Birds abound

Today I was hoping to get some shots of the Purple Finches that visit my feeders.  They are so flighty I usually can't get close.  After patiently waiting for 30 minutes a male and female pair decided it was safe enough to feed and I got some nice shots.

White-breasted nuthatch

 Black-capped Chickadee

 Common Redpoll

male Purple Finch

Show off

The Happy Couple: female and male Purple Finches

Sax-Zim Bog Blog

My wife released me from my domestic duties to go up to the Sax-Zim Bog this afternoon.  I was in search of owls and other boreal bird species this bog wilderness provides a winter home for.  It was a good day and I saw lots of birds, but no owls.  My wife went grocery shopping in Pike Lake and saw a Snowy Owl on the side of Hwy 53!

So I didn't even get out of the yard before I started taking pictures.  

I typically only see one White-breasted Nuthatch at a time.

Then just up the road a few miles from the house there was a Bald Eagle feasting on a deer carcass.

I hadn't stopped to check out the Blue Jay...

 I wouldn't have seen the Ruffed Grouse in the brush an got my favorite pics of the day

Lots of mammals out as well.  Many pine squirrels.  

This Muskrat was walking along the frozen ditch.

I stopped hoping to see an owl...but it was a Rough Legged Hawk!  A lifer for me.  Then a second one swooped at him and both flew off.  Later I saw a third one.

Gray Jays

 Black capped Chickadee, didn't find any boreal chickadees.

 C. Red poll

The day's overall list of species:

Other mammals:  pine squirrels, Muskrat, (no deer!)

Birds:

Black capped chickadee

common red poll

pine siskin

Pine Grosbeak (Lifer?, I may have seen one 20+ years ago)

Rough Legged Hawk (Lifer)

Blue Jay

Gray Jay

Ruffed Grouse

Bald Eagle

White-breasted Nuthatch

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Black-billed Magpie (second time ever)

Hairy woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

and other little birds too fast for me to identify!

Feeding frenzy

This morning it was +11 F rather than -11 F the birds were loving it! At dawn the feeders were vibrating with 30 or so pine siskins, along with some chickadees, redpolls, a couple white-breasted nuthatches, and a lone red-breasted nuthatch.  Standing very still for the photos, the pine siskins were all around me at my feet.

Pine siskins

Red-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch

Common Redpoll