Finches

A few shots of various species of finches taken at or near my bird feeders in late Spring. The Red Crossbills were there only briefly for a couple of days and I was only able to get a shot of a female.
The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is the same bird from the previous post although he looks rejuvenated in these shots taken a week or so later. Goldfinches and Purple Finches are ubiquitous at that time of year.

I have since stopped feeding the birds as I assume have most people due to the availability of natural food and the susceptibility of many birds to diseases transmitted at feeding sites during the warmer months of the year.

Great Egret

Just a few random shots of a Great Egret from back in late April. At the time it was travelling back and forth between the mouth of Jordan River and Shelburne harbour. This bird looks like an adult in breeding plumage. One wonders how long it will be before a breeding pair shows up in this area. They seem to be becoming more regular in recent years.

Rainy Day Grosbeak

I arrived home one damp day to find this male Rose-breasted Grosbeak in my lawn. It was a bit of a surprise since I had never had one here before to my knowledge. Although there were other birds attracted to my feeder this bird seemed content feeding on the ground on some red berries growing there. On following days it did come to the feeder but on this day it seemed exhausted from a long migratory flight and had been comforted by the presence of other birds in the area.  This was April 16 which is around the time they generally arrive in this province from farther south.

                                       

Nor'easter

In early March 2018 we were hit with a powerful nor'easter that churned up some pretty big seas along the coast. The gulls were having a field day picking up what was being brought to the surface by the extreme waves. There were several Iceland Gulls in the mix but my main focus was trying to capture some of the drama created by the violent seas.

Mergansers

These are the first pictures I'm posting from the current year. I haven't found much time for blogging lately but with a little more time for getting out to take pictures I now have a lot of posting to do to get caught up. These are from early February, back when there was still quite a bit of ice around and not so much open water. It was easier to find where the birds were congregated if you could find a patch of open water. These birds are all females, Common Merganser top and bottom with a Red-breasted sandwiched in the middle.