Summer Influx of Birds

There were a lot of new faces on the Athabasca River today! I am not sure who this guy is, but he was having a lot of fun in the current.

This one is a Hooded Merganser with his hood down That is a sign of a contented Merganser.

This Common Goldeneye just flipped and caught a minnow head down!

Here are two more Goldeneyes

A Drake Mallard up against an ice bank

A Hen Mallard at rest

Then we have an American Wigeon.

I was wondering what these Canada Geese were picking at. It turns out the ice is covered with very small flying insects.

First of the Year!

I watched this little fellow come across a snowy field. He ignored Daphnie and myself and came right up to us. I only had my cell phone with me so the picture quality is not great. Daphnie showed a lot of interest, but did not try to get closer. She was on the leash, but I like to think she remembered her bad experience from last year!

I only saw one skunk last year and I had to chase it through a field to get pictures

He was a friendly little guy

I guess I will have to remember my camera on the evening dog walks. The days are definitely getting longer!

New Arrivals

Finally we have a sunny day and a few degrees above freezing.

It was a good day to go for a walk on the Athabasca River shore. Prepare for a lot of birds!

This was our first sunny day for sometime, and most were enjoying the sun and resting.

There is always one goose that is on guard.

A few were wandering around looking for food There are still 2 to 3 feet of snow in the fields, so I think most of the food is coming from river vegetation.

It's good to see them back

April 3,2020 and cold

It was -20C again this morning. Where is this Global Warming we keep hearing about?

The geese keep coming and finding shelter in little bays on the Athabasca River

They seem to spend a lot of time sleeping

I see the odd one "ducking" but I don't know what they are finding to eat. The fields in the area are under 2 to 4 feet of snow

Any way, its good to see them back.

Snow Storm!

It was snowing pretty good this morning, but Daphnie still demanded her walk. More and more geese are coming in every day. They found a sheltered cove and were huddled down. Even Daphnie walking along the shore did not move them.

 We are expecting 12 to 20 cm of snow over the next few days. It's typical, it seems, for the end of March!

The river was rougher than normal, with the wind blowing down river

On a lighter note, the Blue Jays were sitting and waiting patiently for their peanuts.

 Of course, Big Brother was perched right over the geese, watching intently!

Have a good day. Stay isolated, Think WARM!

Back to the River

After two days of snow, it was good to get out to the Athabasca River again. We have snow forecast for the next 4 days! The River has opened up a little bit, but refreezes at night with our-26C temps.

The geese seem to be happy and there are even some mallards back!

 These two were paddling downstream

 Most of the geese appear to be paired up

My trusty Rough Collie is looking pretty good after her spring Spa Day. Washed, trimmed and looking good!

I am not sure if this is an immature Bald Eagle or a young Golden. I need to ask some experts on Alberta Birds. This was about 200 yards away at maximum magnification. The snow was too deep to get closer.

Around Town

A walk-about today got me to the Athabasca River to enjoy the Canada Geese. (Noisy bunch). The weather was about +5C with no wind, so it was a great day for walking. Daphnie and I did 7 miles yesterday, and 4 so far today.

 I think they were happy to see some sun and feel the warmth.

 Can you guess which is the female?

 On a lighter note the Common Sparrows were pigging out at the feeder.

 So too were the Red Polls. Welcome back to the frozen North!

 The mail Red Poll was staying close to the female.

Happy Spring Like Weather?

Just when it was starting to get nice and warm, we got another dump of snow, about 15 cm. We just had our street plowed and then the snow hit

I am running out of room to shovel it!

 Daphnie was not bothered by the snow, and preferred to lie out in it

Spring Appears to be Delayed.. a bit!

The Magpies can smell a peanut from miles away. I think they have a secret spot where they can watch for a delivery!

 A lot of people don't like Magpies, but I find them to be very interesting, and intelligent.

 Speaking of intelligence, these sparrow find it a lot warmer sitting on the rail letting the sun warm both the front and backside. It was -20C today with a wind chill of -30! It was darn cold. At one time there were 8 sparrows on the rail.

Neither snow, sleet, hail or cold stops Daphnie from retrieving her Kong on a rope. It stopped me after about 1/2 hour.

Then, there was this lone Goose sitting in the middle of the Athabasca River. I think she is smart also because the water and the layer of air above it is probably 25degrees C warmer than sitting on the shore. She still looked miserable!

 My Black Capped Chickadee has returned with a mate. Hopefully they will nest in one of our bird houses again. I read somewhere that they need an equivalent of 250 sunflower seed per day in order to survive at these temperatures!

Okay everybody, have a great weekend and think warmer, please!