BIRD WALK MAY 9

     Another habitat and another bird discovery . Today we went to a small lake with natural habitat around it . There is a ridge to the west of the lake which is covered with poplar and has a private 7 hole golf course which provides grass and lots of brushy edges . The lake is about 80 acres and the trees and grass probably cover a 100 acres.


     Although there was a brisk wind , the sun warmed us as the temperature varied from 5 to 8 C.


     15 birders attended today and were treated by the hostess after the walk to a pancake breakfast . This number gave us a good mix of experience and learners . All benefit and learn as some describe identities to new learners . Questions from new birders make experienced birders think and consult their guide books.


     The house and yard are set up with various feeders and waterers and bird baths so there are many birds taking advantage of the facilities. From the deck of the house there is a constant stream of chickadees , white crowned sparrows and red winged blackbirds.


     The lake was a disappointment as the bright sun shining in our eyes prevented us from detecting any color . However many geese were easy to spot by their size and shape .


     For further effort we walked the seven golf fairways and were treated to robins , brewers blackbird , tree swallows , crows , red tailed hawk, yellow rumped warbler , downy woodpecker and white throated sparrow. Many of these birds are in full song so the sounds were pleasant and aided in finding and identifying the birds.

Bird Walk May 2

      You never know what might happen on a little old bird walk . Sometimes it can be just jumping with sightings and other times somewhat disappointing . Today's walk was one of the productive ones. We went to a 110 acre area which is a ravine which is mostly heavily forested with old spruce . A creek plants flows through the area . The area was previously used for agriculture by being pastured . The farmer took out the aspen for fire wood . The area is usually referred to as Bower Woods .

     Usually heavily wooded areas are hard to bird in as the birds tend to dwell in the tree tops . You can hear the birds and identify who's there by sounds . It's sometimes a challenge to actually see the birds . The usual suspects were flying by ...crows , magpies and mallards . After that we had to work for everything we saw . So what was there ? Black capped chickadees , boreal chickadees , pine siskins , juncoes , golden crowned kinglets , house finches , phoebes , robins, both red and white breasted nuthatches , downy woodpeckers , chipping sparrow ,Franklin's gulls and a number of gulls which were too far away to identify . 

     So, we did spot quite a few suspects in the area .