We've had a visit from a group of hares this week, 3 in total chasing each other around the garden and surrounds. One has decided to stay, for a while at least, and remains happily ensconced beneath the bushes, watching us come and go via the front door.
All three still have some of their winter coat remaining and it's easy to see why that coat is so effective. The long white hair on top is at least double the length of the normal brown stuff, and beneath that is a lovely downy soft fluff that insulates. I've also added a sunset shot from last night in the gallery, it promised so much but failed to deliver in the end. But I felt the need to make at least one image, having taken the time to retrieve the camera from the basement and head out for the show.
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Springtime has seen some new visitors to the garden as well as the return of some of the regulars. The main shot below shows an Evening Grosbeak enjoying a drink, it's the first we have seen of this guy. He has since returned daily with his mate and another two pairs of the same.
There is also a smaller Yellow-rumped Warbler who we saw for the first time this week too, they seem to come in groups of 4-8 and flit around so quickly it's difficult to catch them on camera. The deer are still munching the plants but less frequently now, and we saw a huge grass fire across the hills opposite. It's all going on in the garden this week. The gallery has captions to identify the birds. Last year we had our first chipmunk on the feeders in the garden. It looks a lot like he has taken up residence under the decking I built, as he disappears under there with his cheeks full of sunflower seeds often.
This week he came out for the first time since winter and is making the place his own. Clearly comfortable with the surroundings now, he scoots to and fro, from from the water table to the peanut stand beneath the bushes at lightning speed. Sometimes, just sometimes, he stops still long enough for me to get a shot or two. So, here he is again, welcome back Mr Chips. As winter settles in, the garden is still busy with bird life and our ever present squirrels. The coyotes have become regulars, as have the deer now the cold nights and snow cover has them foraging in gardens once again.
There's still an abundance of colour thanks to the birds with their vibrant reds, yellows and blues, and an abundance of characters thanks to the squirrels. As always the wildlife is a beautiful distraction on a cold winter day stuck in the house and makes for great photo practice. I made a shot of a little sparrow this month (second shot in the gallery below) which is a favourite from the bunch. There are captions in the gallery and the main shot is the white winged crossbill who still returns with a group of others frequently. Tuesday saw a good 20 cm of snowfall in Cochrane and more in the mountains beyond. I opted to stay at home and let it fall, with an eye on a hike on Wednesday. I was working on the laptop close to the dining room window and had the constant distraction of the birds and squirrels looking for food under the blanket of white outside.
Obviously I had to make a few images, sure we've seen these guys before but I think they are worth capturing repeatedly. Watching them scavenge through deep snow really brings home just how difficult their existence can be. I've put captions on the gallery shots to identify the critters, the main image is one of our spectacular bluebirds with a good beak full of peanuts. Another new traveller in the garden this week, the White Winged Crossbill. Quite an impressive bird they are 'year round' in our area though I have never seen them in the garden before.
Each individual bird can eat up to 3000 conifer seeds per day (yes three thousand). They moult their feathers each year in autumn and the pink hue slowly changes to vibrant red by springtime. It will be interesting to see them in spring if they stick around. They are also known to breed year round and will begin nesting at any point when sufficient food allows them to do so, maybe we'll see some winter chicks in a month or two. The resident Coyotes have become emboldened by the recent freeze and snowfall. The result of that is their presence very close to the house in pursuit of anything edible, sunflower seeds seem to hit the spot. They are beautiful creatures, always alert and able to scavenge a good living throughout the prairies in all conditions.
We also now have a Stellers Jay as a regular, I'm not sure if he's filling up as part of a migration or if he is local but only recently found us, either way he is a sight to see in the yard. There's a new squirrel now who is a daily visitor, it will come as no surprise to regular readers that he has a dodgy leg, it seems to be the way of it with our little furry friends. It must be a very hard existence out there. This week a huge flock of Bohemian Waxwings have been zooming in and around as they gather up feed for their migration, and finally a Pine Grosbeak arrived today and skated around on the frozen bird bath for a while. Our garden is a real joy to observe throughout the year, ever changing and ever engaging, it remains a fascination and source of wonder for us both. According to the calendar autumn begins around here on September 23rd, unfortunately nature pays little attention to our timescales and has determined that this year it will begin early. I confess it's really disappointing to see the trees turning and the birds and squirrels going crazy for food in the garden so early in the year.
Don't get me wrong, we love to see wildlife in the garden but autumn brings thoughts of winter and it's just too early for that....isn't it. Anyway, I'm still waiting for storms to clear before I can make any decent hikes so thought I'd shoot a few garden critters and a few riverside shots from this afternoon. 'The flock' are back in the yard every day now and that's a sure sign of autumn. There are about 30-40 birds in 'The flock', mainly sparrows and pine siskin who seem happy in each others company. The main shot below shows 24 of them on the feeders and the rest are in the trees waiting their turn. There's no trickery here, this is one image with 24 birds. We have had two siskin hit the window and knock themselves wonky for a short time, but we've picked them up and nursed them for a few minutes and they've returned to the flock seemingly no worse for wear. The neighbours tell us a black bear has been seen behind the house but we've only see the usual suspects. The gallery below has captions on images from the garden and a short wander by the river today. Hopefully I'll get out one day this week, but if the storms continue the weather is clearing early next week and I'll be out in the mountains then. I recently built a bird bath in the garden and we added 6 new trees too. Together they have generated more interest from some new birds and some new squirrels.
We've had a pair of starlings that are now regulars (main pic shows the male), and three new pine squirrels who are very small but also very noisy. There's an adult pine squirrel with only one good eye and another seemingly without defect. They are now 'one eye' and 'two eyes'. Having five pine squirrels is a recipe for squirrel fights and we're seeing plenty of them. The larger squirrels tend to stay out of the way and let them go at it. It's great to see them jumping from the trees and bouncing off each other between the plants. It's storm season so we've had some pretty spectacular lightning and a lot of rain which is perfect following the planting of the new trees. We've had a few cedar waxwings in the garden too, a first for us, so the new trees are really making a difference. With my birthday and Canada day fast approaching we'll be heading out to the prairies for a few days this weekend so the next post will be back on the road. The May long weekend is a big deal here in Canada. Some of the winter restrictions are removed from the mountains in the Elbow Valley and campgrounds reopen for business, it's the start of the 'good days to come'.
We don't tend to go far on 'May-Long' because everyone is going everywhere, roads are backed up and the mountains are overrun. Strange really as most of the locations have been available for months but it's this weekend that shakes off the winter woes and drags families back to the mountains. This year the weather for 'May-Long' has been miserable, rain and thick cloud have dominated throughout, but we've walked by the river every day and the evenings have provided a little colour. The garden wildlife continues to entertain us with the return of some of the summer birds and a new baby squirrel loitering around the feeder. That new squirrel is going to have to keep his eyes peeled, as we've also have a Sharp Shinned Hawk on the garden fence eyeing up the treeline and its inhabitants. The main image today shows some lovely lenticular clouds streaming across the distant mountains (taken from our deck in the garden) the gallery below has captions. |
AuthorWe arrived in Calgary, Canada on 29th December 2011 to continue our journey. This blog is intended to keep our family and friends informed whilst we explore Canada.You can use the RSS feed below to stay updated. Categories
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January 2024
The Shaman, West Texas
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