More Photos From Beauval

I've been very busy of late, and have only just recently gotten through some of the photos I wanted to share from my recent trip up north.
I just returned from Hudson Bay where I have photos to share from that trip also.

So meanwhile , here's the rest from Beauval ( Click to see full size )

Winter Wren - This energetic little songster was serenading us close to the cabin every night :




Prickly Rose with Crab Spider - These lovely, fragrant wild roses are quite common, but not everyone might have ever seen it's guest, the waiting Crab Spider. Instead of spinning a web, this little arachnid will ambush its victims from flower heads, often preying on bees and other flying insects :



Magnolia Warbler - I didn't see or hear too many Warblers around, but on the last morning I heard and then located this beautiful male Magnolia Warbler on a White Spruce :



Wood Lily - The floral emblem of Saskatchewan often called Western Red Lily or Tiger Lily :



Sandhill Crane - This was found on the first day in a roadside field :



Woodchuck - I only saw my first of these last year in Prince Albert National Park. This little guy, a relative of Marmots and bigger than our ground squirrels, I found in a clearing in the forest :

Birding around Beauval

I have just returned from a stay at Little Amyot Lake, not far from the town of Beauval, SK.
While there, I also found time to bird the areas of La Loche , Buffalo Narrows , Beaver River and Peter Pond Lake.
The weather for the most part was excellent, with mostly sunny days and a few scattered showers.
A recent plough wind had ripped through the Amyot sub-division and wrecked havoc, with many fallen trees blocking off the main trail around the lake, forcing me to bushwhack and find an alternate route.
Warblers were not that plentiful with only a few actually calling.
Finding a total of 80 species of birds while there, here are some highlights in
no particular order : ( * indicates new for the year )

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher* - I usually only see one of these in a year, so now
the pressure is off ! This one individual was perched on a bridge handrail at
Peter Pond Lake.
Magnolia Warbler - 1
Black & White Warbler - 3
Tennessee Warbler - 5
Common Yellowthroat - 3
Mourning Warbler - 1
Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Ovenbird - 10
Western Tanager* - 2
Turkey Vulture - 7
Osprey - 2
Bald Eagle - 2
Winter Wren - 2
Barred Owl - 2 , calling at 3am the first night. I located them the next
morning.
Boreal Owl - 1 calling at 5am on the first morning.
Red Crossbill* - 5 . I didn't see this species at all last year, so this was
nice.
Pine Siskin - 7
Common Redpoll - 2
Dark-eyed Junco - 1
Northern Goshawk - 1
Merlin - 9
American Kestrel - 4
Alder Flycatcher - 2
Great Blue Heron - 5
Bonaparte's Gull - 2
Red-breasted Merganser - 2
Common Goldeneye - 2
Common Loon - 3
Belted Kingfisher - 3
Spotted Sandpiper - 6
Gray Jay - 2
Swamp Sparrow - 2
White-throated Sparrow - 5
Lincoln's Sparrow - 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 2
Veery - 1
Hermit Thrush - 2
Pileated Woodpecker - 2

Here is the male Barred Owl ( click to enlarge )
There are more photos to come from this trip...



Here he is hooting at me. Such a wonderful thing to see up close..

To Chase A Mockingbird

I still get regular emails, quite often a few times a week, from good folks who have birds showing up that they need identifying, or birds that make them go " wow ".
A particular "wow" bird that has been 'doing the rounds' of late has been the Northern Mockingbird.
Usually found in the US and pretty unusual here in Saskatchewan ( although they HAVE bred here a handful of times ), I've had two reports of a 'Mocker' in 6 days, and from two different areas.
A group of us also found last winter that I posted on the blog.
Last week my friend and I visited a wonderful farm where the kind owner showed us around her property to look for the grey bird with white wing-patches that sounded like a police siren and a phone ringing.
We spent two hours combing the property but was unable to find the bird in question.
The exciting thing was, that it had been seen gathering nesting material, so it could have raised young.
I have another 'lead' to check out later today, so hopefully we can find the other one, although it can be like looking for a needle in a haystack sometimes :-)

Here are a couple of recent photos :


Vesper Sparrow - While searching for the Mockingbird, this sparrow hopped onto a nice perch for me :



Cape May Warbler - This female was enjoying sugar water at a friends yard last month :



Blackpoll Warbler - Here's one I got last month that I forgot to post !




Gray Catbird - This youngster was sitting on the grass at the Forestry Farm recently :

Eurasian Collared-Dove and more catching up

A pair of Eurasian Collared-Dove's have found their way into town and have taken up residence it seems in a Spruce Tree in one of the older neighbourhoods.
This species of Dove is gradually expanding its range and small populations can now be found in many towns in Saskatchewan. Pretty soon they will be as common as Mourning Doves at this rate.
Here is one of the pair on lookout duty :

Eurasian Collared-Dove




Here are some new photos from my travels ..( best viewed full size )

Red Fox Pups - This was taken as my friend and I were on our way home from completing our May bird count :




Common Nighthawk - This Nighthawk was taking a break from catching flies, about 40 feet up a dead snag, close to the Nisbet Forest last Saturday :



Dark-eyed Junco - Here's one from a recent stay at Candle Lake.



Osprey - An Osprey over Meewasin Park in May :



Swainson's Hawk - This handsome bird was also on our May bird count :



Willet - From a trip out to Goose Lake early one morning this month :



Red-eyed Vireo - And finally, here's a portrait of a Red-eyed Vireo I found at a local park in late May :

Northern Saw-whet Owlets

On Saturday I traveled with my pal Marten to the Nisbet Forest where I then had the pleasure of meeting bird bander Harold Fisher and his wonderful family.
Out of thirty-something Saw-whet Owl boxes put up in various spots throughout the woods , three were successful and had young inside that were in pretty good shape.
Afterwards, Marten and I found a Northern Hawk Owl, a couple of Common Nighthawk , a vocal American Bittern, Cliff Swallows , Turkey Vulture, Mourning Warbler, Veery, Hermit Thrush and some other more commonly seen species.
A new year bird was a lone Chestnut-sided Warbler, which was a nice bonus.
Also new for 2009 was a female Black-backed Woodpecker.

Here are some of the young Saw-whet Owls :

Cedar Waxwing

I spent an hour or so, walking around the Forestry Farm Park before work during the week and found a few nice things.
Most of the Warblers have headed north now, but I did see a female American Redstart and the usual Yellow Warblers.
There were baby Robins and also newly fledged Catbirds just sitting on the grass.
From high in the Spruce trees, a lingering Ruby-crowned Kinglet was calling , and a Common Tern gave a few flyby's over the trout pond.

Cedar Waxwing - Here is a Cedar Waxwing enjoying a Sea Buckthorn berry from the park that morning.
( click to see full size ):

More Shorebirds n Stuff

I'm still catching up on photos taken back in May, and will add a few other pics taken when ever I can sneak out after work for a few hours in the morning.
I have so many things going on this year, but I will continue to find time for this blog as I get such great feedback via the comments and in private emails.
The good thing about blogging, is that I can work on it from home and add photos before going to sleep, as some of you know I work nights and sleep ( although overrated ) is very important!
Since asking for ' bird alerts', I've had at least 10 emails per week from people within the Province with something 'strange' at their feeder , or in their yard or something they've spotted elsewhere, so I thank you too !
Its great to identify these birds , and help out folks who have an interest in what's 'out there'.

So, here are some new photos...

Long-billed Curlew - Always a treat to see this species, as they are in a bit of a decline in Saskatchewan. This one was spotted as the sun was going down during our bird count last month :



Red-tailed Hawk - This handsome raptor was flying over a local park last month :



Yellow Warbler - This territorial male was singing at a park here in town early one morning :



Ruddy Turnstone - A shorebird I don't often see. There were two of these on our bird count last month :



White-rumped Sandpiper - Not the most common sandpipers around. It's always a pleasure to see a group of these :




Black-necked Stilt - Another nice species to find any year, we found 8 of these graceful waders last month. I went back out there last week and got this shot :



Willet - And finally, this Willet was calling from atop his sentry post. I really should consider adding sound to this blog at some point, as he was giving quite the show :