American Badger and More

While on a leisurely trip, just driving some dirt roads with a good friend recently, we were complaining to each other that we were not seeing much, even though we both knew full well that it was still to early for anything too exciting to be back yet.
One always hopes to see a winter raptor though, or an interesting mammal.
After awhile we got our wish by spotting this American Badger laying out in the middle of a field, enjoying the afternoon sun. This is the earliest I have seen this mammal. I doubt he was very impressed with the snow all around him when he woke up too early because of the warmer temperatures we were enjoying.



Something else of interest, was the adult Sharp-shinned Hawk that had recently been terrorizing the feeder birds in our backyard.
This shot was taken just after he took off from the fence :

Boreal Chickadee

I love these little guys. We don't get them in town, so you have to drive at least an hour north to find them.
I lucked out while on a recent trip up to Candle Lake & then Anglin Lake the following day.

River Otters

While enjoying a relaxing break recently with some friends at Anglin Lake SK, we found 2 River Otters, diving and catching crayfish in some open water.
I was very careful not to spook these wonderful creatures and kept my distance but stayed low , and got the following shots of one individual with his meal :

Northern Hawk Owl

Last weekend, myself and some friends from the local nature society, visited Montreal Lake in northern SK. to look for Owls. We got lucky and managed to find several Hawk Owls during the time we spent up there.

Here is one individual we found :

Designer Birdhouses

I would like to introduce you all to a friend of ours from Saskatoon..

This is taken from his website :

Saskatoon Saskatchewan entrepreneur John Remai has turned his love of building into a hobby that is now a special project to fundraise for equipment for the new Children's Hospital in Saskatoon Saskatchewan. After many years of building and managing hotels, motels, apartments and condominiums, John promised himself that when he retired, his favorite hobby would become a benefit to the community.

Since the spring of 2009, John has been making birdhouses and feeders to give complimentary to donors when they make a specified donation amount to the The Children's Hospital Foundation of Saskatchewan . Already a major financial donor to the Children's Hospital Foundation of Saskatchewan, John felt that by using his hobby for enjoyment, people can donate to the CHFS and at the same time receive one of his outstanding designs complimentary.

I highly reccomend you check out his webpage at :

http://www.jrsdesignerbirdhouses.ca/

John's bird houses and feeders are absolutely beautiful, and I'm sure you will find one that takes your fancy.
There are many, many designs that will house all kinds of bird species.

Here is just a small sample of his excellent craftsmanship :

Purple Martin/Swallow Gourd Houses :






Interactive Squirrel Feeder :



Purple Martin Condo :

The Great Backyard Bird Count

Well, it's been a while since my last update, but you'll have to forgive me , as its been far too cold to go birding outside for the most part.
Luckily , it did warm up over the long-weekend, givng myself and a couple of friends the chance to get out and see what species we could find for the Great Backyard Bird Count.
After 4 days of scouting around looking for bird species, Saskatoon's tally ended up 1 short of last years 33, so not too bad.

Highlights were :

Bald Eagle

Sharp-tailed Grouse

Pine Siskin

Purple Finch

Evening Grosbeak

Common Redpoll

European Starling

Northern Shrike

Cedar Waxwing

American Robin

American Tree Sparrow

Horned Lark

Here are 3 new photos I got over the weekend, 2 that show how some of these hardy birds survive the cold cold winter days, by eating frozen berries !

American Robin ( click to view full size )




Cedar Waxwing ( click to view full size )



Evening Grosbeak

Downy Woodpecker

Things are a little slow right now, and a little cold too! We had a ton of snow dump on us a few days ago, which meant lots of shoveling and helping people to get their cars unstuck.
The great thing about Saskatchewan, as well as the wildlife, are the wonderful people, who always rally together in times like this.

Here's a female Downy Woodpecker from a recent look around Pike Lake :