One Bohemian Waxwing

for the past three days now, we have had one Bohemian Waxwing visiting daily feeding on rose hips on rose vines in our bower.   

This location is a fair distance from our house and I have been taking the pictures from standing in my dining room with my 400mm lens on my old Canon 20D.  It seems that there is just the one Waxwing, it is the only waxwing that we have seen all winter long.

On top of our bower we have a replica of a Chinese Fu dog guardian. I love it when a bird perches on the fudog and that is where the Waxwing stopped for a rest one day earlier this week.

editing note: I had previously mistakenly identified this waxwing as a Cedar Waxwing.  I was wrong about that id.  The waxwing in these photos is definitely a Bohemian Waxwing as (1) its undertail coverts are rufus,(2) it has a rufus tinged face and (3) it has white tips on its wing feathers.One day this week thewaxwing did venture closer to our house and fed on Virginia Creeper berries on vines on top of our pergola and I got to view this magnificent bird a bit closer.

Another sure sign of Spring Approaching: a Ladybug!

Yesterday morning I found a Ladybug on a window in my house which has a southwest exposure.  I slid a piece of paper under the bug to remove it from the window so that I could take a picture of it with my macro lens, thus  the reason for the printed words under the ladybug in the pictures.

A Ladybug is a rather delightful looking creature I think. I find the patterns of nature fascinating!!!
Last year I had found my first  sign of spring ladybug on March 5th, 2013; you can read about it here: http://naturetales.blogspot.ca/2013/03/some-red-in-nature-for-ruby-tuesday-2.html

Yesterday, A Day Full of Surprises!

I love these days leading up to the return of spring as often my optimism is rewarded. Yesterday I was hoping I might find ducks, but the river area I sought out was still frozen, but then I thought perhaps I could find robins, but the wild apple tree where I had found them last year at this time was denuded of apples.  So, I drove on and when I came to a road entrance where previous year I had found Snowbirds( Snow buntings), I decided to check it out.  And much to my delight I found a few Snowbirds along the roadside there.  

When they saw me, they flew up to the overhead wires  and posed for my camera! Next time I shall take my 400 mm lens with me, but these picture will  have to do for now

 .I continued on  my quest for finding some sign of spring and I found it!!!!!  Oh Happy Day, Pussy Willows with their beautiful white fluffy catkins in full view!

 

 Upon returning home I was so very happy with my morning, but the wonders of nature continued as around mid to late afternoon my husband spied bird activity around our bower in our backyard.

  This time I had my 400mm lens and although distant we were able to id the pictures as those of Bohemian Waxwings feeding on rose-hips in our backyard garden area.

  What a grand day it had turned out to be!  Hmmmmm What will today bring? I will keep you posted on today's developments and sightings.

Northern Shrike

It used to be every winter a highlight of Bird Alley was to  see a Northern Shrike fly in and perch among the branches, however we had not seen a Northern Shrike in Bird Alley since 2010, that is until yesterday afternoon!  I was sitting at my bay window that looks out onto Bird Alley watching the Team Canada/U.S.. hockey game and it was intermission time between the first and second period and I looked up and

 

 I saw a light grey colored bird on a branch and I said out loud, " Oh, a female  Evening Grosbeak", as that is what its size and coloring suggested to me.   My husband entering the room looked out and said , "No, and at that moment I realized I was looking at a Northern Shrike!   Luckily

there were no other birds around as the Shrike is a predator bird, carrying from its reputation the nickname of "The Butcher Bird".  It didn't stay long and I did not get many pictures.  Regardless of its disastrous reputation, the shrike is a handsome bird! 

                                                       

Black-capped Chickadees

                      Share your love and food on this stormy Valentine's Day with the birds.  Please feed the birds!!

 A Happy Valentines Day to all.  Sharing my love of Chickadees with you on this day!

Downy Woodpecker

The focus of today's post is this little acrobatic  male Downy

Woodpecker.  This little bird is a frequent visitor and the peanut feeder is his favourite choice to feed at.  As the feeder is low in peanuts and needs refilling this little bird is focusing his feeding at the bottom of the feeder this morning, showing off his versatility at feeding postures.  He is a handsome little bird with his attractive red patch at the back of his head, announcing to the world that he is a male woodpecker.
                     
Other birds at our feeders are Chickadees, Tree Sparrows, one lone Blue Jay and a little Red-breasted Nuthatch.  Its really cold out there this morning and we are awaiting a big snow storm which should roll in by this afternoon.

a Solitary Song Sparrow

So far today, all that I have seen at our feeders is this solitary overwintering little hardy Song Sparrow.  It is very cold outside today at a -26 degrees Celsius reading at our outdoor thermometer.  As my husband described it as he returned to the house after taking the garbage to the curb:" Its a face freezing day out there!"  Oh! oh! and my feeders need refilling, so for sure it is a lined blue jean day from my wardrobe for me.

I know that these three photos

all look alike but they are really three different photos.  I guess they show that this little sparrow isn't very active today.  The only part of it moving is its mouth

another street scene

Actually this street scene below may be a little deceiving as it is not a real street scene.  It is a sculpture found at Market Square at Saint John, New Brunswick.  There is actually a real person in this picture and he ( gender is a clue), just walked away from the group as soon as the photo was taken.
I am shaing this post with Donna's monthly photo challenge which is found at:
a personal photo challenge.blogspot.ca

Winter street scene for challenge

We had more snow on the weekend and this shovel was used extensively this time rather than the snow blower as the snow was so light.  As can be seen in the photo the sidewalk has already been cleared.  I used the handle of the shovel to frame the walker on the sidewalk.

I am posting this photo to Donna's monthly photo challenge, when each month Donna hosts a theme.  This month's theme is "street scene".  My entry is rather empty but it does reflect the appearance of the streets in my town often during this long, cold, snowy wintery season.  I prefer viewing this scene from my windows inside my home.  I am not a winter person.  
If you would like to contribute to Donna's challenge or view the entries of other bloggers you may find Donna's challenging blog by clicking on the link  shown below: or you may click on the icon for this blog found on the top of of the column on the right hand side of this page.  Have a great day everyone.

a personal photo challenge. blogspot.ca

A Nuisance Grey Squirrel!

The White-breasted Nuthatch is back

   Before the New Year we had had quite a few regular birds arriving on a daily basis in Bird Alley, and then we had a mild period in our weather and we saw a decrease in the number of species visiting our feeders.  The little Tree Sparrows have since returned.  ; and yesterday during the afternoon I spied a White-breasted Nuthatch feeding in the Alley.  My last sighting of a Nuthatch had been on December 27th, 2013, so Happy New Year little bird and welcome back!

Shown above is a White-breasted Nuthatch feeding at the peanut feeder with a Black-capped Chickadee
Please do return, White-breasted and encourage your little cousin, Red-breasted Nuthatch to do the same. The little Song Sparrow, which had been a previous regular is now showing up again quite often.  The photo below of Song Sparrow was taken yesterday.

                  I have noticed the past couple of days a few Starlings are braving a visit to Bird Alley.  Previously we have  only seen them at a distance but now it is nice to see them close by so I am able to take  a few photos of them.
And we haven't seen a Cardinal since December 6th., 2013 , so I am scanning Bird Alley daily for that flash of red which will tell me of their return.  Soon I hope!

Lots of Goldfinch in Bird Alley

Yesterday we had lots of Goldfinch at our feeders.  Their favourite feeding places are the mesh bag and a cylinder feeder

, both of which hold niger seed.  My supply is gone so I shall buy more seed today.
I enjoy viewing the birds  arranging themselves on the feeder to feed.  In the picture below you can count nine Goldfinch.  They were late in arriving yesterday but there were many more than nine.

I have been playing with photo editing this morning and practising layering with some of my goldfinch pictures and below are the results:

Below are the individual photos that I used in the layering process:

The Tree Sparrows are Back!

Our cold frigid temperatures have returned and so have the Tree Sparrows.  Yesterday I was delighted to see Tree Sparrows feeding at our feeders.  I make a list of yard birds each day and January 11th., 2014, was the last day that Tree Sparrows had been included on my daily list of yard birds.  We had experienced quite a bit of mild temperatures during the past couple of weeks, however the thermometer outside my window yesterday was reading at -21 degrees C.  Tree Sparrows are little northern sparrows and I am assuming that they are more comfortable with the freezing temperatures.
Also yesterday I spied a Song Sparrow at one of our feeders.  The Song Sparrow had been missing recently too.  Now I wonder if the missing White-throated sparrow will make an appearance soon.  I haven't seen it for a week or more. I shall be watching and hoping for it to reappear.
Our usual daily feathered visitors are: Blue Jays, Mourning Doves, Chickadees , Hairy Woodpeckers and Downy Woodpeckers. Earlier this winter during the latter part of December we had both a White-breasted Nuthatch daily as well as a Red-breasted Nuthatch daily but they also have vacated Bird Alley.  I do hope they appear soon along with our pair of Northern Cardinals which also are missing.
We had many hungry Goldfinch at our feeders yesterday and their presence has not been much in evidence recently. I am eager for the dawn today to see what species appear .  It is an enjoyable daily task to make my list of yard birds!

Black-capped Chickadees

Hardy, Hungry Sparrows

                                                              a Song Sparrow

                                                    a White throated Sparrow

 

 A Tree Sparrow

Recently the cold and accumulation of snow has enticed or urged three little sparrow species to linger around Bird Alley.  Yesterday morning as our outdoor thermometer registered -31 degrees C., today it is reading -24 degrees C  I had THREE little sparrows at  our one remaining feeder which I can easily replenish from out of our window.: A Song Sparrow, Tree Sparrow and a White-throated Sparrow

And this morning the three sparrows are present again at our feeders.
And we are presently experiencing another snow storm.