Purple Finch with Pine Siskins

Here is a purple finch male together with two pine siskins. The last few days there have been purple finches visiting every day. The pine siskins have been here all winter and are quite plentiful.

Finally a new bird.

A purple finch appeared at the feeder today. I was able to obtain a photo but this is not it! I will download it later but I may have been a bit too far away. Aside from the finch there are plenty of pine siskins and some house sparrows and chickadees.

No new spring birds as yet. Plenty of pine siskins

We are still awaiting the return of spring birds such as the slate coloured junco but we have seen none so far. Meanwhile there are plenty of pine siskins. They seem to have had a banner year and are always present in our spruce trees.

Two Magpies

We drove to Brandon and back through foggy conditions. We saw two magpies in all and numerous crows or ravens and also a couple of flocks of snow buntings. At the feeder there are chickadees and pine siskins and that is about all.

More pine siskins

There are no new birds at the feeder. The most common visitors are pine siskins followed by chickadees and then a few house sparrows. I have no seen any grosbeaks as yet this winter. Last winter there were evening grosbeaks as well as rose-breasted grosbeaks.

Several ravens seen on trip to city

We saw several individual ravens and also two together on the way to Brandon to shop. The only other birds we saw were two flocks of snow buntings and in the city a flock of pigeons. At the bird feeder we have chickadees, nuthatches, pine siskins, and house sparrows. The other day there was also a downy woodpecker.

Siskins and Chickadees

This is an earlier photo of a pine siskin and chickadee at the feeder. However this morning the same combination was evident. There have been lots of pine siskins of late even during the coldest weather.
The weather has warmed up now but there are no new birds around so far.

Another white-breasted nuthatch

Another white breasted nuthatch appeared today although the photo is borrowed from the internet. I could not take that good a photo! There are even more red-breasted nuthatches and plenty of chickadees. As well there are plenty of house sparrows and there are pine siskins visiting as well.

Pine siskins back again..

Pine siskins are appearing again as winter settles in. They usually stay for the entire winter in the evergreens around the yard and are frequent visitors to the feeder. They manage to compete with houseparrows!

Pine siskin and chickadee

This is a photo of a pine siskin and a chickadee both sharing the feeder platform. The chickadee wll not be there long. They tend to dart in and out again quickly.

Harris sparrow among pine siskins

The Harris sparrow stands out among the group of pine siskins feeding underneath the feeder. It is quite a bit larger with a black head and throat and light coloured breast. I have seen more Harris sparrows this year than any other year. Usually I am lucky to see one or two a year but this year I see several every day.

Two starlings visit.

This is a photo of a juvenile starling. The adults are quite a bit darker. Two of them probably a pair visited the feeder early this morning but fed underneath the feeder picking up sunflower seeds from the ground. They visit occasionally. Right now there are oodles of pine siskins. They can empty the feeder in a day.

Juncos Still abound..

There are still many juncos here. I imagine that they will be moving north one day soon. At present, the feeder is overrun with birds: pine siskins, purple finches, juncos, and the odd chickadee. Redpolls seem to have disappeared for the most part.

White crowned sparrows return...

The first white-crowned sparrow of the year has appeared at the feeder. There was one lone sparrow among crowds of male and female purple finches, pine siskins and slate coloured juncos. The poor black capped chickadees dart in to feed and find no room! The siskins in particular are quite scrappy and intolerant of other birds at the feeder platform.

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 pine siskins visit..

For the first time in ages two pine siskins visited the feeder. The most common visitor these days aside from the squirrel are chickadees.

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!

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!

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.

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.