Monday 27 October 2014

Horned Grebe & White-winged Scoter

Yesterday was a great day for birding. I ended up finding 3 lifers, 5 new species for the county and 4 I had yet to see this year. My two year old was really excited to join me and asked if we could find an owl :) He was quite content to jump in all the puddles, throw rocks in the river and look at the ducks.

I couldn't get a picture of the American Pipits or Lapland Longspurs that I found in a field, maybe next time. I'm also hoping the Red-bellied Woodpecker returns to my yard as I only got to see it for a minute and no picture either.

So thanks to yesterday I'm at 158 species for Carleton County (146 for the year) and 188 for New Brunswick (161 for the year).

Below are photos of a Horned Grebe and White-winged Scoter that I found along the Saint John River around the Woodstock Marina.





Wednesday 1 October 2014

White-throated & White-crowned Sparrows

My backyard has been pretty busy these past few weeks. I consistently get around a dozen Purple Finches, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is still around and both nuthatches make daily visits. Yesterday I even had two Ruby-crowned Kinglets that were passing through. Of course the usual's are still around too like Mourning Doves, Blue Jays, Black-capped Chickadees and American Goldfinches. Also, just when I thought it had moved on, my Carolina Wren was around after supper. I have seen or heard it for almost 6 weeks now!

My newest birds to my yard are what is pictured below. First two adult White-crowned Sparrows showed up and now three juveniles (2nd photo) have been here for a week now. I also am getting between 8-10 White-throated Sparrows along with a few Song Sparrows too. The Chipping Sparrows have moved on, but soon American Tree Sparrows and the Dark-eyed Junco's should both be regulars.