to your local garden center, getting as many flowers as you possibly can. But the problem is is that when they're migrating through, a lot of those flowers aren't blooming yet. Yeah. Or or or or they're gonna be frozen solid in the morning.

Ian:

Right? And then, you know, so you know, we we start talking about the long game, and we start playing with, planting seeds in the in the, like, starlet runners or one of those other stringy

Janine:

Yeah. Like, peas or Yeah. Things something. Yeah. Yeah.

Ian:

And, know, so we we plant those. Fuchsias. And so the neat thing about hummingbirds that kinda ties into all this is their migration. Alright. They migrate all the way down into South And Central America.

Ian:

Right? So a bird, you know, that would fit in the size of my hand will fly from here all the way down to Venezuela.

Bryn:

Just think about that for a second. Yeah. Like, that's unbelievable to me.

Ian:

Yeah. Oh, absolutely. But that's that's that's kind of the least impressive part about it. So as it does this migration, it remembers where it eats. K?

Ian:

So, hey, I ate here. K? Neat. Punk that into the pump that into my map. Hey.

Ian:

My little brain. Hey. Fly oh, I I ate here. Remember that? So as they migrate south, all these all these locations are getting plotted into their into their mind.

Ian:

And so teachers,

Janine:

they're young, don't they?

Ian:

Well, yeah. Well, I don't know if the teachers are young. Well, they must. They must to a certain extent. But it's it's kind of part of, you know, we always talk about with humans with our circadian rhythm, you know, well, we know well, we all know to wake up at a certain time.

Ian:

That's how it kinda works in their brains. So I've flown for x amount of kilometers. There should be a food source here, and it's kinda that circadian rhythm. Been here before. Yeah.

Ian:

Yeah. And so what we're doing with the swan game that I was talking about is that so when they're they they go basically as far up like Fort St. John BC area. That's like the northern Right. To their their migration.

Ian:

And so what we would let you do is plant the scarlet runners like Janine was saying. And when the juveniles who are a blank slate, not just just like human juveniles, not not a lot going on. Right. But they're 's

Bryn:

there's Okay. You said it. Alright. Well, you can't hear me. The door's closed.

Ian:

You're right. But yeah. So, you know, it it's it's it's it's you know, they so they find a scarlet runner, which is a it has a great huge think the red red flower. Mhmm. Right?

Ian:

And it's super super inviting to a hummingbird. Easy not hard from the miss, really. Right. And so they eat there and then poop, you're mapped, k, in their brain, and they

Bryn:

go along. So I gotta ask because here we are right in the middle of summer, you know, July, August. Is it too late to try to get a hummingbird to find my feeder in my yard, or what can I do?

Ian:

So if the hummingbird isn't

Bryn:

Conditioned or you're not you're not on his favorite list of restaurants yet.

Ian:

On the map Right. It's gonna be a little trickier.

Bryn:

Yeah.

Janine:

Plant your garden. Yeah. But

Ian:

who's to say your neighbor's house isn't on this map?

Bryn:

Good point.

Ian:

Alright. So sometimes all it takes is the wind to blow them a little over. Oh. Wow. Hey.

Ian:

You're you're on the map. It's like Janine and her geocache map. I found this one, I found this one, found this one, found this one. Except they don't carry a cell phone. So so

Bryn:

like and the other thing too for us, we don't have a lot of plants that are are back every year. Mhmm. We don't have any vines or anything. We we bring in plants, you know, from a garden center or whatever every spring. So I guess next spring, if I'm starting to think ahead and Yeah.

Bryn:

As much as everybody wants it to happen right now Yes. It doesn't always work out that way. So I guess if I was thinking about next year and I was gonna bring plants in, is there any particular plant or just bring in something that I mean, I don't know. Does that work?

Ian:

If if if so if if if you've played the long game and you've had hummingbirds in the fall Okay. Right? The late fall, eating at your Scarlet Runners or something like

Bryn:

that. Okay.

Ian:

So the first weekend in May or so is when

Janine:

when you're gonna put out your feeders. Okay.

Ian:

Yeah. And that's when the feeders come in.

Janine:

Yeah. And I wanna point out that nectar goes bad really fast. So you don't wanna be putting it in the sun. It'll spoil. It'll get rancid.

Janine:

So you wanna be cleaning your feeders quite often.

Bryn:

What what about how close to the house should we put it?

Janine:

Depends. They'll eat anywhere. They'll eat close to the house. They'll eat out in a tree. Yeah.

Janine:

You don't wanna I guess, know, keep in mind that some hummingbird feeders can attract ants and and bees because of the nectar. Right. So if you don't want those kind of critters by your house, you'd maybe wanna put it a little bit further away from your yard.

Ian:

But, yeah, I would just put it somewhere where you can see them. You know?

Bryn:

The other thing too, it's very competitive in our neighborhood Yes. With all the birds. Are there birds that they will be watching out for? Is there is there a competitor for food other than the bees and everything?

Ian:

Oh, they're hummingbirds. Yeah. They are like gladiators.

Bryn:

Okay.

Ian:

You know, they're very small, so you don't think like I do. But, like, a lot of people don't think of them as as particularly aggressive birds.

Bryn:

Right.

Ian:

But my god. You watch hummingbirds, like, if they're gonna it's like a UFC match. Like, when they square up, hummingbirds are serious. Really? Oh, yeah.

Ian:

They're not they're not playing around. Okay. Alright. It is so how many other hummingbirds are probably one of the things that you'll see them fighting at a feeder. You know, you'll also see, like, certain species, you'll see all living harmoniously, you know, sipping out of the feeder at leisure and all that pecking order.

Ian:

Yeah. Yeah. But not the ruby throats. Ruby throats, generally, you'll see one eating, another one waiting its turn or trying to drive the other one off. Yeah.

Ian:

They're they're they're they're feisty little fellas.

Bryn:

When I first put in my feeder, it seemed to take a few weeks before birds found it. Yeah. So I like the idea of you saying it's the long game. I think it's probably the best approach that most people could take. Don't become discouraged.

Bryn:

Right?

Ian:

No. No. And and just, you know, if you're if you want nature in your backyard, build your backyard for the nature. Right? So it's a Love it.

Ian:

If you if you build it, they will come. Exactly. And now Hear that somewhere.

Bryn:

Yeah. If you get one coming, how long does it take to get a second or a third? Do they do they communicate with each other,

Ian:

or is it just? I don't know enough about that

Bryn:

part. Okay. Alright.

Ian:

I would say I would say if you get one, hopefully, it's nests in your area.

Bryn:

Okay.

Ian:

If they nest in their air in your area, that would mean that there should be young ones that come out of there.

Bryn:

Long as

Ian:

they're not predated. And, ideally, next you know, they'd likely teach their young.

Bryn:

Next thing you know, you're in your Google Maps.

Ian:

This is

Bryn:

for birds. Next thing you know,

Ian:

you're a hot spot for hummingbirds. Nice.

Bryn:

Excellent. So that that is the ruby throated hummingbirds. If anybody's got more questions about it, drop in. Mhmm. Kieran Mika's because you guys have always got time to chat with people.

Bryn:

Right?

Ian:

Absolutely. Absolutely.

Bryn:

Excellent. I'll tell you what. When we come back, we're gonna be talking about feeding birds one menu or many. That's the big question. Time to check-in with Janine and find out what's happening at Mika's safe house.

Bryn:

Hey, Janine. Here we go in the safe house today. You know, was wondering the other day. The birds all don't eat the same stuff. Right?

Janine:

No. Not all of them. No. Okay. They do have a a varied menu.

Ian:

So

Janine:

some of them, like the hummingbirds, eat nectar, the loris and the lorikeets. They eat nectar and veggies and fruits and stuff, mainly fruits. Some of them eat the the seeds and the nuts, but all the parrots will eat, our chopped, which is, like, veggies and grains and corn.

Ian:

Seasoned with my tears. K? Because every morning, hey. We have to get up and make make the chop and Yes.

Janine:

It's made fresh daily, that part. Yes. All cut into bite sized pieces Yeah. With Ian's hands.

Bryn:

Yeah. I gotta ask. Do people just put the bird seed in the feeder, for example, and just wait for it to go and then put the same stuff in there. Isn't it important to watch the pace on how much they're eating and what they're eating? Because maybe you have to change it up every once in a while.

Bryn:

Right?

Ian:

Mhmm. Oh, and they like variety just like people do.

Janine:

Yeah. So in the wild, they eat different fruits at different times of year. So, like, when the when the apples are in season, they'll eat apples. When the mangoes are in season, they'll eat mangoes kind of thing. So just like just like the seasons, you know, you have to change their diet too.

Janine:

They're not like dogs and cats where you have to feed them the same thing or their stomach will be upset. No. You have to keep it varied, because every every different vegetable and fruit has different different minerals and vitamins that they need, to support their their their system.

Ian:

Yeah. And sometimes we gotta be a little careful too because, a bird's natural kind of rhythm, you know, they'll have, in times of abundance.

Bryn:

Right.

Ian:

That's a good time to have a family. Right? So sometimes you can get into that this that hormonal kinda weird kinda

Janine:

If you're feeding stuff with too much protein, yeah, the birds can get hormonal, and that can cause behavior problems Yeah. For sure. So you have to

Ian:

watch what you're doing with it.

Bryn:

I'm always worried about whether or not I'm overfeeding the birds at the feeder. The the very first year, I just couldn't keep enough bird seed in the feeder. Yeah. And I'm thinking to myself, okay. I know they're eating it, but it doesn't seem to be going down.

Bryn:

Is it important to not overfeed the birds in the feeder, or does it matter?

Ian:

So are we talking wild birds?

Bryn:

Yeah. Okay. For example so chickadees and sparrows and every

Ian:

Yeah.

Bryn:

Yeah. The smaller variety, like a particular seed that I'm putting out.

Ian:

Yeah.

Bryn:

I can't remember the name of it, but it's

Ian:

Yeah.

Bryn:

Nonetheless. Yeah. But I put a fair chunk of it out or just and it doesn't seem to go down, but I know they're eating it.

Ian:

Yeah.

Bryn:

Right? So am I overfeeding these birds? Should I put just enough down just to make sure they're happy? And I even put some down on the ground a little

Ian:

Yeah.

Bryn:

Yeah. Where they forage a little. Yeah. Is that good?

Ian:

That doesn't hurt anything.

Bryn:

Okay.

Ian:

But yeah. No. If they're there, they're eating. Like, I I would say, know, like they might, you might be feeding the food that is like big pieces, right, and a small bird might just be taking little stuff, right, or it's like a chickadee where it's taking one seed at a time and and and going off into the into the into the trees.

Bryn:

But, Janine, I'm worried about it going bad. If I if I overfeed and it's sitting there for too long, is it like, am I doing a disservice here?

Janine:

Yeah. You can you can be for sure, especially, like, when it's wet. Like, if you're getting rain like we've been getting Yeah. And the seed gets wet, it can get moldy and stuff. So if you're putting too much out and they're not eating it enough, there's reasons for that too.

Janine:

It could be the seed or it could be the fact that they are nesting right now and just sitting on the eggs. They don't eat as much when they're when they're sitting.

Ian:

Babies around?

Janine:

Yeah. Until there's babies. So But

Ian:

at the at the at the safe house, it's, you know, in here. Yeah. It's all, you know, pretty pretty carefully measured out how much food we're putting in a dish, how much the bird's eating, how much the bird's throwing on the ground. Right. You know?

Janine:

Like, we're feeding athletes. Yeah. So we wanna make sure that they get the proper nutrition and the proper amount of it. So if you're overfeeding them, they they gain too many grams, and they can yeah. They don't

Ian:

They end up looking like me.

Bryn:

Oh, come on.

Ian:

And I mean, a little little I'm very stable. Mhmm.

Bryn:

So in a safe house here, you must you you gotta have a a routine with some of the birds. You know exactly what you're feeding them, and then you just keep changing it up a little bit. Right?

Janine:

Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Well, every day, it's you know, if we have this giant cart of waters, we do the waters and the foods in the mornings.

Ian:

Yep.

Janine:

And, again, in the afternoons, we change it up because, yeah, they get fed twice a day. One's the fresh foods, the other is the, the seed and nut treat at the end of the day. And, yep, you have to look at every bird to make sure that you're giving the bird the right stuff. The bigger birds get the big stuff, and the smaller birds get the smaller stuff.

Bryn:

Yeah. So if somebody's confused on what they're feeding their birds at the feeder or wherever Yeah. You drop by, drop in your Mickey's Birdhouse and ask everybody here because they know exactly what they're talking about. Yeah. You guys know it all.

Bryn:

That's for sure. So that's that's important stuff. Yeah. Mhmm. Alright.

Bryn:

Let's get on to our safe house story. So today, we're talking about Luna.

Janine:

Luna. Luna the Grey. She was actually an interesting story. She came from a place where man, it's weird. They

Ian:

It was a practical joke.

Janine:

Yeah. Like, these people bought this bird for a newlywed couple who were on their honeymoon to have in their bedroom to start swearing at them. This bird doesn't even talk, by the way.

Ian:

Yeah.

Janine:

They were gonna teach it to swear by the time they came back. Don't do this, by the way. Like, this is Yeah. Buying buying a bird for something like this. This is all bad.

Janine:

They were teaching this bird to swear for this, yeah, for a practical joke. And when the people got home, they're like, we can't look after this bird. This is not cool. And the bird ended up coming to us. So she, yeah, she was sold on Kijiji to a to the practical jokers and then surrendered to us very, very shortly after.

Ian:

Yeah. As soon as they come back from their wedding. Yeah. Yeah.

Janine:

Yeah. She stayed with us for a little while then was adopted by a young family. Had her for a few years and then life changed for them. Yeah. She came back and now she got adopted from another wonderful family and she's been with them ever since and she loves her mama and her she loves tormenting her dad and yeah.

Janine:

No. She's a

Ian:

She's quite the character.

Janine:

Yeah. She's a good bird.

Bryn:

Is Luna keeping it clean though? That's the big thing.

Ian:

Just Sure.

Janine:

She never talks.

Ian:

That's that's the whole

Bryn:

At all.

Ian:

That's kind of the the ultimate joke on the whole thing. The bird Yeah. Makes it makes every every noise Yeah. You can think of. Every know?

Ian:

Tweak every whistle. Yeah. Know?

Janine:

But

Bryn:

Oh, okay. So now let let's back this up a little bit here. One, dumb. Yeah. Two, how do you keep people from being dumb?

Janine:

I don't know if I knew the answer to that.

Ian:

Well, I'm hoping I'm hoping doing stuff like this so people can hear stories like this and go, yeah. Maybe that's not such a good Yeah.

Bryn:

But this has got a happy ending right now, kinda, because it obviously was a loving family. That's so so important. But this could this could have wildly gone wrong.

Janine:

Absolutely. Absolutely. There, I said the absolutely this time.

Ian:

Yeah. You're saying absolutely now. See? Twice. Do we

Bryn:

have an absolutely jar? Do we have to throw, you know, tuning into the absolutely jar?

Janine:

To do it. Hey.

Ian:

It was her.

Bryn:

Alright. Well Rub it

Janine:

off on me. So

Bryn:

what would be the lifespan of of Luna, do you think?

Janine:

They could live fifty to sixty years. Wow. You know? So that's that's a long practical joke. Right?

Janine:

Yeah. For somebody that's not prepared for it.

Bryn:

I'm curious to know what happened to the practical jokers.

Janine:

Me too.

Bryn:

You know?

Ian:

I think I know the answer, but I I I don't But you

Bryn:

don't wanna swear on this podcast.

Ian:

I I totally get that. Wow.

Bryn:

So so that's the story of Luna. Are there other birds here that are like Luna?

Janine:

I've that's the that's the That's

Bryn:

the only one?

Janine:

That's the craziest prank one we've had. Yeah. We haven't had any other ones that were surrendered under those conditions.

Bryn:

It just bothers me that somebody would do that. Yeah. That does bother me a little bit.

Janine:

Yeah. It's so it's a weird one. But, no, that one ended well. Thank goodness.

Bryn:

Okay. Well, we talked about feeding birds and what to feed them and how you should mix it up a little bit. And we've talked about Luna. There is a lunatic somewhere out there who thought that was gonna be

Ian:

funny. So that's

Bryn:

hey. I'm glad it has a happy ending. Alright. That is it from the safe house. Okay.

Bryn:

It's now time for the seed and time to wrap things up. Hey. You know what? I know the Internet is a big thing, but I still like a book. Yep.

Bryn:

I still like to read stuff. I like to have it handy because my iPad isn't always close or my phone isn't always close. So I gotta ask you guys about field guides and that kind of thing because you don't always have accessibility to the Internet and that kind of thing, but what do you got here?

Janine:

I also wanna mention that the Internet's not always right. What? You're right? Like

Ian:

Hard to believe.

Janine:

Okay. Because no. That has happened to me in the last little bit. I'm like, hey. What like, do one of those reverse Google images, and it's like, okay.

Janine:

That is not what that is. So There

Bryn:

you go.

Ian:

Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, a lot of times the Internet's not right.

Janine:

Mhmm.

Ian:

So Field guides. Field guides. Yeah. So I have to eat a bunch of crow. Alright.

Ian:

I'm gonna do it.

Bryn:

Are you allowed to say that on this show?

Ian:

I could say

Bryn:

Louie would be embarrassed. I'm gonna

Ian:

do it. So there is a new field guide of Alberta birds that's been just freshly released. Alright. When I first saw this thing, actually, I hadn't even picked it up. I looked at it and I said, you know, this is never gonna be as good as the good old birds of Alberta that I've been using for those past twenty years and now, you know, I you know, this this book is just just nothing.

Ian:

You know? I'm not just it's just

Bryn:

You were dismissive is what you meant.

Ian:

I was super dismissive. I was like, alright. Yeah. It's a nice book, but it's not the book. You know?

Ian:

So so I started looking at it because out of curiosity. Well, I was kinda wrong.

Bryn:

Well, sorry. One more time so Jean can hear you.

Ian:

Hurry

Janine:

up. Let record that. Hey, Meta.

Bryn:

I have it. I got it.

Ian:

Okay. So so let me let me rephrase that. Perhaps I was a little bit I misspoke. Hey. So as it turns out, book's pretty good.

Ian:

Okay. Brick is pretty good. Just as good as the old one, I would say, with with with some pretty good pretty good modifications.

Bryn:

Okay. So, obviously, things change. Yeah. You know, everybody talks about maybe the climate has changed a little bit. Alberta's winters maybe aren't as harsh as they used to be.

Bryn:

The summers are maybe wetter than they used to be. So I gotta think that if that happens, you might see new birds, different breeds finding their way into Alberta, and some might be going away. Yeah. I don't know. So is this what you're finding in the new guide is that it's got some some new breeds in there that you figured, well, they're not from they're not from here.

Ian:

Yeah. So there's there's there's I think all the species are basically the same, but they're they're how common are they? Right. And their range. Where yeah.

Ian:

Where you're finding them? Yeah. It's changing. Yeah. So and and and and the looks of them are are are slowly there's differences now.

Bryn:

Okay. So what changed your mind?

Ian:

Well, I picked it up and I actually looked at it instead of just Oh, you just said you

Bryn:

didn't judge a book by its cover is what you're saying?

Ian:

Well, yeah. Okay. Something like that. Something like that.

Bryn:

Got it. How many guides do you have here? Not just one. The you know, one, you've got great staff here. So, obviously, they can answer most questions, but it's always great when you're out in the field to have something that maybe you can a quick look at.

Bryn:

But you've you've got all that here. Right?

Ian:

Yeah. For sure. For sure. Wow.

Janine:

All kinds of different books too. You got The Birds of Alberta, The Sibley's, that new one that you just got.

Ian:

Yeah. The the new

Janine:

Pat Peterson's.

Ian:

The Patterson's. The Sibley's. There's there's

Janine:

Yeah.

Ian:

The the the field guide of Alberta birds, which is a new one, and then there's just Alberta birds, which is the old one, which is still here. And, yeah, so we have we have Mhmm. We have a good variety.

Bryn:

I I love reading books, but I also love my phone apps. Are there different phone apps as well that might be helpful?

Ian:

Merlin. Merlin is the is the phone app that Okay. Pretty you know, I play games with that app.

Janine:

So What do you mean you play games

Bryn:

with that It breaks that down me.

Ian:

Not talking to me. When I can actually have a moment to myself to play. Oh god. Oh boy.

Janine:

Spare me.

Bryn:

Okay. I'm glad you guys are on the other side

Ian:

of the table here. Alright. So no. But when I go out in the morning and I'm walking the dog or something like that and I I you'll hear a lot of birdsong and a lot of chatter and stuff going on. And so the game I started playing was is okay.

Ian:

So you can hit I can pull up the Merlin app on my phone. Right. And I can hit record, and it will listen to what's the chatter that's going on in the neighborhood. Yeah. So you'll well, I'll just say, oh, that's a there's a house sparrow.

Ian:

Right? And they'll come up, and then the game that I started playing is that if the bird comes up on my phone, it's my duty now to go find it. Right? So Okay. I see that.

Ian:

Yeah. So, you know, it says, oh, there's a house sparrow. Go find the house sparrow. ID the house sparrow with your eyes. Right?

Ian:

Oh, it's a, you know, a mourning dove comes up. Hey. Go find the mourning dove. Right? Mhmm.

Ian:

You know? Or or, you know, whatever whatever the bird that it comes up, what it hears

Bryn:

Black capped chickadee.

Ian:

Black capped chickadee.

Bryn:

Cheeseburger.

Ian:

Yeah. Go find it. Cheeseburger. Nice that nice that you can hear it, but now go find it. Oh, yeah.

Ian:

And and like Janine was saying earlier, sometimes Merlin plays games with you, and then and then it it's hearing birds that aren't really there, you know, or or it's hearing birds that I maybe my hearing shot, but, like, it'll say to me sometimes that, oh, that's a solitary sandpiper. And I'm thinking to myself Here. What's it doing here? You know? Like, I guess it's happen.

Ian:

Sure. It could happen, but then I spend way too much time trying to find it and to no avail.

Janine:

So with that Merlin app though, what happened like, if you can you go out in the forest in Sherwood Park, it'll identify all these birds. What if you go out to the forest in Columbia? Will it identify those birds? Or

Ian:

That's the coolest part.

Janine:

Tell me about it.

Ian:

When we go well, when we went we were at the Meekes Conservation Vacation last year, we were in Puerto Rico. Okay. Don't you recall?

Janine:

No? That was so

Ian:

long ago. Yeah. Yeah. She wasn't paying attention.

Janine:

I was looking at the birds.

Ian:

Yeah. She wasn't paying attention, but I'd be also looking at the birds when I was walking around with my phone in my hand. Mhmm. Right? And that's what I was doing.

Ian:

I I was it was because it it knows where I am, you know, because it Yeah. Locates to your phone. Uh-huh. And it says, oh, you're in this area. This is what you should be able to find in

Bryn:

this It's like GPS with bird sounds.

Ian:

Well, yeah. What it is. Database that you have with you everywhere you go, it's almost you have Internet service. Right?

Janine:

That's cool.

Ian:

Love

Bryn:

it. Very cool. Fantastic.

Ian:

And then it's got a companion app called eBird where you can log all the birds that you see.

Bryn:

One last question on this one. How many times this has happened where somebody brings in a picture Mhmm. Or on their camera, they say, I took a picture of this bird. What is it? This has gotta happen a lot here.

Ian:

Lots. Yeah. Weekly. I love it. Weekly.

Janine:

I love when people do that.

Ian:

Yeah. For sure.

Bryn:

Are you surprised very often?

Janine:

Yeah. It challenges us, and it's really cool to see other people's bird sightings.

Bryn:

Wow. Yeah. Speaking of challenging and learning new things, you know what time it is?

Janine:

Fun fact.

Ian:

There you

Bryn:

go, Janine. I was waiting for you. You're right on queue. So what is our fun fact on today's episode?

Janine:

I think it should be Ian's fun fact today because we were talking about things that change.

Ian:

Yeah. Okay. So I can't remember what I was gonna say.

Janine:

You were talk yeah.

Ian:

I do. So white throated sparrows. Yes. Alright. So a lot of times with people, when we're talking, they think sparrows and they automatically think invasive species is a bad thing.

Ian:

So Alberta has a bunch of sparrows that are supposed to be here that aren't aren't aren't house sparrows. Usual suspects. Yeah. Okay.

Janine:

So Like native species. Yeah. Species.

Ian:

Right? So and and white sword sparrows are one of them. But over the course of the year or over the course of the years, decades, their song has been changing. Right? So what we used to hear was a was a pretty specific song and it had multiple trills at the end, and now they're finding that there's now the three trills at the end.

Ian:

You went from one to two to three. So just over the years, it's changing a little bit. So now we have a three trilled, house sparrow white throated sparrow. Yes. And and then but you can map that.

Ian:

So that that song actually started in British Columbia. And and there's researchers that are paying attention to this stuff, and I'm one of the nerds that listen.

Bryn:

It's sweeping the nation is

Ian:

what I'm saying. One of the nerds that listen to these guys. But yeah. So they they they found a a small pocket in British Columbia of of three chilled white throated experiments. Okay.

Janine:

But what's a trill?

Ian:

So we are

Bryn:

all are you going to your phone? Are you gonna

Ian:

They're pulling it out. They're rolling out the big gun.

Bryn:

Alright. Yeah. Exactly. And you just move that up to your We can hear for sure.

Ian:

Yeah. But See if I can grill. Like, at It's like Come on, kid.

Janine:

Cher cher cher cher.

Bryn:

Okay. Hand. Hand. I'm hearing everything else.

Janine:

Yeah. They're saying what? 100.

Bryn:

Send it to me and we'll we'll dump it into the show.

Ian:

Yeah. You know, we we can put it in there. But anyways.

Janine:

How about that?

Bryn:

Oh, yeah. They're that Are they mostly done by the water?

Ian:

Yeah. Well, yeah. D d

Janine:

d Okay.

Ian:

Right? But that that that that the end part of that song is changing. Right? And so now Maybe they're bored. But it that goes into culture.

Ian:

Really? Culture and dialect. Right? So it started in in a in a small area in British Columbia. Yeah.

Ian:

The the the adults taught their taught their children, right, of the chicks. And now the chicks have started moving out. I'm moving out. I'm moving I'm moving down the block or whatever.

Janine:

Changing the lingo.

Ian:

Yeah. And and and so and then they're teaching their kids, and then that expands, and it sources forces the other guys out and says, the the old guys aren't saying all the hip things anymore. There we go. Yep.

Bryn:

That is your fun fact, boy.

Janine:

Gnarly, dude. Gnarly. Yeah.

Bryn:

That's that's fun fact stuff right there. There you go. Hey, you two. Thanks. The summer just continues to just move right along, and we're having a lot of fun.

Bryn:

Tell everybody, Ian, where they can find you.

Ian:

Sherwood Park, 9718 Orange Road. Got

Janine:

it. Just off the Henday.

Ian:

Just off the Henday.

Bryn:

That's beautiful. Yeah. Thanks, you guys. This is always fun. Cool.

Bryn:

Hey. Thanks for joining us today. If you're a birdbrain like me and you don't wanna miss our next podcast, then check us out on any of your favorite Ear Candy sites like Apple, Spotify, Google. There's lots of them out there. Make sure you tell your friends and make sure you follow or subscribe to our podcast.

Bryn:

That way when a new one drops, you'll get the new one right to your home perch. And, also, if you're not as the crow flies and you can't drop into our location, check us out online at mica'sbirdhouse.com. That's it for the Birdhouse Banter. Have yourself a great day. Let's get chirping.