December 31, 2016 New Years Eve

Well it is the end of another year here on the acreage and we continue to enjoy Mother Nature at work even if we don't always agree with her plans.

One of the challenges for us is "birds" eating our fruit from nearly every fruiting plant. They start in June with the Edible Blue Honeysuckle and then on to Pincherry, Nanking Cherry, Currants and whatever else we have.
The worst are the Cedar Waxwings and then come the Robins! We can start with a few Cedars, maybe 4-6, and soon there are 20 or more!

Fall saw a Blue Jay pass through and stop for lunch!

Winter is much more friendly though and we are happy for the few that stay around. Sparrows are ever present as are the Magpies and Ravens. Typically we also have Chickadees and even the odd Starling trying to use the Purple Martin houses to camp in. This year we also have a Red Breasted Nuthatch staying around and enjoying the black sunflower seeds which we feed almost exclusively. He is a perky and very busy bird!
 I am so glad that he has decided to stay!








Just this week a Hairy Woodpecker showed up and he has been eating some of the sunflower meat the Nuthatch punched into the bark of the Green Ash! Or at least that is what it looks like!

Again this is a very busy bird!

I have a new to me DSLR given to me by my brother so I can take better pictures! So I have in particular been driving around watching for Snowy Owls. They are so magnificent and great to watch as they float effortlessly over the snow. I have not seen any yet near home although we did spot one on the way going to Calgary in early fall.

One thing we did see just as we were leaving on that trip was a young Great Horned Owl who came to our bathroom window with a broken wing. Sadly they had to euthanize it as they thought it had gotten electrocuted and suffered burns to the broken wing. Maybe we will see others around through the winter.

Happy New Year to anyone who drops by!

Some friends at the feeders.

The little flock of feathered friends who are hanging around this year includes a Nuthatch, chickadees and of course a small flock of sparrows. I think this may be a mixed flock but I am not good at sparrow ID!

And we did have a visit from some Bohemian Waxwings one morning! They were eating Russian Olive berries and I don't think they were happy about it but it was food!

Remembering Spring 2016

Wanted to go back to late April and early May for a couple of other bird shots I got.

First three pictures were taken north and east of Watrous.

These three were taken just west of our place in the spring as well!

Finally some bird pics!

Well I have not been here in a while but the young birds are busy so some pictures!

A young Warbler!

 A young Sparrow! Not sure of the type but very tiny birds.

 A female Ruby Troated Hummingbird.

 Another tiny Sparrow.

 The male Ruby Throat!

 Gathering of Purple Martins. We have about 60 gathered to fly out but they are waiting for a couple of young birds still in the nest!

A young Mourning Dave.

 A very small Shore Bird.Probably a Sanderling.

 Caught this parent in flight!

 A lazy duck preening itself along the slough shore.