Migration is on.

 Spring is arriving on wings. Today we drove out to Stony Plain to pick up the exhibition pieces and were told that my crochet sculptural Spirit Vessels garnered a lot of attention. Outside the Centre was a carving that is being remodelled by a chickadee. It looks like tape was placed over a previous hole but this wee fella is not deterred in the least.

 Heading south from Stony Plain we came across Tundra Swans and canvas backs. There were also Mallards, Coots, Canadian Geese, Buffleheads and Redheads on the marsh. Most were too far out of range for my 300 prime lens, this image is greatly cropped. Many of these swans have a yellow mark at the base of their bill near the eye, click on photo to see image large.

 Next we headed south to Clifford E Lee Nature Sanctuary and had a few White-fronted Geese fly overhead while we walked the boardwalk. There were Canadian Geese, mallards and one male shoveler on the pond. The wind blew up though luckily we were on the edge of a passing storm so we only got hit with cold raindrops for a short period. The ground is dry and dusty here already as there was lack of snow for moisture this past winter. Rain is definitely needed.

 Overwintering butterflies came out of hibernation and were flitting about in the warm sun once the winds passes us by. Milbert's Tortiseshell.

 Song Sparrows are heading north, there were a group of about thirty. Being secretive ground birds that spend time scratching under fallen branches in the leaf litter looking for bugs and seeds it took awhile to get a clear photo.

 A comma butterfly, saw two today.

Blues were sky dancing in the warm sunlight, twirling upward together then flitting about granting a happy moment when one settled for a moment.

 White-winged Crossbill, male. I love how they hang upside down.

 Male White-winged Crossbill, a special winter visitor.

 Black-capped Chickadee are daily visitors coming to collect black oil sunflower seeds. We always buy seeds and suet from the Wildbird General Store in Edmonton. We discovered years ago that being seed specialists they are very fussy and that cheapo department store seeds are a waste of money as the birds just toss them to the ground. 

 Red-breasted Nuthatch are also regulars, they love the suet put out for them in winter. We are lucky to have a nesting pair in our spruce tree so its boughs are always busy with the chatter of family life year round.

 Boreal Chickadee are sometimes winter visitors, we don't get them often so they are a delight when they come to gather bugs and grubs hibernating in the spruce trees.

 Boreal Chickadee.

 White-winged Crossbill, female, these we had never seen in our neighbourhood till this last week. We were happy to watch both the Red and the White-winged Crossbills forage at the tree tops and on the ground.

Red Crossbill, male.

House Finch, male. House finch come most days as they also enjoy the black oil sunflower seeds. I've noticed lots of singing lately and the males are feeding the females, spring courting bonds start early.

 Common Redpole is another sporadic visitor to our yard. They come for seeds from the Paper Birch tree in the back yard. This one though seemed to enjoy the company of the Crossbills and was foraging amongst them under the coniferous trees.

 Common Redpole

Birding delights in our own front yard.

With excitement I share with you a gift granted to me, the winter birds that blessed us with their presence this past week. The temperature warmed greatly above zero and as the snow melted flocks of birds we had never noticed in our area arrived to gleam seeds from the cones of the fruitful spruce trees that sport a bumper crop of cones way up top.

There are seven White-winged Crossbills in this photo, but if you can spot five you are doing well as they blend in so fine. The interesting thing I've noticed is this is a mixed flock, there are also Red Crossbills, see below photo. 

The red birds are the males, the yellow greenish birds are females.

Male White-winged Crossbills.

 In The Birds of Alberta book it says they rarely flock together, so I guess we were really given a gift. These birds stayed mostly in the tree tops. Two days later they were back, this time many were feeding on seeds dropped to the ground. 

Crossbills top mandible (jaw, beak) crosses over the lower one. The beak is specifically designed to pry into coniferous cones to gain access to the seeds within. What a wonderful experience to watch this female White-winged Crossbill pry out seeds by jabbing her thin curved beak up under the lip of the cone and wiggle her head back and forth pulling out seeds.

Unique specialty designs of nature these birds are, you can clearly see the beak crosses over itself. Got this shot as the bird hopped under the window I was shooting out of.

Female White-winged Crossbill.

While the females were prying seeds from fallen cones the males were a lazily picking seeds from the ground.

I believe this may be an immature male as his coloration is more orange than red.

Mature White-winged Crossbills were elusive as they took flight at the slightest noise so I was lucky to get this clear shot of one on the sidewalk.

Male Red Crossbill, notice no wing bars and softer coloration.

Female Red Crossbill posing on the gutter just above where I was standing. A female flew down and landed two feet away from my head, I held my breath in awe, a gift to behold close up. She peered into my eyes, cocked her head, then took to the air. sigh.

Where the melting snow puddled in the gutter the Crossbills took turns bathing.

May you enjoy the gift of these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. 

Playing catch-up, Dinosaur Provincial Park

My intent of posting photos from camping areas this summer has already gotten a bit behind as I realized I have yet to post photos from Dinosaur Park and Emerson Bridge where we camped June long weekend.

Dinosaur Provincial Park.

From atop the Prairies looking down into the carved out canyon of the Red Deer River system.

Many dinosaur fossils have been uncovered in this area, but old bones don't call out to me, what does though are the fascinating carved structures and the bright, almost glowing orange lichen encrusted rocks and the subtle variations of sandstone.

 Lark Sparrow

 As having a passion for sculpture, viewing the sculptures of Creation is breathtaking.

 One of the many small blossoms of spring in the desert, though we were too early for cactus blooms.

 Variation in coloration to delight the senses.

 Swallowtail Butterfly

 Meadowlark hilltop performance.

 Typical scrub brush for the dry desert area.

Stand-alone formations. There is a neat pyramid rock in the badlands but we were getting hungry for supper and headed back to our camp at Emerson Bridge so didn't get the chance to go visit it. There is a campground at Dinosaur Provincial Park down by the river but I don't do well in the heat and it was getting quite warm already when we visited the park in June. The campground looked pretty full when we were there so I was happy to be camped elsewhere in the shade of the big cottonwoods as I enjoy solitude and quiet.

Final Irricana post of birds and critters

Our final morning in Irricana produced a drizzly morning mist fog as in a surreal dreamscape, it was beautiful soft and grey, though slightly chilly and the birds were fluffed against the cool breeze that kept them grounded.

 The clay-colored sparrow sang no matter what the weather was doing, sporty bird he is.

 The chipping sparrow priceless expression makes me think he may be grumpy about the rain.

Wet Warbler in a soft rosy hued drizzle.

 During spring a lot of chase happens on ponds across the county as males defending their females chase off interlopers or chase their females.

 Shorebirds flight, take notice as there is a Phalarope amongst the smaller birds.

 On the drive home we take backroads and came across a large pond and as we had seen only one other vehicle on the highway we stopped for our lunch by the pond. It looks like Muskrat had the same idea.

We ate while listening to a froggie choir, nothing like dinner and a musical.

 American Robin, I love how the beak of the Robin turns a brilliant yellow for a short time in spring.

 Bees at the pussy-willows. Though there were plenty of bees at this clump of bushes I've seen very few in the City this year so far.

I leave off with another frog, isn't it beautiful.

May we all walk softly upon this earth and care for her in a gentle and kind way. All the beings, mammal, bird or bug are our relatives in the big circle of life. We are all community and must go back to relating as community for if one is endangered, we all are endangered.