Another newcomer, a pine grosbeak

My area is almost on the border between the bird''s breeding and non-breeding range. I saw it just for part of one day so maybe it moved on further north to breed. The bird I saw was brighter red than the bird in the photo. My bird was a bit trimmer as well. Although the photo is of a male, it looks more as if it is carrying eggs!

First 1908 Baltimore Oriole

A few days ago there was a Baltimore Oriole visited the feeder. They are not that common in the area and I saw it just on the one occasion. Perhaps it is moving on to some more congenial place!

Humming Birds and Global Warming

The humming birds don't seem to understand that global warming does not mean that every year there will be warmer springs. There have been two nights of freezing temperatures and apparently it is taking a toll. Our neighbour found two dead birds under her feeder. There are none at mine fortunately. Many must have survived since the feeder is still busy. This is a photo I took a few days back when I first put the feeder out.

First ruby-throated hummingbird of season

I just put the hummingbird feeder out this morning. My wife made some nectar last night. I actually made some earlier and forgot that I was heating it up and almost smoked us out of the house! One less pot to store! Anyway I went out bright and early and mounted it outside the window. I was able to capture this photo an hour or so later. It is obviously a male.

The weather is still very cool just about five above when I put the feeder out. Nevertheless there have been regular visitors all morning. I thought they would be sensible and stay down south until at least the first week of June. Some years they get killed in substantial numbers when a cold spell hits us.

Peak-a-grosbeak!

I managed to get this photo of a rose-breasted grosbeak at the feeder a couple of days ago. They are not that common around here but I saw one or two last year as well. I have another photo which I will post later, a fuzzy rose-breasted grosbeak because I shake when I take photos and the blur setting still does not always help too much.

Chipping sparrow

There a quite a few little chipping sparrows (photo) and also feeding under the feeder as this little chap is doing. As you can some of the birds love to scratch and send the seeds to the ground where they feed.

American Goldfinch atop bird feeder

This American goldfinch perches on top of the wire that can be used to hang the feeder. He is waiting for a space to open on the feeder down below! There are quite a few goldfinches so far this year.

Abundance of Harris sparrows..

There are more Harris sparrows than I have ever seen before attenting at the feeder. They are a reasonably large sparrow and look quite large compared to pine siskins or the chipping sparrow. They even outnumber house sparrows at the feeder these days.

Dead robin

This poor fellow hit our window and died from the blow. Most times birds are just stunned because they are not going that fast. This fellow hit at a high speed however and the robin has a fair bit of bulk. I looked out a while later and the bird was gone but someone left a bunch of tell- tale feathers near where he had been so a cat or something must have had a meal.

Snow geese on their way north..

I am a different computer with no photos so I will content myself with text! On the way to Shoal Lake this morning we saw a field with dozens of snow geese at rest.
There are also many red-winged blackbirds in ever slough on the way. One red-wing has even been visiting my feeder as there is a slough only a few lots from our house. No doubt it is nesting there.

A northern flicker..

I was sitting out by the back door enjoying the sun weak though it was when I saw a northern flicker land on a spruce tree trunk. He then ventured onto the lawn and tried to drill for some early grubs. This is the first flicker I have seen this season.

First Harris Sparrow this year..

This is my own photo complete with some raspberry stain! At least the sparrow is clear enough to identify. This is the first Harris sparrow I have seen this year but I imagine I will probably see a few more. I think most of them breed further north so perhaps this one will not be around too long. Maybe it is just filling up for the trip north.

A Strange Bird

This strange bird underneath the feeder enjoying sunflower and other seeds is a Richardson's ground squirrel. It nests underground somewhere nearby!

Yellowheaded blackbirds

On the way back from Brandon today we saw several yellow-headed blackbirds. These are the first I have seen this year. We saw them in two different locations. We saw two south of Newdale and another one just north of Shoal Lake. The yellow-headed blackbirds are much scarcer than the common red-wings. The latter inhabit almost every slough in our area.

White Crowned Sparrows

There is quite a bit of traffice at the feeder these days. Among the newer birds are white crowned sparrows. The ones around my feeder seem plumper than the one in the photo!

There are now house sparrows visiting so that there is plenty of seed spilled under the feeder.

The black-capped chickadees still visit but there are more exotic birds such as the purple finch, the chipping sparrow, and Savannah sparrows. Some juncos are still here.

Pine siskins

There are quite a few different birds at the feeder these days. This photo is of pine siskins. There are still a few juncos but not as many as previously. They must be starting to drift northward. The snow is finally all gone but who knows we could get another few flurries yet.
I put out any scraps left over from dinner for the crows. They figure out that this is a food place quite quickly and I seen them every day in the yard just to check out what might be here.

Savannah sparrows?

I am not positive what the sparrow is in the photo at my feeder but it seems likely to be a Savannah sparrow. If anyone knows better please let me know. It seems too large and lacks the black spot for it to be a song sparrow. There have been quite a few of these sparrows at the feeder the last few days. Last year there were just a very few for a short while.

Fuzzy purple finch..

I have taken a number of photos of birds at the feeder and on the ground. Some turned out OK but I am quite shaky and even the anti-blur feature on my camera cannot compete successfully with my shaking at times. Here is my fuzzy purple finch just poking his head around the corner of the feeder!