Name that critter.

[SwampDonkey]

Definitely rare sightings of red headed wood pecker here in NB and NS. Mom's friend took a photo of one in her yard and had it identified because it's unusual and she's not all that familiar with birds.

https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/cosewic-assessments-status-reports/red-headed-woodpecker-2018.html#toc5

[Chuck White]

In this area we have the Yellow-Belly Sapsucker, the Downy Wood Pecker, the Hairy Wood Pecker and the Pileated Wood Pecker.

[beenthere]

We used to see a lot of the red-headed woodpeckers, but they definitely have declined in recent 15-20 years. Several years ago, for attracting turkeys, I would spread whole corn with a fertilizer spreader around my walnut field. A few times, while turkey hunting, there would be a dozen showing up and could only assume they were either coming back or they were there due to the corn. But that was only for one year.

We have way too many downy woodpeckers, as the holes in my siding can attest to that. 

[SwampDonkey]

As to other bird sightings, we are at the extreme edge for brown thrasher. I do not see or hear one every year. Last year was one of them no show years. Bluebirds were never a thing in this area, never seen any around here. Now with nest boxes up, I see a handful every year now. Even a cardinal is a rare sight here, I saw one this winter, on the road picking gravel. More common in southern NB, I know a guy who photographs them quite often in the Fredericton area.

[KEC]

Chuck, You should also have Northern Flickers.

[Chuck White]

@KEC   we do have the Common Flicker!

Is the Common Flicker the same bird as the Northern Flicker, my book only lists the Common?

They are usually seen in pairs, here in the yard, along the brush line in the back.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Beware the Great Northern Flicker - they are also called Yellowhammers!

[KEC]

The American Ornithologist Union (by now known by another name), made up of  "high level" bird experts meets periodically to look at and maybe change the common names of birds. Northern Flicker was once "Yellow-shafted Flicker", then changed to " Common Flicker" to include the "Red-shafted Flicker" out West. They are now named "Northern Flicker." This is to reflect new info as to what is a sub-species or a full species. Sometimes, 2 species are lumped when they decide that they are 1 species. We used to have Baltimore Oriole, which was changed  to Northern Oriole, then back to Baltimore Oriole. At times it borders on silly. They are now going to find new names for any birds that contain a humans' name in the bird name for the sake of political correctness. This would affect Stellars' Jay, Wilsons' Warbler, Wilsons' Snipe and many others. In the Adirondacks, there are a few Black-backed Woodpeckers and Three-toed Woodpeckers. In my experience doing wildlife control, the big (but not only) culprit damaging houses are Hairy Woodpeckers. 

[SwampDonkey]

What was always called the grey jay or gorbie had a name change to Canada jay in an effort to declare it a national symbol, which failed to take, by the way.

[moodnacreek]

The American Ornithologist Union (by now known by another name), made up of  "high level" bird experts meets periodically to look at and maybe change the common names of birds. Northern Flicker was once "Yellow-shafted Flicker", then changed to " Common Flicker" to include the "Red-shafted Flicker" out West. They are now named "Northern Flicker." This is to reflect new info as to what is a sub-species or a full species. Sometimes, 2 species are lumped when they decide that they are 1 species. We used to have Baltimore Oriole, which was changed  to Northern Oriole, then back to Baltimore Oriole. At times it borders on silly. They are now going to find new names for any birds that contain a humans' name in the bird name for the sake of political correctness. This would affect Stellars' Jay, Wilsons' Warbler, Wilsons' Snipe and many others. In the Adirondacks, there are a few Black-backed Woodpeckers and Three-toed Woodpeckers. In my experience doing wildlife control, the big (but not only) culprit damaging houses are Hairy Woodpeckers.

Talk about people with nothing to do. I enjoy seeing birds and identifying any I don't know but don't call me a bird watcher.  And the gypsy moth will always be the gypsy moth.

[KEC]

The Canada Jay was named Canada Jay for some time. Then it was changed to Gray Jay, then back to (currently)  Canada Jay. If your field guide gives a name different from the current one, in some cases, you can just keep that guide and after a while it will be right again.  A simple computer search will bring up "All about Birds", a Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology site which has current names and other info. Just search for that bird as best you know the name to be. For ~$52.00 a year you can subscribe to "Birds of the World" through Cornell and get a lot more info about birds. 

[SwampDonkey]

It's grey jay in my books, 1966 and 1987 publications of two different guides. It's species name is canadensis, that has never changed in my lifetime.

It was the Canadian Geographical Society that nominated the grey jay as a national bird in a hatched scheme.

https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/meet-our-national-bird-the-gray-jay

Despite how the article reads, it was never officially adapted, only nominated. And as far as I am aware of the whole thing was dropped.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/national-bird-grey-jay-canada-150-1.4187987

' At no point did the federal government sanction the project.'

Where I am from it is more commonly referred to as gorbie or whiskie jack by a few in other regions. We have fishing camps and a salmon pool named for the gorbie.

[KEC]

SD, Interesting read. We have some Canada Jays (aka Grey Jay, gorbie, camp robber, whiskey jack) in the Adirondacks of New York. The last one I saw there shared a bagel with me as I tossed pieces out the window of my pickup. When I went on a moose hunt to Newfoundland we were packing out a moose and the Canada Jays came in and helped themselves to bits of meat and fat. Cool birds. No doubt, they evolved to be brazen when they find wolves on a carcass and have to compete with the ravens. The wolves probably don't waste energy to bother the jays. I saw lots of C. Jays in northern New Brunswick, including young jays which are black.

[SwampDonkey]

Grey jays have been observed (supposedly) picking ticks off moose in Algonquin Provincial Park. Although, I don't think it is very common. I see lots of jays and moose out in unsettled areas and have not seen a bird land on a moose.

[WV Sawmiller]

SD,

  I don't know why not as Ox-pickers are small birds that land on almost all the big animals in Africa and pick off ticks and catch flies and such. We had small birds that landed on our cows we always called Cow-birds that did the same thing. 

   Of course another bird we also called a cow bird was a white, buff backed heron that hung around the cows in the pasture catching grasshoppers and maybe small mice or frogs they cows scared up. I have on occasion seen them riding a cow too.

    It was a mutually beneficial lifestyle and looked much safer than the birds who climbed in the crocodile mouths to eat small pieces of meat and fish left behind.

[SwampDonkey]

We've got brown headed cow bird here. I have not ever seen them on the cows. I've been around cows and cow birds for a long time. They are always in the pasture with the cows though surrounding them. But, can't say I ever saw one on a cow's back. Maybe some people have seen it. I see all kinds of video of egrets on cows.

[WV Sawmiller]

   When we first married I'd go to my in-laws in N. Ala and he had cows and a pond. The cows would wade out belly deep to keep the flies off their belly where they could not reach them. The water would be boiling like piranhas and you'd see a big bluegill jump up and catch a fly or such. I once saw one big bluegill jump completely over the cows back catching a big horsefly that was there in the process.

[Chuck White]

The Brown Headed Cowbird will follow a bunch of cows, grabbing up whatever bugs they stir up while walking around.

They are also a very lazy bird, they will drop their eggs in other bird species nests and let them raise their young!

[Ron Scott]

They are also a very lazy bird, they will drop their eggs in other bird species nests and let them raise their young!

The USF&WLS, USFS, and MDNR net and remove the cowbirds from the jack pine area habitats of the endangered Kirtland's Warbler as they destroy and prevent the Warbler's eggs from hatching. They are parasites to the endangered Warbler's.

[moodnacreek]

Some 'cow birds' have 2 legs and no wings.

[KEC]

The small white egret on and near cattle are Western Cattle Egrets (formerly Cattle Egret). The Brown-headed Cowbirds evolved to follow the bison around and get insects that the bison stirred up. They laid eggs in other species nests because the bison were constantly moving. If you want to see something,  do a U-tube search for "Crows eat ticks off Wallaby". I had never heard of birds eating ticks off moose, but it makes sense. If only the jays, chickadees, nuthatches and others joined in it could really benefit moose with winter ticks.

[WV Sawmiller]

  Yes the brown headed cow birds and cuckoos are both "nest parasites" and lay their eggs in other birds nests. I think their young typically hatch faster and they kick the other eggs out of the nest. 

[KEC]

I think the Common Cuckoo in Europe is more of a parasitic nester than our Black-billed or Yellow-billed. I, again, am not sure but I think that our cuckoos will lay in other nests when they find a bad outbreak of hairy caterpillars and food is plentiful so they produce lots of eggs. Our cuckoos are big on eating hairy caterpillars (tent c., spongy/gypsy moths, etc. They can be notoriously hard to see. They will come out of a dense foilage tree and fly straightline across an opening and dissappear into the center of the densest tree they can find. Once in a great while, one will fly up and land on a branch as if: "haven't you ever seen a cuckoo before?". I suspect that they are so used to not being seen that they sometimes get careless. 

[SwampDonkey]

It's funny, I watch a youtuber who drives all over the US videoing towns. He was in Louisiana recently videoing and you could hear all the birds in the video. Sounds like spring time has arrived. :D