We had a visitor to our bird feeder this afternoon – a northern shrike. This is the first time I’ve seen one here. They are a predatory bird, so it wasn’t surprising that we didn’t see our other little birds around that time.
Northern Shrike
Category: Birds
Puffins
I posted some pictures of the puffins we saw when we were in Elliston, Newfoundland last year, but thought I would add some more pictures of them. They are beautiful birds. God has created so many different creatures for us to enjoy.
A pine warbler that did not migrate
We have a pine warbler that did not migrate to a warmer climate this winter. They usually migrate to southeastern US. So far, it has been managing okay and is eating at our feeders with the chickadees. We had one stay during the winter in 2016. I’m not sure if it made it through the […]
Hooded Mergansers
We had three hooded mergansers on our lake today – two males and one female. The males are the brighter colour, and have white crests on their heads. These can be raised or lowered. They have beautiful markings.
Five Swans
We have five swans on our lake right now, migrating to warmer climates. I enjoyed taking some photos, especially ones that showed the water spraying off of them after they came up from feeding.
The Swans are Here
We’ve had a couple of trumpeter swans here on our lake for a couple of days. We often see them in the spring or fall.
Juvenile Red-Tailed Hawk
We were visiting at our daughter’s farm garden (Sparrow Gardens) this past week. When we arrived this juvenile red-tailed hawk was on the ground near us. It had just caught a rodent. In the time that we were there, it caught 4 or 5. In between catching rodents, it went up into the trees nearby […]
Hummingbirds
Common Merganser compared to Loon
Some people confuse male common mergansers for loons. The shape of their heads are similar, but as you can see they look quite different. The male merganser is on the left, and the loon on the right. The female common merganser looks different than the male. As you can see below, the male and female […]
Buffleheads
I look forward to seeing these small ducks during migration season. We see them in the spring and then later in the fall. They are very skittish and it’s difficult getting any photos of them. These were taken with a 600 mm lens, and then cropped. The male’s head is a glossy green and purple. […]