female Snow Bunting for Saturday Critters

 T

his winter I have spent many hours looking for Snow Buntings and this week I found two or three feeding along a roadside. When they saw me approach in my car they flew up onto the power lines alongside the road!

I am posting this morning to Eileen's Saturday Critters which can be found at viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.com

Song

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2ENzT9k1LRs

Tree Sparrow for Saturday Critters!

 

Finally, a favorite little winter sparrow, A Tree Sparrow, arrived in Bird Alley this afternoon. there were several of them and now that they have found us, I am hoping that they will be daily visitors in Bird Alley! Tree sparrows have very distinctive markings which are easily seen the the pictures included here! The central breast spot , and the lower portion of the Tree Sparrows bi -coloured bill is yellow!

I am posting this morning to eileen's Saturday Critters weekly meme which can be found at:

viewringmaturewitheileen.blogspot.com.

Have a safe , healthy weekend everyone!

A Chickadee for Saturday Critters

 We have many Chickadees visiting Bird Alley daily! and I seldom focus upon them for a photo, but today is their day! I am linking this morning to Eileen's Saturday Critters which can be found at viewingnaturewitheileen.com

Bird Alley Winter Activity

 Watching the birds is a wonderful daily fascination for us. As the seasons change, so often does the bird species that visit and feed here. It is only during the winter months when we get to view Cardinals daily.

Chickadees are all season visitors. the Bluejays

seem to disappear during the summer months but they are here in full force daily during these cold winter days. Also we most often have Nuthatches daily, both the White-breasted and the Red-bellied

and the Red bellied. Woodpeckers seem to be quite scarce this winter, but we used to often have the Hairy Woodpecker

and its little look alike cousin, the Downy

almost daily during winters. We have not seen any Juncos this winter, which is surprising as often with a fresh sprinkling of snow we could predict the arrival of little Juncos.

This winter we have experienced visits from Common Redpolls

which seemed to be missing from Bird Alley during the past two winters. And I have a tendency to forget to mention American Goldfinch

which are not here daily but frequently. We have not seen any little`` finch cousins, the Pine Siskins yet this winter. And also missing is my favourite little northern sparrow, the Tree Sparrows. Last winter I saw a Tree Sparrow only once in Bird Alley and that was at the end of the winter or early spring. Starlings

are seen occasionally but not often. Crows

of course are daily visitors feeding on food scraps thrown in the driveway for them to feed on.

Female Cardinals

 We seldom see a female Cardinal in Bird Alley, however this last week a female cardinal visited on three days in a row. What a wonderful, beautiful sighting she was!

 

A Cardinal and Bluejay for Saturday Critters

 These two birds are not feeder buddies and seldom perch this close together.  In Bird Alley they both are attracted to our Cardinal food which is full of blackoiled sunflower seeds.  The Cardinal is a loner and does not share the same feeding feeder with the many invading Bluejays however, on this one day my husband had placed food scraps in our driveway for the crows, and both the Cardinal and Bluejay were very interested as they watched together from our Tamarack tree. I am posting this morning to Eileen's Saturday Critters which can be found at  viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.com.

Have a wonderful safe and healthy weekend everyone!

Common Redpolls for Saturday Critters

 Earlier this week we had Common Redpolls at our feeders.  this was a lovely surprise as we haven't seen Redpolls in Bird Alley that we can recall within the last two years! The first Redpolls were male with their lovely red breasts and red caps!

Then on another day we had females visiting. I am posting today to Eileen's Saturday Critters which can be found at

viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.com

White breasted Nuthatch for Saturday Critters.

 The day after a very wet, windy, rainy Christmas day and the bird feed in the bird feeders must be very soaked but that does not deter a group of chickadees from feeding there. Also present there was  a female Cardinal which does not appear very often but I did not get its picture!   and of course the Bluejays have also shown up.

However the prize sighting for me today was a White-breasted Nuthatch, which has been dropping by to feed quite often . but I have not been able to capture its picture until this morning that is!

I am posting this morning to viewingbirdswithheileen.blogspot.com 

Yesterday morning a White- breasted Nuthatch... and this morning a Red-breasted Nuthatch!  ta daa!

Male and female cardinal for Saturday Critters

 I am always very delighted to see a Cardinal in Bird Alley. Its colour is so bight and outstanding! Its like seeing it for the first time!  As a child I had never seen a cardinal and so when one appears at our feeders, its like OMG!  Look at that bird!

The femal Cardinal has the sameness of beak colour but her feathers are more subdued looking being of a fawn or brownish shade.

I am linking today to Eileen's  Saturday Critters meme which can be found at:

virwingnaturewitheileen.blogspot,com

Have a healthy, safe  and wonderful weekend everyone!

Bohemian Waxwings for Saturday Critters

 We have had an adundant crop of American Bittersweet berries this fall. Recently we have seen a wandering flock of Waxwings making sporadic visits to the bittersweet berries. These berries have an outer coat of yellow. They swoop in to feed but then suddenly are gone again. As the outer yellow skin peels of the inner undercoat is seen as red!the berries and Waxwings create a beautiful sight! I am posting this morning to Eileen’s meme of Saturday Critters which can be found at viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.com

Have a wonderful, safe and healthy weekend everyone!

A Handsome Common Grackle for Saturday Critters

 We had few  Common Grackles visit Bird Alley this spring and so I was especially pleased to welcome one at our feeders this November. It only appeared for the one day but on that day I took advantage of the sun shining on its beautiful iridescent feathers when I took the photos. 

                   

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

Have a wonderful safe and healthy weekend everyone!

Evening Grosbeaks foe Saturday Critters

 This morning and prviously one day this week we were invaded by a small horde of Evening Grosbeaks.  The big lure was amall black oiled sunflower seeds! shown below are ten Grosbeaks on the ground. There were often many at a feeder at the same time!

The males are the ones with the bright yellow colouring!

The female do not exhibit the bright yellow on their body but rather they exhibit a soft, light gray in their coloring as shown directly below!.

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

Have a safe and healthy weekend everyone!

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