Learn more about backyard birds with library sessions, books and apps

One of the perks of living in Prince Edward County, with forests and other green spaces aplenty, is the wonderful mix of birds.

While you may see some birds, such as robins and turkey vultures without too much effort, there are many other feathered friends that will come to visit if you have the right environment for them.

Dan Guenther, of Wild Birds Unlimited, is to visit the Picton Library Thursday, Oct. 16 at 2 p.m. to share all about backyard bird feeding. He will share tips to attract a large variety and number of birds to your yard and share common challenges you might encounter.

It’s probably safe to say that most people who have experimented with bird feeders have also encountered visiting squirrels, for example. All are welcome to drop by and learn more.

Once you have attracted birds to your yard, the next question might be how to identify them. The library has several useful guides that can help you. The National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, for example, is chock full of art, migration patterns and more, with labels helping you tell similar birds apart.

There are also books for children, such as Robert Bateman’s Backyard Birds: An Introduction that are sure to interest young readers. Local writer Yvonne Buys book ‘Look What Flew through the County’ is full of beautiful photographs of local birds, divided into six categories: Year-Round Residents, Summer Breeders, Migrants – Just Passing Through, Winter Visitors, Rarities and Vagrants.

If you are interested in identifying birds in a more high-tech fashion, there are also apps available for your mobile phone or tablet that can match an audio recording of a bird call to identified sounds and help you tell which bird might be chirping or singing in your yard.

Last year the Prince Edward Field Naturalists led the library youth group through using these apps. If you’d like to give them a try, our tech help staff are happy to walk you through the process of installing and using the apps on your devices. Once you start listening for bird calls, you might be surprised at how many are around you.

Members of the South Shore Joint Initiative also visit once a month at 10:30 a.m. Saturday storytimes at the Picton Branch this fall and winter as well, with special plans for a focus on owls on Nov. 22 and winter birds on Jan. 31.

Another long-running group, F.O.W.L., may sound bird-related, but in fact they’re actually “The Friends of Wellington Library”. The Friends are a dedicated group of volunteers committed to supporting the branch. The group is seeking new members who are interested in fundraising, advocacy, volunteering and other library support. Among many other projects, they have contributed to the library collection and beautification of the branch. If you have some time to spare and are interested in becoming a Friend, please call the Wellington Branch at (613) 399-2023 and we’ll connect you with the group’s chair, Nancy Puddy.