Faithful chickadees

The black capped chickadees seem to visit faithfully most days during the winter. There are never large numbers often just one or two at a time. They don't seem to like to share the feeder ledge space!

Even during this very frigid weather I see chickadees almost every day visiting. The only other birds lately are some house sparrows and a few red polls.

Squirrel staying up to see winter begin.

Our squirrel still visits the feeder quite regularly. Here he is sitting up opening a sunflower seed oblivious to the fearsome cold and wind chill on the first day of winter.

House Sparrows clean out feeder

The house sparrows have rediscovered the feeder and are feeding with a vengeance. Perhaps with this very cold weather they are having some trouble finding food since there have not been that many around so far. I will have to venture out into the cold and refill the feeder. Actually there is not that much wind so it is not too bad out. There are still redpolls and chickadees feeding as well.

More cold and more ravens..

We drove to Brandon and back yesterday. We saw one flock of birds that were probably snow buntings but otherwise there were only a few ravens in twos or threes. The wind chill was in the minus forties. We did not get out of the car to observe the birds more closely!

Very very cold and windy..

We went shopping to the next town today. It was more than minus 40C windchill. The only birds we saw were half a dozen ravens. At the feeder there are only red polls and chickadees and only a few of them.

More chickadees

There are quite a few chickadees visiting these days probably the most frequent of all visitors. I have seen a few more red polls and the occasional sparrow as well. The squirrel refuses to admit winter is well under way and is still active every day even though there is now a significant amount of snow on the ground.

Ravens and pigeons

A few days ago we drove to Brandon and back. There were few birds to be seen. At one point we did encounter a rather large flock of pigeons along the side of the road. I assume they were getting gravel for their crops. The only other birds we saw were ravens, one single raven and two groups of two.

First redpolls.

I was surprised to look out at the feeder and see two redpolls this morning. They are the first new birds to be seen in quite a while.

A downy woodpecker again

Not many species are visiting these days but yesterday I saw another downy woodpecker in the spruce trees. There are also a few house sparrows but most common are the black-capped chickadees.

A few stray magpies

Driving through the countryside the last few days I have seen the odd magpie in the countryside flying over the fields or in to some bush. Usually I see just one and on rare occasions two or more. There do not seem to be large numbers about but they stay all winter. The magpies hereabouts are not very tame. I rarely see one in the village.

House sparrows on the feeder

Here are a couple of house sparrows at the feeder. Often there are much larger groups than this. These two are not that photogenic it would seem. Taking photos through the window does not always work that well. Maybe I need to clean the window one of these days.

A faithful visitor to the Feeder.

Here is a squirrel who faithfully visits the feeder often chasing birds away in the process. He no doubt has hidden plenty of sunflower seeds in places that he will never recall in the depth of winter. So far he is quite active even though since I took this there is some snow on the ground.

Faithful chickadees

Chickadees are among the most faithful visitors these days. There are no new species although there a downy woodpecker has appeared from time to time. The juncos seem to be all gone. It is even a while since I have seen a red breasted nuthatch. Of course there are plenty of house sparrows at the moment. They tend to come in rather large flock of several dozen at a time.

Another downy woodpecker

Yesterday another downy woodpecker visited. It actually landed on the feeder but I was unable to act quickly enough to get a photo. This photo is borrowed from the internet! There are not many different kinds of birds at the feeder these days. The most numerous visitors are the common house sparrows but there are also quite a few black capped chickadees and the odd pine siskin and also red breasted nuthatches but that is all!

Ravens are back..?

This is not my photo needless to say. I don't know of any landscapes like that in the photo around here. This raven seems to have a beard! Ravens drift south to southern Manitoba from the north during the winter while the crows or most of them fly south just like our Canadian human snowbirds.

We saw what appeared to be a raven on our way to go shopping at the next town, Rossburn. I feed the crows all summer. Now when I put our bones and scraps out the local cats clean them up without being pestered by crows. I guess the crows have gone.

A Blue Jay

I was surprised the other morning to see a blue jay. It may have been at the feeder but it flew into a spruce tree as I approached the window. This is the first blue jay I remember seeing in my yard. I saw another one last year in a farm yard. I have not had another sighting since.

We drove to our farmer friend who lives near the east end of Riding Mountain Park. I did not see many birds on the way but there were several ravens and also some gulls standing on ice that had formed in a slough! I also heard one flock of geese going south while at the farm. They have not all left yet. Indeed, last week I saw some American hunters at Shoal Lake and they were in the restaurant where we had lunch and were talking about having located some flocks.

Juncos beginning to disappear

This is a photo of a slate coloured junco at the feeder taken a week or so ago. The last few days I have seen none. There may still be some around but they are not here in any large numbers as they were earlier. The weather is getting quite a bit colder and there is even a few snowflakes being blown around by a strong wind today.
If it weren't for house sparrows and chickadees the feeder would be completely vacant. The sparrows sometimes come in large groups but the chickadees are always alone or at most with one or two others.

Bird traffic slows down..

I ran out of sunflower seeds and used wheat and canola as bird seed. It is not as popular as the sunflowers. I now have more sunflower seeds and put some out but the traffic has not increased too much. However there are still some chickadees visiting and a few house sparrows. A squirrel also is busy putting seeds in his cheeks and hiding them somewhere!

Downy Woodpecker visits

For two days in a row a downy woodpecker has been visiting. The woodpecker visited the feeder at least once. Usually they stay in the spruce trees hunting for insects under the bark.

There are still many large flocks of geese migrating south. On a trip to Brandon on Wednesday we saw at least half a dozen very large flocks. There was also one large flock of blackbirds. I thought they were long gone. In one field there were gulls spread out all over the field.

At the feeder there are still plenty of juncos. Chickadees are common again and nuthatches also visit regularly.

Two kinds of juncos?

I am not sure which type of junco is which. I believe the lighter one such as that in the photo is the slate coloured junco. There are others that look darker and I assume they are the dark-eyed junco. They stay around the area for about a month or longer and then once the snow and colder weather comes the disappear within a week or so.

Robins in mountain ash trees

A few days ago I noticed birds flying into and out of a mountain ash tree on the perimeter of our property. The mountain ash has bright orange berries in the fall. I was surprised to find that the birds were robins. The next day we visited a farmer friend who also had mountain ash trees and there were robins there as well. Perhaps the robins rendezvous in mountain ashes and feast on the berries before starting south. They had better start soon as there is a winter storm warning for parts of Saskatchewan tomorrow and some of the snow may drift over here!

Large flocks of geese on their way south...

This is a flock of snow geese. I have heard several flocks of geese this evening flying overhead even though the weather is very windy and rainy. This time of year flocks of snow geese often are seen in the fields just as in this photo that was taken--but not by me---near The Pas Manitoba. By the honking I think that the flocks I am hearing are probably Canada Geese.

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!

Purple finch on feeder

There are quite a few purple finches visiting the feeders these days. They often accompany quite a few house sparrows. Mixed in with the sparrows there are sometimes pine siskins as well. This is a photo of a purple finch on my smaller feeding station. The larger one was blown off and blown to pieces in the process!

First Fall Junco

The first Junco appeared yesterday just in time for fall to start. There will probably be a lot more within a few days. They stay around for quite a few weeks before continuing their journey south.

Plenty of house sparrows are visiting these days even though there must be plenty of grain out in the fields. There are also quite a few chickadees and today I saw a couple of red-breasted nuthatches.

Several purple finches..

There have been a half dozen or so purple finches visiting the feeder lately. I gather that most go south for the winter so they may be passing through although they could stay around for a while yet. There are no sign of juncos coming back yet. The purple finch females have no raspberry colour. I had seen some of them before but did not quite know what they were but now I see them together with the males and see them in my identification book it is clear that they are female purple finches.

Half a dozen Northern Flickers

The other day there were about half a dozen northern flickers around the yard busy hunting on the lawn for grubs. This is the largest group I have ever seen of these birds. Usually there is just a single bird or a couple around.

The bird feeder is visited by many house sparrows these days but also by pine siskins and black capped chickadees. The last couple of days there have also been some Savannah sparrows.

Geese are already starting south...

The other evening I was outside just before dark and heard the sound of Canada Geese honking as they flew over. This is a sure sign fall is coming. There seem to be more chickadees at the bird feeder lately as well after being not so common all summer.

Red Wing Blackbirds swarming...

Over the last couple of weeks we have seen many swarms of red-wing blackbirds as we have passed marshy areas. Apparently the red-wings fly south in segregated flocks of males and females. Perhaps this arose because of fights between the males and females over proper routes to take!

Last Hummingbird of the Season

I took down the hummingbird feeder yesterday as the nights are getting too cold for them to stay. I have heard that it is not a good idea to leave the feeders up too late because it encourages the birds to stay too late and may result in some being killed by the cold nights. This is my last 2008 photo taken three days ago. We have noticed several hummingbirds looking for the feeder in the last day or so.

I have replaced my old broken feeder with a smaller feeder for now but I intend to set up a different feeder on a pole before the ground freezes.

Northern Flicker on the lawn..

We had nothing like Gustav over the weekend but we did have wind and driving rain. We had so much wind that my poor decrepit feeder repaired with duct tape finally disintegrated when it was blown from its stand. I have replaced it by a smaller feeder for now but I will retrieve a better feeder on a sturdy post from my other property once the weather improves.
This morning I saw a Northern Flicker exploring the lawn. Maybe the rain makes the lawn a better picking ground for insects or perhaps the Flicker even eats worms. I don't really know. The flicker is a very attractive bird and the only woodpecker I gather that is a ground feeder.

More chickadees

There are more chickadees visiting the feeder now. Perhaps this is a sign of the coming of fall. They have not been too common over the summer. During the winter time they are sometimes one of the commonest visitors.

There are still hordes of house sparrows from time to time, and also pine siskins are still plentiful. There are also a few starlings. One starling often visits along with the sparrows. Unlike the hummingbirds, the siskins, sparrows, and starlings seem to be able to co-exist while feeding.

Hummingbirds are quite plentiful. Once we start to have some frost at night they will leave. It is apparently a good idea to take the feeder down before it gets very cold since if nectar is available the hummingbirds will stay too late.

Strange fuzzy bird!

This is a blurry photo of a squirrel on the feeder. It also shows the duct tape that is now holding the feeder together. Perhaps I will invest in a new feeder before winter.

We drove down to Napinka in the southwest corner of the province yesterday. There were several very large flocks of red-wing blackbirds along the way. They may be gathering already to go south. It was cold last night but I do not think there was frost yet. There are plenty of hummingbirds still around. They are so active that I had to replace the nectar after just a few days.

My regular supplies of sunflower seeds still has none so I had to buy at a hardware store where they are more expensive. The house sparrows are the worst for simply emptying the feeder contents onto the ground.

Hummingbirds becoming more common..

There are more hummingbirds now, enough that there are fights fairly often. The most common birds at the feeder these days though are the house sparrows. There still seem to be some young ones begging for food. Pine siskins are also plentiful. But there are also a few chickadees now and also some red breasted nuthatches.

We drove to Winnipeg and back yesterday. I did not see any new birds unless some of the ducks on the sloughs were ones I have not seen before. I was not close enough to identify any of them. We did see a mourning dove. Of course there are plenty of red-winged blackbirds but I did not see a single yellow headed blackbird.

Hummingbirds are back...

The liquid in my humming bird feeder had become so old that I changed it. Now this morning and yesterday I was rewarded in that several hummingbirds have visited. They are usually plentiful in late spring and late summer before leaving. This morning there were several even two at a time. They are very territorial birds and will not usually feed peacefully together. When one finishes feeding it often sits in a nearby branch ready to chase away any competitor who might want to feed!

Pine Siskins are plentiful

While there are no new birds at the feeder lately there are more pine siskins than I have even seen before. They even outnumber house sparrows! I think that some of them may be young as they seem not to be too frightened when I approach. One little fellow boldly pecked at the sunflower seeds when I was only standing a few feet away.
We still have a few chipping sparrows, and there are more chickadees now. The starlings are visiting much less frequently. Of course I am still feeding the crows.
I have cut down on the frequency of refilling the feeder. It is just too expensive to spoil the birds by always making sure the feeder is full! House sparrows especially are wasteful in dumping all the seeds they can onto the ground!

Fuzzy starlings

This is a group of starlings eating sunflower seeds off the ground and drinking out of my old cereal dish. When the bowl developed a cracked we handed it down to the birds as a drinking dish. The starlings insist on washing their feet or taking a bath in it and also manage to pollute it with sunflower seed shells as well. There are oodles of house sparrows visiting the feeder and they dump seeds on the ground. I have run out of seeds even though I bought a sack about a month ago.
My usual supplier is out so I had to pay ten dollars for a lighter large plastic bag the probably will not last more than a couple of weeks. Seems there is inflation in bird seed as well as energy.

A lone black-capped chickadee visits.

During the summer I only see chickadees occasionally. I saw one the other day who darted in to grab a sunflower seed before he was crowded out by house sparrows and starlings. I have never seen so many young starlings. There were about a dozen starlings and close to two dozen house sparrows at the feeder the other morning. There are also a few pine siskins, nuthatches, and even American goldfinches who all manage to scrounge a few seeds.

Lots of juvenile starlings and parents

This is a photo of a juvenil starling--not mine. As you can see it is much more brown than the parents and hasn't the dark irridescent colours on the head as yet. There are quite a few starlings at the feeder the last few days. Starling apparently like insects but are more or less omnivorous. Although some of the younger birds beg others for food by approaching them and opening their beaks their comrades just ignore them. House sparrows and even pine siskins seem to be able to feed at the same time without too many fights!

More flickers

This morning when I woke up I discovered two northern flickers on the lawn probing for grubs and worms. It seems that these woodpeckers were meant to be like robins foraging for worms but somehow the designs must have gotten mixed up...They are colorful birds usually seen around here this time of year but in no great numbers.

At the bird feeder the main species is the house sparrow but there are American goldfinches and quite a few pine siskins. From time to time I see the odd starling and even crows eat the sunflower seeds. Yesterday I saw a chickadee. They are not too plentiful at the feeder these days. There has been no further sign of humming birds. I will have to change the nectar again as it looks cloudy and ready to ferment!

Feeding crows

I have been regularly feeding local crows. I leave scraps and chicken and other bones out on a plate. The crows usually find it quite quickly but once the scraps were raided by a local cat before the crows got there.
There seem to be several families around now. One crow waggled its wings as I have seen the young sparrows do when they want to be fed. The adult crows simply ignored this behavior. The crows even come and feed on the sunflower seeds below the feeder sometimes. I have also put out a dish of water for the crows and other birds to drink from. The crows use it regularly. I have to inspect it regularly to make sure that mosquito larvae are also not taking advantage of the water!

Red-breasted nuthatches

This is not my photo. I saw two red-breasted nuthatches pursuing each other by spruce trees near the feeder. Perhaps they are mating. There are plenty of young birds about. The young house sparrows insist on pestering their parents for food even though they seem quite capable of pecking for sunflower seeds just like their parents. In fact if they are unable to cajole the adults into feeding them they go back to feeding themselves. Maybe there is a lesson for humans in all this.

A creche of Canada geese.

This is a creche of Canada geese a group of goslings with several adults as well. On our way to Rivers the other day we saw a creche very much like this in a large slough. There seemed to be two pairs of adults and a number of goslings. The goslings are already a good size.

Northern flicker

Yesterday morning I was sitting out enjoying the nice weather and relative lack of mosquitoes and other insects when I saw a Northern Flicker probing the lawn. This is one woodpecker that is a ground feeder. Apparently they love ants. I am sure that our lawn probably provides a good buffet lunch.

Even so these woodpeckers are relatively uncommon around the yard. They have a rather weird ki ki ki cry.

Chipping sparrow

This morning there was a lone chipping sparrow foraging for sunflower seeds beneath the feeder. There have been quite a few from time to time this year. They often are at the feeder along with house sparrows and pine siskins but not in great numbers, usually just one or two.

I saw another hummingbird yesterday so I guess they are beginning to re-appear. I probably should change the solution in my hummingbird feeder. It has been long enough in the feeder that perhaps it will ferment and make the poor hummingbirds drunk.

Yellow warbler

For the first time this year I saw a yellow warbler in the yard. The warbler was not visiting the feeder but landed in one of the spruce trees briefly. There seem to be very few warblers about any more.
My wife saw one hummingbird yesterday, the first we have seen in weeks. There are plenty of house sparrows at the feeder and also many pine siskins. A few starlings are visiting as well. They eat seeds that are fallen on the ground. Even the odd crow picks up the seeds from the ground.

Where have all the hummingbirds gone?

Here is a photo of a hummingbird at my feeder late in May. However, since early June there has not been a single hummingbird that I have seen at the feeder. It seems that during the mating season they birds tend to disappear. Perhaps there are plenty of flowers so that no artificial feeders are needed or perhaps they are busy raising young. Anyway they will probably re-appear later in the season. We enjoy watching them. They are very territorial and quite unwilling to share the feeder with other hummingbirds.

Brownheaded cowbird.

The last couple of mornings when I have looked out at the feeder I have seen a brown-headed cowbird. This is the first year I have even seen these birds at the feeder. There have been a number of starlings visiting the feeder lately as well and even some of the local crows have taken to the sunflower seeds. I feed the crows scraps so they are always around. The poor local cats do not stand a chance anymore since as soon as I put something out the crows see it and pounce upon it before I am even back inside!

Little blue heron..?

We drove all the way to Regina and back. I did not see any new birds until we were just about twenty miles from home where I saw a heron in a large slough by the side of the road. I think it was a little blue heron but perhaps it was a green heron. The photo is of a little blue heron taken from the internet.

There were plenty of crows along the way, oodles of red-winged blackbirds, and also one yellow headed blackbird. The latter seem to be rather scarce the last few years.