Our Canadian psyche seems to downplay the native birds of North America, when it comes to making nature shows. (Could it be that it is a lot more fun for TV producers to head for more exotic places to film, than to go out in the back yard and show us what can be seen right here where we live?) We are wafted away to exotic places on the globe, to see the colourful birds of nearly everywhere but home. Granted, the Sun Birds are wonderful to see, but they are no more beautiful than our hummingbirds. We are shown Birds of Paradise from South-east Asia, but are their reds any more brilliant than our Cardinals? Birds of nearly every colour of the rainbow, from every other country in the world appear on our screens, but our own birds of home seem to be ignored. How much more blue can you get than an Indigo Bunting? Bright yellow? Check out the American Goldfinch in your yard. If you want the entire pallette on one bird, how about the Painted Bunting, with blue, red, green, yellow, and white? Our ducks, in breeding plumage with the sun at the viewers' backs, are really spectacular. For simple elegance in attire, look at the Red-throated Loon, or the Pintail duck. The thought strikes me, do viewers in the rest of the world get to see our North American wildlife? I could go on for pages, but you get the idea. Just look at your field guides, and marvel at the diversity of bird life that we can see, right here at home, or with a visit to our neighbours to the south.

Those of you who get annoyed by the noise and other disturbances of crows, magpies, and woodpeckers should be glad you don't have to put up with the problems that the residents of Christmas Island do. This small island in the Indian Ocean south of Indonesia has a human population of 2500, and a land crab population of over 100 million. Most of the time these crabs are in the forests, and are not easily seen, but when they are breeding they go back to the sea shore to release their eggs in the water. They cover the roads and pathways completely, so that it is impossible to drive, walk, or cycle without crushing crabs! Just imagine having to take a broom with you when you go out for the mail, so that you can sweep the crabs off the sidewalk. Then when you return with your mail, you have to sweep your way back to your door! If they were edible, it would be a lot easier to take, but they are not. The next time that you are suffering because of the crows in your trees, or the woodpecker that has adopted your eavestrough for his drumming spot, spare a few moments of thought for the Christmas Islanders who are (literally) up to their ankles in land crabs!

During the breeding season, the Chat Room and my phone and email are full of questions about dealing with "abandoned baby birds", and injured birds. In most cases, even if it were legal for us to be in possession of wildlife, it is impossible for untrained people to properly look after these wee creatures. We do them no favours when we try to nurse them back to health, and in many instances, the "abandoned baby" is one that has just fledged. It is probably a little confused by the great big world outside of the nest, and is being watched over by the parents. For those that are truly lost or injured, we need to get them to a wildlife rehabilitator for care. This URL will show you the closest one to you, and give you the contact information you need. Check it out.

http://www.cc.ndsu.nodak.edu/instruct/devold/twrid/html/contact.htm

That's it for July, I hope your summer is going great, and that your birding is not only fun, but productive. See you all next month!