Fuzzy magpie...

Magpies do not come to the feeder but they do occasionally visit the yard. I had to use the zoom and that resulted in a shaky photo and a fuzzy magpie but you can at least make out some of the black and white striking colours of the magpie. Because of bad habits and raucous voice this bird's beauty is not appreciated as it should be.

Geese Still Flying South

Yesterday when driving back from Brandon we saw a large flock of Canada geese flying south. This morning I could hear the honkers when I stepped out onto the deck. The geese seem to leave for the south over several months starting in September. This is rather late. I thought all had been gone. There could be no geese as in the photograph since all the sloughs are frozen as of now!

Unphotogenic Downy Woodpecker.

This is actually a downy woodpecker on his way up the feeder post to the feeder. I don't think the photo will win any prizes. This is the first downy I have seen in some time. Nuthatches are quite common but the downy is only an occasional visitor so I do not get many chances to photograph it.

Chickadees still visiting.

Although there are more house sparrows at the feeder than any other bird there are still quite a few chickadees visiting regularly. He is one little fellow resting for a few brief seconds. They do not stay long but flit off.

Whitebreasted nuthatch

I managed to get my own photo of the whitebreasted nuthatch although it cannot compare favorably with the one I found on the net! The last day or so I have seen only red breasted types.

White breasted nuthatch

I was surprised the other day to see a nuthatch without a red breast. I thought perhaps it was just an immature red breasted nuthatch but then I discovered there is a white breasted nuthatch and that was obviously what I had seen. I have seen one several times although the red breasted type is more common around here. Both types of nuthatch stay here all year round but are usually more visible in the fall and winter. This is not my photo unfortunately!

Several magpies.

We went to the next town shopping this morning. The snow is long gone and there is a strong drying wind so that some farmers with crops still unharvested are hard at work combining. There are few birds about but we did see several lone magpies both on the way and coming back. We saw one crow or perhaps a raven by now as the colder weather is coming.

Less juncos all the time..

This is a photo taken a while ago while we still had some snow. It is long gone now. In fact it is dry enough that some farmers have been able to start harvesting again. These are juncos and house sparrows. The juncos are beginning to disappear but the house sparrows stay around for the entire winter and at times are the only visitors to the feeder.