It has been an interesting couple of weeks around here. The birds are busy raising babies amidst some crazy weather. Between the heat, wind, and rain which has been great for the mosquitoes, I’ve wondered how the young birds have been making out. If they’ve survived the weather, there is plenty of juicy bugs to eat! I thought …
I was away in Ulukhaktok last week and saw a number of new birds as well as some old friends. I am always surprised at the arctic’s biodiversity. Whoever described it as barrenland never looked very closely! The next few weeks will include some stories and photos about the birds and animals I spotted during my week-long visit. This …
This week I am sharing some images of surf scoters, one of my favourite ducks. I love the males’ colourful beak and the way it contrasts with their dark bodies. Surf scoters are diving ducks that eat mostly invertebrates. They spend their summers on both the east and west coasts and move inland to freshwater lakes to breed or …
I have spent some time sorting through my bird photos lately thinning out my images and trying to use some discretion in weeding out the best from the average. I have over 11K bird photos so needless to say I have re-discovered a few surprises. When I took these photos I had no idea what bird this was. Fast forward …
This week I am sharing a few photos of a female Ruby-Crowned Kinglet that I spotted near the end of September. Ruby-Crowned Kinglets are very small birds, smaller than chickadees, that usually hang about in coniferous trees during breeding season since this is where they make their nests. They are fast and busy as they flit about in the high …
This week I wanted to share some cool facts that I learned about Redpolls. I have had about 24 Redpolls hanging out at my bird feeder for the past month or so. They are sharing the seeds with a handful of house sparrows who normally have the feeder all to themselves for most of the winter. Redpolls are pretty, …
This week I’ve got some images of everyone’s favourite, the Black-Capped Chickadee. For many of us, the Black-Capped Chickadee is one of the first birds we ever learn to ID. The chickadee is a curious bird that is often found at bird feeders. It has a distinctive warning call that sounds just like its name: chick-a-dee. Interestingly, the more dee …
This week I wanted to share some photos I took of Tundra Swans. I didn’t really know too much about swans besides the story of the Ugly Duckling so it was a great opportunity to learn more. The images you see here were all taken in Yellowknife in the fall. I was surprised to see swans here in the …
I spent a lot of time outdoors this summer and learned more about bird especially the subtle differences between shorebirds. I have always found shorebirds difficult to identify because much like the LBJs in the sparrow species they all look very similar. I have found birding a great way to improve my attention to detail and shorebirds are one …
This week I’d like to share some images I took this summer of a small but charismatic shorebird, the Wilson’s Snipe. Wilson’s Snipe have very large pectoral muscles that make up nearly 25% of their weight. With their huge pecs, it is estimated that this chubby shorebird can reach speeds up to 96 kilometres an hour! The Wilson’s …