First White Crowned Sparrow of the year.

Saw the first white crowned sparrow today when I was out on the deck having coffee. They usually appear around this time. There are still plenty of juncos and also purple finches.

Harris sparrows

There are more Harris sparrows around the feeder than I have ever seen before. The same is true of white-crowned sparrows. This is a photo of a Harris sparrow on the ground beneath the feeder. There is a white-crowned sparrow also with the crown hidden somewhat by the feeder post.

White crowned sparrows return...

The first white-crowned sparrow of the year has appeared at the feeder. There was one lone sparrow among crowds of male and female purple finches, pine siskins and slate coloured juncos. The poor black capped chickadees dart in to feed and find no room! The siskins in particular are quite scrappy and intolerant of other birds at the feeder platform.

White crowned sparrow

There was a white-crowned sparrow this afternoon feeding below the feeder. This is the first one I have seen for a long time. Some poor house sparrow today was caught by a hawk right near the feeder. The sparrow actually bumped the window before being caught by the hawk. It happened so fast that I could not see what type of hawk it was. Afterwards when I went out on the back porch a bunch of sparrows flew out from underneath. I guess they were hiding there!

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.

A white crowned sparrow.

Another new bird this morning, a white crowned sparrow (photo). There are still plenty of juncos and also a few house sparrows.

My hummingbird feeder is up!

I had to buy a new hummingbird feeder. I hope the one I bought is meant to attract humming birds and not just human buyers!

We went to the dump yesterday and out in the country today. There are plenty of red-wing black birds and a few crows here and there. At the dump there was a magpie as well as a few starlings but not gulls or crows.

The feeder is being visited by many goldfinches as well as chipping sparrows and white crowned sparrows but that is about all these days. I have seen a few chickadees but there havent even been house sparrows lately.

Another pine grosbeak

There are the usual American goldfinches, chipping sparrows, and a few white crowned sparrows at the feeder as well as the usual odd chickadee. However today there was a lovely male pine grosbeak with lots of red colour.

Neighbours tell me that the hummingbirds are already here. I tried to put out my feeder today but unfortunately the reservoir must have cracked during the winter. I tried to put it up twice but I finally figured out that due to the crack air was entering the reservoir and hence the fluid was continually leaking through the petal outlets! I will buy a new feeder tomorrow. I have sweet carpets since I leaked out sugared water onto them.

Gloomy cool weather!

The weather is staying very cool, breezy, with a few showers. We managed to buy a few bedding plants but havent put them in the ground as yet.

The bird feeder remain popular but the most common birds are still goldfinches and chipping sparrows. I have seen the odd chickadee and white crowned sparrows but that is about all. Yesterday though a crow landed on the feeder. He almost put his neck out of joint trying to reach the sunflower seeds. Probably he decided there must be better fare elsewhere since he did not stay on his precarious perch long!

Still some redpolls about!

I saw at least one redpoll at the feeder today a male with plenty of pinkish red on his breast. There are also a few black-capped chickadees as usual. The goldfinches are still plentiful as well as the chipping sparrows. I saw a number of white-crowned sparrows as well. Yesterday there was one pine grosbeak that appeared at the feeder for a short visit. It is beginning to warm up again so I will put out my hummingbird feeder soon.

More birds...

It stopped raining this afternoon so I took the opportunity to go out for a walk. I saw a dark coloured duck with white wing bars but I did not see it long enough to identify it. At the same small slough there were other birds but there are enough leaves on the shrubs and small trees that they are able to hide. One looked like a kingbird. Near our house there were quite a few cedar waxwings that flew away from two blossoming crabapple trees.

At my yard I saw a couple of robins. There have been many goldfinches at the feeder and also many chipping sparrows. A Harris sparrow regularly visits as well but confines feeding to the ground where seeds have dropped. There were also several white crowned sparrows as well as house sparrows.

Rain, rain, good for farmers!

We are getting a fairly steady rain this morning. It will give moisture for the crops. I include a photo of a couple of American goldfinches at my feeder. They seem quite plentiful so far this season.

I do not seen any remaining redpolls. There are lots of chipping sparrows. The last two days I have seen a few house sparrows every day as well. I think that the sparrow with a white striped crown is a white crowned sparrow after all. The ones I have seen really do not have a white throat rather it is grey. I also found that the sparrow does go through this area and breeds further north.

There are still starlings about and I glimpsed a northern flicker in the yard this morning.