Purple finches are here..

There are two photos of purple finches at the bird feeder. One shows the male prominently the other the female. The male is the more colorful! There have been quite a few of the finches visiting the last couple of days but we also have the ubiquitous chickadee as well as some pine siskins, the odd junco, and a single red poll.

Two starlings

Yesterday I saw two starlings the first I have seen this season although a flock of birds we saw a while back in the country may have been starlings. The starling is actually a remarkably pretty bird when viewed in bright light because the colours are iridescent.

Juncos are the most numerous birds at and around the feeder. They seem to prefer to eat seeds on the ground. The snow melt revealed piles of old seed under the feeder. The juncos seem to enjoy it. There are sometimes house sparrows mixed in with the juncos and there are also a few redpolls as well. The odd chickadee still visits and also red breasted nuthatches, but they are outnumbered by the juncos.
Depending on how the light strikes their back some of the juncos appear to have brown parts on their backs.

Another Cedar Waxwing..

A few more birds are returning to the feeder. Yesterday I saw a lone cedar waxwing in a shrub with ornamental fruits that waxwings eat. Also yesterday, a flock of close to a dozen house sparrows dropped by at the feeder, the first sparrows I have seen in several days. I also saw a lone redpoll feeding. Chickadees and red breasted nuthatches are still reasonably frequent visitors.

Out in the countryside I saw several flocks of small birds, one was of snow buntings. There are quite a few crows drifting in from the south.

First Redpoll this year...

The feeder is not busy at all. However, this morning a redpoll appeared the first one I have seen this year. There was just one and it flew away before I had a chance to take a photo so I posted a photo from the internet. The black capped chickadees are still visiting and this morning I saw one red-breasted nuthatch as well. Strangely enough there were no sparrows to be seen.

A Downy Woodpecker is Back

There was at least one downy woodpecker sporadically visiting the feeder. The weather is well below freezing and with the wind last night and predicted for tonight again we will have windchills in the minus twenties. However, it is to go back above zero tomorrow and perhaps rain on Wednesday again.

As well as the downy there were many red polls --but no house sparrows that I saw. Also, the chickadees are still darting back and forth from time to time. I am eagerly awaiting some sign of birds returning from the south but nothing seems to be back yet unless crows.

Only the regulars

We were supposed to have snow today but it looks as if we will not get any snow until later tonight. The red polls have been very busy all day and also a few chickadees but that is all that I saw today. I am not sure but I think crows may be back already unless ravens make the same crow sound. When I was out walking I distinctly hear crow like sounds. Perhaps they are already back.

Return of cooler weather.

I saw just one raven on our trip to the next town shopping. THe snow is retreating from the edges of the road and soon snowmobiling will be impossible. However, there is to be more snow in two days so maybe the season is not over yet.

There are still plenty of red polls at the feeder. The area clear of snow is gradually spreading in the front yard by the spruce trees but the snow is far from gone yet. Even the roads are not yet free of ice and snow.

A few chickadees dart to the feeder and away but they and the redpolls were the only visitor yesterday and today. The photo is of a raven of course.

Another downy woodpecker

This is a photo of the rock dove or common pigeon. We saw many of them today around downtown Brandon near the railroad tracks and MacKenzie Seeds building. We saw several flocks of small birds on the way in, probably red polls. On the way back we saw one lone raven.

The bird feeder has plenty of red polls this morning as well as the occasional chickadee. The seed level went down low enough that I decided to put in more seed. After we got back from our trip I saw a downy woodpecker on the feeder several times.
The birds seem to enjoy the warmer sunny weather. However, it is not that warm. It is still about minus ten and tomorrow night it is to get down to minus 25 again but at least that should be temporary!

Light snow. Weather warming a bit.

THis is another photo of the feeder through our window. THe birds are red polls. We had lots of them today and again a couple of sparrows and a smattering of chickadees.

I took a trip to the dump at Shoal Lake and saw at least a half dozen ravens around the dump area. We will be off to the city tomorrow so I will see what I can see along the way.

Wednesday and Thursday

The red polls are still here after a considerable snowfall. They seem to enjoy skipping through the snow. There are occasional chickadees visiting as well but that is all I have seen.
This morning (Wednesday) one poor red poll, badly bloated, ate voraciously at the feeder. When I came back later the bird was lying on the snow beneath the feeder with its feet up off the ground. My son, Jason, had seen it earlier lying there but still alive. My wife went and gathered the bird up in kleenex and placed it by the heater for a while. It was no use. I had to take it out and dispose of it.
On Thursday we had more red polls and chickadees visiting but again no other species.I will soon need to fill the feeder again. We went over 50 kilometres out of town without seeing a single bird. When we got back there was a sad looking stray keeping watch at the bird feeder waiting for some completely blind bird to come down on the ground for seed. I suppose it is possible but I think the usual strategy is to hide or at least crouch. The cat meowed a greeting. I thought it might be a pet but it would not let us approach and ran off. I saw that it was not in good shape and had a mangy looking tail. It is probably a homeless cat.

Weather improving

It is warming up towards seasonal values now. However, the wind is blowing hard enough to ruffle the feathers of the red polls who have been regular visitors today. The only other birds to visit are chickadees. The lowly house sparrow has not visited for days now. I gather that their numbers are decreasing in this and other areas.

Weather is improving

Weather is improving but not bird variety at the feeder. There were just red polls and chickadees again today.
We drove out of town twice but the only bird visible was one lone raven. Perhaps in a few weeks some birds will be returning from the south such as the juncos but we will see.
My son brought me a bird book of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. However, it leaves out common birds such as the pine grosbeak and American goldfinch. It does have a helpful description and identification features for many birds though

Red Poll Day

There were quite a few red polls at the feeder throughout the day. However, they were the only birds I saw all day. Perhaps the chickadees came when I was not looking. The weather is improving a little so there may be a better representation tomorrow. We did not go out of town so I did not get a chance to do any birdwatching farther afield.

Ruffed Grouse

It was a very slow day again at the feeder. I saw one lone redpoll and several chickadees but that is all. However on a drive out of town I saw several ravens near the village dump. Finally I also saw a ruffed grouse near some woods at the side of the road in the snow. This is the first grouse I have seen this winter. Usually they are in groups. I have often startled them while on walks.

The Winter doldrums

An incredibly unbusy day at the feeder. It is a lovely winter day with plenty of sunshine and not very windy. I guess there is no bad weather coming because the birds are not in a hurry to eat. There were just a very few birds all day. I saw a few visits by a chickadee or perhaps there was more than one. There was also one brief visit by a few red polls. There were not even any sparrows! To celebrate here is a pic of a chickadee.

Where are all the birds?

I have seen absolutely no birds at the feeder today. There was light snow last night but it is a beautiful day this afternoon. We took a trip late this morning into the country. It was foggy. I saw several ravens and one flock of red polls but that is the sum total of my observations today. Since I saw a raven I have added a photo to commemorate that exciting event!