Rare Winter Bird

The usual Cardinals, Goldfinches, Chickadees, Purple and House Finches were in abundance at the feeders when I returned home from school. Nellie and I set off through the snowdrifts to see if I could capture some Mourning Doves along the creek. But to my surprise I heard a call that is definitely unusual for this time of year -An American Robin!
There he was however, up in a tree by the creek! He looked in good condition so I presume he is surviving on berries -there are lots around.

In the summer they are very common, waking us up with their Cheer Up, Cheerily, Cheer Up at 4 o'clock!!! They quite often nest very close to houses so it is easy to observe the developing young from Robin's Egg Blue eggs.

Trudging back through the deep snow I saw a flock of little birds wheeling and swooping in this undulating flight pattern through the air ???? What were they -in such large numbers -uncommon this time of year??

As I got close to the house I could hear a distinct happy twittering and tit-i-tit sounds...ahhh....and then, there they were in great numbers at the feeders -Pine Siskins. We've had the odd one around for some time with the other finches but not in the great numbers as today. I counted about 30 on one tree before they took off so likely a flock of 50-60. They are very comical to watch on the feeders -showing off by hanging upside down, arguing constantly over who sits on what perch. They consume great quantities of Niger Seed -their favourite! No Juncos today but later I saw 2 Nuthatches at the suet feeder. A very good day for birding!!!

Sparkly Weekend

So far, this weekend the only glimpse of the moon was early Fri. evening as she was rising with the sun not yet set. The clouds or mist have come and gone all weekend.....
The snow was so sparkly Fri. afternoon ......I hoped to get out on Sat. to take more pictures before the texture changed...still lots of ducks and geese around.....

It was -25C and very foggy Sat. morning -ice fog they call it-this picture was taken from the bathroom window as the fog was lifting in mid morning -cold, but the day turned out sunny...as the fog cleared the air became positively magical -filled with shining ice crystals -impossible to photograph -I guess the moisture from the fog was freezing, then floating earthward combined with the frost from the trees falling -everything was sparkling in the sun...

Nellie and I just had to go out in spite of the intense cold -we went to check out the creek to see who has been visiting -saw a flock of Mourning Doves, and lots of fox tracks along the banks...looks like our fox have discovered the spots that stay open.....

The hoar frost was thick and beautiful all along the edges of the water -some amazing crystal formations....

I had to keep a close eye on Nellie -she loves water and would have gone into the creek if I didn't keep telling her "NO!" This is where the fox stopped to drink before continuing on his way.....

This reminded me of waves washing up on the shore of a beach.....nice thought at -25C!!! Love the sparkly snow!!!

Patience and lots of shots beneath a Highbush Cranberry ....finally one of the Chickadees stopped for longer than a second ......love how you can see all his little feathers puffed out in an effort to stay warm.....the birds were at the feeder all day Sat. in an effort to stay warm.....

.......another one caught leaving......

......all it takes is a couple of very cold days and nights and the river freezes over...there are always open spots however.......

......less than 48 hours ago......blue water..now sparkly ice ......