WRN Kids – Winter Birding

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Winter Birding at Riverside Park in Cambridge with David Gascoigne

Saturday, February 22, 2025

We went to Riverside Park to learn about birds, and feed them!

Riverside Park
Waiting for Chickadees

We learned that when chickadees say “chickadee” they’re happy, and when they say “chickadee-dee” they’re a bit upset, and when they say “chickadee-dee-dee-dee” they’re really mad.

We learned that female ducks are less colourful because they have to sit on the nest. If they were bright like the males all the predators would find them. The river was all frozen and the ducks were swimming through the snow on top of the ice.

Mallards on the ice (picture borrowed from the previous adult hike)
What kind of woodpecker made these holes?

We learned that woodpeckers are a keystone species because they make holes for other animals to live in. Chickadees, sparrows, bluebirds, swallows, blue jays, and squirrels all use old woodpecker nest holes.

All the food for the birds is buried under the snow and it’s really hard for them to get enough to eat. Chickadees are very small and need a lot of food to keep warm. If they don’t get enough food in a day they can die overnight when it’s very cold. Winter is very dangerous for birds. So we fed them lots and lots of birdseed! 
 
We made a cafe for the birds on our hands and called it the Bird Feeder!
Patience... Patience...
Success!

We saw chickadees, sparrows, mourning doves, crows, blue jays, cardinals and woodpeckers, and a lot of bunny poop.

Reported by: River and Isla

Northern Cardinals (and hidden House Sparrows)

A list of birds that we saw:

  • Mallard
  • Mourning Dove
  • Ring-billed Gull
  • Red-bellied Woodpecker
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • Blue Jay
  • American Crow
  • Black-capped Chickadee
  • House Sparrow
  • American Tree Sparrow
  • Dark-eyed Junco
  • White-throated Sparrow
  • Northern Cardinal