Juvenile American Pelican near my Regina neighbourhood

I photographed this juvenile American White Pelican in a local lake when I visited with a group of birders from Nature Regina earlier this month.

This looks like the great outdoors, but this Juvenile American Pelican is really swimming
in front of a series of lakefront, er, water catchment pond frontage, houses.  © SB

Summer and fall are such great times for birding — and for seeing juvenile birds of many species, as they are arriving back through the city now, in preparation for their winter migration south. 

This young American White Pelican still has the light brownish feathers on its head, neck and back that mark it as a juvenile.  

This is a city drainage pond.
This is a juvenile American White Pelican.
This is a house in the background.
Oh, Regina.   © SB

What is this? A juvenile American White Pelican (Pélican d'Amérique)

Location: Lakeridge Park, Regina, Saskatchewan
Photo date: September 10, 2016.

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American Kestrels: Tiny Falcons in Regina

American Kestrel watches my neighborhood
from the top of a tree. © SB 

This evening, several American Kestrels flew over our Regina, Saskatchewan, house and landed on the highest tips on the neighbours trees.

At least, I thought these mighty little birds were Kestrels, based on their size and markings.

But they are difficult to see when they fly fast and far, and so it wasn't until my camera captured the proof that I believed my first identification.

Kestrels are a small falcon — and not the first falcons I've seen in Regina. (There are also Peregrine Falcons that nest on City Hall.)

These birds are also (to my eye) a gorgeous mix of black, slate blue, reddish and pale spotted feathers. But yes, they are raptors; and yes, they hunt...

Pair of American Kestrels, near Lumsden, Saskatchewan.
(The male, left, has far more blue-gray, 
than the female, right.)  © SB 

American Kestrel on a power wire.  © SB 

What are these? American Kestrels 

Location: Saskatchewan, Canada: In Regina, and near Lumsden.  

Photo date: September 8, 2013, and April 21, 2012. 

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Lark Bunting in breeding plumage

One of my favourite Saskatchewan grassland birds is the Lark Bunting — perhaps because the males look so formally attired in their crisp black and white breeding plumage.

The female Lark Buntings are also lovely, with an intricate brown feather pattern.

These small songbirds were fairly common in the Val Marie, Saskatchewan, area during our recent Prairie Passages Tour of pastures and grasslands. Especially lovely to see, knowing that come winter, they'll change from this bright plumage to more drab brown feathers again. (And leave Saskatchewan to fly south to Mexico for the winter.)

Male Lark Bunting in breeding plumage   © SB

What are these birds? Lark Buntings  —  male in breeding plumage.
Location: Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan. 

Photo date:  June 26, 2013.

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Spotted Towhees in Grasslands: I have a message for you

To all Spotted Towhees in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan:

There is no need for you, or any other birds, to hide behind bare shrubby branches when I drive by.

This is the only picture I have of you large sparrows, and it barely captures your brilliant rust, white and black colouring.

Spotted Towhee beside the Frenchman River   © SB

That said, my thanks for waiting on this bush, beside a bridge over the Frenchman River, until I was able to take this single shot.

And yes, I love your bright red eyes.

Seen on the Prairie Passages tour of PFRA and other publicly owned grasslands, with conservationists, authors, and photographers, including Margaret Atwood, Graeme Gibson, Alberto Yanosky (Executive Director of BirdLife affiliate Guyra Paraguay), and  Ian Davidson (Exec. Dir., Nature Canada). Organized by Public Pastures - Public Interest. For more on the tour, see Pasture Posts and Trevor Herriot's Grass Notes.

What is this? A Spotted Towhee.
Location: Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan.
Photo date: June 25, 2013.

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Winter Trees: Beauty of Snow and Ice

Late March, and it's still winter on the Prairies. Earlier this evening, I looked out to see huge fluffy snowflakes falling. But there is a beauty to this cold and ice that my warmth-seeking self at times forgets.

Here, a reminder of a day not so long ago when the world glowed — all black and white, in colour.

Down the lane, under ice-tipped trees, winter sparkles.   © SB

What is this? Winter scene, with an arch of hoar-frost coated trees.

Location: Near Muenster, Saskatchewan. 

Photo dates:  February 22, 2013

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First Day of Spring: Snow and White-outs

On the first day of spring, I drove 50 km to Regina Beach to visit a friend, in white-outs, white-knuckle driving for part of the way.

If you need to take a picture to prove you were there, check
the rear view mirror, find a safe pull-out, be wary, then shoot © SB

What a strange winter climate we have in Saskatchewan. (Summer, ditto, but that's another post.)

The ten feet nearest the ground can be impossible to see through, while above that, only blue!

We have blizzards without any snowfall. All we need are high winds and loose snow, and the whole world whirls in white, white washing away distance, vision, depth, perception... Snakes, finger drifts, white drowning in white white white white white white white.

And while other places are rejoicing in daffodils and tulips, we fear the highway still... (And, with reason. On my way to the Beach, I passed emergency vehicles — fire, ambulance, tow...)

Snow! I feel buried 6.5 feet under — this year's record fall. I want mud, buds, birds and spring!

What is this? Blowing snow on the highway. 

Location: Near Regina, Saskatchewan. 

Photo dates:  March 20, 2013

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Prairie Windbreak in Snow-Drifted Winter Field

The weather was changing, a cold front rushing in, temperatures dropping by 20 degrees and wind howling in over the fields. It seemed like a good idea to go for a walk... Why not? Fresh air is always good, with or without frostbitten cheeks, frozen sinuses and fingertips that can no longer feel.

A Prairie windbreak, across the blue-shadowed snow of an open field   © SB

What is this? A windbreak, rows of coniferous and deciduous trees, planted to break the wind, keep the soil, and reduce drifts. (And in certain light, snow is blue, not white, and shadows, deep violet or periwinkle.)

Location: Near Muenster, Saskatchewan, Canada

Photo dates:  February 18, 2013

Snowy Owl near Regina, Saskatchewan

Two Snowy Owls so far this winter near Regina, Saskatchewan. At least, that's all I've seen in the area northwest of the city, and I believe they are the same Arctic birds, as each is always in the same place on the prairie, making me suspect they've chosen their winter-in-the-south territory.

I saw this Snowy Owl, below, first on New Year's Day, and then again in early February — on what I swear is the exact same power pole! (At the same small bend in the same rural road, anyway.)

Snowy Owl, on the road to Pense, Saskatchewan  © SB

Based on its extensive dark markings (and what All About Birds has to say about that), I would guess it's an immature female. From what I can see, young female Snowy Owls are the most heavily barred with black.

I love these birds! They make me happy when I just drive by them!

And while so far, I haven't seen any signs of an irruption of the scale we saw here during winter 2011/12 — during which I saw them within 15 minutes on every road I took outside of Regina! — I am just so happy any time I leave the city and receive the gift of seeing a Snowy Owl in a field or on a power pole. (They seem to love power poles — height, hunting viewpoints, and few entanglements for their six-foot wingspan.)

This owl, for those wondering, was about half an hour west of Regina; my other owl (who likes hanging out in heavy, unphotographable glare or shadow) is just a few minutes away.

For pictures of Snowy Owls from last year, you might be interested in these from this blog and Latitude Drifts, one of my other blogs:

• Immature male, on pole;
• Several Snowy Owls, including a few in flight; and
• A lovely mature male Snowy Owl —  almost totally white. 

What is this? Snowy Owl.

Location: Near Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada (on the road to the Town of Pense). 

Photo date: February 4, 2013. 

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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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Lark Bunting: Male, Female and Molting Plumage

Lark Buntings watched from fence posts as I drove through prairie pasture land along a township road south of Regina, Saskatchewan.

The male Lark Bunting in breeding plumage was the easiest to identify. Black, with a bluish bill and white wing flashes, this bird stands out from other tiny brown-striped grassland birds.

Lark Bunting in Saskatchewan.   © SB

The female Lark Bunting was also fine to ID — as soon as she pirouetted through a turn to show that she, too, had white wing flashes. And what a fine grasshopper! The other females of this species that I saw also had insects in their beaks. Great hunters!

Female Lark Bunting with Grasshopper. Saskatchewan  © SB

But this final Lark Bunting, a moulting male, baffled me. I couldn't guess what kind of bird I'd photographed until I got home and enlarged the image. (I use a lens that zooms to 300mm, but my bird shots are usually tiny crops from the resulting photograph; lacking super-vision, I can't see as far in real life as the camera sees.)

Molting Male Lark Bunting on Fence Rail.  © SB

This moulting male Lark Bunting has his own strange beauty, as his mating colours fade to winter browns, whites, grays. 

What are these birds? Lark Buntings  —  male in breeding plumage, female, and moulting male.
Location: Along Township Road 102, south of Regina, Saskatchewan. 

Photo date:  July 23, 2012.

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