Junco and Purple Finch on Feeder

There is a slate coloured or dark eyed junco with a purple finch looking around the corner. There are still plenty of juncos and also a few purple finches including females.

Purple finches are here..

There are two photos of purple finches at the bird feeder. One shows the male prominently the other the female. The male is the more colorful! There have been quite a few of the finches visiting the last couple of days but we also have the ubiquitous chickadee as well as some pine siskins, the odd junco, and a single red poll.

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.

Late Leavers

On Friday we drove to near Roblin to a farm. In the yard there were high bush cranberries. Lo and behold there were quite a few robins eating the berries. It is getting rather late for robins to be still here but I guess as long as there is food and it is not too cold they will stay. There were also many slate coloured juncos. On the way home we saw a newly cultivated field replete with herring gulls. They too are staying late. I assume come the first big freeze or snow they will finally get the message and fly south.

Another junco or so!

There was at least one slate coloured (or dark-eyed) junco along with the house sparrows at the feeder this morning. There was also a Harris sparrow again. There are still plenty of pine siskins and there wads a purple finch as well. Red breasted nuthatches as well as chickadees are present every day.
I hear flocks of geese going overhead quite regularly these days. Most of them so far seem to be Canada geese.

Plenty of starlings

About eight or more starlings landed on my front lawn and found some fallen seeds underneath the feeder. They did not stay too long. The starling is actually a handsome bird when seen up close with light shining from its head. There is a glossy irridescent sheen that is quite attractive. Of course they are hardly a song bird!

There were a few chickadees at the feeder today and I saw a few juncos on the ground but no red polls. There are quite a few crows or at least by the noise it seems that there are!

Robins are back!

There is still very little traffic at the feeder although there were a couple of chickadees today as well as a handful of red polls. However when I was on my daily walk I saw robins and also two northern flickers. At the lagoons there were a pair of Canada geese. I think they may be nesting in the swampy area near the lagoons. I also saw two ducks but was not close enough to identify them. There are still some juncos about even though they have decided they have had enough of my sunflower seeds!

Another quiet day at the feeder

There are no juncos or anything else at my feeder except for a very few plump redpolls that look rather sickly, not like the one in the photo.

There are still some juncos around because I saw some at the neighbour's feeder. He is feeding the birds a different kind of seed, much smaller, and he has some oats as well. The only other birds I saw today were some crows.

No new birds yet.

The bird feeder was busy but mostly with red polls although there are still quite a few juncos. The junco numbers may be in decline already as they move north. The faithful chickadees are still here but they are never in large numbers it seems.
When I was sitting out crows came to visit but I had nothing out for them.

Another warm day.

There is not much snow left but there is enough that water is flowing in the ditches as what is left melts quickly. It is warm enough to sit out in the yard just with a sweater on and no coat. I saw a crow of two land in the spruce trees and I also heard but did not see geese.

At the bird feeder the regulars were busy: red polls, chickadees, and juncos. The juncos are still plentiful. I am expecting to see less of them as the snow disappears.

Warmest Day Yet!

The temperature must have been close to 20 C today. This is the warmest day of the year. Even so there is still some snow to be melted and there is still ice in the lagoons. I walked over to our two lagoons today but the only birds were two crows. One was calling me names by tone of his cawing. He landed on the ice and strutted around on it for a while. Near the lagoons there is a field that is partially flooded and there were a few Canada Geese that flew off from there.

THe feeder is still busy with red polls. There are still quite a few juncos around as well but no new birds as yet.

Some gulls are back

We drove all the way to Winnipeg and back about 8 hours driving in all. The snow is all gone most places except near Oakburn where we live! I suppose further north and in the park there is still snow as well.

There were quite a few crows beside the road. Most sloughs did not have birds on them but we did see a few Canada geese and the odd duck. At one slough near Winnipeg there were a group of herring gulls. I enclose a photo of a herring gull. I saw a bird that I could not identify. It may have been an osprey

When we got home red polls and juncos were still feeding the bird feeder

Warming up!

The snow is retreating quickly now as temperatures are well above freezing for longer periods. There still are some large drifts in the ditches and elsewhere though. The juncos are still around although perhaps their numbers may be slightly diminished. The redpolls are still eating voraciously. I saw a few chickadees today but not any downy woodpeckers.
When I walked about the village I heard and saw quite a few crows.

Same old birds!

I had to replenish the feeder last night and it is over half empty tonight. I put a photo of the redpolls at the feeder in this post. They are the most common visitors. I did not see the downy woodpecker today but there were lots of juncos and a few chickadees. I saw a few crows flying about the neighborhood. I guess they are waiting for more chicken bones.

Gradual warming trend.

It was a few degrees above freezing today with little wind. I was able to walk around the village without feeling cold. There is still not much water running in the ditches as the melt has been very slow and gradual.

I had to fill the feeder again today as the red polls and juncos are eating constantly and in large numbers. I still have not seen a house sparrow for several days now. There are the usual chickadees and one downy woodpecker still. No crows have visited the yard yet. The local crows must have bad eyesight because they have not taken away the chicken bones I put out.

Voracious red polls

I had to fill the feeder again this morning and this evening it is almost half empty. There are just oodles and oodles of red polls plus quite a few juncos eating constantly. The downy woodpecker is still around as are a few chickadees.

No crow has visited today even though I have put out some chicken bones later today. They will probably find them if a stray cat does not get there first!

Still waiting for Spring

The feeder is very busy. I will have to fill it again tomorrow. The redpolls are most numerous followed by the juncos. However, there are still chickadees darting back and forth the odd time. I include a photo (but not of mine). The downy woodpecker was around today. No house sparrows have appeared for days on end.
I saw several crows while walking about the village and heard geese honking.

Slowly warming up!

I had to fill the feeder again yesterday and today it is already one third gone. The weather is a bit nicer. I sat in the sun at a neighbour's and it was reasonably warm. Of course I had a parka on!

The usual birds are at the feeder. The juncos are still here. They probably will not stay too much longer. As soon as the snow disappears they drift further northward. There are still plenty of red polls. I have never seen red polls in the numbers that are around this year. In fact some years I haven't seen any at the feeder.

The downy woodpecker is still around the yard in the spruce trees and there are a few chickdees as well. There are plenty of crows around town. I walked over to the lagoons but there were no birds in the small patch of open water.

Knocked out cold!

The feeder is so busy that red polls often bump against the window that is close by. Usually they fly away immediately but sometimes they are stunned for some time. That was the case today. A redpoll hit the window so hard it actually left a bit of a feather where it hit. I thought it was dead on the ground but a while later it was disappeared. I expect it flew off but I suppose it is possible a cat got it.

There were no new birds today. However, the downy woodpecker was around several times so I put a photo of one in today's blog. The weather is still cold but not unpleasant as there is not too much wind and lots of sunshine. The snow is slowly melting away but there is no water in the ditches by the highway it is that slow. As well as red-polls there are still lots of juncos and the odd chickadee.

Sunshine but cold!

This ia another photo of a redpoll at the feeder. This was taken some time ago. Today there are oodles of redpolls at the feeder. There are so many that there is not room for them all and there are minor conflicts. There are still a few juncos that also come to the feeder but most are content to feed on the ground. The downy is still around and of course a few chickadees. Even a crow visited the yard to see if we had left any goodies out.