Third Bird of 2014

It was even hard to write that number. As someone said last night, it just turned 2013, how can it be 2014 already?

But it is, and the first bird I saw (and heard) this morning was one of our two Blue Jays. It did not stick around for a photo, however, and I didn't care to take a photo of the flock of House Sparrows that came next, so here is #3.  A female House Finch that I first noticed out my office window yesterday.

A new yard bird and a Lifer all in one

Black-billed Cuckoo

Not a really good photo, but this fellow seems to have an aversion to being seen. I'm happy he stopped at the top of this tree as long as he did.

How do they keep their balance?

Brown Thrasher, singing.

American Robin, juvenile.

Red-eyed Vireo

At least, I'm pretty sure it is, though you can't see any red eyes in any of my photos. These were taken  May 28.  At first glance, I thought it was a warbler, but this morning I happened to glance at this photo

and the word vireo popped into my head. A search through Sibley's assured me that Red-eyed was the only possibility for our area and the bird's appearance.

 

Unless of course, it is a warbler.

This is not our first Red-eyed Vireo, we first ID one at Sask Landing Park when we thought the robins were singing all day long, but they weren't. These are my first photos of them, however.

May Birds: mostly around our yard

Though May is usually our biggest birding month, this May was a little disappointing in the birds we saw. We did add at least one bird to our life list, Stilt Sandpiper, though my photos aren't worth showing. There were far fewer yard birds, and those that passed through often stayed only one or two days (or hours.)

Some of my favourites are here.

White-crowned Sparrow

We had one or two of these here for several days, though I only saw a couple of their near cousins the White-throated.

Red-necked Grebe

On Luck Lake

 

Yellow-rumped Warbler

A quarter mile from our yard in a wildlife planting.

 Swainson's Hawk 

A common sight along the road at the end of our lane.

 Harris's Sparrow

 

Wilson's Phalaropes

When I glimpsed these from the car window I thought they were something new, but after backing up to the slough, lo, they were phalaropes with legs! So often they are swimming and their legs are invisible.

Vesper Sparrow

I just heard a sad report that one out of eight species of birds is in danger of extinction. They did not name species, but I am very sure this prairie sparrow is not one of them. We see them everywhere.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

An exciting visitor to our yard, but he apparently didn't like the accommodations because I only saw him for an hour or so one morning.

Baltimore Oriole 

We think this Oriole and her mate are still in our yard, though I've been outside so little lately I can't be certain. However, she has not returned to my oranges since the first couple of days, and the male turned up his nose at them from the beginning. 

The American Goldfinch in the background, while he ignores the oranges, is a faithful visitor to my nyjer seed. I saw 2 pairs yesterday, June 19, so assume they are nesting.

 

Barn Swallow

We always have several pairs nesting in the yard. I make sure the garden shed door stays closed after two years where the babies broiled from the heat of the metal roof. Ray even leaves the large overhead shop door open a few inches so the parents can swoop in and out to feed the babies in the nests they persist in building in there.

 

We have our regular yard residents of course, among them the Yellow Warbler, House Wren, Brown Thrasher, Grey Catbird, Cedar Waxwings, and American Robin, as well as the birds I wouldn't miss if they were gone, the Common Grackles, House Sparrows, and Brown Cowbirds. It is never quiet in our yard.

First of the Year

A very windy day brought us our first Pine Siskin.

Can the Goldfinches be far behind?

Spring Birding

It's been a long winter so it was satisfying to go for a bit of a bird search Sunday afternoon.

We identified about 47 species, which for Ray and I is a fair day. It used to be a great day but as we learn more birds our lists have gotten longer. Given that we rarely left our vehicle, that there was a bit of a breeze, and that we covered about 170 km in 4 hours, I am pleased with our results. Nonetheless, we think of so many birds we could have seen and didn't.  Where were the Partridges? the Willets? the Buffleheads? and of course, there were dozens of blurs of brown that will remain forever unidentified sparrows.

Here are some of the photographic highlights.
Mallard Ducks:

Horned Grebe

Lesser Yellowlegs (or at least that is my ID)

Savannah Sparrow

I am particularly pleased with this sparrow photo because Ray took it and it is clear. All the sparrow photos that I took on Sunday show a blurry brown shape in front of a clear vision of grass or gravel. And with the same camera.

These three birds along with another Killdeer and a Wilson's Snipe appeared to be waiting for a bus in the parking lot by the pavilion at Gardiner Dam. We watched them for several minutes and they never moved or appeared to notice that we were there. This was just the third White-crowned Sparrow I've seen this year.

Lastly, not only on this post but on our trip, is what I judge to be a Swainson's Hawk. When it comes to identifying birds, I am at my worst when it comes to hawks, but I feel that the dark bib on this fellow along with the white on his face confirm him as Swainson's. A hawk identification book is in my future.

Other notable birds of the day were our first glimpse of a Loggerhead Shrike at the end of our lane. We've had shrikes here for years, so it is exciting to see that at least one has returned. We also saw a single Mountain Bluebird during our travels, another of my favourite birds.