Some recent backyard birds...

This selection of photos represents what has been visiting our backyard since around the beginning of May.

White-crowned Sparrow :





White-throated Sparrow :



Chipping Sparrow :



Lincoln's Sparrow :



Swainson's Thrush :



Rose-breasted Grosbeak - Finally a Male visited the yard :




House Finch :

Male


Female


Purple Finch. You can compare the difference in plumage to the House Finch :

Male


Female

Say's Phoebe , American Bittern etc...

I recently went out with my friend Ron and did a 'dry run' for his bird-count sector which covers part of the Beaver Creek region and surrounding area.

The weather was pretty fantastic and we had a great day out with a few nice surprises, one of which was my 2nd time ever seeing a Say's Phoebe.
You can go out many times and never see one, so it was a real treat.

Say's Phoebe :




This American Bittern was doing its best 'you can't see me, I'm just part of the background' impression :



Here's a Mountain Bluebird seen on the day :



And the Bluebirds competitor for the nest boxes along many roadsides, a Tree Swallow:



This Krider's Red-tailed Hawk was over Blackstrap Lake :



Here's a Female Brewer's Blackbird in pretty harsh light:



And lastly, a Franklin's Gull :

Wading birds and more near Goose lake

I recently took a couple of trips around part of Goose Lake & the sloughs near the town of Laura, Saskatchewan.
My Wife had never seen a Stilt before , so we were happy to find 2 on one particular evening, after finding out they were back in the area .
These elegant waders are not very common here, so it's always a treat to see them.

Here are some photos from those 2 trips :

Black-necked Stilt :
Shot around 6pm in fairly poor light so I opted to use my flash. Sometimes you have to just take what you can at the time and hope for the best. .



American Avocet :



Willet :



Marbled Godwit :



Upland Sandpiper - these are not that common either, so seeing this made me happy :



Horned Lark :



Western Meadowlark :



And lastly, the 2 most common Sparrows you will see on a drive in the country...

Vesper Sparrow :



Savannah Sparrow :

More riverbank birds & some similar Sparrows

I had a great time at the river a week or so ago, finally getting a real nice look at a Swamp Sparrow, having heard the call and going to investigate.
It was quite the labor of love, as the only decent vantage point to view this species was sat, crouched down in a row of thorny shrubs that left quite a few scratches. There were also flies out already that didn't mind getting in my face either. No Mosquitoes yet thankfully !
Once I'd satisfied myself that I was out of the Sparrows sight and was not harassing it in anyway, I enjoyed the show as it went to and from the various dead cat-tail stalks collecting heaps of the fluffy stuff off the heads.
The Swamp Sparrow has longer legs than other Sparrows in its genus allowing them to wade in the water and catch aquatic insects.

Swamp Sparrow :





The Chipping Sparrow is quite a common backyard bird and can be identified by its rusty cap and trilling call.
These can sometimes be confused with the American Tree Sparrow ( see my last update ) but definitely lack the latters beautiful singing voice.
This 'Chipper' was at Buena Vista park last week :



Another bird that could maybe be confused with the Swamp Sparrow from some angles, is the Song Sparrow. These will be often found next to water and can be identified by the streaked breast and long rounded tail, but lack the reddish cap on the head. They also sing throughout much of Spring and Summer, living up to their name.



Yet another similar looking bird is the Lincoln's Sparrow that will feature in a future update with some other recent migrants that visited the backyard this Spring.

It's always a thrill to see a Loon, and I managed to get fairly close to this one that was enjoying the sunny day at the river last week :




Here's another Osprey that I saw from high up on a trail along Cosmopolitan Park.I had a feeling it was coming in to land and finally found it sat in a tree with its meal.



And lastly, this second Osprey was seen soaring over Gabriel Dumont Park on the way home :

Grouse , Kestrels and more...

Its been a great Spring so far, kind of long in coming, but now the weather seems to have gotten a lot warmer, I've been going out at every opportunity.
Plants are growing , butterflies are now winging their way across our backyard and the sound of birdsong is all around us.
My species list for the year is already nearing 150 and there's still more to come !

Here are some recent images taken on various trips in the countryside :

Sharp-tailed Grouse - This was taken on a magical morning last week at a local lek where there were around 30 of these Grouse, all trying to win the prize of a female mate. The two Males in this photo ran at each other like battering rams!



American Kestrel - On a recent drive I must have seen over 30 of these birds, mostly Males and only a few females. In the first photo I caught one just before it took off:




Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - this male was near Blackstrap Lake:



Wilson's Snipe - This newly arrived shorebird was foraging along an old highway slough:



Killdeer - Taken along the same stretch of highway:



Ruffed Grouse - I'm more used to seeing these up North, so its always a pleasure when you find one at a provincial park only half an hours drive away. The male here was drumming on this log to attract a mate:



Red Squirrel - This little guy was chattering away on a low branch at Pike Lake :

Riverbank Hike Part Three

Here are some more photos from a few recent walks around the river .

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker :

This colorful Woodpecker only showed up last week . I think the Males are one of the best looking birds we have in Saskatchewan.







American Tree Sparrow :

I've noticed these cheerful little Sparrows grouping up now as they prepare to head North and breed . The Chipping Sparrows which look fairly similar but lack the dark breast spot and pretty song are now starting to arrive and will take their place for awhile.



Hooded Merganser :

This female lacks the striking Black and White colors of the Male but is still an attractive bird in its own right.



Yellow-rumped Warbler ( Myrtle Race ):

Even though the left-over berries are from last year, they will still sustain these little Warblers until more insects start appearing.





American White Pelican :

I never tire of watching these large birds effortlessly glide along over the weir.



Northern Flicker ( Yellow-shafted ) :

While investigating a sound coming from atop a tree I nearly stepped on this Woodpecker as he was sunbathing. Not moving, I actually thought he was injured, and held him in my hands for a fraction of a second, and was all set to take him to the nearby animal clinic, until it suddenly took off and landed in a nearby tree and started pecking away, acting completely normal.



American Kestrel :

Here is the same male from my last update. I had to climb down a steep hill to get this image of him with the weir as a backdrop.



Hermit Thrush :

These shots were taken last week when they were more numerous. It won't be long now before the Swainson's & Gray-cheeked Thrushes arrive...




Osprey :

I have probably seen more Osprey this year than I ever have in my life. I must have seen close to 25 already just over 3 recent walks along the river
The light was not optimal for this shot, but it still shows the impressive wingspan.

Riverbank Hike Part Two

Well, it looks like this latest series of photos from the river may stretch to 3 or even 4 parts as it seems I took more photos than I thought.
Unfortunately last week's weather was nothing but grey skies, but that didn't put me off, as sometimes you can have some nice surprises in even the worst of conditions...

Eastern Phoebe :
I watched as this little Flycatcher would fly off for awhile then return to its perch along the edge of the water bobbing its tail. I hid and waited in some bushes for over 20 minutes while it was gone and got my knees very wet and muddy in the process, but was rewarded when back he came to that favorite perch :



Hermit Thrush :
The night before I went out, it had snowed, so the next day it was still pretty cold out, hence why this little Thrush is all fluffed up :



American Kestrel :

This handsome male hunted near the Weir for about 30 minutes.



Ring-billed Gull :





Richardson's Ground Squirrel :

Our little 'Gopher' was not expecting to see snow in April ...



Osprey :

This is the prime time to see this impressive Hawk as they follow the river. Hopefully I can get some in better light another time ...





Kildeer :

Its always easy to tell if these birds are around as they are very loud ...



Black-billed Magpie :

I stood and watched this bird from about a meter away as it completely ignored me and gorged itself on what looked like a House Sparrow. This is one of the tamer images ...