Winter Bird Summary

This post is a summary of the winter birds photographed by us in March 2018 and since it was a late spring this year, we still had lots of snow.

Midmonth as I was heading home after a trip to town, I spotted a Sharp-tailed Grouse high in a stand of trees. I pulled over and shut the car off since there wasn't any traffic and I didn't want to scare the sharpie away. With my window down I managed to get some excellent images and video.

Sharp-tailed Grouse, RM Montmartre, SK, Mar 2018. Source: Anita Mae Draper

Once the sharpie got used to my quiet presence, it proceeded to eat the tree's buds. I don't know what type of tree it is, although aspen comes to mind. In this position, the sharpie reminded me of a dinosaur, so it got my imagination going - I mean, you show a writer something unusual and the creative juices flow. 

Sharp-tailed Grouse, RM Montmartre, SK, Mar 2018. Source: Anita Mae Draper

After a few minutes, the first sharpie was joined by a second one, which must have been hiding nearby. Soon after, they both flew away.

On a frosty morning on March 14th I was out taking pics of the rising sun which was just coming up at the end of our long driveway when I had the impression that something was sneaking up behind me. I turned to find small birds at the top of the power pole which is located in what we call the island in the centre of our farmyard. 

Snow Buntings, RM Montmartre, SK, Mar 2018. Source: Anita Mae Draper

I had never seen Snow Buntings this close as they generally fly in large roadside flocks like Horned Larks, but that's what came to mind as I stared up at them. They stayed for several minutes as I snapped some shots of them, and then turned to take pics of the sun, then back at the birds, then back at the sun, etc. As soon as I got inside I confirmed these birds are indeed Snow Buntings. What a treasure!

Snow Buntings, RM Montmartre, SK, Mar 2018. Source: Anita Mae Draper

For the first time ever, I noticed Horned Larks in our farmyard pecking under the feeder where the Redpolls glean. We were in the afternoon throes of a winter blizzard at the time and I believe they didn't realize where they had strayed. 

Horned Lark, RM Montmartre, SK, Mar 2018. Source: Anita Mae Draper

Downy Woodpeckers were seen throughout March, although the female was sighted thrice as much as the male which has a red patch on the back of his head.

Downy Woodpecker, RM Montmartre, SK, Mar 2018. Source: Anita Mae Draper

Near the end of the month, the female discovered the peanut wreath and spent several minutes pecking away. I'm not sure why she didn't like it, or perhaps she assumed all the shells were empty, but I didn't see her at it again. 

Downy Woodpecker, RM Montmartre, SK, Mar 2018. Source: Anita Mae Draper

The Ravens are still hanging around and seem to have paired off as I saw 2 pairs on opposite ends of our quarter. One pair seems to have settled in the slough to the south because I heard - for the first time ever - the distinct sound the female makes when she's in her nesting stage. 

Common Ravens, RM Montmartre, SK, Mar 2018. Source: Anita Mae Draper

The Black-billed Magpie only visited to snatch pieces of the Ancient Grains Tortillas we'd put out. Once the tortillas were gone, so was the magpie. 

Black-billed Magpie, RM Montmartre, SK, Mar 2018. Source: Anita Mae Draper

Throughout the month Black-capped Chickadees continued to hide their seeds one day, and go look for them on another day. As I've tried to show what seed they were eating, I'll show this one taken on a very frosty morning where the chickadee searched among the branches, darting out of the way before it got caught beneath a shower of rime. 

Black-capped Chickadee, RM Montmartre, SK, Mar 2018. Source: Anita Mae Draper

Nelson was in the right place to capture these Grey Partridge at dawn on the 17th. Also called Hungarian Partridge, there were only a few in the flock but they looked stellar in the morning rays.

Grey Partridge, Southeast Saskatchewan, Mar 2018. Source: Nelson Draper

On March 20th Nelson spotted a Snowy Owl on a power pole but it took to flight as he approached and then settled in a nearby field. This ended up being our last Snowy Owl sighting of the season. 

Snowy Owl, Southeast Saskatchewan, Mar 2018. Source: Nelson Draper

Redpolls and House Sparrows made up the last of the feathered blessings we witnessed in March 2018. Photos for both of these birds can be found on the previous two posts.

Pins for most of these birds can be found on our Pinterest board Photos: Birds.