Weather and Redpolls at the Vermilon River. A Post to SWF.

This post is partially a follow up to my last post on Redpolls and also about weather. Mark Twain said" everybody talks about it, but nobody does anything about it"

I'm going to run true to form then and not do anything about it. I was startled when I talked about the temperatures up here ranging from minus 28C to 0 C. at the comments about cold. Cold is a relative thing. The coldest that I have ever been is standing on a beach in Clearwater, Florida at the end of February. I don't even remember the temperature, but I do remember the damp cold wind of the ocean going right through me. You see at minus 28 the humidity is very low; therefore you're not fighting dampness just a dry cold, and that's easy to do.

As well the snow that falls, if there is any, is not a wet snow, because it does not melt in the atmosphere, and refreeze it stays frozen. So you're not walking in slush,or wet snow which wets your boots and makes you cold.

 All this makes it easier to dress, because you don't need warmth plus waterproofing My boots are light weight with leather on the bottom area, although I do waterproof it, but the upper area is a light mesh material and the insulation is a thinsulate. I add an insole which is a foil on one side. My snow pants are also insulated and bibbed, and my short parka is made of down, which is light also. Under the parka I have two old sweat shirts so I can remove one if it's too hot.

 If it's warmer, then I wear different boots which are waterproof, but cumbersome and heavy. I wear a waterproof poncho over my coat which doesn't breath as well. I think you get the message. The cold only outfit is light, while the cold and wet one is heavy and cumbersome. Think of the wet gear a sailor wears on a fishing vessel in the Atlantic. Of course the head gear in the cold is a balaclava worn backwards until I need to protect my face.Backwards so the excess hat folds over my head. That way I don't lose heat through the top of my head. Usually when it's colder, the day is clear and the sun comes out and also warms you up.

The first series of shots are of the River in a warm period as you can tell from the fog overlaying the ridge. The fog turns to frost and sticks to the trees as shown in the pine shot and the shot opposite.

In the previous post I talked about the climate in which the Redpoll lives, which also amazed people that such a small finch can survive in my region, and that it's breeding grounds are even north of me in the Boreal forest and the Hudson's Bay area. I forgot to add they are voracious feeders. I'll end up feeding them and other birds about 24 kg of sunflower seeds a month until they migrate north. So food and metabolism are one of the answers.

But not the only answer. As you can see there is a goldfinch in the midst of these Redpolls. On Wednesday, one of the blogs showed Goldfinch near Dallas. I checked the temperature in Dallas and it was sunny and in the upper 60's F. I really don't think there's is much difference between the Goldfinch in Dallas and the Goldfinch here. I think nature equips these birds similarly but with the ability to adapt to their surroundings as long as food, shelter and water is available. 

The Goldfinch is all puffed up against the cold just as the Redpolls are. And are just as voracious in their feeding.

You can see the snow flying in this photo, but they're not leaving the food.

This one shows the puffed up feathers even better.

This is a female Redpoll. She lacks the red flash on her chest.

Another shot of the female.

They're flighty and I can't seem to catch a male. The one in the forefront of this group is a male.

As I said earlier they are quite aggressive feeders and don't even take a back seat to the Jays.

Look how puffed up the Jay is.

I like this shot of the crow because of the turn of his head.

And of course the Red Squirrel. A Post to SWF @ http://skyley.blogspot.com/  To see the Redpoll post go to the previous post.

Common Redpolls Of The Vermilon River. A Post to WBW.

Although this post is about Redpolls, I wanted you to see the environment that these little members of the finch family inhabit. We've been running lows of  -24 degrees C to highs of  0 degrees C. The temperature differences have been fast and furious with some rain yesterday turning to wet snow to snow later on. Today it's sunny and -27 C with the windchill, -29 C, somewhere around minus 20F.  The first shot is of the far river bank, and the almost sepia tones indicate the degree of cloud cover.

The white areas in the forefront are river areas where the river meanders, and an ice skim forms. The second shot is the River looking south. You can see the fog over-laying the ridge.

But it's cold enough for the fog to create a frost, which runs from heavy to extra heavy. 

This is the extra heavy ice crystals. It's really no warmer,  no matter what the temperature is. In fact it's just a choice between dampness, or intense cold. Frankly,I prefer the cold. But this and more is happiness to The Redpolls.

This map courtesy of Cornell Labs puts me firmly in the blue, the winter vacation area for the Common Redpoll. Summer puts them in the James /Hudson Bay area, which is their breeding grounds. The point: these are tough little guys. I tried to work out how far I am from the Boreal using the train map to White River, and converting to a direct distance.  About 150 miles I'd say, but it's a guess. Nevertheless I'm just on the border of the Boreal forest. So I'm just a natural destination for them.

This map courtesy of MNR Canada shows the Boreal forest area of Canada, which is second only to Russia in extent. In fact all the provinces have a piece of the Boreal except the Atlantic provinces. Newfoundland has a piece of the Boreal by virtue of its ownership of Labrador. The NW Section of the Boreal forest in Ontario ( Lake Superior and north only) to give you an idea of size would extend from Paris and Munich in the south to Scotland and Denmark in the north. Mostly I'm on the fringe of the Boreal; in fact in the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence forest, a temperate forest, although as I've said before we have all the coniferous and soft woods of the Boreal as well as extensive wetlands and bog land. The Redpoll is a birch tree follower living on the seed pods, and the Vermilon Forest is full of them.

So here is the hardy little fellow. About the size of White-throated Sparrow, smaller than a goldfinch even, these birds inhabit the Boreal. This is a female Common Redpoll. There is another edition, the Hoary Redpoll. They travel together, but I haven't seen any yet.

The male has a red flash on his chest area just below his head.

Female Common Redpoll

Male Common Redpoll

Female Redpoll

Female Redpoll

Female Redpoll.

It's quite common to find Goldfinch travelling with the flock of Redpolls, as they're after the same seed in the birch pods.

They're aggressive and travel in flocks. I was initially shooting them on the west side of the River, but more have moved in. My flock has about fifty in it. They'll even stand up to this Blue Jay, when it comes down to food.

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

Frosty Days On the Vermilon River. A Post to MWT.

The weather has warmed right up to around -5C, bringing with it it's own strange happenings. I got to the River in the milder weather, but you can see how overcast it is.

While the preceding photo looks northwest, this photo is the far bank. The white forefront in both cases is the River. But don't be fooled in the wide areas of the River, there is an ice skim, but the River never really freezes.

The far bank up closer. Adjusting for white balance is really hard, as the greatest brightness is the snow. These photos are almost sepia in tone.

The River looking south. In all the shots the ridge is blanked with a cold fog.

And it's creating a frost on the trees. This shot was taken yesterday.

The frost was even heavier last night as this shot of frost on a juniper shows.

The birds, in this case, a Redpoll, look even more spectacular in the frost, and it just shows how hardy these little birds are.

This Goldfinch is all puffed up against the cold.

The Goldfinch flock together with the Redpolls, driven by the quest for food. 

Although they're in their non-breeding winter colours they're still bright against the snow and the grey skies.

I started shooting the Redpolls on the far side of the River, But now I have my very own flock. Last year, they moved out of the Boreal to seek food moving even into the U.S. I don't think this is an irruption year, but I think, they're moving into the area as winter dwellers because of the food supply.

The Redpolls, the Chickadees and the Goldfinch, I think are pound for pound the most hardy birds in the forest. Although, someone yesterday told me the Eagles who have settled into the local landfill sight have not migrated either, and NWO Birds are reporting Eagles up around Lake Superior. 

It could be global warming and the re-generating of this forest.

 Redpolls are both easy and difficult to photograph as they're flighty and the whole flock moves when one does. On the other hand the flock is large, about fifty birds, so it's easy to get lucky. This is a male and female, the male having the red breast. It's amazing how vividly red the head patch and the breast feathers are. 

The Redpolls are not even bothered by the Jays who are quite aggressive when it comes to food.

Blue Jays certainly enliven the colour scheme also.

The Jays are all puffed up against the wind.

This is of course Huegy in making sure he gets his share.

 The sight of the Crows foraging in the snow is quite humorous as they sink a little too deep every so often, despite the fact that they're good walkers.

This is the one photo showing any sun, because it was shot earlier. A Post to MWT @ http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/ and Scenic Sunday @ http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/  Happy New Year Everyone!!