Unusual molting? Hybrids? Obscure species?

I am challenged by many groups of birds. Hawks. Sandpipers, peeps, and assorted small shorebirds. Gulls.

But nonbreeding ducks lead the list.  Seeing these with a flock of Mallard Ducks in Billings, Montana, last week led me to speculate that I was perhaps the discoverer of a whole new species of ducks. Or maybe not. You be the judge. And if you can name any or all of these, please do.

Given the white geese in the above shot, it is possible that there are tame ducks in this waterbody also, but the tame ducks I used to raise were white. Unless they mingled with the Mallards and presented us with these delightful variations.

This last duck does not bear any resemblance to a Mallard, mutated or not, but I still don't know what it is. Quite possibly an ordinary duck wearing its winter colours.

Wild Turkey

We didn't go birding on our short trip to Montana over the weekend, but three Wild Turkeys obligingly came to us so I had no choice but to snap their photos. Thanks to Ray who recognized them as something worth slowing down for soon enough that we didn't just zoom right past.

Looking for Cranes

On her way to the field on Thursday, Cheryl saw something new adjacent to land we farm.

 

She hoped to see Whooping Cranes again, wondering if she would be able to identify them among the other cranes and the Snow Geese when she had neither a camera nor binoculars.

Turns out it wasn't a problem. She phoned me late in the afternoon to say she was watching 2 adult Whooping Cranes. They apparently didn't mind her tractor and landed quite near. After some time they flew off to join a flock of Sandhill Cranes.

On Sunday Ray and I thought we wouldn't mind seeing a couple more Whooping Cranes ourselves, not having seen any for 3 weeks. We drove out about 4:00 p.m.  The Sandhill Cranes were just leaving Luck Lake looking for supper. We drove past the fields where they've been seen the most, noticing 3 yellow signs in the area. No white birds among the grey. We headed toward the lake where we saw the Snow Geese weren't quite ready for supper

then circumnavigated the lake. This is quite a long drive because only on the north side can you get very close to the lake (or by using the dike, but we didn't do that this time.)  Very few of the cranes or geese were looking for grain on the north, east, or west sides of the lake. Back on the south side we did another drive-by. The Snow Geese were on their way off the lake, settling onto the harvested fields nearby.

We didn't see a lot of other birds. Notable were this juvenile Bald Eagle

an injured Sandhill Crane which has probably already become supper to a coyote (They need to eat too, I am reminded by Ray)

 and, of course, the flocks of Sandhill Cranes.

Beautiful warm day for a drive, but the Whooping Cranes were either well hidden or not there.

Maybe next time.

Whooping Cranes

 Though technically not a lifer, these four adult whoopers (only 2 of which are pictured) felt like lifers, because my previous experience was before we were really birding, and at a great distance through someone else's scope. Our views of these today were much better than the photos show. So far I don't know how to take photos through a scope, but maybe I should learn.

 

South of Luck Lake, September 25, 2012

Just dropping by.

Female Baltimore Oriole.

July Birds

July was not a good birding month for me. Too much else happening, I guess.  And when I went looking for my best July birds, my favourite photo was the Vesper Sparrow I already posted at the beginning of the month. However, This Cedar Waxwing came in second so here it is.

This Purple Finch didn't make a great photo, but is notable for being slightly more unusual than the Goldfinches, Robins and Catbirds that I generally see around the yard in July.

 And speaking of not-great photos. I snapped this Lark Bunting through the blur of the windshield, but I chose it as a reminder of the summer I saw more Lark Buntings than in all the rest of my life combined. Actually I managed that with the first 5 or 6 I saw in May. This one was in a gathering of half a dozen males three or four miles north of our farm shortly before sunset on July 2.

 Clay-coloured Sparrows are a bird I normally ID by ear. It was kind of funny the first time I realized that the small brown sparrow I was stalking was the same bird that had long been appearing on our bird lists.

This Purple Martin is here just because we don`t have them at home and anything we don`t have seems exotic when I see them.  I assume this is a young bird, but as I`m not very familiar with them, it might be a female.

Brown Thrasher

This is one of the first birds I was able to ID from a glimpse. Bright copper colour and a flash of long tail and even at 100 kmh I know it is a Brown Thrasher. When I took these photos, the Thrasher was in a tree on our farm.

It took me quite a bit longer to recognize its call. I posted its song last year here. 

Mystery Singers

Two birds that have stumped me.

 I assume this is a sparrow, though I never see it, at least not while it is singing. It is in the grass across the road from the field of saskatoons. Whatever this bird is, there are several that sing almost constantly throughout the day.

 

Thanks to the knowledgeable guys at the SaskBirds group, this bird has now been identified as a Sprague's Pipit. They sing from the air, not the grass, though to me this really sounded like the grass, but given I was across the road, perhaps the direction of sound was deceptive.

This next bird, on the other hand, was right in the berries. I thought it was a Clay-coloured until it started to sing, and then I had no idea. However, Stan Shadick said it is a Clay-coloured Sparrow, just with a different song. Highly interesting. I always have this idea that birds don't have many options on how they sing, but every now and then, apparently one does.

This is a sparrow I took when the camera was accidentally set to take a smaller resolution photo. I think it is a Baird's, which would make it a new bird for me. However, here again I have been corrected. It appears it is a Vesper Sparrow, which is a disappointment as I have a much better photo of a Vesper on my Seeing Yellow post a few days ago.

June birds

Given it is the middle of July, it seems time to post some of my favourite bird shots from June.

 Lesser Scaups on slough east of Lucky Lake

 Marbled Godwit on same slough as above

 Tree Swallow at Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park

Eared Grebe with young, on Luck Lake

 

Purple Finch, female. At our feeder.

Willet on slough east of Lucky Lake

 Red-winged Blackbird by slough east of Demaine.

American Coot in a slough near our farm

 Yellow-headed Blackbird on Francis Lake near Herbert

And lastly, a hawk I assume is the Swainson's, but given my track record at identifying hawks, it could as easily be something else. North and east of Swift Current.

Seeing yellow

Yesterday I found myself in the middle of a field of canola.

The only bird I heard or saw there was a Clay-coloured Sparrow hidden in the canola. Below is a Vesper Sparrow that was sitting on a fence post when I stopped to take the fourth yellow photo.

Mystery Bird

This fuzzy little bird was playing some kind of chicken on the road by Francis Lake. It escaped three vehicles while we watched, but if it doesn't find what it's looking for, I am concerned for the future.  I've checked my bird books but couldn't find a picture that resembled him.  Any ideas?

I deeply regret the quality of these pictures.

Francis Lake

We drove almost to Herbert yesterday to take our chances on an Ibis or two at Francis Lake. Were happy to see one, though too far away to make a decent photo.  Lots of ducks there as well as Grebes and a few shorebirds. I'd go again just to gaze at the White-faced Ibis. Apparently we saw one in Mexico in 2007, but this was our first Canadian Ibis. We've seen the White Ibis more often in Mexico, but not enough to make them seem common.

An unexpected sighting was what I take to be a Greater White-fronted Goose sticking close to a couple of Canadas. A little far away for a great photo, but it shows the important markings.

Canada Geese: a small family, but healthy

 June 3

June 24

Not a Common Snipe

I looked up Common Snipe online but discovered that the people who do these things have separated our Snipe from the more common Snipe so this one is now called a Wilson's Snipe. I guess I have to buy a new bird book. All of ours have some catching up to do.