Aspen Stand: Birds

Ruffed Grouse

The ruffed grouse is a buff-brown bird with a small crest on the top of its head and a dark band along the end of its tail. When flushed it will fly off with a roar of its wings. When courting, males display their tail and a ruff around their neck, while beating their wings with a deep drumming sound. Nests are found under shrubs or near the base of trees and up to 15 young are reared at a time.

Red-naped Sapsucker

This sapsucker can be differentiated from the closely-related Yellow-bellied Sapsucker by the red patch on the back of the head and by the white chin with some red on the throat of the female.  The bird nests in a hole in deciduous trees and raises up to six young; the same hole may be used for many years. Sapsuckers feed on tree sap, fruits and berries. Horizontal lines of small holes on the trunk of both deciduous trees and conifers are tell-tale evidence of sapsuckers.

Tree Swallow

The Tree Swallow is a cavity-nesting dark blue and white swallow that nests near water where there are abundant flying insects. It prefers nest holes that are open to its feeding habitat with an unobstructed flight path in to the hole. Tree swallows usually rear up to five young and may raise a second brood if weather and food conditions are favourable.

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Here are some other representative species in aspen stands:

Bullock’s Oriole
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Kingbird
Hairy Woodpecker
Lewis’s Woodpecker
Mountain Bluebird
Rufous Hummingbird
Sagebrush Brewer’s Sparrow
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Yellow-rumped Warbler

Pictures:
Ducks Unlimited Canada (Ruffed Grouse)
Paul Sanborn (Tree Swallow)

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