Pine Grosbeak / Pinicola enucleator

This (somewhat blurry) photo was taken on 4 February 2016, when I was on a birding walk with friends, in Weaselhead. Unfortunately, it was heavily overcast but, though there was no sign of the sun, it wasn't that cold. Many of our temperatures this winter have been so ridiculously mild. One recent mid-February day, we broke a record for the warmest February day on that date in 90 years, soaring to +16.4C! Whatever happened to the -20Cs and -30Cs? Makes you wonder what our summer is going to be like!

theweaselhead.com/

www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Locations/SW-parks/Weasel...

There are supposed to be no feeders in Weaselhead, but certain ones have stayed. A few people leave seeds for the birds and it must be costing a few regulars such a huge amount of money to do so. Feeding the birds does give these folks tons of fresh air, exercise, and the joy of doing something that they love. Unlike bird feeders in people's gardens, these forest feeders do keep the birds in their natural habitat.

This was a good day for Pine Grosbeaks. I'm not sure if this is a juvenile male, as they look very much like the females, but I think it is.

"One of the larger members of its family, the Pine Grosbeak is a bird of the boreal forests, found across northern Eurasia and North America, and south into the mountains of western Canada and the United States. A large, unwary finch, it makes periodic winter irruptions into southern Canada and northern United States. It is the largest and rarest of the "winter finches." From AllAboutBirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pine_Grosbeak/id

The following is a list of the species seen:

FFCPPSoc. BIRDING, Weaselhead Natural Area, Calgary, 0915-1215, Thu, 04 Feb2016. Heavy overcast, NW wind 15kph, -2 to 3°C. Combined results, 2 groups.

1. Bald Eagle-1 ad
2. Downy Woodpecker-5
3. Hairy Woodpecker-2
4. Northern Flicker-1
5. Blue Jay-3+
6. Black-billed Magpie-3
7. Common Raven-5
8. Black-capped Chickadee-20
9. Boreal Chickadee-3
10. Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 heard
11. White-breasted Nuthatch-2
12. Bohemian Waxwing-1
13. Pine Grosbeak-40+
14. House Finch-8+
15. White-winged Crossbill-1
16. Common Redpoll-150
17. Pine Siskin-50
18. American Goldfinch-1

Coyote-1
Red Squirrel-8
White-tailed Deer-4+