Wind chill more than minus 50

I woke up this morning to find that the wind chill was minus 51 and the actual temperature minus 37 C. We have not had such cold temperatures for some time. Needless to say I have not done much walking around the village to see what birds may be still here!

At the bird feeder the only birds are chickadees (photo) and red-breasted nuthatches. I am certainly saving money on sunflower seeds this year so far!

Our blizzard the other day did not involve much snow but there was so much wind that there are places in the village where the snow has drifted enough that four wheel drive enthusiasts feel challenged to drive through.

Stormy conditions coming..

There is a winter storm warning out
but it sounds as if there will not be too much
snow just a lot of wind creating blizzard
conditions.
Yesterday we drove over a hundred
kilometres. We saw one large flock of snow
buntings and one sole raven.
Friends of ours saw a ring-necked pheasant
near their farm and also several blue jays.
At the feeder there are only black-capped
chickadees and red-breasted nuthatches (photo)

Warming up a bit!

The weather has turned a bit milder but this has not led to the appearance of many more birds. In trips out of town I have seen just one raven on two trips! Even at the dump there was not a single bird just one poor wretched looking stray cat!

At the feeder I have seen only two species. There are still a few black-capped chickadees visiting from time to time and also red-breasted nuthatches. I haven't seen a single sparrow for days. It is a mystery to me where they go since I haven't seen any while walking about town or on trips either.

Where are all the birds gone?

Just returned from about a 150 kilometre trip through the countryside. I saw a total of one raven (photo) plus two groups of less than half a dozen snow buntings.

At the feeder there was one sparrow the other day and there are occasional red-breasted nuthatches. Today there have been up to three chickadees from time to time but usually there are no birds at the feeder at all. I put more seeds in the feeder just for something to do since it was still a third full!

Extreme wind chill.

The wind chill this evening is below minus forty! It was frigid all day. There were very visible sun dogs as we drove to the next town to shop. I saw a few rock pigeons(photo) by a small metal grainery just outside of town. I have seen them there before but the last while there has been no sign of them. Maybe they are staying close so they can go inside out of the frigid wind.

There were a few ravens here and there. We saw one large flock of snow buntings and a group of four and six. At the bird feeder the only birds I have seen today are a couple of chickadees.

No Traffic Jams at the Feeder

There have only been a few birds visiting the feeder. I have not had to refill it yet this year. A couple of sparrows returned yesterday but the most common visitors are still red-breasted nuthatches and black-capped chickadees.

On a shopping trip to the next town we saw a few ravens and one lone snow bunting (photo) but that was all.

First Magpie this year!

There continue to be only a couple of species at the feeder: black-capped chickadees and red-breasted nuthatches. The latter are the most frequent visitors. I suppose our spruce trees attract them as much as the feeder.

On our travels out of the village we have seen several flocks of snow buntings and a number of ravens usually in pairs or singles. However, I did see one magpie(photo) from a distance. They do not seem that common. Maybe they have all migrated to the campus of the University of Alberta at Edmonton. I remember seeing many there who lived off the remants of junk food dropped by students!

No traffic congestion at the feeder

There are very few birds at the feeder the last few days. I have not seen a single house sparrow feeding! The only two types of birds I have seen are red-breasted nuthatches and chickadees. Today I have only seen nuthatches.

We will be going shopping tomorrow so perhaps we will see a few birds on the way but the New Year is very slow as far as watching birds is concerned. It is for the birds!

Flocks of snow buntings

Yesterday when we went shopping to Rossburn we saw only two ravens and one snow bunting. This is the first time I have seen a snow bunting outside of a flock.
Today when we went to the dump we saw two large flocks of snow buntings along the highway. At the dump there were half a dozen ravens.

There are only a few birds at the feeder. There were just a handful of sparrows today and a couple of nuthatches zipping back and forth. I didn't see any black-capped chickadees today.

A slow start to the New Year

For the first couple of days of the New Year all I saw was one house sparrow and a few red-breasted nuthatches. Today I see a number of black-capped chickadees (photo) are visiting again. However, I have not had to fill the feeder this year as yet!

In the countryside all I have seen are a few lonely ravens. The weather has warmed up quite a bit today. Whether that will encourage more birds to visit the feeder remains to be seen!

First New Year's visitor: Red-breasted nuthatch

The birds must all be sleeping off their New Year's hangovers or sleeping through the cold and nippy breeze. The first bird I saw this morning was a red-breasted nuthatch (photo). In fact I have seen a nuthatch or nuthatches all day coming and going with only one other bird in between, a lonely house sparrow! I thought that at least the chickadees would be busy as usual.