First Goldfinch of the season.

This is the first American goldfinch I have seen this year. It is sharing the feeder with a large male house sparrow.

Two photos of goldfinches

American goldfinches are regular visitors to the bird feeder these days. As well as sunflower seeds I have a mix of grains including canola seed and I always put a handful or two of that with the sunflower seeds. The goldfinches seem to enjoy canola seed.

A few goldfinches brave the cool weather...

There are already a few goldfinches about. Yesterday a humming bird approached a goldfinch at the feeder. No doubt the hummingbird seeing the bright yellow colour thought he had found a rare early flower. Maybe the humming bird needs glasses. Here is a fuzzy goldfinch at the feeder. As usual yours truly did not hold the camera very still.

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.

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!

Black tern

I saw my black tern at the side of the highway near a big slough. This is the first black tern I can recall seeing. The photo is not mine as can be seen by the inscription.

The bird feeder is busy these days. The most prevalent bird for a change is the house sparrow though there are also chipping sparrows, gold finches, pine siskins and even a few starlings. The house sparrow young are already flying. On father''s day some offspring were busy begging dad to pop some sunflower seeds in their mouths.

American goldfinches

There are quite a few American goldfinches about this year. Here are two with another coming in for a landing. There is also a pine siskins. The siskins are also quite plentiful. They probably enjoy the spruce trees around the yard even though they are pine siskins!

There are also a few chipping sparrows. The slate-coloured juncos are long gone. However, I still here Canada geese going north the last few days. Humming birds seem to visit infrequently these days. Perhaps they are busing nesting or keeping warm. We have had no warm weather the last while.

American Goldfinch atop bird feeder

This American goldfinch perches on top of the wire that can be used to hang the feeder. He is waiting for a space to open on the feeder down below! There are quite a few goldfinches so far this year.

First American Goldfinch.

I saw the first American goldfinch this morning. There are also chipping sparrows still about and pine siskins as well. The photo is of my own feeder last year with my
plastic bird bath missing the top in the background

Rising cost of feeding birds

Our low cost sunflower seed supplier ran out between this morning and this afternoon when my wife went to pick up a sack. I ended up paying 18.00 for a sack at a hardware store. It seems the prices of sunflowers are rising. I didn't notice so many fields planted this year, perhaps because of high prices for other grains.

Anyway the birds were happy to start wasting seeds as fast as they could again. Some of my friends just give up and quite feeding when the sparrows start to make runs on their feeders! Actually I have a soft spot for house sparrows. At least they stay with us all winter. Usually there will be a few sparrows around when there is no other bird to be seen.

Right now though there is still a fairly good representation. Not all the goldfinches are gone yet (photo). There are plenty of savannah sparrows, pine siskins and purple finches. The last few days red breasted nuthatches are frequent visitors as well.

More birds bound for the south

Although I have not heard or seen large numbers of geese departing yet, yesterday there was a huge flock of black birds along the highway. They may be red-wing blackbirds from further north or perhaps starlings. We did not get close enough to identify them.

There are quite a few nuthatches (photo) about and at the feeder. Yesterday we also saw about half a dozen northern flickers around the yard. Chickadees are also daily visitors as are purple finches, pine siskins, and savannah sparrows. There are still a few goldfinches around but mostly females. Maybe they are hardier! Large flocks of house sparrows are regular raiders of the feeder. They should be out in the fields eating grain!

Fewer visitors

There have been fewer birds at the feeder the last couple of days. Still some flocks of sparrows visit from time to time and scatter seed about. There are still the usual varieties of birds: house sparrows foremost, savannah sparrows, pine siskins, red breasted nuthatch, chickadees, and still the odd goldfinch at this late date.
When we went to shop at a nearby town I saw some herring gulls still around. They were following behind a tractor that was cultivating. There is still some grain to be harvest around here as light rains have made the grain too damp to thresh.

Voracious sparrows

The female house sparrows are the most messy when it comes to scattering seed from the feeder. The spilled seeds got wet and my wife gathered them and set them on the back porch to dry. When we returned from shopping there were hardly any seeds left in the pan. Some had been eaten but most had just been scattered all over outside the pan!

I finally decided to take down the hummingbird feeders. There have been no hummingbirds for about a week and last night there was a heavy frost so if they are not all gone they will be frozen!

There are still plenty of savannah sparrows about as well as pine siskins, and I saw a goldfinch at the feeder again today. I thought they would be all gone. I saw more than one purple finch at a time and there are probably several red breasted nuthatches as well or at least if there is just one it must be very hungry.

Sunflower seed consumption

I used up a large sack of sunflower seeds in about a month. The general store where I buy them is out so I had to go to the regular hardware and buy a smaller bag until the new stock comes in. Apparently the cost of sunflower seeds is climbing just like oil and gas! The farmers should be happy with grain prices as well but the yields are not that marvelous.

There seem to regular visits by nuthatches (photo) these days but it is large flocks of sparrows that seem to clean out the feeder regularly. With the smaller flocks there are often purple finches, savannah sparrows, pine siskins, and still the odd goldfinch mixed in. Chickadees are still coming regularly as well. It will not be too long until the juncos begin to come from the north on their way south.

The leaves are changing colour and cucumbers are already freezing from patchy frost a couple of nights.

Red Wing Blackbirds Swarming

We drove down to Hamiota yesterday. On the way I saw three different large groups of red-wing blackbirds on wires gathering to fly south. There are a few ducks on sloughs but I was not close enough to identify any. I haven't noticed any mourning doves lately.

There were no hummingbirds today but I saw one the other day. I guess there are still a few moving through on their way south.

THe main feeder is busy. There are Savannah Sparrows, house sparrows, pine siskins, and the odd goldfinch still around. I saw another purple finch yesterday. A starling flew in with a bunch of house sparrows. The sparrows ate up some old bread I put out for them but my wife put out some corn and that was left untouched.

Hummingbird numbers dwindle.

There are still a few hummingbirds about. I put my flower shaped feeder out and found that they will visit it, so I will use it again next year. The numbers of hummingbirds are beginning to dwindle. I think that some may already be on their way south. I am not sure how they go. Perhaps they go in small numbers rather than flocks. I have never heard reports of flocks of them but then one might not notice them. Some folks around here keep repeating the myth that the hummingbirds go south on the backs of geese. I guess they think the little hummingbirds are too tiny and frail to go it alone. I wonder if Monarch Butterflies hitch hike on the geese as well!

The regular feeder is quite busy. THere seem to be quite a few house sparrows around these days. Some are in flocks that are unmixed consisting of all or mostly house sparrows. However I saw one purple finch mixed in! The finch looks quite a bit like a house sparrow except for its red colouring.

There are still chickadees. I actually saw three at one time yesterday. Usually there are just single birds. I have not seen any goldfinches the last day or so. Perhaps they are going south as well.

Still many humming birds

There are still plenty of hummingbirds after all. They have not all left although they are not quite as prevalent as a few days ago. Even so I will soon have to add to the nectar reservoirs.

The main feeder is regularly invaded by flocks of sparrows, siskins and the odd goldfinch and purple finch. The goldfinches seem to be thinning out. Perhaps some are already on their way south. The purple martins have already swarmed in readiness to leave.

Voracious birds

The pine siskins, house sparrows, and goldfinches, emptied the feeder by late last night. I filled it up again early this morning. I did not see any hummingbirds yesterday or early this morning. Perhaps they are started south already. I still see a few chickadees most days.(photo)

Yesterday there were swarms of purple martins circling above the yard. They must be gathering to go south already even though it is not even September as yet. However, swallows tend to leave early. The weather is cool and windy as well. Perhaps there are not that many insects left. There are still plenty of flowers so the hummingbirds will still be OK even though it is rather cool.

Humming birds fuelling up!

The humming birds managed to empty one feeder within two or three days. I refilled it this morning as it was completely empty. The hummingbirds are busy from dawn to dusk. Many of them must be immature. There are few adult males. I imagine the hummingbirds will start migrating in September if not sooner. However there are still quite a few flowers as yet.

I saw a nuthatch (photo) visiting regularly. There are virtually flocks of sparrows and pine siskins. They along with goldfinches and purple finches seem to tolerate each other.

There were several northern flickers in the yard, pecking for grubs and worms in the grass even though they are woodpeckers.

Trip to Rivers

We took a trip to Rivers the other day. I did not see any new birds. However, we did see an American White Pelican at River's Lake. There were also a few hummingbirds at a feeder at the yard where we had a birthday celebration. There is no sign of hummingbirds leaving as yet even though there have been some quite cool nights.

Our feeder is constantly bombarded by hummingbirds who refuse to share the two feeders. Usually a successful feeder perches nearby and dive bombs any intruders but it is of no avail. While chasing off an intruder another will come and feed!

We still have plenty of birds at the other feeder. I have seen several purple finches (photo) including a couple of immature birds that just have a few weak splashs of color as yet.
Chickadees are still frequent visitors as are the goldfinches, pine siskins, and house sparrows.