Common Redpolls
The old and the new
Rough-legged Hawk
On a distant fence post
Winter on the prairies
Vole brains for her afternoon snack
Common Redpoll
The beauty of Lake Louise
A friendly face in Weaselhead
Common Redpoll in the forest
Sweet little poser
Downy Woodpecker
A fence without an owl
Pine Grosbeak / Pinicola enucleator
Wearing a heavy coat of hoar frost
Beware those icy fingers
A great winter for Pine Grosbeaks
Yesterday's treat
Dainty little Common Redpoll
Much better than a utility pole
Eurasian Collared-Dove / Streptopelia decaocto
Short-eared Owl
Pine Grosbeak
Taking the quieter road
On the hunt
Little Downy Woodpecker at work
Pretty good camouflage
Red Squirrel
Swivel-head
Dainty little Common Redpoll
Time for an old barn again
One year ago
A photographer's nightmare
The cross and the moon
'Superman, where are you now?'
Pine Grosbeak / Pinicola enucleator
Little country church
A quick glance
Sweet little garden ornament
Varied Thrush - a lifer
Northern Hawk Owl with Meadow Vole
Aging gracefully
Common Redpoll / Carduelis flammea
A friendly greeting
When the clouds roll in
Davisburg Community Church, Alberta
Fancy silo with stairs
One of yesterday's Snowy Owls
Male beauty
Common Redpoll on the wire
Varied Thrush
When winter really was winter
Glenmore Dam, Calgary, Alberta
Downy Woodpecker
Clark's Nutcracker
Snow Bunting / Plectrophenax nivalis
Barn-shaped mailbox
Focused, listening, watching
Old barn with a different style
Northern Pygmy-owl, one year ago
Davisburg Community Church, Alberta
A most challenging bird
Snowy Owl - just close enough
Shepard Energy Centre, east of Calgary, Alberta
Hiding
The best colour to see in winter
Winter wonderland with a bonus
Chateau Lake Louise and ice castle
Home of the Snowshoe Hare
A winter walk
Winter beauty
Snow, snow and more snow
Just in time
One of yesterday's treats
Pine Grosbeak / Pinicola enucleator
Modern charm
Clark's Nutcracker
"Canoe with three warriors", by Team Sakha from Ru…
Winter walk at Beaverdam Flats
Sheltering in the trees
Pine Grosbeak / Pinicola enucleator
Now THIS is winter!
Clark's Nutcracker / Nucifraga columbiana
Spikes of ice
A sweet face
Short-eared Owl
A winter day in southern Alberta
Follow the fence line
Pine Grosbeak
Mystery rock
Fond memories of a popcan-sized owl
High wire act
Find the owl
Fenced in
Triple treat
A friendly visitor
Cosy little birdhouse
Avenue of trees at Baker Park
White beauty
Farm cat watching for farm mice
A different style
A tiny owl from the past
Pine Grosbeak in pretty light
Old barns in heavy frost
Christmas remnants
Little red barn on the prairie
Winter chill
Enjoying the morning sun
Hoping for food
Heritage tree from 1907, at Carburn Park
On a bitterly cold, hoar frosty day
A splash of much-needed red
The donkeys with reflector eyes
Desolate
A fine old barn
The gathering
So pretty against the snow
Farm friends
Pine Grosbeak female
Foothills and mountains
A typical pose for the White-breasted Nuthatch
Outlined in frost
Keeper of the farmyard
In the bleak midwinter
Pine Grosbeaks adding colour to our winter
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Common Redpoll / Acanthis flammea
Yesterday afternoon, 31 January 2016, I decided to go for a drive east of the city. The weather was getting sunny and I needed to get out for a while. Recently, I have had to replace several kitchen appliances and can't believe the hassle this has created. I automatically expect something new to work perfectly and forget that this isn't necessarily going to happen.
It started when I replaced my dead kettle just before Christmas. Had to return the new one later, as the power lever wasn't working. When I later Googled this brand, I found so many reviews complaining about the very same problem. I had carefully bought a 'good' quality one, thinking it would last for a few years. Next came a toaster - so far, it is working fine. After that, I decided I had better replace my microwave that was making a loud, very unhealthy noise. Well, I couldn't find a store that delivers! I did find a microwave that I liked, but gave up, as there was no way I could even lift it. Giving up, I started walking away, when I suddenly decided to look at dishwashers - I've been without a working machine for about 12 of the last 18 years and had been meaning to treat myself to one for the last few years, to give my painful hands and back a break from standing at the kitchen sink. The guy I dealt with said that the microwave could be delivered at the same time, which sounded like the perfect solution. However, that didn't happen and the store guy very kindly delivered it himself to my home! I was so grateful, but then, yesterday evening, I discovered that one of the number buttons doesn't work, sigh. Oh, and my dishwasher that was delivered has been sitting in the middle of my small kitchen, having to wait a few days to be installed. Apparently, the pipes in the basement are "unusual" and needed other parts and tools - the guy said that, in all the years he has been working, he's never come across pipes like mine, ha. Needless to say, I am really, really hoping that this machine works perfectly once it has been installed!!
A large flock of these gorgeous little Common Redpolls took my mind off the shoddy quality of new gadgets : ) I don't particularly like taking bird-on-wire shots, but better than nothing. Usually when I see Redpolls, they are females, so I was glad to see this little male.
"As energetic as their electric zapping call notes would suggest, Common Redpolls are active foragers that travel in busy flocks. Look for them feeding on catkins in birch trees or visiting feeders in winter. These small finches of the arctic tundra and boreal forest migrate erratically, and they occasionally show up in large numbers as far south as the central U.S. During such irruption years, redpolls often congregate at bird feeders (particularly thistle or nyjer seed), allowing delightfully close looks."
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Redpoll/id
I also checked on the Short-eared Owls when I was driving out east. Could only find a distant one, tucked away in the trees. Bumped into a friend out there, who said he had just been to see a Northern Hawk Owl because he had more or less given up on the Short-eared Owls. Said the last few times he had been there, the owls weren't around much. I'm hoping that the number of cars and birders/photographers hasn't pushed the owls to move on.
It started when I replaced my dead kettle just before Christmas. Had to return the new one later, as the power lever wasn't working. When I later Googled this brand, I found so many reviews complaining about the very same problem. I had carefully bought a 'good' quality one, thinking it would last for a few years. Next came a toaster - so far, it is working fine. After that, I decided I had better replace my microwave that was making a loud, very unhealthy noise. Well, I couldn't find a store that delivers! I did find a microwave that I liked, but gave up, as there was no way I could even lift it. Giving up, I started walking away, when I suddenly decided to look at dishwashers - I've been without a working machine for about 12 of the last 18 years and had been meaning to treat myself to one for the last few years, to give my painful hands and back a break from standing at the kitchen sink. The guy I dealt with said that the microwave could be delivered at the same time, which sounded like the perfect solution. However, that didn't happen and the store guy very kindly delivered it himself to my home! I was so grateful, but then, yesterday evening, I discovered that one of the number buttons doesn't work, sigh. Oh, and my dishwasher that was delivered has been sitting in the middle of my small kitchen, having to wait a few days to be installed. Apparently, the pipes in the basement are "unusual" and needed other parts and tools - the guy said that, in all the years he has been working, he's never come across pipes like mine, ha. Needless to say, I am really, really hoping that this machine works perfectly once it has been installed!!
A large flock of these gorgeous little Common Redpolls took my mind off the shoddy quality of new gadgets : ) I don't particularly like taking bird-on-wire shots, but better than nothing. Usually when I see Redpolls, they are females, so I was glad to see this little male.
"As energetic as their electric zapping call notes would suggest, Common Redpolls are active foragers that travel in busy flocks. Look for them feeding on catkins in birch trees or visiting feeders in winter. These small finches of the arctic tundra and boreal forest migrate erratically, and they occasionally show up in large numbers as far south as the central U.S. During such irruption years, redpolls often congregate at bird feeders (particularly thistle or nyjer seed), allowing delightfully close looks."
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Redpoll/id
I also checked on the Short-eared Owls when I was driving out east. Could only find a distant one, tucked away in the trees. Bumped into a friend out there, who said he had just been to see a Northern Hawk Owl because he had more or less given up on the Short-eared Owls. Said the last few times he had been there, the owls weren't around much. I'm hoping that the number of cars and birders/photographers hasn't pushed the owls to move on.
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