Mixed pair of Red-tailed Hawks
Just look at those toenails
Great Gray Owl, side profile
Song Sparrow / Melospiza melodia
Rare Leucistic Merlin in different light
Pika / Ochonta princeps
A tree full of Tree Swallows
Caution - deep water
Western Meadowlark
Cinnamon Teal pair
One of a crowd
A day in the mountains
Golden-breasted Starling / Lamprotornis regius
Delicate Iris
Pileated Woodpecker female
Canada Wild Ginger / Asarum canadense
Black-necked Stilt
Pink Hellebore
Mountain Bluebird from three years ago
Candy-striped Tulip
Bright-eyed little cutie
Roof shingles galore
Physoclaina orientalis
Wild Blue Columbine / Aquilegia brevistyla
Old barn in winter
Food for his babies
Cornell Lab of Ornithology Bird ID Cards
Typical pose of a White-breasted Nuthatch
Showing off his fine feathers
Least Chipmunk
Balsam Poplar catkins
Munching on cone seeds
Black and white lichen
Comma butterfly - one of my favourites
Munch, munch, munch ....
Western Meadowlark, a bird with a beautiful song
Siberian Squill
Rare LEUCISTIC Merlin enjoying a snack
Clouds, reflected
Eurasian Collared-Dove / Streptopelia decaocto
Sweet equine faces
The Heritage tree at Carburn Park
Balsam Poplar male catkins
Black-capped Chickadee on Judy's hand
Great Gray Owl from 2012
See also...
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141 visits
Savannah Sparrow
HAPPY EARTH DAY!
Last year, on 6 June 2015, my place was beginning to get uncomfortably warm inside. That meant I needed air-conditioning and the only place to find it was in my car. So, off I went along the backroads SW of the city. I wasn't expecting to see anything different, but there were certain birds that I was certain I would see - birds that I really enjoy photographing. I really do need to drive somewhere different, but this drive is just a fairly short drive and fits nicely into an afternoon or early evening.
The "usual" included Mountain Bluebirds and Tree Swallows. Funny how Tree Swallows will sometimes "tease" their Bluebird neighbours by flying and landing very near the Bluebird nesting box. Out of nowhere, the brilliant flash of blue of the male flies at top speed to chase the Tree Swallows away. On this day, I noticed the female Bluebird landed just a couple of feet from the Tree Swallow nesting box and just sat there with a Swallow on either side of her. No idea why she did this, as it annoyed the Swallows, and of course she was chased away.
Other sightings on my drive included Red-winged Blackbirds, Black Terns, a pair of Cinnamon Teal glowing in the bright sunlight, a distant Coot feeding her little ones, a Pied-billed Grebe who was annoying an adult Coot who kept racing across the top of the water to chase the Grebe further away. My final sighting was a Coyote in a field of Dandelions. By the time I had pulled over and raised my camera, it was already heading off in the opposite direction, stopping once to look back, as Coyotes tend to do.
Usually when I see a small bird perched on a fence post, it turns out to be a Savannah Sparrow, as in this case. Love their bright yellow 'eyebrows'.
"Not all streaky brown birds are impossible to identify: Take a closer look at this one and you’ll see an understated but distinctive sparrow with a short tail, small head, and telltale yellow spot before the eye. Savannah Sparrows are one of the most numerous songbirds in North America, and while sometimes overlooked, are likely visitors across the continent. In summer, they don’t hesitate to advertise their location, belting out a loud, insect-like song from farm fields and grasslands." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Savannah_Sparrow/id
I almost forgot to mention the highlight of my drive! Not far from home, I noticed a Canada Goose in the distance, standing in the grasses right at the edge of the road. I thought it might just step out in front of me, so I stopped in my lane and turned on my hazard flashers. Sure enough, it did exactly what I was suspecting - and it was followed by its family of half a dozen or so goslings walking in a very disciplined single file, with Mom/Dad bringing up the rear. Fortunately, the two cars coming behind me in the other lane also slowed down and stopped till everyone was safely to the other side. May sound silly, but I find it such an amazing, humbling experience when this happens : )
Last year, on 6 June 2015, my place was beginning to get uncomfortably warm inside. That meant I needed air-conditioning and the only place to find it was in my car. So, off I went along the backroads SW of the city. I wasn't expecting to see anything different, but there were certain birds that I was certain I would see - birds that I really enjoy photographing. I really do need to drive somewhere different, but this drive is just a fairly short drive and fits nicely into an afternoon or early evening.
The "usual" included Mountain Bluebirds and Tree Swallows. Funny how Tree Swallows will sometimes "tease" their Bluebird neighbours by flying and landing very near the Bluebird nesting box. Out of nowhere, the brilliant flash of blue of the male flies at top speed to chase the Tree Swallows away. On this day, I noticed the female Bluebird landed just a couple of feet from the Tree Swallow nesting box and just sat there with a Swallow on either side of her. No idea why she did this, as it annoyed the Swallows, and of course she was chased away.
Other sightings on my drive included Red-winged Blackbirds, Black Terns, a pair of Cinnamon Teal glowing in the bright sunlight, a distant Coot feeding her little ones, a Pied-billed Grebe who was annoying an adult Coot who kept racing across the top of the water to chase the Grebe further away. My final sighting was a Coyote in a field of Dandelions. By the time I had pulled over and raised my camera, it was already heading off in the opposite direction, stopping once to look back, as Coyotes tend to do.
Usually when I see a small bird perched on a fence post, it turns out to be a Savannah Sparrow, as in this case. Love their bright yellow 'eyebrows'.
"Not all streaky brown birds are impossible to identify: Take a closer look at this one and you’ll see an understated but distinctive sparrow with a short tail, small head, and telltale yellow spot before the eye. Savannah Sparrows are one of the most numerous songbirds in North America, and while sometimes overlooked, are likely visitors across the continent. In summer, they don’t hesitate to advertise their location, belting out a loud, insect-like song from farm fields and grasslands." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Savannah_Sparrow/id
I almost forgot to mention the highlight of my drive! Not far from home, I noticed a Canada Goose in the distance, standing in the grasses right at the edge of the road. I thought it might just step out in front of me, so I stopped in my lane and turned on my hazard flashers. Sure enough, it did exactly what I was suspecting - and it was followed by its family of half a dozen or so goslings walking in a very disciplined single file, with Mom/Dad bringing up the rear. Fortunately, the two cars coming behind me in the other lane also slowed down and stopped till everyone was safely to the other side. May sound silly, but I find it such an amazing, humbling experience when this happens : )
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