Gray Catbird for World Bird Wednesday

I had never believed that a bird could mew like a cat until I had heard one.; then I had finally seen one. I always consider it a delight when one drops by Bird Alley, which this little bird did last week. I wish our cat could really talk to us. I wonder if it hear the Catbird outside? Did it confuse my cat? How really cat sounding is the catbird? I find catbirds intriguing!These birds like to nest in wild rose bushes. We have an old wild rose bush in Bird Alley and that is where I had spied this bird first last week. One year a Catbird nested in our Rosebush, and it played 'King of the Castle' all summer long that season long by mewing all over our garden area while perched on our fence. It was delightful! Maybe it will happen again this summer?! I certainly hope so!

Got interesting birds photos to share? Why not post them to world Bird Wednesday? http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/To connect to this interesting meme, just scroll down the column on the right hand side of this page to find the icon. "click on the logo' and follow the instructions from there.

A problem about our Tree Swallow House

We love the Tree Swallows that have faithfully have nested in our Tree Swallow house every year since we had put it up. My daughter had named our bird house "Swallow Swoop Inn.", when we put it up on a pole attached to the end of out garage roof several years ago.

The birds have most always been friendly swooping over our garden and yard each year. That is until last year, for then, last spring, when they seemed to take offence and were a bit hostile in their behaviour towards my husband while he worked in our garden, and they would swoop in and fly into his face. I had posted about this problem last year and had posted a picture of my husband holding a plastic flower pot over his head to protect himself. You can see and read about it here;

http://naturetales.blogspot.com/2010/06/tree-swallow-feeding-time.html

This year the Tree Swallows have returned, but have been slow in taking up residence in the bird house. , probably due to the very rainy weather we have been having this spring. Yesterday a couple of swallows were checking out the premises and one went inside the bird house to inspect it. Perhaps they are ready to move in soon.

However we are planning on putting a new roof on our garage where the bird house is attached on the top of a long pole. Out contracter is coming today to appraise the job. And when seeing the Tree Swallows yesterday, My husband recalled their aggressive behaviour last spring and as he stared, "We have to move the bird house". I do hope the birds will adapt to the new location of the bird house. I do not want their yearly visitations to be interrupted. I will keep you posted as to how it is working out.

male Rose-Breasted Grosbeak for Ruby Tuesday

We have had two handsome male Rose-breasted Grosbeak visiting and feeding in Bird Alley recently. Yesterday I missed a great picture of them both, one on each side of the same feeder, but "Oh
Well, perhaps they'll return today. They are quite skittish and seem to detect the slightest movement by me on the other side of the window. The female of the species showed up too. She is not very beautiful, To me she looks like a giant sized female Purple Finch. ( see her picture below) See what I mean?

Got pictures with red? Why not share them on Ruby Tuesday? http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/Please scroll down this page to the right and you will find the ruby tuesdat icon there. Click on it and follow the instructions. This great meme is hosted by Mary, the Teach.

Looking across the river

An Eagle on a branch as seen from the other side of the river.

Red-hued feathered birds for Ruby Tuesday

I thought to make this post today of a variety of birds all with the same theme in common, their display of red-hued feathers featured on their bodies. Also they all are the male of their species. The first bird is the Ruby-throated Humminbird carrying the colour Ruby in its name. How vibrant is its red colour!

Yesterday Bird Alley was extremerly busy and active, just full of little birds and I voiced a wish to my husband, " I wish I could see a Rose-breasted Grosbeak", I hadn't seen one for years, when all of a sudden I cried, " There it is!" A handsome male rose-breasted Grosbeak had suddenly appeared among the branches of our feeder area. However it did not show itself fully for me to get a good photo. Rather, it stayed huddled on the side of a bird feeder during its stay. Hmmm, I guess in some cases wishes do come true

Bird Alley is full of this little finch species. The male Purple Finch is such a handsome , colourful bird. I am surprised I haven't taken more pictures of them.

This male Common Merganser shown above does not display any red feathers, but I have included it here today because of its red bill. Just click on the picture to enlarge it to better view this red feature that it displays.

Ww have had a pair of Downy Woodpecks that have visited Bird Alley daily for a long time now. I was explaining the difference between the male and female a couple of weeks ago to my 6 year old grandson, explaining that the male had a red patch on the back of its head. This little one shown below at the peanut feeder yesterday keep moving its head rapidly creating a misleading reddish blurred cap the length of the top of its head when my camera caught this action..

Got pictures with red? Why not post them to Ruby Tuesdayhttp://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/. To learn more of this meme hosted by, Mary, the teach, just scroll down the right hand side of this page to find the Ruby-Tuesday icon. Just click on it and enjoywhile sharing your photos with red or accessing the links to see what others have contributed

Yellow feathered birds for Mellow Yellow Monday

Yesterday was a bonus day for watching birds from my window. It is not often that we have Evening Grosbeaks visiting, but yesterday we had two males. This is such a colourful handsome bird.
shown above is its back view and below a striking portrait pose. Look at its huge beak! They love to find sunflower seeds in Bird Alley. Their big beak is so useful. "crunch!"

And this bright yellow male Goldfinch above gives wondeful decoration to my yard. I call them 'lemon drops' . Our yard is full of them! See how full the feeder of niger seed is of them in the photo below. I mean it is full of Goldfinch, not niger seed as it now almost empty!
Time for a refill today.

And another little surprise bird visitor yesterday sporting a wings decorated with yellow slashes of colour, a Pine Siskin. I haven't seen this species at our feeders for quite a while now. It was a very welcome hungry visitor. Got pictures with yellow? Why not show them on Mellow Yellow Monday.http://mellowyellowmonday.blogspot.com/ To link to this meme, please scroll down the right hand side of this page until you come to the mellow yellow icon. Click on it and go from there! Have a great Monday! Its a wonderful start to a new week!

Mother's Day memories in Nature names.

My Mother's name was Ruby and this little male Ruby-throated Hummingbird, brings memories of her to my mind when I mentally take note this little bird's name.

And my mother-in-law's name was Violet, and these little white violets which are now in bloom in my garden today as are memories of my husband's mother, Violet .

male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

This delightful little bird is back again today after making its spring debut at our feeders yesterday, Its a handsome little male Ruby-throated Hummingbird. I took many photos of it this afternoon but only in two photos did his ruby throat show its vivid colour as it turned its head for my camera to capture its beautiful ruby-throat.

We put up our hummingbird feeders today AND

We didn't have to wait long. Within a couple of hours we had a handsome Ruby-throated male feeding at one of the feeders. I missed that first picture, but in just a few minutes he was back again!
The pictures I have included here may be of a female as I cannot see any of the beautiful red at its throat.
This is the earliest we have sighted hummingbirds in our yard. May 9th, 2009 was my previous earliest posting with pictures of one.

A bad hair day for Ruby Tuesday

This guy Pileated Woodpecker has a marvellous red head! It looked a bit ruffled on the top, and his feathery ( hair?) really appealed to me. He is up very high at the top of a hydro pole .

Got photos which have a bit of red that you would like to share? Then Ruby Tuesday is the meme for you. To learn how to participate please scroll down the right hand side of this page to find the Ruby Tuesday icon, just click on it and you're there.

Crocus or Daffodils for Mellow Yellow Monday?

Every spring for the past two or three we have eagerly waited to see our first crocus bloom. That wonderful event happened over the past weekend, not this one... but I have a worry or a concern. Are our flowers Crocus or Daffodils? I have noticed that others have posted pictures of their crocus now in bloom and they are beautiful But, they don't look like mine. No other pictures of crocus that I have viewed have the inner yellow fringed petals like mine!? So I did a google search for crocus and looked at images. I concluded that my crocus must be unique or else, they are not crocus but some kind of daffodils. And a goggle search for daffodil images did come
up with a couple of pictures that look like mine! So fellow bloggers and viewers and gardeners, I would like your comments please. Do I have crocus or daffodils growing in my garden?

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or, if yes, then please scroll down on the right hand side of this page until you come to the mellow yellow icon, Click on it and you're there. A Happy Mellow Yellow Monday to everyone!

A Northern Flicker and a male Pileated Woodpecker

I am guessing that the smaller bird to the left is a Northern Flicker. Does anyone have any comments on this id?

Mayflowers in bloom

April Showers bring Mayflowers. Yes, Indeed they do! I found Mayflowers in bloom along highway #785 today! Now we have both April Showers and Mayflowers.

Eagle for world bird Wednesday

Even from a distance as we approached this stark tree outlined against the sky we knew the dark shape perched on it wasn't a crow as it was too large. We had seen Eagles there before and when started to be able to distinguish the white on its head and tail we knew what it was; An Eagle! A little cropping really enhanced its steely eye and its sharp shapely curved bill! What a powerful looking bird this magnificent creature was. It was a lucky sighting on our part!

Got some grest bird photos!? want to share them with others on World bird Wednesdayhttp://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/? To locate this meme, just scroll down the right side of this page until you find the World bird logo, click on it and go from there!

White- throated Sparrow for Mellow Yellow Monday

There is no doubting of the identify of this little sparrow! Notice its white-throat ed bib. Its a white-throated Sparrow And the
ytellow lores makes it a perfect candidate for Mellow Yellow Monday! Got photos with yellow? That's all you need to qualifyfor the mellow yellow Monday meme. Just scroll down the right-hand side until you come to the mellow yellow Monday logo. Just click on the picture and you're there. Just continue on and enjoy!

Brown-headed Cowbirds for Camera Critters

Its naming is in the colouring of its head. This is a male Brown-headed Cowbird. The female of this species is a demure gray in colour, but demure does not describe the behaviour of these unwanted birds in our feeder area. Cowbirds do not nest, rather the female lays its eggs in the nest of another species and leaves the rearing of its young to another.
This male cowbird shown above is the first Cowbird that I recall seeing in Bird Alley for several seasons now, This particular bird appeared to be very hungry as it voraciously claimed the food in the birdfeeder

Do you have interesting photos of 'critters' you haave seen recently? Why not share them with others by posting them on camera critters?http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/http:// This meme can be found by scrolling down the right hand column on this page. Just click on the CC logo there and you're underway!

A Ring-necked Duck

My first sighting this spring of this handsome, spectacular looking Ring- necked Duck was yesterday when I had seen it at French Lake. I had seen several on the water there, but as soon as I got out of my car to take their pictures they had all disappeared as these ducks are wont to do do. No, they didn't fly away but dove under the water's surface.

A late lingering Tree Sparrow visitor!

This time of year especially I am more alert to noticing the difference in birds as I watch and wait for sight of returning migrants. But when I saw this sparrow this morning, something didn't seem right to my mind about this Chipping Sparrow? No, of course not, Chipping Sparrows don't have a central breast spot like this bird did! A Tree Sparrow?! But they are all gone now, aren't they?! But maybe not? Does it have a bi-coloured bill? I changed lenses and strived for a closeup that would show the bill. Yes! It was bicoloured! Wow! A Tree Sparrow indeed! Quite a sighting!, But then we did have snow yesterday! But no on ground accumulation resulted. Maybe this little fellow is starting to feel right at home here, even this late in the season. Go away little bird, Go north where you should be at this time of year. I mean further north! We are finished with winter here!!

Another returning bird to Bird Alley: Purple Finch

What a lovely treat and surprise yesterday to see such beautiful vivid purple-pink colour in the branches outside my windows yesterday afternoon. in the feathered form of two male Purple Finch. Maybe I will see female finches today? The females are not as strinking attractive as the male are, but they will be very welcome to round out our bird population recently in bird Alley consisting daily of: a pair of Downy Woodpeckers, both male and female. A lot of Song Sparrows and many, many Slate coloured Juncos, a couple of Chipping Sparrows a couple of Mourning Doves, their numbers seem to really be down this spring and of course our regular Black-capped Chickadees. The White-throated Sparrow didn't return yesterday but I am still waiting for its return. A big omission in visiting birds this year are Grackles. Usually other years we have been swamped with them, but not this year. I had an initial visit of this species when they were first noted returning to the province, but since then only two or three. Our tree tops used to be full of them, but not this year for some reason! Have a great birding day everyone!

Fishing Gulls and Running White Tails for Outdoor Wednesday

We are expecting snow this afternoon, quite a storm apparently , so I decided to do my birding rounds early this morning. I saw very little, The best sighting was possibly that of a Kestrel, It behaved in Kestrel style, flying away as I rolled down my car window and it flew away as I prepared to take its picture. I saw quite a few White-tailed Deer and they all saw me also and they all kicked up their heels, flashed their white tails and ran away from my camera.

But the best discovery was the last. We have a river running through our community which is the scene each spring of gaspereau returning up the river each year to spawn. The rapids at our point in the river is locally known as The Gaspereau Falls, and today at the Gaspereau Falls I saw two gulls waiting in the river. What a delightful surprise when downloading my pictures to see that one gull had a gaspereau in its beak. What a glorious outdoors it was today .Quite perfect I thought for a post to the Outdoor Wednesday meme.

Got photos you want to share? Why not post them at Outdoors Wednesday. To find this delightful meme, please scroll down the page on the right hand side until you come to the outdoor Wednesday logo. Click on it and find your way there. Happy picture taking!