Pine Siskin

I was surprised to count 24 different species today! Just a few posts ago I mentioned that 19 was my new record and I really didn't think I'd get more anytime soon. Most of the birds were out before lunch, but a few different birds came in the afternoon. I am now up to 111 species (all of North America) after some Pine Siskins made a visit to my feeders. I just mentioned the other day, on one of the birding sites I am a member of, that I have yet to see one. Even though I already posted today, I wanted to again since I got to add another to my life list.

We celebrated both of our boys' birthdays this afternoon (turning 1 and 3 in a few days) and I was outside cooking hot dogs. I heard a different song, saw the pointed beak and the bit of yellow on its wings. Anytime finches are around, I take a closer look just in case there are Pine Siskins around too. At one point this was the case with Pine Siskins, American Goldfinches and Purple Finches all taking turns eating. It was a great day all the way around!

Purple Finch

I had a couple of new birds fly over or stop in my yard today. I spotted a female Cardinal (first of the year for me) and a Tree Swallow flew overhead. Four Purple Finches stopped to eat for quite a while so I managed to get a picture of a male and female. They showed up last week and have been coming everyday since.

Palm Warbler and Hermit Thrush

I saw two more new birds to add to my life list today! I'm now at 103 for NB and 72 for NB this year.

33 Species in 2 days

Over the weekend, I had many different opportunities to get out birding. I observed 33! different species of birds over two days. Two Purple Finches and five Brown-headed Cowbirds were are my feeders for the first time on Saturday. On Sunday, there were 19 different speices (approx. 150 birds throughout the day) just in my backyard which broke my previous record of 14. 

The first picture (Pileated Woodpecker) was taken in front of my sister's house (Hanwell).
On Sunday morning I was surprised to have 5 Evening Grosbeaks come to my feeders (second photo).
The final photo, (Northern Flicker) was taken across from my parents house on Maple Ridge.

 

6 new birds in 2 days - American Woodcock

Over the past two days I've been forunate enough to check 6 (!) more species off of my life list.
Ring-Necked Duck, Common Merganser, American Wigeon, Common Goldeneye, Lesser Blacked-backed Gull and pictured below, American Woodcock.

I'm now at 103 total (NB, PEI, Maine) and 97 for just NB.

Sparrows

The following 8 pictures are all Sparrows.

Here is a list of what each could be: Swamp, Song, White-throated, Savannah, Vesper, Field, Chipping, American Tree, Fox, and White Crowned.

Click on this link to post your guesses or make a comment!
http://birdingnewbrunswick.ca/forum/topics/sparrow-quiz

Answers

1) Tree
2) Chipping
3) Song
4) Song
5) Chipping
6) Savannah
7) White-Crowned
8) White-Throated

Great Egret and Snow Goose

I saw 22 different species of birds today!

Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, American Robin, Bohemian Waxwing, American Tree Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Mallard, Canada Goose, Red-tailed Hawk, Rock Pigeon, Downy Woodpecker,  European Starling, Mourning Dove, Herring Gull, Common Redpoll, American Goldfinch and Great Egret and Snow Goose that are pictured below.

Information about the Great Egret was posted on NatureNB so I went for a drive today to see if I could find it. I happened to find the Snow Goose while I was there (first time seeing both species) and even spotted two Red-tailed Hawks on the drive home.

Belted Kingfisher

On the way home with my son, we came across a number of birds (16 by the time the day was done!). An American Kestrel almost flew right into our car and just around the corner, we surprisingly saw another American Kestrel in its usual spot on a power line.

Further down the road, a Northern Harrier landed in an open field. My 2 year old asked me what it was, I told him it was a hawk. He responded by asking if it was looking for other birds! (this happened last week with a Sharp-shinned Hawk that I mentioned in my previous post) He has an incredible memory and is extremely observant. It was he who actually pointed out the Turkey Vulture flying above our house that I posted a picture of in my last post.

I spotted a few Mallards swimming in a pond, but then I happened to see my first Belted Kingfisher of the year. Actually, its the first one I've seen in NB. I usually just see them in front of my in-laws cottage over on PEI. I couldn't get a picture of the one I saw today so I posted one from this past summer.

12 different species today - Turkey Vulture

It was a sunny yet bitterly windy in Woodstock today. There were still a great variety of birds in my backyard however. Before lunch I saw the following;

31 Canadian Geese flying overhead
7 American Crows
11 Rock Pigeons
5 Black-capped Chickadees
1 Common Redpoll
2 American Goldfinches
1 American Robin (saw the first one of Spring just yesterday)


Around supper things started to get interesting however as a Turkey Vulture (picture below) flew overhead and then a large flock of blackbirds showed up.

42 Common Grackles
8 European Starlings
2 Red-winged Blackbirds (first of the Spring for my backyard)

A Sharp-shinned Hawk swooped in to try to get at the blackbirds. This was the first one I've ever seen in my backyard or anywhere for that matter. I didn't get a picture, but I was just pleased to be able to identify it. A hawk flew in to get at the Rock Pigeons in the morning, but I didn't get a close enough look. After seeing it again, I was sure it was a Sharp-shinned Hawk (I saw the square tail as it flew away and it wasn't that much bigger than the pigeons).

Male and Female Cardinal

The day before my birthday in 2011, I had a Cardinal in my backyard for the first time. The male stayed for almost a week and a female came to get a snack off and on as well.