Mystery bird

I knew what this bird was when I took the photo but had forgotten by the time I downloaded it. The snow has been gone for over a week now. However, it has not dried up enough for everyone to finish harvesting. This bird is either a Harris Sparrow or a Purple finch with its colour not evident because of the lighting.

Purple finches still about..

This is a photo before the snow melted away. The purple on the purple finch is not too visible because of the lighting.

They have been around for some time now. Juncos are still here as well. There are even flocks of geese still migrating south.

Juncos are still here..

This photo was taken about a week or so ago when there was still snow on the ground. It is all melted now but there are still juncos at the feeder and feeding on seeds on the ground.

Magpie briefly visits

A Magpie briefly visited the yard. They are not all that common this year but I have seen the odd one around town and out in the countryside. I find them a very attractive bird but they tend to be unpopular around here because of their noise and they are supposed to drive songbirds out of the area. There are still plenty of slate coloured juncos and purple finches around the feeder.

Harris sparrows aplenty.

These are two photos of Harris sparrows. The second does not show the big black bib. There have been more around the feeder the last few days than I have seen in ages and certainly this whole year. Perhaps they are on their way south along with lots of juncos.

Nuthatch in the snow!

We had quite a bit of snow the other day. I was finally able to get a photo of a red-breasted nuthatch. There were no other birds visiting the feeder so the nuthatch stayed long enough for me to take his picture. They are around all winter but are seen only occasionally. Usually they are busy running upside down on the spruce trees digging into the bark.

Yes! There is definitely snow!

As can be seen in the fuzzy photo we have had snow. We are to receive between 5 and 10 cm today but this is the result from overnight. My camera was not functioning properly but you can still see there are definitely two chickadees on the feeder. They do not mind the winter and are faithful visitors for most of the year. The other bird may be a house sparrow but it could be a female purple finch. There are lots of purple finches around just now.

Juncos return..

The last few days slate-coloured juncos are re-appearing on their way south. This morning they should be a bit surprised to find a skiff of snow on the ground but as of eleven oçlock it had already disappeared. New birds are beginning to appear at the feeder. I will post more photos in the next few days. Of course house sparrows still predominate at the feeder.

Chickadee and Purple Finch

This is a photo of a purple finch and black capped chickadee sharing the feeder. As usual it is a bit blurry because the person who took the photo(me) manages to shake a bit and that combined with the fact that the zoom factor is rather large makes quite a few birds blurry! The chickadees are still visiting regularly but the purple finch has disappeared.