Welcome back to another Bird Nerd! Today I’m going to share some beautiful birds with you that I captured in both Jasper National Park and Hasse Lake.
Osprey are really cool birds, they’re actually enormous though you don’t quite realize it unless you’re up close. They’re probably 3-4 times the size of a hawk and one time I was at Wabamun Lake and saw two Osprey, talons full of fish, being chased by several hawks. It happened so fast I didn’t get pictures, but it was a really neat experience. The
photo I took actually has chicks in it, but I didn’t even realize it until I got to look at it zoomed in. Osprey are found all around the world and in many places people will put up posts to give osprey more breeding sites. This is mostly done because young osprey will delay breeding if they can’t find a proper spot for their nest. It’s not easy to find a good spot either since their nests can get up to 2m (6.5ft) wide and weigh up to 135kg (300lbs). They charmingly mate for life and pair up for 5 months each breeding cycle to raise their chicks together. They’re not hunted by much, but it has been known for eagles and great horned owls to take down adult osprey and nestlings. Raccoons also hunt young osprey and the eggs, which is why osprey are so particular in their nesting sites. Osprey are the official provincial birds of Nova Scotia.
Gray Catbirds are songbirds in the same family as mockingbirds so they mimic other birds, frogs and machinery as well. Their actual song has a meowing sound to it, which is why they’re named catbirds. They have beautiful blue eggs, similar to robins, but good luck finding their nests. In fact, finding the adult bird at all is a bit of an ordeal since they tend not to fly through open areas. Getting this photo of one took ages and I could 
hear it all over the place, but it moves so quickly that you can barely catch a glimpse. They are adorable and wary, preferring to keep out of sight as much as possible, though they are certainly not shy about telling you they’re around.
Yellow Rumped Warblers are migratory birds that spend their summers in Canada and the Western USA and then winter in the Southeast states and Mexico. These particular ones were caught in Jasper. They are bug munchers and really help out forests when there are outbreaks of pests. They even eat plants that are pretty nasty for people such as poison ivy and poison oak, so basically the Yellow Rumped Warbler is your best friend out in the woods.
Thanks for stopping by!
-Erin