Redpolls are visiting Regina again - Going North?

Female Common Redpoll on our feeder this week. © SB

We've seen very few Redpolls in our Regina, Saskatchewan, backyard this winter — but now one is back.

These birds seem  to follow different routes north and south each year.

During the winter, we had a small flock of five or six birds drop by for seeds below the feeder. They were here for one evening only. A few posed on the bare lilac branches, and by morning, all were gone.

This week, a single female Comon Redpoll is back, shyly pecking for seeds and avoiding the other birds. (Going back north? I wonder.)

It seems odd to me to see solitary Redpolls, like I often do in Regina. When I see these tiny finches at the Abbey in Muenster, where I go for February writing retreats, they are usually in large flocks, singing as they swoop from tree to tree.

On of the female Common Redpolls
that dropped by our Regina backyard in late January. © SB

Others in that January mini-flock of Common Redpolls.  © SB

The winter Redpoll flock at the Abbey also include vibrant males, as well as the occasional and rarer Hoary Redpoll, which is the same size but a far paler bird than the brown-belly-speckled Common Redpoll. Below are some shots of birds I took at St. Peter's in February... and my guesses about which might be Common Redpolls, vs Hoary Redpolls.

Female Hoary Redpoll, all silvery white with a tiny bill
(Or, then again, there is a tiny blush of red on its chest - an immature male?) © SB

Male Redpoll - I think likely Common, from the bill size,
though he doesn't have much streaking, so maybe Hoary?  ©SB

Female Common Redpoll   © SB

Male Common Redpoll  © SB

What are these? Female and Male Common Redpolls, with one (?) Hoary Redpoll. (The ones with red chest markings are male.)   

Location: Top three images: Backyard, Regina, Saskatchewan; bottom four: Near Muenster, Saskatchewan, Canada. 

Photo dates: Top: April 7, 2016; next two: January 31, 2016; four Muenster birds: February 19 - 23, 2016.  

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Pine Grosbeaks - A Glimpse of Scarlet Winter Birds

Male Pine Grosbeak, taking a break from feeding on crabapples. © SB  

As winter ends, a memory of one
of the most beautiful birds I saw this season: A male Pine Grosbeak feeding on frozen crabapples in an old orchard.

We'd been watching the flock for days, hoping to see a mature male in all his scarlet glory, but for days, he eluded us. (Was there really only one? We saw many females and/or immature males, with their far less vibrant colouring.) Finally, one evening, he appeared; word quickly spread, and the cameras came out.

These birds, as the Audubon field guide says, are "often absurdly tame." I took the pictures of the red Pine Grosbeak through a gap in a windbreak wall of spruce trees, and yes, it saw me, but appeared barely curious. A quick glance, then a return to what mattered: eating the fruit at his feet.

The female Pine Grosbeaks tend to be more beige or gray overall, with golden highlight feathers on the head and back... Immature males, the same, except that some may also sport brighter orange feathers. I'm not sure I can tell the difference, though I'd tend to call the brighter birds, males. (Birds.Cornell.edu has some comparative shots, though the author of that page was also less than confident in the distinctions.)

These are large birds of the boreal forest — significantly bigger than the House Finches that frequent my backyard bird feeders. All About Birds calls them the rarest of winter finches, and says they periodically make winter irruptions into southern Canada and northern United States. I understand that the colouring of the males may vary through shades of pink, but ours was most definitely scarlet.

I'm going to guess that this one is a female Pine Grosbeak -
though it could equally be an immature male. ©SB

Male Pine Grosbeak in the crapapple, at right;
immature male or female on the ground, at left. ©SB

I'd call this an immature male, making the transition to full scarlet feathers.
Not only are his head and back bright, but there are a few scarlet
feathers already dotting his chest. ©SB

What are these? Pine Grosbeaks — Durbec des sapins.

Location: Near Muenster, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Photo dates: Top three: February 17 - 19, 2016; bottom: November 14, 2014. 

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Ruffed Grouse feeding in old Saskatchewan Orchard

What luck! I saw Ruffed Grouse — my first — several times when I was at the writing retreat at St. Peter's Abbey in Muenster, Saskatchewan, in February. There were at least two, feeding in an old orchard. Or, perhaps there were three, as I saw a pair a few times, and then one on its own. Or more...

Ruffed Grouse climbing in the old orchard.  © SB

I was somewhat surprised to see this one up a tree — even though I'd been told they are roosting birds, it's startling to see a bird as big as a chicken climb along high branches. Most of the time, they were running through the undergrowth, or pecking at fallen, frozen fruit with the other birds. (And yes, I'm sure chickens can climb trees, too, but seeing one above my head would surprise me, too.) 

This is more typical of the ones I saw -
playing hide-and-seek in the undergrowth.  © SB

Ruffed Grouse, at right, under the crab apple tree.
There is also a pair of Pine Grosbeaks here - the female on the ground,
the male in the branches at the far left.  © SB  

What are these? Ruffed Grouse — Gélinotte huppée.

Location: Muenster, Saskatchewan
Photo dates: February 19, 2016. 

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Black-capped Chickadee of the Day

Because every good day deserves a chickadee.

Soft feathered weightlessness, rasp of air on your hands.

Black-capped Chickadee waiting patiently
(or perhaps not) for nuts and seeds. © SB

What is this? A Black-capped Chickadee  

Location: St. Peter's Abbey, Muenster, Saskatchewan
Photo dates: February 11, 2014. 

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Immature Redpoll: Copper-headed bird

A Redpoll that merits a post of its own —  perhaps an immature bird? — perched on the red auger, with the soft steel blue of a grain bin behind. 

Redpolls winter in our part of the Prairies. At least, this year, that's what they are doing. Their habits seem a bit irregular; many people have commented that they've not seen these birds before. 

The copper-topped ones are fairly rare. In the flock I photographed, which comprised hundred of birds, I only noticed a handful with variations on this copper-top colouring. All the rest sported shades and intensities of vibrant pink chests and bright red caps. 

As this Redpoll's colouring is half-way between the juvenile and mature bird, I wondered if perhaps it was immature...

Redpoll with a copper cap.   © SB

What is this? A Redpoll, perhaps an immature bird.
Location: Near Muenster, Saskatchewan, Canada. 

Photo dates: February 18, 2013. 

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Winter Prairie Sunset: glowing red skies on retreat

Today, the wind dropped and the temperature rose to close to zero. And at sunset, a celebration of pinks and golds in the sky.

Light vanishes quickly from the sky here on the Prairies — at least, in winter darkness falls fast... (Summer? Another story.)

These pictures were taken from my room at St. Peter's Abbey, where I am on a writing retreat.

Sunset. 6:48 p.m.  © SB

Sunset. 6:57 p.m.   © SB

What is this? Sunset 

Location: Near Muenster, Saskatchewan, Canada

Photo dates:  February 22, 2013

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Downy Woodpecker: Flash of red and hollow knocking

Walking past a stand of trees this morning, I heard the characteristic woodpecker knock-knock-knock. I paused, walked back, and saw a Downy Woodpecker enthusiastically working his way up and down and around the low branches.

Male Downy Woodpecker with red flash  © Shelley Banks

Did he see me? I'd like to think so, because he certainly managed to find a continuous supply of twigs and stumps to hide behind — each time, just when I thought I had succeeded in framing the classic, full-length-with-checkered-feathers woodpecker shot with my camera.

And when not in hiding, this Downy moved at feather-blurring speed, rapidly bobbing his head as he rapped his beak into tasty spots on the bark. (There's even an after-image red halo behind his head, above.)

What is this bird? A male Downy Woodpecker (males are the ones with the red heads) 

Location: Near Muenster, Saskatchewan. 

Photo dates:  February 16, 2013

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