Northern Paraula for Saturday Critters

Its warbler season and today I am sharing this Northern Parula on Eileen's Saturday Critters.  Eileen's Saturday Critters can be found at viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.ca

A Muskrat for Saturday Critters

I love to find other critters other than birds out in the wild and yesterday I found a muskrat swimming in a large pond area. he first thing I did was look for the tail

to tell me if it was a beaver ( flat tail) or a muskrat ( skinny tail) and when I saw the tail I knew it wasn't a beaver! as you can see from the picture above it was a Muskrat. I was sitting in my car with my window rolled down nd thus could not get a variety of pictures but I did Iwill try to get a selection of poses to post here.

I am posting today to Eileen's Saturday Critters which can be found at: viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.ca

Cowbirds

I hadn't seen a cowbird for quite a while, however yesterday afternoon I spied a grey bird in bird Alley that I was not familiar with and I finally concluded that it just might be a female cowbird!

 My id of a female cowbird was somewhat verified  shortly after when I saw a  male brown-headed Cowbird feeding in Bird Alley.

Barn Swallows

There is a pond area that I go to daily and at this time of year is is full of Tree Swallow activity, busily skimming near the water surface in search of insects. This year I have found Barn Swallows among the Tree Swallows. I have never seen Barn Swallows at this location before. It is a wonderful find for me!

the above picture  hows three  Barn swallows.the rust picture from the left and the middle one, both display the larg o wide fired TIL characteristic of Barn Swallows.

Our First Ruby-throated Hummingbird this Spring.

Hummingbirds ..
yesterday David bought a couple of new hummingbird feeders and

they are hanging in Bird Alley. I watched hopefully all afternoon yesterday but no sightings! However this morning I saw a Hummingbird in the small branches of Bird Alley, about two meters from a full, brightly coloured red feeder. I haven't seen any approach a feeder yet, but I'm quite sure it will happen sometime today. But will I be watching it at the time???? As you can see the red throat in the picture above, our first hummingbird visitor was a mle.  As the day wore on the little bird became more comfortable with our area and visited the feeder often.,  He is back visiting and feeding again this morning.

female Rose-breasted Grosbeak

I have been waiting for the arrival of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak and yesterday one arrived! However it was not the handsome male with its beautiful rose coloured breast, but instead a rather plain, uninteresting female arrived yesterday afternoon and also again this morning just a few minutes ago. Hopefully its male counterpart is nearby and it will arrive soon!? 

When the male finally arrives I shall post its picture here as an update!

A RuiffedGrouse for Saturday Critters

I saw this Ruffed Grouse sauntering slowly across a country road in a treed area.  I slowed my car to very surely keep close to it taking pictures all the while. It never got scared away at any of the time. 

Locally this bird is known as a Birch Partridge, apparently this is a misnomer.
"

Ruffed grouse - New World Encyclopedia

https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Ruffed_grouse Dec 22, 2008 …" The ruffed grouse is frequently referred to as the "partridge" or as a "birch partridge." This is technically wrong, as partridges are unrelated …"

I am linking today to Eileen's viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.ca

chickadee in Window Feeder for Saturday Critters

A delightful way to view birds from my comfy chair inside my house is by using a transparent window feeder.  Th feeder attaches to the outside of the window by a large suction cup.  Only Chickadees have fed there so far this spring but it is an exciting moment when I hear one enter the feeder.  If I do not frighten it away by my movements of taking pictures it will stay there and feed a bit!

I am linking today to Eileen's Saturday Critters blog which can be found at viewingnaturewith Eileen.blogspot.ca

Have a wonderful weekend everyone

I shall be inside today on this rainy Saturday watching my window feeder.  Who knows who or what might show up!?

Mourning Cloak Butterfly for Saturday Critters

I don't know if my words can totally convey the wonderful nature experience that I had this afternoon with a Mourning Cloak butterfly.

After having seen Mourning Cloak butterflies early a few years ago, we learned that this species will fold itself within the bark of some trees and over winter there and emerge when the warmth of the spring season develops. We caught on quickly and noted the locations where we most often saw these butterflies during the early spring months. My favourite location to find them is at the  Homestead Corner at Three Tree Creek. I like to think that perhaps my great great grandparents,  who homesteaded a farm nearby there also experienced the same awe of seeing these beautiful early spring creatures. I saw a butterfly today along the road into their old wood lot. I drove into the road until I saw what I had been looking for:, a Mourning Cloak butterfly! I then backed up my car while maintaining sight of the butterfly. As I could not get a good picture of it taken from my car. I rolled down my car window while maintaining sight of the ever moving butterfly. and then I stopped my car and got out. I momentarily lost sight of the butterfly, but looking down I saw it swirling around my feet and legs. Then suddenly it flew into my car as the car door and window were open. Wow, what a golden photo opportunity! The butterfly stayed on the steering wheel

and I proceeded to take pictures, about 200 or so. The excitement of the opportunity gradually wore off a bit and so I decided to join the butterfly and sit in my car also. My presence behind the steering wheel did not appear to disturb the butterfly at all. We both sat there quietly for ten minutes or so

.After a bit, I decided I should perhaps return home and so I closed the car door. The butterfly noting the change happening flew out the car window. Bye, bye butterfly buddy. It was a great experience.

I am linking today with Eileen's viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.ca

Have a lovely rainy weekend folks.

Nature 101, Collective nouns for birds

I have always enjoyed collective nouns as their group names are sometimes very descriptive.  For example, when we first moved to our present home we used to have large groups of noisy Grackles arrive at our home's location  in the spring and perch in out two old Maples trees.  If you're familiar with a Grackle's sound, ? we always described it as a noisy squeaky, rusty gate.  I was slightly embarrassed of the noise and as we fed birds, I was a bit worried that the neighbours would be a bit annoyed at us, for perhaps enticing such a loud , noisy group to our neighbourhood.  Thus, I laughed today when I looked up the collective noun for a group of Grackles and discovered that Yes!   a group of Grackles are described as an annoyance or a plague of Grackles!

The next large group of birds I had found recently were Waxwings. There are two choices for their collective naming.  The first mentioned was an Ear-full of Waxwings. Yes that fits as I remember their sound being that of singing wires  with a slightly high pitch, so that kind of fits for me., The second choice which I have chosen to use here is a Museum of Waxwings.. I can't come up with a reason for this naming but I think it is rather interesting and unique.

My next collective noun applies to a small group of ducks of perhaps only two or three pair.  In this picture of a brace of ducks there was one pair of Mallards that I could see and perhaps a couple of pairs of Black ducks. So the pictures below include a brace of ducks.

 My last example today of a collective noun for a group of birds are Red-winged Blaclbirds.  This species of birds have been a bit elusive for me to find this spring , so this morning when I glimpsed a bit of yellow and red on one of the blackbirds wing. I was very happy about my find.  Collectively this group can be called a Cluster or a Cloud of Red-winged Blackbirds.

Thus, the lesson is Ended!

A Crocus,, our first spring blossom!

Canada Geese for Saturday Critters

Canada Geese have returned!

I am linking today to viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.ca