Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrels on Saskatchewan Roads

Today, to remind myself and others that Prairie Nature is not all for the birds, another Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel.

Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel -- I love the markings! © SB 

I love these long and skinny, striped and spotted guys and had fun recently watching (through my camera's long lens) a female moving her young across a grid road.

And watching a tiny 13-lined Ground Squirrel watch me... (They are very small, even if snake-like in proportions...)

And watching one standing on guard, Meerkat-style, in the grass at the edge of the gravel.

What fascinating little creatures we have in Saskatchewan.

Mother moving baby Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel -- as seen through telephoto, and enlarged.
The young one at left, apparently left behind, looks so bewildered...   © SB 

Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel on guard © SB 

What is this? A Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrel.
Location: Near Muenster, Saskatchewan.
Photo Dates: Top and bottom, July 21, 2014; Centre, July 7, 2014. 

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Bufflehead: Duck on the Pond

A small duck swims across the pond on the Abbey farm — to my eyes, based on the small white oval patch on its head, a female or perhaps more likely, a juvenile Bufflehead.

(And these, the Sibley's guide says, are our smallest North American ducks...)

Bufflehead duck swimming on the Abbey pond, early morning. © SB 

For comparison, a pair of Bufflehead ducks - in different light,
in a different place... The male, at left, has much more white. © SB 

What are these? Bufflehead ducks
Location: Top: Near Muenster, SK; bottom: Wascana Lake, Regina, SK
Photo dates: Top: July 8, 2014; bottom: May 4, 2012.

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Bobolinks in field, near Muenster, Saskatchewan

I saw my first pair of Bobolinks today when I walked the grid road mile (times four) around St. Peter's Abbey. Their songs are so joyful— these, like many birds, remind me of exuberant human laughter!

Bobolink, perched on stalk of dock.   © SB 

One swooped down onto a stalk of dock, while the other... Well, it disappeared from my view, as I was focused on the more sedate Bobolink (if such a word could possibly fit these happy, clown-like birds), trying for a picture of it far off across the pasture. I was also trying to test how close I could creep without startling this stunning little blackbird, with its yellow cap and white wing and back feathers.

These birds have an amazing annual migration, flying from across North America down to Paraguay. I'm glad I got closer today than in my last Bobolink photo attempt, last summer at Grasslands.

Bobolink, in flight over the field, displaying feather colours.  © SB 

What is this? A Bobolink
Location: Near Muenster, Saskatchewan, Canada
Photo date: July 8, 2014

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