Precious visitors

Glistening hoar frost delights captured on a frosty, frosty, down right nasty its a darn cold out day.   

Precious visitors to warm the heart on cold blustery days have brought extra joy and excitement into my heart which helps offset the doldrums of the severe -21 temps. Joy shared is joy amplified so on that note I share these delightful images with you.

With the deep-freeze cold we have had extra visitors. This female Downey woodpecker has been coming on the coldest days to the suet feeder. The male has been to the stump out back pecking out native bee progeny but has yet to find the suet.

 Redpolls, were dining on the seeds from the birch this week. There have been reported sightings all over the city, it seems once the snow gets deep and the cold hits hard they converge in search of feed. Alas other than our birch tree we don't have the kind of seed they prefer so they moved on after a couple days. One foot on a step-stool and one on the toilet lid to view out the bathroom window was a feat of technical balancing and breath holding to get the shot as I was using pin-point manual focus to shoot between branches and freeze-dried leaves while at the same time trying not to fog up the window with my breath. And to boot they feed hanging downwards so I had to attempt to hold the camera stable long enough to get the bird with its head up; so about 200 shots later I got a few descent ones and the satisfaction of an afternoon well spent enjoying natures beauty right outside my window.

 A extra wonderful big surprise was a Brown Creeper. I once saw a creeper down in the ravine near the river but have never seen one on our trees, wow, what a precious gift. They feed by walking up the tree trunk searching the cracks and crevice for bugs and eggs, yum.

House Finch male, below female. These are our regulars. About twenty show up as a group throughout the day though when its real cold their numbers multiply emptying the feeders enforce.

 This sweet Blue Jay has been coming once in a while, though I believe its to pry the peanuts out of the suet.

 Love the varied blues to soft gray.

 An the best capture is a Yellow-shafted Flicker. He finally stayed long enough for me to get his photo. I recently purchased a good tripod and set it up by the window and for three days in a row I missed the shot as this fella is flighty. Any movement I made inside or if a dog walker or car pass by off he would go. Well perseverance paid off. I figured where he was likely to land before attempting to acquire the suet then set up the camera enabling minimal movement for when he showed up again, then kept vigilant while I sat in the recliner reading.

 We went for a saturday drive and took in the beauty of the thick hoar frost.

  This lone tall tree reminds me of an Emily Carr painting.

 Country Crew on break. We stopped to photograph deer who curiously looked up, they didn't seem to mind our presence till a truck pulled alongside to see if we needed help and then they took leave.

Another regular that comes for suet and black-oil sunflower seeds is the Red-breasted Nuthatch. Usually they come in two's but this fella has been coming alone the last few days.

 Female House Sparrow, an introduced species. A few come by but the Finches control the feeding station so the sparrows have to pick fallen seed of the ground.

 Black-capped Chickadee is another regular for both seeds and suet.

One more of the precious flicker.

Hope you have enjoyed the beauty.

Hugs!

If it itches

 If it itches...

Scratch!

On our way home yesterday from delivering painting to Calgary we headed east of the city and were blessed to be able to watch American Avocets, Black-necked Stilts and Tundra Swans on a large body of water between Calgary and Strathmore. There were many other skilled aviators present such as pin-tail, red-head, and canvas-back ducks which were far out of camera range. I did have one killdeer, one Willet an I believe a Greater yellow-legs fly past me.

I had strained my back once again so had to shoot from the road while Gerald was able to go down into the ditch and hide behind a fence post. Needless to say he ended up getting far better shots than I as mostly the distance was a mite to far a reach for my 300m lens and when the birds were in good shooting range there were two fences blocking clear shots as you can see below.

I got pretty excited though as I've been wanting to see black-necked stilts for some time now so it was wonderful to take an hour to watch them feed and flit about. It made for a nice break from driving.

I find this shot interesting as the American Avocet on the left has blue-gray legs, The black-necked Stilt in center has pink legs and on the right is I believe a Greater Yellow Legs, hence has yellow legs. What a colourful trio. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Hugs!

Migration Beauty

 Okay I admit mourning cloaks do not migrate, they overwinter in a cosy spot and sleep the winter away and come warm days they emerge from deep sleep and flutter about looking for love.

Frogs were migrating across the paths at Beaverhills heading for Lister Lake. It has warmed up enough that they are now digging out of hibernation. By late afternoon the lakeside chorus was full croak. At first we thought it was a flock of raucous birds they were so loud.

 Frosty the snow frog, not very good camouflage here where Icy snow lingers on parts of the terrain.

 We had to be careful where we stepped as they blend right in with the old dry grasses.

All the following photos are greatly cropped to show you the birds better. We keep distance so as not to unjustly distub them

Beautiful sky-lit Poppa Blue Bird.

A dusky brown Momma Blue Bird with a slight wash of blue on her side below her wing and sky blue uppertail coverts.
I'm glad we walked the mile or so to view these two beauties as I want to do another bluebird painting and  previously not captured quality shots of a female.

If I had my 50D I would have a clearer capture but for now this will have to suffice. Oh, yes on such a lovely day I so cursed the camera store manager each time that my antique rebel could not capture shots that his ears may be ringing into next week. Its the second year in a row the 50D is in for repairs during spring migration, grr, when the problem should have been dealt with previous when I took it in.
 I do actually have a wonderful tired smile on, sparkly eyes and rosy cheeks as a day like today is a joy to cherish. Being out experiencing natures throes of passion, the warm smiley sun and my sweet Gerald holding my arm enabling me to continue the mile hike even though my knee painfully shifted apart twice. He says "lean on me" and wonderfully I can.

Having left the lake we leisurely drove through Toefield with the warm washing thought the open windows when I heard a familiar sound so we stopped to investigate.

 At the edge of a busy intersection amidst the trashy lifestyle of Albertans was a killdeer ruffling, looking for love in the wrong place as Killdeer # 2 did not seem to show interest and casually wandered off.
I don't know if they play hard to get as part of the ritual, or whether she was thinking "no way buddy this place is a dump".
 In Alberta when snow recedes, trash of all sorts sprouts with renewed vigor giving tattered color to the landscape. I cropped most of the garbage out of the images. It is really appalling here in spring as the city and countryside looks like a major landfill site. I question Why must it be so. I would think that anyone who witnesses spring thaw here would think twice before tossing garbage and that garbage transporters would make sure loads are securely tarped and tied down.  Okay back to natural color splash in spring, birding!

This was amazing to watch as the killdeer (whom I am assuming is the male, re research of rituals on the Cornell birdsite) would toss rocks aside drop his breast into the shallow pit and upend kicking with his feet and vibrate chittering. He kept doing this then when the female came close as in the upper shot he stood flaring tailfeathers out in a beautiful display. Killdeer #2 wandered off unimpressed with the nesting site choice, I don't blame her.
Killdeer are one bird that does well due its ability to put up with us and nest in yards, gravel roadsides, near water or not, basically wherever they so choose.

 Mr and Mrs Mallard, they are a classy pair now are they not.
I love the glossy sheen that vibrates from green to purple depending how the males head deflects the light, or does it absorb light? More research needed to answer that one.

Madame and Monsieur Goldeneye found an ice free spot on a prairie pothole pond. Most ponds are still slusshy ice-covered though some are breaking up; come next week they should all be open.
Share the Joy, share hugs, big hugs to all!

Birds at the suet

 Cheeky magpie, love the glint in his eye. The sun was out beautifully today and it warmed up with no wind so I was able to get out for a bit and enjoy a breath of fresh air so maggie was not shot through a window. I find magpies interesting birds, quite beautiful also. 

 Boreal chickadee at the suet. We had two come today. Taken through the window.

This one was taken while I was out today, you can see how much clearer detail is without double pane between the camera and subject. I had a bit of difficulty getting clear shot due branches in the way though I am pleased with this image of full song being belted out, and look how fluffed up e' is. 

 Feisty female finch attempting to chase off all the males at the feeder, this fella stood his ground though she did usurp three others. Poor lighting as it was taken at dusk last night.

 A male downey woodpecker has now found the suet.

Squirrel aerobics, too funny watching him try and reach the suet, he hasn't figured it out yet.

Heres Hunny bunny. I notice that his ears and nose stayed brown. We've noticed some jacks are half brown already, maybe it helps city bunnies to blend into the dirty snow and street gravel.

First camground

After firstly visiting our grandchild for a couple of days we decided to travel south to Hwy #3 rather than Hwy #1 as 250 wildfires inundated the interior of BC with thick smoke. We encountered one bad section where smoke hampered clear breathing, though thankfully we passed through it in about an hours drive. Many areas held smoke haze but for the better part we had a clear breathing journey west to the coast.

Smoke Haze from wildfires.

The first night we camped in Creston  BC at a wonderful little campground filled with the chatter of various birds that were gorging on dehydrating saskatoon berries. Of course while Gerald set up camp I attempted to capture a few birds. Though the evening shots are not clear I had a second chance in the morning while coffee was perking. There is nothing quite as refreshing as campfire perked coffee, though due fire-bans we had to use the propane cookstove rather than a pit-fire.

Early bird enjoying the morning sun under a banner of saskatoons.

Not only were saskatoons abundant, so were the mosquitoes. We spent half the night swatting bugs till we super-duct-taped the screen around the mini-van window. Seems those hungry suckers could smell blood and managed to find small crevasses to crawl through. Duct-tape, never leave home without it!

Small ground forager. This bird was fun to watch as it scurried bobbing up and down amongst a heap of cut grasses and twigs. 

Even the Robins were enjoying the dry berries.

As bright and cheery as the rising sun a Western Tanager blessed me with its presence, which made my day even better.

Western Tanager, male.

And of course I cannot forget the resident rodent which was also scurrying around the grass-clipping heap, not sure what he was looking for but he also seemed to relish the saskatoons.

Have a greatly filled with sunshine and love. Hugs!

The King and his fine crown

The King's Crown

This wee fella finally received his crown as the finishing touch to this painting. He's a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. A gorgeous little bird that is only about 4 inches. I have to admit that credit is due to Gerald who graciously took the Kinglets photo with my camera. Last fall we were out and about I was in way too much pain from a headache to even hold the camera up, let alone focus in. So I told Gerald to shoot and shoot he did. He captured one wonderful shot that shows the tiny wee red crown just peeking through. As soon as I saw the image I knew I would paint it. It was fall, the birds were migrating south and the foliage was tinged orange so to keep that autumnal feel I boldly washed the background. Initially I was going to paint in foliage but have now decided I like the simplicity of the bold colorfield. It is after all a portrait of a king; need I say more.

A new one started with a bright bold yellow as a ground. Yesterday I was back playing in the paint and started the suggestions of shrubbery. I not to sure yet which direction it will take, either detailed or abstracted. This is basically how my acrylic paintings start, rough and loose. I continue to refine and detail as each layer progresses. There are many layers to my paintings whether I paint with acrylic or watercolor so it is a lengthy process. I also roughed in a Raven on canvas last night as well; looks like I am back into the swing of wielding the paint brush.

Doing the little sketches yesterday while I relaxed with my coffee was quite enjoyable so today I decided  to start the day with bird studies. Once again using watercolor pencils, I only have a small set, not enough to note accurate color, but enough to give a cheerfulness to my roughs. I like the process of washing the water over the pencil strokes after the drawing is done. It reminds me of those magic paint books you can get that are pre-colored so that when a wash of water is painted over the page the color springs to life. Fun, relaxing, dare I say almost meditative.