First White Crowned Sparrow of the year.

Saw the first white crowned sparrow today when I was out on the deck having coffee. They usually appear around this time. There are still plenty of juncos and also purple finches.

First junco today..

This is not a junco from my yard but the internet! The first one I have seen appeared this morning beneath the feeder. No doubt there will soon be plenty on their way to the north. The snow will be gone with a few more days of warm weather as we had today.

About two dozen crows.

On the way to Shoal Lake today we saw about two dozen crows at the side of the road. They have probably just arrived from the south and will spread out around the countryside now. No sign of juncos as yet but they should be here soon.

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.

Faithful chickadees visit

This is a photo taken in the late fall. Now the grass is well covered with snow still. There are lots of chickadees visiting. They are the most common visitor at present. It will not be too long until birds such as the junco begin to return.

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.

Purple finches still about..

This is a photo before the snow melted away. The purple on the purple finch is not too visible because of the lighting.

They have been around for some time now. Juncos are still here as well. There are even flocks of geese still migrating south.

Juncos are still here..

This photo was taken about a week or so ago when there was still snow on the ground. It is all melted now but there are still juncos at the feeder and feeding on seeds on the ground.

Magpie briefly visits

A Magpie briefly visited the yard. They are not all that common this year but I have seen the odd one around town and out in the countryside. I find them a very attractive bird but they tend to be unpopular around here because of their noise and they are supposed to drive songbirds out of the area. There are still plenty of slate coloured juncos and purple finches around the feeder.

Harris sparrows aplenty.

These are two photos of Harris sparrows. The second does not show the big black bib. There have been more around the feeder the last few days than I have seen in ages and certainly this whole year. Perhaps they are on their way south along with lots of juncos.

Juncos return..

The last few days slate-coloured juncos are re-appearing on their way south. This morning they should be a bit surprised to find a skiff of snow on the ground but as of eleven oçlock it had already disappeared. New birds are beginning to appear at the feeder. I will post more photos in the next few days. Of course house sparrows still predominate at the feeder.

Canada Geese flocks flying south..

This is not a photo of the flocks but it is cute photo of goslings from National Geographic.
For the last several days I have heard and seen many flocks of honkers on their way south. They also can be heard as they gather in fields near the edge of town. It should not be too long until the juncos start to appear also on their way to the south.

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.

Juncos are back.

Finally we have seen the first few juncos. One was in the spruce tree and another on the ground. So far I have not seen any at the feeder. Only the squirrel and a few chickadees are visiting the feeder so far!

Juncos beginning to disappear

This is a photo of a slate coloured junco at the feeder taken a week or so ago. The last few days I have seen none. There may still be some around but they are not here in any large numbers as they were earlier. The weather is getting quite a bit colder and there is even a few snowflakes being blown around by a strong wind today.
If it weren't for house sparrows and chickadees the feeder would be completely vacant. The sparrows sometimes come in large groups but the chickadees are always alone or at most with one or two others.

Downy Woodpecker visits

For two days in a row a downy woodpecker has been visiting. The woodpecker visited the feeder at least once. Usually they stay in the spruce trees hunting for insects under the bark.

There are still many large flocks of geese migrating south. On a trip to Brandon on Wednesday we saw at least half a dozen very large flocks. There was also one large flock of blackbirds. I thought they were long gone. In one field there were gulls spread out all over the field.

At the feeder there are still plenty of juncos. Chickadees are common again and nuthatches also visit regularly.

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.

First Fall Junco

The first Junco appeared yesterday just in time for fall to start. There will probably be a lot more within a few days. They stay around for quite a few weeks before continuing their journey south.

Plenty of house sparrows are visiting these days even though there must be plenty of grain out in the fields. There are also quite a few chickadees and today I saw a couple of red-breasted nuthatches.

Several purple finches..

There have been a half dozen or so purple finches visiting the feeder lately. I gather that most go south for the winter so they may be passing through although they could stay around for a while yet. There are no sign of juncos coming back yet. The purple finch females have no raspberry colour. I had seen some of them before but did not quite know what they were but now I see them together with the males and see them in my identification book it is clear that they are female purple finches.