Day 207 - Snow-Crowned Sparrow

Nah - there's no such species like that!  Read on, and you'll know what I mean.

We had the first proper snow of this season.  When I awoke this morning, I was greeted by a white blanket that God had decided to lay over the sleeping world.  It looked beautiful, and I always enjoy watching the snowflakes come gliding down.  But today, it was windy, really windy, although not too cold.  I picked up my camera, donned a jacket over my jammies and got out on the balcony for the first shots.

I probably scared the sparrows as I stepped onto the balcony and I suddenly heard a big flapping of wings and squeaks and chirps and then saw a cloud of sparrows rise up and take itself to the trees nearby.  I saw a pair of them that sat together and as I aimed my camera at them, I saw one of them lean over and eat snow off one of the branches.  I was quick enough to catch the action, however, it was so windy, the branches and the motion of the sparrow kinda blurred the shot a bit.  And then I saw the little bit of snow that had collected on this sparrow's head - he looked adorable, the little snow-crowned sparrow!

Serious birders would have a heart attack if they were to see nothing beyond the title of the blog post!  ;-)

In the above shot, I think I see a mist from the sparrow's breath.  I might be hallucinating entirely as well.

Day 182 - Breakfast time!

I spent a good half hour photographing sparrows and pigeons at the bird feeder this morning.  Obviously, at the cost of my breakfast.  But it was fun.  I shot these images through the window, but despite the dirt and spider webs on it, I got pretty clear shots. 

I initially started to shoot from a long distance, not wanting to spook the birds.  My balcony is west facing, and therefore doesn't receive much morning light.  Therefore, I had pretty poor light to work with.  On top of that, the brighter background wasn't helping me at all, despite high ISO and slower shutter speed.  So, although I was worried that the flash might bother the birds, I still went ahead and used it - the birds didn't even move a hair!  That was nice!  

Then I got bolder, and sneaked through the kitchen and planted myself within 2 or 3 feet of the window.  The shots got better.  And the Fall colours in the park in front of my balcony really created a great background for the shots.   

I had a great time doing this.  I will now have to find out what winter birds I might get and prepare to feed them as well.  But I'm worrying about the background when the leaves are gone. :(

Day 101 - And the rains came

Been busy and not posting.. neither clicking everyday.. bad, bad, bad!

These shots are from 5 days ago!

I wish I could have had a better background to show off the raindrops in the last image but being limited to a small balcony corner didn't afford much option.  Enlarging this shot will probably make the raindrops a bit more visible.

Day 87 - More birds

Two men and their dog gone fishing on the St. Lawrence River.

I spotted two more birds this evening - the common grackle and a couple of cedar waxwings.  I saw a couple of yellow warblers, but it was already too dark and they were too high up for me to snap them.  Oh, well!

This is most likely a lincoln's sparrow, but I'm not completely certain.  

The beautiful colours of the common grackle, captured in the glow of the setting sun.

The cedar waxwing - it very difficult to snap this one as he was hiding behind leaves.  Took a while to get shots clear of branches.  This is the best one I could get.  

Day 83 - Dusk descends by the St. Lawrence River

I finally got to see the Baltimore Oriole that had been eluding me of late.  And not only did I see the male, but the female as well.  I didn't get very good shots since I had to use a very high ISO to get a half-quick shutter speed and also, these birds generally sit high up on trees.  So, a 250 mm lens is definitely inadequate.

The female Baltimore Oriole is more subdued in colour than her male counterpart

The male has much brighter plumage.  I'm just so grateful to him for sitting in one spot long enough for me to adjust, aim and shoot.  These birds are extremely hyperactive and don't stop for more than a couple of seconds on a branch.  I think their level of activity comes down a couple of notches in the evening. 

;-)

I also spent a considerable amount of time near the birdhouse where some Purple Martins and house sparrows are nesting and peacefully coexisting.  Here are a few shots from yesterday and today.