Birds of The Vermilon River. A Post to WBW.

Female Am. Goldfinch

I was really fortunate to get both the male and female American Goldfinch. They're in their summer colours despite the fact that the wind chill temperature was -4 C this morning. But they're probably used to that as they stay here all year. The male simply has a less flamboyant plumage in the winter. The low temperature is really the result of the high winds we're suffering.

Male Am. Goldfinch



Female Am. Goldfinch.




Female Purple Finch




Male Purple Finch.

As I said earlier I've been fortunate in seeing so many purple finch on my hikes. And fortunate in their willingness to pose for me.  

Female Purple Finch.



Yellow-rumped Warbler Male

I have always enjoyed catching sight of and getting a good photo of the Yellow-rumped Warbler, so seeing this young female on my picnic table and on my feeder was really exciting. No she's not hurt, she's just having a little rest in between feedings. I put the feeder photo in to show her wing and rump markings; otherwise I wouldn't have known what she was. Sometimes identifying these guys drives me crazy.



Young Female Yellow-rumped Warbler.




Young Female Yellow-rumped Warbler.




Hermit Thrush

 Catching the Hermit Thrush was great. They're easily mistaken for Veery's or Swainson's Thrush and we have both as I learned last summer. The white eye ring and the reddish tail mean this guy is a hermit thrush. He was in the brush and I only spotted him by accident.


Yellow-bellied Sap Sucker



This is the real find though. I was really lucky here as he blends right into the woods. If the leaves were out I probably would have missed him. And a him he is, as he has a red bib under his beak. These guys make holes to suck the sap from trees as well as eat insects.


White-throated Sparrow.



Chipping Sparrow

Last year I couldn't seem to find a Chipping Sparrow and as I said earlier White-throats were in short supply.


Mallard IN Flight



I still enjoy the thrill of an in flight capture and this one shows off the mallard's colouring well.
The aquatic birds are hard to find as the Vermilon is in flood, and not very good for nesting, so I'm going to move deeper into the wetlands to find them.


Male Mallard.




Turkey Vultures.



I added in some more photos as some people were not acquainted with Turkey Vultures or buzzards. They're carrion eaters and have a keen sense of smell to detect the gasses from a carcass. All in all they're quite large, about 25-32 inches long, 2-5 lbs in weight, and a wing span of 67-72 inches. They are of course exceptional flyer's and circle to hone in on their food. In the photo, if you click to enlarge, you can just make out the red head with its mottled skin from which they get the name turkey.




Hawks ?




Hawks ?








I caught these guys in flight over the river. Thinking they were doves of some sort, I didn't think much more of it until I realized their speed and flying skills. To try and figure out what they are, I used the profile guide in Birds Of Canada, and Birds of North America. The lack of a fan tail seemed to indicate Buteos. I then went to Cornell Labs, using this information and photos on the web, I think they're Rough-legged Hawks.


If you have a better idea let me know. The small photo is not as good but I included for identification purposes.









A Post to WBW @ http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/