House Sparrows: Regina Backyard Neighbours

House Sparrows are the most numerous birds in my Regina, Saskatchewan, backyard — as long as our birdfeeders are filled with sunflower and other seeds.

These noisy sparrows, found in most parts of the world, were introduced to North American, where they do extremely well, often out-competing other birds for nesting space.

(There is high-rise House Sparrow house down the lane from my garage; in theory, it was designed and built for swallows, but these brown-streaked guys got there first, and seem to delight in the sweeping dive down to our feeders.)

Male House Sparrow on lilac bush   © SB

What is this? A House Sparrow

Location: Backyard, Regina, Saskatchewan

Photo date: September 16, 2012. 

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Mourning Cloak Butterfly: Maroon and Blue Shimmer

Mourning Cloak Butterfly   © SB

Mourning Cloak Butterflies are common across Canada, but I never noticed them until this week when two Mourning Cloaks came to my attention.

The first, I saw and took pictures of in Kananaskis, Alberta, when I was getting a mountain break from the prairies; the second — which led to my butterfly's ID — a friend recognized and photographed outside her cabin near Regina, Saskatchewan. (Thanks, Donna!)

Mourning Cloak Butterflies are large, with a wingspan up to eight centimetres. And although they may look black at first glance, in good light, their wings shimmer maroon or purple brown, with iridescent blue spots and a ragged butter-yellow border.

This butterfly's common name refers to, yes, a mourning cloak — a garment apparently worn by someone, somewhere (perhaps in Scandinavia?), during a time of bereavement... (The only example I've so far found online was designed to honour the butterfly — thus raising the question, which came first? The butterfly, or the cloak?)

They appear to be native to North America, and unlike Monarchs, which migrate, Mourning Cloaks hibernate  —  or, as the Manitoba site NatureNorth.com says, "spend the winter in 'cryo-preservation.'"

Where I live, in Regina, Saskatchewan, they are considered common pests. (Who knew?) Mourning Cloaks are the first butterflies to appear in this prairie city in spring, and — in sufficient numbers — the larvae are said to defoliate branches.

(The City of Regina suggests removing the larvae by hand, or leaving them to birds and wasps to devour. Yum... The nearby US state of Montana is perhaps friendlier to Mourning Cloaks, and has designated them its official butterfly.)

Pest or mascot, Mourning Cloaks are unmistakably beautiful. 

What is this? Mourning Cloak Butterfly (Nymphalis antiopa; in the UK, Camberwell Beauty)
Location: Common across Canada, including the prairies; photographed in Kananaskis, Alberta. 
Photo date: September 9, 2012. 

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Common Grackles in Regina, Saskatchewan

A flock of more than 60 Common Grackles descended on my front yard in Regina, Saskatchewan, today, chattering from the grass, trees, driveway, sidewalk and bird feeder.

One Common Grackle returned to the bird feeder.   © SB  

The grackles scattered as soon as I eased the door open to take a photograph.

Most of these large black birds then seized space on the neighbours' yards, until a city bus belted down the street and drove the horde of chattering birds ahead of its wake.

Chattering. Yes, grackles are noisy. Imagine 60 creaky gates exchanging gossip at the back of a hardware store.

The sight of so many grackles, yellow eyes glittering, chilled me. What else would come to mind but The Birds?

But grackles are also highly sociable — all that cheerful clattering from trees and lawns.

And they are strangely beautiful, their feathers iridescent in the sun.


What is this? Common Grackle
Location: Front yard, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Photo date: August 22, 2012.

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Turkey Vultures in Saskatchewan's Qu'Appelle Valley

Fence-post Turkey Vulture, displaying its long claws.  © SB

Eight Turkey Vultures sat on fence posts at the edge of the Qu'Appelle Valley, near Craven, Saskatchewan.

Further down the road, a dozen rose from a tree-filled coulee to soar across the sky.

In all, I saw more than 20 Turkey Vultures that day — a personal record.

Even better, I managed a few clear shots of this impressive, large (and very weird looking) bird.

These carrion-eaters have red featherless heads — good for personal hygiene, and an easy way to identify Turkey Vultures at close range. In the sky, their dark upper and light lower feathers are a better marker, as well as the shape of their wings and tail.

The Vulture Society says Turkey Vultures do well in landscapes with open and wooded areas, but can be found almost anywhere. (The Society also calls Turkey Vultures "gentle and non-aggressive," which will be good to remember if I am lucky enough to again be confronted by so many.)

Turkey Vultures: Eight on posts, two on the ground.   © SB

Turkey vultures: 10 flying over the trees.  © SB

Turkey Vulture, wings spread in flight.    © SB  

What are these?  Turkey Vultures

Location: Along Route #99 through the Qu'Appelle Valley, north of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Photo date: August 10, 2012.  

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Yellow Shafted Flicker near Lumsden, Saskatchewan

The Northern Flicker sat on a post in the Qu'Appelle Valley along Seven Bridges Road in Saskatchewan, unflinchingly watching me as I pulled over the shoulder, slowly wound down the window and took its picture.

When another car approached, this Flicker (a fairly large woodpecker) turned and rose in flight with a yellow flash of its wings, only a hint of which is shown here along the fine yellow edges of this bird's wing and tail.

Her wings and tail, I should say. The distinguishing feature between males and females in these Flickers (Yellow Shafted, from my books) is the black moustache males sport, which is absent here.

Northern Flicker, wind ruffling the feathers
of her spotted breast.    © SB

What is this? A Northern Flicker (Yellow Shafted Flicker) 

Location: Along Seven Bridges Road, north of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Photo date: August 10, 2012.  

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Black Terns: Moulting and Defending

The Black Tern screeches at me © SB.

The Black Terns who watched me pull over beside a Saskatchewan slough today may have thought I had baby birds on my mind.

(I had no thought of nests. I left the car only to try to take pictures of Smartweed, a pink native wildflower.)

Several Black Terns screeched across the water and circled low above my car — and my head — again, and again, and again, their mottled feathers bright in the July sun.

Only when I saw these photographs did I realize that at least one was carrying a large dragonfly in its beak. Food. Perhaps for itself, or for a fledgling.

I first saw Black Terns at this slough several weeks ago, when members of this breeding colony still wore their sleek black and gray distinctive feathers. Already, these terns are moulting, loosing black in belly patches as they change into their winter under-body white.

Black Tern with Dragonfly  © SB

What are these?  Black Terns  

Location: Near a slough, north of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Photo date: August 10, 2012.  

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Red Crossbills in Cypress Hills: Male, female and juvenile

Red Crossbill at Cypress Hills   © SB  

The first Red Crossbills I saw were far down the road north of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park (Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada), caught by the camera while I took photographs of Cedar Waxwings.

That pair of birds — a brick-red male, and the more subdued yellow female — picked through the hot gravel, perhaps searching for grit or salt in the stones.

Later that day, I saw another pair, this time a reddish male and a mottled brown juvenile, high on bare branches in the park, near Elkwater Lake, Alberta.

All About Birds explains that Crossbills feed on conifer seeds, and their weird (crossed) bills help them open tightly closed cones (spruce, pine, Douglas fir, and hemlock).

The Encyclopaedia of Saskatchewan says Red Crossbills are one of 12 species of finches in Saskatchewan, and in Cypress Hills, they breed and feed in large stands of lodgepole pine.

Juvenile and adult Red Crossbills,
at Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park.  © SB

Road birds: Red Crossbill pair forages in gravel    © SB  

What are these birds? Red Crossbills 

Location: Eagle Butte Road, SW Alberta, and in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park (Alberta and Saskatchewan), Canada.  

Photo dates:  July 30, 2012.  

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Cedar Waxwing on Barbed Wire Fence

A Cedar Waxwing landed on the barbed wire fence and watched us, when we stopped at the side of the gravel road to watch ducks on a pond and several tiny distant Red Crossbills feeding in hot road stones. 

This Waxwing is missing the red wing tips some Cedar Waxwings sport. A juvenile? Or simply a bird with no red tips? 

Roadside Cedar Waxwing  © SB

What is this bird? Cedar Waxwing

Location: Eagle Butte Road, SW Alberta, just north of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park (Alberta and Saskatchewan).

Photo dates:  July 30, 2012.  

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Black-billed Cuckoo Hiding in Branches

A Black-billed Cuckoo hid behind branches at the bend on the hill, where Seven Bridges Road leads down into the valley near Lumsden, Saskatchewan. The bird watched me, then flew to deeper shelter, behind a sturdy branch that blocked my view of its bill and long tail feathers.

These secretive birds breed in Saskatchewan in summer, but I've never heard their call. 

Black-billed Cuckoo, hiding behind a slender branch.  © SB

Black-billed Cuckoo, offering a glimpse
of its long tail feathers and red eye.   © SB  

What is this bird? A Black-billed Cuckoo

Location: Along Seven Bridges Road, near Lumsden, Saskatchewan. 

Photo dates:  July 26, 2012.  

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Burrowing Owls: Grasslands, Pasture and Imprinted

Potter, the Burrowing Owl,
poses in Moose Jaw. © SB

The easiest way to get a photo of a Burrowing Owl in Saskatchewan is to visit the Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre in Moose Jaw.

But, depending on background and timing, the resulting image (as shown at left) may not seem realistic...

For example, I adore Potter — last year's newborn and newly imprinted Burrowing Owl — but the photograph of him standing on a sheet-covered chair, with a bird poster behind, does not look at all like a Burrowing Owl in the wild!

Ditto, my shot of Potter, the Burrowing Owl in a floral arrangement, or this same little Burrowing Owl drifting off to sleep. Or my photograph of Potter sitting in someone's glowing red hair and head-swivelling in flowers. 

But pictures in natural settings are so much more challenging. Burrowing Owls are only about eight or ten inches tall, so they can easily hide in grasses or simply be too far away for a camera to capture. 

They are also most visible when nesting, but that is a critical time when they should not be disturbed. 

Back to photography... As examples of shooting a tame, imprinted Burrowing Owl, zoom in on the details of Potter, above.

And then try the same, with these totally wild Burrowing Owls in their natural prairie settings, first at Grasslands National Park and then on a privately-owned pasture southeast of Regina.

Burrowing Owl beside burrow in Prairie Dog Colony,
Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan  © SB

Family of Burrowing Owls in Saskatchewan pasture,
southeast of Regina. (Two on dock stalk,
one to the left, half-hidden in the grass.)   © SB  

I spent close to an hour chatting with the owner of the pasture, who'd offered to point out the burrow location after I told him I'd seen the owls on nearby fence posts and these stalks of dock. (And yes, he has officially reported this nesting site and is now receiving support — aka, frozen white mice — to feed the Burrowing Owls... I stayed far out by the road for the pictures, but he drives right up to the burrow near the dock to drop off their extra food. They're never visible when he wheels by, but he says the food he leaves for them quickly disappears.)

The owls in  GNP also receive similar dead/frozen/rodent sustenance to help broods of this endangered species survive. (I was surprised by how few nests there were in the park... Perhaps 12? This truly is a precious threatened bird.)


What are these birds? Burrowing Owls

Locations: #1, Potter: Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan; #2, owl in the grass: Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (at second Black-tailed Prairie Dog Colony); #3, three owls with stalks of dock: Pasture, southeast of Regina, Saskatchewan. 

Photo dates: #1, September 4, 2011; #2, June 23, 2012; #3, July 23, 2012. 

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