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.

Bird Watch February

Nelson started off our February 2018 bird watching competition on the 1st by bringing home this shot of a Downy Woodpecker female. He said it caught his eye in flight and he was able to follow it to a small copse of trees where he took the photo.

Downy Woodpecker, Southeastern Saskatchewan, Feb 2018. Credit: Nelson Draper

A few days later, I caught this Downy Woodpecker male perched among the frost-covered axils, or flower buds, of our Siberian Elms. When I look at this image, I think of apple blossoms instead of frost though.

Downy Woodpecker Male, RM Montmartre, SK, Feb 2018. Credit: Anita Mae Draper

If you're ever driving down a prairie road, I'm sure you've seen those small birds that seem to wait until you get to them before flying out of the way. In the winter around here they're usually Snow Buntings, with Horned Larks coming in the spring. This year the Horned Larks didn't migrate, so we had flocks of both. Although similar in size and shape, the colouring is very different . For example, the Horned Lark has a distinctive yellow throat that I like to compare to an egg yolk or tennis ball when describing it.

Horned Lark, RM Montmartre, SK, Feb 2018. Credit: Anita Mae Draper

I was quite surprised to find a Horned Lark in one of the images of Sharpies I was checking for this post. Although you can't see the yellow throat much due to the low-light level on that day, the image gives a good indication of the size difference between the Horned Lark and the Sharp-tailed Grouse.

Sharp-tailed Grouse, RM Montmartre, SK, Feb 2018. Credit: Anita Mae Draper

Those other birds you often find on the prairie roads are Snow Buntings. I was pleased when Nelson managed to take a photo of a couple of them because it's not often we see them sitting still. I believe the photo was taken either through his windshield, or reflected through his side-view mirror.

Snow Buntings, Southeastern Saskatchewan, Feb 2018. Credit: Nelson Draper

Our resident sparrows hang around the Cotoneaster bush close to the mixed bird feeder when they're not sleeping in the barn loft. They like the cotoneaster because it offers protection in case a hawk or such comes marauding. If I find the sparrows scattered around the yard like sentinels, I know they're staking out their territory, so I grab my camera and check for visiting birds.

But if the sparrows are clustered together in the poplar or apple trees, I know that danger lurks. This was the case when I saw the House Sparrows perched in the Weeping Birch. I grabbed my camera and scooted outside, but only caught the barest glance at a small hawk before it passed over our large spruce trees. A few minutes later, the sparrows were back at the feeder and all was calm once again.

House Sparrows in Weeping Birch, RM Montmartre, SK, Feb 2018. Credit: Anita Mae Draper

I've often read and heard that suet feeders help the birds get through the winter because of they gain energy from the suet. This was our first year for this suet feeder which we hung outside my office winder. I must say I was quite disappointed when our resident chickadee only sought out its treasures once in awhile, and the redpolls ignored it completely. Some days the redpolls would eat the swelling axils of the Siberian Elms, acting like binge eaters who wouldn't get another meal for weeks.

That all changed on Feb 21 with warming temps when the redpolls discovered the suet feeder. It seems our birds prefer to peck at the softened suet instead of chipping away at it.

Redpoll, RM Montmartre, SK, Feb 2018. Credit: Anita Mae Draper

As for our resident Black-capped Chicadees, they hold their own where the suet feeder is concerned, after all, they found it first. They also make regular trips to the Niger, or Nyjer, seed feeder and then hide the seed under bark and in tree crevices for cold weather days. The chickadees also chip away at the peanut wreath, the only bird we've seen use it.

Black-capped Chickadee on Peanut Wreath, RM Montmartre, SK, Feb 2018. Credit: Anita Mae Draper

So far no blue jays have found our peanut offering, but we'll keep watching for them.

Images and Pins of the above photos and more of the wildlife we saw in February can be found on our Pinterest boards:
Photos: Birds 

Photos: Wildlife

Nature Watch March 2017

We're playing post catch-up at Draper's Acres with some photos we took in March of this year. I'll start off with this photo of a Sharp-Tailed Grouse taken by Nelson while out-and-about on March 5.

Sharp-tailed Grouse, Southeastern Saskatchewan, March 5, 2017

On March 8th, Nelson was greeted by a special sunrise called a sun dog, a rarity this year. It was also a milder winter and although we received a good amount of snow, it wasn't all at once. With the mild weather, what snow did fall melted and blew away so there wasn't a huge buildup like other years.

Sun Dog, Southeastern Saskatchewan, March 8, 2017 at 7:37 am

A week later, Nelson saw a herd of White-tailed deer trotting across the prairie, but it was this shot of three of them with the breath-taking sunrise in the background that caught my eye.

White-tailed Deer, Southeastern Saskatchewan, March 15, 2017 at 7:04 am

Meanwhile, back at Draper's Acres, I took dozens of shots of this Black-capped Chickadee this winter but he moved so fast while searching for food among the evergreens that I only managed a couple decent photographs. With that speed, I figure he deserves his chance to shine on our blog.

Black-Capped Chickadee, Mar 19, 2017, Montmartre, SK

On March 24th I saw a coyote running across the southern part of the field where it rises out of our small valley. The light was horrid at noon on that dreary day, but here's what I saw . . . from our living room, looking through the longest zoom on my P520 Nikon, the coyote had an ethereal quality as it crossed the stubble near the top of the rise with nothing but sky behind it.

Coyote, March 24, 2017, Montmartre, SK

The wind was playing havoc with the air currents between the coyote and the trees on the southwest corner of our land when the coyote crossed that portion. By that time I was standing on my porch and it stopped to get a look at me before continuing his trot to points west.

Coyote, March 24, 2017, Montmartre, SK

While washing dishes the next day, I looked out the window and saw a mouse darting out of a snow tunnel near the feeder stand. He latched onto a food particle, spent a couple minutes devouring it, then darted back into the tunnel. A small flock of migrating juncos landed and then hopped about feeding on dropped seeds. During one of the rodent's forays, I snapped this shot to use as a size comparison between the two amicable species.

Dark-eyed Junco and Mouse, March 25, 2017, Montmartre, SK

March 26 was a Sunday which gave us the chance to check out migrating waterfowl in the sloughs along the way. We saw Canada Geese and Mallards, and a special treat in the form of a regal pair of Northern Pintails.

Canada Goose and Northern Pintails, March 26, 2017, Mutrie, SK

A few hours later, I saw a Downy Woodpecker on the power pole beside this feeder full of Niger seeds. She spent some time on the side of the pole, and up near the top, and then finally flew down and latched onto the feeder. She hung there and ate for a long time while the feeder swung in the wind like a pendulum.

Downy Woodpecker, March 26, 2017, Montmartre, SK

After supper of the same Sunday, we saw the first American Robin of the season. I played with the settings to mute the branches in the photograph so that the robin as well as the caption were more visible, and then I explained how I did it on my photo blog.

American Robin, March 26, 2017, Montmartre, SK

European starlings usually come through this time of year in a mixed flock with Robins, Red-wing Blackbirds, and Yellow-headed Blackbirds, but this year a small flock of about half a dozen starlings were by themselves. They came on the worst weather days and so I didn't get a photo of them, but because they are so unusual, I'm providing a photo I took of one two years ago:

European Starling, April 2, 2015, Montmartre, SK

Flocks of snow geese also came through, flying high above our heads, including this fabulous formation taken by Nelson.

Snow Geese, Southeastern Saskatchewan, March 29, 2017

During March we also saw:

• A Hawk in a blizzard on Mar 3
• Another Coyote on Mar 20
• Tree Sparrow on Mar 26 
• Mallards on Mar 26
• Moose on Mar 28
• Horned Lark on Mar 29
• Red-winged Blackbirds on Mar 30
• *Black-billed Magpies
• *House Sparrows

* Year-round residents at Draper's Acres


From our photo files, it appears that the migrating birds arrived one week earlier than last year, but it was a weird month as you'll see when the next Nature Watch post goes up here at Draper's Acres. We hope you'll check it out.