IT’S SPRING!!
Well …. the calendar says it is officially today anyway. My thermometer? Not so much as it’s reading nearly -25C once again this morning. I have a sneaking suspicion that spring weather is going to be slow in arriving this year.
My yard has been completely taken over by Common Redpolls in a full blown irruption! This irruption is a little late in the season, normally happening in January but that’s okay, I’ll take it anyway. At the most so far, I’ve had a count of 125 Redpolls in the yard at once and that’s just preliminary as that many Redpolls are VERY difficult to accurately count!
I blew this photo up on my computer & counted 65 Redpolls in it! Boy, they sure do blend in with their surroundings tho’.
I took this photo from out in the middle of the backyard to show a different angle … AND a few Redpolls. 😉
A couple of Pine Grosbeaks sometimes find a little corner of the platform feeder to nibble in!
A little closer shot of a handsome male Common Redpoll with a female behind him.
My Crab Apple tree (also known as my Redpoll Tree!) positioned directly behind the webcam. The webcam is placed between this tree and the feeder station.
Two Ruffed Grouse have been coming around all winter long. We have a small forest just outside of our back fence & that is where these Grouse spend most of their time. They only come to the feeders from October to April and have been doing so for about 10 years now. Our highest Grouse number in one season was 5 & it was so much fun. Now, we average about 2 all winter long.
Ruffed Grouse on the platform feeder with a pair of Gray Jays on the ground, lower right.
The female Grouse (I suspect the other Grouse that visits this yard is a male, significantly larger & with a different disposition than this smaller female) tolerates other birds being around her on the platform feeder, to a degree. Here, she’s with Redpolls & Pine Grosbeaks. Her crest was up but she wasn’t aggressive.
Ruffed Grouse: such a pretty bird!
My resident pair of Gray Jays has not been around here in a week or so now. I believe they have gone for nesting season. The Gray Jays are one of the earliest nesting birds in this region, usually sitting on eggs by early to mid March. If that nest fails for any reason, the birds will NOT lay another clutch at a warmer time in the season. I’m always hopeful that they will bring a young one to my yard one summer.
1 of about 10 Blue Jays that visit the feeder daily for peanuts. This one’s crop is completely full & it’s loading just its beak now!
My resident pair of Crows has returned for another season! I greatly enjoy having this little family around my yard all summer long altho’ my neighbours sometimes get fed up with the racket that the young ones can make! I have at least 4 Crows visiting the feeder daily now for peanuts & peanut butter. 1 or 2 of them may be last year’s young.
Crows are such handsome birds! If this was a Raven, it would take up most of the webcam screen!
3 of the 4 newly returned Crows will peacefully feed together on the platform feeder. Not sure if the 4th would be allowed to land with them … I haven’t seen all 4 try at once yet.
To end this month, I recently had another visit from the Northern Shrike. While working here at the computer one day last week with the webcam on in the background, I noticed a different sound. I went on a search at the windows to see who it was and there was the Shrike sitting in my pine tree once again, calling away. I’ve never heard the call of a Shrike before …. it was fascinating! Once again, he/she left my yard empty ‘taloned’ but it’s looking awfully healthy so has plainly been successful hunting regularly.
Northern Shrike, fluffed up in my pine tree last week on a cold morning.
Happy Spring! I sure hope some of you SOMEwhere are feeling springtime weather. If you are ….. please send some up here! ‘See’ you in April. Thanks for reading!
Beautiful pics as always Tammie! Come on spring!
I know, right? I’m trying really hard to not hold the Thrasher’s death against the Shrike! 😉
Thank you so much, my cousin! xo
Pat, the only feeders that need filling daily are the nyjer feeders and I refuse to fill them more than once per day due to the cost AND the mess!!
How do you get anything done except fill feeders? The last redpoll irruption we had here in Calgary I was host to about 50 redpolls every day and there was a lot of feeder filling. I am so very envious of your yard…
As always Tammie, I enjoyed the article.
It amazes me how many birds you see
Keep up the good work
Amazing photos! Those redpolls….
The shrike is pretty cute, but I still have mixed feelings about him because of the sweet thrasher.
Thanks for posting this—I love the birds at your feeder.