A few Canada geese

We drove to Brandon and back yesterday but saw few birds. We saw several ravens and one crow. Overhead though we saw several smaller flocks of what I think were Canada geese going north. Actually a couple were going south. Unlike the geese in the photo these geese would find that all the sloughs are frozen so perhaps they were looking for some larger body of water that had some open water already.

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 flocks of snow buntings

This is not my photo of course but is borrowed from the net. We went to Brandon today and except for a few ravens and lots of pigeons in Brandon we saw only two large flocks of snow buntings and also a couple of groups of two.

Rock Pigeons

We drove to Brandon and back the other day and saw hardly any birds along the way just the odd raven. In the city itself there were a large group of rock pigeons on the wires crossing the Assiniboine river but that was all. The birds in the photo were not the ones we saw but it is a good photo nevertheless lifted from the internet..

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.

Snow buntings

We drove to Brandon and back yesterday. Although the wind was driving drifting snow the roads were not bad. We saw a number of ravens, one magpie and two flocks of snow buntings. The snow buntings are the first I have seen this winter season.

Some ravens and a month holiday

The temperature was minus forty this morning. I drove to Shoal Lake to the dump and saw about half a dozen ravens around the dump. On the way home I saw one lone raven at the peak of a huge mound of grain that has been left just standing in a field without any covering except for some snow right now!

At the feeder there were quite a few redpolls today and also black capped chickadees.

We will be leaving for the Philippines tomorrow so I will not be posting much until the end of March. I may do the odd post while in the Philippines but I may have a problem identifying the birds I see. I was surprised that I did not see that many different kinds in the city. The most common birds called maya maya look a lot like our common house sparrows.

A few ravens

We just returned from a trip to Brandon and back. We saw very few birds. The largest group we saw was a huge flock of pigeons in Brandon itself! In the countryside we saw a total of three ravens and nothing else. Each raven seemed to be by itself.

Ravens, snow buntings, pigeons, and wild turkeys

We drove to Winnipeg and back yesterday. There were a few more birds than during the cold spell which has now broken. We saw over half a dozen flocks of snow buntings as well as several ravens. Beside the highway just east of Portgage we saw two wild turkeys. In Winnipeg itself we saw several flocks of pigeons among the many that inhabit certain areas of the city.

More cold and more ravens..

We drove to Brandon and back yesterday. We saw one flock of birds that were probably snow buntings but otherwise there were only a few ravens in twos or threes. The wind chill was in the minus forties. We did not get out of the car to observe the birds more closely!

Ravens and pigeons

A few days ago we drove to Brandon and back. There were few birds to be seen. At one point we did encounter a rather large flock of pigeons along the side of the road. I assume they were getting gravel for their crops. The only other birds we saw were ravens, one single raven and two groups of two.

Ravens are back..?

This is not my photo needless to say. I don't know of any landscapes like that in the photo around here. This raven seems to have a beard! Ravens drift south to southern Manitoba from the north during the winter while the crows or most of them fly south just like our Canadian human snowbirds.

We saw what appeared to be a raven on our way to go shopping at the next town, Rossburn. I feed the crows all summer. Now when I put our bones and scraps out the local cats clean them up without being pestered by crows. I guess the crows have gone.

Snow and blowing snow..

We drove about 150 miles or more to Yorkton and back. Along the way we saw ravens but also we think we also saw crows. They look a lot like ravens but are smaller.
We also saw several flocks and small groups of snow buntings.
At Roblin, on Moose Lake (pond actually), we saw some geese at a couple of small open water areas. Just inside the Saskatchewan border there were two dead deer with crows or ravens busy feeding on the carcasses.
The second day of Spring saw snow flurries and blowing snow in places but the roads were not too bad. Today there is snow and wind again. Some of the roads are predicted to be bad but we will be staying home so it won't bother us.
There are the usual birds at the feeder: black capped chickadees and red breasted nuthatches.

Two black-capped chickadees.

On trips out of town I have seen only the odd raven. At the feeder today and yesterday I have seen just a couple of chickadees. In spite of the fact there are just the two birds they nevetheless often chase each other away from the feeder!

Bad roads and few birds.

We drove over 100 kilometers through the countryside yesterday. The roads were not good as there was snow and then blowing snow that created ice covered sections. We saw a few ravens and two batches of snow buntings but with just three and then four birds.

The feeder is still only visited by black-capped chickadess and red-breasted nuthatches (photo). In spite of the milder weather there are still just a few birds visiting the feeder. Maybe March will see more traffic.

A flock of snow buntings

Today I visited the dump. At the dump I counted ten ravens. There was another brown bird about robin size but it flew off too quickly to identify. There are plenty of rock doves (pigeons) at a grain elevator in Shoal Lake.
On the way home I saw one flock of snow buntings (photo) the first I have seen in some while. At the feeder there have been only black-capped chickadees and red breasted nuthatches today.

Warmer weather but no more birds!

We drove close to six hundred kilometers to Winnipeg and back. We saw only an occasional raven but absolutely nothing else. Maybe we were not attentive enough!

The feeder continues to be visited but only occasionally. For days I have not even seen one house sparrow but this morning I saw one lone male (pic). The chickadees are the most frequent visitors but there are also some red-breasted nuthatches in the spruce trees that occasionally take some seeds.

Back in the deep freeze..

On the few trips we have made out of town we have seen few birds just the odd raven (photo) and one flock of small birds that we were unable to identify. Most flocks are of snow buntings but these were smaller and there was no sign of white on the birds.

The bird feeder is visited regularly but birds are few in number and only three species are represented so far: black-capped chickadees, red-breasted nuthatches, and the occasional house sparrows.

The last couple of days there have been windchill warnings with windchills down in the minus forty range. However, there is lots of sunshine and the days are getting longer already.

A few snow buntings

The deep freeze has mellowed slightly so we went out to the next town shopping and to the dump. On one trip we saw a few snow buntings(photo) and at the dump there were a few ravens but nothing more.

The feeder now has a few sparrows that feed now and then plus the faithful black-capped chickadess and also an occasional red breasted nuthatch. No new birds as yet. I expect to see at least a downy woodpecker one of these days.

A bit warmer for the groundhogs..

In our trips out of town we have seen a few ravens. At the local dump today there must have been almost a dozen of them feasting on the garbage. There were no stray cats. It is doubtful though that the ravens feasted on them unless they ganged up on them and worked together as in a Hitchcock movie!

There was one lone sparrow at the feeder today but apart from that there were just a few black-capped chickadees and red-breasted nuthatches.

The weather is warming up a bit so perhaps there will be more birds as February moves along.